Great stuff in my Selvala "lets turn all this mana into tokens" deck. Often flash it in via Winding Canyons at EoT to get a sizable horde for beating with.
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Opal-eye, Konda's Yojimbo ~ Rayne, Academy Chancellor ~ Toshiro Umezawa ~ Jaya Ballard, Task Mage ~ Yeva, Nature's Herald
Teysa, Orzhov Scion ~ Tajic, Blade of the Legion ~ Selvala, Explorer Returned ~ Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Marchesa, the Black Rose ~ Sydri, Galvanic Genius ~ Alesha, Who Smiles at Death ~ Riku of Two Reflections ~ Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
It's fine. Avenger of Zendikar is usually better. The nature of kicker forces you to cast this card, rather than reanimate or copy for dudes. Multikicker never seemed to get the hate that we saw players give Megamorph recently. It's a similar situation though.
It's a solid single-card enabler for big-enough (25, 36 or 49, depending) Thromok the Insatiable. I like those.
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X Hope of Ghirapur Swordpile W Ghosty Blinky Anafenza U Nezahal- Big, Blue and HERE! B Gonti Can Afford It R Etali, Primal 'Whatjusthappened?' G Polukranos Wants More Mana WU The Exalted Vizier Temmet WB Home, Athreos WR Basandra, Recursive Aggression WG Karametra, Momma of Lands UB Wrexial Eats Your Brains UR Arjun, the Mad Flame UG The Fable of Prime Speaker BR Hellbent, Malfegor Style BG Jarad, Death is Served RG Running Thromok WUB Varina and ALL the Zombies WUBYennett, the Odd Pain-Train WUR Zedruu the Furyhearted WUG Arcades' Strategy, Shmategy, Sausage and Spam WBR A Case of Mathas' Persistent F*ckery WBRLicia's League of Legendary Lifegain Layabouts WBG The Karador Advantage PackageWRG Gahiji Rattlesnake Collection UBR Jeleva... does... things UBG Damia's Just Deserts URG Yasova's Has More Power Than Sense BRG Wasitora, Bad Kitty WUBRBreya, Eggs, Breya'd Eggs WUBG Tymna and Kydele, Extended Borrowing WURG Kynaios and Tiro, Landfall Impersonations WBRG Saskia Pet Card EnchantressUBRG Yidris of the Chi-Ting Corporation WUBRG Tazri's Amazing Allies
Countered by Massacre Wurm, but it's pretty terrifying with Concordant Crossroads or other mass-haste effects. I like that it scales with mana available.
Yep. This can easily be five wolf tokens. Why five? Because five experience counters is the Magic number for Sage of Hours.
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
It's fine. Avenger of Zendikar is usually better. The nature of kicker forces you to cast this card, rather than reanimate or copy for dudes. Multikicker never seemed to get the hate that we saw players give Megamorph recently. It's a similar situation though.
Multi kicker had a substantially different effect that felt like a real evolution on the mechanic, while megamorph just added a +1/+1 counter to the exact same effect.
Here's the sell:
"So kicker lets you get an extra effect if you spend the extra cost when casting the spell. Pretty cool huh? Well, with multikicker, you get to pay that cost however many times you want to get that effect as many times a you want!"
"So, morph lets you put a creature face down on the battlefield as a 2/2 for 3 mana, then turn it face up for a cost. Well now you can do the exact same thing, for more mana, and get a +1/+1 counter when you do it!"
The first is kicker + replicate, two very popular mechanics. The second is morph, a somewhat popular mechanic, + unleash, an unpopular mechanic, at an extra cost over regular morph. The first feels like a natural evolution of the mechanic, while the second feels like they ran out of time to come up with an interesting evolution on morph, because that's exactly what happened (they figured that they could come up with two twists, manifest and morph as a 3/3 for 4, then the 3/3 morph got axed because there was no way to tell, so they just said slap a +1/+1 on it because they were running out of time, which got moved from entering the battlefield with a +1/1 to megamorph because MARO wanted to increase tension about whether it was a morph or megamorph on the field). Actually, "put a single +1/+1 counter on it" is a pretty good sign that its a last minute mechanic, as that's the story behind unleash as well (it was made as an easy to develop mechanic at the last minute to replace paincast).
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Sorry about being so late on this today guys! So, this one's pretty green intensive to get value out of it, but it is a classically splashy token maker, though you are extremely vulnerable to board wipes.
Pretty good card to hide under a Mosswort Bridge. Cast it for G and then pay G x however many tokens you want.
Found her much more effective in Tiny Leaders, where Wrath of Gods are harder to come by. I would still play her in decks like Shu Yun, The Silent Tempest that go big and try to one-shot. Works in Bruna, Light of Alabaster and Gisela, Blade of Goldnight too. Any deck that tries to one-shot and plays white can think to include her.
Not the most effecient way to kill a problematic land by a long shot, but it does have the upside of being repeatable if you have a way to blink/bounce/reanimate creatures multiple times.
Most of the evok creatures are perfectly solid. While I wouldn't rank Faultgrinder among the top tier (that honor goes to the five CMC party of Shriekmaw, Mulldrifter, Reveillark, and occasionally Ingot Chewer... green got kind of screwed here), I would still call it perfectly functional.
If you want to be a douche with your horde of notions deck... Though you can do a lot of douchy things with 5 colours lol.
It's a good effect but definitely expensive. I might've considered it in my Tajic deck if I was running the other ETB LD creatures. The deck focuses on value creatures and creatures that evade wrath of god since they're only there to trigger battalion or carry equipment. Trample is super awesome with swords as I have noted from legion loyalist.
Most of the evok creatures are perfectly solid. While I wouldn't rank Faultgrinder among the top tier (that honor goes to the five CMC party of Shriekmaw, Mulldrifter, Reveillark, and occasionally Ingot Chewer... green got kind of screwed here), I would still call it perfectly functional.
I went to check the list of creatures with evoke - you're right, 2 damage to fliers/players, +3/+3, a 4/4 token are all laughable effects in the format. Green sure got the short end of the stick of this cycle. All they needed was one that could evoke-ramp for 2-mana and that creature would instantly join the list... I guess Fertilid took that opportunity away in the block.
Faultgrinder gets a resounding "meh" from me. Then again, I also see Ingot Chewer as a "meh" as well (and it's a reasonable budget choice and probably the best red could offer in that cycle like you said), so I guess outside of the "Big 3" you mentioned, the rest don't make the cut in my view (I don't even run Shriekmaw nowadays, although it at least has been on for consideration before).
The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Most of the evok creatures are perfectly solid. While I wouldn't rank Faultgrinder among the top tier (that honor goes to the five CMC party of Shriekmaw, Mulldrifter, Reveillark, and occasionally Ingot Chewer... green got kind of screwed here), I would still call it perfectly functional.
I went to check the list of creatures with evoke - you're right, 2 damage to fliers/players, +3/+3, a 4/4 token are all laughable effects in the format. Green sure got the short end of the stick of this cycle. All they needed was one that could evoke-ramp for 2-mana and that creature would instantly join the list... I guess Fertilid took that opportunity away in the block.
Faultgrinder gets a resounding "meh" from me. Then again, I also see Ingot Chewer as a "meh" as well (and it's a reasonable budget choice and probably the best red could offer in that cycle like you said), so I guess outside of the "Big 3" you mentioned, the rest don't make the cut in my view (I don't even run Shriekmaw nowadays, although it at least has been on for consideration before).
Yes, drifter and lark are the clear winners (though being in the blink colors certainly helps), and I personally only run Shriekmaw now in decks that want to see bodies sacrificed (Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest loves it) or otherwise badly want their removal attached to bodies. Evoke is also notably tech with Karador, Ghost Chieftain.
You can do far worse than sorcery-speed Smelt in the Sol Ring format, and you're only mildly overpaying for the effect on a 3/3 body with the chewer, but he too is best used in a deck that loves sacrificing things. My chewer has gotten the most mileage in Shattergang Brothers with its many Grave Pacts.
You can do far worse than sorcery-speed Smelt in the Sol Ring format, and you're only mildly overpaying for the effect on a 3/3 body with the chewer, but he too is best used in a deck that loves sacrificing things. My chewer has gotten the most mileage in Shattergang Brothers with its many Grave Pacts.
It's a pretty bad card. You're looking at a 7mana flicker option or 5mana(discard) reanimate option at VERY best.
For that mana you have etb of all colors that can do more damage for flicker/reanimate abuse. By the time you have the mana to abuse this card, in my opinion a decent opponent deck will not suffer greatly to it compared to other etb options.
I've liked a lot of the daily cards but this one gets a 2/10
Probably the worst of the red evoke guys, and by a wide margin. Ingot Chewer and Spitebellows can fit right in, but faultgrinder has a bad evoke cost, and a worse casting cost.
Chewer's evoke cost compares to Smelt and Spitebellows scales better than most burn spells, so they're reasonable, but grinder's evoke is worse than Craterize, and that card is pretty much unplayable in limited draft, let alone cube. Maybe if it was on par with Stone Rain it could be considered, but I'd still probably pass on it.
Teysa, Orzhov Scion ~ Tajic, Blade of the Legion ~ Selvala, Explorer Returned ~ Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Marchesa, the Black Rose ~ Sydri, Galvanic Genius ~ Alesha, Who Smiles at Death ~ Riku of Two Reflections ~ Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
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The Gitrog Monster: Oppressive Value.
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Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
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Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
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Zur the Rebel
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O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
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Yep. This can easily be five wolf tokens. Why five? Because five experience counters is the Magic number for Sage of Hours.
On phasing:
Multi kicker had a substantially different effect that felt like a real evolution on the mechanic, while megamorph just added a +1/+1 counter to the exact same effect.
Here's the sell:
"So kicker lets you get an extra effect if you spend the extra cost when casting the spell. Pretty cool huh? Well, with multikicker, you get to pay that cost however many times you want to get that effect as many times a you want!"
"So, morph lets you put a creature face down on the battlefield as a 2/2 for 3 mana, then turn it face up for a cost. Well now you can do the exact same thing, for more mana, and get a +1/+1 counter when you do it!"
The first is kicker + replicate, two very popular mechanics. The second is morph, a somewhat popular mechanic, + unleash, an unpopular mechanic, at an extra cost over regular morph. The first feels like a natural evolution of the mechanic, while the second feels like they ran out of time to come up with an interesting evolution on morph, because that's exactly what happened (they figured that they could come up with two twists, manifest and morph as a 3/3 for 4, then the 3/3 morph got axed because there was no way to tell, so they just said slap a +1/+1 on it because they were running out of time, which got moved from entering the battlefield with a +1/1 to megamorph because MARO wanted to increase tension about whether it was a morph or megamorph on the field). Actually, "put a single +1/+1 counter on it" is a pretty good sign that its a last minute mechanic, as that's the story behind unleash as well (it was made as an easy to develop mechanic at the last minute to replace paincast).
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
On phasing:
Call your mother if you haven't already.
Pretty good card to hide under a Mosswort Bridge. Cast it for G and then pay G x however many tokens you want.
A great card, super annoying with other white protective methods, but we all appreciate a mommy like her
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
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Mother of Runes goes into some decks, and is rarely amazing actually. I've clamped her enough times.
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Not the most effecient way to kill a problematic land by a long shot, but it does have the upside of being repeatable if you have a way to blink/bounce/reanimate creatures multiple times.
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The most work I've gotten out of him is probably in a shortlived Feldon of the Third Path.
It's a good effect but definitely expensive. I might've considered it in my Tajic deck if I was running the other ETB LD creatures. The deck focuses on value creatures and creatures that evade wrath of god since they're only there to trigger battalion or carry equipment. Trample is super awesome with swords as I have noted from legion loyalist.
I went to check the list of creatures with evoke - you're right, 2 damage to fliers/players, +3/+3, a 4/4 token are all laughable effects in the format. Green sure got the short end of the stick of this cycle. All they needed was one that could evoke-ramp for 2-mana and that creature would instantly join the list... I guess Fertilid took that opportunity away in the block.
Faultgrinder gets a resounding "meh" from me. Then again, I also see Ingot Chewer as a "meh" as well (and it's a reasonable budget choice and probably the best red could offer in that cycle like you said), so I guess outside of the "Big 3" you mentioned, the rest don't make the cut in my view (I don't even run Shriekmaw nowadays, although it at least has been on for consideration before).
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Yes, drifter and lark are the clear winners (though being in the blink colors certainly helps), and I personally only run Shriekmaw now in decks that want to see bodies sacrificed (Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest loves it) or otherwise badly want their removal attached to bodies. Evoke is also notably tech with Karador, Ghost Chieftain.
You can do far worse than sorcery-speed Smelt in the Sol Ring format, and you're only mildly overpaying for the effect on a 3/3 body with the chewer, but he too is best used in a deck that loves sacrificing things. My chewer has gotten the most mileage in Shattergang Brothers with its many Grave Pacts.
Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas loves Ingot Chewer.
For that mana you have etb of all colors that can do more damage for flicker/reanimate abuse. By the time you have the mana to abuse this card, in my opinion a decent opponent deck will not suffer greatly to it compared to other etb options.
I've liked a lot of the daily cards but this one gets a 2/10
Chewer's evoke cost compares to Smelt and Spitebellows scales better than most burn spells, so they're reasonable, but grinder's evoke is worse than Craterize, and that card is pretty much unplayable in limited draft, let alone cube. Maybe if it was on par with Stone Rain it could be considered, but I'd still probably pass on it.
Avalanche Riders does everything Grinder does, but better.