The difference between Tinker and Rector is that the bomb targets are playable in multiple decks. Without an Academy Rector in my deck, I don't think I'd play Form of the Dragon or Debtors' Knell in much of anything.
It's all very cube-dependent, but Form and Knell are both cards that are capable of being control finishers as well as Rector targets.
Knell and Form are both solid cards here, as control finishers (with Form also being decent in ramp strategies, too) as well as Rector targets. I also like Knell more than most, it seems; I've seen it be way too good too many times to cut it without something way more awesome coming in.
There's nothing cooler than being a dragon. I love that card. Wish it would've worked out for us. If Rector becomes a possibility in the future, I'd throw in the Form just for awesomeness.
I know wtwlf123 and myself have been testing this card recently, I'd like to know what everyone else's experiences or opinions are with it and keep it to this thread so future people can read about it.
Academy Rector has been playing amazingly well (like way better than I expected) in our storm-supported 360. There are so many great enchantments to get with her, but my favorite ones are Yawgmoth's Bargain, Sneak Attack, and mana doublers (Mirari's Wake, Heartbeat of Spring, Dictate of Karametra etc).
She's kind of like a moat when she's in play and the opponent doesn't have an exile effect. I've found when the opponent does have an exile effect, she's pretty horrible, but otherwise she's actually pretty sweet. I played storm against boros aggro and she was my Vampiric Tutor / Imperial Seal / Demonic Tutor target in each game because she stopped the ground assault or gave me a ton of mana, cards, or a way to win.
She's also been used in the UW control deck to get a Moat, Oblivion Ring, and a Faith's Fetters, although the latter likely won't be in my cube for long.
I can't remember the last time I've been impressed with a card like her in some time, so I'd give a glowing recommendation to her if you have powerful enchantments in your cube.
p.s. Also, wtwlf123, I'd love to hear if your experience with her is as good as mine, or if it's been just decent or bad.
I think Omniscience is going a bit too deep. The card only combos with Rector, Show and Tell, and Eureka of all cards i can think of that see play in cubes.
While I completely agree it's going deep to play Omniscience, Shelldock Isle, Mind's Desire, and Dream Halls can also cast Omniscience without paying its mana cost. I actually may have to go a bit too deep in the near-future... for testing purposes, bwahahaha.
There's speculation that Theros block might have an enchantment theme or subtheme and that we might even see some enchantment creatures similar to Lucent Liminid. If that ends up being true, maybe we'll see a bomb creature that can work with both Rector and reanimator.
These are the only 6cc+ enchantment creatures. Technically Thassa, God of the Sea is an enchantment creature but I don't know if she's what I'm looking for in a reanimation target, haha.
Academy Rector is a he, I think. He's been good for me too. There are a lot of centerpiece enchantments in the cube, and it's nice to have tutors for them. In addition to having lots of good utility targets in white. He's been a solid re-inclusion ...there have been a lot of good enchantments printed since the last time I cubed with him.
Ooh, Birthing Pod would be really good with this guy. I may try that card out to see if anyone wants to try to abuse it. I doubt it'll be good, but we've never tried and Rector is an interesting addition for sure.
She/he gets exiled when you use the ability but getting that initial Recurring Nightmare could be gamebreaking.
Yeah, I'm not actually interested in looping Rector. Most decks would only have a couple of targets max. But a solid 4-drop that has value when podded out and gets the second best card in pod decks would be nuts.
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I still don't have enough expensive enchantment targets for this to work. Been permanently on my radar more than any other card, but we're not quite there. I really wanted a big enchantment creature green fatty from Theros block - that would've swung me to play Rector again.
I cut Academy Rector a few years ago when I cut Debtors' Knell, because that was the last expensive enchantment that I had. However, I recently realized that "you need big enchantments to play Rector in cube" is a fallacy and put him* back in. There are many very strong enchantments that cost less than 6 mana that you are happy to fetch with Rector. Sure, you don't really get a mana discount this way, but if the enchantment is a centerpiece of your deck or just strong (in general or in the particular board state), then you are still happy. I recently drafted a deck with Goblin Bombardment, Purphoros, God of the Forge and Sneak Attack and Academy Rector was amazing in that deck, even though none of the possible targets cost more than 4 mana.
I always thought Rector was female and am surprised anyone thinks she's got a willy. I guess she looks a little masculine, but she's got a full head of braided hair, a dress, and a "come hither" expression I know all too well, rawr.
That grandma has a serious case of man-face. I can't remember who it was, but someone corrected me a long time ago when I thought it was a her. Maybe they were wrong and it really is a woman. Who knows?
I was expecting Theros block to give a few enchantments to snatch with Rector, but I don't see it. Overpriced and you still have to kill him/her to get the value, yuck...
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I was expecting Theros block to give a few enchantments to snatch with Rector, but I don't see it. Overpriced and you still have to kill him/her to get the value, yuck...
I thought Academy Rector would be mediocre until I recently tested her. She's been an all-star, although my cube probably supports her better than most. I'd highly recommend a retesting if you haven't done so in some time.
That grandma has a serious case of man-face. I can't remember who it was, but someone corrected me a long time ago when I thought it was a her. Maybe they were wrong and it really is a woman. Who knows?
Yeah I just can't think of any regular posters who correct assumptions about a card's gender, hmmm
I think this is playable in control decks or Stax decks if you have some decent four mana targets but it would be so much more of an incentive to pull something crazy.
I'm not convinced this card is very good but that doesn't stop me from wanted to run it and support. I'm surprised we haven't gotten any new big enchantments worth playing!
The gender was determined by a German translation which takes into account gender IIRC.
The gender was determined by a German translation which takes into account gender IIRC.
Right, forgot about that. I actually thought it was a woman until I had a German version in hand. Every noun is assigned a gender in the German language - you can't just go with a neutral "Rector", you have to pick either the male "Rektor" or the female "Rektorin". And the card is called "Rektor der Akademie". That said, I don't think that this was an official decision from Wizards but rather the translator picking the option that seemed to fit better.
Sneak in Myr Battlesphere (10 Purphoros damage), sneak in Phyrexian Metamorph and copy Battlesphere (10 more Purphoros damage), attack with both Battlespheres while tapping the eight Myr tokens (8 Myr damage to the face)!
Rector played an important part in getting those two important red enchantments online and really made that combo deck tick. He has a specially nice synergy with Sneak Attack.
That said, he is a bit narrow, often goes late in draft and rarely sees play. There are decks though that really, really want him. Since those decks are usually pretty cool, I am keeping him in.
Urza's Saga was an enchantment-themed block. We just don't remember it as such owing to the busted artifacts that came out of it.
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It's all very cube-dependent, but Form and Knell are both cards that are capable of being control finishers as well as Rector targets.
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I suppose it is. Those cards didn't play well enough in my cube unless they were being cheated out by Rector.
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Academy Rector has been playing amazingly well (like way better than I expected) in our storm-supported 360. There are so many great enchantments to get with her, but my favorite ones are Yawgmoth's Bargain, Sneak Attack, and mana doublers (Mirari's Wake, Heartbeat of Spring, Dictate of Karametra etc).
She's kind of like a moat when she's in play and the opponent doesn't have an exile effect. I've found when the opponent does have an exile effect, she's pretty horrible, but otherwise she's actually pretty sweet. I played storm against boros aggro and she was my Vampiric Tutor / Imperial Seal / Demonic Tutor target in each game because she stopped the ground assault or gave me a ton of mana, cards, or a way to win.
She's also been used in the UW control deck to get a Moat, Oblivion Ring, and a Faith's Fetters, although the latter likely won't be in my cube for long.
I can't remember the last time I've been impressed with a card like her in some time, so I'd give a glowing recommendation to her if you have powerful enchantments in your cube.
p.s. Also, wtwlf123, I'd love to hear if your experience with her is as good as mine, or if it's been just decent or bad.
EDIT:
While I completely agree it's going deep to play Omniscience, Shelldock Isle, Mind's Desire, and Dream Halls can also cast Omniscience without paying its mana cost. I actually may have to go a bit too deep in the near-future... for testing purposes, bwahahaha.
Theros block has come and gone, and... Bummer.
These are the only 6cc+ enchantment creatures. Technically Thassa, God of the Sea is an enchantment creature but I don't know if she's what I'm looking for in a reanimation target, haha.
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She/he gets exiled when you use the ability but getting that initial Recurring Nightmare could be gamebreaking.
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Actually, nobody is interested in looping Rector, since that doesn't work: You have to exile him if you want to get an enchantment.
* The question if Academy Rector is a man or a woman is as old as the card itself and one of Magic's greatest mysteries.
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I thought Academy Rector would be mediocre until I recently tested her. She's been an all-star, although my cube probably supports her better than most. I'd highly recommend a retesting if you haven't done so in some time.
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Yeah I just can't think of any regular posters who correct assumptions about a card's gender, hmmm
I think this is playable in control decks or Stax decks if you have some decent four mana targets but it would be so much more of an incentive to pull something crazy.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
The gender was determined by a German translation which takes into account gender IIRC.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
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That said, he is a bit narrow, often goes late in draft and rarely sees play. There are decks though that really, really want him. Since those decks are usually pretty cool, I am keeping him in.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG