The definition of MVP for the purposes of this thread is really up to each person voting, but in general it should be the card you feel is either the best card power-wise, or a card you feel has the most influence on the format, or the card you feel leads to the best games, or your favorite card from the set, or the one you see the most in your playgroup. Just like voting for sports MVP's, the definition of "MVP" is deliberately left open to interpretation to allow for each voter to bring their personal experiences and/or thoughts to the table. My hope is that each person voting will establish their own criteria taking Power, Influence, Ubiquity, Personal Experience, etc. all into consideration and weighing their vote based on several criteria.
This time it's Tempest and Urza's block, both of which are packed to the gills with power cards. For some of these sets, my first pass on nominations was over 30 cards, so while I'm listing the top 20-25 for the big sets I highly encourage people to take a look at these sets very carefully as they provide a ton of unique effects and useful spells.
I chose Gaea’s Cradle because Tolarian Academy is banned. It’s not the place to discuss their place in the format, but I will note that creatures are much, much better now.
Tempest - Ancient Tomb : This is so far the hardest set to choose an MVP from. Not by lack of choices tough, so many great cards. Altar of Dementia is a powefull sac outlet. Capsize is one of the most feared bounce spells in the game, Earthcraft has some degenerate combo implications, Medallions are solid ways to "ramp", Humility is the bane of fun, Intutition is strong tutor spell, Living Death a fantastic reanimation/board wipe spell, Propaganda an iconic pillowfort card, Scroll Rack a very powerfull filter, Reflecting Pool a great land for multi colored decls, etc. Hot damm what a great set for commander. No patience too comment on the others XD. Went with Ancient Tomb for been good in any deck basically. I put it in all of my decks actually(proxy it ofcourse because can't aford to have more). Its expensive atm but not in the absurd levels and thats it. Even so any of the other cards could have been a chocie for MVP honestly.
Stronghold - Grave Pact : Some good cards here and a broken combo one in Hermit Druid but its broken in hyper competitive decks and commander isn't only about that. Grave Pact is powerfull and very iconic in commander, basically been its own archtype. Very powerfull card in multiplayer and one of my favourite cards.
Exodus - Survival of the Fittest : Some niche here and there but neh Survival won by default for pure power alone and not having strong competition. Its expensive and not alot of people can aford it, but price isn't the only criteria as it compesates with everything else. Goes in multiple decks with green and very powerfull tutor. So yeah no competition here.
Urza's Saga - Windfall : I doubt i will have shared opinions by picking Windfall over Gaea's Cradle. Gaea's Cradly is no doubt one of the most pwerfull lands in the format and game. But like it said, commander also needs to be afordable so i take price over consideration and Gae's Cradle's price is just insane. Might be bias here because i don't have Gaea's Cradle but i have Yawgmoth's Will and also din't pick it due to price. I picked the msot available chocie thats also very strong. I went with Windfall, most due to my opinion that price of cards have weight on the format.
Urza's Legacy - Mother of Runes : Goblin Welder is my favourite and the best of the list but he din't became MVP for me for been rather niche. He can only go in Aratifact decks with red while Mother of Runes can go almost any white decks really.
Urza's Destiny - Thran Dynamo Some nice choices here and Academy Rector would be the most logical choice here, but i went with thran Dynamo for been a very powerfull mana rock that goes in lots of decks. Academy Rector is stronegr but tis pricing kinda negates it abit for me and therefore lsoes to thran Dynamo that its also very powerfull in a way.
Wasteland - the single most ubiquitous way to keep problem lands in check, in a format where the most iconic, visible and problem cards are the lands makes this a no contest.
Hermit Druid - I mean hermit druid exists so............
Survival of the Fittest - I almost settled on Cataclysm but can you think of a more iconic powerhouse than SotF?! No. No you can't.
YawgWin - just look at the name..........
Memory Jar - I had a real tough time considering between Palinchron, Frantic Search, Welder, Mom.....but at the end of the day, the Jar is the iconic piece.
Academy Rector - While I think there's a real strong case for Yavimaya Elder here, I believe Rector is much more "THE Guy" of the format. You could even call it THE BIIIIIGGGGGG DAAAAWWWGGG. (I'm not proud of myself. But I am sure you can get the reference 🤔).
I changed my criteria for this thread, because this is the era I started playing Magic in. As a result, I knew nostalgia was strong and wanted to vote for some of my favorite cards in all MtG history, even if they aren't necessarily the most ubiquitous or versatile cards on this list.
Tempest:Living Death was the winner. I've recently come to love Ancient Tomb, but Living Death is just my favorite black spell ever. It's insanely skill-testing and a fantastic boardwipe as well as a wonderful payoff for the kind of things I wanted to do anyways (dredge, self-mill, loot, and sacrifice my stuff for value). I recently lost a game because of it (forgot one opponent had a Dragon Tempest in play and a fair whack of dragons in the 'yard) which shows even after all these years that it's complex, fascinating, fun, and leads to big climactic moments in games.
Stronghold:Grave Pact is the narrow winner - this card completely changes the game even when played "fair" and is obviously disgusting when played with Black's usual SacPact tricks. I find every black deck I build feels the siren's song of adding more sacrifice outlets, so they add this, so they add more payoffs...it's a real problem, making sure all my black decks don't devolve into SacPact Aristocrats.
Exodus:Erratic Portal. I recognize this is one of the LEAST powerful and useful cards on this list, but I. Love. Durdling. I'll durdle all day, every day. While I prefer Crystal Shard, Erratic Portal makes a fine backup copy in Ux decks and is my only real option in, say, my Multani, Maro-Sorcerer deck thats loaded with EtB triggers.
Urza's Saga:Karn, Silver Golem amid a packed house. Saga was my first set, so I've got a lot of loves for cards from this era, but Karn was my first Legendary Creature and my first Commander deck. Even today, with that deck dismantled, Karn is a workhorse in my Daretti deck. He's always better than you think he'll be, able to suddenly allow a durdling artifact deck to go on the offensive while also blowing up some obnoxious artifacts at will. Forever my favorite.
Urza's Legacy:Frantic Search. This was a lot closer, as I also tend to worm Mother of Runes into every single white deck I build and I count Rancor and Goblin Welder as some of my favorite cards in their colors as well. But Search lets me Draw Cards (awesome!), Discard Cards (sweet reanimator/dredge/madness goodness), untap lands (sick value with Karoos and other lands), and all at instant speed. It also is a card I struggle NOT to run (only owning 3 copies helps), but it does more of the things I adore in Magic than good ol' Mom. Meanwhile, it does have that ubiquity factor over Rancor (which is much less good here than it is in 60 card formats, although it's still fine in Voltron and Enchantress) and Welder (who's only really great in heavy artifact decks with a heavy sacrifice or looting theme).
Urza's Destiny:Yavimaya Elder. I again recognize the power gulf here, but Elder (alongside fellow Sakura-Tribe Elder) are the cards that make me love green. Elder is just so versatile. You can play him as a 3GG "Draw 3" which is not amazing but is solid, especially as you can make installments. But as a creature that does that, it also means he's prime sacrifice fodder, and provides an easy way to trigger, say, Grave Pact or Fecundity for even more advantage. And he gets you two cards for 1GG + a chump block, which is also a sweet deal even if he always draws lands. Just an absolute hero.
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I chose Gaea’s Cradle because Tolarian Academy is banned. It’s not the place to discuss their place in the format, but I will note that creatures are much, much better now.
Even back then, Gaea's Cradle was busted. My Masques-Saga-6th Ed Standard deck of choice was the following:
This poll was slightly more difficult than the last one for very different reasons. Lots of great EDH cards in these sets.
From what I can tell, Tempest and Urza's Saga both have the largest collection of Commander-playable cards versus any set. The Tempest cards were especially numerous, and a lot of them are staple-type cards. These two blocks are indispensable to how I build my decks and I'm just glad I was playing back then and that I've kept a lot of my cards over the years.
Urza's Destiny: Academy Rector: Anything that tutors for at least one whole card type, and ignores CMC, is broken. I use this in any deck of mine that features any decent amount of white, not even just enchantress decks. He(?) searches for Omniscience or even less blatantly offensive options like Grave Pact or Doubling Season or True Conviction or Furnace of Rath.
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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!
Tempest
MVP: Wasteland - Surprised to see so many votes for (and more players playing) Ancient Tomb. The Tomb is a fantastic card, but I wouldn't expect it to outpace Wasteland by so much. Maybe I prioritize answers more than most.
Iconic Card of the Set: Time Warp - This is the card I think of when I think Tempest EDH
Really?: Mirri's Guile - Not a bad card, looks very overplayed to me. You need to be abusing it (like say, with Courser of Kruphix) and I think far to many people are playing it as a generic good card, which likely isn't worth doing
Underused Gem - Fool's Tome - Obviously needs a specific deck, but keeps a steady supply of gas as long as you're willing to spend it.
Stronghold
MVP: Grave Pact - Always expect to have to deal with this card. You may not have to, but there's always someone who plays it (or it's many imitations) lurking about.
Greedy: Horn of Greed - Are you abusing it? Some of you are. Those who aren't, meh.
Play fair!: Hermit Druid - I don't know how you play this card and resist the temptation to go all in. But clearly, most of you do, so good for you. I don't know that I could make a deck with the guy without trying to demonstrate that he should be banned.
I don't believe you: Mox Diamond - in 10K+ decks? I think you lie.
Exodus
MVP: Survival of the Fittest - I can see picking Coat of Arms, but that helps my opponents and can be a counting nightmare on a crowded boardstate. Survival just creates a world of possibility.
Overplayed: Spellbook - So not worth it. Also, whenever I see someone play this card, I immediately assume their home could be featured on Hoarders
Coward!: Reconnaissance - I get why, but you are better off clearing a path. Cards that do something > Cards that do nothing
Parole?: Recurring Nightmare - Yeah, it's fantastic, but so are a lot of other cards. I'm not sure this one should still be exiled from the format.
Urza's Saga
MVP: Gaea's Cradle - I mean, I guess it's the MVP. But this set feels like a team of all stars without one who stands above the rest.
LVP: Telepathy - *shakes head sadly* (See, you can figure out what I'm thinking without having to spend a card to read my mind)
Should see more play: Attunement - Only 200 copies in the 3000+ enchantress decks?
How the mighty have fallen: Hello Morphling. I remember when you were the best creature in the game. Times sure have changed.
Urza's Legacy
MVP: Karmic Guide - Less exciting, but always dependable
Good, you play it: Crawlspace - Solid card. Glad to see it gets the love it deserves.
Really, you play it?: Phyrexian Reclamation - I mean, it's not Telepathy or anything, but it's so much more low impact than it appears.
Card that I hate exists: Palinchron - I'm not saying it's too powerful, but it's a boring combo engine. I just roll my eyes everytime I see it in action
Urza's Destiny
MVP: Academy Rector - Yes, Thran Dynamo is a dynamo, but it's also unspectacular and not unique. The Rector is so much more powerful.
Overplayed: Yavimaya Elder - This card is a baby boomer. It needs to be sent off into retirement.
Did you lose a bet? Carnival of Souls - Are you trying to prove you can? You don't have to do this to yourself.
Popularity is not your goal: Wake of Destruction - If you made a 12 year old cry, it would make your day, wouldn't it?
Tempest and Urzas Saga were the two best blocks of all time when you take into account iconic cards, power level, breadth of playables, story, art direction, setting, etc. They may not be the best in each individual category, but when viewing all the categories together and judging the whole picture they are just wow. I didn't start playing until the early 2000s, so Mirrodin through Lorwyn are my nostalgia blocks, no slouches in term of strong cards and flavor, but as I've played both Tempest and Urzas have risen to be my favorite blocks. Id actually pick tempest over Urzas because it was less broken and had a good draft format at every stage (triple tempest, TTS, and TSE). Quite possibly the perfect block, the platonic ideal of Magic.
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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!
Tempest
MVP: Wasteland - Surprised to see so many votes for (and more players playing) Ancient Tomb. The Tomb is a fantastic card, but I wouldn't expect it to outpace Wasteland by so much. Maybe I prioritize answers more than most.
Iconic Card of the Set: Time Warp - This is the card I think of when I think Tempest EDH
Speaking for myself, I think it's because it's real tough to invest $30 on a utility answer in a format where Strip Mine is A) Also legal, B) 1/10th the price 2/3 the price, and C) even better since it has no targeting restrictions and can "get 'em" alongside Crucible. I'm not sure the average 2-color deck can support running both and most metas won't need it. Land destruction also is stigmatized, so even a "Fair" land destruction card like Wasteland might get competed out of the meta by Ghost Quarter, Field of Ruin, and Dust Bowl which are again much more budget-friendly while also being less likely to draw ire and break the social contract.
EDIT: Wow, since when was Strip Mine a $24 card? I guess it's been like six or seven years since I bought mine.
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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
Tempest Ancient Tomb - This is pretty clearly the "best" card of the list for what I use. It ramps and allows for explosive plays. It is besty in my non-green decks as a way to get going early although the damage is not inconsequential, even in EDH.
Stronghold Constant Mists - Obviously not the strongest in the list, but for me it is the one that has led to the most wins in the decks where I run it. It is truly an All-Star when I use it.
Exodus Spike Weaver - Survival is obviously the "right" choice here but for me (since I don't run Survival in anything) is Spike Weaver. Again, power level wise this may not be the best, but it has led to a lot of wins in cases where I may not have otherwise won that I feel it deserves my vote here.
Urza's Saga Gaea's Cradle - It is ridiculously good on even a bad board state with just 2 creatures and just gets better from there. It sometimes sucks to have a wrath come down and cause it not to tap for mana, but it isn't too hard to get at least one more creature out so it is tapping for 1 mana.
Urza's Legacy Karmic Guide - I use Guide for a total of 0 combos, but the value it provides outside of combos is still really good. In Karador, it is always fun to cast Guide from the graveyard to get something else, let it die next turn, and then cast it again. It gives me the creature I want along with a 2/2 Flyer to help protect me until next turn. I am surprised Phyrexian Reclamation didn't make the list as it would probably be my second choice. It is always a target when I play it and provides insane value.
Urza's Destiny Academy Rector - I only use this in one deck, but it provides a lot of value when I need it and has saved me a couple times.
LVP: Telepathy - *shakes head sadly* (See, you can figure out what I'm thinking without having to spend a card to read my mind)
I love your stuff so this also stood out to me. I don't know what's worse:
- This card is played at all in any deck that isn't Sen Triplets, Isperia, the Inscrutable, and Nebuchadnezzar.
- It is played in more Baral, Chief of Compliance lists than Isperia or Nebby decks.
- It is played in a total of 2500 decks.
- There are 50 poor souls running Isperia that DON'T run Telepathy.
It almost makes me wonder if the card deserves a SCS thread to discuss why people run it.
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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
I thought replenish would get more love. That card is so bonkers I don't think they will ever reprint it.
I love the idea of these threads but I do wish that lands were not part of it. We all know that Gaea's cradle (wasteland... anciencet tomb...)is awesome.
Yeah, it was close on a few of these. Mind Over Matter and Spike Weaver, for instance, were narrow losses for me. What really hurt MOM was the mana cost. I have issues with any card costing four mana of one color being considered "the MVP", and that card reminded me of them. (Get it? Because the other UUUU card is what?)
For Spike Weaver, it's simple: If I have a way to put more +1/+1 counters on it, it's really good, but in multiplayer, those fogs are used up fast.
It was very close on pretty much all of the Urza sets, with five or more that would be the best if not for the competition.
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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!
Link to Poll 1
Link to Poll 2
Alpha/Beta/Unlimited - Sol Ring
Arabian Nights - City of Brass
Antiquities - Ashnod's Altar
Legends - Sylvan Library
The Dark - Maze of Ith
Fallen Empires - High Tide
Ice Age - Necropotence
Homelands - Merchant Scroll
Alliances - Force of Will
Mirage - Tutors Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Worldly Tutor
Visions - Vampiric Tutor
Weatherlight - Buried Alive
The definition of MVP for the purposes of this thread is really up to each person voting, but in general it should be the card you feel is either the best card power-wise, or a card you feel has the most influence on the format, or the card you feel leads to the best games, or your favorite card from the set, or the one you see the most in your playgroup. Just like voting for sports MVP's, the definition of "MVP" is deliberately left open to interpretation to allow for each voter to bring their personal experiences and/or thoughts to the table. My hope is that each person voting will establish their own criteria taking Power, Influence, Ubiquity, Personal Experience, etc. all into consideration and weighing their vote based on several criteria.
This time it's Tempest and Urza's block, both of which are packed to the gills with power cards. For some of these sets, my first pass on nominations was over 30 cards, so while I'm listing the top 20-25 for the big sets I highly encourage people to take a look at these sets very carefully as they provide a ton of unique effects and useful spells.
(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'
Tempest - Ancient Tomb : This is so far the hardest set to choose an MVP from. Not by lack of choices tough, so many great cards. Altar of Dementia is a powefull sac outlet. Capsize is one of the most feared bounce spells in the game, Earthcraft has some degenerate combo implications, Medallions are solid ways to "ramp", Humility is the bane of fun, Intutition is strong tutor spell, Living Death a fantastic reanimation/board wipe spell, Propaganda an iconic pillowfort card, Scroll Rack a very powerfull filter, Reflecting Pool a great land for multi colored decls, etc. Hot damm what a great set for commander. No patience too comment on the others XD. Went with Ancient Tomb for been good in any deck basically. I put it in all of my decks actually(proxy it ofcourse because can't aford to have more). Its expensive atm but not in the absurd levels and thats it. Even so any of the other cards could have been a chocie for MVP honestly.
Stronghold - Grave Pact : Some good cards here and a broken combo one in Hermit Druid but its broken in hyper competitive decks and commander isn't only about that. Grave Pact is powerfull and very iconic in commander, basically been its own archtype. Very powerfull card in multiplayer and one of my favourite cards.
Exodus - Survival of the Fittest : Some niche here and there but neh Survival won by default for pure power alone and not having strong competition. Its expensive and not alot of people can aford it, but price isn't the only criteria as it compesates with everything else. Goes in multiple decks with green and very powerfull tutor. So yeah no competition here.
Urza's Saga - Windfall : I doubt i will have shared opinions by picking Windfall over Gaea's Cradle. Gaea's Cradly is no doubt one of the most pwerfull lands in the format and game. But like it said, commander also needs to be afordable so i take price over consideration and Gae's Cradle's price is just insane. Might be bias here because i don't have Gaea's Cradle but i have Yawgmoth's Will and also din't pick it due to price. I picked the msot available chocie thats also very strong. I went with Windfall, most due to my opinion that price of cards have weight on the format.
Urza's Legacy - Mother of Runes : Goblin Welder is my favourite and the best of the list but he din't became MVP for me for been rather niche. He can only go in Aratifact decks with red while Mother of Runes can go almost any white decks really.
Urza's Destiny - Thran Dynamo Some nice choices here and Academy Rector would be the most logical choice here, but i went with thran Dynamo for been a very powerfull mana rock that goes in lots of decks. Academy Rector is stronegr but tis pricing kinda negates it abit for me and therefore lsoes to thran Dynamo that its also very powerfull in a way.
Hermit Druid - I mean hermit druid exists so............
Survival of the Fittest - I almost settled on Cataclysm but can you think of a more iconic powerhouse than SotF?! No. No you can't.
YawgWin - just look at the name..........
Memory Jar - I had a real tough time considering between Palinchron, Frantic Search, Welder, Mom.....but at the end of the day, the Jar is the iconic piece.
Academy Rector - While I think there's a real strong case for Yavimaya Elder here, I believe Rector is much more "THE Guy" of the format. You could even call it THE BIIIIIGGGGGG DAAAAWWWGGG. (I'm not proud of myself. But I am sure you can get the reference 🤔).
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Tempest: Living Death was the winner. I've recently come to love Ancient Tomb, but Living Death is just my favorite black spell ever. It's insanely skill-testing and a fantastic boardwipe as well as a wonderful payoff for the kind of things I wanted to do anyways (dredge, self-mill, loot, and sacrifice my stuff for value). I recently lost a game because of it (forgot one opponent had a Dragon Tempest in play and a fair whack of dragons in the 'yard) which shows even after all these years that it's complex, fascinating, fun, and leads to big climactic moments in games.
Stronghold: Grave Pact is the narrow winner - this card completely changes the game even when played "fair" and is obviously disgusting when played with Black's usual SacPact tricks. I find every black deck I build feels the siren's song of adding more sacrifice outlets, so they add this, so they add more payoffs...it's a real problem, making sure all my black decks don't devolve into SacPact Aristocrats.
Exodus: Erratic Portal. I recognize this is one of the LEAST powerful and useful cards on this list, but I. Love. Durdling. I'll durdle all day, every day. While I prefer Crystal Shard, Erratic Portal makes a fine backup copy in Ux decks and is my only real option in, say, my Multani, Maro-Sorcerer deck thats loaded with EtB triggers.
Urza's Saga: Karn, Silver Golem amid a packed house. Saga was my first set, so I've got a lot of loves for cards from this era, but Karn was my first Legendary Creature and my first Commander deck. Even today, with that deck dismantled, Karn is a workhorse in my Daretti deck. He's always better than you think he'll be, able to suddenly allow a durdling artifact deck to go on the offensive while also blowing up some obnoxious artifacts at will. Forever my favorite.
Urza's Legacy: Frantic Search. This was a lot closer, as I also tend to worm Mother of Runes into every single white deck I build and I count Rancor and Goblin Welder as some of my favorite cards in their colors as well. But Search lets me Draw Cards (awesome!), Discard Cards (sweet reanimator/dredge/madness goodness), untap lands (sick value with Karoos and other lands), and all at instant speed. It also is a card I struggle NOT to run (only owning 3 copies helps), but it does more of the things I adore in Magic than good ol' Mom. Meanwhile, it does have that ubiquity factor over Rancor (which is much less good here than it is in 60 card formats, although it's still fine in Voltron and Enchantress) and Welder (who's only really great in heavy artifact decks with a heavy sacrifice or looting theme).
Urza's Destiny: Yavimaya Elder. I again recognize the power gulf here, but Elder (alongside fellow Sakura-Tribe Elder) are the cards that make me love green. Elder is just so versatile. You can play him as a 3GG "Draw 3" which is not amazing but is solid, especially as you can make installments. But as a creature that does that, it also means he's prime sacrifice fodder, and provides an easy way to trigger, say, Grave Pact or Fecundity for even more advantage. And he gets you two cards for 1GG + a chump block, which is also a sweet deal even if he always draws lands. Just an absolute hero.
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
Even back then, Gaea's Cradle was busted. My Masques-Saga-6th Ed Standard deck of choice was the following:
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Priest of Titania
4x Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
3x Skyshroud Poacher
4x Deranged Hermit
4x Crop Rotation
1x Vitalize
3x Fervor
4x Collective Unconscious
1x Stroke of Genius
1x Fireball
4x Gaea's Cradle
2x Thran Quarry
17x Forest
The deck could win with either a massive Fireball to the opponent's head, or a massive attack of hasty squirrels.
But to your point, Gaea's Cradle is massively busted when deck can spit out droves of tokens.
From what I can tell, Tempest and Urza's Saga both have the largest collection of Commander-playable cards versus any set. The Tempest cards were especially numerous, and a lot of them are staple-type cards. These two blocks are indispensable to how I build my decks and I'm just glad I was playing back then and that I've kept a lot of my cards over the years.
Stronghold: Grave Pact, making control more so, token Stax a thing, and aggro even viable since the beginning of this format.
Exodus: Survival of the Fittest. Have you noticed I bias for tutors?
Urza's Saga: Yawgmoth's Will. Consider that Snapcaster Mage is just a very weak version of it, for starters.
Urza's Legacy: Defense of the Heart. Tutors. The hoop isn't that difficult to jump through.
Urza's Destiny: Academy Rector: Anything that tutors for at least one whole card type, and ignores CMC, is broken. I use this in any deck of mine that features any decent amount of white, not even just enchantress decks. He(?) searches for Omniscience or even less blatantly offensive options like Grave Pact or Doubling Season or True Conviction or Furnace of Rath.
On phasing:
Tempest
MVP: Wasteland - Surprised to see so many votes for (and more players playing) Ancient Tomb. The Tomb is a fantastic card, but I wouldn't expect it to outpace Wasteland by so much. Maybe I prioritize answers more than most.
Iconic Card of the Set: Time Warp - This is the card I think of when I think Tempest EDH
Really?: Mirri's Guile - Not a bad card, looks very overplayed to me. You need to be abusing it (like say, with Courser of Kruphix) and I think far to many people are playing it as a generic good card, which likely isn't worth doing
Underused Gem - Fool's Tome - Obviously needs a specific deck, but keeps a steady supply of gas as long as you're willing to spend it.
Stronghold
MVP: Grave Pact - Always expect to have to deal with this card. You may not have to, but there's always someone who plays it (or it's many imitations) lurking about.
Greedy: Horn of Greed - Are you abusing it? Some of you are. Those who aren't, meh.
Play fair!: Hermit Druid - I don't know how you play this card and resist the temptation to go all in. But clearly, most of you do, so good for you. I don't know that I could make a deck with the guy without trying to demonstrate that he should be banned.
I don't believe you: Mox Diamond - in 10K+ decks? I think you lie.
Exodus
MVP: Survival of the Fittest - I can see picking Coat of Arms, but that helps my opponents and can be a counting nightmare on a crowded boardstate. Survival just creates a world of possibility.
Overplayed: Spellbook - So not worth it. Also, whenever I see someone play this card, I immediately assume their home could be featured on Hoarders
Coward!: Reconnaissance - I get why, but you are better off clearing a path. Cards that do something > Cards that do nothing
Parole?: Recurring Nightmare - Yeah, it's fantastic, but so are a lot of other cards. I'm not sure this one should still be exiled from the format.
Urza's Saga
MVP: Gaea's Cradle - I mean, I guess it's the MVP. But this set feels like a team of all stars without one who stands above the rest.
LVP: Telepathy - *shakes head sadly* (See, you can figure out what I'm thinking without having to spend a card to read my mind)
Should see more play: Attunement - Only 200 copies in the 3000+ enchantress decks?
How the mighty have fallen: Hello Morphling. I remember when you were the best creature in the game. Times sure have changed.
Urza's Legacy
MVP: Karmic Guide - Less exciting, but always dependable
Good, you play it: Crawlspace - Solid card. Glad to see it gets the love it deserves.
Really, you play it?: Phyrexian Reclamation - I mean, it's not Telepathy or anything, but it's so much more low impact than it appears.
Card that I hate exists: Palinchron - I'm not saying it's too powerful, but it's a boring combo engine. I just roll my eyes everytime I see it in action
Urza's Destiny
MVP: Academy Rector - Yes, Thran Dynamo is a dynamo, but it's also unspectacular and not unique. The Rector is so much more powerful.
Overplayed: Yavimaya Elder - This card is a baby boomer. It needs to be sent off into retirement.
Did you lose a bet? Carnival of Souls - Are you trying to prove you can? You don't have to do this to yourself.
Popularity is not your goal: Wake of Destruction - If you made a 12 year old cry, it would make your day, wouldn't it?
Tempest and Urzas Saga were the two best blocks of all time when you take into account iconic cards, power level, breadth of playables, story, art direction, setting, etc. They may not be the best in each individual category, but when viewing all the categories together and judging the whole picture they are just wow. I didn't start playing until the early 2000s, so Mirrodin through Lorwyn are my nostalgia blocks, no slouches in term of strong cards and flavor, but as I've played both Tempest and Urzas have risen to be my favorite blocks. Id actually pick tempest over Urzas because it was less broken and had a good draft format at every stage (triple tempest, TTS, and TSE). Quite possibly the perfect block, the platonic ideal of Magic.
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!
Speaking for myself, I think it's because it's real tough to invest $30 on a utility answer in a format where Strip Mine is A) Also legal, B)
1/10th the price2/3 the price, and C) even better since it has no targeting restrictions and can "get 'em" alongside Crucible. I'm not sure the average 2-color deck can support running both and most metas won't need it. Land destruction also is stigmatized, so even a "Fair" land destruction card like Wasteland might get competed out of the meta by Ghost Quarter, Field of Ruin, and Dust Bowl which are again much more budget-friendly while also being less likely to draw ire and break the social contract.EDIT: Wow, since when was Strip Mine a $24 card? I guess it's been like six or seven years since I bought mine.
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
Ancient Tomb - This is pretty clearly the "best" card of the list for what I use. It ramps and allows for explosive plays. It is besty in my non-green decks as a way to get going early although the damage is not inconsequential, even in EDH.
Stronghold
Constant Mists - Obviously not the strongest in the list, but for me it is the one that has led to the most wins in the decks where I run it. It is truly an All-Star when I use it.
Exodus
Spike Weaver - Survival is obviously the "right" choice here but for me (since I don't run Survival in anything) is Spike Weaver. Again, power level wise this may not be the best, but it has led to a lot of wins in cases where I may not have otherwise won that I feel it deserves my vote here.
Urza's Saga
Gaea's Cradle - It is ridiculously good on even a bad board state with just 2 creatures and just gets better from there. It sometimes sucks to have a wrath come down and cause it not to tap for mana, but it isn't too hard to get at least one more creature out so it is tapping for 1 mana.
Urza's Legacy
Karmic Guide - I use Guide for a total of 0 combos, but the value it provides outside of combos is still really good. In Karador, it is always fun to cast Guide from the graveyard to get something else, let it die next turn, and then cast it again. It gives me the creature I want along with a 2/2 Flyer to help protect me until next turn. I am surprised Phyrexian Reclamation didn't make the list as it would probably be my second choice. It is always a target when I play it and provides insane value.
Urza's Destiny
Academy Rector - I only use this in one deck, but it provides a lot of value when I need it and has saved me a couple times.
I love your stuff so this also stood out to me. I don't know what's worse:
- This card is played at all in any deck that isn't Sen Triplets, Isperia, the Inscrutable, and Nebuchadnezzar.
- It is played in more Baral, Chief of Compliance lists than Isperia or Nebby decks.
- It is played in a total of 2500 decks.
- There are 50 poor souls running Isperia that DON'T run Telepathy.
It almost makes me wonder if the card deserves a SCS thread to discuss why people run it.
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
I love the idea of these threads but I do wish that lands were not part of it. We all know that Gaea's cradle (wasteland... anciencet tomb...)is awesome.
BURWGSliver Hivelord's alt wincon deck at Maze's EndBURWG
GWBSidar Kondo and Ikra Shidiq likes big butts
RUMizzix of the Izmagnus Super ThiefRU
BURWGGeneral Tazri, The Megazord AllyBURWG
BURJeleva Mill and Kill BUR
BRGrenzo's get out from under that deck!BR
WUG Roon's Enchanted Evening (enchantment deck) WUG
BUG The Undersea World of Tasigur CousteauBUG
BWGAnafenza, Counter QueenBWG
For Spike Weaver, it's simple: If I have a way to put more +1/+1 counters on it, it's really good, but in multiplayer, those fogs are used up fast.
It was very close on pretty much all of the Urza sets, with five or more that would be the best if not for the competition.
On phasing: