MTG Salvation

Everyone is losing their mind over the new enrage mechanic paired with walking ballista. Does anyone else think its going to be a total flop? I think the format is going to be entirely too fast for such a "cute" combo. Casting a 2/2 Ballista on turn 4, only to turn it into a 1/1 on turn 5 to draw a card off of ripjaw raptor is waaaay more clunky than people realize.

The interaction is too cute if that's all you're setting up, the thing is these are both fine cards when they're apart from each other too...which just gives you options. There are times when you're going to want to dig for a sweeper over 2-3 turns to try and stabalize and this can allow you to go deeper on an otherwise dead board. Dino decks will have access to fumigate potentially, but really hour of devestation is quite good there because you can point burn/abrade at vehicles before that against faster opponents.

I find enrage more enticing with the 1 mana red sweeper for 1 damage from Amonkhet or hour (can't remember the name) or sweltering suns. Even if I lose a guy or two, I can generate value where as my vampire/ramunap red/merfolk/servo/whatever can't get over 3 toughness easily opponent loses a bunch of stuff and is further behind. I'm over here ramping, drawing, or putting out 3/3s while my opponent loses his board hopefully.

Maybe it is too cute, but red has lots of options to make it work probably pretty well. Enrage just breaks the symmetry of red sweepers and ballista is just another tool in the box.

I think Dino's can show up as a top end to a midrange style list maybe. The card draw raptors look kinda silly next to tireless tracker though, I have to admit.

Bellowing Aegisaur with walking ballista may see play. oketra's monument and Legion's Landing can help to cast the Dino earlier and priest of the wakening sun can find that combo piece. With enought token gen and maybe Anointed Procession, ballista + aegisaur can be leathal when they reach the table.

Bellowing Aegisaur + Walking Ballista does seem like a great way to buff up an army before going in for the kill or even to protect against certain sweepers.

However, I don't think Ballista to ping any other dinos for the Enrage trigger is really gonna get the payoff we want.

I think to really take advantage of Enrage, you want multiple triggers each time. So something like Dual Shot on your opponent's end step targeting Ranging Raptors and Ripjaw Raptors is the better option. You get ramp and card advantage.

You don't need to have cards to trigger enrage for enrage to be good, either. Enrage rewards you for just playing the game of magic as intended: Block things, attack with things and force the opponent to block, Savage Stomp something, etc.