I completely agree with this assessment. If I'm running anything close to his + ability to look at the top x cards of my deck it's going to be a coco. In standard or limited it might be ok but even still the odds are stacked against you in a typical build with 30-40% of your deck being lands to put 3 in your hand. Even in a creature heavy build. With that first - ability it's ok. But I'll just run a swords. If I'm looking at 6 mana removal I'll pay one less and run fumigate or two less for a wrath. At least fumigate nets you life instead of helping ramp them to play their next bomb. And the ultimate is cool. But then again I like weird cards with weird abilities but this will be one that's really difficult to ultimate with. I'll run one of the older ajani's for counters on things. Mentor of heros is definitely a better ajani for the counters thing. And it's a + ability on that one.
There's nothing wrong with this new Ajani, but it is kind of boring. I think the hype and novelty of planeswalkers has died down for me. Also, the Swords to Plowshares ability seems very un-Ajani.
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Can you name all of the creature types with at least 20 cards? Try my Sporcle Quiz! Last Updated: 6/29/20 (Core Set 2021).
He only seems viable in Standard, and even then I don't think he will wreck house. Everywhere else he's trash. Even in EDH. Paying 6 mana to Swords To Plowshares and probably not be able to activate him again because he'll be dead isn't efficient at all. The plus will miss. It doesn't even net you lands, that's just nonsense. Even Swords to Plowshares two times for 4WG doesn't seem that good, and that will not happen often. Even in limited he's not that great because the plus will miss a lot.
The ultimate doesn't do anything unless you are already winning.
I am really disappointed about this. If Tezzert is this power level, I will be severely bummed.
My thought's exactly.
Only the +2 could make it anything besides terribles, and you still have to build around it. I can see that whiffing too much.
StP is awesome but not if you pay 6 mana and you walker has TWO loyalty left.
Im pretty bummed out, as a GW player. I thought our guild is all about making tokens, and community. Yet our planeswalker is the only one who doesnt make any tokens. (I know, his ultimate does 2 walkers back, but you cant depend on that). counters counters counters, which dont really combo off too many GW guild cards. Just kinda bummed as a GW guild player.
Im pretty bummed out, as a GW player. I thought our guild is all about making tokens, and community. Yet our planeswalker is the only one who doesnt make any tokens. (I know, his ultimate does 2 walkers back, but you cant depend on that). counters counters counters, which dont really combo off too many GW guild cards. Just kinda bummed as a GW guild player.
Ajani doesn't really represent Selesnya. Currently he is more into helping creatures/planeswalkers.
Im pretty bummed out, as a GW player. I thought our guild is all about making tokens, and community. Yet our planeswalker is the only one who doesnt make any tokens. (I know, his ultimate does 2 walkers back, but you cant depend on that). counters counters counters, which dont really combo off too many GW guild cards. Just kinda bummed as a GW guild player.
I am Selesnyan too <3 But yea, just coz Ajani is GW, doesnt mean he does stuff what Selesnya values. i too wished for something like Gideon or Nissa. But ist oK. Gideon & Nissa already here for us & i will gladly add 1 - 2 big Ajani for the sake of playin with new Cards & havin somethin very different from them. Lookin Forward d:)
So I've been looking at this card again since the reveal of the other two welfare walkers. While I'm still kinda bummed out by his starting loyalty (the vorthos in me will just chalk it up to him not knowing the gatewatch), and while yes I like his abilities, he's not exactly what I was looking for. Assuming his +2 hits 1 card every time, which even in a deck with a standard land distribution and moderate amount of spells, is statistically likely, he already replaces himself off the bat. From there on out being able to sustainable alternate between removal and draw power is quite nice. Of course he won't fit in every deck, but I'm happy enough.
Poor ol' Ajani. The abilities are really good, but given how they've been printing so many 4-cc walkers recently, costing six is really pushing the envelope on what you can pay for a Walker. At six mana, the opponent will have ways to deal with Walkers online by this point. Ajani's low loyalty and the fact that his only protection is to StP one thing, making him even more vulnerable to everything else, seems to make him unreasonably fragile for how much he costs.
Ignoring the cost for a minute, his abilities are fantastic:
+2: revel the top 3 cards of your library. Put all nonland permanents in your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
This is like the business end of Ancestral Recall -- the best draw spell ever printed. You're already at six mana, so you don't need the lands anyway. You're in a GW, so it's not like you really need more cards in your hand just to have cards in your hand. And it ticks him up, so you're doing it every turn. Superb!
-2: Exile target creature. It's controller gains life equals to its power.
Swords to Plowshares is the best removal ever printed. This ability is good.
-9: Put 5 +1/+1 counters on each creature you control and 5 loyalties counters on each other planeswalker you control
This ultimate is a pile of poop compared to his first abilities. Ajani does not win the game on his own, but instead pumps other stuff you might be doing. Fine, I guess, but I suspect people are mostly just going to keep +2ing instead of doing this unless they've got the win on board in some other way. It's not exactly win-more, but more like win-faster.
Final Analysis
So, will you pay 6 mana for a card that can cast Ancestrall and Swords when you need them each turn? I mean, in a vacuum, sure. Therefore, if there is a way in Standard (or even Modern, maybe) to naturally protect this Walker, this could be the top end of a midrange or control deck. The abilites are really good. Remember, there was a 6 drop Garruk who saw play, and he was similar to this. (6-drop Elspeth did something entirely different and is not a good comparison).
Him being Selesnya instead of the Naya he should be better not mean Tezzeret really is getting shoehorned into Esper. That said, Ajani having W in his identity may make it more likely that Tezzeret doesn't.
Ajani hasn't been red since he got curbstomped by fought Bolas. It's actually pretty unlikely he'll go back to red; he regrets some of the things he did and thoughts he had back then. He went to a dark place, and is loathe to return.
Perhaps they are saving his cat token abilities for the next set... I hope.
Ajani generating cat tokens never really made sense. He left his tribe on Naya, and was a pariah even when he was a part of it. Summoning an avatar token like on his first card is fine; that's his magic at work. But why and how would he be summoning his former pridemates when he hasn't had contact with them in years?
In any case, WotC is using Ajani as the "buff and support spells" 'walker. He's the team cleric. So all his abilities these days are going to be more about +1/+1 counters, gaining life, and helping other planeswalkers.
Yeah, it's not like he immediately jumps to 6 loyalty after dropping or anything.
Good thing his -2 is meant for emergencies, meaning you'll probably be using his +2 to draw cards most of the time. It's nice that he can exile an Eldrazi Titan or a God upon hitting the field, though.
Personally, I think this Ajani is good for Voltron decks as he can draw Auras and Equipment easily, and his removal ability can be supported with Bonds of Mortality, Glaring Spotlight, or Arcane Lighthouse. Superfriends will be his most popular application though.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Anyhow, the best I can come up with myself is a game in the top 8 of a PTQ back during Urza block in which we were starting game 3 with time already expired, so the tiebreaker rule was that whoever had more life after 3 turns would win. And I lost to... healing salve.
Swords to Plowshares isn't the best creature destruction effect printed because giving opponents life when you remove their creatures is powerful. Most of its power comes from the fact it only costs W.
"Ajani generating cat tokens never really made sense. He left his tribe on Naya, and was a pariah even when he was a part of it. Summoning an avatar token like on his first card is fine; that's his magic at work. But why and how would he be summoning his former pridemates when he hasn't had contact with them in years?"
I hear what you are saying, but it really wouldn't matter to me if they were cats or not. Producing tokens turn after turn is just a great defense and offense at the same time, and one given to every white planewalker so far, (except Venser). If Gideon, who became a tank every planswalker card gets to produce Kor, I dont think its out of this universe for Ajani to call upon any friends he has helped to become tokens, whether they are soldiers, from Theros, from this plane, or wherever.
I just dont want Ajani to stay an "enchantment" basically his whole life. One I would rather just replace with a glorious anthem for 3 mana. He is not getting the studly token benefits from being a white planeswalker like the others.
Perhaps they are saving his cat token abilities for the next set... I hope.
Ajani generating cat tokens never really made sense. He left his tribe on Naya, and was a pariah even when he was a part of it. Summoning an avatar token like on his first card is fine; that's his magic at work. But why and how would he be summoning his former pridemates when he hasn't had contact with them in years?
In any case, WotC is using Ajani as the "buff and support spells" 'walker. He's the team cleric. So all his abilities these days are going to be more about +1/+1 counters, gaining life, and helping other planeswalkers.
Yep, his now a mentor figure so he probably will not be making tokens so soon. But the cat tokens do make sense as they are not from his home. Ajani went to various planes and interact with others tribes and is respected by them (see Theros, he has a good relation with Brimaz and his kin, also they helped him and went to war for him).
Also, back in Alara he do have tribes that respect and idolize him. Ajani's Sunstriker is a example of it. Also we saw in one of the UR (now Magic Story, I think it has Kaalia's back story but not sure about it), that the main character do interact with a leonin that say that their tribe follow Ajani's Teachings and protect the land in his place when he is away
I somehow find it tragic when an attacking Traveling Philosopher gets blocked by another Traveling Philosopher, which normally results in two dead philosophers. Shouldn't they just sit aside and start discussing?
"This is really exciting, so much to find out about, so much to look forward to, I'm quite dizzy with anticipation . . . Or is it the wind? There really is a lot of that now, isn't there? And wow! Hey! What's this thing suddenly coming toward me very fast? Very, very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide-sounding name like . . . ow . . . ound . . . round . . . ground! That's it! That's a good name- ground! I wonder if it will be friends with me? Hello Ground!"
Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the Sprouting Phytohydra as it fell was Oh no, not again.
I hear what you are saying, but it really wouldn't matter to me if they were cats or not. Producing tokens turn after turn is just a great defense and offense at the same time, and one given to every white planewalker so far, (except Venser). If Gideon, who became a tank every planswalker card gets to produce Kor, I dont think its out of this universe for Ajani to call upon any friends he has helped to become tokens, whether they are soldiers, from Theros, from this plane, or wherever.
I just dont want Ajani to stay an "enchantment" basically his whole life. One I would rather just replace with a glorious anthem for 3 mana. He is not getting the studly token benefits from being a white planeswalker like the others.
Maybe they'll make an Ajani that makes elementals or something. But honestly, being able to churn out tokens isn't necessary to being a good planeswalker. So I wouldn't worry to much about it.
Producing tokens turn after turn is just a great defense and offense at the same time, and one given to every white planewalker so far, (except Venser).
Yep, his now a mentor figure so he probably will not be making tokens so soon. But the cat tokens do make sense as they are not from his home. Ajani went to various planes and interact with others tribes and is respected by them (see Theros, he has a good relation with Brimaz and his kin, also they helped him and went to war for him).
The Ajani that summons cats (Caller of the Pride) was printed before Theros, though, so it didn't really make sense.
Also, back in Alara he do have tribes that respect and idolize him. Ajani's Sunstriker is a example of it. Also we saw in one of the UR (now Magic Story, I think it has Kaalia's back story but not sure about it), that the main character do interact with a leonin that say that their tribe follow Ajani's Teachings and protect the land in his place when he is away
I mean, they're following in his footsteps, but he still hasn't had any actual contact with them in ages.
It's kinda ironic; Ajani is finally accepted by his people only after he decides to leave Naya behind.
Dude is sweet in EDH and will continue to be sweet in EDH and was probably made to be sweet in EDH.
First, I agree. People taking the time to comment that it's not good for Modern are really stating the obvious.
That said, when you say "sweet in EDH" what I really read is "sweet in Casual." As others pointed out, this is not a strong play in any sort of competitive multiplayer EDH game, much like most planeswalkers.
But EDH means different things to different people. For those who treat it as a true Casual format, sure, this could be great for you. A lot of people use EDH to sculpt a deck that's more about self-expression than competition.
Also, a reminder of Matt Sperling's "Sick of It" article for Innistrad:
3 different planeswalkers with plus abilities that round to “draw a card” and minus abilities that are removal? So this is it—this is the single acceptable design for 'walkers. If it isn’t, why would you do it 3 times in a single set (Arlinn Kord is cool, feels mythic, and I assume was added to this set last minute)? Oh, and don’t forget the previous block has Ob Nixilis, of which the new Jace might as well be a timeshifted version. When I read the new Jace, there was absolutely not a single exciting thing about it. Just what you want for your mythic rare main character planeswalker.
The only way this guy is playable is if someone is using Oath of Ajani. They basically designed Ajani Unyielding around having that oath in the deck because otherwise he isn't strong enough to be worth the time to play. Then, if someone IS running Oath of Ajani, why not use a better PW from the start? Crack a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar at turn 3, or bring out Nissa, Vital Force Turn 4. Again, I think this is the remnants of old plans, as they likely were planning for 6 month rotations still and with the current standard format, they didn't anticipate people still having Gideon, Ally of Zendikar running around.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
very similar to Sorin
draw card effect
kill effect
ultimate but not sure win
Let's be honest here. This planeswalker *IS* Sorin.
two-color 6 drop that needs to plus 3 times for its ultimate and that shares the same pattern of +card draw, -kill, ult situational win. The only real difference is that starting loyalty has been shuffled around so that doubling season (which is in Ajani's colors)doesn't allow for automatic ultimates.
Actually I hope they keep the planeswalkers at the level of ajani/tezzeret. Now they're not a "mythic+" quality, but they're just "rares with more abilities, and if you can use all they're amazing". Exactly what I expect from mythics.
I'm one of those old school players who feels that they should never have made planeswalkers at all. Legendary creatures are good enough and they could have easily made all the walkers legends with unique abilities, then added enchantments and spells themed for them. Instead, they basically attempted to lump sum them all in one card and we got these extremely hard to balance cards that exist in their own little world. I'm sure marketing was the real reason for these cards, but cleaning out walkers from magic would probably make the game a lot more playable.
Private Mod Note
():
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
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My 720 Peasant Cube
My thought's exactly.
Only the +2 could make it anything besides terribles, and you still have to build around it. I can see that whiffing too much.
StP is awesome but not if you pay 6 mana and you walker has TWO loyalty left.
Ult is plain stupid and only winmore.
Ajani doesn't really represent Selesnya. Currently he is more into helping creatures/planeswalkers.
Ignoring the cost for a minute, his abilities are fantastic:
This is like the business end of Ancestral Recall -- the best draw spell ever printed. You're already at six mana, so you don't need the lands anyway. You're in a GW, so it's not like you really need more cards in your hand just to have cards in your hand. And it ticks him up, so you're doing it every turn. Superb!
Swords to Plowshares is the best removal ever printed. This ability is good.
This ultimate is a pile of poop compared to his first abilities. Ajani does not win the game on his own, but instead pumps other stuff you might be doing. Fine, I guess, but I suspect people are mostly just going to keep +2ing instead of doing this unless they've got the win on board in some other way. It's not exactly win-more, but more like win-faster.
Final Analysis
So, will you pay 6 mana for a card that can cast Ancestrall and Swords when you need them each turn? I mean, in a vacuum, sure. Therefore, if there is a way in Standard (or even Modern, maybe) to naturally protect this Walker, this could be the top end of a midrange or control deck. The abilites are really good. Remember, there was a 6 drop Garruk who saw play, and he was similar to this. (6-drop Elspeth did something entirely different and is not a good comparison).
got curbstomped byfought Bolas. It's actually pretty unlikely he'll go back to red; he regrets some of the things he did and thoughts he had back then. He went to a dark place, and is loathe to return.Ajani generating cat tokens never really made sense. He left his tribe on Naya, and was a pariah even when he was a part of it. Summoning an avatar token like on his first card is fine; that's his magic at work. But why and how would he be summoning his former pridemates when he hasn't had contact with them in years?
In any case, WotC is using Ajani as the "buff and support spells" 'walker. He's the team cleric. So all his abilities these days are going to be more about +1/+1 counters, gaining life, and helping other planeswalkers.
Yeah, it's not like he immediately jumps to 6 loyalty after dropping or anything.
Good thing his -2 is meant for emergencies, meaning you'll probably be using his +2 to draw cards most of the time. It's nice that he can exile an Eldrazi Titan or a God upon hitting the field, though.
You could always not run cards like Explosive Vegetation in his deck and instead play stuff like Borderland Ranger or Cataclysmic Gearhulk. You know, build around his abilities and all.
Personally, I think this Ajani is good for Voltron decks as he can draw Auras and Equipment easily, and his removal ability can be supported with Bonds of Mortality, Glaring Spotlight, or Arcane Lighthouse. Superfriends will be his most popular application though.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I hear what you are saying, but it really wouldn't matter to me if they were cats or not. Producing tokens turn after turn is just a great defense and offense at the same time, and one given to every white planewalker so far, (except Venser). If Gideon, who became a tank every planswalker card gets to produce Kor, I dont think its out of this universe for Ajani to call upon any friends he has helped to become tokens, whether they are soldiers, from Theros, from this plane, or wherever.
I just dont want Ajani to stay an "enchantment" basically his whole life. One I would rather just replace with a glorious anthem for 3 mana. He is not getting the studly token benefits from being a white planeswalker like the others.
Yep, his now a mentor figure so he probably will not be making tokens so soon. But the cat tokens do make sense as they are not from his home. Ajani went to various planes and interact with others tribes and is respected by them (see Theros, he has a good relation with Brimaz and his kin, also they helped him and went to war for him).
Also, back in Alara he do have tribes that respect and idolize him. Ajani's Sunstriker is a example of it. Also we saw in one of the UR (now Magic Story, I think it has Kaalia's back story but not sure about it), that the main character do interact with a leonin that say that their tribe follow Ajani's Teachings and protect the land in his place when he is away
draw card effect
kill effect
ultimate but not sure win
And Narset, Kaya, and Dovin.
The Ajani that summons cats (Caller of the Pride) was printed before Theros, though, so it didn't really make sense.
I mean, they're following in his footsteps, but he still hasn't had any actual contact with them in ages.
It's kinda ironic; Ajani is finally accepted by his people only after he decides to leave Naya behind.
First, I agree. People taking the time to comment that it's not good for Modern are really stating the obvious.
That said, when you say "sweet in EDH" what I really read is "sweet in Casual." As others pointed out, this is not a strong play in any sort of competitive multiplayer EDH game, much like most planeswalkers.
But EDH means different things to different people. For those who treat it as a true Casual format, sure, this could be great for you. A lot of people use EDH to sculpt a deck that's more about self-expression than competition.
Also, a reminder of Matt Sperling's "Sick of It" article for Innistrad:
On 7/14/10, broke 1900 mark! <3 ROE.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Let's be honest here. This planeswalker *IS* Sorin.
two-color 6 drop that needs to plus 3 times for its ultimate and that shares the same pattern of +card draw, -kill, ult situational win. The only real difference is that starting loyalty has been shuffled around so that doubling season (which is in Ajani's colors)doesn't allow for automatic ultimates.
I'm one of those old school players who feels that they should never have made planeswalkers at all. Legendary creatures are good enough and they could have easily made all the walkers legends with unique abilities, then added enchantments and spells themed for them. Instead, they basically attempted to lump sum them all in one card and we got these extremely hard to balance cards that exist in their own little world. I'm sure marketing was the real reason for these cards, but cleaning out walkers from magic would probably make the game a lot more playable.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!