I have the Augur of Bolas blues, so I am wondering if Omenspeaker is a decent enough replacement to see standard play.
It is a 1/3 so it can play decent defense, much as Augur did the past year. Of course, scry 2 does not in itself net you any card advantage, it just manipulates what you will draw.
Is this card playable in a U/W control or U/X/x control type list?
No, it doesn't generate advantage the way Augur did, but conversly it will never wiff.
It's effect will always bear fruit, and you'll never have to painfully put a card that you really needed on the bottom because it wasn't the right type.
if your deck needs a turn 2 blocker, then Omenspeaker is a good card for your deck. Scry 2 is more than good enough as an upside in addition to the natural utility of the 1/3 body.
if your deck doesn't need a turn 2 blocker, then Omenspeaker is probably not a good choice. Scry 2 on an irrelevant body is not worth spending 2 mana on.
if your deck needs a turn 2 blocker, then Omenspeaker is a good card for your deck. Scry 2 is more than good enough as an upside in addition to the natural utility of the 1/3 body.
if your deck doesn't need a turn 2 blocker, then Omenspeaker is probably not a good choice. Scry 2 on an irrelevant body is not worth spending 2 mana on.
Exactly. I'm actually liking the card the more I test it... but yeah, it's pretty much necessary if you are weak to BTE or Voice.
It's an instant speed 5/5 trampler for 4. Wtf do you people want seriously? It has applications in populate/ above the curve beats decks, or in Bant control/ flash. I seriously think anyone mad at this card for any reason other than losing an attacker to instant speed wurm, should go home and make their own awesome card game and leave the rest of us alone.
It will see some play but not be crazy popular I think. Scry is better in aggro (or combo if it exists) than control I think, control is more about card avantage and drawing typically while aggro has very weak draws like spare lands or weak 1-drops you want to scry away.
It depends eventually on the power of the 1/3 mostly, so far that looks quite useful I think as there are a fair number of 2/x and x/1 threats in aggro where it shines against but time will tell. At least you shouldn't be temped to run a few and then run less lands in your deck 'because the scry will help me find them anyway', that is just poor deckbuilding.
frostburn weird or returned phalanx are probably better options. None of these cards cantrips, but a 1/4 (which dodges most burn and can become a 4/1 when it attacks) or a 3/3 defender that can attack for 1u is also probably better than scry2 (especially when you should already have scrylands).
Omenspeaker is the only card in my deck beside Nightveil Specter that I run 4 of. In my deck, the scry 2 is very important to help me hit my curve and mana perfectly. It's as good as Bolas in some decks, but in most decks it wont have any effect.
It's good in the sense that it's the closest "functional" reprint of Augur that U/W control has at the moment. It's bad in the sense that it doesn't put the card in your hand and a 1/2 body isn't any type of roadblock to aggro that a 1/3 was. All in all though it can't hurt to test it.
It's bad in the sense that it doesn't put the card in your hand and a 1/2 body isn't any type of roadblock to aggro that a 1/3 was. All in all though it can't hurt to test it.
Pretty sure scry 2 is almost as good as drawing a card.
In a format where there are a LOT of 2/xs for 1-2 mana, and counters are generally bad, dropping a 1/3 for 2 that basically guarantees your land drops for the next 1-2 turns seems good.
I think people will be in for a big surprise when this card doesn't find a home in control lists come rotation. Scry 2 is not drawing a card and it is not close (it is somewhere closer to HALF a card rather than a full card). This card is not Augur of Bolas and people will find that out soon enough. I would like the card to be another interactive creature for my control deck I'm making but it quite frankly is not up to par. If someone told me after rotation they are going to put Bane Ally Blackguard in their deck with the added benefit of scry two I would certainly raise an eyebrow....
I think its fine. Frostburn and Phalax dont give you any value for coming into play and just having a body is good enough for control decks. Most aggro decks are either going to Mizzium or pump a dude to run over any creatures you have anyway. The more creatures a control deck runs the more live draws your giving decks loaded with removal, so any creatures you play in control should have some sort of value. Also if your playing Supreme Verdict or Anger of the Gods then you dont really want to have creatures out anyway.
Scry is pretty important to control since filtering through your deck is pretty important to setting up. Its not as good as Augur of Bolas but its still good enough to get you to towards your late game bombs and having a dude to stall with really helps.
Omenspeaker is terrible, not only is 1/3 with scry 2 just crap it also isn't even positioned well. The aggro decks are looking to be G/W and monored. G/W has guys that are too big mostly and monored has stuff like firefist striker that render it moot too.
You see this quite often where a card looks similar to a card printed before that was amazing and people suddenly think this kind of effect is good. After vapor snag rotated people suddenly thought unsummon was good while it's always been terrible. Now after augur of bolas people suddenly think Omenspeaker is good because of some vague resemblence. Actually it's more like Augury Owl, just really bad.
Augur of bolas was not only much better, it also had sweet interaction with restoration angel. Omenspeaker doesn't come close. Actually Omenspeaker has terrible synergy with the deck it's in usually by providing opponents a target for their removal, which is otherwise practically dead if you play the popular finisher team of elspeth and aetherling.
Omenspeaker is terrible, not only is 1/3 with scry 2 just crap it also isn't even positioned well. The aggro decks are looking to be G/W and monored. G/W has guys that are too big mostly and monored has stuff like firefist striker that render it moot too.
You see this quite often where a card looks similar to a card printed before that was amazing and people suddenly think this kind of effect is good. After vapor snag rotated people suddenly thought unsummon was good while it's always been terrible. Now after augur of bolas people suddenly think Omenspeaker is good because of some vague resemblence. Actually it's more like Augury Owl, just really bad.
Augur of bolas was not only much better, it also had sweet interaction with restoration angel. Omenspeaker doesn't come close. Actually Omenspeaker has terrible synergy with the deck it's in usually by providing opponents a target for their removal, which is otherwise practically dead if you play the popular finisher team of elspeth and aetherling.
A terrible card noone should be playing.
Im kinda not understanding the logic here. Augury Owl has 1 toughness, this has 3. 3 is very relevant since it blocks Voice, it blocks everything in Mono Red except their later drops. It doesnt kill anything but if your playing multiple Supreme Verdicts then its fine since it lures your opponent out into a board that your going to wipe. And you wouldnt care if they play removal on it since you already got value out of it.
I just dont get why people complain that it cant do much damage. Thats not really the purpose of a 2 drop in a U/x control deck. Your just trying to stall with it and filter your cards so your draws can keep up your your opponents. This lets you get into the later game and actually affect their life total way later in the game. This card also lets you keep bad hands, which is pretty big since most U/x decks need every card they can get to win.
I'm pretty sure decks that ran Augur of Bolas will just swap this instead. For every time that Augur hit an instant or sorcery, it's whiffed many a time for me. Setting up your draws for the next two turns seems pretty powerful.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"I do as I choose, and I answer to no one!"
—Dr. Doom
-My approach to building decks. Sometimes it works.
I think people will be in for a big surprise when this card doesn't find a home in control lists come rotation. Scry 2 is not drawing a card and it is not close (it is somewhere closer to HALF a card rather than a full card). This card is not Augur of Bolas and people will find that out soon enough. I would like the card to be another interactive creature for my control deck I'm making but it quite frankly is not up to par. If someone told me after rotation they are going to put Bane Ally Blackguard in their deck with the added benefit of scry two I would certainly raise an eyebrow....
No one wants to run it, but you pretty much have to.
This. Turn 4 Supreme Verdict as your first interactive play doesn't lend to game wins. You can't always draw Azorius Charm and this is the new best bet to stall against aggro.
All you ask for is it to be is a bump in the road, if it blocks for several turns thats just great. I think in that perspective scrying 2 is a very good ability. How often do you suspect you put the cards back just as you saw them? I'd say more often than not you will bottom something or at least switch their position.
Omenspeaker is a bit hard to evaluate, but I think it's a maindeck card that can easily be boarded out against slower opponents.
Honestly, I don't think I want to play Omenspeaker. Scry 2 is nice, but this isn't a cantrip. But, alternatives are pretty much just straight-up weaker. The only other cards in U I would consider in this spot are Murmuring Phantasm, Frostburn Weird and Sensory Deprivation.
Phantasm has an exceptional toughness for 2 mana, blocks everything from Rakdos Cackler to Loxodon Smiter. But, it'll never attack and gives you no card advantage. Omen Speaker may be Mostly dead in a control mirror, but Phantasm is like twice as dead for never being able to poke enemy planeswalkers or do anything else productive. Doesn't peek at cards or anything, just a wall. Sensory Deprivation is in a similar boat, I think; I think it's actually better at dealing with most creatures (aggro can burn or pump through a wall or omenspeaker, but they can't burn away an enchantment). So long as you don't have to make decisions where an opponent has Haste creatures, it's pretty good. But, it literally does nothing against AEtherling; pretty awful in a control match.
Frostburn Weird I think could be an exceptional card in some situations, but its mana restriction and lack of real card advantage or scry make it also a 'meh' choice overall. It blocks most aggro threats really well, and can even kill some of them for a small investment. It's also a legitimate threat in a control mirror. If I'm in UWR or something I honestly think I'd prefer the Weird because it's more specialized to creature-based tasks. Omenspeaker just seems too mediocre on all fronts. If it were 0/4 instead of 1/3, or draw instead of scry, I think I'd be happier to play it.
But I think the best alternative is simply to find a different card altogether in another color.
Omen speaker with scry 2 is ok, Scrying is better mid to late game. Not the early game, After reading some channel fireball and more on how to use scry as an effective tool.
Scry lands is good in the fact you want to keep your land curve with 2 land hand, But its better as you draw it later on in the game.
To use scry so early means you have no idea what to do when you actually do Scry 2.
Do i want this removal, do i want this land? After i scry 2, am i going to get more removal or more lands? There are even more questions when you actually scry early than it is to scry late.
Omenspeaker is bad. I love all the anecdotal evidence being thrown around here. "Omenspeaker never draws you a card, but Augur missed so often anyway!" A deck with 20 spells hits with Augur 75-80% of the time. Omenspeaker hits 0% of the time.
Scry 2 is not worth a card, it's worth about half a card. Control decks love all their cards, always needing more lands and always needing more spells. Card quantity is more important than card quality in this context.
GW midrange is also a big deal in this new meta. Omenspeaker is miserable against Fleecemane Lion, not to mention turn 2 Loxodon Smiters. Hell, even Gorehouse Chainwalker gets there. I prefer my trusty old Doom Blade, so loading up on more 2-drop removal seems like a better idea.
It is a 1/3 so it can play decent defense, much as Augur did the past year. Of course, scry 2 does not in itself net you any card advantage, it just manipulates what you will draw.
Is this card playable in a U/W control or U/X/x control type list?
It's effect will always bear fruit, and you'll never have to painfully put a card that you really needed on the bottom because it wasn't the right type.
Will most definitely see play.
Level 1 Judge
I write flavor articles for RoxieCards.
I play and judge at Giga Bites Cafein Marietta, Georgia.
if your deck doesn't need a turn 2 blocker, then Omenspeaker is probably not a good choice. Scry 2 on an irrelevant body is not worth spending 2 mana on.
Exactly. I'm actually liking the card the more I test it... but yeah, it's pretty much necessary if you are weak to BTE or Voice.
It depends eventually on the power of the 1/3 mostly, so far that looks quite useful I think as there are a fair number of 2/x and x/1 threats in aggro where it shines against but time will tell. At least you shouldn't be temped to run a few and then run less lands in your deck 'because the scry will help me find them anyway', that is just poor deckbuilding.
My decklist for the curious:
2x Doom Blade
3x Essence Scatter
3x Hero's Downfall
2x Swan Song
2x Warped Physique
Creature (15)
3x Duskmantle Seer
2x Master of Waves
4x Nightveil Specter
4x Omenspeaker
2x Thassa, God of the Sea
9x Island
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
6x Swamp
4x Temple of Deceit
4x Watery Grave
Enchantment (4)
2x Claustrophobia
2x Thassa, God of the Sea
Sorcery (3)
3x Read the Bones
Planeswalker (3)
3x Jace, Architect of Thought
3x Dark Betrayal
2x Erebos, God of the Dead
3x Gainsay
2x Pithing Needle
2x Reap Intellect
3x Tidebinder Mage
The scry ability lets you keep hands more frequently than you could with augur. Less mulligans=less lost CA.
Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.
It is a 1/3.
In a format where there are a LOT of 2/xs for 1-2 mana, and counters are generally bad, dropping a 1/3 for 2 that basically guarantees your land drops for the next 1-2 turns seems good.
also fixes mana flood later in the game.
Its a different card plain and simple
a 1/3 body is pretty good on defense blanking or trading the majority of the non w/g 2 drops
It will see play, scry 2 is almost worth a card anyway
Message me if your interested in sharing mtgo cards
Currently Playing:
In Limbo
I have been having some land finding issuesin early testing I might have to use it even if I'd prefer to have the staticaster.
so in summary.. I don't think it is better than the alternatives... it is fairly close where as augur was clearly better.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Scry is pretty important to control since filtering through your deck is pretty important to setting up. Its not as good as Augur of Bolas but its still good enough to get you to towards your late game bombs and having a dude to stall with really helps.
You see this quite often where a card looks similar to a card printed before that was amazing and people suddenly think this kind of effect is good. After vapor snag rotated people suddenly thought unsummon was good while it's always been terrible. Now after augur of bolas people suddenly think Omenspeaker is good because of some vague resemblence. Actually it's more like Augury Owl, just really bad.
Augur of bolas was not only much better, it also had sweet interaction with restoration angel. Omenspeaker doesn't come close. Actually Omenspeaker has terrible synergy with the deck it's in usually by providing opponents a target for their removal, which is otherwise practically dead if you play the popular finisher team of elspeth and aetherling.
A terrible card noone should be playing.
Im kinda not understanding the logic here. Augury Owl has 1 toughness, this has 3. 3 is very relevant since it blocks Voice, it blocks everything in Mono Red except their later drops. It doesnt kill anything but if your playing multiple Supreme Verdicts then its fine since it lures your opponent out into a board that your going to wipe. And you wouldnt care if they play removal on it since you already got value out of it.
I just dont get why people complain that it cant do much damage. Thats not really the purpose of a 2 drop in a U/x control deck. Your just trying to stall with it and filter your cards so your draws can keep up your your opponents. This lets you get into the later game and actually affect their life total way later in the game. This card also lets you keep bad hands, which is pretty big since most U/x decks need every card they can get to win.
—Dr. Doom
-My approach to building decks. Sometimes it works.
Considering Augur isn't a full card either...
Standard
W.I.P.
EDH
WNorn Tokens
Modern
Currently Playing
UW UW Control/Miracles
R Skred Red
Retired
BU Faeries
RGW Naya Burn
BW B/W Tokens
This. Turn 4 Supreme Verdict as your first interactive play doesn't lend to game wins. You can't always draw Azorius Charm and this is the new best bet to stall against aggro.
All you ask for is it to be is a bump in the road, if it blocks for several turns thats just great. I think in that perspective scrying 2 is a very good ability. How often do you suspect you put the cards back just as you saw them? I'd say more often than not you will bottom something or at least switch their position.
Omenspeaker is a bit hard to evaluate, but I think it's a maindeck card that can easily be boarded out against slower opponents.
Phantasm has an exceptional toughness for 2 mana, blocks everything from Rakdos Cackler to Loxodon Smiter. But, it'll never attack and gives you no card advantage. Omen Speaker may be Mostly dead in a control mirror, but Phantasm is like twice as dead for never being able to poke enemy planeswalkers or do anything else productive. Doesn't peek at cards or anything, just a wall. Sensory Deprivation is in a similar boat, I think; I think it's actually better at dealing with most creatures (aggro can burn or pump through a wall or omenspeaker, but they can't burn away an enchantment). So long as you don't have to make decisions where an opponent has Haste creatures, it's pretty good. But, it literally does nothing against AEtherling; pretty awful in a control match.
Frostburn Weird I think could be an exceptional card in some situations, but its mana restriction and lack of real card advantage or scry make it also a 'meh' choice overall. It blocks most aggro threats really well, and can even kill some of them for a small investment. It's also a legitimate threat in a control mirror. If I'm in UWR or something I honestly think I'd prefer the Weird because it's more specialized to creature-based tasks. Omenspeaker just seems too mediocre on all fronts. If it were 0/4 instead of 1/3, or draw instead of scry, I think I'd be happier to play it.
But I think the best alternative is simply to find a different card altogether in another color.
Omen speaker with scry 2 is ok, Scrying is better mid to late game. Not the early game, After reading some channel fireball and more on how to use scry as an effective tool.
Scry lands is good in the fact you want to keep your land curve with 2 land hand, But its better as you draw it later on in the game.
To use scry so early means you have no idea what to do when you actually do Scry 2.
Do i want this removal, do i want this land? After i scry 2, am i going to get more removal or more lands? There are even more questions when you actually scry early than it is to scry late.
Scry 2 is not worth a card, it's worth about half a card. Control decks love all their cards, always needing more lands and always needing more spells. Card quantity is more important than card quality in this context.
GW midrange is also a big deal in this new meta. Omenspeaker is miserable against Fleecemane Lion, not to mention turn 2 Loxodon Smiters. Hell, even Gorehouse Chainwalker gets there. I prefer my trusty old Doom Blade, so loading up on more 2-drop removal seems like a better idea.
Standard:
UWRB Jeskai Black
Modern:
RGB Jund
RUG Tarmo Twin
UW Eggs
Legacy:
BUG Shardless BUG
UWR Miracles
RUG RUG Delver