So as I was brewing with the new cards from Throne I realized that I wanted Syr Konrad, the Grim in every deck I have with black in it. So the question I have is simple.Is he good enough to be a black staple card?
his activated ability is nice in that it hoses top of deck tutors, but people just play around that
i think most of the time he's just going to be blood artist... what 5? 6? are we up to like 10 of these guys yet? the 5 mana hurts, the 5 power is nice but there's cheaper options. i mean, if you're really abusing the effect you were probably also able to do it for cheaper with the alternatives. sure he hits everyone, but a lot of the time blood artist type dudes are a way to seal the deal with a combo or be a threat to protect your token swarm anyway. he wants to be wherever you'd run blood artist type stuff... not in every deck. i mean sure, he can also hose things like nim deathmantle... but again, people can play around that pretty easily
He's an infinite mana commander that unlike geth doesn't need a target to start, so in the command zone he's amazing.
I wouldn't say he's generically good in all decks running black. In an aristocrat sort of deck he is a nice mid game beater and offers a solid body to deflect some minor attackers. In a big-mana coffers sort of deck he makes a nice change of pace to more common geth antics. But without access to infinite or coffers mana or a dedicated sacrifice engine I wouldn't run him.
I would say that 5 mana stops him from being a staple, though he's certainly versatile.
If you are running aristocrats, this guy is decent (though far from the best).
If you are running dimir mill, this guy is a decent payoff.
If you are running a discard deck (including grixis wheel decks), this card is decent.
If your deck generates obscene/infinite amounts of mana, this guy can potentially win you the game.
Not sure how I like this guy in reanimation decks as he is a far cry from cards like flayer of the hatebound or river selkie but the card still isn't terrible.
Playing 5+ mana cards is the reason EDH started in the first place
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How i feel about competitive players and casual players in EDH: The competitive are german tourists, the casual are italian tourists, both in a italian beach. The italians asking themselves "why are the germans here?" make a legitimate question, the answer is because the beach is beautiful, no matter the country you came from. The italians wanting to ban the germans are dumb, because if the germans pay for their stay and follow the rules like everyone else, they have the right to be in the beach. Hovewer, if the germans started to ask themselves "why are the italians here?"... they would be dumb as hell.
If you want to win with sacrifices, there are cheaper options.
The great thing is that he works with almost anything that does "something" to creatures get put in the graveyard (or removed from) and drains all opponents at once, which is better for politics (as they are all equally mad at you, not just a single person).
So if the opponent is going for a sacrifice loop, they die from it.
If some plays a discard and draw effect, like Windfall, Wheel of Fortune and the like, he drains for quite a lot.
Works quite well with stuff like Mindcrank, its not infinite, but its the kind of stuff to ooze some value here and there.
You need creatures still, so in more tuned lists milling creatures is not going to happen in high enough quantity.
In casual however its a fantastic card, especially as it does not win immediately (reasons why i dont like Blood Artist and its similar cards in casual, as they are almost useless, unless you combo win with them, which isnt particularly fun gameplay).
Generating a lot of mana is totally viable in black decks, so if you untap and go to town, the effect probably wins quickly enough.
He's pretty well rounded as a design. You can build around him in aristocrats or even reanimator. He even works well enough in mono black control good stuff.
He triggers off of a hell of a lot. In a normal black deck, he'll trigger off of your sacrificed, creatures you return from the yard with reanimation effects or phyrexian reclamation, triggers off discard, triggers off if gy hate like bojuka big, triggers off of self mill, etc. In more dedicated decks he'll also trigger off milling your opponents, off of dredge (both the self mill aspect and the creature being put into your hand), and off of delve and other exile from the yard as a cost effects. And that's all before getting into his own activated ability Mana outlet. He's a nice way to sap life totals in more casual metas that actually impacts the board and can get things going on his own if the game is stalled, and he shines as a fun commander. Great design, and his flexibility means he should see extensive play in everything but cEDH.
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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"
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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!
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really good? yes
his activated ability is nice in that it hoses top of deck tutors, but people just play around that
i think most of the time he's just going to be blood artist... what 5? 6? are we up to like 10 of these guys yet? the 5 mana hurts, the 5 power is nice but there's cheaper options. i mean, if you're really abusing the effect you were probably also able to do it for cheaper with the alternatives. sure he hits everyone, but a lot of the time blood artist type dudes are a way to seal the deal with a combo or be a threat to protect your token swarm anyway. he wants to be wherever you'd run blood artist type stuff... not in every deck. i mean sure, he can also hose things like nim deathmantle... but again, people can play around that pretty easily
I wouldn't say he's generically good in all decks running black. In an aristocrat sort of deck he is a nice mid game beater and offers a solid body to deflect some minor attackers. In a big-mana coffers sort of deck he makes a nice change of pace to more common geth antics. But without access to infinite or coffers mana or a dedicated sacrifice engine I wouldn't run him.
Links to my most current deck lists;
Primary EDH; Rakka Mar Token Perfection, Crosis Mnemonic Betrayal, Cromat Villainous, Judith Gravestorm, Rakdos Empty Storm, Exava Artifacts, Bant Trash, & Fumiko Voltron!
EDH kept at home; Ruzzian Isset & Rakdos LoR!
EDH (nostalgic/pimp/retired) in storage;
Latulla Burns, Akroma Smash, Jeska Voltron, Rakdos Storm, Bladewing Darghans, Lyzolda Worldgorger, Xantcha Steals your Heart, Jori Storm, Wydwen Permission, Gwendlyn Paradox, Jeleva Warps, & Sigarda Brick!
Legacy Showanimator and High Tide!
/thread
If you are running aristocrats, this guy is decent (though far from the best).
If you are running dimir mill, this guy is a decent payoff.
If you are running a discard deck (including grixis wheel decks), this card is decent.
If your deck generates obscene/infinite amounts of mana, this guy can potentially win you the game.
Not sure how I like this guy in reanimation decks as he is a far cry from cards like flayer of the hatebound or river selkie but the card still isn't terrible.
Wide application but that cost is a real problem.
Playing 5+ mana cards is the reason EDH started in the first place
The great thing is that he works with almost anything that does "something" to creatures get put in the graveyard (or removed from) and drains all opponents at once, which is better for politics (as they are all equally mad at you, not just a single person).
So if the opponent is going for a sacrifice loop, they die from it.
If some plays a discard and draw effect, like Windfall, Wheel of Fortune and the like, he drains for quite a lot.
Works quite well with stuff like Mindcrank, its not infinite, but its the kind of stuff to ooze some value here and there.
You need creatures still, so in more tuned lists milling creatures is not going to happen in high enough quantity.
In casual however its a fantastic card, especially as it does not win immediately (reasons why i dont like Blood Artist and its similar cards in casual, as they are almost useless, unless you combo win with them, which isnt particularly fun gameplay).
Generating a lot of mana is totally viable in black decks, so if you untap and go to town, the effect probably wins quickly enough.
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You can also build around some lesser seen and hard to synergize cards like Desecrated Tomb or Undead Gladiator.
He's probably my favorite mono black go to commander since Gonti, Lord of Luxury.
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!