[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[Outcryqq]

I feel this has stood the test of time - it's still an incredibly strong sweeper.

[pokken]

This card is real good in a lot of ways, usually best if you can break symmetry by having lots of colorless stuff. On the flipside, not removing artifacts is often backbreaking.

I did enjoy it with tons of mana and Eight-and-a-Half-Tails for the old "all your lands are white" but I am kind of a monster - and would probably not build that nowadays.

I don't tend to play it a lot these days, but mostly because I'm trying to avoid sweepers more and more. It's fun to see games develop and try to work around them rather than constantly Gallaghering the game.

I did used to really like when people trotted it out against Sigarda, Host of Herons

[Lifeless]

One of the best mono-G cards ever printed. As a big fan of mono color decks in general I find a lot of use for this guy. At one point it was in nearly all of my decks, although that has fallen off as I've tried to diversify the cards I play in my deck pool.

[3drinks]

Very strong card with either colorless or sacrifice synergies, and decent even without them. Unless you're playing a very low-to-the-ground deck or your meta is real fast, seven is not that hard for an effect like this, especially if you can turn it into a Plague Wind. Given how much play Cyc Rift sees, this should see more.

I'm more surprised that this thing is $13 across as many prints as it has.

[pokken]

I'm more surprised that this thing is $13 across as many prints as it has.

My guess is that is on the back of modern/legacy play but that may have changed

[3drinks]

I'm more surprised that this thing is $13 across as many prints as it has.

My guess is that is on the back of modern/legacy play but that may have changed

People are playing seven mana value sorceries in Legacy?

[pokken]

People are playing seven mana value sorceries in Legacy?

It used to see a ton of play in the eldrazi stompy deck, where it often cost a lot less due to all the ramp (Ancient Tomb Eldrazi Temple etc.).

Doesn't look like they play it as much anymore though now that DNT is mostly out of the format? Dunno.

[DirkGently]

Related to the topic, I swear almost every time I play commander, someone makes a comment about how a Red/Black/Rakdos deck can't possibly answer an enchantment/artifact because of their colors. Between this card, o-stone, disk, karn, ugin, other ugin, overpriced eldrazi instant, vindicate on a mana rock, ulamog, other ulamog, other stuff I'm forgetting, not to mention all the tutors black has, I find those pronouncements to be kinda stupid.

Anyway yeah I mean it's good. Tbh I usually run ugin over it, though. The extra mana is well worth it for the potential to keep a relevant walker, or even preserve some of your expensive permanents. Though sometimes there's something expensive and dangerous on the other side of the field and you've gotta do the full wipe.

[Hawk]

Related to the topic, I swear almost every time I play commander, someone makes a comment about how a Red/Black/Rakdos deck can't possibly answer an enchantment/artifact because of their colors. Between this card, o-stone, disk, karn, ugin, other ugin, overpriced eldrazi instant, vindicate on a mana rock, ulamog, other ulamog, other stuff I'm forgetting, not to mention all the tutors black has, I find those pronouncements to be kinda stupid.

Anyway yeah I mean it's good. Tbh I usually run ugin over it, though. The extra mana is well worth it for the potential to keep a relevant walker, or even preserve some of your expensive permanents. Though sometimes there's something expensive and dangerous on the other side of the field and you've gotta do the full wipe.

I mean....

This forum (and other optimizers in EDH everywhere, myself very much included): If a removal spell costs more than 2 mana it better come with a Ferrari and a Big Mac and an Ancestral Recall.

Also here: Lol silly Rakdos just use Scour from Existence on that Worship.

But for reals - a straight Rakdos deck now has Feed the Swarm as good enchantment removal (and Mire in Misery and Pharika's Libation as bad enchantment removal that is still maybe better than Scour), and of course you're red so you've got Vandalblast, By Force, Abrade, Bedevil, Kolaghan's Command, Shenanigans, and Smash to Smithereens and that's just the best artifact destruction. Does get a bit tougher in mono-black or mono-red though.

To the card at hand - it's good at what it does. I've enjoyed it in Daretti Artifacts although I run enough red permanents that it isn't a total slam dunk there. Also clearly the best for monogreen decks.

[DirkGently]

I mean....

This forum (and other optimizers in EDH everywhere, myself very much included): If a removal spell costs more than 2 mana it better come with a Ferrari and a Big Mac and an Ancestral Recall.

Also here: Lol silly Rakdos just use Scour from Existence on that Worship.

But for reals - a straight Rakdos deck now has Feed the Swarm as good enchantment removal (and Mire in Misery and Pharika's Libation as bad enchantment removal that is still maybe better than Scour), and of course you're red so you've got Vandalblast, By Force, Abrade, Bedevil, Kolaghan's Command, Shenanigans, and Smash to Smithereens and that's just the best artifact destruction. Does get a bit tougher in mono-black or mono-red though.

I meant black for removing artifacts and enchantments, and red for enchantments. Obviously red has many options for artifacts.

Personally I wouldn't play feed the swarm in any black decks. If I'm going to play sorcery-speed removal it better come with some major perks.

[Hermes_]

I used the copy i had as prize for a draft i ran back when you didn't need a store front to be in the WPN.

[TheGildedGoose]

Personally I wouldn't play feed the swarm in any black decks. If I'm going to play sorcery-speed removal it better come with some major perks.

Removing a generally problematic and difficult to interact with card type is the major perk. Black's artifact removal is pretty janky, too, and All is Dust mostly does nothing against them. The only reason I don't play it anymore in Erebos is because I rely on my own New Rules enchantments to disrupt my opponents.

All Is Dust is a good Magic card.

[PrimevalCommander]

I love All Is Dust in almost any non-white deck. I have been taking out Oblivion Stone and this has stayed in. If I'm casting O-stone, I pretty much always need to have the full availalbe, and this is one cheaper. Also can be flashed back with Snapcaster Mage in a pinch if I haven't drawn Blue Plague Wind. I still play this in several places, and it does work in mono-color decks without green by keeping my mana rocks around. Does the same for my opponents, sure, but I'll take what I can get. It also is a sacrifice, which is quite relevant.

I also don't have enough copies of Ugin, the Spirit Dragon to make this obsolete in my collection yet. Not that it would.

[Mookie]

All Is Dust is an excellent card, wish it had more reprints. It's trivially easy to make this asymmetric if you're running a colorless or artifact-based deck, and even if you aren't, it's still extremely useful for blue and green decks that may otherwise lack access to good board wipes. It also hits other card types, like enchantments and planeswalkers, which is nice. It does compete with Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, but I'd place both ahead of Oblivion Stone due to the asymmetry, and miles ahead of Nevinyrral's Disk.

....if I had access to it, I'd be running it in my artifact-heavy decks (Sharuum and Thada). May also be worth consideration in Tasigur, since that deck is pretty light on nonland permanents, but it also already has access to actual board wipes. Not sure if I'd run it in Kess (again, due to access to board wipes), but may be worth consideration if I were encountering a lot of enchantments in my meta.

[umtiger]

Anyway yeah I mean it's good. Tbh I usually run ugin over it, though.

I feel similarly.

So many times I've had All Is Dust in my shopping cart, but then I think about the Ugin I already have and take it out of the cart.

[hyalopterouslemur]

Note that if an opponent has Joraga Treespeaker or Buttercup, they are immune. Sadly, this only works on an opponent's All is Dust, you can't break your own this way.

[Dragoon]

Note that if an opponent has Joraga Treespeaker or Buttercup, they are immune. Sadly, this only works on an opponent's All is Dust, you can't break your own this way.

I think you meant Tajuru Preserver there, Joraga Treespeaker isn't going to be very helpful

[Igzex]

I consider the Eldrazi a mistake and the original "You don't need to try so hard to make cool cards for us commander players, seriously".

However this Eldrazi sorcery is an exception in my heart. Thanks to this Eldrazi Sorcery, there's always a good out from many terrifying boardstates no matter what your color identity is.

[DirkGently]

Removing a generally problematic and difficult to interact with card type is the major perk.

It's rare enough that I need to answer an enchantment in a really timely manner that I'd generally rather just tutor for karn or whatever in the occasional circumstance that it comes up. Most of my mono-black decks probably aren't going to be beat some sort of hyper-fast-survival-combo or whatever might necessitate fast enchantment removal anyway. The frequency with which having instant-speed matters to break up combos, kill something attacking me, etc is significantly higher imo than the frequency that killing enchantments matters - and that's setting aside the life loss. Maybe I'd run it if I was super deep on instant-speed creature removal already for versatility, but for any average mono-black deck there are a dozen or more instant-speed kill spells I'd run before it.

[TheGildedGoose]

It's rare enough that I need to answer an enchantment in a really timely manner that I'd generally rather just tutor for karn or whatever in the occasional circumstance that it comes up. Most of my mono-black decks probably aren't going to be beat some sort of hyper-fast-survival-combo or whatever might necessitate fast enchantment removal anyway. The frequency with which having instant-speed matters to break up combos, kill something attacking me, etc is significantly higher imo than the frequency that killing enchantments matters - and that's setting aside the life loss. Maybe I'd run it if I was super deep on instant-speed creature removal already for versatility, but for any average mono-black deck there are a dozen or more instant-speed kill spells I'd run before it.

I would much, much rather tutor for a 2mv answer than a 7mv answer, even if in theory the 7mv answer can stick around to cause more damage. Feed the Swarm does have two significant drawbacks, but it's not like it's a dead card. Karn can rot in your hand for several turns due to his high cost, but you can always just pinpoint kill a problematic creature like Gaddock Teeg or Hushbringer, or a value enchantment like Rhystic Study or Smothering Tithe. They don't have to be win conditions to be game winners, as I'm sure you know.

Also, expletive Aura Shards with a rake.

[3drinks]

Saturday, June 26th, 2021; Opal Titan

When you really don't want to see someone's scary voltron resolve".

[Mookie]

.....would I run a four mana 4/4 with protection from all colors and no other abilities? Probably not. I suppose it has some potential if you have a bunch of enchantment (or Giant tribal) synergies, or if you really value having an evasive creature to throw equipment on, but Opal Titan otherwise doesn't really excite me. I guess it will always have at least one relevant protection (unless your opponent casts a colorless creature spell), so it's never totally dead, but...

Best-case scenario is your opponent is reliant on some non-evasive voltron commander to deal damage, such as Ruhan of the Fomori. If you can get multiple colors of protection from it, it's better than Voice of All. Meanwhile, if your opponent doesn't want you to have it active, they're forced to play awkwardly, especially if they're a creature-light deck. Unfortunately, the multiplayer nature of the format means that at least one of your opponents will usually trigger it with something irrelevant - protection is annoying, but there are certainly decks that are affected by it less.

Anyway, somewhat tricky to evaluate. I feel like most decks don't care about a 4/4, even if it does have relevant protections, but there are certainly use cases for it.

[Igzex]

I mean, it tries to be cute but it's easy to play around, not that intimidating of a rattle snake anyway, and not really a case of "Of course this is from the Urza block"

[3drinks]

.....would I run a four mana 4/4 with protection from all colors and no other abilities? Probably not. I suppose it has some potential if you have a bunch of enchantment (or Giant tribal) synergies, or if you really value having an evasive creature to throw equipment on, but Opal Titan otherwise doesn't really excite me. I guess it will always have at least one relevant protection (unless your opponent casts a colorless creature spell), so it's never totally dead, but...

Best-case scenario is your opponent is reliant on some non-evasive voltron commander to deal damage, such as Ruhan of the Fomori. If you can get multiple colors of protection from it, it's better than Voice of All. Meanwhile, if your opponent doesn't want you to have it active, they're forced to play awkwardly, especially if they're a creature-light deck. Unfortunately, the multiplayer nature of the format means that at least one of your opponents will usually trigger it with something irrelevant - protection is annoying, but there are certainly decks that are affected by it less.

Anyway, somewhat tricky to evaluate. I feel like most decks don't care about a 4/4, even if it does have relevant protections, but there are certainly use cases for it.

I bet all of these "sleeper" mechanic creatures are especially more valuable in, say, Ghen, Arcanum Weaver.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

There's gotta be an enchantress deck somewhere jamming all the opal thingies and Hidden Guerrillas et al. cards... it's probably not a great deck, but I'd like to shake that person's hand anyway.