[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Jetfire, Ingenious Scientist

[Mookie]

Yeah, Grand Master of Flowers isn't a card that is designed for EDH... and that's totally fine with me. Locking down a single creature scales poorly to multiplayer, Monk of the Open Hand isn't really a playable card, and a 7/7 indestructible flyer is surprisingly easy to deal with. I do like the design though - a planeswalker that turns into a creature as an ultimate (while still keeping its abilities) is pretty novel, and I could see it showing up again. Sort of an interesting reversal of the flip walker pattern of creatures turning into planeswalkers.

[Igzex]

Meh card in EDH. You might find his sister a little more interesting for this format...

[3drinks]

Saturday, September 4th, 2021; Jace Beleren|ss1

[Kenjiblade]

Heyyy, it's Party/Baby Jace!

Is it powerful? No, not really. is it even good? Not particularly.

But for flavor reasons,, or if i just want a Temple Bell-esque effect, Jace is a'ight. I find that if you use the everyone draws option, people aren't too worried about getting rid of him. That said, keep him out of your higher power decks, but I think it's a perfectly reasonable card for low-to-mid levels of play, particularly when you're not focused on optimization..

[hyalopterouslemur]

I can think of one use: Nekusar, the Mindrazer. Keep dinging opponents, then once Bloodchief Ascension is online, that -10 is essentially your very own gun to aim at opponents.

[Mookie]

Party Jace is a fine card. I don't see hit often outside group hug decks, where he generally acts as a Howling Mine variant. If you're not quite as huggy, you can also just tick him down for cards - drawing three cards for three mana is a totally fine rate. Jace is also not a particularly threatening planeswalker, so it's very possible for your opponents to just let him stick around. The (-10) can be concerning, but... it's also extremely telegraphed, and only hits a single opponent, so it usually isn't that threatening.

....other than group hug (and Nekusar, the Mindrazer), no idea what decks would want to run him though - there are much better planeswalker-based draw engines for superfriends decks (like Ob Nixilis Reignited and Teferi, Hero of Dominaria).

[DirkGently]

Baby Jace probably gets the award for most times my opponents have whined "Why are you attacking him? He's drawing you caaaaards..."

1) because I'm doing you the courtesy of assuming you are competent enough to have put the card in your deck for a reason.
2) because I've built my decks to function effectively without outside assistance (usually), so you're probably helping the other players more than me.
3) because dealing a few damage face just isn't that impactful

Yes, he's a low priority planeswalker, but whenever there's a planeswalker on board I'm probably going to attack it instead of face unless I'm pretty confident about the landscape.

[Igzex]

Ahhh a classic.

Though I'm with Dirk on this one. Trust no planeswalkers. I don't care if you're drawing me cards. I don't even care if you're actually Tibalt. I'm slapping those loyalty counters offa ya.

[3drinks]

Sunday, September 5th, 2021; Mizzium Tank

"Tell me you have Prowess without telling me you have Prowess."

[3drinks]

Ahhh a classic.

Though I'm with Dirk on this one. Trust no planeswalkers. I don't care if you're drawing me cards. I don't even care if you're actually Tibalt. I'm slapping those loyalty counters offa ya.

You leave my Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded|sld alone!

[Serenade]

This one always bummed me out because it immediately dies to the wrath you cast.

[onering]

I like that it's crew cost is really a fail state. This thing can so easily be triggered without creatures, and can get huge. A nice semi storm beater.

[ilovesaprolings]

I remember this thing crushing me to death in draft
don't see it very useful in commander

[hyalopterouslemur]

This one always bummed me out because it immediately dies to the wrath you cast.

Not necessarily. Damage-based wraths are a thing in red.

[Igzex]

You leave my Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded|sld alone!

I cannot be reasoned with. I cannot stop until there are no planeswalkers on the table besides my own!

As for Mizzium Tank. Kinda meh. There are better cars to run people over with in this format.

[Mookie]

Yeah, Mizzium Tank seems like a miss in all but the most dedicated of vehicle decks - a 3/2 (or 4/3) with trample doesn't really cut it in EDH. I suppose one upside is that you can run it in creatureless decks for Polymorph shenanigans, but... there are a lot of options for that sort of thing.

I will call out the other members of its cycle - Silent Submersible and Vivien's Arkbow are also fairly underwhelming. Parhelion II is splashy, but expensive - eight mana + crew 4 is a lot.

....I think it's pretty safe to say that Bolas's Citadel is the winner of the 'WAR colored artifacts' cycle.

[3drinks]

Monday, September 6th, 2021; Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker

[hyalopterouslemur]

Chimney Imp?

[Igzex]

I had no idea this was reprinted as an uncommon! Looks like a good commander for me to brew an Oops no Rares 2...

[DirkGently]

Shirei is a textbook example of a commander that's insane while in play, but the deck crumbles without it. As such I didn't find it much fun to play since I was either annihilating all resistance or twiddling my thumbs. Also the literal win could be very tedious.

[toctheyounger]

Shirei is a textbook example of a commander that's insane while in play, but the deck crumbles without it. As such I didn't find it much fun to play since I was either annihilating all resistance or twiddling my thumbs. Also the literal win could be very tedious.

Precisely this. Great deck if you can keep him online, once he's gone you're toast.

[materpillar]

Shirei is a textbook example of a commander that's insane while in play, but the deck crumbles without it. As such I didn't find it much fun to play since I was either annihilating all resistance or twiddling my thumbs. Also the literal win could be very tedious.

I built heavily around leveraging Living End/Balthor the Defiled/Rise of the Dark Realms to give the deck some reach in case Shirei bit the dust a couple of times.

It was a fun deck to build but pretty snowbally as stated.

[Dunharrow]

So I love Shirei, but only played it in the 99 of Karador, Ghost Chieftain. It was in my original deck but is now in my spirit-tribal version only.
The card is great, and if it dies, Karador can replay it.
Because it's karador about half my creatures have 1 power anyway.. Kami of False Hope, Ashen-Skin Zubera, the rusalka cycle (Plagued Rusalka), the phantom creatures (Phantom Tiger) - how about sac Eidolon of Rhetoric, cast a bunch of spells, then it comes back eot to bug opponents?
I can see how he would be a 'glass cannon' general, but ya, definitely like in the 99.

[3drinks]

Tuesday, September 7th, 2021; Cavalier of Gales

[EonAon]

Cavalier Of Gales is one of those blue cards that is ok in design overall but will always be pushed out of a deck cause its utility is stapled to a triple blue, and blue usually is more of a splash color to most decks that play blue. Things like Cryptic Command where the cost has even more utility is more often used to justify the triple blue.