I think that people give her a real bad wrap for not being Mormir or Primespeaker. I disagree though, I think she fills something of a different spot. Mormir is a combo engine, you play a simic creature to grab something that combos with it like Acidic Slime and Dead Eye Navigator, and Primespeaker wants big fatties to trigger her.
Oh Ninjas, you and Samurai are the reason I am against niche tribes like Ninjas, Samurai, Dinosaurs and Pirates being a thing. Ninjas, Pirates and Rogues would be far more playable if they were all rolled into a single Rogue Tribe, Imagine Becket Brass supporting the Rogue stuff from Eveningtide and being able to sneak in an Ink-eyes.
It's a funny thing to me. Out of a mostly crap set we got a keyword that happened to be put on a lot of solid creatures. Only Walker of the Secret Ways and Higure, the Still Wind manage to be bad ninjas because they are trying to do tribal things to a tribe with like 8 (10 now) members. Bouncing someone of value and nugging two cards out of your opponent's hand is actually pretty great. Then your opponent has to deal with the threat of getting hit again for two cards. The lack of evasion and low toughness keeps it from being a great card.
I'd say Higure is only bad as a commander. Even if you are only running a couple other ninjas, he finds them and makes them unblockable. He lets today's card get there every turn.
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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!
This game needs more Rat Ninjas. This one's not bad, but generally speaking, targeted discard just isn't great in EDH.
This is funny, I just picked up these ninjas to add to my Cube. I like Skullsnatcher more than this guy, the B cost is great and exiling two cards/turn from a grave is invaluable. But Okiba-Gang is good too. Great in pauper, great in 1v1 that plays creatures.
Once upon an EDH game dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious commander of days of lore—
While I nodded, passing turns, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of mana blue and white tapping, tapping at the LGS's door.
“’Tis some Isperia,” I muttered, “Tutoring after the Cellar door—
Only Mist Raven nothing more.”
A wordsmith I am not.
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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.
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!
ETB bounce creatures aren't a bad thing to have - ETBs are easy to reuse in this format, and there's even some combo potential with Paradox Engine/Intruder Alarm - but outside of bird/flying tribal (Isperia the Inscrutable?), I'd much rather have Venser, Shaper Savant at CMC4, or Aether Adept/Man-o'-war as, for this kinda card, being cheaper is generally better than flying.
Mist raven does work... as the most board impacting card i can return with Reviellark in my bird tribal deck... its even more dangerous if I do it a few times.
At the same time, it's a 2/2, as are quite a few other useful creatures, which means you can presumably use it to repeatedly tutor up creatures with P+T=4, per Wild Pair. Or go bigger with the help of anthems and such. So, it has a lot of use in a Wild Pair package. (As do quite a few of those other creatures.)
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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!
Likely will forever be a part of Timmy's First EDH Decks everywhere around the globe.
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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.
Call me a Timmy, but I love cramming cards like these into EDH decks, even if it ends up getting cut later. I mean, honestly, it was cards like these that drove me to EDH to begin with.
I’m currently brewing a Baru, Fist of Krosa landfall deck that centers around cost efficient beaters to keep the pressure on until I can hit a Boundless Realms, Animists Awakening or Genesis Wave to alpha strike the table. It’s easily the most fun deck I’ve ever built, it’s got some combo with the G.Wave, obviously the beats, but it can play the grindy game as well. Carnage Tyrant is obviously a strict upgrade, but T. Stomper is a solid creature that also requires an answer, considering it’s usually turn 3/4 that I’m dropping these bombs.
Excellent card in Xenagos, God of Revels. Comes out the turn after you plop down Xenagos, excellent cost/power ratio, and two relevant abilities for the deck makes it an easy include. It's no Carnage Tyrant but it can still do work.
Still has a few homes, mostly in Devotion decks that focus on beats, like Xenagod or Nylea, or in Stonebrow Trample Tribal, etc. He's just so efficient, if your deck wants to win via attacking with fat he's always worth consideration. Carnage Tyrant wears equipment better, but often you'll want both, just because they are two of the most efficient beaters available and can put the hurt on quickly.
Mist Raven is pretty good in U/G Ezuri. Flying is pretty big there, because you can throw a bunch of +1/+1 counters on it and turn it into a fat evasive threat, and its two power gets you an xp counter with Ezuri.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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!
Terra Stomper is currently in my Multani deck because it is EDH and I want to play stupid fatties. He's easily the worst card in my list however, and even when I briefly ran Xenogod he was just okay compared to fatties that made a more immediate impact like Deus of Calimity or Balefire Dragon. If you are looking for "Just Stats" he's reasonable especially in Devotion decks or Beast decks, but he's never going to be more than okay.
As a not-Commander aside, it always surprised me that this was a dollar rare in and never did anything in Standard. The power-to-toughness ratio is INSANE. Even Carnage Tyrant has mostly been a bust, which seems to prove that you have to be extremely undercosted to be a valuable card if "just stats" is your value (Tyrant is worth $$$ as a casual timmy card though). I'll be curious to see if Ghalta, Primal Hunger has what it takes to take off in Standard, Modern, and even our fair EDH as a "just stats" commander.
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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
We had Banishing Stroke just a few days ago, here's another card that's been hit hard by the tuck rule change. Hinder and Spell Crumple used to be staples, these days I prefer a suite of Dissipate, Void Shatter and Faerie Trickery if I'm going with CMC3 counters. I do hope WOTC prints a variant that says something like "Put target spell on the top or bottom of target player's library" for CMC3, that'd allow some fun shenanigans. It would also fully obsolete Hinder, most likely.
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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.
Hinder's rarely used Memory Lapse mode at least means it isn't always a worse Dissipate. But it's still hard to fit in when you can basically play three Dissipates these days.
The tuck counters are one of the few cards that are capable of single-handedly rustling my jimmies, as given the rules change they reveal the pilot to be a high probability mindless netdecker. And then I usually get trounced as people netdeck builds stronger than my horrible snowflake contraptions. EDH is pain. Eh eh eh.
My hinder is textless, so it's strictly better than dissipate.
Otherwise, yeah, nerfed by the rule change, but tucking spells is still pretty good, even if its not as good as exile, and things like Baral need enough counters that three dissipates isn't enough. It's top of the deck mode is powerful when countering a spell that's important right now that won't be next turn.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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!
I think that people give her a real bad wrap for not being Mormir or Primespeaker. I disagree though, I think she fills something of a different spot. Mormir is a combo engine, you play a simic creature to grab something that combos with it like Acidic Slime and Dead Eye Navigator, and Primespeaker wants big fatties to trigger her.
Tishana wans to go wide, things like Fable of Wolf and Owl
Re : Okiba-Gang Shinobi
Oh Ninjas, you and Samurai are the reason I am against niche tribes like Ninjas, Samurai, Dinosaurs and Pirates being a thing. Ninjas, Pirates and Rogues would be far more playable if they were all rolled into a single Rogue Tribe, Imagine Becket Brass supporting the Rogue stuff from Eveningtide and being able to sneak in an Ink-eyes.
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
I need to play Silent-blade Oni more often.
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!
I love the art here, Ihsan's Shade was so baller back then!
This is funny, I just picked up these ninjas to add to my Cube. I like Skullsnatcher more than this guy, the B cost is great and exiling two cards/turn from a grave is invaluable. But Okiba-Gang is good too. Great in pauper, great in 1v1 that plays creatures.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Once upon an EDH game dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious commander of days of lore—
While I nodded, passing turns, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of mana blue and white tapping, tapping at the LGS's door.
“’Tis some Isperia,” I muttered, “Tutoring after the Cellar door—
Only Mist Raven nothing more.”
A wordsmith I am not.
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.
On phasing:
Here, it will do work less often than say.. Reflector Mage, but I can still see a home for this somewhere.
The Unidentified Fantastic Flying Girl.
EDH
Xenagos, the God of Stompy
The Gitrog Monster: Oppressive Value.
Marchesa, Marionette Master - Undying Robots
Yuriko, the Hydra Omnivore
I make dolls as a hobby.
(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'
Mist raven does work... as the most board impacting card i can return with Reviellark in my bird tribal deck... its even more dangerous if I do it a few times.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Yep. There's actually an odd cycle of them in Planeshift that can be used with Aluren (or Sun Titan).
Silver Drake
Cavern Harpy
Lava Zombie
Horned Kavu
Fleetfoot Panther
(It's probably not an intentional cycle, since each allied pair has at least one other creature like that which can't be used with Aluren.)
Even monoblue has Arctic Merfolk in the same set, though it can't bounce itself. (You would need Shrieking Drake to storm out that way.) And blue/black also has Nightscape Battlemage.
At the same time, it's a 2/2, as are quite a few other useful creatures, which means you can presumably use it to repeatedly tutor up creatures with P+T=4, per Wild Pair. Or go bigger with the help of anthems and such. So, it has a lot of use in a Wild Pair package. (As do quite a few of those other creatures.)
On phasing:
Likely will forever be a part of Timmy's First EDH Decks everywhere around the globe.
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 think Primeval Titan wasn't banned at the time, people likely would have used Titan before Stomper.
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
I’m currently brewing a Baru, Fist of Krosa landfall deck that centers around cost efficient beaters to keep the pressure on until I can hit a Boundless Realms, Animists Awakening or Genesis Wave to alpha strike the table. It’s easily the most fun deck I’ve ever built, it’s got some combo with the G.Wave, obviously the beats, but it can play the grindy game as well. Carnage Tyrant is obviously a strict upgrade, but T. Stomper is a solid creature that also requires an answer, considering it’s usually turn 3/4 that I’m dropping these bombs.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
Mist Raven is pretty good in U/G Ezuri. Flying is pretty big there, because you can throw a bunch of +1/+1 counters on it and turn it into a fat evasive threat, and its two power gets you an xp counter with Ezuri.
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!
As a not-Commander aside, it always surprised me that this was a dollar rare in and never did anything in Standard. The power-to-toughness ratio is INSANE. Even Carnage Tyrant has mostly been a bust, which seems to prove that you have to be extremely undercosted to be a valuable card if "just stats" is your value (Tyrant is worth $$$ as a casual timmy card though). I'll be curious to see if Ghalta, Primal Hunger has what it takes to take off in Standard, Modern, and even our fair EDH as a "just stats" commander.
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
We had Banishing Stroke just a few days ago, here's another card that's been hit hard by the tuck rule change. Hinder and Spell Crumple used to be staples, these days I prefer a suite of Dissipate, Void Shatter and Faerie Trickery if I'm going with CMC3 counters. I do hope WOTC prints a variant that says something like "Put target spell on the top or bottom of target player's library" for CMC3, that'd allow some fun shenanigans. It would also fully obsolete Hinder, most likely.
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.
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
Depending on the list, I'd also look at Circular Logic, Broken Concentration, Silumgar Sorcerer, and Countervailing Winds (Graveyard and discard-happy decks), or Dream Fracture and Vex, (for more group-huggy decks...or Wheel and Pain decks), or Stoic Rebuttal (artifact decks).
If you are going even deeper than that I guess this, and its companion Spell Crumple, are the next best bets and I'd generally add them before adding Dissolve, Scatter to the Winds(outside of Noyan Dar), Supreme Will, or *shiver* Cancel, but that's mostly in hard-control decks like Baral, Chief of Compliance or 1v1 Vendilion Clique lists.
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
Otherwise, yeah, nerfed by the rule change, but tucking spells is still pretty good, even if its not as good as exile, and things like Baral need enough counters that three dissipates isn't enough. It's top of the deck mode is powerful when countering a spell that's important right now that won't be next turn.
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!
Still the reason I run mine over better spells.
Beating Face with Bane
Beatrice, the Golden Witch