MTGNexus

It reminds me a bit of Sworn Defender, tbh. Except better because it can kill things.

Realistically though this really isn't any better than a Smite. Worse actually because it's twice the cmc, and you can see it coming so it's not even a combat trick.

+ Entangler FTW?

Serenade wrote: ↑

4 years ago

+ Entangler FTW?

Well, you just get one. Shield of Kaldra or Darksteel Plate can also be nice.

I've been wanting to make a 'come at me, bro!' tribal deck for a while, with a bunch of cards that force attacks, plus cards like Serene Master and Lightmine Field to punish those attacks. Haven't gotten around to actually building it, but maybe someday....

As for the card itself.... Serene Master is a good blocker for large ground pounders with no evasion - I imagine it performs well against green decks with no removal. Unfortunately, that isn't the majority of creatures you may be interested in blocking. The Master doesn't match up very well against anything with flying/hexproof/shroud. +1/+1 counters and equipment also continue to provide their benefits to the blocked creature, which means with only two toughness, the Master will often die to any buffed creature. And this is ignoring the whole 'they can just not attack you' thing.

Overall, a fine rattlesnake, but it has a lot of limitations, and is a bit fragile.

Thursday, September 26th, 2019; Karmic Guide

3drinks wrote: ↑

4 years ago

Thursday, September 26th, 2019; Karmic Guide

I love everything that's going on with this card. Protection from Black, flying, one mana more than Resurrection. Honestly, it's just great stuff all around for me.

The echo is a bit of a damper, but that's fine.

I am curious to know what proportion of people use Karmic Guide without combo potential.

It would also be fun to have an updated version of Karmic Guide - like in Modern Horizons 2. Something like

Karmic Escort
3WW
Creature - Angel Spirit
Flying, Hexproof from Black.
When Karmic Escort dies, you may exile it from your graveyard. If you do, put target creature from your graveyard into play.
Evoke 3WW
2/2

Dunharrow wrote: ↑

4 years ago

I am curious to know what proportion of people use Karmic Guide without combo potential.

Most of the people I know do not play with Reveillark because that's just not the kind of game we want to play. I can't think of an overwhelming or infinite combo involving Karmic Guide but not Reveillark.

I know Karmic Guide sees play in some Alesha decks as a non-combo piece to rez anything every turn, and I personally play it in a Bruna angels/humans deck.

Karmic Guide is a format staple. Hard to undervalue this card in anything with creature synergy. Honestly, I find it difficult not to run Reveilark beside this, which adds to its infamy. White needs more cards like this and Sun Titan to help its card advantage problem. I wouldn't say every white deck should run it, but most of them probably should. Compares well with Eternal Witness, where making it a creature makes it so much better.

Dunharrow wrote: ↑

4 years ago

I am curious to know what proportion of people use Karmic Guide without combo potential.

There will always be players around to use any card in any manner. It's okay to not optimize 100%.

Just the fact that Karmic Guide has an ETB, it will always be considered in blink decks. Now, I don't know about just casting it straight up for 3WW and paying echo. But if you had an old-border foil, I'd do many things in deck building just to show it off.

quote=PrimevalCommander post_id=35081 time=1569505968 user_id=465]
Karmic Guide is a format staple. Hard to undervalue this card in anything with creature synergy. Honestly, I find it difficult not to run Reveilark beside this, which adds to its infamy. White needs more cards like this and Sun Titan to help its card advantage problem. I wouldn't say every white deck should run it, but most of them probably should. Compares well with Eternal Witness, where making it a creature makes it so much better.
[/quote]

I don't know about "staple" status anymore. The format has increased in power level considerably (compare to Emeria Shepherd if you feel otherwise). If Karmic Guide were to be printed today, it would be 3WW and 4/4 flying with no echo cost. For most decks, even blink decks, I think Karmic Guide is overcosted.

The main thing Karmic Guide has going for it is combo potential not creature synergy. You don't play Reveillark because you play Karmic Guide. You play Karmic Guide because you play Reveillark.

Sinis wrote: ↑

4 years ago

I can't think of an overwhelming or infinite combo involving Karmic Guide but not Reveillark.

The cleanest (no otherwise dead, combo-only stuff in the 99) version of Flash Hulk I know starts off with Viscera Seer and Karmic Guide, with the resulting second Hulk getting Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. Tadaa!

Rumpy5897 wrote: ↑

4 years ago

The cleanest (no otherwise dead, combo-only stuff in the 99) version of Flash Hulk I know starts off with Viscera Seer and Karmic Guide, with the resulting second Hulk getting Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. Tadaa!

Well, okay. Fair enough.

Guide also goes infinite with body double and Altar of dementia

It's no secret that I love me some Karmic Guide. It does it all. I don't have even a partial list of the shenanigans I have done with this card. My favorite is returning a ridiculous chain of clones from the graveyard then ending with a Sun titan for phantasmal Image copying Sun Titan, getting back lightning greaves, equipping, attacking, getting back something else and going ham. From zero board state to 3 karmic guides and 2 sun titans.
Then someone swept the board and I emeria'd back the guide and did it all again except this time sun titan got back my sword of feast and famine. DUN DUN DUN. Game over man.

One of my other favorite little quirks with Ephara is using hand size to discard to reanimate stuff with Karmic Guide. I often am over handsize by just one, and discarding a fattie to reanimate is awesome.

And the last thing I love about Karmic Guide is Intuition packages. Recruiter/Sun Titan/Lark with the ability to recruiter for guide, Guide/Lark/Double, Guide + Lark + silver bullet, you name it. I love this card. It acts like an almost Eternal Witness enabling a lot of dumb packages.

I know I played it in an early Alesha. Then I cut it because it was just a bit too fair, or otherwise didn't have a target so it sat dead.

It's a good card. But it's not a must play card.

Karmic Guide is a great card. There aren't many creatures that resurrect something as an ETB effect, which means it can be difficult to replace in decks that want it. Comparable to Mulldrifter - the 2/2 flying body isn't worth five mana, but you get a very useful ETB effect that makes the overall package pretty good. Echo is a significant downside, which means it rarely sticks around for long. However, protection from black does give it a bit of utility against most demons and other black beaters. Fetchable with Recruiter of the Guard (and Imperial Recruiter).

I'm currently running it in two decks - Teysa and Brago. In Teysa, Karmic guide is usually a combo piece with Reveillark, but it also works with Mentor of the Meek, Dusk // Dawn, and generally serving as an expendable body to sacrifice. In Brago, it's more of a value engine alongside other recursion pieces - Angel of Serenity, Sun Titan, etc.

I play Guide with Reveillark in a deck without Saffi or sac outlets, so there's that. Guide is just a good card if you have any kind of ETB synergy, or Pod or whatever. I don't think it's an auto-include but it should always be considered if you're running White.

Sinis wrote: ↑

4 years ago

3drinks wrote: ↑

4 years ago

Thursday, September 26th, 2019; Karmic Guide

I love everything that's going on with this card. Protection from Black, flying, one mana more than Resurrection. Honestly, it's just great stuff all around for me.

The echo is a bit of a damper, but that's fine.

She also passes the Reveillark/Alesha, Who Smiles at Death test handily tho. I mainly use two infinite Reveillark combos: Her and Body Double.

You also can use her with things like Kaalia. So, yeah, she costs 3ww instead of 2ww for Resurrection and 3w for a flashback Unburial Rites, but she does so much more because she's a creature.

The echo is a slight bummer, but everything else about the card is classic value. One of the all stars in my Bruna build, and in it's own way it's at least a little bit of a rattlesnake. People know you don't care whether it lives or dies, so they tend to just swing elsewhere with the hopes of actually achieving something.

Dunharrow wrote: ↑

4 years ago

I am curious to know what proportion of people use Karmic Guide without combo potential.

As with Sinis above, she's a champ in my Bruna build. Without actual combo she still helps chain together a sizable boardstate. It's....a lot of fun. The deck just won't die in most games.

Even without combo she is fantastic. I purposely run her without Reveillark in my Karador deck and it's one the best cards.
It basically reads "every turn pay 3ww to reanimate whatever. You also get a free blocker".

toctheyounger wrote: ↑

4 years ago

The echo is a slight bummer, but everything else about the card is classic value. One of the all stars in my Bruna build, and in it's own way it's at least a little bit of a rattlesnake. People know you don't care whether it lives or dies, so they tend to just swing elsewhere with the hopes of actually achieving something.

What? The echo is a feature not a bug. It's a built-in sac outlet. That's exactly what you're looking for on a creature like this.

3drinks wrote: ↑

4 years ago

What? The echo is a feature not a bug. It's a built-in sac outlet. That's exactly what you're looking for on a creature like this.

I actually thought this as soon as I clicked submit. Makes it so much easier to get that ETB, especially if you're not playing combo with it.

Friday, September 27th, 2019; [card]Lord Windgrace[/c)

I don't think Lord Windgrace is a particularly interesting card, but he is a strong commander for a land-based deck. +2 generates card advantage, -3 provides ramp. If you ever get to it, the ultimate isn't bad either. And because you'll be ramping, Windgrace is usually easy to replay when he gets removed. Good color access too - Jund has a lot of support for lands, from Omnath, Locus of Rage to The Gitrog Monster.

Land ramping with a Planeswalker general also has some synergy with Pernicious Deed, Nevinyrral's Disk, and some other mass removal - there are a lot of options to blow up everything except for lands and planeswalkers. Death Cloud is particularly nasty with Windgrace.

The main argument against him is that he isn't nearly as build-around as the legendary creature options, which leads to a more goodstuff-ish deck. There is also probably some amount of decision paralysis in deckbuilding, since there are so many options for land synergies in those colors.

I took to creating thus when the original nature's vengeance came out with no synergy whatsoever, with the idea of sticking to then the $50 pricepoint. Obviously prices change all the time so that benchmark isn't being met now, but I think it's still an interesting case study and casual place any Windgrace prospective pilot should be starting out.

https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/the-rea ... vengeance/