I don't often say "dies to removal", but if you're asking me to exile three cards from my library, only play them after my next untap step, and only one per turn, um...dies to removal. And Eldrazi processors. And suspend hate.
Truly broken tutors, as a rule, don't require additional mana. Most of them don't even care about CMC. Think things like Academy Rector, Tooth and Nail, Zur the Enchanter (which, admittedly, does care about CMC), Arcum Dagsson, Tinker, and the like. (I'd even argue Entomb.) In land tutors, it's ones like Scapeshift, Crop Rotation, and (banned) Primeval Titan, where it can grab any land and put it directly on the battlefield.
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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!
They're not limiting to the point where you can't build around them, and the strength comes from the fact that you don't have to spend mana for their effect. It really has very little to do with what kind of cards they are tutoring for, and has more to do with the fact that many of the broken legendary creature tutors/engines don't require additional mana. If you're wodnering why Kaho doesn't seem to get the love she deserves in your eyes, that's a massive reason why.
For sure, she is not an engine at all. Further to this as a commander, although she can do very broken things, its so linear that she isn't actually that much fun. As a commander she is very average. But I am not talking about her compared to the top tier commanders as generals. Brago, Zur, Roon, all these engines are in a class of their own. My focus is on how she is a powerhouse as part of your 99, not as a commander.
So I'm not sure if we are talking about the same thing here? Or are you saying that these legendary creatures like Brago, Zur, etc get more play in peoples 99 (not commander) because they are so efficient?
How does "Treat her as a top end card that you can just so happen to play early on for 4 mana if you have nothing else to do." translate into "She sucks if you play her early on"?
My bad, I took the "if you have nothing else to do" as you were saying, "she sucks if that is all you have to". She is my maiden and I'm over protective, lol. But I still don't consider her to be a top end card. She can be a very early aggressive strategy.
I don't often say "dies to removal", but if you're asking me to exile three cards from my library, only play them after my next untap step, and only one per turn, um...dies to removal. And Eldrazi processors. And suspend hate.
Truly broken tutors, as a rule, don't require additional mana. Most of them don't even care about CMC. Think things like Academy Rector, Tooth and Nail, Zur the Enchanter (which, admittedly, does care about CMC), Arcum Dagsson, Tinker, and the like. (I'd even argue Entomb.) In land tutors, it's ones like Scapeshift, Crop Rotation, and (banned) Primeval Titan, where it can grab any land and put it directly on the battlefield.
Hehe, I've never come across the Eldrazi processors in my games with Kaho, but I guess this is a legitimate thing you could come across Never thought about it. Funny.
Agreed the best tutors are those that put them onto the battlefield as part of the card.
Best Enchantment tutor: Academy Rector
Best Creature tutor: Tooth and Nail or Defense of the Heart (if lucky to get condition)
Best Artifact tutor: Arcum Dagsson or Transmute Artifact (as Tinker not legal in commander. Transmute does require mana payment, but at least the offset cost make it a legitimate enabler)
Best Single Land tutor: Crop Rotation
Best Multiple Land tutor: Boundless Realms or Scapeshift (depending on deck of course)
Best Instant or Sorcery tutor: Demonic Tutor*Thankfully there are no search and cast without paying mana cost cards in this domain, otherwise Enter the Infinite would be even more of a bore.
They're not limiting to the point where you can't build around them, and the strength comes from the fact that you don't have to spend mana for their effect. It really has very little to do with what kind of cards they are tutoring for, and has more to do with the fact that many of the broken legendary creature tutors/engines don't require additional mana. If you're wodnering why Kaho doesn't seem to get the love she deserves in your eyes, that's a massive reason why.
For sure, she is not an engine at all. Further to this as a commander, although she can do very broken things, its so linear that she isn't actually that much fun. As a commander she is very average. But I am not talking about her compared to the top tier commanders as generals. Brago, Zur, Roon, all these engines are in a class of their own. My focus is on how she is a powerhouse as part of your 99, not as a commander.
So I'm not sure if we are talking about the same thing here? Or are you saying that these legendary creatures like Brago, Zur, etc get more play in peoples 99 (not commander) because they are so efficient?
I am talking about using them in the 99.
Most people tend to stay away from the broken generals entirely because of the bad rap they get, but of the times I have seen Brago/Zur/Narset/etc. as part of the 99 even in nondegenerate decks, they pull incredible weight and are often "kill on sight". I won't disagree that Kaho would also be "kill on sight" depending on what the Kaho player tutors up, but again, the mana efficiency is important.
The argument almost becomes that because she is such a powerful card that she must be answered before you get to use her. This is a hallmark for any great card. She certainly joins those ranks.
No the hallmark of a good EDH card (and to a certain degree Magic in general) is that it does whatever it does without allowing your opponent to respond (counterspells being one of the obvious exceptions). This is why ETB effects (or ones you can pay mana for immediately) rule and tap or attack triggers need to be game winning to see play. The more time the card gives your opponents to answer it the worse the card becomes... Which is why Kaho isn't a good card. She gives your opponents an unreasonably long time to stop her before she does anything of value at all. The fact that she has even more limits on her on top of her already weak showing (limited selection, limited activation, high mana cost, excessive mana cost to activate) just further sinks her already dubious ship.
The argument almost becomes that because she is such a powerful card that she must be answered before you get to use her. This is a hallmark for any great card. She certainly joins those ranks.
No the hallmark of a good EDH card (and to a certain degree Magic in general) is that it does whatever it does without allowing your opponent to respond (counterspells being one of the obvious exceptions). This is why ETB effects (or ones you can pay mana for immediately) rule and tap or attack triggers need to be game winning to see play. The more time the card gives your opponents to answer it the worse the card becomes... Which is why Kaho isn't a good card. She gives your opponents an unreasonably long time to stop her before she does anything of value at all. The fact that she has even more limits on her on top of her already weak showing (limited selection, limited activation, high mana cost, excessive mana cost to activate) just further sinks her already dubious ship.
I looked up the top 25 list and certainly is domination by ETB, but not exclusively, for example Magus of the Wheel, Viashino Heretic. If the case was that any creature that requires a full turn to get value because it give opponents an unreasonable amount of time to stop them, then these wouldn't make the list. I'm not saying that it doesn't make them weaker, it certainly does, but its doesn't automatically not make them a good card.
Limited selection? 1997 instants and counting...forever. Limited is not the word when talking about Kaho.
Limited activation. Yes, but I'm showing how if you are sequencing in special ways your turning her into other cards. She herself becomes redundant if you've managed get what you wanted.
High mana cost? Would I like her to be 3 mana? Of course, but 4 is not unreasonable for the power level that she can bring. I would not say that she is overpriced. If you're just saying that in your 4 CMC slot in your decks you're looking at more effective cards? Will always depend on what your deck is trying to do.
Excessive mana cost to activate? 1-3 mana normally (can be colorless), is the sort of activation costs you're looking at. This is certainly not excessive.
Kaho's biggest problem is speed. In multiplayer, a player's likely to kill her with a Wrath or Earthquake when not even aiming for her. And of course, x-cost instants like Power Sink (It's an old card, most non-Vintage Masters printings of it are confusing, but a bit of a hidden gem with Winter Orb and mana rocks.) are worthless with her. (Though if they have kicker x, they're fine.)
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!
Kaho's biggest problem is speed. In multiplayer, a player's likely to kill her with a Wrath or Earthquake when not even aiming for her. And of course, x-cost instants like Power Sink (It's an old card, most non-Vintage Masters printings of it are confusing, but a bit of a hidden gem with Winter Orb and mana rocks.) are worthless with her. (Though if they have kicker x, they're fine.)
I feel like people are making the assumption that 100% time you are just going to run into board wipe or spot removal. My question is do you have a Wrath every round in your commander games? The answer is no of course. If every game just saw a creature wipe every turn then we wouldn't see creature decks.
I can understand peoples inclination not wanting to potentially run her into a situation where you get no value. You are right, she is for niche decks. I might have to make this more clear in my article somehow. Decks where the upside of what you can do with her offset the balance of potentially getting no value.
I can say from my experience that you do get to use her more often than not, and when you're using her, you are setting up game winning scenarios. She is NOT a consistent value creature. She is a HIGH RISK HIGH REWARD card.
I feel like people are comparing too much:
For example lets look at a great 4 CMC card in Solemn Simulacrum. The card itself is expensive for its power level. Its power level is very low. But the reason its popular is that it consistently gives value, in the face of commander removal. Pretty much no matter what happens it will always give you an extra land and replace itself card draw wise. It is a LOW RISK MEDIUM-LOW REWARD card.
If I had to put a statistic on the number of times I get to use Kaho, it would be something like 70% of games when I play her out (I'll actually start recording). But when I am using her she is doing things like getting me a Birthing Pod and then offering counter-spell protection to subsequent turns. Her power is on another level to Solemn Simulacrum, but of course its a case of you're not always going to get to use her. But it is more often than not and this is where people need to take a step back and look at what she can do for your deck.
I looked up the top 25 list and certainly is domination by ETB, but not exclusively, for example Magus of the Wheel, Viashino Heretic. If the case was that any creature that requires a full turn to get value because it give opponents an unreasonable amount of time to stop them, then these wouldn't make the list. I'm not saying that it doesn't make them weaker, it certainly does, but its doesn't automatically not make them a good card.
The top50 list is not universally competitive, especially when we're talking about red creature cards (Red is by far the worst color in EDH because it lacks good cards, which is why mono-red EDH usually leans heavily on artifacts). Neither of the cards you listed as examples are actually very good in a highly competitive sense and neither sees play in many decks so...
Limited selection? 1997 instants and counting...forever. Limited is not the word when talking about Kaho.
I would use it to describe her, yes. It's limited in two ways, 1) it's only instants in your deck (not from anywhere so those grandiose statements about how many instants there are in the game means diddly) and 2) once you've tutored you're limited to the cards you tutored for, meaning you can't modify your selections to account for changing conditions. You can say that applies to all tutors but Kaho needs to be played preemptively and the decision needs to be made at that point. Merchant Scroll can be played the same turn you need the card which is (one of the reasons) why it's leagues better than Kaho even with an more limited selection of searchable targets.
Limited activation. Yes, but I'm showing how if you are sequencing in special ways your turning her into other cards. She herself becomes redundant if you've managed get what you wanted.
And the hoops you need to jump through to get those cards put her well behind countless other tutors (even outside of black).
High mana cost? Would I like her to be 3 mana? Of course, but 4 is not unreasonable for the power level that she can bring. I would not say that she is overpriced. If you're just saying that in your 4 CMC slot in your decks you're looking at more effective cards? Will always depend on what your deck is trying to do.
Yes, four mana is frankly too much for her. Heck four mana is too much for Diabolic Tutor and it at least gets you any card you want right away. Even three mana tutors like Grim Tutor often fail to make the cut in competitive decks. By the time four mana hits you can't afford to waste a turn doing exactly nothing of impact, you need to either be advancing your win con or stopping another player from winning.
Excessive mana cost to activate? 1-3 mana normally (can be colorless), is the sort of activation costs you're looking at. This is certainly not excessive.
Uh, yeah it is. The best tutors have no cost at all (or they give a cost break). With Kaho you're gating key cards behind a clunky wall of activation requirements and you don't even get a cost break for doing so. Why is Arcum Dagsson fairly good when he has many of the same issues as Kaho? One of the reasons is because he cheats mana costs like a mad man. He lets you trade 0~2 mana artifact tokens (usually) for 6+ mana game winning artifacts. If he had to actually pay for the cards (like Kaho does) he would be almost as weak as she is (and even then he would still be better... Which is saying something).
I am being a bit hard on her though. In EDH Tutors of any kind are naturally good. So even though I hardly think Kaho ranks anywhere close to the best non-black tutor, she is still a tutor and that means she's better than many other potential cards that could be put in the deck. Good enough to break into that 100 card threshold? Eh...
I feel like people are making the assumption that 100% time you are just going to run into board wipe or spot removal. My question is do you have a Wrath every round in your commander games? The answer is no of course.
Of course not, but at a 4-player table, you've got 3 opponents that can all hold onto or dig for either spot removal or a sweeper in the time it takes Kaho to lose summoning sickness.
In a more competitive meta, the odds of nobody having an answer in hand is almost zero, unless you've just removed the divinity counter from Myojin of Night's Reach... except you're probably not going to see Myojin in a competitive meta.
I feel like people are making the assumption that 100% time you are just going to run into board wipe or spot removal. My question is do you have a Wrath every round in your commander games? The answer is no of course.
Of course not, but at a 4-player table, you've got 3 opponents that can all hold onto or dig for either spot removal or a sweeper in the time it takes Kaho to lose summoning sickness.
In a more competitive meta, the odds of nobody having an answer in hand is almost zero, unless you've just removed the divinity counter from Myojin of Night's Reach... except you're probably not going to see Myojin in a competitive meta.
Yep, and as a 2/2, she's vulnerable to nearly everything. Variations on Plummet, Reprisal, Smite, and most variations on Pacifism (but by no means all) are the only exceptions; IOW, things almost nobody ever plays. She's even vulnerable to removal spells that wouldn't really be removal if she weren't an imprint critter, such as Into the Roil and Momentary Blink: You can get 3 more instants, but they're not going to be the ones you wanted.
And while blue does have all-purpose tutors, just grabbing instants isn't one.
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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!
Thought I'd show you how I use her in my Birthing Pod centric deck, in which Derevi is my commander, so Bant colors UWG:
=
Depending on how aggressive I want to be to progress my game, or go defensively, I'll either do the Enlightened Tutor during my upkeep to get Birthing Pod or wait until EOT of last opponent. =
I can then hold up Kaho for counter spell protection, and in cases when not activating her I can use Intuition to filter through for probably a select number of creatures.
Once used up all instants exiled with her I sacrifice her to the Birthing Pod getting probably Karmic Guide. I can then refill my instant selection with her, or depending on what might have been tutored with the Intuition creature cards that went to my graveyard. sacrifice=
Maybe I'll give this 'ho a whirl, it's not like she is expensive in $$ or anything. I run alchemist's refuge and fatestitcher in my drawgo Tasigur so the downsides aren't so bad.
Maybe I'll give this 'ho a whirl, it's not like she is expensive in $$ or anything. I run alchemist's refuge and fatestitcher in my drawgo Tasigur so the downsides aren't so bad.
Do you have a deck list? I can give you examples of her uses, if you have one
The argument almost becomes that because she is such a powerful card that she must be answered before you get to use her. This is a hallmark for any great card. She certainly joins those ranks.
No the hallmark of a good EDH card (and to a certain degree Magic in general) is that it does whatever it does without allowing your opponent to respond (counterspells being one of the obvious exceptions). This is why ETB effects (or ones you can pay mana for immediately) rule and tap or attack triggers need to be game winning to see play. The more time the card gives your opponents to answer it the worse the card becomes... Which is why Kaho isn't a good card. She gives your opponents an unreasonably long time to stop her before she does anything of value at all. The fact that she has even more limits on her on top of her already weak showing (limited selection, limited activation, high mana cost, excessive mana cost to activate) just further sinks her already dubious ship.
I'd agree with this if you replace the word "good" with "competitive".
Riftsweeper is a pretty bad card. There are very few decks that want to run riftsweeper and even then it's a meta call.
I've been playing with Kaho and she is pretty cool when I get to cast her. I like to go for "bad" card like arcane denial and fortune's favor so that she is less likely to get hated on.
Riftsweeper is a pretty bad card. There are very few decks that want to run riftsweeper and even then it's a meta call.
A 2/2 for 2 by itself is not a bad card. Said 2/2 for 2 can also send any face-up exiled card into its owner's library. This is a multipurpose card that has a variety of utility.
1) Your opponent exiled something of yours.
2) Your Isochron Scepter broke and you want to recover that spell.
3) You want to get rid of a card that is imprinted/ciphered.
4) You want to mess around with someone's suspend.
5) Your Kaho died and you want to recover a valuable instant.
6) [insert your own example here]
Also aside from blinking, you can bounce-cast him in any number of ways, recur him from the yard with plenty of options. Its a good tech card in the right deck that could function for just your own deck and not necessarily what other players are doing and doesn't need to be relevant to what local meta.
1. So?
2. Name this card for me.
3. Nobody plays cipher cards and being able to randomly hose extraplanar lens is not very relevant
4. If the meta plays Jhoira and you have bunch other reasons to play riftsweeper then maybe riftsweeper can be your 99th card.
5. Name this card for me.
6. ....
Biggest problem with riftsweeper is that shuffling a card from exile to your library is more or less the same as the card just staying in exile. 2/2 for 2 is not playable even in a casual table. For the same mana you could play elvish visionary which cantrips and for 1 mana more you can play divination for +1 card advantage. At best it chumps a big creature which can be said for pretty much any creature.
1. So?
2. Name this card for me.
3. Nobody plays cipher cards and being able to randomly hose extraplanar lens is not very relevant
4. If the meta plays Jhoira and you have bunch other reasons to play riftsweeper then maybe riftsweeper can be your 99th card.
5. Name this card for me.
6. ....
Biggest problem with riftsweeper is that shuffling a card from exile to your library is more or less the same as the card just staying in exile. 2/2 for 2 is not playable even in a casual table. For the same mana you could play elvish visionary which cantrips and for 1 mana more you can play divination for +1 card advantage. At best it chumps a big creature which can be said for pretty much any creature.
You are trying to compare card draw such as Elvish Visionary/Divination with Rift Sweeper. This comparison you made, that I visualize in my mind, is like comparing an apple to a meat patty and stating how the apple is better than the meat patty even though its an entirely different food group.
Bonus Round 1. You stated a 2/2 for 2 wouldn't even see play in a casual setting. Alright then, is that how you also view: Eight-and-a-half-tails, Ethersworn Canonist, Eladamri, Lord of Leaves, Fauna Shaman, Gaddock Teeg, Grand Abolisher, Puresteel Paladin, Saffi Eriksdotter, etc? 2. You stated that returning a card from exile to your library was as good as keeping it in exile. Yet with sufficient card draw and/or tutors you can make up for that. 3. You stated at best it just chumps a creature but that is without factoring in the usefulness of his ETB which already makes up for that value. With grave recursion like Necromancy its not hard to do so and is also used as part of an infinite combo for mana with Riftsweeper.
Sorry, but I agree with illakunsaa. In almost every situation, you would be better off with an actually important card than Riftsweeper. As has already been mentioned, being in your deck isn't much better than being in exile.
If you're in a meta where things like imprint and suspend are super common, then I could see it having value. Most of the time, it's a waste of space.
Pull from Eternity, at least, puts the card somewhere that's easier to access. It's also cheaper and instant-speed, giving you more options for use offensively.
Sorry, but I agree with illakunsaa. In almost every situation, you would be better off with an actually important card than Riftsweeper. As has already been mentioned, being in your deck isn't much better than being in exile.
If you're in a meta where things like imprint and suspend are super common, then I could see it having value. Most of the time, it's a waste of space.
Pull from Eternity, at least, puts the card somewhere that's easier to access. It's also cheaper and instant-speed, giving you more options for use offensively.
I would rather take a Riftsweeper than a Pull From Eternity. Bounce/grave-recursion/blink shenanigans are easier than trying to get multiple uses out of an Instant. I would argue that Spiritfiredoc is much more on point. As to argue that that putting an exiled card into it's owners library is AS GOOD AS keeping it in exile is such a bad statement within itself. As at least if it is within your library you can tutor that back up again with Kaho, Minamo Historian again instead of it being lost forever. What about decks focused around Reito Lantern for their own card synergies like with Grenzo, Dungeon Warden? That bad as well? As it is very similar.
The library is only as bad as exile if you lack sufficient means to draw or tutor from your deck. If you have a reliable means to directly tutor up cards or draw/scry an obscene amount, the logic that the "library is as bad as exile" becomes a falsehood. If your commander can routinely tutor for something from the library, the library becomes a toolbox.
What about decks focused around Reito Lantern for their own card synergies like with Grenzo, Dungeon Warden? That bad as well? As it is very similar.
Reito/Grenzo is nothing like shuffling a card into a library. It's more akin to using Anchor to the Æther against someone who controls Aid from the Cowl.
I've had a reasonable amount of experience with Riftsweeper, and it is quite often a dead card in your hand. The thing is that you are not playing it until there is a reason to. Quite often this can be never in a game. For this reason I've often removed it from decks. I used to have it in my Hermit Druid combo deck, to make sure that I had options in the face of exile, lots of graveyard hate in the meta, like Deathrite Shaman, Relic of Progenitus, etc, but I just found that it was better to have other angles in the deck in the face of key cards being exiled. I do have it in my Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro "Shaman" deck as its an Elf Shaman, so the creature type can make a difference to the inclusion in a deck or not.
In a toolbox deck that can tutor for creature cards, having this very unique ability is certainly a way to help in a meta. Cards like Survival of the Fittest can help make Riftsweeper a better card, as you can either discard it if not needed for meta, or get it if your combo has been exiled.
Truly broken tutors, as a rule, don't require additional mana. Most of them don't even care about CMC. Think things like Academy Rector, Tooth and Nail, Zur the Enchanter (which, admittedly, does care about CMC), Arcum Dagsson, Tinker, and the like. (I'd even argue Entomb.) In land tutors, it's ones like Scapeshift, Crop Rotation, and (banned) Primeval Titan, where it can grab any land and put it directly on the battlefield.
On phasing:
So I'm not sure if we are talking about the same thing here? Or are you saying that these legendary creatures like Brago, Zur, etc get more play in peoples 99 (not commander) because they are so efficient?
My bad, I took the "if you have nothing else to do" as you were saying, "she sucks if that is all you have to". She is my maiden and I'm over protective, lol. But I still don't consider her to be a top end card. She can be a very early aggressive strategy.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Hehe, I've never come across the Eldrazi processors in my games with Kaho, but I guess this is a legitimate thing you could come across Never thought about it. Funny.
Agreed the best tutors are those that put them onto the battlefield as part of the card.
Best Enchantment tutor: Academy Rector
Best Creature tutor: Tooth and Nail or Defense of the Heart (if lucky to get condition)
Best Artifact tutor: Arcum Dagsson or Transmute Artifact (as Tinker not legal in commander. Transmute does require mana payment, but at least the offset cost make it a legitimate enabler)
Best Single Land tutor: Crop Rotation
Best Multiple Land tutor: Boundless Realms or Scapeshift (depending on deck of course)
Best Instant or Sorcery tutor: Demonic Tutor *Thankfully there are no search and cast without paying mana cost cards in this domain, otherwise Enter the Infinite would be even more of a bore.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
I am talking about using them in the 99.
Most people tend to stay away from the broken generals entirely because of the bad rap they get, but of the times I have seen Brago/Zur/Narset/etc. as part of the 99 even in nondegenerate decks, they pull incredible weight and are often "kill on sight". I won't disagree that Kaho would also be "kill on sight" depending on what the Kaho player tutors up, but again, the mana efficiency is important.
WUBRGProgenitus
URGMaelstrom Wanderer
WUBOloro, Ageless Ascetic
WURZedruu, the Greathearted
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher ($100)
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Tactician ($100)
UGKruphix, God of Horizons ($100)(retired)UTalrand, Sky Summoner (French 1v1, $100)
No the hallmark of a good EDH card (and to a certain degree Magic in general) is that it does whatever it does without allowing your opponent to respond (counterspells being one of the obvious exceptions). This is why ETB effects (or ones you can pay mana for immediately) rule and tap or attack triggers need to be game winning to see play. The more time the card gives your opponents to answer it the worse the card becomes... Which is why Kaho isn't a good card. She gives your opponents an unreasonably long time to stop her before she does anything of value at all. The fact that she has even more limits on her on top of her already weak showing (limited selection, limited activation, high mana cost, excessive mana cost to activate) just further sinks her already dubious ship.
Limited selection? 1997 instants and counting...forever. Limited is not the word when talking about Kaho.
Limited activation. Yes, but I'm showing how if you are sequencing in special ways your turning her into other cards. She herself becomes redundant if you've managed get what you wanted.
High mana cost? Would I like her to be 3 mana? Of course, but 4 is not unreasonable for the power level that she can bring. I would not say that she is overpriced. If you're just saying that in your 4 CMC slot in your decks you're looking at more effective cards? Will always depend on what your deck is trying to do.
Excessive mana cost to activate? 1-3 mana normally (can be colorless), is the sort of activation costs you're looking at. This is certainly not excessive.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Kaho's biggest problem is speed. In multiplayer, a player's likely to kill her with a Wrath or Earthquake when not even aiming for her. And of course, x-cost instants like Power Sink (It's an old card, most non-Vintage Masters printings of it are confusing, but a bit of a hidden gem with Winter Orb and mana rocks.) are worthless with her. (Though if they have kicker x, they're fine.)
So, if you're using Lightning Greaves and Seedborn Muse, she becomes niche.
On phasing:
I can understand peoples inclination not wanting to potentially run her into a situation where you get no value. You are right, she is for niche decks. I might have to make this more clear in my article somehow. Decks where the upside of what you can do with her offset the balance of potentially getting no value.
I can say from my experience that you do get to use her more often than not, and when you're using her, you are setting up game winning scenarios. She is NOT a consistent value creature. She is a HIGH RISK HIGH REWARD card.
I feel like people are comparing too much:
For example lets look at a great 4 CMC card in Solemn Simulacrum. The card itself is expensive for its power level. Its power level is very low. But the reason its popular is that it consistently gives value, in the face of commander removal. Pretty much no matter what happens it will always give you an extra land and replace itself card draw wise. It is a LOW RISK MEDIUM-LOW REWARD card.
If I had to put a statistic on the number of times I get to use Kaho, it would be something like 70% of games when I play her out (I'll actually start recording). But when I am using her she is doing things like getting me a Birthing Pod and then offering counter-spell protection to subsequent turns. Her power is on another level to Solemn Simulacrum, but of course its a case of you're not always going to get to use her. But it is more often than not and this is where people need to take a step back and look at what she can do for your deck.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
I am being a bit hard on her though. In EDH Tutors of any kind are naturally good. So even though I hardly think Kaho ranks anywhere close to the best non-black tutor, she is still a tutor and that means she's better than many other potential cards that could be put in the deck. Good enough to break into that 100 card threshold? Eh...
In a more competitive meta, the odds of nobody having an answer in hand is almost zero, unless you've just removed the divinity counter from Myojin of Night's Reach... except you're probably not going to see Myojin in a competitive meta.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
Yep, and as a 2/2, she's vulnerable to nearly everything. Variations on Plummet, Reprisal, Smite, and most variations on Pacifism (but by no means all) are the only exceptions; IOW, things almost nobody ever plays. She's even vulnerable to removal spells that wouldn't really be removal if she weren't an imprint critter, such as Into the Roil and Momentary Blink: You can get 3 more instants, but they're not going to be the ones you wanted.
And while blue does have all-purpose tutors, just grabbing instants isn't one.
On phasing:
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Depending on how aggressive I want to be to progress my game, or go defensively, I'll either do the Enlightened Tutor during my upkeep to get Birthing Pod or wait until EOT of last opponent.
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I can then hold up Kaho for counter spell protection, and in cases when not activating her I can use Intuition to filter through for probably a select number of creatures.
Once used up all instants exiled with her I sacrifice her to the Birthing Pod getting probably Karmic Guide. I can then refill my instant selection with her, or depending on what might have been tutored with the Intuition creature cards that went to my graveyard.
sacrifice =
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
I'd agree with this if you replace the word "good" with "competitive".
Club Flamingo Wins: 1!
I've been playing with Kaho and she is pretty cool when I get to cast her. I like to go for "bad" card like arcane denial and fortune's favor so that she is less likely to get hated on.
1) Your opponent exiled something of yours.
2) Your Isochron Scepter broke and you want to recover that spell.
3) You want to get rid of a card that is imprinted/ciphered.
4) You want to mess around with someone's suspend.
5) Your Kaho died and you want to recover a valuable instant.
6) [insert your own example here]
Also aside from blinking, you can bounce-cast him in any number of ways, recur him from the yard with plenty of options. Its a good tech card in the right deck that could function for just your own deck and not necessarily what other players are doing and doesn't need to be relevant to what local meta.
1. So?
2. Name this card for me.
3. Nobody plays cipher cards and being able to randomly hose extraplanar lens is not very relevant
4. If the meta plays Jhoira and you have bunch other reasons to play riftsweeper then maybe riftsweeper can be your 99th card.
5. Name this card for me.
6. ....
Biggest problem with riftsweeper is that shuffling a card from exile to your library is more or less the same as the card just staying in exile. 2/2 for 2 is not playable even in a casual table. For the same mana you could play elvish visionary which cantrips and for 1 mana more you can play divination for +1 card advantage. At best it chumps a big creature which can be said for pretty much any creature.
1. Your win condition gets hit by something like Sadistic Sacrament or Jester's Cap. Rift Sweeper is in hand and you recover your win condition.
2. Dramatic Reversal, Counterspell, Mystical Tutor, Cyclonic Rift, Swan Song, etc.
3. You going to tell me no one runs Isochron Scepter, Stolen Identity, Whispering Madness, Extraplanar Lens, Duplicant, Knowledge Pool, Strata Scythe, Spellbinder, Prototype Portal?
4. Doesn't need to be against a Jhoira to mess with suspend cards. Wheel of Fate, Ancestral Vision, Reality Strobe, Living End, Lotus Bloom, Aeon Chronicler, Hypergenesis, Deep-Sea Kraken.
5. Displace, Ghostly Flicker, Mystical Tutor, Mystic Confluence, Cyclonic Rift, Insidious Will, Spell Crumple, Time Stop, Cryptic Command, Fact or Fiction, High Tide, Hinder, Mirror Match, Gather Specimens, Dig Through Time, Desertion, Turnabout, Engulf the Shore, Capsize, etc, etc, etc. Those sorts of cards.
6. I got one for you. Infinite mana combo involving Riftsweeper.
You are trying to compare card draw such as Elvish Visionary/Divination with Rift Sweeper. This comparison you made, that I visualize in my mind, is like comparing an apple to a meat patty and stating how the apple is better than the meat patty even though its an entirely different food group.
Bonus Round
1. You stated a 2/2 for 2 wouldn't even see play in a casual setting. Alright then, is that how you also view: Eight-and-a-half-tails, Ethersworn Canonist, Eladamri, Lord of Leaves, Fauna Shaman, Gaddock Teeg, Grand Abolisher, Puresteel Paladin, Saffi Eriksdotter, etc?
2. You stated that returning a card from exile to your library was as good as keeping it in exile. Yet with sufficient card draw and/or tutors you can make up for that.
3. You stated at best it just chumps a creature but that is without factoring in the usefulness of his ETB which already makes up for that value. With grave recursion like Necromancy its not hard to do so and is also used as part of an infinite combo for mana with Riftsweeper.
If you're in a meta where things like imprint and suspend are super common, then I could see it having value. Most of the time, it's a waste of space.
Pull from Eternity, at least, puts the card somewhere that's easier to access. It's also cheaper and instant-speed, giving you more options for use offensively.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
I would rather take a Riftsweeper than a Pull From Eternity. Bounce/grave-recursion/blink shenanigans are easier than trying to get multiple uses out of an Instant. I would argue that Spiritfiredoc is much more on point. As to argue that that putting an exiled card into it's owners library is AS GOOD AS keeping it in exile is such a bad statement within itself. As at least if it is within your library you can tutor that back up again with Kaho, Minamo Historian again instead of it being lost forever. What about decks focused around Reito Lantern for their own card synergies like with Grenzo, Dungeon Warden? That bad as well? As it is very similar.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
In a toolbox deck that can tutor for creature cards, having this very unique ability is certainly a way to help in a meta. Cards like Survival of the Fittest can help make Riftsweeper a better card, as you can either discard it if not needed for meta, or get it if your combo has been exiled.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith