Now that M14 is fully spoiled are there any cards that stands out as a "windmill slam first pick no questions asked" in draft or "I drop this and I win" in a Sealed deck
Here are some for my opinion:
White: Archangel of Thune - Big flyer that grows your army Bonescythe Sliver - 4 mana 2/2 double strike is not very scary but partnered with other slivers will get ugly fast Seraph of the Sword - 4 mana flyer that is unkillable in combat can lay down the smackdown with decks that lacks removal/Giant spider Serra Angel - a Flyer that can go in the offensive and still play defense? sign me up
Blue: Colossal Whale - Big body, Evasion, and removal on a stick seems good enough though CMC is a bit of a problem Jace, Memory Adept - kills in 2 or so turns Windreader Sphinx - card advantage machine with a huge back end
Black: Nightmare/Corrupt- these will absolutely push me to mono black especially if I have them both Sengir Vampire - a 4/4 Flyer that must be answered and not just chumped Shadowborn Demon - Removal on a body, though drawback could be troublesome
Green: Enlarge - Though not as awesome as Overrun having an almost one sided boardwipe in green is awesome Garruk's Horde - 7/7 for 7 with pseudo-evasion and sometimes card advantage Howl of the Night Pack-Will likely push me to green and looking at the spoiler there are almost no board wipes to be aware of. Kalonian Hydra - Card is crazy Bonkers! Megantic Sliver - Collective blessing for Slivers, also makes your Mutavault (you lucky bastard) to a fearsome manland Woodborn Behemoth - Just get enough lands and an 8/8 Trample for 5 is almost game (barring removal)
Take note that these are my opinions only and not even expert opinions at that
So what are the cards in M14 would you consider as "Bombs" or First pickable ?
I don't think enlarge does what you think it does. See the rulings for Deadly Allure
"Must be blocked" = 1 blocker satisfies the requirement. "All creatures able to block..." is the pseudo Wrath effect you're looking for, most recently found on Armed // Dangerous.
Enlarge is a bigger version of the Phytoburst effect.
Phyrre: Really, I think a better comparison is Tower Above. You get a lot more damage through at the 'loss' of a targeted removal effect and a slightly higher cost in most cases.
"Must be blocked" = 1 blocker satisfies the requirement. "All creatures able to block..." is the pseudo Wrath effect you're looking for, most recently found on Armed // Dangerous.
Enlarge is a bigger version of the Phytoburst effect.
Crap read that wrong. Oh well atleast it grants trample At best it is could be a one sided board wipe (if their life is low enough) or at worst the creature would eat removal
Enlarge is AMAZING. You have to look at it as a big tempo removal spell that also does damage. I've been happy to cast it on a grizzly bear twiddling his thumbs after they tapped out for a 5-6 drop. They will have attacked with their other dudes then. I'm not dreaming when I spell out that scenario, it actually happens quite often that this window is available turns 4-7.
Enlarge is AMAZING. You have to look at it as a big tempo removal spell that also does damage. I've been happy to cast it on a grizzly bear twiddling his thumbs after they tapped out for a 5-6 drop. They will have attacked with their other dudes then. I'm not dreaming when I spell out that scenario, it actually happens quite often that this window is available turns 4-7.
That one situation you described sounds good, so obviously the card is AMAZING.
Seriously though, what you described is the absolute best case. What about when your opponent doesn't tap out and has something like Disperse? Still AMAZING?
That one situation you described sounds good, so obviously the card is AMAZING.
Seriously though, what you described is the absolute best case. What about when your opponent doesn't tap out and has something like Disperse? Still AMAZING?
Then you learn the lesson of not casting Enlarge into Disperse mana?
I don't think awaken the Ancient is good, that 1RRR is more like... 6 or so mana in terms of actually hitting the color requirements (in your average not ridiculously colour slanted deck how often do you hit RRR by turn 4? turn 5? turn 6 isn't even great odds) and it's a hasted 7/7 I guess which could be good, good easily be a 2 for 1 or you stare at your opponents deadly recluse and wonder how it all went so wrong.
I don't think awaken the Ancient is good, that 1RRR is more like... 6 or so mana in terms of actually hitting the color requirements (in your average not ridiculously colour slanted deck how often do you hit RRR by turn 4? turn 5? turn 6 isn't even great odds) and it's a hasted 7/7 I guess which could be good, good easily be a 2 for 1 or you stare at your opponents deadly recluse and wonder how it all went so wrong.
It's even worse considering that you need 4 mountain out of your first 5 lands if you want to use it the turn you cast it.
Primeval Bounty is a bomb. Every card you play after you put that out becomes ridiculous. Your lands help you recover from taking early damage, your creatures bring friends, and your other spells pump your army.
If I'm in red or if it's pack 1. I'm not passing a Goblin Diplomats for any non-rare. I only got to cast Boros Battleshaper once and it wasn't enough good times for me.
This one is more conducive to the beatdowns and that's fine too. You can still kill everything if you play a 4/4.
If I'm in red or if it's pack 1. I'm not passing a Goblin Diplomats for any non-rare. I only got to cast Boros Battleshaper once and it wasn't enough good times for me.
This one is more conducive to the beatdowns and that's fine too. You can still kill everything if you play a 4/4.
Goblin Diplomats is not even close to Battleshaper in any way, shape or form. The power of Battleshaper was that it would affect two creatures for both attacking and blocking. You get to pick off two creatures each turn cycle at the same time as you pacifism another. The 5/5 body meant that he was able to accomplish this without help from any other creature.
Goblin Diplomats is almost the same card as Alluring Siren, which was almost always unplayable. It is a 2/1, so I'd still take it later on and consider playing it, but I'd only first pick it out of a weak pack.
As for OPs post, I'm not a huge fan of first picking any 7-mana cards. For me, a card that expensive has to be exceptionally good so that it almost assures me the game immediately. I'd much rather use my first pick on a card for the core of my deck, or something flexible, like Doom Blade for example.
Agree with:
Archangel of Thune
Bonescythe Sliver (if you're going to try to force slivers)
Seraph of the Sword
Serra Angel
Shivan Dragon/Scourge of Valkas
Jace, Memory Adept
Sengir Vampire
Shadowborn Demon
Enlarge - not sure what people are talking about with this. It's a HOUSE.
Kalonian Hydra - Totally unfair card...
Disagree with:
Windreader Sphinx - too expensive/too slow
Nightmare/Corrupt - too expensive/too narrow/requires heavy commitment to black
Colossal Whale - Expensive/slow
Awaken the Ancient - Expensive/awkward/requires commitment to red
Thorncaster Sliver - Needs a ton of slivers to work well. Requires you to suicide your slivers in combat to make some plays.
Garruk's Horde - Big and slow. Takes a long time to get going.
Howl of the Night Pack - this card has been around forever and has never been a high pick.
Megantic Sliver - Just a big stupid guy. Sometimes he makes a few smaller dorks bigger, but usually no.
Woodborn Behemoth - Strictly meh. A 5-mana 4/4 is nothing to get excited about. The bonus is nice, but it's not something I want to rest the game on.
Goblin Diplomats is not even close to Battleshaper in any way, shape or form. The power of Battleshaper was that it would affect two creatures for both attacking and blocking. You get to pick off two creatures each turn cycle at the same time as you pacifism another. The 5/5 body meant that he was able to accomplish this without help from any other creature.
Goblin Diplomats is almost the same card as Alluring Siren, which was almost always unplayable. It is a 2/1, so I'd still take it later on and consider playing it, but I'd only first pick it out of a weak pack.
I never said that it was as good as a resolved Boros Battleshaper, just that I would never pass one. I love this effect.
I'm surprised there's no mention yet of Scavenging Ooze. Granted, it's not necessarily the outright best card to windmill slam, but it is fantastic. My buddy actually played Archangel + Scavenging Ooze against me in the event on Sunday. That game didn't last too long.
So far, I'm thinking that Kalonian Hydra might be the number one slam for the set with Archangel of Thune not too far behind. Archangel has in it's favor that when it gets removed with a Pacifism, Claustrophobia, etc. it could possibly still function for you.
(Also nice that all three of those are money... particularly Archangel and Hydra)
That one situation you described sounds good, so obviously the card is AMAZING.
Seriously though, what you described is the absolute best case. What about when your opponent doesn't tap out and has something like Disperse? Still AMAZING?
The card is as good as Overrun in most situations, and better in a lot of cases. The fact that there are cards that can be used to punish you if you play it carelessly doesn't make it not excellent.
Wit's End is the PERFECT answer to your opponent's Monomania however.
Just hold on to your Wit's End when they Monomania, so you can Wit's End them on your next turn!!!
I think this is fairly reminiscent of the "Jace Battles" we have seen in past standards.. My guess is we will soon witness the great Monomania-Wit's End battles.
The card is as good as Overrun in most situations, and better in a lot of cases. The fact that there are cards that can be used to punish you if you play it carelessly doesn't make it not excellent.
I'll be honest: I saw it played a little over this past weekend, and while I certainly think it's good, I have a hard time believing it's better than Overrun was. It seems like a combination of Lava Axe and Cruel Edict, which is absolutely fine for a single card, and a green one at that, but because it only targets a single creature rather than making your entire team a nightmare to block. I saw it target a Scroll Thief, which was pretty insane, but that was more of a closet case, from my experiences.
My issue isn't even that it can lead to a blowout against something like Doom Blade or Disperse, as that's the argument against any aura or pump spell. My issue is twofold: first, I find that cards that give my opponent's a choice under normal circumstances tend to be underwhelming against better competition. Sure, there are situations in which you can earn a solid Edict out of it when an opponent is trying to race with evasive guys, but so long as the opponent has 2 blockers available, you're still giving them a choice, unless their life total is really low. In those cases, it's obviously better, but at that point I would start to consider the "bad against instant-speed removal" argument more, as we'd be going further into best-case-scenario evaluation, which necessitates consideration of the converse, and especially if we're comparing it to Overrun.
Secondly, it's a green card (obviously). Green isn't all that good at keeping the board unpopulated to the extent that a 5-mana sorcery is going to limit your opponent's options to the extent necessary to make Enlarge do exactly what you want it to. I guess I'm worried it'll too often be a card with which you have to pick your spots, rather than one you can play proactively and usually have it do what you want it to do.
I'm evaluating holistically here, and without any real experiential evidence other than watching a friend whose play I respect running it, so I'm 100% open to the likelihood of me completely misevaluating it and the format as a whole. I guess I'm just surprised at the claims of its incredibly high power level; it's not that I think it's bad by any stretch.
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I never said that it was as good as a resolved Boros Battleshaper, just that I would never pass one. I love this effect.
And I'm saying that this effect is very weak, and has historically been the case. Battleshaper isn't at all a comparable card because it does a combination of so many things that come together for a very powerful effect.
In order for Goblin Diplomats to do something, you have to hold back blockers while your opponent has creatures that he normally wouldn't be attacking with. And because Diplomats has to tap to do this, it's not even like he can use himself to trade.
Basically this card is a 2/1 with an ability that on very rare occasions might do something relevant. But more often than not it's just a 2/1.
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Here are some for my opinion:
White:
Archangel of Thune - Big flyer that grows your army
Bonescythe Sliver - 4 mana 2/2 double strike is not very scary but partnered with other slivers will get ugly fast
Seraph of the Sword - 4 mana flyer that is unkillable in combat can lay down the smackdown with decks that lacks removal/Giant spider
Serra Angel - a Flyer that can go in the offensive and still play defense? sign me up
Blue:
Colossal Whale - Big body, Evasion, and removal on a stick seems good enough though CMC is a bit of a problem
Jace, Memory Adept - kills in 2 or so turns
Windreader Sphinx - card advantage machine with a huge back end
Black:
Nightmare/Corrupt- these will absolutely push me to mono black especially if I have them both
Sengir Vampire - a 4/4 Flyer that must be answered and not just chumped
Shadowborn Demon - Removal on a body, though drawback could be troublesome
Red:
Awaken the Ancient - 7/7 on turn 5 is nothing to laugh at
Shivan Dragon/Scourge of Valkas - Big bad dragons are always welcome
Thorncaster Sliver - Makes all your slivers pseudo removals
Green:
Enlarge - Though not as awesome as Overrun having an almost one sided boardwipe in green is awesome
Garruk's Horde - 7/7 for 7 with pseudo-evasion and sometimes card advantage
Howl of the Night Pack-Will likely push me to green and looking at the spoiler there are almost no board wipes to be aware of.
Kalonian Hydra - Card is crazy Bonkers!
Megantic Sliver - Collective blessing for Slivers, also makes your Mutavault (you lucky bastard) to a fearsome manland
Woodborn Behemoth - Just get enough lands and an 8/8 Trample for 5 is almost game (barring removal)
Take note that these are my opinions only and not even expert opinions at that
So what are the cards in M14 would you consider as "Bombs" or First pickable ?
"Must be blocked" = 1 blocker satisfies the requirement. "All creatures able to block..." is the pseudo Wrath effect you're looking for, most recently found on Armed // Dangerous.
Enlarge is a bigger version of the Phytoburst effect.
Crap read that wrong. Oh well atleast it grants trample At best it is could be a one sided board wipe (if their life is low enough) or at worst the creature would eat removal
That one situation you described sounds good, so obviously the card is AMAZING.
Seriously though, what you described is the absolute best case. What about when your opponent doesn't tap out and has something like Disperse? Still AMAZING?
Then you learn the lesson of not casting Enlarge into Disperse mana?
I don't think awaken the Ancient is good, that 1RRR is more like... 6 or so mana in terms of actually hitting the color requirements (in your average not ridiculously colour slanted deck how often do you hit RRR by turn 4? turn 5? turn 6 isn't even great odds) and it's a hasted 7/7 I guess which could be good, good easily be a 2 for 1 or you stare at your opponents deadly recluse and wonder how it all went so wrong.
It's even worse considering that you need 4 mountain out of your first 5 lands if you want to use it the turn you cast it.
I mean I haven't played sealed yet, maybe you open Awaken p1 p2 and slam red for the next 22 cards.
Still doubt it.
This one is more conducive to the beatdowns and that's fine too. You can still kill everything if you play a 4/4.
Older Magic as a Board Game: Panglacial Wurm , Mill
Goblin Diplomats is not even close to Battleshaper in any way, shape or form. The power of Battleshaper was that it would affect two creatures for both attacking and blocking. You get to pick off two creatures each turn cycle at the same time as you pacifism another. The 5/5 body meant that he was able to accomplish this without help from any other creature.
Goblin Diplomats is almost the same card as Alluring Siren, which was almost always unplayable. It is a 2/1, so I'd still take it later on and consider playing it, but I'd only first pick it out of a weak pack.
As for OPs post, I'm not a huge fan of first picking any 7-mana cards. For me, a card that expensive has to be exceptionally good so that it almost assures me the game immediately. I'd much rather use my first pick on a card for the core of my deck, or something flexible, like Doom Blade for example.
Agree with:
Archangel of Thune
Bonescythe Sliver (if you're going to try to force slivers)
Seraph of the Sword
Serra Angel
Shivan Dragon/Scourge of Valkas
Jace, Memory Adept
Sengir Vampire
Shadowborn Demon
Enlarge - not sure what people are talking about with this. It's a HOUSE.
Kalonian Hydra - Totally unfair card...
Disagree with:
Windreader Sphinx - too expensive/too slow
Nightmare/Corrupt - too expensive/too narrow/requires heavy commitment to black
Colossal Whale - Expensive/slow
Awaken the Ancient - Expensive/awkward/requires commitment to red
Thorncaster Sliver - Needs a ton of slivers to work well. Requires you to suicide your slivers in combat to make some plays.
Garruk's Horde - Big and slow. Takes a long time to get going.
Howl of the Night Pack - this card has been around forever and has never been a high pick.
Megantic Sliver - Just a big stupid guy. Sometimes he makes a few smaller dorks bigger, but usually no.
Woodborn Behemoth - Strictly meh. A 5-mana 4/4 is nothing to get excited about. The bonus is nice, but it's not something I want to rest the game on.
Older Magic as a Board Game: Panglacial Wurm , Mill
So far, I'm thinking that Kalonian Hydra might be the number one slam for the set with Archangel of Thune not too far behind. Archangel has in it's favor that when it gets removed with a Pacifism, Claustrophobia, etc. it could possibly still function for you.
(Also nice that all three of those are money... particularly Archangel and Hydra)
The card is as good as Overrun in most situations, and better in a lot of cases. The fact that there are cards that can be used to punish you if you play it carelessly doesn't make it not excellent.
I'll be honest: I saw it played a little over this past weekend, and while I certainly think it's good, I have a hard time believing it's better than Overrun was. It seems like a combination of Lava Axe and Cruel Edict, which is absolutely fine for a single card, and a green one at that, but because it only targets a single creature rather than making your entire team a nightmare to block. I saw it target a Scroll Thief, which was pretty insane, but that was more of a closet case, from my experiences.
My issue isn't even that it can lead to a blowout against something like Doom Blade or Disperse, as that's the argument against any aura or pump spell. My issue is twofold: first, I find that cards that give my opponent's a choice under normal circumstances tend to be underwhelming against better competition. Sure, there are situations in which you can earn a solid Edict out of it when an opponent is trying to race with evasive guys, but so long as the opponent has 2 blockers available, you're still giving them a choice, unless their life total is really low. In those cases, it's obviously better, but at that point I would start to consider the "bad against instant-speed removal" argument more, as we'd be going further into best-case-scenario evaluation, which necessitates consideration of the converse, and especially if we're comparing it to Overrun.
Secondly, it's a green card (obviously). Green isn't all that good at keeping the board unpopulated to the extent that a 5-mana sorcery is going to limit your opponent's options to the extent necessary to make Enlarge do exactly what you want it to. I guess I'm worried it'll too often be a card with which you have to pick your spots, rather than one you can play proactively and usually have it do what you want it to do.
I'm evaluating holistically here, and without any real experiential evidence other than watching a friend whose play I respect running it, so I'm 100% open to the likelihood of me completely misevaluating it and the format as a whole. I guess I'm just surprised at the claims of its incredibly high power level; it's not that I think it's bad by any stretch.
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Alluring siren is almost always playable and occasionally exciting. Diplomats has a bigger body and bigger effect, so it's gotta be an earlier pick.
And I'm saying that this effect is very weak, and has historically been the case. Battleshaper isn't at all a comparable card because it does a combination of so many things that come together for a very powerful effect.
In order for Goblin Diplomats to do something, you have to hold back blockers while your opponent has creatures that he normally wouldn't be attacking with. And because Diplomats has to tap to do this, it's not even like he can use himself to trade.
Basically this card is a 2/1 with an ability that on very rare occasions might do something relevant. But more often than not it's just a 2/1.