I'm no longer in denial and from a game design perspective. I totally get it but I wanted to pay tribute to what I consider one of the most important engines in magic history. Elvish Mystic and the like have propelled decks into the top of the Standard metagame regardless of the specific format since 1993. It was the card for the Timmy who wants to play the big threats as much as for the lone the wolf strategist that liked to hone his/her skills playing the same archetype format after format. The reason was if you wanted to brute force your opponent these 1 mana dorks were almost always a way to do so. It didn't matter if Delver of Secret's or Squadron Hawks were flying over or you were under the constant repression of the Titans or Eldrazi. Or even if the whole format was based on synergy like Devotion or Constellation. One mana dorks were basically strong enough to ignore what was going on and be a contender where they probably had no business doing so. More so as an enabler they often allowed for multi-colored decks (even if they only produced one color of mana). In this way they were more resolute in their positioning. It wasn't just like the way Craig Wescoe plays White Weenie. You could almost always work Elvish Mystic in with the best cards in the format.
I started playing Magic in 1994 (although I had some breaks) and I wouldn't say I played a one mana dork in every deck I played just the vast majority. Any one who reads my posts knows I test a decent amount so obvious I have had my hand on a lot of decks. But generally when it came to the tournament I always lean one way. There were formats where there were clearly decks where Elvish Mystic wasn't dominating. I played Caw Blade like everyone else. Although admittedly after a month of that I "improved it" by added 1 mana dorks (and green etb artifact removal) to that deck. That might be considered an extreme although it was very good in the mirror, but I wanted to establish how big of a fan I am of these cards. I sit on this forum pretty much constantly brewing aggressive green midrange strategies. This is an archetype that is basically completely fueled off 1 mana dorks. This goes back even before Zvi's infamous Fires deck. And that is the archetype that dies in a few weeks or at the very least changes unrecognizably to the future.
So I know people aren't really on this one as much and perhaps it's the general change in perspective towards WotC over the years but this is the biggest change since they stopped printing Counterspell. In fact I would say this change is actually more impactful. We all know why Counterspell got the boot. Similar to how now they are not printing unconditional wrath's at 4 mana. It was too oppressive to have something so absolute so low on the curve. It got to a point where you could curve on counterspells pretty much. At the time the threats weren't good enough to take advantage of a window when someone couldn't answer. In addition it was generally feel bad to have your spells not even resolve. Ironically in the current standard we have the closest we've had to actual Counterspell in a while (Silumgar's Scorn). But that goes to show how without the absolute thing Wizards has some room to experiment in more space. I will talk a bit about that later. But in the same way Draw Go went away or had to fundamentally change, so does green decks with the death of Elvish Mystic. I don't mean all green decks. Midrange decks like traditional Jund or Abzan are untouched. Ramp decks will generally find their way anyway as 1 mana dorks were only sometimes part of the equation. No the real losers here are Aggressive Midrange decks ala Brian Kibler etc.
I will list a few from the past years created or popularized by:
Selesnya Megamorph (Brian Kibler, 2015)
Gruul Dragons (CVM, 2015)
Jund Monsters (CVM, 2014)
Jund Unfriendly Skies (Ross Merriam, Cedric Phillips, 2013)
Naya Psuedo Pod (Brian Kibler, 2012)
Selesnya Humans (Martin Juza, 2011)
Gruul Blade Breaker (Brian Kibler, 2011)
Vengevine Naya (Brad Nelson, 2010)
Next Level Bant (Brian Kibler, 2010)
Mythic (Zvi Mowshowitz, 2010)
Boss Naya (Tom Ross, 2009)
Gruul Aggro (Jacob Van Lunen, 2008)
The list pretty much goes on all the way back to the early 2000's once we got past Urza's Block. To Zvi's Fires deck and Kibler's Dragon deck that earned him the title "Dragonmaster" back at PT Chicago in 2000.
The Power
There are several cards to where this mantle over the years. In some formats there were so many options that Elvish Mystic or Llanowar Elves it's counterpart weren't even good enough. The key thing to understand about these cards is the sheer power level. I think I will do so by reviewing all the 6 modes on these cards. In many ways they are like 1 mana Cryptic Commands or Cruel Ultimatums. In so it's very easy to see why they are too powerful to exist in Standard. I mean you shouldn't play your one drop and feel like you don't even care what's in your opponents deck. That's how I often felt playing these cards. Elspeth, Ugin, who cares. I have Elvish Mystic. These are really the Chuck Norris of magic cards. Stormcrow may have it's hype but Elvish Mystic doesn't need to fly to defeat it.
1. Duress + Timewalk
This mode is often decent against heavy removal decks. Basically because their removal spells are more expensive than your Elf you can remove a removal spell from their hand and use their mana development for the turn. You can often follow up with another dork or cheap threat and depending it creates this sort of pressure where they need to keep on answering your threats. In a one for one game they never get to draw cards or develop their board. In some cases you can keep this pressure up for the duration of the game. It isn't unlikely taking infinite turns in Vintage with Time Vault and Voltaic Key.
2. Gain ~4 Life
This might even be a conservative estimate depending on the format. But against red decks on the play, if you basically force red decks to take a turn off going to the face or deploying threats by burning the dork. You both save the life to the face from the burn spell and the attack. Ie.. If they cast Bolt instead of Goblin Guide. You saved yourself probably 7 life. This is incredible rate for a 1G card. My point is Elvish Mystic dying is a very strategic play and one of the cards biggest values.
3. Mana Battery
This one is pretty obvious. You have an extra mana and you play it. It let's you curve tigher. You can play a 4 drop and 1 drop on T4 (I assume you have 5 mana on T4). Then you untap with 6 mana (7 if you hit your 5th land). These cards really let you use your mana efficiently and be able to cast 2 spells in one turn sooner than anyone else.
4. The old 1, 3, 4
This is the premise behind Aggressive Midrange. It's the most powerful opening in the game. Some examples include:
Elvish Mystic, Domri Rade, Polukranos
Elvish Mystic, Goblin Rabblemaster, Shaman of the Great Hunt
Elvish Mystic, Strangleroot Geist, Hero of Oxid Ridge
Avacyn's Pilgrim, Mirran Crusader, Angelic Destiny or Hero of Bladehold
Avacyn's Pilgrim, Blade Splicer, Restoration Angel
Birds of Paradise, Cunning Sparkmage, Stoneforge Mystic for Basilisk Collar
Noble Hierarch, Knight of the Reliquary, Rafiq
Elvish Mystic, Gyre Sage, Burning Tree Emissary + Falkenrath Aristocrat
Elvish Mystic, Sword of War and Peace.. kill you (ok didn't really need the 4 there)
These sort of openings usually lead to T5 kills. They are incredibly fast and don't require many cards to do it.
5. The old 1, 3, 5/6
This is the double dork curve. Readily employed by decks like Mythic.
The most famous opening of this sort is:
Noble Hierarch, Cobra + Fetch + Knight of the Reliquary, Fetch + Sovereigns attack fetch Eldrazi Conscription
But I mean these are real too:
Elvish Mystic, Rattleclaw Mystic, Flip (Xenagos + Polukranos) or Dromoka
Elvish Mystic, Sylvan Caryatid, Stormbreath Dragon
Short of cheap sweepers these openers only enabled by the T1 dork present insane T3's often.
6. The body
Sometimes forgotten but these dorks were great fuel for Birth Pod or even like Evolutionary Leap as they basically cycle themselves if they've been in play a turn. They are relevant for overrun abilities like Garruk Wildspeaker. Making an Elf a 3/3 with Fires of Yavimaya wins a decent number of games. I have won many control matchups beating down with a 1/1 elf I had sandbagged after the 2nd or 3rd sweeper when we are both out of cards. Birds of Paradise with flying is a fantastic chump blocker. This comes up a decent amount of times in Pod where you can sacrifice a token to get birds to block in the air. They carry equipment well especially swords. They even sometimes trade with 1 toughness creatures.
All in all these cards are very versatile for only costing 1 mana.
The Future
I'm not really sure where this goes. I mean one could hope for conditional 1 mana dorks the same way blue still has Essence Scatter and Negate. But I mean they have to be more versatile than say Gnarlroot Trapper. They did give that card an extra ability. But can you imagine if Essence Scatter only countered say Green creatures would it see maindeck play (ironically it might right now). But you get where i'm going. They will probably have to restrict 1 mana dorks considerably. I doubt color is even enough as Elvish Mystic has proven over the years. Only being able to cast certain types of spells or having limits to turning it on. That reknown dork, Honored Hierarch is a terribly awkward card since you don't get the mana bonus til T3. When I look at that card I think would you print a counterspell that was UU Counter Target Spell unless there is an Instant or Sorcery in your Graveyard, otherwise Counter Target spell unless the opponent pays 1. It basically scales in the wrong direction. You actually might even. The problem is dorks already scale worse in the wrong direction as mana gets more plentiful.
2 Mana dorks have rarely been close to comparable to 1 mana dorks. First of all to catch up on rate they need to produce 2 mana conditionally. Lotus Cobra is really the only 2 mana dork ever to be comparable and for the most part I think 1 mana dork is better. If you look at the 6 modes above, the only thing that 2 mana dork has is the body. One mana removal especially burn pretty much negates the first 2 modes. The last time this was the norm was during the reign of Gut Shot. Even if you are on the play they can make their move, and kill your dork before you even get to tap it for mana. No more Timewalks and it halfs the life gain if it even effectively does so (since a second 1 drop and a burn spell maybe with Prowess pretty much negates it). There are no 1, 3, 4 or 1, 3, 5/6 .. it's now 1, 2, 4/5. It looks similar but you give the opponent time to kill your dork or your threat without you being ahead a threat. At 2 mana you need to be playing significantly under the curve to just fit it in as a mana battery of sorts. Basically a 2 mana dork does nothing a 1 mana dork does except produce 1 mana which wasn't really even worth mentioning on it's own for 1 mana dork. So cheap removal is a serious problem for 2 mana dorks. So Sylvan Caryatid was a good for that, but otherwise you are generally better with a Rampant Growth which also has never been good enough for aggressive midrange. Having the body for sinergy purposes whether to stem the bleeding, attacking, or draw out removal is super important for these sort of strategies. Really a 2 mana dork would have to be like a 1/3 or even a pushed to like a 2/3 to really get around these timing issues.
Anti-aggro problem is similar too. See with the 1 to 3 you can take the aggressive initative. It let's you play 4 drops that primarily attack. Where in 2 to 4 decks you need value, you need to play threats that don't just get killed. 2-4 decks have always favored planeswalkers and cards like Huntmaster of the Fells which play a good catchup game. This is fine but it's not how you play aggressive midrange. You want to slam the Dragon or the Polukranos. Size and Bruteforce are only really good if you can present a certain density. You need your 3 drop to attack through a card like Courser of Kruphix. No just sit and chill. The whole key to these decks is that you can keep creating threats to stay ahead and you find with card quality and density instead of true CA. You just win the tempo game based on Virtual Card Advantage. This allows to maximize low removal counts and really use every part of the buffalo when it comes to your threats. Basically it rewards people good at doing combat math and planning turns ahead. It's more of the skills of someone who plays an aggro deck than a midrange deck except your card quality is significantly better.
It will definitely be interesting moving forward to see where this goes. But it will for sure be very different for those have wielded the power of the mana dorks over the years. I look forward to hear your thoughts and experiences for these unreplaceable cards.
RIP Elvish Mystic, Birds of Paradise, Llanowar Elves, Avacyn's Pilgrim, Noble Hierarch, Fyndhorn Elves, Boreal Druid, Elves of the Deep Shadows
This does not reflect the assessment of one drop mana dorks as expressed by Maro. Never say never, obviously, but I think we're seeing the Elvish Mystic as is fade away, and more likely having two drops with some conditions.
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----- "I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
just like how they'll reprint lightning bolt someday
I thought the same of Birds of Paradise. Fact is they are done with this cornerstone of a color's strength.
I am highly opposed to this change. Instead of balancing 3 mana threats around our 1 mana dorks now 4 mana threats will have to be balanced around 2 mana dorks. This fixes absolutely nothing.
Yeah I mean in a sense it could be just one set but I get the impression they want to reduce it. Maro's statement being one thing but this death has has been a slow and exadgerated one. You see for the longest time it wasn't that there wasn't 1 card legal with this ability but 2 or 3. They've been testing the water with only 1 for huge chunks of the last 3 years. This is very telling. I've been waiting forever it feels for them to bring back a 2nd one. Having the classic 6-8 1 mana dorks has been the formula for many decks over the years. By comparison many of the deck aggressive midrange decks have felt clunkier the last few years. Jund Monsters especially noteworth. The only reason GR Dragons hasn't is because this whole format is clunky. Temples have sort of masked the fact that the 1 mana dorks have been slipping away. Having only a small number of Dorks like say 2-3 is common in slower midrange decks like Ari Lax's original Abzan Deck from PT KTK or even some versions of midrange Jund. Whereas the 6-8 dorks is the Kibler special so to speak. It's an archetype with a long history (of being in almost in every format) that is gutted much like Draw Go was at the time they changed Counterspells for 8th Edition.
As I mentioned in my original post it isn't a colour thing. It could be a splashability thing in that like say Black Lotus or a Mox (or Tarmogoyf) it could just fit anywhere but there is a real cost. To properly play elf you tend to need to play atleast 12 T1 untapped green sources. In a lot of decks that's half your mana sources. The rest of green isn't affected. Look at my list. Elves are most famously used to cast other colour cards early rather than Green ones, most notably Red and White cards. If this has affected green design space it's only that it's really hard to make a good green 1 drop to play over the Elf. Warden or Sunblade Elf aren't good enough. You need basically Wild Nacatl. That being said I don't think those cards are quite good enough anyway. So until they figure out what to do in the green 1/2 slot it's a bit of a void. As mentioned before 2 mana ramp is a completely different thing. The timing is completely different. They make completely different decks. For instance it's one of the main reasons Temur hasn't been a deck all year long. It's premier cards rely on tempo and heavy colour requirements and Rattleclaw is a turn too slow. Birds of Paradise or Noble Hierarch and Temur is a contender. Instead it has been the worst Clan consistently all year even if it's cards are when looking at them on the surface perfectly positioned in this metagame.
So as I said it makes a lot of sense. But we can't just cop out and just say it's only a 1 mana dork etc since generally they are things we take for granted. No longer. It's hard to find the right comparison because the effect that they have on the game is so unique. By removing them you aren't just slightly weakening a card type. Like Shock still kills a cheap creature for 1 mana, mayhe not as well as bolt which is getting to a range where going to the face is worth a card. I mean that is pretty fundamental difference but you can still get most of the affect on time. This is more like no 1 mana burn spell (I think they've done this in the past). Similarly Counterspell might have been pushed back a turn but you can still curve out with them just you are forced to diversify your answers a bit more. Or 4 vs 5 mana wrath is huge but they did it at a time where they gave us smaller cards that take out multiple permanents on the cheap. It allows the same strategies to exist with more holes and more pressure on it's removal.
Basically the archetypes that Elvish Mystic and Co promoted are an sort of annoying design space that really fights against trying to design a set. Kind of like Ux Tempo decks these style of decks tend to beat the larger versions of themselves rather than lose to them. They are the midrange deck that beat all but the largest midrange decks. So when you are trying to make a set synergy based or slow it down these archetypes ignore that. Typical anti aggro techniques don't work. Especially with the move to make sweepers more conditional they can often find a window and just bash right through middling grindy 1 for 1 decks without even subscribing to the school of value. This is very restrictive on the rest of the format. Like look at last years 2 top decks around this time Jund Monsters and Black Devotion. A deck like Jund Monsters should just lose to Devotion. They built a whole format around devotion sinergies and Monsters was like a deck that just kept on coming out ignoring everything else that was going on. In won despite itself making it a very close matchup. Look at the tools Black Devotion had and the matchup was still like 50/50. The real scary part is if there was say a 2nd suitable 1 mana dork instead of Caryatid, how much better Jund Monsters would have been.
Regardless the point is, this is a huge change. Even if not the biggest deck there is always an Elvish Mystic deck in the top 5 decks in the format. There is always one version in the competitive section like there is one Mono Red deck. It's the type of archetype that is always popular even if it isn't the best. And usually it has some sort of effect on the edges of the metagame (like red does, even when red isn't a thing). Elvish Mystic saves you from Midrange Hell from the opposite side of the that spectrum. Elvish Mystic allowed Green decks during Thragtusk Era to not play Thragtusk. Without elf that incentive largely goes away. Now there is no gate there, and we are sort of welcoming bad midrange deck we can picture. It could be fun I suppose but it will sure be different.
I thought the same of Birds of Paradise. Fact is they are done with this cornerstone of a color's strength.
I am highly opposed to this change. Instead of balancing 3 mana threats around our 1 mana dorks now 4 mana threats will have to be balanced around 2 mana dorks. This fixes absolutely nothing.
As did I. Birds was too powerful, in the Lightning Bolt versus Shock sense.
Mind you they don't have to balance for T3 4 drops I don't think. The real advantage of the 1-3 is that most decks aren't ready to properly react to 3 drops until they get to 3 mana themselves so using your virtual card advantage and the fact you are ahead you basically get a time walk you get to maintain until they can cast 2 spells a turn. If you get to cast 2 spells a turn first or able to stick a threat that produces value or in many cases end the game fast (which the dorks would help with as well) there is very little coming back. With 2 to 4 this isn't a problem. You don't play anything worth answering until the turn they get to 3 mana at the worst. And even then they are free to have T2 plays that probably offset the dork itself or the incremental advantage the 4 drop has to bring to even be a contender. The 4 drop you go to has to be a Planeswalker or Huntmaster, and less a Hero of Oxid Ridge or Shaman of the Great Hunt.
So this definitely "fixes" something. But what it does is more like fundamentally change how a 3rd of greens typical archetypes work. 1 to 3 is a thing. 2 to 4 can be ignored. I mean that's an oversimplification because even dork decks have historically gotten some 2-4 draws. But you remove the possibility for the strong 1-3 opening and the nut(in some cases) T3 5 drop opening. By pushing that comboish effect back a turn a lot of the free wins that are associated with these archetypes go away. You draw them into that middling 1 for 1 game that they can play but obviously not as well as a dedicated deck to do so. You force these decks to be more inconsistent towards ramp decks or to drop the dorks and just play a sort of bad aggro game that is slower without reach. Speed is what generally makes bruteforcing work.
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Current Decks: GWUKnightfall Modern UWTempo Legacy UGRBurning Wish Cobra Vintage
Throughout this year's Standard, I felt like I was the only person who thought Elvish Mystic was the best card in Deathmist Raptor decks. Now I'm bummed that I wasn't.
I'm all for changing up the meta now and then, but I really hope we don't have to play cards like Honored Hierarch or Leaf Gilder for the long-term.
The loss of Elvish Mystic, however, makes me sad. Standard has pretty much universally had some kind of one-mana green accelerator since the dawn of time, but it looks like the sun is finally setting on the ability to ramp into three-drops on turn 2. Magic Origins has no one cost accelerator, and we have yet to see one in Battle for Zendikar. Given that Rattleclaw Mystic costs two mana--and I'm told at one point in development it was an 0/1 for G--I expect that Wizards has finally decided to end the days one-drop mana creatures.
I've built more decks in my life that have had Llanowar Elves or their descendants than those that did not, and it's going to be weird moving forward without that option. That said, I can understand the shift in developmental philosophy since the power level of any deck that hits its one-drop mana creature is vastly higher than one that does not to the point that it can massively skew results. And a critical mass of mana production that starts on turn 1 can lead to some pretty gross starts, as we've seen from green devotion decks over the past year or so.
If this developmental shift is in fact the case, I hope it comes with an increase in the power level of midrange green creatures, at least as far as how they line up against removal effects. The saving grace of green creatures in the face of black removal has long been their ability to come out of the gates quickly, but if Elvish Mystic and friends are no more, I hope we see green creatures that are better suited to line up against Hero's Downfall and friends.
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Anyway, I'm sure there will continue to be 2 mana ramp spells, whether they be Rampant Growth or Leaf Gliders or Sylvan Scrying. Green will continue get this effect for sure. I'm sure there will be feasible green ramp decks etc. There is nothing to complain about from a green color pie perspective really. Just not being at 1 is a game changer. For all the reasons I gave above. It was largely the keystone to being able to play green as a Tempo deck since by having a relevant T1 was equivalent of being able to play 2 spells super early in the game. The certain brand of aggressive midrange deck I specialize in is all but dead without this type of card.
I played GW with 4 Elvish Mystic last week just to see how it goes. So many busted things you can do such as playing a 2 drop and a tap land on turn 2 so you don't slow down your curve. Playing Dromoka, the Eternal on turn 3 with 2 dorks then pumping them up with the bolster and winning almost straight away.
The metagame will just have to adjust. Is 4 mana the new 3 mana? We will have to wait and see.
The thing is these sort of openings are nothing new. I suppose this is how they cap they redistribute the power level. Like it isn't that the 3, 4, or 5 drops are any better than they've been in the past decade that it would put too much pressure comparatively. Like T2 Goblin Rabblemaster seems strong but it only had it was only actually a tournament winning thing for a couple short periods the last year. The reason might be simple that the same thing that answers the dorks cheaply answer Rabble cheaply. Deathmist is better on curve but it was never unbeatable. When you compare it to the openings that were available say during the time the last Zendikar block was legal these openings look absolutely tranquil. T2 Ensoul is much more powerful and Elf used to enable stuff even more powerful than that. If you look at my post above most of those openings are more powerful.
The reason it's always been somewhat balanced is playing dorks requires you to play dorks which means even if you could produce some sort of redundancy between mana resources and threats (which separates you from a pure ramp deck) you had a lot of underpowered cards in your deck. Like double dork openings into Removal Spell, Pyroclasm meant that if you don't have another big threat quite often, even if it was only a 1 for 1 and a 2 for 1 the opponent basically Mind Twisted you. You drawing more dorks or lands now is not going to win the game. It wasn't necessary the 4 mana Wrath's that kept it in check but the Pyroclasms, Bonfires, Anger of the Gods etc.. See a card like Nykthos may have made the dorks too good in the sense drawing more wasn't an awkward thing.
There was a time a few years back that Dorks were almost unplayable. When Delver of Secrets was the big deck, Gut Shot as crippling. The GW deck played all 8 dorks (4 Birds, and 4 Pilgrims) and it basically couldn't beat that card. It messed up the timing too much. I guess the real problem was it was splashable. But basically from a timing/tempo perspective that is the equivalent to having 2 mana dorks in any format that has 1 mana removal. A dork being one for one on mana is acceptable, but for it to be killed by a cheaper removal spell is backbreaking since it's sole purpose is tempo. Not even really being aggressive. Casting Shock on Rattleclaw Mystic on EoT is sort of like casting a spell against mono red that states the following:
U: Gain life equal to the amount of damage target creature dealt you this turn. At the beginning of your opponent's next combat step return that creature to it's owners hand,
Just feel how backbreaking that is. That's what answer a dork for less than it's cost is basically a kin to because of the cost of playing dorks. It doesn't matter how much stronger the 3/4/5 drops are becoming. Only the cost and flexibility of the removal when looking at 2 mana dorks.
I think the best model for a 2 mana dork which we haven't seen(Sylvan Caryatid is a good 2 mana dork) would be either the following:
GG
Haste
T: Add one mana of any color (or some shard, wedge, off green color) to your mana pool.
0/1
See no more 1 to 3.. but you could still cast 2 spells on T2 if the 2nd spell is like a Shock or Stubborn Denial. Since 1 drops are pretty weak creatures generally it would have to be multi color I think since the follow up play would like be non-creature spell which green isn't abundant in. Having a difficult mana cost might fix it.
1G
Vigilance
T: Add G to your mana pool
1/3
Basically dorks would need to have 3 toughness. I think vigilance is the perfect trait for this sort of creature. Even reach is arguably enough utility. How about mana spiders?
As for a 1 mana dork I like: G
T: Add G to your mana pool. This can only be used to play creature spells.
1/1
Even green creature spells would be acceptable I think.
In basic the key to offset say having Shock in the format is the dork needs to either not die to it or be able to play 2 spells on T2 some portion of the time. Even Rattleclaw's design to allow it act as a 3 to 6 accelerator sometimes is still borderline payoff for vulnerability. But atleast there is a payoff. If we are talking add 1 mana type creatures they need a little help.
EDIT: Just saw that Ally.. That's unfortunate.. almost right. But the creature clause negates the haste in many cases. This ally might be good enough simply because it's an ally and color fixer since the synergy of creature type rewards you. That makes it worthwhile enough to play a 1 mana ally that you could potentially cast. I'm interested to see if they expect these new dorks to see any play outside of block synergizing strategies. That was always the 1 mana dork strength. They probably will a bit but never be quite good enough. (Think Temur this whole last year).
all I can really say is that it's gonna be really weird not seeing mana dorks like this in standard right now. I mean honored heirarch doesn't even count
What do you mean Blue players have been dealing with worse? Specific to the lack of mana dorks (that's silly, that's not a mainstay of the color) or fundamental changes to the cards they depend on? I can be sympathetic to the latter, but you're not being specific.
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----- "I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
Countermagic has been reduced to crap for quite a while. Mana dorks being worse is just a phase. Some environments will have good mana dorks some won't that's how it goes. Sad to see llanowar elves go though.
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"Yawgmoth," Freyalise whispered as she set the bomb, "now you will pay for your treachery."
Maybe what the blue player is saying is that with counterspell turning into cancel is compared to elvish mystic turning into leaf gilder kinda like doom blade turning into Murder or lightning bolt into lightning strike. Just adding a mana to core cards of a color just to slow down the game basically. The idea could open up design space but I havn't been impressed with any 3 mana counterspells and havn't been impressed with murder and the like. But I'm sure they are nice for limited or standard. I wonder what they will change about white when they come for that color.
Maybe what the blue player is saying is that with counterspell turning into cancel is compared to elvish mystic turning into leaf gilder kinda like doom blade turning into Murder or lightning bolt into lightning strike. Just adding a mana to core cards of a color just to slow down the game basically. The idea could open up design space but I havn't been impressed with any 3 mana counterspells and havn't been impressed with murder and the like. But I'm sure they are nice for limited or standard. I wonder what they will change about white when they come for that color.
Well doom blade to murder is not much of a downgrade. Doom blade can't kill taisgur or siege rhino while a murder can. Although the black nerf would be imo crap like reaver soul and defeat. We are also entering a standard where the only hard counters are a rare with awaken and cancel at 3 mana.
Swords and path were a mistake for white removal. I doubt we will see that ever again. The closest thing we got to that was dispatch in recent years. They seem to be on the tip of using enchantments to clear creatures for a bit. They made a god damn journey to nowhere a rare with a big condition inchained to the rocks.
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To the people that say that a card needs to be a higher rarity because of Limited... I hate you guys so much. I present to you with this.
I did actually compare this to counterspell and I remember the fuss that caused. But the difference between 1 and 2 is a lot bigger than the difference between 2 and 3. From a game fundamentals standpoint this is actually much more impactful. At the time I wrote the post I was more commenting on how it was so little discussed given how big of a deal it is. The best comparison I have is not printing 1 mana burn. Like if Wild Slash cost 2 and was the bottom of the burn bucket. Even that isn't quite right since burn has good usage around a tight curve where dorks actually just get worse quicker as time goes on starting right after the first turn (more like conditional counterspells). This isn't just a matter of making something that is good more expensive. We'd play Path at 2 mana probably. It's more than taking something that isn't quite worth 2 mana and costing it there (like a 2 mana shock). It's a scenario where you take a time sensitive card and price it out of relevance. Arguably like what happened with counterspell, except the impact of the mana gap is actually larger. Look at Temur last year as example of what happens when you price something out of relevance. It doesn't matter how powerful the effect is if it's time sensitive and pushed outside of it's window.
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Sometimes you don't play counterspell turn 2 and its just as great turn 3. Sometimes counterspell is great turn 10.
These are the reasons Cancel sufficed.
Two weeks into the first constructed format without a 1-drop dork and I feel the sorrow.
Ramp tends to be all or nothing, and playing Leaf Gilder when you could be playing any 3-drop and still hit 4 mana turn 3 feels like a death sentence.
I get that Standard currently has 3-drop Journey to Nowhere's and 5-drop wraths and all-encompassing it is slower. But those cards maintain a lot of relevancy a turn later.
I'm sure newer players probably won't mind as much. It just feels like someone put training wheels on Standard and its so weird that completely passable decks don't feel competitive initially. It will take many rotations for me to accept a slowed down meta.
I'm no longer in denial and from a game design perspective. I totally get it but I wanted to pay tribute to what I consider one of the most important engines in magic history. Elvish Mystic and the like have propelled decks into the top of the Standard metagame regardless of the specific format since 1993. It was the card for the Timmy who wants to play the big threats as much as for the lone the wolf strategist that liked to hone his/her skills playing the same archetype format after format. The reason was if you wanted to brute force your opponent these 1 mana dorks were almost always a way to do so. It didn't matter if Delver of Secret's or Squadron Hawks were flying over or you were under the constant repression of the Titans or Eldrazi. Or even if the whole format was based on synergy like Devotion or Constellation. One mana dorks were basically strong enough to ignore what was going on and be a contender where they probably had no business doing so. More so as an enabler they often allowed for multi-colored decks (even if they only produced one color of mana). In this way they were more resolute in their positioning. It wasn't just like the way Craig Wescoe plays White Weenie. You could almost always work Elvish Mystic in with the best cards in the format.
I started playing Magic in 1994 (although I had some breaks) and I wouldn't say I played a one mana dork in every deck I played just the vast majority. Any one who reads my posts knows I test a decent amount so obvious I have had my hand on a lot of decks. But generally when it came to the tournament I always lean one way. There were formats where there were clearly decks where Elvish Mystic wasn't dominating. I played Caw Blade like everyone else. Although admittedly after a month of that I "improved it" by added 1 mana dorks (and green etb artifact removal) to that deck. That might be considered an extreme although it was very good in the mirror, but I wanted to establish how big of a fan I am of these cards. I sit on this forum pretty much constantly brewing aggressive green midrange strategies. This is an archetype that is basically completely fueled off 1 mana dorks. This goes back even before Zvi's infamous Fires deck. And that is the archetype that dies in a few weeks or at the very least changes unrecognizably to the future.
So I know people aren't really on this one as much and perhaps it's the general change in perspective towards WotC over the years but this is the biggest change since they stopped printing Counterspell. In fact I would say this change is actually more impactful. We all know why Counterspell got the boot. Similar to how now they are not printing unconditional wrath's at 4 mana. It was too oppressive to have something so absolute so low on the curve. It got to a point where you could curve on counterspells pretty much. At the time the threats weren't good enough to take advantage of a window when someone couldn't answer. In addition it was generally feel bad to have your spells not even resolve. Ironically in the current standard we have the closest we've had to actual Counterspell in a while (Silumgar's Scorn). But that goes to show how without the absolute thing Wizards has some room to experiment in more space. I will talk a bit about that later. But in the same way Draw Go went away or had to fundamentally change, so does green decks with the death of Elvish Mystic. I don't mean all green decks. Midrange decks like traditional Jund or Abzan are untouched. Ramp decks will generally find their way anyway as 1 mana dorks were only sometimes part of the equation. No the real losers here are Aggressive Midrange decks ala Brian Kibler etc.
I will list a few from the past years created or popularized by:
Selesnya Megamorph (Brian Kibler, 2015)
Gruul Dragons (CVM, 2015)
Jund Monsters (CVM, 2014)
Jund Unfriendly Skies (Ross Merriam, Cedric Phillips, 2013)
Naya Psuedo Pod (Brian Kibler, 2012)
Selesnya Humans (Martin Juza, 2011)
Gruul Blade Breaker (Brian Kibler, 2011)
Vengevine Naya (Brad Nelson, 2010)
Next Level Bant (Brian Kibler, 2010)
Mythic (Zvi Mowshowitz, 2010)
Boss Naya (Tom Ross, 2009)
Gruul Aggro (Jacob Van Lunen, 2008)
The list pretty much goes on all the way back to the early 2000's once we got past Urza's Block. To Zvi's Fires deck and Kibler's Dragon deck that earned him the title "Dragonmaster" back at PT Chicago in 2000.
The Power
There are several cards to where this mantle over the years. In some formats there were so many options that Elvish Mystic or Llanowar Elves it's counterpart weren't even good enough. The key thing to understand about these cards is the sheer power level. I think I will do so by reviewing all the 6 modes on these cards. In many ways they are like 1 mana Cryptic Commands or Cruel Ultimatums. In so it's very easy to see why they are too powerful to exist in Standard. I mean you shouldn't play your one drop and feel like you don't even care what's in your opponents deck. That's how I often felt playing these cards. Elspeth, Ugin, who cares. I have Elvish Mystic. These are really the Chuck Norris of magic cards. Stormcrow may have it's hype but Elvish Mystic doesn't need to fly to defeat it.
1. Duress + Timewalk
This mode is often decent against heavy removal decks. Basically because their removal spells are more expensive than your Elf you can remove a removal spell from their hand and use their mana development for the turn. You can often follow up with another dork or cheap threat and depending it creates this sort of pressure where they need to keep on answering your threats. In a one for one game they never get to draw cards or develop their board. In some cases you can keep this pressure up for the duration of the game. It isn't unlikely taking infinite turns in Vintage with Time Vault and Voltaic Key.
2. Gain ~4 Life
This might even be a conservative estimate depending on the format. But against red decks on the play, if you basically force red decks to take a turn off going to the face or deploying threats by burning the dork. You both save the life to the face from the burn spell and the attack. Ie.. If they cast Bolt instead of Goblin Guide. You saved yourself probably 7 life. This is incredible rate for a 1G card. My point is Elvish Mystic dying is a very strategic play and one of the cards biggest values.
3. Mana Battery
This one is pretty obvious. You have an extra mana and you play it. It let's you curve tigher. You can play a 4 drop and 1 drop on T4 (I assume you have 5 mana on T4). Then you untap with 6 mana (7 if you hit your 5th land). These cards really let you use your mana efficiently and be able to cast 2 spells in one turn sooner than anyone else.
4. The old 1, 3, 4
This is the premise behind Aggressive Midrange. It's the most powerful opening in the game. Some examples include:
Elvish Mystic, Domri Rade, Polukranos
Elvish Mystic, Goblin Rabblemaster, Shaman of the Great Hunt
Elvish Mystic, Strangleroot Geist, Hero of Oxid Ridge
Avacyn's Pilgrim, Mirran Crusader, Angelic Destiny or Hero of Bladehold
Avacyn's Pilgrim, Blade Splicer, Restoration Angel
Birds of Paradise, Cunning Sparkmage, Stoneforge Mystic for Basilisk Collar
Noble Hierarch, Knight of the Reliquary, Rafiq
Elvish Mystic, Gyre Sage, Burning Tree Emissary + Falkenrath Aristocrat
Elvish Mystic, Sword of War and Peace.. kill you (ok didn't really need the 4 there)
These sort of openings usually lead to T5 kills. They are incredibly fast and don't require many cards to do it.
5. The old 1, 3, 5/6
This is the double dork curve. Readily employed by decks like Mythic.
The most famous opening of this sort is:
Noble Hierarch, Cobra + Fetch + Knight of the Reliquary, Fetch + Sovereigns attack fetch Eldrazi Conscription
But I mean these are real too:
Elvish Mystic, Rattleclaw Mystic, Flip (Xenagos + Polukranos) or Dromoka
Elvish Mystic, Sylvan Caryatid, Stormbreath Dragon
Short of cheap sweepers these openers only enabled by the T1 dork present insane T3's often.
6. The body
Sometimes forgotten but these dorks were great fuel for Birth Pod or even like Evolutionary Leap as they basically cycle themselves if they've been in play a turn. They are relevant for overrun abilities like Garruk Wildspeaker. Making an Elf a 3/3 with Fires of Yavimaya wins a decent number of games. I have won many control matchups beating down with a 1/1 elf I had sandbagged after the 2nd or 3rd sweeper when we are both out of cards. Birds of Paradise with flying is a fantastic chump blocker. This comes up a decent amount of times in Pod where you can sacrifice a token to get birds to block in the air. They carry equipment well especially swords. They even sometimes trade with 1 toughness creatures.
All in all these cards are very versatile for only costing 1 mana.
The Future
I'm not really sure where this goes. I mean one could hope for conditional 1 mana dorks the same way blue still has Essence Scatter and Negate. But I mean they have to be more versatile than say Gnarlroot Trapper. They did give that card an extra ability. But can you imagine if Essence Scatter only countered say Green creatures would it see maindeck play (ironically it might right now). But you get where i'm going. They will probably have to restrict 1 mana dorks considerably. I doubt color is even enough as Elvish Mystic has proven over the years. Only being able to cast certain types of spells or having limits to turning it on. That reknown dork, Honored Hierarch is a terribly awkward card since you don't get the mana bonus til T3. When I look at that card I think would you print a counterspell that was UU Counter Target Spell unless there is an Instant or Sorcery in your Graveyard, otherwise Counter Target spell unless the opponent pays 1. It basically scales in the wrong direction. You actually might even. The problem is dorks already scale worse in the wrong direction as mana gets more plentiful.
2 Mana dorks have rarely been close to comparable to 1 mana dorks. First of all to catch up on rate they need to produce 2 mana conditionally. Lotus Cobra is really the only 2 mana dork ever to be comparable and for the most part I think 1 mana dork is better. If you look at the 6 modes above, the only thing that 2 mana dork has is the body. One mana removal especially burn pretty much negates the first 2 modes. The last time this was the norm was during the reign of Gut Shot. Even if you are on the play they can make their move, and kill your dork before you even get to tap it for mana. No more Timewalks and it halfs the life gain if it even effectively does so (since a second 1 drop and a burn spell maybe with Prowess pretty much negates it). There are no 1, 3, 4 or 1, 3, 5/6 .. it's now 1, 2, 4/5. It looks similar but you give the opponent time to kill your dork or your threat without you being ahead a threat. At 2 mana you need to be playing significantly under the curve to just fit it in as a mana battery of sorts. Basically a 2 mana dork does nothing a 1 mana dork does except produce 1 mana which wasn't really even worth mentioning on it's own for 1 mana dork. So cheap removal is a serious problem for 2 mana dorks. So Sylvan Caryatid was a good for that, but otherwise you are generally better with a Rampant Growth which also has never been good enough for aggressive midrange. Having the body for sinergy purposes whether to stem the bleeding, attacking, or draw out removal is super important for these sort of strategies. Really a 2 mana dork would have to be like a 1/3 or even a pushed to like a 2/3 to really get around these timing issues.
Anti-aggro problem is similar too. See with the 1 to 3 you can take the aggressive initative. It let's you play 4 drops that primarily attack. Where in 2 to 4 decks you need value, you need to play threats that don't just get killed. 2-4 decks have always favored planeswalkers and cards like Huntmaster of the Fells which play a good catchup game. This is fine but it's not how you play aggressive midrange. You want to slam the Dragon or the Polukranos. Size and Bruteforce are only really good if you can present a certain density. You need your 3 drop to attack through a card like Courser of Kruphix. No just sit and chill. The whole key to these decks is that you can keep creating threats to stay ahead and you find with card quality and density instead of true CA. You just win the tempo game based on Virtual Card Advantage. This allows to maximize low removal counts and really use every part of the buffalo when it comes to your threats. Basically it rewards people good at doing combat math and planning turns ahead. It's more of the skills of someone who plays an aggro deck than a midrange deck except your card quality is significantly better.
It will definitely be interesting moving forward to see where this goes. But it will for sure be very different for those have wielded the power of the mana dorks over the years. I look forward to hear your thoughts and experiences for these unreplaceable cards.
RIP Elvish Mystic, Birds of Paradise, Llanowar Elves, Avacyn's Pilgrim, Noble Hierarch, Fyndhorn Elves, Boreal Druid, Elves of the Deep Shadows
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Ps am typing on my phone while stuck in hospital for all night and had a blood test. Yea that's right, they took my blood westside mutha************
mana elves will be back later when it makes sense
just like how they'll reprint lightning bolt someday
This does not reflect the assessment of one drop mana dorks as expressed by Maro. Never say never, obviously, but I think we're seeing the Elvish Mystic as is fade away, and more likely having two drops with some conditions.
"I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
I thought the same of Birds of Paradise. Fact is they are done with this cornerstone of a color's strength.
I am highly opposed to this change. Instead of balancing 3 mana threats around our 1 mana dorks now 4 mana threats will have to be balanced around 2 mana dorks. This fixes absolutely nothing.
As I mentioned in my original post it isn't a colour thing. It could be a splashability thing in that like say Black Lotus or a Mox (or Tarmogoyf) it could just fit anywhere but there is a real cost. To properly play elf you tend to need to play atleast 12 T1 untapped green sources. In a lot of decks that's half your mana sources. The rest of green isn't affected. Look at my list. Elves are most famously used to cast other colour cards early rather than Green ones, most notably Red and White cards. If this has affected green design space it's only that it's really hard to make a good green 1 drop to play over the Elf. Warden or Sunblade Elf aren't good enough. You need basically Wild Nacatl. That being said I don't think those cards are quite good enough anyway. So until they figure out what to do in the green 1/2 slot it's a bit of a void. As mentioned before 2 mana ramp is a completely different thing. The timing is completely different. They make completely different decks. For instance it's one of the main reasons Temur hasn't been a deck all year long. It's premier cards rely on tempo and heavy colour requirements and Rattleclaw is a turn too slow. Birds of Paradise or Noble Hierarch and Temur is a contender. Instead it has been the worst Clan consistently all year even if it's cards are when looking at them on the surface perfectly positioned in this metagame.
So as I said it makes a lot of sense. But we can't just cop out and just say it's only a 1 mana dork etc since generally they are things we take for granted. No longer. It's hard to find the right comparison because the effect that they have on the game is so unique. By removing them you aren't just slightly weakening a card type. Like Shock still kills a cheap creature for 1 mana, mayhe not as well as bolt which is getting to a range where going to the face is worth a card. I mean that is pretty fundamental difference but you can still get most of the affect on time. This is more like no 1 mana burn spell (I think they've done this in the past). Similarly Counterspell might have been pushed back a turn but you can still curve out with them just you are forced to diversify your answers a bit more. Or 4 vs 5 mana wrath is huge but they did it at a time where they gave us smaller cards that take out multiple permanents on the cheap. It allows the same strategies to exist with more holes and more pressure on it's removal.
Basically the archetypes that Elvish Mystic and Co promoted are an sort of annoying design space that really fights against trying to design a set. Kind of like Ux Tempo decks these style of decks tend to beat the larger versions of themselves rather than lose to them. They are the midrange deck that beat all but the largest midrange decks. So when you are trying to make a set synergy based or slow it down these archetypes ignore that. Typical anti aggro techniques don't work. Especially with the move to make sweepers more conditional they can often find a window and just bash right through middling grindy 1 for 1 decks without even subscribing to the school of value. This is very restrictive on the rest of the format. Like look at last years 2 top decks around this time Jund Monsters and Black Devotion. A deck like Jund Monsters should just lose to Devotion. They built a whole format around devotion sinergies and Monsters was like a deck that just kept on coming out ignoring everything else that was going on. In won despite itself making it a very close matchup. Look at the tools Black Devotion had and the matchup was still like 50/50. The real scary part is if there was say a 2nd suitable 1 mana dork instead of Caryatid, how much better Jund Monsters would have been.
Regardless the point is, this is a huge change. Even if not the biggest deck there is always an Elvish Mystic deck in the top 5 decks in the format. There is always one version in the competitive section like there is one Mono Red deck. It's the type of archetype that is always popular even if it isn't the best. And usually it has some sort of effect on the edges of the metagame (like red does, even when red isn't a thing). Elvish Mystic saves you from Midrange Hell from the opposite side of the that spectrum. Elvish Mystic allowed Green decks during Thragtusk Era to not play Thragtusk. Without elf that incentive largely goes away. Now there is no gate there, and we are sort of welcoming bad midrange deck we can picture. It could be fun I suppose but it will sure be different.
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As did I. Birds was too powerful, in the Lightning Bolt versus Shock sense.
Mind you they don't have to balance for T3 4 drops I don't think. The real advantage of the 1-3 is that most decks aren't ready to properly react to 3 drops until they get to 3 mana themselves so using your virtual card advantage and the fact you are ahead you basically get a time walk you get to maintain until they can cast 2 spells a turn. If you get to cast 2 spells a turn first or able to stick a threat that produces value or in many cases end the game fast (which the dorks would help with as well) there is very little coming back. With 2 to 4 this isn't a problem. You don't play anything worth answering until the turn they get to 3 mana at the worst. And even then they are free to have T2 plays that probably offset the dork itself or the incremental advantage the 4 drop has to bring to even be a contender. The 4 drop you go to has to be a Planeswalker or Huntmaster, and less a Hero of Oxid Ridge or Shaman of the Great Hunt.
So this definitely "fixes" something. But what it does is more like fundamentally change how a 3rd of greens typical archetypes work. 1 to 3 is a thing. 2 to 4 can be ignored. I mean that's an oversimplification because even dork decks have historically gotten some 2-4 draws. But you remove the possibility for the strong 1-3 opening and the nut(in some cases) T3 5 drop opening. By pushing that comboish effect back a turn a lot of the free wins that are associated with these archetypes go away. You draw them into that middling 1 for 1 game that they can play but obviously not as well as a dedicated deck to do so. You force these decks to be more inconsistent towards ramp decks or to drop the dorks and just play a sort of bad aggro game that is slower without reach. Speed is what generally makes bruteforcing work.
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This is really the type of poppy **** Maro things are problems but really are not. Mana dorks never ruined any formats.
I'm all for changing up the meta now and then, but I really hope we don't have to play cards like Honored Hierarch or Leaf Gilder for the long-term.
Sasky for the Sig.
I am in your [PACK]. Watching you... do... something.
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Anyway, I'm sure there will continue to be 2 mana ramp spells, whether they be Rampant Growth or Leaf Gliders or Sylvan Scrying. Green will continue get this effect for sure. I'm sure there will be feasible green ramp decks etc. There is nothing to complain about from a green color pie perspective really. Just not being at 1 is a game changer. For all the reasons I gave above. It was largely the keystone to being able to play green as a Tempo deck since by having a relevant T1 was equivalent of being able to play 2 spells super early in the game. The certain brand of aggressive midrange deck I specialize in is all but dead without this type of card.
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I played GW with 4 Elvish Mystic last week just to see how it goes. So many busted things you can do such as playing a 2 drop and a tap land on turn 2 so you don't slow down your curve. Playing Dromoka, the Eternal on turn 3 with 2 dorks then pumping them up with the bolster and winning almost straight away.
The metagame will just have to adjust. Is 4 mana the new 3 mana? We will have to wait and see.
The reason it's always been somewhat balanced is playing dorks requires you to play dorks which means even if you could produce some sort of redundancy between mana resources and threats (which separates you from a pure ramp deck) you had a lot of underpowered cards in your deck. Like double dork openings into Removal Spell, Pyroclasm meant that if you don't have another big threat quite often, even if it was only a 1 for 1 and a 2 for 1 the opponent basically Mind Twisted you. You drawing more dorks or lands now is not going to win the game. It wasn't necessary the 4 mana Wrath's that kept it in check but the Pyroclasms, Bonfires, Anger of the Gods etc.. See a card like Nykthos may have made the dorks too good in the sense drawing more wasn't an awkward thing.
There was a time a few years back that Dorks were almost unplayable. When Delver of Secrets was the big deck, Gut Shot as crippling. The GW deck played all 8 dorks (4 Birds, and 4 Pilgrims) and it basically couldn't beat that card. It messed up the timing too much. I guess the real problem was it was splashable. But basically from a timing/tempo perspective that is the equivalent to having 2 mana dorks in any format that has 1 mana removal. A dork being one for one on mana is acceptable, but for it to be killed by a cheaper removal spell is backbreaking since it's sole purpose is tempo. Not even really being aggressive. Casting Shock on Rattleclaw Mystic on EoT is sort of like casting a spell against mono red that states the following:
U: Gain life equal to the amount of damage target creature dealt you this turn. At the beginning of your opponent's next combat step return that creature to it's owners hand,
Just feel how backbreaking that is. That's what answer a dork for less than it's cost is basically a kin to because of the cost of playing dorks. It doesn't matter how much stronger the 3/4/5 drops are becoming. Only the cost and flexibility of the removal when looking at 2 mana dorks.
I think the best model for a 2 mana dork which we haven't seen(Sylvan Caryatid is a good 2 mana dork) would be either the following:
GG
Haste
T: Add one mana of any color (or some shard, wedge, off green color) to your mana pool.
0/1
See no more 1 to 3.. but you could still cast 2 spells on T2 if the 2nd spell is like a Shock or Stubborn Denial. Since 1 drops are pretty weak creatures generally it would have to be multi color I think since the follow up play would like be non-creature spell which green isn't abundant in. Having a difficult mana cost might fix it.
1G
Vigilance
T: Add G to your mana pool
1/3
Basically dorks would need to have 3 toughness. I think vigilance is the perfect trait for this sort of creature. Even reach is arguably enough utility. How about mana spiders?
As for a 1 mana dork I like:
G
T: Add G to your mana pool. This can only be used to play creature spells.
1/1
Even green creature spells would be acceptable I think.
In basic the key to offset say having Shock in the format is the dork needs to either not die to it or be able to play 2 spells on T2 some portion of the time. Even Rattleclaw's design to allow it act as a 3 to 6 accelerator sometimes is still borderline payoff for vulnerability. But atleast there is a payoff. If we are talking add 1 mana type creatures they need a little help.
EDIT: Just saw that Ally.. That's unfortunate.. almost right. But the creature clause negates the haste in many cases. This ally might be good enough simply because it's an ally and color fixer since the synergy of creature type rewards you. That makes it worthwhile enough to play a 1 mana ally that you could potentially cast. I'm interested to see if they expect these new dorks to see any play outside of block synergizing strategies. That was always the 1 mana dork strength. They probably will a bit but never be quite good enough. (Think Temur this whole last year).
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"I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
Currently Playing:
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Well, all the best cards in white have always been blue cards.
Well doom blade to murder is not much of a downgrade. Doom blade can't kill taisgur or siege rhino while a murder can. Although the black nerf would be imo crap like reaver soul and defeat. We are also entering a standard where the only hard counters are a rare with awaken and cancel at 3 mana.
Swords and path were a mistake for white removal. I doubt we will see that ever again. The closest thing we got to that was dispatch in recent years. They seem to be on the tip of using enchantments to clear creatures for a bit. They made a god damn journey to nowhere a rare with a big condition inchained to the rocks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY8h2vp5Xis
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These are the reasons Cancel sufficed.
Two weeks into the first constructed format without a 1-drop dork and I feel the sorrow.
Ramp tends to be all or nothing, and playing Leaf Gilder when you could be playing any 3-drop and still hit 4 mana turn 3 feels like a death sentence.
I get that Standard currently has 3-drop Journey to Nowhere's and 5-drop wraths and all-encompassing it is slower. But those cards maintain a lot of relevancy a turn later.
I'm sure newer players probably won't mind as much. It just feels like someone put training wheels on Standard and its so weird that completely passable decks don't feel competitive initially. It will take many rotations for me to accept a slowed down meta.
So much for "The Death of Elvish Mystic" lol.
This thread is a perfect example of why reading forums is bad for you.