Agreed. And it's never bad getting a free Opposition either. Someone else reported snagging a Cryptic Command on it. While (largely) losing the counter ability, it's still good to bounce/tap/draw when also getting a 6-power dude for 7 mana.
I would rather have a lot of fun, which these cards look to be.
Honestly agree, sure there is a little bit more work but hey drafting is half the fun if not more. Plus this guy will surely do some work, for a second there I thought I was the only one who thought so.
hahaha yeah. Glad you enjoyed it! (btw, I was in a cube draft that was streamed here [it was cut into 4 pieces, but the links are 1,2,3,4.] I used to post more but hadn't much in the past few years. Looking to remedy that.
It's been about a month since this thread has been updated, what have everyone's experiences been like with this guy?
I'm thinking about trying him out. He may have been the one card I completely missed in my Conspiracy set review. I'm actually looking forward to testing him. Does anyone have any experience with this guy they'd like to share?
Yeah, already posted in wtwlf's cube thread (and we discussed it at length in our podcast too /shameless plug). He's very good universal finisher, as you only need a decent 4+ mana effect that you would play anyway to get great value. He's Tinkerable and Reanimatable and helps cut down on coloured finisher slots by offering one to every colour. So far, I like it a lot. Sometimes you get a Titan or something strapped to it, which is obnoxious, but is not necessary to get good value. Sometimes a Vindicate or similar is OK too.
Haha, well, I don't know if everyone checks all the cube lists and I haven't heard as much as I'd like from the community about him if a lot of people are using him.
Awesome to hear you like it a lot. I'm going to put him in today for testing I think.
EDIT: I think his own specific thread is the best spot for discussion about him anyway, it's his thread and will help future searchers find out what we think about him.
Total side note but I like how people are discussing running this over itself.
Well, it has to be said that Kolaghan is clearly better than Kolaghan. Considering what BR decks usually want and how stiff the competition in this guild is, there is no way that I would run Kolaghan over Kolaghan! Kolaghan might make it in as the sixth guild card or so. Kolaghan on the other hand ranks several places below that.
It was so funny to me when they described this as a downgrade to the original Zurgo during the Pax East panel. I was thinking if this is a downgrade, they should really "downgrade" all legendary creatures. Haha.
My deck designing is quite concise at this point:
1. Come up with deck idea
2. Realize this idea is somehow fundamentally similar to another deck I have or that is commonly played in my group
3. Decide I don't want to disassemble one of my existing decks
4. Give up and do nothing
I don't see the point of this new shroud mechanic. It's strictly worse than Hexproof. Threshold is pretty bad too, Delirium is a much better mechanic and probably easier to activate.
Otherwise this card is a pretty neat guy. Dodges removal and grows into a Primal Huntbeast. 3/5
Just opened a foil one of these tonight...in a pack with Dack Fayden. So I'm going to be checking here to see if people have any more testing data, since I have one I can put in my Cube now
I guess I just don't like the 'next card' thing upon first glance...with what else have you paired it, Lamp?
The two times I saw it opened in Conspiracy limited, it got Pelakka Wurm (utterly insane) and Volcanic Fallout (seemed like decent value at most points, but was never drawn).
I still see loads of potential problems with it, but getting enough value hasn't seemed to be one of them. Being able to tailor your fatty to fit the needs of your deck has proven surprisingly useful.
We've drafted with Aether Searcher twice. First time, he came in with Inferno Titan. Second time, Falkenrath Aristocrat. Needless to say, both times it was terrific. Honestly, this guy is going to be a very high pick in our cube for a long time for anyone playing ramp or Tinker.
He's been paired with Fact or Fiction, Tezzeret the Seeker, and Recurring Nightmare (this guy was in a bad pack for the ramp player, got picked P3P1, Recurring Nightmare got passed P3P2). He's particularly insane with Recurring Nightmare, but I don't expect that interaction to happen often. He's testing very well. We're going to get in some more drafts tonight, but he's been stellar so far.
He also combos very well with Unexpected Potential and Worldknit (if you already have Unexpected Potential you can freely take any card to pair with him and be able to cast it normally), if you play with conspiracies.
It's okay with Nightmare. I mean, you're only going to get the free card once.
I believe when Æther Searcher gets reanimated from the Graveyard, the Recurring Nightmare will already be in your hand, so you can recast it with him once he hits the field.
If you have a guy in your Graveyard that makes tokens on ETB or LTB like Deranged Hermit or Wurmcoil Engine things get out of control twice as fast... if we're understanding things correctly.
I like how it's only bad depending how you draft it. Which means there is a certain amount of "leveling" to it in the draft portion. If you want to take it, you should probably wait until your opponent has already passed you their pack, lest you reveal the Searcher and have them hate-draft the best spell out of it. But if they pass it to you, they might wait on their pick to see if you take it. On that level alone, I think it's cube-worthy. Another thing with it is, it is more powerful the higher you pick it (and harder for the person passing to you to hate-draft if there are 4 or 5 stone-nut Searcher targets in his pack still).
Personally, I think it's pretty obviously busted and it will only take testing for that notion to be proven true. It does depend on the composition of the cube -- most cubes I play with nowadays have more and more cards catering towards the "cheating dumb fatties" archetype, and in that respect I think Aether Searcher is completely bonkers. It goes perfectly into Reanimator, Channel, Tinker, and Sneak Attack decks, even if all you're Searching is a Jace, Architect of Thought or Oblivion Ring (which is truly at the low end of how powerful it can be). And, since it's colorless, its casting cost is actually palatable in control decks needing a finisher or fast mana archetypes.
Two drafts tonight, and he was in pack one both times. First time he was paired with Terastodon in the uber-ramp deck. Second time was Armageddon. Too bad he didn't have a fifth toughness, because otherwise he would be insane with Wildfire (in the 'geddon pack).
First cube, he blew up three of his own lands to make 24 power with a 6 drop on turn 4.
Second cube, he came out with haste (Immediate Action) on turn 5 off of a mana rock and geddon happened. Short game.
So, he is bonkers, especially if you heavily support the 'cheat fatties into play' archetype. I am looking forward to trying him with Kozilek, Butcher of Truth or Recurring Nightmare(!!!!!) myself.
Paired him with Recurring Nightmare again on Tuesday. Pretty odd how I said I didn't expect that to happen again any time soon... and then it happened the next time we drafted.
We cubed with Æther Searcher for the very first time yesterday. A player first picked it in his third booster pack. I had just passed my own booster to him and nearly fell out of my chair when he revealed this card. Guess which card he took.
At least nobody at the table forgot which card was linked to Æther Searcher and there was no need to write it down.
Aether Searcher is incredible with Eldrazi, it's the best thing you can put on it IMO. You can Tinker or Reanimate Aether Searcher to get the full effect.
Nothing too broken but hey, I'll pay 7 mana for a 6/4 that gets me a 3/2 that kills something or a 6/4 Telekinetic Sliver.
I used to write cube articles on StarCityGames, now for GatheringMagic and podcast about cube (w/Antknee42.)
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
He's also sweet with Recurring Nightmare
My cube: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/9981
I used to write cube articles on StarCityGames, now for GatheringMagic and podcast about cube (w/Antknee42.)
I'm thinking about trying him out. He may have been the one card I completely missed in my Conspiracy set review. I'm actually looking forward to testing him. Does anyone have any experience with this guy they'd like to share?
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On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Awesome to hear you like it a lot. I'm going to put him in today for testing I think.
EDIT: I think his own specific thread is the best spot for discussion about him anyway, it's his thread and will help future searchers find out what we think about him.
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I guess I just don't like the 'next card' thing upon first glance...with what else have you paired it, Lamp?
-AA
I use descriptive language. Assume that I'm being nice and respectful. (I'll tell you when I'm not.)
My Cube: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/9029
I still see loads of potential problems with it, but getting enough value hasn't seemed to be one of them. Being able to tailor your fatty to fit the needs of your deck has proven surprisingly useful.
Cubetutor Link
He's been paired with Fact or Fiction, Tezzeret the Seeker, and Recurring Nightmare (this guy was in a bad pack for the ramp player, got picked P3P1, Recurring Nightmare got passed P3P2). He's particularly insane with Recurring Nightmare, but I don't expect that interaction to happen often. He's testing very well. We're going to get in some more drafts tonight, but he's been stellar so far.
He also combos very well with Unexpected Potential and Worldknit (if you already have Unexpected Potential you can freely take any card to pair with him and be able to cast it normally), if you play with conspiracies.
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Draft my cube!
Watch me stream!
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
I believe when Æther Searcher gets reanimated from the Graveyard, the Recurring Nightmare will already be in your hand, so you can recast it with him once he hits the field.
If you have a guy in your Graveyard that makes tokens on ETB or LTB like Deranged Hermit or Wurmcoil Engine things get out of control twice as fast... if we're understanding things correctly.
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Personally, I think it's pretty obviously busted and it will only take testing for that notion to be proven true. It does depend on the composition of the cube -- most cubes I play with nowadays have more and more cards catering towards the "cheating dumb fatties" archetype, and in that respect I think Aether Searcher is completely bonkers. It goes perfectly into Reanimator, Channel, Tinker, and Sneak Attack decks, even if all you're Searching is a Jace, Architect of Thought or Oblivion Ring (which is truly at the low end of how powerful it can be). And, since it's colorless, its casting cost is actually palatable in control decks needing a finisher or fast mana archetypes.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
First cube, he blew up three of his own lands to make 24 power with a 6 drop on turn 4.
Second cube, he came out with haste (Immediate Action) on turn 5 off of a mana rock and geddon happened. Short game.
So, he is bonkers, especially if you heavily support the 'cheat fatties into play' archetype. I am looking forward to trying him with Kozilek, Butcher of Truth or Recurring Nightmare(!!!!!) myself.
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At least nobody at the table forgot which card was linked to Æther Searcher and there was no need to write it down.
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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