Venser is definitely strong. this will probably get hype costed up to more than its really worth but i expect it will eventually see play in several tier 1 decks. UW control could use this card effectively and dedicated Venser decks might even be possible.
Venser's +2 lets you reuse EtB effects on anything, including double dipping on titans (can still attack, just use it during second main phase). It ALSO lets you reset loyalty counts on Planeswalkers so you can combine this with a walker with a powerful -X loyalty ability to keep reusing it.
The -1 ability seems less exciting but is still going to be very useful. It makes Sun Titan and Frost Titan that much more appealing by turning their lack of evasion into a non-issue.
I did notice the +2 ability stated 'Target Permanent you own.' That's weird IMO.
And the UW shell can include this even just with the +2. Imagine this on turn 5, and on turn 6 you get out say Frost Titan. Then use this ability, your opponent just had 2 stuff tapped. WOW.
So looking forward to SoM.
So you're going to tap out on the turn that decks can lay down Baneslayer Angel or Vampire Hexmage with no way to stop them? Even if you can flicker your Frost Titan on the following turn, it seems pretty terrible to waste a turn that sets up to build pressure on an opponent but doesn't actually do anything so late into the game. Don't get me wrong, I love Venser. I just don't think he has a home in Standard as it stands. I'll definitely be playing with him in my Grand Arbiter EDH deck though.
Venser is at the perfect power level. His abilities are good when you focus on them, but he certainly is not broken.
That said, he is one of the best EDH Planeswalkers I have ever seen. Note the first ability says 'you own', so you can blink stuff stolen by other players in EDH and get it back.
ah you beat me to it! I do find that strange, since it stops you from blinking things you've stolen.
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I play 2 Headed Giant. Yes there are people who play that format; No I'm not crazy.
God do I love blinking. Such a versatile ability. In fact when I was thinking up multicolor planeswalkers I made a U/W that blinked permanents. Of course the one I made was overpowered since I never tested it but whatever.
Venser is going to be ridiculously expensive. Ugh. He will be a mandatory piece of UW, though probably not as a 4x due to cmc.
Still, he bounces lands to CITP abilities or to have mana open for counters, omens, oracle, titan, give creatures vigilance, resets himself and other walkers, works in aggro thanks to alpha strike potential. What an absolute HOUSE. And we haven't even seen what kind of love control is going to get from the rest of Scars. As if UW needed more love. Glad I started putting together my UW stuff when worldwake came out, jesus. States is going to be won by the deck that correctly meta-boards for UW
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Modern RG RG Tron GR RUG RUG Twin RUG X Affinity X
Everyone is going to call me a bandwagon-jumping power gamer for this, but Venser is like my favorite planeswalker ever.
No way, man. This card is neat.
I like Venser as a character, but that's besides the point.
What we have hear is something that allows UW Control to actually expand into different directions. Sure, he fits into the normal builds, but he also allows more Wall of Omens, Sea Gate Oracle and other creature-based control decks.
He makes sure that Sun Titan doesn't get chump blocked. He untaps things to protect himself, allowing you to slowly peck away at your opponents while still playing defensively.
Most of all, every ability on him requires a lot of thinking. I love this card!
That is a nice thing to note on +2 is that if "steal" effects get commonplace, you can go hogwild. (As some have theorized might exist as a Phyrexian thing - since they corrupt and send in sleeper agents)
Also a natural paring with "switcheroo effects" if any come in Scars.
Of course, got a weird rulings question - tokens that come from spells/effects you control are owned by you I'm 95% sure - but what about tokens from those oddball spells that give tokens to both players, who's considered the owner for cards like Venser in that case?
The token rule was changed with M2010. Whoever is the controller of the token when the token comes into play is the owner of it.
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Venser looks really fun, but I don't really see him having many uses. Honestly, I could see him being fair at 4 mana. Don't quote me on that, though. Wall of Omens does look like it could be powerful, and you can untap a land you control if you want to get a Baneslayer out with 6 mana, but still want to be able to Mana Leak. So he seems really useful, but not game winning.
Memnite is just hilarious. I thought that art would be a huge creature. I've always thought a vanilla 1/1 for 0 would be really good, but definitely fair.
Clone Shell seems expensive, but could make Summoning Trap decks a little more consistent.
Steel Hellkite seems pretty crazy. I'll need one for EDH. Wait, Experiment Kraj can get that second ability. I'll need a couple of these.
Ezuri's Brigade seems way too good, but more forgivable in the least artifact-friendly color. I'm hoping nongreen metalcraft abilities aren't as powerful as that though. Also, this silences all the people who are saying "it's not an artifact block, it just has a lot of artifacts".
Darksteel Axe seems like a nerfed Bonesplitter. Still good, but the indestructibility probably doesn't matter as much as the +1 equip cost. And this proves Mark Rosewater failed at getting indestructibility turned into a keyword.
Ichor Rats is a sweet infect card. I feel like all infect/poison-giving cards will be phyrexian.
Did anyone realize that Venser can blink himself? Wow, so if burn your spells cant kill him right away, he will come back with 3 counters. And he can do it over and over and over on your turn if he ever gets too low!
EDIT: Aww the Myrs look less bird-like then last time T.T I will use my old ones
Lol, Venser with the Ichor Rats. Draws the game in five turns Of course horribly inefficient but funny.
Did anyone realize that Venser can blink himself? Wow, so if burn your spells cant kill him right away, he will come back with 5 counters. And he can do it over and over and over on your turn if he ever gets too low!
He would come back into play with only 3 counters though, within Bolt range.
It's an expensive Bonesplitter...how often did you have to worry about someone destroying that back when Mirrodin was legal?
Phylactery Lich will be crawling all over this guy.
But regardless, you have to remember that equipment was pretty unbalanced during the Mirrodin block. What are the best equipment cards in standard right now? Basilisk Collar, Behemoth Sledge, and Sword of Vengence. Only the Collar sees a heavy amount of plays nowadays, and that's because it's so agressively costed and has a funny little combo to go with it. Ever since Mirrodin Block ended, with rare exception, equipment has always been overcosted and basically useless in the competitive arena. It's just nice to see WoTC giving us better equipment at a low cost.
What we have hear is something that allows UW Control to actually expand into different directions. Sure, he fits into the normal builds, but he also allows more Wall of Omens, Sea Gate Oracle and other creature-based control decks.
Yes! Exactly! This is what I like about him. Creature-based blue/white control (y'know, back from the Serra Angel era :p) is one of my favorite decks from when I was but a wee lad, so anything that hearkens back to that is something I've got a soft spot in my heart for.
Did anyone realize that Venser can blink himself? Wow, so if burn your spells cant kill him right away, he will come back with 5 counters. And he can do it over and over and over on your turn if he ever gets too low!
EDIT: Aww the Myrs look less bird-like then last time T.T I will use my old ones
Not when he comes back during the end step; no sorcery-speed abilities for you! He'll reset to 3 (but he'll reset to 3 under any circumstance anyway, since he'll need at least 1 counter to reset to start!).
Did anyone realize that Venser can blink himself? Wow, so if burn your spells cant kill him right away, he will come back with 5 counters. And he can do it over and over and over on your turn if he ever gets too low!
EDIT: Aww the Myrs look less bird-like then last time T.T I will use my old ones
Well, the blink ability is 'eot' not immediate, but it is still an interesting function of the card.
You can use it on him, then wipe the board with AID or something.
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Ooh, Thrummingbird is really fun. I want more Simic-colored proliferation. But I expected "when this hits a player, proliferate" effects to be on creatures with infect.
Ichorclaw Myr is a really neat use of Infect. Great design.
Gobling Gaveleer makes me hope for more equipment-loving goblins so I can make a goblin tribal equipment deck.
The token rule was changed with M2010. Whoever is the controller of the token when the token comes into play is the owner of it.
I had a feeling it was that way, just wasn't absolutely sure, thanks for the confirmation of my hunch.
And Thrummingbird definitely looks to be a sign that Proliferate will definitely be worth keeping in mind - evasive 1/1 that Proliferate's on damage seems to give the mechanic potential more than Clasp did.
Venser's +2 lets you reuse EtB effects on anything, including double dipping on titans (can still attack, just use it during second main phase). It ALSO lets you reset loyalty counts on Planeswalkers so you can combine this with a walker with a powerful -X loyalty ability to keep reusing it.
The -1 ability seems less exciting but is still going to be very useful. It makes Sun Titan and Frost Titan that much more appealing by turning their lack of evasion into a non-issue.
So you're going to tap out on the turn that decks can lay down Baneslayer Angel or Vampire Hexmage with no way to stop them? Even if you can flicker your Frost Titan on the following turn, it seems pretty terrible to waste a turn that sets up to build pressure on an opponent but doesn't actually do anything so late into the game. Don't get me wrong, I love Venser. I just don't think he has a home in Standard as it stands. I'll definitely be playing with him in my Grand Arbiter EDH deck though.
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It's an expensive Bonesplitter...how often did you have to worry about someone destroying that back when Mirrodin was legal?
ah you beat me to it! I do find that strange, since it stops you from blinking things you've stolen.
Lets you use the ability to regain control of stolen stuff. Pretty neat!
Still, he bounces lands to CITP abilities or to have mana open for counters, omens, oracle, titan, give creatures vigilance, resets himself and other walkers, works in aggro thanks to alpha strike potential. What an absolute HOUSE. And we haven't even seen what kind of love control is going to get from the rest of Scars. As if UW needed more love. Glad I started putting together my UW stuff when worldwake came out, jesus. States is going to be won by the deck that correctly meta-boards for UW
Modern
RG RG Tron GR
RUG RUG Twin RUG
X Affinity X
No way, man. This card is neat.
I like Venser as a character, but that's besides the point.
What we have hear is something that allows UW Control to actually expand into different directions. Sure, he fits into the normal builds, but he also allows more Wall of Omens, Sea Gate Oracle and other creature-based control decks.
He makes sure that Sun Titan doesn't get chump blocked. He untaps things to protect himself, allowing you to slowly peck away at your opponents while still playing defensively.
Most of all, every ability on him requires a lot of thinking. I love this card!
The token rule was changed with M2010. Whoever is the controller of the token when the token comes into play is the owner of it.
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MTGDeckBlog - a place for me to dump my deck ideas (mostly Legacy). Some good, some bad, but mainly you decide
Memnite is just hilarious. I thought that art would be a huge creature. I've always thought a vanilla 1/1 for 0 would be really good, but definitely fair.
Clone Shell seems expensive, but could make Summoning Trap decks a little more consistent.
Steel Hellkite seems pretty crazy. I'll need one for EDH. Wait, Experiment Kraj can get that second ability. I'll need a couple of these.
Ezuri's Brigade seems way too good, but more forgivable in the least artifact-friendly color. I'm hoping nongreen metalcraft abilities aren't as powerful as that though. Also, this silences all the people who are saying "it's not an artifact block, it just has a lot of artifacts".
Darksteel Axe seems like a nerfed Bonesplitter. Still good, but the indestructibility probably doesn't matter as much as the +1 equip cost. And this proves Mark Rosewater failed at getting indestructibility turned into a keyword.
Ichor Rats is a sweet infect card. I feel like all infect/poison-giving cards will be phyrexian.
Commander:
R Daretti, Scrap Savant
BR Olivia Voldaren
BRG Shattergang Brothers
GUR Riku of Two Reflections
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
Its more of a statement that we will see alot of GOOD equipment, just not quite as ridiculous as in Mirrodin.
I feel like its perfect for that balance of aggression and cost.
So Pro I have an alpha Volcanic Island
I'll update the first page as soon as we stop getting more spoilers as fast as I can post them.
Speaking of which: new arts for all five mana myr.
EDIT: Thrummingbird! Now THAT is a nice proliferator.
EDIT: Aww the Myrs look less bird-like then last time T.T I will use my old ones
He would come back into play with only 3 counters though, within Bolt range.
I just don't see him being a real hit unless we get some more good ETB permanents along with him. We'll see.
---
BRG Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
WUB Sharuum, the Hegemon
UGEdric, Spymaster of Trest
Phylactery Lich will be crawling all over this guy.
But regardless, you have to remember that equipment was pretty unbalanced during the Mirrodin block. What are the best equipment cards in standard right now? Basilisk Collar, Behemoth Sledge, and Sword of Vengence. Only the Collar sees a heavy amount of plays nowadays, and that's because it's so agressively costed and has a funny little combo to go with it. Ever since Mirrodin Block ended, with rare exception, equipment has always been overcosted and basically useless in the competitive arena. It's just nice to see WoTC giving us better equipment at a low cost.
Altered Art Cards! | Commissions currently Closed
Yes! Exactly! This is what I like about him. Creature-based blue/white control (y'know, back from the Serra Angel era :p) is one of my favorite decks from when I was but a wee lad, so anything that hearkens back to that is something I've got a soft spot in my heart for.
Past Ruminations
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- Kaladesh
- Zendikar
- Rise of the Eldrazi
- Alara Reborn
- Innistrad <- Personal Favorite
- Dark Ascension
- Avacyn Restored
- Theros
- Return to Ravnica
- Tarkir
Well, the blink ability is 'eot' not immediate, but it is still an interesting function of the card.
You can use it on him, then wipe the board with AID or something.
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Ichorclaw Myr is a really neat use of Infect. Great design.
Gobling Gaveleer makes me hope for more equipment-loving goblins so I can make a goblin tribal equipment deck.
edit: new myr arts are really cool.
Commander:
R Daretti, Scrap Savant
BR Olivia Voldaren
BRG Shattergang Brothers
GUR Riku of Two Reflections
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
I had a feeling it was that way, just wasn't absolutely sure, thanks for the confirmation of my hunch.
And Thrummingbird definitely looks to be a sign that Proliferate will definitely be worth keeping in mind - evasive 1/1 that Proliferate's on damage seems to give the mechanic potential more than Clasp did.
Re: People misusing the term Vanilla to describe a flying, unleash (sometimes trample) critter.