The problem is, Rhythm of the Wild isn't good outside of the combo. The sweet spot for this sort of engine that rewards you for playing cards AFTER it's down is 2 mana or less (e.g. Young Pyromancer, Baral, Chief of Compliance). The more mana the engine costs, the fewer cards you have in hand to benefit from it, since you have to cast those on turn 2 and they won't get the boost from the engine.
I would only play that card, if I can get it reliable on Turn 2, so that I can "abuse" it starting on turn 3. Hence, at least 6 acceleration spells of some sort are needed, which are not dead if you draw them afterwards, since they profit too from Riot (and a theoretical stacking of Rhythm). Only than it would be a decent card imo.
Greetings,
Kathal
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
What I play or have:
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
Kinda sad we didn't get any real UW Control worthy cards (if not from Ravnican Azorius, when?), but I guess that's to be expected with how much Teferi's printing screwed the pooch in terms of Standard Control's power level. I doubt we get any Modern-pushed control cards until he's rotated out.
Top 5 from the set now that the spoiler is out, in terms of modern playability.
1. Skewer the Critics sorcery bolt, definitely going into burn
2. Light Up The Stagethoughtcast for red decks
3. Growth Spiral instant speed explore, could possibly be played alongside explore in valakut or elsewhere.
4. Incubation / Incongruity Ancient Stirrings but for creature decks in U or G
5. Electodominance Living end enabler and overall cool card
Kinda sad we didn't get any real UW Control worthy cards (if not from Ravnican Azorius, when?), but I guess that's to be expected with how much Teferi's printing screwed the pooch in terms of Standard Control's power level. I doubt we get any Modern-pushed control cards until he's rotated out.
I think the issue is more how lean the UW spells have to be in terms of cmc for modern and how strong that would have made the deck in standard. Teferi aside, path/terminus are pretty dang efficient. Search is the closest thing we're probably going to get for repeatable card filtering/draw at that low of a cmc. Teferi is a catch all for annoying permanents, draw, and a wincon all wrapped in one. Coupled with how backbreaking some of whites sideboard slot cards can be (I'm looking at you stony silence) the card would have to be modal or super potent to splash in modern. Lifegain riders on already borderline cards are all I can really see popping up here. absorb, while terrible, may end up signaling a good trend for future sets. If absorb doesn't even see much standard play (which I'm skeptical it even will) then we could see a more aggressively costed uw spell with a lifegain rider down the road. I could see that being super relevant to the modern landscape. Lifegain riders when you are already wanting the base effect tend to be incredibly good and largely undervalued for a long time.
I don't think we'll see Electrodominance, at least not in Living End. It's a cool card, but I don't think the deck wants a bad Blaze that only works if you draw Living End.
I don't think we'll see Electrodominance, at least not in Living End. It's a cool card, but I don't think the deck wants a bad Blaze that only works if you draw Living End.
Fair point, I guess I should have written suspend free cast enabler
3
Rampage of the Clans
Deputy of Detention
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
Incubation//Incongruity
2
Shimmer of Possibility
Sphinx of Foresight
Cry of the Carnarium
Electrodominance
Light Up the Stage
Tin Street Dodger
Growth-Chamber Guardian
Growth Spiral
1
The rest
Reprints: shocklands
I think the Sphinx, Pteramander, and Electrodominance are overrated. Light Up the Stage had my interest for a while until Skewer the Critics showed up. Growth Spiral would be higher if Temur/BTL Scapeshift was still a deck.
Skewer the Critics is a great card, but for one deck only. Deputy of Detention would be the opposite, not super good (probably SB), but can see play in multiple decks.
Growth-Chamber Guardian seems like a good sleeper pick. It's like Self-Assembler, but you can split the 5 mana payment 2-3 (also meaning it's Collectable), and it's in a mana-making creature type. Elves does already have a mana sink though, and it's a lord to boot.
Ral, Izzet Viceroy was an unexpected winner. It's played mostly as a 1-of in the SB of UR Phoenix, where it's a big threat that can set up Phoenixes and pump Drake with its +1, and kill stuff with >3 toughness with its -3.
As for duds? Man, there were more than a few. Mission Briefing made Mill better, but not "there yet", and went virtually unplayed everywhere else. Mausoleum Secrets held no secrets. Plaguecrafter and Tajic, Legion's Edge did not make the cut in Humans (while, ironically, the non-Human Knight of Autumn did). Unmoored Ego was just a SB card, and not a good one at that, no matter how unfair extracting a Tron land or basic land sounds.
On the subject of extraction effects, having now seen two in recent sets go nowhere (Lost Legacy and Unmoored Ego), it's probably time to stop putting them on a pedestal. It's very tempting to think that they can auto-win combo matchups, but the truth is that combo decks will side into alternate wincons. You're better off trying to stop them from comboing off (killing their engines, taxing their spells) than trying to remove their wincons.
There's another topic that GRN sparked: punisher cards. Risk Factor saw some play (although I do not believe it will stay for the long-term) and Vexing Devil was used in Pelt Collector decks. For the most part, conventional wisdom (i.e. punisher cards are bad and you shouldn't play them) holds. However, if the punisher card combos with the rest of your deck (e.g. Vexing Devil evolving Pelt Collector and Experiment One, Risk Factor triggering Runaway Steam-Kin and discarding Arclight Phoenix and Fiery Temper), then they are passable in that deck. I should note that that doesn't imply said deck becomes good - Pelt Collector Zoo does not have many results, and UR Phoenix has overtaken mono-red.
Speaking of Phoenix, play cantrips. ktkenshinx knows me for always saying this. I feel like every combo deck goes through a phase during its development when people are trying out all sorts of new cards and they have the choice between playing explosive cards like Simian Spirit Guide (or, in Phoenix's case, Runaway Steam-Kin) and playing Serum Visions. Inevitably, SV always wins - it's happened to Amulet with Summer Bloom, Cheeri0s, and now Phoenix. Just play cantrips.
I agree with izzetmage: Shimmer of Possibility and Tin Street Dodger look like the best of the cards spoiled today. SoP is a lame sorcery version of Impulse, but it just might dig hard enough to land it a slot. 8-Whack may be pretty interested in a Haste 1-cmc 1/1 Goblin that doesn't take much to be nigh-unblockable, though.
I agree with izzetmage: Shimmer of Possibility and Tin Street Dodger look like the best of the cards spoiled today. SoP is a lame sorcery version of Impulse, but it just might dig hard enough to land it a slot. 8-Whack may be pretty interested in a Haste 1-cmc 1/1 Goblin that doesn't take much to be nigh-unblockable, though.
Shimmer seems extremely lackluster. We already have Anticipate, which sees no play and is an instant. Is digging 1 card deeper worth tapping mana on your own turn? I feel like the only deck that will play this is Storm with their costreducers, but is arguably worse than Pieces of the Puzzle, which digs deeper, takes an extra card, and has huge synergy with Past in Flames.
Overall, the set looks pretty underwhelming compared to GRN. Hopefully something slips through and is accidentally really good.
Some sequences that are possible with Shimmer instead of Peer, assuming you hit all land drops untapped (note that this criterion is more likely with the older fetchland builds):
T2 Shimmer getting Unlife/SSG, T3 Unlife, T4 SSG into Ad Nauseam
T2 Shimmer getting Prism, T3 Prism, T4 Angel's Grace + Ad Nauseam
In Storm it digs pretty deep for a Baral/Electromancer, although current lists spam 1-mana cantrips (Opt) and have counters for opposing hate (Remand, Unsubstantiate) at 2+ mana. Adding more 2-mana spells could throw that off balance.
Some old Goblin decks played Frenzied Goblin. Tin Street Dodger is kinda close. It doesn't let your whole team swing unopposed against one blocker like Frenzied Goblin does, but it can chip for 1 every turn in the late game no matter how many (non-defender) blockers your opponent has. Haste is also pretty hard to play around - it's free damage after your opponent taps out for a board wipe, and your opponent can be caught completely off-guard by a creature that wasn't there on the battlefield a turn ago (and who, other than dedicated Goblin players, knows what each little Goblin does anyway?!)
I think lavinia was printed to stop ghalta from over running the casual market. A 2/2 for 2 is okayish in standard, but that girl needs protection to survive even a single turn against some big decks in modern. I think spectacle as a whole is better than surveil, but we had madness and raid already and those are similar.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I think lavinia was printed to stop ghalta from over running the casual market. A 2/2 for 2 is okayish in standard, but that girl needs protection to survive even a single turn against some big decks in modern. I think spectacle as a whole is better than surveil, but we had madness and raid already and those are similar.
The problem is, Rhythm of the Wild isn't good outside of the combo. The sweet spot for this sort of engine that rewards you for playing cards AFTER it's down is 2 mana or less (e.g. Young Pyromancer, Baral, Chief of Compliance). The more mana the engine costs, the fewer cards you have in hand to benefit from it, since you have to cast those on turn 2 and they won't get the boost from the engine.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
Greetings,
Kathal
Modern/Legacy
either funpolice (Delver, Deathcloud, UW Control) or the fun decks (especially those ft. Griselbrand)
Spirits
1. Skewer the Critics sorcery bolt, definitely going into burn
2. Light Up The Stage thoughtcast for red decks
3. Growth Spiral instant speed explore, could possibly be played alongside explore in valakut or elsewhere.
4. Incubation / Incongruity Ancient Stirrings but for creature decks in U or G
5. Electodominance Living end enabler and overall cool card
BG Rock
Modern:
RW Sun & Moon
RBG Dredge
RWG Burn
Legacy:
W Death & Taxes
I think the issue is more how lean the UW spells have to be in terms of cmc for modern and how strong that would have made the deck in standard. Teferi aside, path/terminus are pretty dang efficient. Search is the closest thing we're probably going to get for repeatable card filtering/draw at that low of a cmc. Teferi is a catch all for annoying permanents, draw, and a wincon all wrapped in one. Coupled with how backbreaking some of whites sideboard slot cards can be (I'm looking at you stony silence) the card would have to be modal or super potent to splash in modern. Lifegain riders on already borderline cards are all I can really see popping up here. absorb, while terrible, may end up signaling a good trend for future sets. If absorb doesn't even see much standard play (which I'm skeptical it even will) then we could see a more aggressively costed uw spell with a lifegain rider down the road. I could see that being super relevant to the modern landscape. Lifegain riders when you are already wanting the base effect tend to be incredibly good and largely undervalued for a long time.
Fair point, I guess I should have written suspend free cast enabler
BG Rock
Modern:
RW Sun & Moon
RBG Dredge
RWG Burn
Legacy:
W Death & Taxes
None
4
Skewer the Critics
3
Rampage of the Clans
Deputy of Detention
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
Incubation//Incongruity
2
Shimmer of Possibility
Sphinx of Foresight
Cry of the Carnarium
Electrodominance
Light Up the Stage
Tin Street Dodger
Growth-Chamber Guardian
Growth Spiral
1
The rest
Reprints: shocklands
I think the Sphinx, Pteramander, and Electrodominance are overrated. Light Up the Stage had my interest for a while until Skewer the Critics showed up. Growth Spiral would be higher if Temur/BTL Scapeshift was still a deck.
Skewer the Critics is a great card, but for one deck only. Deputy of Detention would be the opposite, not super good (probably SB), but can see play in multiple decks.
Growth-Chamber Guardian seems like a good sleeper pick. It's like Self-Assembler, but you can split the 5 mana payment 2-3 (also meaning it's Collectable), and it's in a mana-making creature type. Elves does already have a mana sink though, and it's a lord to boot.
As always, data includes MTGO 5-0s.
Citywide Bust: 0
Hunted Witness: 0
Venerated Loxodon: 0
Mission Briefing: 8
Radical Idea: 0
Sinister Sabotage: 0
Creeping Chill: 78
Doom Whisperer: 0
Gruesome Menagerie: 0
Mausoleum Secrets: 0
Necrotic Wound: 1
Plaguecrafter: 3
Ritual of Soot: 1
Arclight Phoenix: 90
Experimental Frenzy: 5
Goblin Cratermaker: 1
Legion Warboss: 5
Maximize Velocity: 21
Risk Factor: 24
Runaway Steam-Kin: 7
Beast Whisperer: 3
Nullhide Ferox: 4
Pelt Collector: 2
Assassin's Trophy: 166
Chance for Glory: 0
Crackling Drake: 53
Deafening Clarion: 1
Emmara, Soul of the Accord: 0
Firemind's Research: 4
Ionize: 2
Knight of Autumn: 155
Lazav, the Multifarious: 0
Ral, Izzet Viceroy: 35
Tajic, Legion's Edge: 12
Unmoored Ego: 8
Discovery//Dispersal: 3
Chamber Sentry: 0
Impervious Greatwurm: 3
The big winners were Arclight Phoenix and Crackling Drake, spawning a whole archetype by themselves and winning the most recent GP. Other winners were Dredge (Creeping Chill) and Noble Hierarch/Aether Vial decks (Knight of Autumn). To nobody's surprise, Assassin's Trophy came out on top, although what may come as a surprise is how little BGx has moved after gaining this new removal spell.
Ral, Izzet Viceroy was an unexpected winner. It's played mostly as a 1-of in the SB of UR Phoenix, where it's a big threat that can set up Phoenixes and pump Drake with its +1, and kill stuff with >3 toughness with its -3.
As for duds? Man, there were more than a few. Mission Briefing made Mill better, but not "there yet", and went virtually unplayed everywhere else. Mausoleum Secrets held no secrets. Plaguecrafter and Tajic, Legion's Edge did not make the cut in Humans (while, ironically, the non-Human Knight of Autumn did). Unmoored Ego was just a SB card, and not a good one at that, no matter how unfair extracting a Tron land or basic land sounds.
On the subject of extraction effects, having now seen two in recent sets go nowhere (Lost Legacy and Unmoored Ego), it's probably time to stop putting them on a pedestal. It's very tempting to think that they can auto-win combo matchups, but the truth is that combo decks will side into alternate wincons. You're better off trying to stop them from comboing off (killing their engines, taxing their spells) than trying to remove their wincons.
There's another topic that GRN sparked: punisher cards. Risk Factor saw some play (although I do not believe it will stay for the long-term) and Vexing Devil was used in Pelt Collector decks. For the most part, conventional wisdom (i.e. punisher cards are bad and you shouldn't play them) holds. However, if the punisher card combos with the rest of your deck (e.g. Vexing Devil evolving Pelt Collector and Experiment One, Risk Factor triggering Runaway Steam-Kin and discarding Arclight Phoenix and Fiery Temper), then they are passable in that deck. I should note that that doesn't imply said deck becomes good - Pelt Collector Zoo does not have many results, and UR Phoenix has overtaken mono-red.
Speaking of Phoenix, play cantrips. ktkenshinx knows me for always saying this. I feel like every combo deck goes through a phase during its development when people are trying out all sorts of new cards and they have the choice between playing explosive cards like Simian Spirit Guide (or, in Phoenix's case, Runaway Steam-Kin) and playing Serum Visions. Inevitably, SV always wins - it's happened to Amulet with Summer Bloom, Cheeri0s, and now Phoenix. Just play cantrips.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
Shimmer seems extremely lackluster. We already have Anticipate, which sees no play and is an instant. Is digging 1 card deeper worth tapping mana on your own turn? I feel like the only deck that will play this is Storm with their cost reducers, but is arguably worse than Pieces of the Puzzle, which digs deeper, takes an extra card, and has huge synergy with Past in Flames.
Overall, the set looks pretty underwhelming compared to GRN. Hopefully something slips through and is accidentally really good.
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
GWUBRDraft my Old Border Nostalgia Cube! and/or The Little Pauper Cube That Could!RBUWG
Modern:WDeath & TaxesW | RUGRUG DelverRUG
Some sequences that are possible with Shimmer instead of Peer, assuming you hit all land drops untapped (note that this criterion is more likely with the older fetchland builds):
T2 Shimmer getting Unlife/SSG, T3 Unlife, T4 SSG into Ad Nauseam
T2 Shimmer getting Prism, T3 Prism, T4 Angel's Grace + Ad Nauseam
In Storm it digs pretty deep for a Baral/Electromancer, although current lists spam 1-mana cantrips (Opt) and have counters for opposing hate (Remand, Unsubstantiate) at 2+ mana. Adding more 2-mana spells could throw that off balance.
Some old Goblin decks played Frenzied Goblin. Tin Street Dodger is kinda close. It doesn't let your whole team swing unopposed against one blocker like Frenzied Goblin does, but it can chip for 1 every turn in the late game no matter how many (non-defender) blockers your opponent has. Haste is also pretty hard to play around - it's free damage after your opponent taps out for a board wipe, and your opponent can be caught completely off-guard by a creature that wasn't there on the battlefield a turn ago (and who, other than dedicated Goblin players, knows what each little Goblin does anyway?!)
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Spirits
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade was not printed to stop Ghalta, Primal Hunger. Lavinia 2.0 cannot prevent non-free creatures (such as Ghalta) from resolving.