I see nothing wrong with this card other than the notion that it is incredibly fair. It's miles better than Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis and arguably the cheaper mana cost can put this over the top of Thraximundar (colors not included) but it doesn't lend itself to much of a theme like other generals in the Jund color wedge would. She doesn't threaten like Prossh, Skyraider of Kher does, she doesn't nickle and dime permanent advantage like Shattergang Brothers, and she's not a bug waifu like Xira Arien is. So if you're making an EDH with Wasitora, chances are it's because the tokens she produces are just so gosh darn cute.
Mid-tier card. It does its job, kind of. If you want something without evasion to connect easily, this will do the job, and it does leave a body with evasion behind. Not too shabby,a nd while I have a hard time figuring out a good card to pair it with, it should exist.
This was an ok uncommon in draft, simply because WG both had a bunch of token and the ability to put some large creatures on the field, making both sides relevant, but its trash in edh. There is no reason to run this over Overrun or Dictate of Heliod, and its other mode flat out sucks in edh.
There is a place for single-creature pump in EDH, but it's either:
... Aim High is playable? Otherwise I completely agree.
More for the untap to stop something with flying and infect or a Voltron deck. Most of the time, I'd simply prefer Village Bell-Ringer or Vitalize tho. (Or just, you know, Seedborn Muse.)
Why does it seem we're going through multiple cards a day?
I like Griffin Guide and friends. I'm always looking for value to make things like auras playable, though of course you still need hexproof to make it worth it. But hey, this one is white and has synergy with Sun Titan.
Anyway, Wasitora, Nekoru Queen. I like how her name has tiger (tora) in it, and her epithet has cat (neko) in it. She was supposed to be part of a cycle of dual-type creatures: "Wizard" was easy because it's a class, and "vampire" is also easy because, as Lucy learned, vampirism is contagious. But cat dragon? And, lo and behold, Magic actually had such a thing, way back in Legends. Too bad she couldn't be limited to GW. (Of course, cat wizard has the same problem regardless.)
For the tokens, it's easy: There are 660 non-white, non-blue cards with "create" in their rules text. And black has plenty of things to sac creatures to; even green and red have a few.
All that said, Prossh, Skyraider of Kher is obviously better (and broken), and Kresh the Bloodbraided is my traditional token sac commander in Jund colors. (Then again, he doesn't have evasion.)
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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!
Sometimes cards aren't for cutthroat metas, they are for lower power metas where fun and goofy can shine. She's pretty perfect for a Timmy time 50% meta
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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!
Why does it seem we're going through multiple cards a day?
We don't, it's just that I don't have a perfectly set time to update due to work not being a steady schedule. I generally update in my late evening (Usually around 10 PM) but sometimes it slips a bit.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
I want to love Wasitora, I really do. But she's just not...enough. Her stats aren't bad. 5 flying power with trample for 5 is nothing to sneeze at. The problem is the ability. You want to spam cute kitty dragons but to do that you need to hit a player who is already creatureless. Usually, folks who can sac something tend to not mind as much anyway, depending on their field, so hitting someone who has some ground chumps won't do much either.
So yeah, she just doesn't feel like she does enough to be worth it over any of Jund's other aggressive generals.
A comment I read somewhere said, "Every Jund general must compete with Prossh." If it's not brutal enough, then it must have other utilities. There's nothing Wasitora can do that Prossh cannot do better in their respective decks, even if Wasitora packed extra combat and double strike. It's unfortunately really, because Wasitora could've been Naya or even remain Jund, but instead of making opponent sac creatures it should add Warstorm Surge effect to all cats by default.
I want to love Wasitora, I really do. But she's just not...enough. Her stats aren't bad. 5 flying power with trample for 5 is nothing to sneeze at. The problem is the ability. You want to spam cute kitty dragons but to do that you need to hit a player who is already creatureless. Usually, folks who can sac something tend to not mind as much anyway, depending on their field, so hitting someone who has some ground chumps won't do much either.
So yeah, she just doesn't feel like she does enough to be worth it over any of Jund's other aggressive generals.
A comment I read somewhere said, "Every Jund general must compete with Prossh." If it's not brutal enough, then it must have other utilities. There's nothing Wasitora can do that Prossh cannot do better in their respective decks, even if Wasitora packed extra combat and double strike. It's unfortunately really, because Wasitora could've been Naya or even remain Jund, but instead of making opponent sac creatures it should add Warstorm Surge effect to all cats by default.
As long as we are talking about raw power, Prossh is the Jund king for anything dragon or otherwise. Just add a Grave Pact and you essentially have Wasitora's sacrifice ability amped up anywhere from 6 to 18 times on just the first cast and you don't even have to connect with anyone. You can always leave chump blockers on the ground and in most cases this will probably wipe the board for you to swing in with 12 commander damage...
So, lets be honest Jund is kind of like a question of are you Prossh??? I myself would never build Prossh because its just so ridiculously broken for a fair meta. I do like Wasitora, Nekoru Queen from the perspective that it just has really good stats for the mana. I honestly would not bother building arround it like at all but I could see just playing kind of a control style of Jund deck and running at people with the cat monster dragon given its in green, 5 mana commanders in green are fine, and it gives an element of control to it as well.
If I were ever to build a jund deck, I think I would consider her just as kind of a generic control style of commander. Its not that hard to pick up some haste and bam, off to the races you go.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
I'm REALLY not a fan of using Karrthus as a general due to his insane clone weakness which can completely kill you out of nowhere
You don't drop Kaarthus onto an empty board unless you've also got a free sac outlet handy. You use him as a mass-haste source in the command zone otherwise, for situations where casting him ends the game.
Wasitoru really needs a way to stop opponents from being able to sacrifice permanents, similar to Sigarda, Host of Herons and Tajuru Preserver. I'm fairly certain something like this does exist, but can't for the life of me put my finger on a name at present.
The closest thing is Angel of Jubilation, but that only prevents sacrifice to pay costs. It doesn't stop your opponents suffering from edicts.
arguably the cheaper mana cost can put this over the top of Thraximundar (colors not included)
The fact that Thraximundar's edict is on attack instead of when you connect is incredibly relevant, especially considering each sacrificed creature gives him a +1/+1 counter and his base P/T is 6, so the first attack puts him in 3-hit-ko range, even if no other creature ever enters the battlefield.
I'm fan of Wasitora, Nekoru Queen in theory in my Scion of the Ur-Dragon Dragon tribal deck. I've only played the deck a few times so far and I don't believe I've used her yet.
There's something hilarious about the idea of using a harpoon as a sniper rifle. "Yea I shot his eye out...and his face...and his head...and his upper torso..."
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Look at that art. More like "Harpoon No-scoper", given how he is aiming.
Anyhow, I want this card to be good but I'm pretty sure it just missed the 99 of an ultra-casual Sygg, River Guide deck. Card's just too slow as a rattlesnake.
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Sufferer of EDHD
Commander - Currently Playing: RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G) RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B) WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
This is definitely at the lower end. I mean, yeah, fish is always possible, but of creature types most often seen in tribal decks, I think merfolk have the fewest tokens? (Only five. Though Summon the School is admittedly pretty funny with Anointed Procession and Intruder Alarm.)
It is a way to stop chump blockers, though.
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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!
Loved the merfolk of lorwyn and loving the merfolk of ixalan. I had a superjanky lorwyn-only merfolk deck that it did nothing unless it got this Sniper or wanderwine prophets. With the right cards it was able to lock the game, gain tons of life (judge of currents), put tons of tokens (summon the school) and the win with wanderwine prophets or drowner of secrets. That only happened like two times, but still. I miss that deck.
I really want an esper, bant or even sultai merfolk tribal general :/
While not tribal, there are a couple of nice partner combo with Thrasios, Triton Hero that would do well with merfolk to tide you over till we get a proper general.
I don't understand the flavour that the harpoon is more lethal if you have more friends at your party. Like, is the sniper trying harder because his family is watching?
I don't understand the flavour that the harpoon is more lethal if you have more friends at your party. Like, is the sniper trying harder because his family is watching?
My question is how is it holding the harpoon "crossbow". It has a prehensile fin that is strong enough to grasp and extend upwards while resisting the full draw of what looks like all the power this merfolk can muster? The engineer in me says absolutely no way. Side note, my wife sometimes hates to watch movies with me.
Oh and the card is way too restrictive to run in all but a hardcore thematic merfolk build.
I don't understand the flavour that the harpoon is more lethal if you have more friends at your party. Like, is the sniper trying harder because his family is watching?
Many snipers are a two-man squad, one spotter to both watch your back and help with shot calculations, and the sniper himself. When you're hucking giant harpoons I imagine you need lots of spotters and a dozen mathematicians.
Badass art, but the effects tend to be just not enough for the cost.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
The biggest problem for me with this card is that, if I'm making a spell-based deck that has limited slots for non-spells for synergy, this just isn't likely to make the cut. The body is overpriced even if the shade pumping didn't require exiling (compared to nantuko shade, which is still generally a crappy EDH card), and untapping creatures is unlikely to be very strong in a deck that's dedicated to playing a lot of spells. The counter ability loses a lot of power in a multiplayer game where everyone sees it available - no one is going to play badly into it, they're always going to play noncreatures first, etc. It's nice that you can go 1 by 1 to force them to tap out, but that still requires investing a lot of resources. The tap ability is fine but works best if you're board wiping which also kills this guy.
It's not bad, but there are just better spellslinger synergies, imo, and the slots are pretty limited.
More for the untap to stop something with flying and infect or a Voltron deck. Most of the time, I'd simply prefer Village Bell-Ringer or Vitalize tho. (Or just, you know, Seedborn Muse.)
Why does it seem we're going through multiple cards a day?
I like Griffin Guide and friends. I'm always looking for value to make things like auras playable, though of course you still need hexproof to make it worth it. But hey, this one is white and has synergy with Sun Titan.
Anyway, Wasitora, Nekoru Queen. I like how her name has tiger (tora) in it, and her epithet has cat (neko) in it. She was supposed to be part of a cycle of dual-type creatures: "Wizard" was easy because it's a class, and "vampire" is also easy because, as Lucy learned, vampirism is contagious. But cat dragon? And, lo and behold, Magic actually had such a thing, way back in Legends. Too bad she couldn't be limited to GW. (Of course, cat wizard has the same problem regardless.)
I do like her, though. I can see her being used with Grave Pact, Butcher of Malakir, and Dictate of Erebos (and for completion's sake, Savra, Queen of the Golgari) to keep an opponent's creatures locked down. You just need a source of tokens and a sac outlet.
For the tokens, it's easy: There are 660 non-white, non-blue cards with "create" in their rules text. And black has plenty of things to sac creatures to; even green and red have a few.
All that said, Prossh, Skyraider of Kher is obviously better (and broken), and Kresh the Bloodbraided is my traditional token sac commander in Jund colors. (Then again, he doesn't have evasion.)
On phasing:
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!
We don't, it's just that I don't have a perfectly set time to update due to work not being a steady schedule. I generally update in my late evening (Usually around 10 PM) but sometimes it slips a bit.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
A comment I read somewhere said, "Every Jund general must compete with Prossh." If it's not brutal enough, then it must have other utilities. There's nothing Wasitora can do that Prossh cannot do better in their respective decks, even if Wasitora packed extra combat and double strike. It's unfortunately really, because Wasitora could've been Naya or even remain Jund, but instead of making opponent sac creatures it should add Warstorm Surge effect to all cats by default.
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
As long as we are talking about raw power, Prossh is the Jund king for anything dragon or otherwise. Just add a Grave Pact and you essentially have Wasitora's sacrifice ability amped up anywhere from 6 to 18 times on just the first cast and you don't even have to connect with anyone. You can always leave chump blockers on the ground and in most cases this will probably wipe the board for you to swing in with 12 commander damage...
I ran a dragon tribal Prossh deck for a little bit just to power him down and I was still doing crazy things with Dragon Tempest, Scourge of Valkas, and Descent of the Dragons. I probably had Purphoros, God of the Forge in there too. Definitely more fun for a more casual meta than going Food Chain.
So yeah, Wasitora is your general choice for flavor/50%/whatever theme. I do like the card but would probably never play it.
If I were ever to build a jund deck, I think I would consider her just as kind of a generic control style of commander. Its not that hard to pick up some haste and bam, off to the races you go.
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
The closest thing is Angel of Jubilation, but that only prevents sacrifice to pay costs. It doesn't stop your opponents suffering from edicts.
The fact that Thraximundar's edict is on attack instead of when you connect is incredibly relevant, especially considering each sacrificed creature gives him a +1/+1 counter and his base P/T is 6, so the first attack puts him in 3-hit-ko range, even if no other creature ever enters the battlefield.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
There's something hilarious about the idea of using a harpoon as a sniper rifle. "Yea I shot his eye out...and his face...and his head...and his upper torso..."
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Anyhow, I want this card to be good but I'm pretty sure it just missed the 99 of an ultra-casual Sygg, River Guide deck. Card's just too slow as a rattlesnake.
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
It is a way to stop chump blockers, though.
On phasing:
You think he jumps off a ledge spins around in the air and no scops his kills?
While not tribal, there are a couple of nice partner combo with Thrasios, Triton Hero that would do well with merfolk to tide you over till we get a proper general.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
We call them distractions.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
Oh and the card is way too restrictive to run in all but a hardcore thematic merfolk build.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
Many snipers are a two-man squad, one spotter to both watch your back and help with shot calculations, and the sniper himself. When you're hucking giant harpoons I imagine you need lots of spotters and a dozen mathematicians.
Edit: New page. We are pondering why more Merfolk causes more damage when using Harpoon Sniper.
Currently Playing:
Multiplayer EDH Lists (click italics for a link to the thread!)
[Primer] Lord of Tresserhorn - Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do[Primer] Roon of the Hidden Realm - Rhino Blink
5 Color Tribal Guide (Slivers, Atogs, Allies, Spirits)
Also Playing (most decklists can be found on my profile)
MarathGeistKamahlGrenzoBolasThassaGitrog
PiratesZurVial Smasher&ThrasiosYennettJhoira(cEDH)Strix(Pauper)
Legacy: Maverick
Modern:
Melira PodRIP 1/19/15GWHatebearsBadass art, but the effects tend to be just not enough for the cost.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
It's not bad, but there are just better spellslinger synergies, imo, and the slots are pretty limited.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6