[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Argothian Enchantress

[BeneTleilax]

Turns out this is good in Krenko.

[Sinis]

Friday, February 25th, 2022; Battlemage's Bracers

The only thing that weirds me out about today's post is that Illusionist's Bracers is now a $10 card?

Anyway, this card seems fine. I never managed make Illusionist's Bracers go, but I went out and got a copy of this one anyway, in case there was ever something where I wanted to play it. Zacama, Primal Calamity? Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker? Anything with Firebreathing? Well, not firebreathing stuff. I'm sure it's good somewhere.

[Hawk]

As a haste outlet, this isn't that great. Sure, Fervor, Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots are sort of bank-breaking these days but the last few years have seen red in particular nab Crystal Slipper, Boots of Speed, and Rabbit Battery alognside Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei and classic effects like Mark of Fury and Hammer of Purphoros as some budget-friendly alternatives. If this were, say, blue or green it'd be notable that it grants haste, but Red is the king of haste and has a half dozen better ways to do it outside of classic boots.

But as a budget Illusionist's Bracers it is fine. The safety valve is annoying, but many of the best Rx commanders who would want this were realistcally only going to activate once/turn anyways (Osgir, the Reconstructor, Krenko, Mob Boss, Feldon of the Third Path, Brion Stoutarm, etc.).

[hyalopterouslemur]

The safety valve really hurts it, as does being red (and thus it can't be used in a lot of decks that want it).

Things like Slimefoot, the Stowaway, Jalira, Master Polymorphist, Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord, Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim, Jazal Goldmane, Hanna, Ship's Navigator, Dralnu, Lich Lord, Izoni, Thousand-Eyed, Rhonas the Indomitable, Kamahl, Fist of Krosa, Nylea, God of the Hunt, Marrow-Gnawer, Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca, Hua, Tuo, Honored Physician, Uyo, Silent Prophet, Sygg, River Guide, Ghave, Guru of Spores. and Satsuki, the Living Lore can't exploit it. Probably more I can't think of.

7/10 It's a nerf, so it has to be this way.

[BeneTleilax]

I like safety valves like this; generally solid synergy cards that backdoor into combo are probably the greatest contributor to unintentional power creep and combo dominance.

[Serenade]

This card always felt like a trap. It's so much mana. (I really only thought about it in the context of Nin, the Pain Artist, though.)

[TheAmericanSpirit]

Eh, I've built a few decks around one activated ability or another in my time and doubling output never seemed quite as valuable as simple untap effects. Of course, doubling gains a lot of value if the activated ability in question has a moderate to steep cost attached to it, whereas untap effects like Mobilize are much better when the cost is only a simple tap. I'd probably play Instill Energy over this though, they're basically the same outside of card type.

MAJOR EDIT: I only now realized that instill energy's pseudo haste doesn't apply to abilities. I have been playing that card wrong for years.

[3drinks]

Saturday, February 26th, 2022; Cranial Plating

Y'know with all the rampant treasure production, this is probably a sneaky Voltron kill in more than a few decks...

[Dragoon]

I got an early kill with it last night with my Breya, Etherium Shaper deck. With all the artifact lands now available and the tokens from Breya, I could start hitting for 10+ damage on turn 4.

[Sinis]

Saturday, February 26th, 2022; Cranial Plating

Y'know with all the rampant treasure production, this is probably a sneaky Voltron kill in more than a few decks...

With all the treasure around, I killed a table with it using Marionette Master.

[RowanKeltizar]

Cranial Plating is a true classic in my mind. It's absolutely crushing in my artifacts only atraxa build and I often tutor for it with my limited tutors if I can. Notably it doesn't boost the creature's toughness like Nettlecyst but the ability to equip at instant speed is fantastic if you are trying to push damage through and can afford to leave the mana open.

Lifelink on Atraxa makes it especially killer. This is probably one of Bronze Guardian's favorite equipments.

[Mookie]

I've run Cranial Plating in the past in my Sharuum deck. It ultimately got cut because it doesn't really contribute to the primary gameplan (combo), but it's definitely a legitimate win condition for an artifact-based deck, particularly if you have an evasive commander. It isn't difficult for it to be providing +5/+0 or more, which is incredibly efficient for its cost... and even more if you back it up with treasure / clue / food / other token production. It reminds me a bit of Blackblade Reforged, which fills a similar role in its ability to turn any creature into a threat - Cranial Plating is more limited in the decks it can go in, but also much more efficient to play / equip. The instant-speed equip also means it can be difficult to effectively block.

I would say the primary issue with Cranial Plating is its color identity - black ranks fourth in artifact synergies, ahead of green but behind blue / red / white. There certainly are black artifact-based commanders, but the only ones I could see myself wanting to voltron up are Armix, Filigree Thrasher and Alela, Artful Provocateur. Contrast that with the many Boros equipment-based decks out there that would love to have access to Cranial Plating. As a result, I feel like I only ever see it in 4C decks like Akiri, Line-Slinger // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept. Maybe if we ever go back to Alara, we'll see more black artifact decks. I guess there is some support in NEO, but still not much compared to what blue and red got.

[hyalopterouslemur]

I mean, it's a good sneaky win. If you just want to win, it's great. But Johnny won't like it as much.

Also, now I want to use Bludgeon Brawl and Goblin Gaveleer in a treasure deck. Not as impressive as adding Mycosynth Lattice and swinging with mountains, but still, sounds fun.

[Hawk]

An iconic classic that can contribute to some sneaky wins in Treasure-centric decks like Prosper, Tome-Bound or artifact-centric decks like <insert vast array of commanders here>. It should be noted, however, that if you are looking for a "sneaky win with treasures" this competes with Disciple of the Vault, Mayhem Devil, and Marionette Master that accomplish the same thing no combat phase required (or, if you had enough treasures for this to spell L-E-T-H-A-L, you might be in range to just win off of Revel in Riches...).

So this is definitely better in an artifact deck that has a low-to-the-ground love of combat or a commander that is open to rumbling, Voltron-style, for a win: I imagine it's great in any Silas Renn, Seeker Adept + partners deck, and it was great in the short-lived Alela, Artful Provocateur deck my wife had and in her current Lurrus of the Dream-Den Tempered Steel Aggro deck.

[capitacommunist]

It's an absolutely amazing card, and one of the strongest artifact synergies in black with Marionette Master. It makes the commander of an artifact deck a large threat at instant speed. It also combines very well with Inkmoth Nexus, which is in any case a staple in any artifact deck with Arcbound Ravager. I think it's far better than Disciple of the Vault as an artifact payoff.

[3drinks]

It's an absolutely amazing card, and one of the strongest artifact synergies in black with Marionette Master. It makes the commander of an artifact deck a large threat at instant speed. It also combines very well with Inkmoth Nexus, which is in any case a staple in any artifact deck with Arcbound Ravager. I think it's far better than Disciple of the Vault as an artifact payoff.

This is the stuff that makes me want to go Alesha shops more than any other Alesha strat I've done. I suppose Lurrus works as well, though you lose dockside.

[plushpenguin]

This thing is much less of a beatdown card as a combo piece to go with Marionette Master or Inkmoth Nexus. While the latter will only kill 1 player, the former will absolutely wipe a table in very short order.

Even if my Marchesa affinity deck almost never wins via combat anymore, this equipment still puts in a flavorfully amazing amount of work.

Now I'm tempted to drop this onto Kappa Cannoneer and let it run...

[3drinks]

Sunday, February 27th, 2022; Phantasmal Image

Return phantasmal with sun titties, copy sun, then return phantasmal on trigger, copy sun, then.............

[Mookie]

Phantasmal Image is a sweet card. It does die to approximately everything, but two mana to copy a valuable ETB effect is a great deal. It doesn't work very well with flicker effects, but, as mentioned, it is possible to recur it with Sun Titan and stuff like Reveillark, which can make it a valuable combo piece. It also goes infinite alongside Palinchron and seven lands, which can be relevant. Definitely worth consideration if you're looking to run Clone effects - it's one of the cheapest clones available.

...that said, if you're not just looking to copy ETB / LTB effects and actually care about having your copied creature stick around, it does go down in value - it's not as useful for copying threats like Eldrazi or Blightsteel Colossus because, unlike those creatures, it is very vulnerable to removal. Of course, most targeted spells in the format are removal spells anyway... but the fact that the removal is guaranteed to work (barring a Stifle effect) and can't be stopped by countermagic or other protection spells means your opponents will fire it off with zero hesitation.

[Serenade]

One instance where I am shocked the price has dropped so much.

[hyalopterouslemur]

This reminds me of a time I was facing a Sun Titan combo deck back during ZEN-SOM Standard.

My Vampire Nighthawk had a Blade of the Bloodchief equipped, and I ended up hitting something like 26/27 before I just said enough and swung.

@Serenade look at its partner costing less than a dollar.

[PrimevalCommander]

One of my favorite clones. And if you copy an ETB or Death trigger creature, you can get it to stick around long enough to do some attacking or blocking. Unless someone has a pesky land or something that targets a creature. But even so, 2 mana is usually always worth it.

[3drinks]

Monday, February 28th, 2022; Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist

[Melua]

I'm still stunned that they thought Ludevic fit this card.

[benjameenbear]

The flavor butchery of this card is one of the pinnacles of WOTC creative failure imo. It's like they had this card designed except for a legendary character and they did legendary character roulette.

There isn't a SINGLE reference to Zombies, necromancy, or anything at ALL related to what Ludevic does in regards to his trigger. Hell, he barely has a reference to Zombies in his flavor text. So useless.