[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Argothian Enchantress

[DirkGently]

Even in Zirilan I think the card is fairly weak. They've printed quite a few similar cards by this point, so boggy is always right on the edge of playability. Basically any other deck I think has better options. For 8 mana it's really not very strong.

[3drinks]

Wednesday, March 20th 2024; Grave-Shell Scarab

[yeti1069]

Wednesday, March 20th 2024; Grave-Shell Scarab

This was very strong in Ravnica draft, and then in my Savra, Queen of the Golgari deck before I got into EDH.

Here...now...? It's just not good. Everything it does is too low-impact and too slow. If you want to be self-milling/dredging, you want to do so for more than 1 card at a time, and you don't want to pay 5 mana to recast the card each time. If you want to sacrifice your own creatures, you don't want to have to pay mana to do so, and you want a bigger payoff/stronger effect than drawing 1 card, especially for 5(+1) mana. A 4/4 for 5 with no board-presence or combat-relevant abilities is also well behind rate these days.

If this drew 2+ cards, it might start to look interesting, but even then, probably not.

[Mookie]

Grave-Shell Scarab looks like a card that made more sense when damage was on the stack. Trade with an opposing creature, draw a card with damage on the stack, then dredge it back to repeat the process... seems like a reasonable grindy option. I think it's too slow these days though. 4/4 for 5 is pretty meh in terms of stats, there are better options for filling the graveyard, and a single card isn't an exciting payoff. I guess it's an insect for Zask, Skittering Swarmlord, but it doesn't actually work very well with Zask.

Overall, I think Underrealm Lich outclasses Grave-Shell Scarab on pretty much every metric.

[Guardman]

One of my favorite stories with this card is back when it was previewed. Almost everyone thought this was going to be the strongest dredge creature and chase rare of the set because it could draw a card and only had Dredge 1. Nobody realized just how powerful those high dredge numbers were going to be. And while not commander related, I would like to see a draft format with Dredge again since it is only in limited where it plays like it was intended to.

[DirkGently]

I love the design of this card, but the years have not been kind to its power level. That said, EDHrec informs me that it does have a pretty decent use case in Amzu, Swarm's Hunger, so it's not a total zero.

I could see three options to make the card more broadly relevant without changing its core identity:

1) Make it a 1/1 for 2.
2) Make it dredge 5.
3) Make it a 6/6 deathtouch trample or something

[TheAmericanSpirit]

I liked this in Henzie "Toolbox" Torre. It beats, it retreats, and keeps your hand fueled. It wasn't a standout roleplayer or anything, but it fulfilled its niche well enough.

[onering]

Yeah, I could definitely see it playing well in Henzie, 5 mana to attack with a 4/4 haste and draw 2 cards (one from blitz the other from sac) and then dredge it to repeat. Unfortunately, the dredge to repeat costs you a draw so you really only see one extra card per turn. If you've cast Henzie a few times though, it becomes pretty good (by lowering the total cost to 3 or 4 mana).

[Dunadain]

This is the exact sort of slow engine that I love. Glad to see people are finding ways to use it in Commander.

👍

[3drinks]

Thursday, March 21st 2024; Nezumi Graverobber // Nighteyes the Desecrator

[Sinis]

Nezumi Graverobber used to be in all my black decks... it's fallen off, I think. It's just, perhaps, not efficient enough in throughput or cost (c.f. Scooze, Withered Wretch, Deathrite Shaman, Tymaret, etc.)

I think part of Nezumi Graverobber's fall is that games play much more efficiently than they did 10 years ago. I'm more likely to run Heap Doll or Soul-Guide Lantern as dedicated hate than something like this.

[BeneTleilax]

I think part of Nezumi Graverobber's fall is that games play much more efficiently than they did 10 years ago. I'm more likely to run Heap Doll or Soul-Guide Lantern as dedicated hate than something like this.

I remember Tormods Crypt and Bog being used to flip him. His first side was always mediocre even before it was thoroughly outclassed. What really did him in, I think, is the better options for repeated reanimation between Sheoldred, Geth and Meren. He's still fine as a generic value engine that requires some setup, but generic value engines that need setup have fallen off.

[Sinis]

I think part of Nezumi Graverobber's fall is that games play much more efficiently than they did 10 years ago. I'm more likely to run Heap Doll or Soul-Guide Lantern as dedicated hate than something like this.

I remember Tormods Crypt and Bog being used to flip him. His first side was always mediocre even before it was thoroughly outclassed. What really did him in, I think, is the better options for repeated reanimation between Sheoldred, Geth and Meren. He's still fine as a generic value engine that requires some setup, but generic value engines that need setup have fallen off.

I don't think Bog and crypt work to flip him. The targeted card has to still be in the graveyard, or the ability is countered, right?

Anyway, stuff like Kenrith, the Returned King exists.

[Mookie]

I like Nezumi Graverobber // Nighteyes the Desecrator's design, but I will agree that it is too slow these days. Withered Wretch and Tymaret, Chosen from Death are better on the front side, while paying five mana on the backside looks poor compared to stuff like Archpriest of Shadows and Drana, the Last Bloodchief. They may require some building around, but they don't cost five mana to activate.

That said, any meta were Nezumi Graverobber is playable sounds like a sweet meta.

I'll call out Lion Sash and Scavenging Ooze as options in other colors, but I've found myself playing less grave hate these days. There used to be a perpetual call for people to run more grave hate, but I haven't heard anyone say that recently. That may be due to my meta, which tends to be light on graveyard stuff, but it does feel like the format has gotten a bit less graveyard-centric over time. I suppose we also have stronger hate cards, like Unlicensed Hearse and Agatha's Soul Cauldron. Hmmm...

[PrimevalCommander]

Couple of oldies popping up this week. Nice to see.

I think there are some good arguments for why we don't see graverobber any more. The reanimation payoff it a bit expensive, and so is the grave hate. Generally if you hitting cards 1-for-1 you only want to be paying 1 mana each, or get some additional value on each activation (Stonecloaker maybe). Both sides are overcosted these days, which makes the package less viable than a more efficient card that only does one or the other.

Good for modest power tables since grave hate is still highly relevant. Might need to look at my budget Sefris deck to see if it could use this card.

[3drinks]

Iirc I still have a salvat Graverobber in Alesha and it's not the worst card. Flipped Night eyes is still pretty sick when you can untap with it. Instant speed repeatable Rise from the Grave is no joke. Just slow and needs to be protected but that doesn't mean it still can't take over a game when unchecked.

[Treamayne]

I don't think Bog and crypt work to flip him. The targeted card has to still be in the graveyard, or the ability is countered, right?

I thought the technique of the day was to empty the yard, then use his ability on the first binned card after it was empty. . .

That said,., I have this in my Mono-B Rats - Cause it's on-theme and can be useful - the instant-speed timing has come in useful a few times, Since I don't over-use either ability, they forget and set up combos and I exile or animate in-reponse. It's function (for me) is more "tactically disrupt" and not "use this every turn."

But then I'll almost always choose "weak on-theme" over "good stuff/best-in-class" for deck slots when possible.

[Dunadain]

Neat card, don't think it's particularly good.

👍

[yeti1069]

I feel like the flipped side, as a standalone would be solid, but the setup is a bit cumbersome.

[3drinks]

Friday, March 22nd 2024; The War Doctor

Idk anything about the IP and don't care to, but this feels strong enough I think. Really plays into white's strengths in protection and red's ability to clock people while also offering removal if you need it.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

I think the major thing I dislike about this is the time required to reset after removal. If it worked with experience counters or energy I think it would be much stronger.

[3drinks]

Oh wait that's any card, I thought it was just your cards. Geez. Just main this with Stone of Erech that's Sagable and let this thing carry you. Geez.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

Oh wait that's any card, I thought it was just your cards. Geez. Just main this with Stone of Erech that's Sagable and let this thing carry you. Geez.

The "one or more" clause limits the utility of mass grave hate. You could exile thirty cards and still only get one time counter.

[BeneTleilax]

I thought the technique of the day was to empty the yard, then use his ability on the first binned card after it was empty. . .

Yep, or if you wanted to be really technical, exile their yard when they cast an instant/sorcery, then Nezumi that when it resolves.

I find Doctor Who to be one of the worst UBs, and I don't like any UBs except Lord of the Rings. Anyway, the War Doctor doesn't do anything that a flicker deck really wants (is neither A nor B of a very A/B archetype, gets reset if you flicker him, and has no inherent protection). He's also slower than Alibou, Ancient Witness as a damage dealer without any of Alibou's other upsides.

[Mookie]

The War Doctor looks fine. He's a repeatable source of burn / removal, assuming you can get a few time counters on him. Throw in Norin the Wary or some other repeatable source of flicker, plus some extra combats, and I could see you burning out opponents without too much difficulty. There are probably also some sweet combos with some of the Doctor companions.

But... does any of this excite me? Not really, no. I feel like the UB cards I'm willing to play tend to be very neutral in flavor, to the extent that I could see them printed into a normal Magic set. Displaced Dinosaurs and Orcish Bowmasters are fine to me - MTG also has dinosaurs and orcs. However, I rarely find myself wanting to run legendary UB cards. To me, there is extra friction when adding UB cards to decks because UB cards just feel less interesting - regardless of power level - unless they're from a series I actually care about.