Definitely at least worth testing in Goblins - mainly a 3-power 2-drop that can actually attack if it's on its own, but also turns on conscripts & buffs denizen late game so you don't have to count on topdecking dudes. Too bad goblins aren't very good right now.
The Runemark cycle could be a cool addition to those janky-fun Spirit Weapon decks - Edge of the Divinity et al. +2/+2 and a keyword for 2C isn't that good, though.
Temur Battle-Rage could be fun in any deck with pumpable creatures - it's a little good on a big Atog, but it seems bonecrushing on a Kiln Fiend, given that the Fiend's trigger will set off Ferocious guaranteed.
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Oh, you think the losers' bracket is your ally, but you merely adopted the scrub tier. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t 4-0 an FNM until I was already a man; by then, it was nothing to me but an extra pack to sell for store credit!
As usual, the best commons are in the full-set spoiler.
Tasigur's Cruelty looks alarmingly reasonable to give MBC some additional muscle in controlling the late game. One only questions if it's necessary.
MBC and other black decks have enough other things they can do with their graveyard that I don't really see exiling 4-5 cards to cast another Wrench Mind.
Was going to say "strictly worse than Reckless Abandon" but I guess it's not "strictly" (and in fact instant speed is much better on sac-a-dude spels). Still, can't see it seeing play when Abandon is so marginal.
Temur Battle-Rage could be fun in any deck with pumpable creatures - it's a little good on a big Atog, but it seems bonecrushing on a Kiln Fiend, given that the Fiend's trigger will set off Ferocious guaranteed.
This one, though, is the obvious constructed-worthy card of the set; the extra mana in the cost is pretty serious for Kiln Fiend decks (for one thing, it rules out the third turn ponder-apostle's blessing-strobe GG), but having evasion and double strike in one card makes up for it and lets the deck concentrate on drawing more cards and protecting the fiend. I don't THINK this is worth playing over fling in affinity, but I could be wrong.
Very disappointed that the cycle of this-or-that dudes turned out totally useless. The best is probably the white one, which is usually better than seller of songbirds, but they're all trash.
as i play affinity and have played it for a long time, temur battle-rage is vastly superior to fling, if you don't consider that fling can be used as a removal. contrary to fling it doesn't need an atog to deal unforeseen damage out of nowhere, and each combat where the affinity player has 1r untapped needs now to be considered carefully instead of just chumpblocked with a 1/1.
i've been trying rancor in the deck, and it was the card that was most out of place with the deck but that gave me the more wins; i expect temur battle rage to be better than rancor because of its superior utility and explosiveness.
Someone pointed out elsewhere (cardboard commons, a spanish website, I believe) that vanishing dudes who flip up don't vanish - there is no counter to remove, therefore... On the other hand, fading guys go away the next upkeep. Unfortunately, the vanishing guys aren't that great - Kelden as a 3/3 for 1R that burns on exit is okay, but kind of underwhelming if you've blown library manipulation to get him. Aven Riftwatcher as a 2/3 flyer that gives you life when it goes away is only okay. Deadly Grub is actually kind of cool - a 3/1 that always gives you potentially deadly value when you trade him away.
Very rough manifest decklist. Skyfisher can be used to pick up a non-creature card that was manifested. I prefer playing turn to mist as it can be used defensively as well
One thing about the Angelic Renewal plan - it may be hard to get the opponent to kill your guys with one of those out, especially once they understand what's going on. Also, I have an inordinate fondness of Perilous Research, which makes me suggest running Perilous Research.
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Oh, you think the losers' bracket is your ally, but you merely adopted the scrub tier. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t 4-0 an FNM until I was already a man; by then, it was nothing to me but an extra pack to sell for store credit!
Actually, I'm quite certain Walker of the Grove is the best of the bunch. I think that just playing a bunch of evoke creatures gives us a solid game plan that doesn't rely on the solely the Crusher. I suggest a 4-2 Walker/Crusher, and maybe even replace crusher al-together with Aethersnipe
So we all basically missed Gurmag Angler (and to a lesser extent sage) last go-around. At least we made the super-easy call on Temur Battle Rage. Anyway, new spoiler season!
Nothing all that good yet, though. Mostly limited and maybe Standard Pauper fodder - dudes and strictly worse Impulse. Only somewhat interesting card is Epic Confrontation, which is maybe the best common fight card yet printed, but I don't really see a deck that wants it.
I don't know if I missedGurmag Angler - it's a vanilla 5/5, which holds a very fixed amount of currency in Pauper. It beats the Flame Slash/Myr Enforcer paradigm, but does nothing to evade blockers or shirk removal, aside from being a black zombie with a 5-butt. It's runnable as a 1-or-2-of in MBC, and apparently also in some kind of U/B delver setup? I just don't see Dark Delves as being an archetype with staying power, I guess.
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Oh, you think the losers' bracket is your ally, but you merely adopted the scrub tier. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t 4-0 an FNM until I was already a man; by then, it was nothing to me but an extra pack to sell for store credit!
Cards I think are worth looking at in Pauper: Elusive Spellfist - Dragonaut? Probably not, the power buff is too small. It's cheap, at least. Gurmag Drowner - A possible enabler for reanimator strategies. Probably not competitive, but fun. Foul-Tongue Shriek - Suicide Black is not a real deck, I don't think, but it likes this card. Shambling Goblin - Festering Goblin functional! I love the art. Vulturous Aven - This seems deceptively powerful. Similar to Mulldrifter, except you have to feed it a useless on-board creature. Impact Tremors - This seems like a fierce enabler for a swarm-ier goblins deck, or that goofy Watch Rites brew. Twin Bolt - Don't underestimate this thing, Forked Bolt is a real card and this is comparable with that. Conifer Strider - Possible top-end for bogles? Probably not better than Aura Gnarlid.
Oh, you think the losers' bracket is your ally, but you merely adopted the scrub tier. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t 4-0 an FNM until I was already a man; by then, it was nothing to me but an extra pack to sell for store credit!
Sheltered Aerie looks like a good enabler for the Freed from the real deck that uses Arbor elfVoyaging Satyr Servant of the Scale looks very easily abused, especially with cards like Hunger of the Howlpack and Undewald Bear. I think it could be a good sleeper in a Green Morbid Deck, especially one with Vulturous Aven, Carrion Feeder Herald of Dromoka. I think that this could really work out for the better. This is a pretty sweet ability Hardened Berserker. I like the concept. Looks really interesting. Good for big red decks if they ever will exist.
I LOVE Impact Tremors. This card is absolutely scary. Coupled with Raid Bombardment. RG or RW tokens looks super amazing at the moment Elusive Spellfist is pretty good. I am quite sure that with that and Jeskai Sage, there is room to brew Delver without Faeries Vulturous Aven is a good Suicide black and Black-green morbid/aristocrats top end. The biggest problem with both decks is that if you play card draw, you aren't getting board presence. This card takes care of that. Sidisi's Faithful looks sweet
With respect to previously mentioned cards, Elusive Spellfist is my pick for best of the set, probably in Delver or blue-black delver rather than kiln fiend. Next on my list are Twin Bolt and Vulturous Aven. Not sold on Impact Tremors or Foul-tongue Shriek. If I'm putting an expensive hexproof dude in bogles, Primal Huntbeast and his doesn't-die-to-electrickery butt has it all over the strider.
Problem with Herald of Dromoka is that white warriors are pretty thin on the ground. (that sounds wrong somehow). Could go white/green or something.
Note that Sheltered Aerie only gives +1 mana, not +2 - it has some advantages over the existing cheaper alternatives, but not enough to make it worthwhile, IMO.
Not yet mentioned: Zephyr Scribe has some possibilities in some kind of combo-riffic deck (like the banishing knack combo deck) and also helps you go digging for the combo. Center Soul seems potentially interesting for some kind of heroic/prowess build.
Huh, just realized how nice Qarsi Sadist (edited, oops) potentially is as an end-game card for a tortured existence deck. With brownscale, it's a gain 4 you lose 2 every turn for BB1.
Right, and sometimes TE decks can clog the board up like nobody's business but still don't have much in the way of good attacks, and just draining your opponent for 2 a turn can get you there. (The guy also throws various other things you want to recycle, such as Grave scrabbler into the bin when you need him to without being a total non-card the way carrion feeder sometimes is.) Anyway, worth a look.
If you read carefully, it's actually strictly better than Festering Goblin. I mean, that was a huge problem before, having 2 Festering Goblins on the battlefield with no other creatures when your opponent can just Flame Slash one to actually kill both.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Of those, I can see Horned Sliver as the top end of those green-white slivers decks, whispers in some kind of do-nothing draw-go blue control deck, and maaaybe bottle gnomes as anti-burn tech in some kind of grindy control deck with graveyard recursion and no green or white.
Thanks for this, I was wondering what got downshifted.
I kind of like Skyshaper in Affinity, but I am a noted crazy person.
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Oh, you think the losers' bracket is your ally, but you merely adopted the scrub tier. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t 4-0 an FNM until I was already a man; by then, it was nothing to me but an extra pack to sell for store credit!
So might as well put MM downshifts here, at least until we have a full list. Rusted Relic feels like it's just worse than most of Affinity's other choices, including cards that most decks don't run like Quicksilver Behemoth or Somber Hoverguard.
Holy crap, we're getting Scion of the Wild. That seems like it could really break the format open...
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Oh, you think the losers' bracket is your ally, but you merely adopted the scrub tier. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t 4-0 an FNM until I was already a man; by then, it was nothing to me but an extra pack to sell for store credit!
GW tokens actually had a bunch of results a few weeks ago but pretty much just got dropped for no apparent reason - maybe people shifted into the white tokens deck? Anyway, seems plausible in Elves as well. Not so much in Stompy.
Yeah, I was mostly thinking of him going in Elves as another three-costing win condition that doesn't always trade with burn. Timberwatch Elf is obviously the best at this, but I think Scion at leash has Elvish Branchbender beat.
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Oh, you think the losers' bracket is your ally, but you merely adopted the scrub tier. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t 4-0 an FNM until I was already a man; by then, it was nothing to me but an extra pack to sell for store credit!
Gut Shot is a common! That's a pretty big game. Sphere of the Suns is probably just worse than a signet. Plagued Rusulka is a unique effect at a cheap price. Telling Time seems poor in a format with all the one man a cantrips. Conclave Phalanx might be good for a token deck's sideboard. There is also a two main red double striker and three main flying white double striker if that is needed.
Gut Shot seems super great against Delver's entire strategy.
Legit powerful new cards: Gut Shot - I'm not sure where the metagame is right now, but this was terrifying and awful in Standard Delver. Sphere of the Suns - This is an unusually good rock at common. It's hard to find a deck where it's better than a Signet or a Prophetic Prism, though.
Cool toys, probably bad: Dragonsoul Knight - Would that there was a sunburst deck that actually worked. Viashino Slaughtermaster - You'd nearly need a sunburst deck to do this, three-color decks are hard.
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Oh, you think the losers' bracket is your ally, but you merely adopted the scrub tier. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t 4-0 an FNM until I was already a man; by then, it was nothing to me but an extra pack to sell for store credit!
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Tasigur's Cruelty looks alarmingly reasonable to give MBC some additional muscle in controlling the late game. One only questions if it's necessary.
Collateral Damage is an easy fit into Goblins over Chain Lightning, and rewards a bunch of janky-fun creature-sac strategies with Lightning Bolt 5-8.
The Runemark cycle could be a cool addition to those janky-fun Spirit Weapon decks - Edge of the Divinity et al. +2/+2 and a keyword for 2C isn't that good, though.
Temur Battle-Rage could be fun in any deck with pumpable creatures - it's a little good on a big Atog, but it seems bonecrushing on a Kiln Fiend, given that the Fiend's trigger will set off Ferocious guaranteed.
MBC and other black decks have enough other things they can do with their graveyard that I don't really see exiling 4-5 cards to cast another Wrench Mind.
Was going to say "strictly worse than Reckless Abandon" but I guess it's not "strictly" (and in fact instant speed is much better on sac-a-dude spels). Still, can't see it seeing play when Abandon is so marginal.
This one, though, is the obvious constructed-worthy card of the set; the extra mana in the cost is pretty serious for Kiln Fiend decks (for one thing, it rules out the third turn ponder-apostle's blessing-strobe GG), but having evasion and double strike in one card makes up for it and lets the deck concentrate on drawing more cards and protecting the fiend. I don't THINK this is worth playing over fling in affinity, but I could be wrong.
Very disappointed that the cycle of this-or-that dudes turned out totally useless. The best is probably the white one, which is usually better than seller of songbirds, but they're all trash.
i've been trying rancor in the deck, and it was the card that was most out of place with the deck but that gave me the more wins; i expect temur battle rage to be better than rancor because of its superior utility and explosiveness.
Skinthinner and Fathom Seer both give you some nice flip-up value options.
Don't forget Dream Cache as a potential Brainstorm number 5 through whatever if you're going the hard-core blink approach.
4 Write into Being
4 Mulldrifter
4 Ulamog's Crusher
4 Brainstorm
4 Kor Skyfisher
4 Turn to Mist
4 Cloudshift
4 Angelic Renewal
2 Random Slots (Ponder/Judge Unworthy/ Fathom Seer etc...)
4 Terramorphic Expanse
2 Evolving Wilds
8 Island
8 Plains
Very rough manifest decklist. Skyfisher can be used to pick up a non-creature card that was manifested. I prefer playing turn to mist as it can be used defensively as well
Perilous Research
Ponder
Wormfang Drake
Aethersnipe
Fathom Seer
Treasure Cruise
Judge Unworthy
Aven Riftwatcher
Walker of the Grove
Nothing all that good yet, though. Mostly limited and maybe Standard Pauper fodder - dudes and strictly worse Impulse. Only somewhat interesting card is Epic Confrontation, which is maybe the best common fight card yet printed, but I don't really see a deck that wants it.
Cards I think are worth looking at in Pauper:
Elusive Spellfist - Dragonaut? Probably not, the power buff is too small. It's cheap, at least.
Gurmag Drowner - A possible enabler for reanimator strategies. Probably not competitive, but fun.
Foul-Tongue Shriek - Suicide Black is not a real deck, I don't think, but it likes this card.
Shambling Goblin - Festering Goblin functional! I love the art.
Vulturous Aven - This seems deceptively powerful. Similar to Mulldrifter, except you have to feed it a useless on-board creature.
Impact Tremors - This seems like a fierce enabler for a swarm-ier goblins deck, or that goofy Watch Rites brew.
Twin Bolt - Don't underestimate this thing, Forked Bolt is a real card and this is comparable with that.
Conifer Strider - Possible top-end for bogles? Probably not better than Aura Gnarlid.
Servant of the Scale looks very easily abused, especially with cards like Hunger of the Howlpack and Undewald Bear. I think it could be a good sleeper in a Green Morbid Deck, especially one with Vulturous Aven, Carrion Feeder
Herald of Dromoka. I think that this could really work out for the better. This is a pretty sweet ability
Hardened Berserker. I like the concept. Looks really interesting. Good for big red decks if they ever will exist.
I LOVE Impact Tremors. This card is absolutely scary. Coupled with Raid Bombardment. RG or RW tokens looks super amazing at the moment
Elusive Spellfist is pretty good. I am quite sure that with that and Jeskai Sage, there is room to brew Delver without Faeries
Vulturous Aven is a good Suicide black and Black-green morbid/aristocrats top end. The biggest problem with both decks is that if you play card draw, you aren't getting board presence. This card takes care of that.
Sidisi's Faithful looks sweet
Problem with Herald of Dromoka is that white warriors are pretty thin on the ground. (that sounds wrong somehow). Could go white/green or something.
Note that Sheltered Aerie only gives +1 mana, not +2 - it has some advantages over the existing cheaper alternatives, but not enough to make it worthwhile, IMO.
Not yet mentioned:
Zephyr Scribe has some possibilities in some kind of combo-riffic deck (like the banishing knack combo deck) and also helps you go digging for the combo.
Center Soul seems potentially interesting for some kind of heroic/prowess build.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks:
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Of those, I can see Horned Sliver as the top end of those green-white slivers decks, whispers in some kind of do-nothing draw-go blue control deck, and maaaybe bottle gnomes as anti-burn tech in some kind of grindy control deck with graveyard recursion and no green or white.
I kind of like Skyshaper in Affinity, but I am a noted crazy person.
Gut Shot seems super great against Delver's entire strategy.
Legit powerful new cards:
Gut Shot - I'm not sure where the metagame is right now, but this was terrifying and awful in Standard Delver.
Sphere of the Suns - This is an unusually good
Cool toys, probably bad:
Dragonsoul Knight - Would that there was a sunburst deck that actually worked.
Viashino Slaughtermaster - You'd nearly need a sunburst deck to do this, three-color decks are hard.