MTGNexus

More stuff!

• Unlicensed Hearse looks like a powerful bit of grave hate - it's targeted, free to activate, and hits two cards per activation. Plus it can act as a beefy threat if it sticks around for a while. Not fetchable by Trinket Mage / Urza's Saga, but I'd definitely consider it in any deck running Tribute Mage.
• Tainted Indulgence looks strong - there aren't that many two mana draw twos, and being an instant is a meaningful upgrade over Chart a Course. 5+ unique mana values in the graveyard is still difficult to evaluate though.
• Fatal Grudge is interesting. Innocent Blood effects usually rely on their controller not needing to sacrifice anything, but adding a cantrip could make up for the sacrifice requirement. If your deck is built around sacrificing stuff, it looks even better. Obviously also quite strong to copy.
• Bootlegger's Stash looks pretty crazy. Admittedly, I haven't seen anyone run Horizon Stone, so I don't have high expectations... but if you have treasure / artifact / token synergies, this can certainly turbo-charge them. Alternatively, just take advantage of the fact that your giant bank of mana won't be lost to a single artifact removal spell.
• Void Rend looks like a very nice alternative to Anguished Unmaking for Esper decks. Hard to say whether 'can't be countered' is better than exile, but certainly seems good.
• Scheming Accomplice is amusing. More vulnerable than Pithing Needle, but stealing the activated abilities definitely has implications - at the very least, it can be a UW mana dork, which is somewhat rare.
• Sanguine Spy is a fun little draw engine, once again relying on the '5+ mana value' threshold. Still, paying two life for a card each turn is a pretty good rate.
• Funds Transport gives me Dockside Extortionist vibes in its ability to scale off what opponents are doing. Still, significantly more conditional and limited in scope.
• Angel of Anguish is extremely sweet. Black isn't exactly known for its damage prevention effects, but throw in an Eldrazi (or just play a graveyard-based deck) and this can ward off most damage.
• Extraction Specialist is fantastic. Not a full Sun Titan trigger - it only gets creatures, and only MV2 or less - but still quite nice.

Guardman wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Jinnie Fay, Jetmir's Second is a really neat token commander. And there is a lot of fun ways to use her. And she adds some interesting decisions for instant speed token makers. For example, do you want to play March of the Multitudes on your turn to make a ton of hasty cats or would you prefer to wait at end of an opponent's turn to make a ton of dogs with more one more power and vigilance. Plus she even works with noncreature tokens, so Brass's Bounty can create a massive alpha strike out of nowhere.

It also allows late game Dockside Extortionist to become an useful offense.

I feel like the way the courtyards work (sacking as an etb trigger instead of an activated ability) is basically just trying to curtail obnoxious minmaxing "I'm going to wait until EOT to sac this because 0.000001% of the time my opponents' plays will change my decision.

Not exactly exciting cards, but the loam machine can always use more fodder.

Cyberium wrote: ↑

2 years ago

It also allows late game Dockside Extortionist to become an useful offense.

Isn't it "a useful offense"? Trying to say "an useful offense" breaks my brain lol.

DirkGently wrote: ↑

2 years ago

I feel like the way the courtyards work (sacking as an etb trigger instead of an activated ability) is basically just trying to curtail obnoxious minmaxing "I'm going to wait until EOT to sac this because 0.000001% of the time my opponents' plays will change my decision.

Not exactly exciting cards, but the loam machine can always use more fodder.

Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to testing them as budget Life from the Loam / Ramunap Excavator fodder. Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse are a good start, but the next-best options (cycling lands, slow fetches) are a significant step down. I've generally felt like my Loam engines want at least 5-6 of this effect, so hopefully these will make it less painful to do so without shelling out for actual fetchlands.

DirkGently wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Cyberium wrote: ↑
1 hour ago
It also allows late game Dockside Extortionist to become an useful offense.

Isn't it "a useful offense"? Trying to say "an useful offense" breaks my brain lol.

Welcome to English: where the rules are made up and the determiners don't matter.

Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer seems pretty good for an uncommon, and probably the best "secret Commander" general yet printed. I wonder if anyone will make naya Zada/feather decks with him or if the +3 is just slightly too much outaide of dedicated ramp decks.

Big Score is really nice. The best version of its effect so far. I'll probably run it in Veyran, Voice of Duality

TheAmericanSpirit wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer seems pretty good for an uncommon, and probably the best "secret Commander" general yet printed. I wonder if anyone will make naya Zada/feather decks with him or if the +3 is just slightly too much outaide of dedicated ramp decks.

My friend's reaction was "this is a five mana Argothian Enchantress in the command zone." Rocco may end up being the true toolbox of the set.

Love that Rakdos board wipe. I know you don't want to be chewing up your GY, but the mana value is so cheap (and plays well with Obosh), and hitting both creatures and PWs is amazing.

EDIT: OGNIS LET'S GOOOOOOOOO VIASHINO DASH DUDES

Lord of Calling (Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer) seems possibly tedious, but like a reasonable thing to exist at its mana cost I guess.

Grafdigger's Cage just gets better every set.

Is it just me or do the commons/uncommons in this set seem real strong?

Scheming Fence should be a wall. Seems like a pretty big screwup. Day 0 errata for sure.

duducrash wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Big Score is really nice. The best version of its effect so far. I'll probably run it in Veyran, Voice of Duality

Unexpected Windfall does the same thing at the same mv. Just a double red. Good redundancy in 1-2 color decks that may want this. Art has striking similarities as well. Perfect for coin or money tribal haha.

RxPhantom wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Scheming Fence should be a wall. Seems like a pretty big screwup. Day 0 errata for sure.

notsureifserious.gif

EDIT - am I a bad person if I want to pair Spiteful Repossession with Squandered Resources?

I was hoping for allied color legends in either the set or the commander decks, but that's looking increasingly unlikely. That said, I love a set with powerful low rarities. Jewel Thief is almost too good, hopefully the limited is alright.

BeneTleilax wrote: ↑

2 years ago

I was hoping for allied color legends in either the set or the commander decks, but that's looking increasingly unlikely. That said, I love a set with powerful low rarities. Jewel Thief is almost too good, hopefully the limited is alright.

Looking at previous tricolor sets, it appears to vary somewhat - Khans of Tarkir and Shards of Alara both only had tri-colored legends, while Ikoria had a full cycle of wedge-color legends, enemy-colored, and hybrid (the companions). That said, the presence of watermarks / explicit factions definitely pushes away from having two-color legends - you want each faction to have a clear identity, and having a legend that could belong to two factions sort of muddles that.

As for new stuff....

• Brass Knuckles is somewhat amusing - it's not as efficient as Fireshrieker or Lizard Blades, but it is two pieces of equipment for commanders like Kemba, Kha Regent and Valduk, Keeper of the Flame.
• Riveteers Ascendancy is a bit tame as a combo piece due to the once-per-turn restriction (+entering tapped), but certainly a fun recursion engine.
• Patch Up is a more flexible Call of the Death-Dweller / Proclamation of Rebirth. I'll make a deck with a pile of 1-drops in it someday....
• Ziatora's Envoy is interesting. Throw in some pump spells and a topdeck tutor to cheat out something crazy?
• Workshop Warchief - is this Thragtusk? This looks like Thragtusk.
• Reservoir Kraken is mildly fun, but probably bad, as punisher cards tend to be. Still, could be relevant if you care about pumping out unblockable fish tokens.
• Ognis, the Dragon's Lash is challenging Samut, Voice of Dissent for title of 'fastest legend in the multiverse'. Haste tribal?
• Rogues' Gallery is a powerful recursion effect for 3+ color decks.
• Glittering Stockpile is no Cursed Mirror, but still a fun mana rock option.
• Corpse Explosion is a very efficient board wipe, assuming you have a creature to explode.
• Big Score looks quite solid as another option for Mizzix - I've been testing out Pirate's Pillage and Unexpected Windfall as janky rituals to hit off Epic Experiment, and this looks like a strict upgrade.

Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder is cute. Dunno how much black adds to Xenagos, God of Revels with downside though.

Ognis, the Dragon's Lash seems really strong. You probably wanted hasty dudes anyway so the trigger condition is real easy, glad they enter tapped or there's a couple easy infinites.

Vazi, Keen Negotiator seems kinda awful. He's almost entirely opt-in for your opponents, but also requires a build-around to even work. I'm kinda interested in the political angle, but needing to create a ton of treasure is bleh. I think he should create 1+ at least. And 5mv? Ouch. Really don't think they needed to go so safe.

Mari, the Killing Quill is cool. Fun ability and the tribal constraint isn't too bad, I like the merc throwback. Reminds me of Glissa, the Traitor in a good way.

Mookie wrote: ↑

2 years ago

BeneTleilax wrote: ↑

2 years ago

I was hoping for allied color legends in either the set or the commander decks, but that's looking increasingly unlikely. That said, I love a set with powerful low rarities. Jewel Thief is almost too good, hopefully the limited is alright.

Looking at previous tricolor sets, it appears to vary somewhat - Khans of Tarkir and Shards of Alara both only had tri-colored legends, while Ikoria had a full cycle of wedge-color legends, enemy-colored, and hybrid (the companions). That said, the presence of watermarks / explicit factions definitely pushes away from having two-color legends - you want each faction to have a clear identity, and having a legend that could belong to two factions sort of muddles that.

Ikoria was also designed as a monster set with a light 3color theme vs Alara/Tarkir/Capenna that are designed as three color sets so unlikely to see any non-3 color multicolored legends.

That said the tri-hybrid cards like Evelyn, The Covetous can be built as ally colors (or mono colored) if you have them as a commander or your group let's you rule 0 hybrid.

This set's flavor is horrible imo, but the mechanics and the design look really sweet.

I want to make a deck with Mari, the Killing Quill , jam Conspiracy , the mercadian masques gang of Cateran Enforcer and other mono b staples . I think there is a legitimate deck in there...

Phelddagrif, endless detour. Endless detour, Phelddagrif.

Good lord endless detour is enough to make me want to make a bant control deck. What an awesome design on a 3 cmc counterspell

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OMGs Rigo, Streetwise Mentor is a thing of absolute beauty. I wanna do all the things with that.

Curving Ornithopter and two Grayscaled Gharial or whatever into this and drawing 3 when you drop it is just, mmm :chef's kiss:

I'm not 100% sure how you win after attacking with 1/1s but you sure draw some cards.

That Endless Detour is a potent counterspell that doubles as removal. Wow.

Yeah damn that's got to be the most flexible card I've ever seen.

pokken wrote: ↑

2 years ago

Good lord endless detour is enough to make me want to make a bant control deck. What an awesome design on a 3 cmc counterspell

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OMGs Rigo, Streetwise Mentor is a thing of absolute beauty. I wanna do all the things with that.

Curving Ornithopter and two Grayscaled Gharial or whatever into this and drawing 3 when you drop it is just, mmm :chef's kiss:

I'm not 100% sure how you win after attacking with 1/1s but you sure draw some cards.

Add redundancy with Edric and Toski and evasion via Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive and just bury your opponents with card advantage and extra turn stuff?

You draw one card for each player and planeswalker you attacked, correct?