I think what makes or breaks this is the fetch land part.
If your opponent wants to cast spells on time they have to fetch/shock/shock.
Unless they have removal, then feelsbad.jpg just like nacatl. But telling your modern opponent fetch always cost 3 life and 5 for untapped seems very good.
I don't think Mentor is on the same level as Eidolon, but it's the first card since Atarka's Command that I'm seriously looking at for a spot in the 75. At first glance, it seems like a lot of decks won't care about it all that much: there are some matchups where it's just a bear, and others where there are only a couple of abilities for it to hit (and it probably won't live long enough to do so). The tax on fetches is obviously very powerful, but it seems like there are a lot of top-tier decks nowadays that don't even use that many (or any at all, e.g. Eldrazi Tron). That, and it seems easy to play around in most situations. Eidolon usually eats removal the second he touches the table. This will likely endure the same fate, except unlike our favourite party spirit, it won't always chomp the opponent for 2 right away.
I think Harsh Mentor has a very good effect, and it's worth keeping in mind, but it's hard to imagine where in the deck it could slot in. It doesn't go in the maindeck, as it's less consistent than any of our other creatures and we can't afford to lower our spell density too much. Is it versatile enough to take up sideboard slots?
My initial impression: A potentially strong sideboard option, but its value will be heavily meta-dependent. Looking at the top decks right now, I think Mentor showed up a year or two too late to really strike fear into the Modern format.
Doesn't do a lot against elves since it doesn't ping on mana ability
Im not saying it should be in the 75 just for Elves I just said Im gonna mess with my buddy but Harsh Mentor wont work on
Nettle Sentinel
Nettle Sentinel doesn't untap during your untap step.
Whenever you cast a green spell, you may untap Nettle Sentinel.
or
Joraga Warcaller
Multikicker {1}{G} (You may pay an additional {1}{G} any number of times as you cast this spell.) Joraga Warcaller enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it for each time it was kicked. Other Elf creatures you control get +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on Joraga Warcaller.
As soon as this is in a top 8 somewhere like any card the price will spike and everyones getting a play set its not like people dont use Fetch Lands in Modern
As soon as this is in a top 8 somewhere like any card the price will spike and everyones getting a play set its not like people dont use Fetch Lands in Modern
Spike higher then the $75 for a playset on Ebay right now?
Doesn't do a lot against elves since it doesn't ping on mana ability
Im not saying it should be in the 75 just for Elves I just said Im gonna mess with my buddy but Harsh Mentor wont work on
Nettle Sentinel
Nettle Sentinel doesn't untap during your untap step.
Whenever you cast a green spell, you may untap Nettle Sentinel.
or
Joraga Warcaller
Multikicker {1}{G} (You may pay an additional {1}{G} any number of times as you cast this spell.) Joraga Warcaller enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it for each time it was kicked. Other Elf creatures you control get +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on Joraga Warcaller.
and in conjuction with Eidolon........
I can see that the card has potential, and should definitely be tested... but I don't think I would bring it in against elves even if it was part of my 75.
It doesn't do anything against: Dwynen's Elite, Elvish Archdruid, Elvish Mystic, Elvish Visionary, Heriatage Druid, Llanoawar Elves, Nettle Senitnel, Shaman of the Pack, Joraga, Chord, CoCo, Lead the Stampeded.
Basically it only works against Ezuri and possibly Scavenging Ooze if they have it
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"What's your plan?" Gideon asked.
"Are you serious?" Chandra replied.
As soon as this is in a top 8 somewhere like any card the price will spike and everyones getting a play set its not like people dont use Fetch Lands in Modern
Spike higher then the $75 for a playset on Ebay right now?
Link please, I know Card Kingdom has prices on some Amonkhet prices already
Harsh Mentor is garbage, only good against a couple decks. Soul-Scar Mage is the new hotness and will be a 4-of immediately.
Mentor seems like a strong sideboardable card. It triggers on fetches and that's huge. It nullifies Scooze and punches Spellskite and Lantern in the throat.
Soul-scar Mage is garbage. Why would I want to direct a bolt at Goyf and block with Soul-scar while keeping Soul-scar alive when I could just use a creature as a fog on the Goyf and bolt their face? The ability it has is nearly irrelevant and basically just a slow Swiftspear.
Harsh Mentor is garbage, only good against a couple decks. Soul-Scar Mage is the new hotness and will be a 4-of immediately.
Mentor seems like a strong sideboardable card. It triggers on fetches and that's huge. It nullifies Scooze and punches Spellskite and Lantern in the throat.
Soul-scar Mage is garbage. Why would I want to direct a bolt at Goyf and block with Soul-scar while keeping Soul-scar alive when I could just use a creature as a fog on the Goyf and bolt their face? The ability it has is nearly irrelevant and basically just a slow Swiftspear.
Feels like its just not better then Satyr Firedancer and that isnt very good either. But it is fun if you drop firedancer vs Eldrazi.
Harsh Mentor is garbage, only good against a couple decks. Soul-Scar Mage is the new hotness and will be a 4-of immediately.
Mentor seems like a strong sideboardable card. It triggers on fetches and that's huge. It nullifies Scooze and punches Spellskite and Lantern in the throat.
Soul-scar Mage is garbage. Why would I want to direct a bolt at Goyf and block with Soul-scar while keeping Soul-scar alive when I could just use a creature as a fog on the Goyf and bolt their face? The ability it has is nearly irrelevant and basically just a slow Swiftspear.
Feels like its just not better then Satyr Firedancer and that isnt very good either. But it is fun if you drop firedancer vs Eldrazi.
I agree. It feels like a Satyr Firedancer and it's not even as good as Firedancer since you have to shift from burning face to burning creatures in order to use the ability on Soul-scar, and Firedancer isn't that good.
Harsh Mentor is a 2/2 for 2, let's agree that that is simply not good enough and that the ability is what this discussion is about.
If that's the case, then how is this better than what already is being played? The 2/2 body dies to everything and can't attack or block anything either. The opponent will simply play around it and, as it is a 2-drop, possibly already have two fetches gone by then. Go through the list of tier 1 and 2 decks, Lantern and Affinity are the only decks this is good against and is very easy to play around or simply kill. This card will wreck BAD players and even semi-decent players will make it irrelevant.
Harsh Mentor would need to hit Planeswalkers to be playable.
Cards like pyroclasm and Searing Blaze (ESPECIALLY Searing Blaze) become much much better with Soul-Scar Mage. It would obviously be nice if it had haste as it would just be a better Swiftspear, but that's greedy to want. Bolt a Goyf once and it may take a Jund player 4 more turns to kill you instead of 2 or perhaps your Goblin Guide now trades with it. Another option is that a bolt effect allows you to attack into a Thought-Knot Seer, Goyf, or Spellskite and now the opponent has to chump block (and let you draw off of Thought-Knot) or just take the 2-3 damage from your creatures. OR you use searing blaze and everything is upside.
Creatures, the repeatable damage source, are the easiest way to fight through opponents and the hate that you invariably will face and this card helps that, while also attacking with swiftspear stats.
Soul-Scar Mage is not really a 1-drop. Hopefully you are able to play GG or Swiftspear and then drop the Mage turn 3 to clean up blockers or shrink the opponents team. I will be putting it into the slot Nacatl used to fill and probably go with a list something like this:
these prices for Mentor are silly, it's an obviously extremely good card, but SB material only. it will be played, but people act like nothing else will have any value. it'll be a $10 card until it leaves print, give it a month
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Project Booster Fun makes it less fun to open a booster.
If you look at the tier 1 lists on THIS website, Only Eldrazi tron and bant eldrazi aren't running fetches or artifacts. So, in that sense, most tier 1 decks get hit by it. Eldrazi decks are already terrible matchups for us.
You say that it dies to everything--but so do Goblin Guide, Monastery Swiftspear, Eidolon of the Great Revel, Wild Nacatl, and Grim Lavamancer. None of our dudes escape removal. Soul scar mage suffers from the exact same problem. So let's lose that argument.
Harsh Mentor is a 2/2 for 2, let's agree that that is simply not good enough and that the ability is what this discussion is about.
If that's the case, then how is this better than what already is being played? the 2/2 body dies to everything and can't attack or block anything either. The opponent will simply playa round it and, as it is a 2-drop, possibly already have two fetches gone by then. Go through the list of tier 1 and 2 decks, Lantern and Affinity are the only decks this is good against and is very easy to play around or simply kill. This card will wreck BAD players and even semi-decent players will make it irrelevant.
Cards like pyroclasm and Searing Blaze (ESPECIALLY Searing Blaze) become much much better with Soul-Scar Mage. It would obviously be nice if it had haste as it would just be a better Swiftspear, but that's greedy to want. Bolt a Goyf once and it may take a Jund player 4 more turns to kill you instead of 2 or perhaps your Goblin Guide now trades with it. Another option is that a bolt effect allows you to attack into a Thought-Knot Seer, Goyf, or Spellskite and now the opponent has to chump block (and let you draw off of Thought-Knot) or just take the 2-3 damage from your creatures.
Creatures, the repeatable damage source, are the easiest way to fight through opponents and the hate that you invariably will face.
Soul-Scar Mage is not really a 1-drop. Hopefully you are able to play GG or Swiftspear and then drop the Mage turn 3 to clean up blockers or shrink the opponents team. I will be putting it into the slot Nacatl used to fill and probably go with a list something like this:
Harsh Mentor is an asymmetric Eidolon/Pillar effect that hoses some of Burn's weaknesses. They redirect to Spellskite? Costs them 2 life, maybe 4. Sac Finks with Viscera Seer? Net zero life change. Activate Arcbound Ravager/Cranial/Overseer/Blinkmoth/Inkmoth/lots of other stuff in Affinity? Lulz. Lantern Control? Hahahahahahahaha I can't breathe because I'm laughing so hard. Any fetch activation? Costs 3 life minimum. This card is powerful, but admittedly a bit narrow. That's why it has sideboard potential. As another person said above, this is the first card since Atarka's Command that genuinely looks like a new playable card.
I haven't seen Pyroclasm show up in a Burn deck in ages, so I'm not sure why a card that isn't played is on your list of reasons to play Soul-scar. Searing Blaze is already extremely powerful. I don't need a slow Swiftspear to make it better.
Bolt a Goyf once and it may take a Jund player 4 more turns to kill you instead of 2
I assume your point here is that you made their 5/6 into a 2/3 so it's slower now? You're not assessing this properly. You're likely in topdeck mode at this point. You bolt goyf and add a turn to the amount of time it takes to kill them. Simultaneously, you only add 1 turn to their clock since the correct play with a different creature in place of SSM would have been to block Goyf and fog their attack that turn. If you add a turn to their clock and add a turn to your clock, you haven't actually improved your situation. Your best hope in this case is that you bolt Goyf and block with SSM, kill Goyf, and keep SSM to maintain some clock. But, if you've reached topdeck mode, Goyf will be larger than 3/4 which means you need another spell to keep SSM and that's difficult in topdeck mode.
Another option is that a bolt effect allows you to attack into a Thought-Knot Seer, Goyf, or Spellskite and now the opponent has to chump block (and let you draw off of Thought-Knot) or just take the 2-3 damage from your creatures.
Wait a second. You're saying that it's a good play to cast a Lightning Bolt against a creature so you can squeeze out what amounts to a Shock? That's not playing control, that's making a mistake.
Burn gets utility out of creatures early and then they are expendable. It's not correct to go jumping through hoops to make them useful later in the game.
Frankly, the 4 Nacatl spots should be filled with burn spells, because this is a Burn deck and not a 16 creature, half empty zoo deck. The correct home for Soul-scar Mage is a UR tempo deck where it replaces Stormchaser Mage.
If your opponent wants to cast spells on time they have to fetch/shock/shock.
Unless they have removal, then feelsbad.jpg just like nacatl. But telling your modern opponent fetch always cost 3 life and 5 for untapped seems very good.
GRWNaya BurnGRW
GRWJundGRW
CAffinityC
UGUG EldraziUG
GRWBushwhacker ZooGRW
UBWRAd NauseamUBWR
Legacy
RBurnR
UBSneak & ShowUB
CEldrazi AggroC
Cube
Terricube
Modern
8Rack
Burn
Legacy
Oops, All Spells!
Pox
I think Harsh Mentor has a very good effect, and it's worth keeping in mind, but it's hard to imagine where in the deck it could slot in. It doesn't go in the maindeck, as it's less consistent than any of our other creatures and we can't afford to lower our spell density too much. Is it versatile enough to take up sideboard slots?
My initial impression: A potentially strong sideboard option, but its value will be heavily meta-dependent. Looking at the top decks right now, I think Mentor showed up a year or two too late to really strike fear into the Modern format.
Im not saying it should be in the 75 just for Elves I just said Im gonna mess with my buddy but Harsh Mentor wont work on
Nettle Sentinel
Nettle Sentinel doesn't untap during your untap step.
Whenever you cast a green spell, you may untap Nettle Sentinel.
or
Joraga Warcaller
Multikicker {1}{G} (You may pay an additional {1}{G} any number of times as you cast this spell.) Joraga Warcaller enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it for each time it was kicked. Other Elf creatures you control get +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on Joraga Warcaller.
and in conjuction with Eidolon........
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
Spike higher then the $75 for a playset on Ebay right now?
GRWNaya BurnGRW
GRWJundGRW
CAffinityC
UGUG EldraziUG
GRWBushwhacker ZooGRW
UBWRAd NauseamUBWR
Legacy
RBurnR
UBSneak & ShowUB
CEldrazi AggroC
I can see that the card has potential, and should definitely be tested... but I don't think I would bring it in against elves even if it was part of my 75.
It doesn't do anything against: Dwynen's Elite, Elvish Archdruid, Elvish Mystic, Elvish Visionary, Heriatage Druid, Llanoawar Elves, Nettle Senitnel, Shaman of the Pack, Joraga, Chord, CoCo, Lead the Stampeded.
Basically it only works against Ezuri and possibly Scavenging Ooze if they have it
"Are you serious?" Chandra replied.
Link please, I know Card Kingdom has prices on some Amonkhet prices already
http://www.cardkingdom.com/mtg/amonkhet
$40 for the new Gideon, figures.
GRWNaya BurnGRW
GRWJundGRW
CAffinityC
UGUG EldraziUG
GRWBushwhacker ZooGRW
UBWRAd NauseamUBWR
Legacy
RBurnR
UBSneak & ShowUB
CEldrazi AggroC
Mentor seems like a strong sideboardable card. It triggers on fetches and that's huge. It nullifies Scooze and punches Spellskite and Lantern in the throat.
Soul-scar Mage is garbage. Why would I want to direct a bolt at Goyf and block with Soul-scar while keeping Soul-scar alive when I could just use a creature as a fog on the Goyf and bolt their face? The ability it has is nearly irrelevant and basically just a slow Swiftspear.
Feels like its just not better then Satyr Firedancer and that isnt very good either. But it is fun if you drop firedancer vs Eldrazi.
GRWNaya BurnGRW
GRWJundGRW
CAffinityC
UGUG EldraziUG
GRWBushwhacker ZooGRW
UBWRAd NauseamUBWR
Legacy
RBurnR
UBSneak & ShowUB
CEldrazi AggroC
44$
I agree. It feels like a Satyr Firedancer and it's not even as good as Firedancer since you have to shift from burning face to burning creatures in order to use the ability on Soul-scar, and Firedancer isn't that good.
If that's the case, then how is this better than what already is being played? The 2/2 body dies to everything and can't attack or block anything either. The opponent will simply play around it and, as it is a 2-drop, possibly already have two fetches gone by then. Go through the list of tier 1 and 2 decks, Lantern and Affinity are the only decks this is good against and is very easy to play around or simply kill. This card will wreck BAD players and even semi-decent players will make it irrelevant.
Harsh Mentor would need to hit Planeswalkers to be playable.
Cards like pyroclasm and Searing Blaze (ESPECIALLY Searing Blaze) become much much better with Soul-Scar Mage. It would obviously be nice if it had haste as it would just be a better Swiftspear, but that's greedy to want. Bolt a Goyf once and it may take a Jund player 4 more turns to kill you instead of 2 or perhaps your Goblin Guide now trades with it. Another option is that a bolt effect allows you to attack into a Thought-Knot Seer, Goyf, or Spellskite and now the opponent has to chump block (and let you draw off of Thought-Knot) or just take the 2-3 damage from your creatures. OR you use searing blaze and everything is upside.
Creatures, the repeatable damage source, are the easiest way to fight through opponents and the hate that you invariably will face and this card helps that, while also attacking with swiftspear stats.
Soul-Scar Mage is not really a 1-drop. Hopefully you are able to play GG or Swiftspear and then drop the Mage turn 3 to clean up blockers or shrink the opponents team. I will be putting it into the slot Nacatl used to fill and probably go with a list something like this:
10 Fetches
2 Copperline Gorge
2 Inspiring Vantage
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
2 Mountain
Creatures: (16)
4 Soul-Scar Mage
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
4 Boros Charm
4 Atarka's Command
3 Searing Blaze
1 Pyroclasm
4 Destructive Revelry
4 Lightning Helix
4 Skullcrack
2 Kozilek’s Return
1 Relic of Progenitus
If you look at the tier 1 lists on THIS website, Only Eldrazi tron and bant eldrazi aren't running fetches or artifacts. So, in that sense, most tier 1 decks get hit by it. Eldrazi decks are already terrible matchups for us.
You say that it dies to everything--but so do Goblin Guide, Monastery Swiftspear, Eidolon of the Great Revel, Wild Nacatl, and Grim Lavamancer. None of our dudes escape removal. Soul scar mage suffers from the exact same problem. So let's lose that argument.
Harsh Mentor is an asymmetric Eidolon/Pillar effect that hoses some of Burn's weaknesses. They redirect to Spellskite? Costs them 2 life, maybe 4. Sac Finks with Viscera Seer? Net zero life change. Activate Arcbound Ravager/Cranial/Overseer/Blinkmoth/Inkmoth/lots of other stuff in Affinity? Lulz. Lantern Control? Hahahahahahahaha I can't breathe because I'm laughing so hard. Any fetch activation? Costs 3 life minimum. This card is powerful, but admittedly a bit narrow. That's why it has sideboard potential. As another person said above, this is the first card since Atarka's Command that genuinely looks like a new playable card.
I haven't seen Pyroclasm show up in a Burn deck in ages, so I'm not sure why a card that isn't played is on your list of reasons to play Soul-scar. Searing Blaze is already extremely powerful. I don't need a slow Swiftspear to make it better.
I assume your point here is that you made their 5/6 into a 2/3 so it's slower now? You're not assessing this properly. You're likely in topdeck mode at this point. You bolt goyf and add a turn to the amount of time it takes to kill them. Simultaneously, you only add 1 turn to their clock since the correct play with a different creature in place of SSM would have been to block Goyf and fog their attack that turn. If you add a turn to their clock and add a turn to your clock, you haven't actually improved your situation. Your best hope in this case is that you bolt Goyf and block with SSM, kill Goyf, and keep SSM to maintain some clock. But, if you've reached topdeck mode, Goyf will be larger than 3/4 which means you need another spell to keep SSM and that's difficult in topdeck mode.
Wait a second. You're saying that it's a good play to cast a Lightning Bolt against a creature so you can squeeze out what amounts to a Shock? That's not playing control, that's making a mistake.
Burn gets utility out of creatures early and then they are expendable. It's not correct to go jumping through hoops to make them useful later in the game.
Frankly, the 4 Nacatl spots should be filled with burn spells, because this is a Burn deck and not a 16 creature, half empty zoo deck. The correct home for Soul-scar Mage is a UR tempo deck where it replaces Stormchaser Mage.