[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Rishkar, Peema Renegade

[MeowZeDung]

I ran it in Kykar for a bit and found it to be game ending when I was ahead but just awful any other time. Definitely win more in that context.

In Rielle, the Everwise on the other hand, it was great because of the sheer volume of cheap draw effects like Thrill of Possibility, Careful Study, Breakthrough, Flux, etc. Same with Shabraz, the Skyshark and Brallin, Skyshark Rider because that deck was just wheel city and won with stuff like Psychosis Crawler.

[Mookie]

Teferi's Ageless Insight is fine. In a vacuum, it's a do-nothing enchantment. Add in some cantrips, and it may draw an extra card or two per turn - fine, but nothing amazing. If you're consistently drawing 3+ extra cards per turn, it starts to look amazing, but that's also generally in win-more territory, as others have covered. It gets significantly better when you add in modes of card draw that aren't card advantage, such as rummaging / looting / wheeling - those effects tend to be costed significantly more aggressively due to not being actual card advantage, and work really well with Teferi's Ageless Insight.

....four mana is roughly the cost of a flat 'draw an extra card each turn' - see Kumena's Awakening and Coercive Portal, with black having the more-efficient-but-costing-life Phyrexian Arena, and red having Outpost Siege and similar effects, although Valakut Exploration points to this effect probably costing closer to three mana these days. That said, I definitely appreciate the variety available. Teferi's Ageless Insight is a pretty high-variance option, which makes it a sweet choice for the decks that do happen to synergize with it.

[Sinis]

Sunday, March 21st, 2021; Teferi's Ageless Insight

I have a copy, but haven't played it yet. I think it's probably good in the right deck, but wouldn't play it more broadly; it's not an every deck card. I think it probably shines best in decks that have draw in the command zone (Niambi, Esteemed Speaker, Gavi, Nest Warden, Jori En, Ruin Diver, and Ephara, God of the Polis to mind).

[3drinks]

Monday, March 22nd, 2021; Archangel of Strife

[onering]

Teferi's Ageless: As others have said, you need some synergy to make it worthwhile, while if you have too much it becomes win more. But hey, you're in blue, so you probably have enough synergy to make it work, and when it comes to drawing cards its not really win more, but win faster. You either find your wincon twice as fast, or see twice as many cards, which even if you can't cast the extra cards translates into card selection, and thus superior quality of cards.

Archangel of Strife: One of those early precon cards aimed at the battlecruiser era of the format that looks extremely dated now. The choice isn't much of a choice, +3 power is almost always better and +3 toughness only makes sense for toughness matters decks or in the relatively rare situation where you can sit back and block against a deck that's clearly trying to push through damage. In a vacuum, it helps your dudes survive the battles with creatures they would have survived prior to the +3/+0, but in practice this girl isn't coming down without other aggressive cards to help push through damage. As a 7 drop, She's a mediocre body with a mediocre effect that can help a go wide strat push through some extra damage but otherwise is pretty weak, and competes with Norn for the slot. Where I find her interesting is in a ju jitsu style deck, like Gahiji and Queen Marchesa sometimes can be, that combines forcing attacks, pillow fort effects, and group hug effects that make token like Akroan Horse or Varchild's War Riders. That's one of the rare decks where the person playing the angel will want to pick the toughness boost, and hope that the power boost given to your opponent's creatures (many of which you gave them) will be used to kill each other as they fight over the monarchy, try to trigger curses, etc.

[pokken]

It's a minor quibble but this kind of 'remember what you voted for' book-keeping mechanic is awful in multiplayer -- it's true that most people will choose War, but everyone having to track their votes could be quite annoying in a longer game where lots of stuff is going on.

[materpillar]

I just can't get over how incredibly dumb her clothes are. She's wearing the opposite of shorts. I don't mind some fan service, but she's incredibly heavily armored everywhere except exactly her butt and it makes no sense. On top of which the way the lighting, flow and the composition of the painting is set up, literally everything just draws your eye draw directly to her butt. As such, every time I look at the card I'm like "oh, it's excessive butt angel" and that's not really the frame of reference I want for cards in my deck.

Also, I don't play token decks which is probably the only time she's good.
Also, has anyone literally ever picked the peace option? It's so much worse.

[Sinis]

Monday, March 22nd, 2021; Archangel of Strife

I like playing this card with cards like Ghostly Prison, as other players struggle to punch people with the extra +3 before they get punched themselves. Often the same flavour as Avatar of Slaughter.

Inevitably, someone attacks, and then leverages a boardwipe.

[pokken]

but she's incredibly heavily armored everywhere except exactly her butt and it makes no sense

Chafing is a big problem in the angel community. This should be resolved in the upcoming set: Battle for Gold Bond.

[Hawk]

I just can't get over how incredibly dumb her clothes are. She's wearing the opposite of shorts. I don't mind some fan service, but she's incredibly heavily armored everywhere except exactly her butt and it makes no sense. On top of which the way the lighting, flow and the composition of the painting is set up, literally everything just draws your eye draw directly to her butt. As such, every time I look at the card I'm like "oh, it's excessive butt angel" and that's not really the frame of reference I want for cards in my deck.

Also, I don't play token decks which is probably the only time she's good.
Also, has anyone literally ever picked the peace option? It's so much worse.

Welp, that's all I'll see now.

This card is honestly pretty poor, art notwithstanding. I think we're in a world where a 6/6 flier for seven with "other creatures you control get +3/+0" would be fairly marginal, only good in very casual token or angel decks. But she's symmetrical, letting everyone get pumped, and she's got this obnoxious voting mechanic that creates false choice and is just really poor design. I've never played her anywhere and can't imagine doing so - especially not after all this art review.

[onering]

I just can't get over how incredibly dumb her clothes are. She's wearing the opposite of shorts. I don't mind some fan service, but she's incredibly heavily armored everywhere except exactly her butt and it makes no sense. On top of which the way the lighting, flow and the composition of the painting is set up, literally everything just draws your eye draw directly to her butt. As such, every time I look at the card I'm like "oh, it's excessive butt angel" and that's not really the frame of reference I want for cards in my deck.

Also, I don't play token decks which is probably the only time she's good.
Also, has anyone literally ever picked the peace option? It's so much worse.

Look, how do you think she makes people vote for war and peace? She moons the battlefield, and some people are driven to war for the glory of her glutes, while others are moved to peaceful reverence for her awesome ass.

[3drinks]

.....this card is forever ruined for me now, thanks a lot 🙄😐

Can only ever think of her as free booty angel now

[materpillar]

I think this is the largest effect I've had on anyone's opinion of a specific card during my entire time on this forum. I'm slightly horrified but mostly confused as to how everyone else didn't already see her this way already since I find it so glaring.

[Ruiner]

If I were looking for this kind of effect I think I'd rather just use Crescendo of War since it comes down quicker and quickly gets out of control.

[hyalopterouslemur]

I just can't get over how incredibly dumb her clothes are. She's wearing the opposite of shorts. I don't mind some fan service, but she's incredibly heavily armored everywhere except exactly her butt and it makes no sense. On top of which the way the lighting, flow and the composition of the painting is set up, literally everything just draws your eye draw directly to her butt. As such, every time I look at the card I'm like "oh, it's excessive butt angel" and that's not really the frame of reference I want for cards in my deck.

Also, I don't play token decks which is probably the only time she's good.
Also, has anyone literally ever picked the peace option? It's so much worse.

I think it's supposed to be zettai ryouiki, but that only really works with a skirt or maybe a loincloth. With a butt floss bikini, no, stop it. Please stop drawing.

The problem is that fanservice is, you have to show just enough to be sexy while still realistic. Fail that and you have porn, basically.

Anyway, I have not really played her in tokens. The problem is ¿por qué no los dos? for one less if you're also playing green.

I suppose the toughness boost is nice if your next play is Wave of Reckoning, or under a Meekstone or Ensnaring Bridge. I have played Leyline of Vitality before; note that it does two things, though.

[The_Hittite]

I just can't get over how incredibly dumb her clothes are. She's wearing the opposite of shorts. I don't mind some fan service, but she's incredibly heavily armored everywhere except exactly her butt and it makes no sense. On top of which the way the lighting, flow and the composition of the painting is set up, literally everything just draws your eye draw directly to her butt. As such, every time I look at the card I'm like "oh, it's excessive butt angel" and that's not really the frame of reference I want for cards in my deck.

Also, I don't play token decks which is probably the only time she's good.
Also, has anyone literally ever picked the peace option? It's so much worse.

Well it's drawn by Greg Staples who drew 9th edition Serra Angel, so it's not like he can't draw better angels. Then again he also drew Electrickery which is basically the same outfit and pose.

[3drinks]

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021; Burning-Rune Demon

It's funny to watch so many players misevaluate the value of a ⅔ Intuition on a beefy 6/6 flying body, relegating it to a "binder rot, crapfest punisher card".......

[Krishnath]

I actually think Burning-Rune Demon is a good card, particularly if you have a way to get the card that goes to the graveyard into your hand, play, or can otherwise utilize it in some way. And if there is one thing Black is good at, it is utilizing the graveyard as a resource.

[materpillar]

I really dislike unconditional tutors as I find they tend to make games way more repetitive and grind the game to a halt. This card is just an unconditional tutor strapped to a demon body, even though it doesn't look like it at a glance. It doesn't take a lot of braincells to find whatever card and a Regrowth effect. If played to its ceiling your opponents don't actually have a choice. The less of these cards I see in my metagame the happier I am.

[pokken]

I like this card a heck of a lot more than Rune-Scarred Demon who was at one time considered a staple, now only in reanimator and huge mana decks mostly.

I especially like it in The Mimeoplasm

It's really fun for me and stuff I like to build to have another Life from the Loam shenanigan option available as well.

Overall, despite my general dislike of tutors and the recent trend of graveyard abuse being basically rampant, I do enjoy this card design for personal selfish reasons

[Sinis]

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021; Burning-Rune Demon

It's funny to watch so many players misevaluate the value of a ⅔ Intuition on a beefy 6/6 flying body, relegating it to a "binder rot, crapfest punisher card".......

I think I overvalued this one. Not in the "this is as good as Rune-scarred Demon" way, but I was pretty sure people would want to play it a lot.

I think it's good in the right deck, but not every deck.

[knight_seb]

I will put it in my Kaalia the vast deck as soon as I get one ... It is really powerful.

[Dunharrow]

Getting one for Rakdos, Lord of Riots for sure. Will most likely tutor two eldrazi each time, but I could also get combo pieces or something like Platinum Angel and Artisan of Kozilek.

Otherwise, 6 mana is an expensive tutor so you are probably playing this to set up something big. You can get redundant cards like Patriarch's Bidding and Haunting Voyage in a tribal deck. You can get Living Death and Rise of the Dark Realms. You can set up a combo like Karmic Guide and Reveillark of course. Or just make sure you get a specific fatty into play by getting Sheoldred, Whispering One and Unburial Rites.

[FenrirRex]

Not surprisingly, this demon is killer in the numerous graveyard strategies that I love to run. Most notably, he is one of the stronger creatures in Karador, Ghost Chieftain for some entirely obvious reasons. Making sure that there is no "good" answer for your opponents if key, and Karador really highlights that.

[Hawk]

On first read I assumed this put the second card back on the bottom of your library and thought it was total garbage compared to Rune-Scarred Demon. On second reading, this is much stronger than RS - you get a mana saving, and for the right deck 2/3 of an Intuition is possibly better than Demonic Tutor. I've legitimately considered running Final Parting in some budget mono-black or Rakdos reanimator-y decks, and for just one mana more this is so much better even though your opponent gets to pick.

All that said though - we're in an era where Rune-scarred has gone from an auto-include staple to a niche roleplayer, and this is the sorta card that I'd experiment with or add to the maybeboard of various graveyard-loving decks (Gitrog Monster and Grusilda in my current crop as well as the Araumi of the Dead Tide that I keep theorycrafting). if it fell into my lap but would likely not go out of my way to acquire.