Just how good is this guy? The Bestow can be an absolute blowout, but the body itself is not worth running (worse than Two-Headed Cerberus), unlike the cycle of common Bestow creatures in Theros. Do you think BNG will slow down the format enough for this guy to be worth it?
Even if the body itself is slightly subpar, adding bestow adds enough versatility to the card to make it good, I think, It's not quite as good as Cerberus at wielding auras, but it's not that far behind, and it's also way easier to cast.
I wouldn't discount the base body that fast. It is smaller than Cerberus' but is easier to cast and is in a better color with generally better bestow creatures (Observant Alseid, Nyxborn Shieldmate, Hopeful Eidolon). It is a hell of a curve topper for WU and it bestows one turn earlier than Heliod's Emissary. I believe this is one of those cards that will perform better than they seem at first. I'll happily play it in my decks.
It looks really strong in W/G and quite good everywhere else. Comparing it to Observant Alseid in various scenarios it seems like it's going to be better about as often as it's worse, but when it's better it will sometimes be way better.
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With the exception of Hopeful Eidolon, however, I can't think of any other Bestow creature which is so much better Bestowed than played for its normal casting cost. And the Eidolon is 4 mana to Bestow, making it good for aggressive decks as a curve-topper on your Wingsteeds and such. I don't see these decks really wanting a 6-drop.
I agree that it might find a home in GW, but how highly would you pick the card?
I could see taking it reasonably highly. The thing with Bestow cards are that you get their effect twice: you can put this on a 5-drop, then if it dies, you can still enchant it to voltron again. Maybe not first pick, but I'd be surprised if this made it to pick 4 most of the time, and would treat it as a strong signal at pick 3.
Wit's End is the PERFECT answer to your opponent's Monomania however.
Just hold on to your Wit's End when they Monomania, so you can Wit's End them on your next turn!!!
I think this is fairly reminiscent of the "Jace Battles" we have seen in past standards.. My guess is we will soon witness the great Monomania-Wit's End battles.
Overall, I think the commons in BNG are far less exciting than their Theros bretheren. I could see this as a first pick in a weak pack and it's a solid pickup anywhere from 3-5. Anything after that and you're talking about a wide open color. It's also attractive because it doesn't cost WW for either version of the card.
I think the base body is highly playable in a format like Theros (I considered Two-Headed Cerberus quite good in heavy red and honestly this is a better base body, given the better color and easier casting more than making up for a single point in toughness on a creature that strikes first anyway). With so much pump, auras, and counters going around Double Strike is a premium ability and having it or even better being able to give it away is quite nice.
Of course being dependant on said pump/auras means its value is in fluctuation. If you already have pump to go on it then I'd rank it quite highly, if you don't have pump and don't expect to get much (ie you're not a heroic deck and don't plan on being one) then its value falls a fair bit. Still playable though because bestowing Double Strike is just that good.
I'd consider this a high pick and a huge signal. Double-strike is arguable the best ability. Being able to use this to give the multitude of Voltrons Double-strike is unbelievably powerful. The body by itself isn't bad, as you can turn it into a Voltron, too. I think this card will surprise a lot of people.
While double strike is perhaps the best ability in limited, the base body of this Eidolon is pretty weak. It does hold pants like a boss, but it's not the best. It's best to just think of it as a six-drop, and then it's value decreases significantly. Sure, putting it on Vulpine Goliath might look like fun, but the card resides in magic winter wonderland. Not a high pick, but it could be useful as a 1 of to take W/x heroic decks home.
At the midnight prerelease I watched another player Bestow Nylea's Emissary on this and ride it all the way to victory.
It doesn't really matter if this is the base of the Voltron or the top layer-- it's just about impossible to deal with in combat. If you can combo it with Trample, even if you need to run Satyr Rambler, you have an "answer or die" combination.
Unless BNG changes things considerably, powerful 6-drop Bestows have proven themselves to be extremely playable in a way that 7-drops are not. From my experience in a white Heroic deck today at the prerelease, Ghostblade Eidolon follows in that tradition quite excellently.
powerful 6-drop Bestows have proven themselves to be extremely playable in a way that 7-drops are not.
This is exactly right. I always was a little disappointed in the 7-mana Emissaries for that reason. I think this is even better in WU than WG; bestowing this on a flyer will end the game in short order. Unless you put it on a trampler, making Big Green Monsters even bigger doesn't get them around chump-blockers.
Unless you put it on a trampler, making Big Green Monsters even bigger doesn't get them around chump-blockers.
You don't put it on your 12/12 though (unless it's somehow getting through), you put it on your 3/3 to give the opponent two must-block threats to deal with.
Which is not to say it won't be great on flyers, but often you'll be boosting a creature the opponent had to answer anyway.
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It's a good card either way you cast it. You prefer to draw it later (like any expensive casting cost card) and slam it on a creature. But if you see that casting it T2 than suiting it up with other stuff works best than do that. I used it at one prerelease and it was fine.
Although I had 2x Hero of Ironas, voyaging satyr and caryatid in my pool to make it cheaper.
White has so many more ways to protect this guy than red has for the Cerberus. Frankly, I was surprised to see it at uncommon yesterday. It was very hard to deal with, even if it's not the stupid good that fabled hero can be.
After playing with him, I'd say he is a card that is amazing when he is good, and terrible when he is bad. Definitely has a place in decks that can play him, but I don't think it is a reason to be white. Nice thing is, you can play this guy in X/w and get plenty of value. Probably more than a low curve heroic deck.
I saw this in a draft and had to choose between it and Akroan Skyguard after I was solidly U/W heroic. I took the Skyguard, but I'm not sure if that was correct. What do you guys think?
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It would depend on what else was in your deck. There are certainly situations when either could be correct. I think a W/ deck uses Ghostblade slightly less effectively than the W/ or W/ decks but even so it's a card I'd be pretty happy to play in most decks.
I P1P1'd this from a fairly weak pack at a store draft on Monday and it was pretty great. Comparisons to Two Headed Cerberus don't do it justice because bestow is such an awesome ability, and 6 mana is very affordable. In one memorable turn I strapped this onto my Elite Skirmisher, tapped down my opponent's blocker and swung for 8 out of nowhere, completely turning the race around. Bestowing on to basically any bear was great, and suiting him up with a Nyxborn Shieldmate on turn 4 was also awesome.
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Just how good is this guy? The Bestow can be an absolute blowout, but the body itself is not worth running (worse than Two-Headed Cerberus), unlike the cycle of common Bestow creatures in Theros. Do you think BNG will slow down the format enough for this guy to be worth it?
I think it's a pretty decent card.
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With the exception of Hopeful Eidolon, however, I can't think of any other Bestow creature which is so much better Bestowed than played for its normal casting cost. And the Eidolon is 4 mana to Bestow, making it good for aggressive decks as a curve-topper on your Wingsteeds and such. I don't see these decks really wanting a 6-drop.
I agree that it might find a home in GW, but how highly would you pick the card?
I'd rate it lower than some bestow creatures like Nimbus Naiad and Leafcrown Dryad, but higher than say Purphoros's Emissary and Cavern Lampad.
Interactions I'd be interested in...this plus Daxos of Meletis and Medomai the Ageless.
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Of course being dependant on said pump/auras means its value is in fluctuation. If you already have pump to go on it then I'd rank it quite highly, if you don't have pump and don't expect to get much (ie you're not a heroic deck and don't plan on being one) then its value falls a fair bit. Still playable though because bestowing Double Strike is just that good.
It doesn't really matter if this is the base of the Voltron or the top layer-- it's just about impossible to deal with in combat. If you can combo it with Trample, even if you need to run Satyr Rambler, you have an "answer or die" combination.
This is exactly right. I always was a little disappointed in the 7-mana Emissaries for that reason. I think this is even better in WU than WG; bestowing this on a flyer will end the game in short order. Unless you put it on a trampler, making Big Green Monsters even bigger doesn't get them around chump-blockers.
You don't put it on your 12/12 though (unless it's somehow getting through), you put it on your 3/3 to give the opponent two must-block threats to deal with.
Which is not to say it won't be great on flyers, but often you'll be boosting a creature the opponent had to answer anyway.
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Although I had 2x Hero of Ironas, voyaging satyr and caryatid in my pool to make it cheaper.
T3, actually.
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