Well hold up here guys - its not TERRIBLE, its not great obviously, but it might be better in the future. It's essentially another version of Scavenging Ooze for more (alot) mana and can be turned on to a 5/5 AND it can protect your field. If Graveyard decks become more of a thing in the future, then this may be good once scooze rotates out.
Also, it works decently with Altheros, since if the take the 3 life you could just exile your guy and get a token. And both of these gods are cheap.
Imagine them two with Voice and a sac outlet.
Scavenging Ooze doesn't give your opponents tokens.
Also, two dual-color gods (One incredibly aggro-oriented) together in a 3 color deck is a terrible idea.
I'd def. play her at least as a one-of in a GB deck, esp. considering the likelihood of other good constellation cards in those colors. Or even with what's been spoiled so far... Pharika's activated ability alongside Eidolon of Blossoms is really good. Likewise with Doomwake Giant, esp. considering you can do it at instant speed to make combat a nightmare.
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Love. Forgive. Trust. Be willing to be broken that you may be remade.
I'm probably going to put this in my Glissa EDH deck. It gives my opponents creatures, that I then have a million ways to get rid of to allow me to get back artifacts to my hand.
how many times do i have to say this!?? dredge will not love this. removing creatures from your yard is not what you want to be doing!
Oh, you mean you don't want to exile your Ashen Rider from your graveyard just to make a 1/1 token? Especially when you can Obzedat's Aid it the next turn? What a strategy! [/SARCASM]
They really missed out a lot on this card. Even flavor wise they could have done much more. Another route they could have taken:
2BG or 3BG
Flavor Pharika
Devotion
At the beginning of each players upkeep, up to X target creatures gain 1 regeneration shield, where X is the number of creature cards in your graveyard. (not sure on the wording for the regeneration clause)
5/7
It fits what they were trying to do with the "political" multiplayer card they wanted while still having an application for more competitive play.
She's okay but sadly the decks that can make the best use out of her don't want/need her. With all the graveyard cards coming out I'm sensing perhaps a graveyard theme in the next block, where she might be good. Won't be good until then though.
And once again, the last revealed god sucks. Why did it have to be her :/
I think the thing that bothers me the most is that this ability has so LITTLE to do with what we know about Pharika.
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Hm... ok, i'm thinking of ways to get around the drawback.. Run fliers!
as in
You run the fliers
There are plenty of demons and stuff, but it doesn't stop her from being very narrow. It would be funny if she exiled any card for that 1/1 like scooze, but i don't think it would help her much. Give the tokens reach?
also i don't want to be exiling my own grave for a 1/1 deathtoucher if i'm running BG dredge (even Pharika's mender doesn't like her own god!). It's like scavenge, except it can't be built around! Honestly from a standard point of view, she's a better card for BG mirrors. others were talking about Constellation upthread... i honestly find it interesting how Junk colors are the ones with more constellation...so far. maybe it's just the way they're previewing them? Doomwake is the black intro rare so constellation is at least primary in black.
Politics in EDH are cool, and i would rather have this instead of Night Soil. If i ever pull one, she's going straight into Prossh
I don't play limited so much but i think 5/5 indestructible is pretty good... if you can get the right devotion out. not sure how the emergency 1/1 deathtoucher will play out though. I figure there's a better chance to pull fliers in certain colors so i don't knnow? If the fliers are the ony things they have and they can't turn Pharika's devotion off they might hold them back to block her, but i don't know? She shouldn't come u pin limited too much anyway.
Now decisions decisions... gotta go blue or green for Kruphix. Green for coolio mini-hydra, but a chance at Pharika? or Blue for worse promo (at least for the deck i'd put it in) but chance at Keranos? hm...
It's like the designers took a look at my Glissa, the Traitor modern deck, and said "eh, he could use a resilient card to protect Liliana of the Veil, oh, and also to give his opponents token creatures when he needs to."
Thanks, guys.
EDIT: Oh, they also said: "He could also use some more Torpor Orb in the SB, let's let him clear out some space previously reserved for graveyard hate."
This card could have been pretty decent if it was not for the owner clause. Color me a bit disappointed I had somewhat high hopes for putting her in my dredge deck. It looks like Athreos, God of Passage has a much higher chance of getting in.
Oh boy, it's time for another round of "Make a card on the spot and then be disappointed that your unreasonable expectations are not met".
My initial reaction stayed the same even after I've read through the thread: it lets you use your dudes for the second time, giving you some reasonable blockers that can also be used as sac fodder or Constellation triggers. Sounds good on paper to me. I didn't really pay attention to the fact that she can exile creatures from any graveyard, but trading them snakes for their creatures does make sense for the impartial god of life and death. However, it seems like people want her to be a graveyard hate god for some reason, which clearly wasn't the intent behind her design. Yes, she can work like that in a pinch, but most of the time, getting the token for yourself is going to be more important than exiling a creature in their graveyard - and in the latter case, giving them a measly token is a cheap price for getting rid of their reanimation target.
Then there is the natural desire of people to "upgrade" the card by making it produce the token on your side even when you exile their creature, and I could totally see that happening - if it wasn't for Deathtouch. That single word means that the token you make with Pharika is basically indestructible in combat, since it produces more and more fodder for itself by blocking more and more creatures, giving you some sick card advantage in the process. The most obvious way to fight that is to never attack the Pharika player (or attack with evasive creatures), and we all know how fun that is. It's very easy to make a card more powerful, sky's the limit, but it's a bit more difficult to make it fun to both play with and play against.
Let me put it this way. When Phenax was spoiled, lots of UB fans complained that Wizards print nothing but mill cards for their color combination. But when Pharika is spoiled and she doesn't fit the usual Dredge/reanimation strategy of BG, people are disappointed that they can't use her in their favorite decks. You can't have the cake and eat it, too, guys. Try building something new around her.
What I dislike the most is that she's unflavorful.
This is not the goddess of poison and healing, this is R&D being utterly unable to allow any sort of originality into BG. "lolgolgarimeansgraveyard" my ass.
She's bad but EDH may find a way thru permanent-heavy builds to make her a dead-fast indestructible face beater.
To me, she looks like the personification of justice.
Now, there are two concepts of justice -- the retributive justice is clearly RW, but there's also a "natural justice", or justice of death, where everyone is treated the same, no matter what he did since it's ultimately meaningless. Pharika gives the dead new life as snakes where they are all equal.
That is interesting enough to think about it, but from what I have read about her flavor wise it isn't what she is about. She actually seems very biased for those who worship her versus anyone else, She gives out medicine to those she favors and poison to those she doesn't. Not to mention in Extinguish All Hope it says she gives Solace in death, that would make me think she would be more about Repose and venerating the dead not distributing them.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! WIZARDS DESIGNED A CARD FOR A DEMOGRAPHIC THAT ISN'T MINE!!! MY ENTITLEMENT ISSUES DEMAND THAT R&D MAKE EVERY CARD GOOD FOR INSERT FORMAT I PLAY HERE!!!
So the general consensus is that I should buy a lot of them when they come out because people are stupid and don't know how to evaluate cards correctly. I mean, seriously this feels like the Thassa thread when Theros came out. You get a three mana indestructible beat-stick in a set of colors that can turn it on consistently with very powerful cards. Underworld connections and courser of kruphix are just two examples of the card advantage monsters that can help fuel a streamlined draw with mana acceleration and removal. You can even wield cards like Desecration Demon and Doomwake Giant as your removal to help feed into it's devotion, hell the giant COMBOS with it in a way that should make any aggro deck scream out for mommy! I think if it screamed "BUILD A ROCK DECK AROUND ME!" any louder the aliens on Mars would hear it!
Yah I don't see how this is useful to the Dredge deck at all. I don't want to exile creatures from my own graveyard and I'm definitely not interested in giving my opponent free creatures.
Wizards disapoints.
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Old enough to know better, much too young to care.
Not good enough on her own. It feels like she might have had a second ability on top of the current activated ability like during your upkeep dredge 1, but it got cut for being too powerful. Disappointing card for a color combo in desperate need of love - Loleth Troll is too good not to see play for so long.
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Scavenging Ooze doesn't give your opponents tokens.
Also, two dual-color gods (One incredibly aggro-oriented) together in a 3 color deck is a terrible idea.
At least Erik Lauer managed to salvaged some of JOU.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
Oh, you mean you don't want to exile your Ashen Rider from your graveyard just to make a 1/1 token? Especially when you can Obzedat's Aid it the next turn? What a strategy! [/SARCASM]
2BG or 3BG
Flavor Pharika
Devotion
At the beginning of each players upkeep, up to X target creatures gain 1 regeneration shield, where X is the number of creature cards in your graveyard. (not sure on the wording for the regeneration clause)
5/7
It fits what they were trying to do with the "political" multiplayer card they wanted while still having an application for more competitive play.
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I think the thing that bothers me the most is that this ability has so LITTLE to do with what we know about Pharika.
as in
You run the fliers
There are plenty of demons and stuff, but it doesn't stop her from being very narrow. It would be funny if she exiled any card for that 1/1 like scooze, but i don't think it would help her much. Give the tokens reach?
also i don't want to be exiling my own grave for a 1/1 deathtoucher if i'm running BG dredge (even Pharika's mender doesn't like her own god!). It's like scavenge, except it can't be built around! Honestly from a standard point of view, she's a better card for BG mirrors. others were talking about Constellation upthread... i honestly find it interesting how Junk colors are the ones with more constellation...so far. maybe it's just the way they're previewing them? Doomwake is the black intro rare so constellation is at least primary in black.
Politics in EDH are cool, and i would rather have this instead of Night Soil. If i ever pull one, she's going straight into Prossh
I don't play limited so much but i think 5/5 indestructible is pretty good... if you can get the right devotion out. not sure how the emergency 1/1 deathtoucher will play out though. I figure there's a better chance to pull fliers in certain colors so i don't knnow? If the fliers are the ony things they have and they can't turn Pharika's devotion off they might hold them back to block her, but i don't know? She shouldn't come u pin limited too much anyway.
Now decisions decisions... gotta go blue or green for Kruphix. Green for coolio mini-hydra, but a chance at Pharika? or Blue for worse promo (at least for the deck i'd put it in) but chance at Keranos? hm...
enchanting Witchstalker with Raised by Wolves
Thanks, guys.
EDIT: Oh, they also said: "He could also use some more Torpor Orb in the SB, let's let him clear out some space previously reserved for graveyard hate."
My initial reaction stayed the same even after I've read through the thread: it lets you use your dudes for the second time, giving you some reasonable blockers that can also be used as sac fodder or Constellation triggers. Sounds good on paper to me. I didn't really pay attention to the fact that she can exile creatures from any graveyard, but trading them snakes for their creatures does make sense for the impartial god of life and death. However, it seems like people want her to be a graveyard hate god for some reason, which clearly wasn't the intent behind her design. Yes, she can work like that in a pinch, but most of the time, getting the token for yourself is going to be more important than exiling a creature in their graveyard - and in the latter case, giving them a measly token is a cheap price for getting rid of their reanimation target.
Then there is the natural desire of people to "upgrade" the card by making it produce the token on your side even when you exile their creature, and I could totally see that happening - if it wasn't for Deathtouch. That single word means that the token you make with Pharika is basically indestructible in combat, since it produces more and more fodder for itself by blocking more and more creatures, giving you some sick card advantage in the process. The most obvious way to fight that is to never attack the Pharika player (or attack with evasive creatures), and we all know how fun that is. It's very easy to make a card more powerful, sky's the limit, but it's a bit more difficult to make it fun to both play with and play against.
Let me put it this way. When Phenax was spoiled, lots of UB fans complained that Wizards print nothing but mill cards for their color combination. But when Pharika is spoiled and she doesn't fit the usual Dredge/reanimation strategy of BG, people are disappointed that they can't use her in their favorite decks. You can't have the cake and eat it, too, guys. Try building something new around her.
What? My brain hurts.
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Faith & Wrath (Control)
Jarad, Life & Death (Reanimator)
Merieke, Seduction & Obedience (Control/Steals)
Intet, Dreamworld (Aggro/Control)
Rith, Predators (Aggro)
That is interesting enough to think about it, but from what I have read about her flavor wise it isn't what she is about. She actually seems very biased for those who worship her versus anyone else, She gives out medicine to those she favors and poison to those she doesn't. Not to mention in Extinguish All Hope it says she gives Solace in death, that would make me think she would be more about Repose and venerating the dead not distributing them.
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Faith & Wrath (Control)
Jarad, Life & Death (Reanimator)
Merieke, Seduction & Obedience (Control/Steals)
Intet, Dreamworld (Aggro/Control)
Rith, Predators (Aggro)
I second this motion.
Off the top of my head I can think of:
Kiki-Jiki, man. Kiki-friggin'-Jiki.
Also, Summary of Topic:
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! WIZARDS DESIGNED A CARD FOR A DEMOGRAPHIC THAT ISN'T MINE!!! MY ENTITLEMENT ISSUES DEMAND THAT R&D MAKE EVERY CARD GOOD FOR INSERT FORMAT I PLAY HERE!!!
Check out my expected lands table at:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Airj6A6lYAz_dG05T2JETnVTak1xQ0tqOHNSdEJLWVE&hl=en_US#gid=0
best thing i read in this thread so far.
Wizards disapoints.