I can imagine a KTK limited deck in which Brave the Sands is valuable, but I don't realistically think that I would draft a deck in which this would be a card I would want. I have never seen it played.
In a reasonably best case scenario the card gives you an extra blocker, which may allow you to attack when you might not want to otherwise attack. So you can attack with your War Behemoth instead of having to leave him back to block, since he can do both. But in this case I would just rather have a second War Behemoth. So you not only need to have this sort of reasonable best case scenario but to get value out of Brave the Sands you need to have it twice at the same time, or else you'd just be better off having another creature. But many of the creatures I would want to attack with are not ones I want blocking, such as Mystic of the Hidden Way or Watcher of the Roost, plus this is a dead card unless I have at least one creature which I want to attack and block with. Still, I imagine that if I could build a deck with lots of beef (and enough early defense), and lots of creatures in general, then maybe Brave the Sands could be useful? Or maybe if there's enough beef and I am really scrounging for a 22nd card.
At least, in a deck with good beef I would rather play Brave the Sands than a 19th land.
I've had Brave the Sands played against me a couple of times, and while I do not think it is a card anyone should play in KTK, it does play better than its "garbage" tag might suggest. If you're ahead, it's quite powerful. It basically locks up the game if you have the biggest creatures on the board, and it helps you avoid Trumpet Blast blowouts.
Of course, lots of cards are good when you have the biggest creatures on the board. That's the glaring problem because it doesn't help you come from behind or break parity. The Outlast interaction is cute, but if you have multiple Outlast guys surviving for many turns, you're already the favorite to win with or without Brave the Sands.
All it does is turn a good board into a great board, and that's not enough.
I think Brave the Sands wins the Distinguished New Player Trapping Star for the set.
There always seems to be one really awful card in each set that I see lot of newer, less-practiced players online and at the LGS putting in their decks and singing praises for. I thought it was going to be Briber's Purse this time, but I was wrong. People seem to have caught on to the purse pretty fast, but I've seen more than a couple new players who love Brave the Sands.
I guess that makes it a successful design; the players who are playing it seem to love it, and it's working as a skill-tester.
I feel like I'm one of the few people who picks up Brave the Sands when I notice I'm going to be going white. Specifically, this in the Mardu deck helps steals games or come from behind in an amazing fashion. I like it in Abzan, too, specifically against the Mardu aggro decks. It turns some dire situations into a manageable situation. I've never drafted Jeskai, so I don't know how well it will do there.
I don't know. People like to put down this card, and while I suppose I understand why, I've only ever done well with it in the deck and I've been beaten because I didn't see it coming when my opponent played it. It's not removal, it's not a creature, but it's something that affects combat math really harshly. I like cards like that.
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My Decks: EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn Modern: Polytokes IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
I agree with the comments above. Ghostfire Blade is a very good first pick and a very good pick at any time in almost any KTK limited deck, even one with very few morphs. The times I would pass this are very rare, such as pack 3, I had almost no morphs, and there was some other very good card which particularly fit my deck.
As my only example, earlier this week I passed it pack 3 pick 1 for an Abzan Falconer when I already had a lot of ways to generate +1/+1 counters, I had only one or two morphs, and almost no flyers. The player I passed it to played me in round one, in game one casting two Trail of Mystery, one Secret Plans, and one Ghostfire Blade (obviously he won, once he cast Villainous Wealth) but fortunately for me he also included Altar of the Brood, a card I had never seen in any limited game, for some reason.
One of the best first picks in the set IMO. Whenever you take it, you know it will be in your deck regardless of what happens over the rest of the packs.
I am less high on Ghostfire Blade. I am on record as being down on morphs, so thinking the sword is so-so follows. Its non-morph equip cost is costly for the effect. It's certainly not a bad card, and it's a solid p1p1 to keep options open. But I would usually pick solid removal or a top tier creature over it.
I love the blade. Easy first pick like Haunted Plate Mail because you play it no matter what. 3 mana to equip for +2/+2 may be just a bit on the expensive side, but gone are the days of Loxodon Warhammer (what a busted uncommon that was) and Bonesplitter. Things are a lot more reasonable now and I think that 3 mana for +2/+2 is a reasonable price to pay. The fact that it randomly makes a 4/4 and allows you to drop another morph on the same turn four is kind of just peachy.
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My Decks: EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn Modern: Polytokes IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
If you have access to both colors, it's never a bad card. In W/B or Mardu Warriors it's completely nuts. In Abzan, it's just decent. I'd first-pick Murderous Cut or a bomb rare over it, but it's one of the premier uncommons.
If you have access to both colors, it's never a bad card. In W/B or Mardu Warriors it's completely nuts. In Abzan, it's just decent. I'd first-pick Murderous Cut or a bomb rare over it, but it's one of the premier uncommons.
I agree with the first part and disagree with the second part.
First part: I went back and forth on whether I want to first pick this card and gamble on the archetype being open, and eventually I decided that most of the time I will unless there is a bomb in the pack. Case in point, the other night I opened this and Murderous Cut and took the Cut. The BW Warriors deck is just 2 Fast 2 Furious if it comes together.
Second part: If we're talking about playing the BW Warriors archetype Chief of the Edge is better. The game plan is all about committing as much power to the board as quickly as possible, and you're really not worried about whether your 2/2 is going to survive against a morph, you want your 1/1s to be able to trade up, forcing unfortunate blocking situations and tempo losses for your opponent. Edge turns a Mardu Hordechief into a 3/3 and a 2/1 for 3 mana which is nutty for an aggro deck. A 1/2 and 2/4 is a lot less scary.
If we're talking about some other archetype that just happens to be playing chiefs because they're solid cards, then there may be times that Scale is better, but I would argue it's under 50%.
It's not difficult at all to look at your pool and realize you're half Warriors already. The biggest problem with Edgy Pants is the two toughness... unless you have practically no other Warriors, you will almost never be attacking with her, making her effectively an enchantment. It's weird; as a 3/2 for 2, she's good value (though as Rujasu hinted at, the 2/3 is better) but in a dedicated Warrior deck, she could be effectively downgraded to an enchantment that gives some of your creatures +1/+0 and is more vulnerable to removal (and a mid-combat blowout.)
Of course, I'm just being mitigating. She's a happy first pick out of a weakish pack, and a great addition to aggro/warrior decks. It's just unfortunate that you don't get to use the body very much for fear of trading her with an unflipped Sidisi's Pet or Wetland Sambar.
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My Decks: EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn Modern: Polytokes IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
When considering it for P1P1, I'd take it over about 75% of the cards in the format. There's a handful of powerful rares I'd take and maybe a few uncommons. I'd certainly rather have a Murderous Cut, but the B/W warriors architype is SO good when it comes together that I'm willing to take a chance on the two colored card right away. Aside from the odd Wetland Sambar cases, few cards in this format punish a slow start like Chief of the Edge. If you play it on turn 2 and their first play is a morph, you can get pretty far ahead. Especially if your deck is packing a Debilitating Injury or two.
Yeah, if you have lots of tokens and/or Hateblades, Edge is better. A 2/1 is definitely better than a 1/2 in this Limited format, as it is in most, but a 2/3 is frequently better than a 3/2.
Of course, if I'm going Warriors, I'm hoping to pick up at least one of each Chief.
I'm always little bit disappointed about Chief of the Edge because other than Turn 2 on the play when she gets to smash for 3, she usually has Defender. You want the +1/+0 bonus for your deck more than trading with a Morph in combat. I think Scale is better for more turns when you play him early, but Edge is better in the long game as you develop your board. They are nicely balanced actually.
My helpy helpdesk of helpfulness.
My Decks: EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn Modern: Polytokes IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
Yeah that is a good point that I glossed over in my initial post. Edge can't really attack for you into most early plays, which is too bad. The most likely line of play is 1 and/or 2 drop, Mardu Hordechief (raided), then T4 Chief of the Edge as you prepare to swing for lots.
I still think Edge is the higher pick and more important card for the warriors archetype if I were forced to choose between the two. (And if I'm not mistaken, they do occasionally come in the same pack.)
In a reasonably best case scenario the card gives you an extra blocker, which may allow you to attack when you might not want to otherwise attack. So you can attack with your War Behemoth instead of having to leave him back to block, since he can do both. But in this case I would just rather have a second War Behemoth. So you not only need to have this sort of reasonable best case scenario but to get value out of Brave the Sands you need to have it twice at the same time, or else you'd just be better off having another creature. But many of the creatures I would want to attack with are not ones I want blocking, such as Mystic of the Hidden Way or Watcher of the Roost, plus this is a dead card unless I have at least one creature which I want to attack and block with. Still, I imagine that if I could build a deck with lots of beef (and enough early defense), and lots of creatures in general, then maybe Brave the Sands could be useful? Or maybe if there's enough beef and I am really scrounging for a 22nd card.
At least, in a deck with good beef I would rather play Brave the Sands than a 19th land.
Of course, lots of cards are good when you have the biggest creatures on the board. That's the glaring problem because it doesn't help you come from behind or break parity. The Outlast interaction is cute, but if you have multiple Outlast guys surviving for many turns, you're already the favorite to win with or without Brave the Sands.
All it does is turn a good board into a great board, and that's not enough.
There always seems to be one really awful card in each set that I see lot of newer, less-practiced players online and at the LGS putting in their decks and singing praises for. I thought it was going to be Briber's Purse this time, but I was wrong. People seem to have caught on to the purse pretty fast, but I've seen more than a couple new players who love Brave the Sands.
I guess that makes it a successful design; the players who are playing it seem to love it, and it's working as a skill-tester.
I don't know. People like to put down this card, and while I suppose I understand why, I've only ever done well with it in the deck and I've been beaten because I didn't see it coming when my opponent played it. It's not removal, it's not a creature, but it's something that affects combat math really harshly. I like cards like that.
My Decks:
EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn
Modern: Polytokes
IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
Just a friendly reminder that I will drive this car off a bridge
As my only example, earlier this week I passed it pack 3 pick 1 for an Abzan Falconer when I already had a lot of ways to generate +1/+1 counters, I had only one or two morphs, and almost no flyers. The player I passed it to played me in round one, in game one casting two Trail of Mystery, one Secret Plans, and one Ghostfire Blade (obviously he won, once he cast Villainous Wealth) but fortunately for me he also included Altar of the Brood, a card I had never seen in any limited game, for some reason.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
My Decks:
EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn
Modern: Polytokes
IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
Just a friendly reminder that I will drive this car off a bridge
Chief of the Scale might actually be better in this format though.
I agree with the first part and disagree with the second part.
First part: I went back and forth on whether I want to first pick this card and gamble on the archetype being open, and eventually I decided that most of the time I will unless there is a bomb in the pack. Case in point, the other night I opened this and Murderous Cut and took the Cut. The BW Warriors deck is just 2 Fast 2 Furious if it comes together.
Second part: If we're talking about playing the BW Warriors archetype Chief of the Edge is better. The game plan is all about committing as much power to the board as quickly as possible, and you're really not worried about whether your 2/2 is going to survive against a morph, you want your 1/1s to be able to trade up, forcing unfortunate blocking situations and tempo losses for your opponent. Edge turns a Mardu Hordechief into a 3/3 and a 2/1 for 3 mana which is nutty for an aggro deck. A 1/2 and 2/4 is a lot less scary.
If we're talking about some other archetype that just happens to be playing chiefs because they're solid cards, then there may be times that Scale is better, but I would argue it's under 50%.
I buy HP and Damaged cards!
Only EDH:
Sigarda, Host of Herons: Enchantress' Enchantments
Jenara, Asura of War: ETB Value Town
Purphoros, God of the Forge: Global Punishment
Xenagos, God of Revels: Ramp, Sneak, & Heavy Hitters
Ghave, Guru of Spores: Dies_to_Doom_Blade's stax list
Edric, Spymaster of Trest: Donald's list
Of course, I'm just being mitigating. She's a happy first pick out of a weakish pack, and a great addition to aggro/warrior decks. It's just unfortunate that you don't get to use the body very much for fear of trading her with an unflipped Sidisi's Pet or Wetland Sambar.
My Decks:
EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn
Modern: Polytokes
IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
Just a friendly reminder that I will drive this car off a bridge
R Norin the Wary: I've Got a Bad Feeling About This
UG Thrasios & Kydele: Knowledge is Power
RG Borborygmos Enraged: The Breaking of the World
BG The Gitrog Monster: All Glory to the Hypnotoad
WUR Zedruu the Greathearted: Endless Possibilities, One Outcome
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain: What's Dead May Never Die
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Tokens work better with Edge, nontokens better with Scale.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
Of course, if I'm going Warriors, I'm hoping to pick up at least one of each Chief.
My Decks:
EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn
Modern: Polytokes
IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
Just a friendly reminder that I will drive this car off a bridge
I still think Edge is the higher pick and more important card for the warriors archetype if I were forced to choose between the two. (And if I'm not mistaken, they do occasionally come in the same pack.)