While I commend you for keeping open thoughts about the possibilities of this mechanic, the fact remains that the text immediately after "Scavenge 4GG" is clearly italicized, and that means reminder text, and that means a keyword instead of an ability word. And yes, a keyword (such as Cycling, Bushido, Evoke, or Proliferate) is set in stone as far as effect (with occasional variables in activation cost (as with Cycling or Evoke) or numerical variables (as with Bushido or Dredge)), unlike ability words (such as Landfall, Metalcraft, or Radiance).
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Someday, I will own all of the dragons. All of them. 43/111, approximately 39% complete. Over a third done.
(calling it now; there will be a cycle of Legendary dual lands with Basic Land types in Theros block)
... AAAAAAAAND I was wrong
This and Jarad make me not want to go with Golgari as I had planned. If Populate is legit, I feel like Selesnya will be far better. When would you have the do-nothing turn to scavenge? The game should be over by the time you would ever want to add 5 +1/+1 counters to a creature anyways. Oh, and Vapor Snag is kind of a card right now.
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Thanks to Rivenor for the awesome sig!
Wants Bloodbraid Elf banned in modern
:DWish granted as of January 27, 2013!:D
This and Jarad make me not want to go with Golgari as I had planned. If Populate is legit, I feel like Selesnya will be far better. When would you have the do-nothing turn to scavenge? The game should be over by the time you would ever want to add 5 +1/+1 counters to a creature anyways. Oh, and Vapor Snag is kind of a card right now.
When would you have the do-nothing turn to scavenge? The game should be over by the time you would ever want to add 5 +1/+1 counters to a creature anyways.
Not that it would synergize well, but werewolf decks can have those kinds of turns. (Although I assume they would rather sink their mana into an Kessig Wolf Run for the trample)
That, and you know what they say. If Wizards started shipping $100 bills in boosters tomorrow, people would scream and cry and whine that they were folded the wrong way.
When I said 'choosing Golgari' I meant for the prerelease. As for Vapor Snag, Unsummon has been reprinted. And where are the werewolf decks in standard right now? The closest thing is R/G aggro, but thats only because of huntmaster.
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Thanks to Rivenor for the awesome sig!
Wants Bloodbraid Elf banned in modern
:DWish granted as of January 27, 2013!:D
When I said 'choosing Golgari' I meant for the prerelease. As for Vapor Snag, Unsummon has been reprinted. And where are the werewolf decks in standard right now? The closest thing is R/G aggro, but thats only because of huntmaster.
Hiding from ratchet bomb with the token decks
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Currently living in Tokyo Japan looking for a good shop near my house. If anyone can help me out please let me know.
When I said 'choosing Golgari' I meant for the prerelease. As for Vapor Snag, Unsummon has been reprinted. And where are the werewolf decks in standard right now? The closest thing is R/G aggro, but thats only because of huntmaster.
No one played Unsummon before Vapor Snag, and no one will play it after either.
Kinda makes me sad since almost every deck I come across either mains or sides Tormods Crypt, which kinda destroys this mechanic, specially since it's a zero drop
An argument for Deadbridge Goliath: Power Matters!
The number of cards in standard that care about power has been increasing and I think this insect plays into it perfectly.
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord: (1) His first ability means his power can grow throughout the game, (2) his second ability uses the power of your other creatures.
Disciple of Bolas: (1) Her ability cares about the power level of your other creatures, (2) if you get too many cards and have to discard that will only feed into the Golagari game plan.
Champion of Lambholt: The higher her power gets the more unblockable your creatures are. Even if she isn't huge, as long as she's huger all of your monsters will come bashing through.
Fungal Sprouting: The mana cost is high for the effect, but I have to believe that it can have a place in a good standard deck if your consistently casting at least five saprolings for four mana.
Triumph of Ferocity & Triumph of Cruelty: They haven't proven powerful enough yet, but with cards like Disciple of Bolas and possibly Thragtusk extending the game they may just prove useful.
Wolfir Silverheart: He doesn't care about the power of your creatures, but he sure dishes it out.
Splinterfright: Again, he doesn't care about the power of other creatures, but (1) in a deck focused on power he can grow quite large, (2) in a deck that can hand out, power having trample is highly relavent, and (3) in a deck that's going to scavenge the graveyard it's good to have a creature that fills it.
Ghoultree: Once more, he doesn't care about the power of other creatures, but (1) he's got tons of power to bring to the table, and (2) he loves dredging.
Deadbridge Goliath: And finally that brings us to this annoying insect. What I'm trying to get at is that his 5/5 body isn't great at four mana because it's a great attacker (Rancor or no Rancor), it's great because it's five power ahead of the curve that you aren't afraid to sacrifice. And I'm pretty sure that if I ran a deck with some of the cards above, I'd be very happy to pay 4GG to give a creature +5/+5. Six mana is a lot except for when you're playing a deck that isn't necessarily in a hurry to end the game, and likely tops out at five or six mana spells.
In closing, on an absolute power level (if such a quality even exists) he may not be all that impressive (he's not the new titan), he's just perfect for his guild.
[On a side note: I think it's pretty neat that with this guy there are now three powerful green insects in standard, namely Vorapede & Moldgraf Monstrosity. I'd also like to point out that all three insects work great with Jarad's fling ability!]
You know what I like about this guy is that as of right now the removal available that kills him is somewhat limited. Especially when you take into account that people will want to be playing with all the new shiny toys (Abrupt Decay, Mizzium Mortars). The most efficient ways to kill it that I can think of off the top of my head are Dreadbore, Murder or Selesnya Charm. It's also quite resilient to Bonfire (requiring nearly a full-turn's worth of mana to kill regardless of whether or not it's miraculous). Sure, there's Oblivion Ring and Liliana of the Veil (which is still somewhat suspect), but they're not guaranteed to be everywhere.
Not the best creature in the world by any stretch, but also not the worst threat I've ever seen. I like him in a mid range deck. If they're spending a removal spell to kill something I think I'm okay with losing a nearly vanilla creature, especially since you'll most likely be able to scavenge him later!
43/111, approximately 39% complete. Over a third done.
(calling it now; there will be a cycle of Legendary dual lands with Basic Land types in Theros block)
... AAAAAAAAND I was wrong
The Attention Deficit Guy URGU
Feel free to tell me yours!
Thanks to Rivenor for the awesome sig!
Wants Bloodbraid Elf banned in modern
:DWish granted as of January 27, 2013!:D
..........for what, Modern?
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
Not that it would synergize well, but werewolf decks can have those kinds of turns. (Although I assume they would rather sink their mana into an Kessig Wolf Run for the trample)
And Vapor Snag is from New Phyrexia, so it's rotating out while RTR is rotating in...
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Thanks to Rivenor for the awesome sig!
Wants Bloodbraid Elf banned in modern
:DWish granted as of January 27, 2013!:D
Hiding from ratchet bomb with the token decks
No one played Unsummon before Vapor Snag, and no one will play it after either.
Standard: W/R Aggro
No one played vapor snag before delver/snapcaster
PLENTY of people have played unsummon long before vapor snag was ever even conceived.
Add Dreg Mangler and Korozda Guildmage to the list of cards that have good synergy here.
Not the best creature in the world by any stretch, but also not the worst threat I've ever seen. I like him in a mid range deck. If they're spending a removal spell to kill something I think I'm okay with losing a nearly vanilla creature, especially since you'll most likely be able to scavenge him later!
States '09: 14th place. Aiming for better next year.
States '10: 12th place. Aiming for better next year.
Idaho State Champ: 2011
States '12: 5th place.