morphling is not the kind of mana sink a control deck wants
I just don't agree with this at all. It's exactly the kind of card I'm willing to pay mana into, because it does everything that I need my game-ending card to do. It protects itself, protects my life total, and wins the game reliably and quickly. I don't care if I have to sink extra mana into it, because I don't have to invest mana into multiple cards to do the same things that Morphling can do by itself.
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the investment in morphling just doesn't hold up against modern creatures.
I don't agree with this either. They still haven't printed another blue creature that fills his 3 roles more efficiently than he does. Ætherling is a more reliable finisher, but it's much worse at protecting you.
Morphling just doesn't protect you that well if you are also trying to attack with him. Firstly, you're investing a ton of mana on each of your turns to deal reasonable damage and then have a reasonable blocker. Secondly, morphling can never kill anything that's 3/3 or better and live to tell the tale, which is pretty horrendous for what is essentially a six-drop. Third, he's much worse at finishing the game than atherling or any finisher with trample, as morphling can't attack into any 3/3 or bigger flyer without trading and gets chumped by smaller flyers.
Sure, he's fine as a post-wrath threat, but so is pretty much every control six-drop. Morphling does NOT stabilize well,* though, as it blocks terribly for 6 mana on the turn you play it. I don't think I've ever been in a situation in control where exactly morphling would have saved me and other control finishers wouldn't. Moprh is just too slow and mana intensive for modern cubes where aggro is strong and control can't be set up to only beat midrange.
Finally, I don't really buy that Morph is that much better at protecting you except in the exact situation where your opponent can use removal to punch damage through, expecially given how much worse it is at actually ending the game. Let's assume that the opponent has no flyers, but has ground critters. If you want to deal 4 damage and then block with morphling, you need to invest 2 mana, then possibly an additional 1 if your opponent attacks into it. If you want to deal 4 with aetherling, you spend the exact same two mana to get it untapped in your end step, and it's a lot less likely you'll need to dump more mana into it to actually block well. I just don't think Morph being mediocre (for cube) at filling three roles makes it better than the plethora of other cards that can maybe only fulfill 2, but fulfill them both excellently. I guess we'll just have to disagree on this =P
*Obviously this is in the context of cube. Morphling is still better than 95% of magic creatures hands down.
I'm constantly winning games because Morphling protects me without having to stop applying pressure. So obviously, our experiences are just different. I disagree with the evaluation in its entirety based on my experiences.
Morphling is super mana intensive. To protect it from targeted removal, fly in for damage and untap for defense, you are looking at UUU. That doesn't count the pump shenanigans. And that's why he comes in and out of my list even though he should be a slam dunk here (I play 6th edition rules - so damage on the stack - and my meta is lower powered compared to most cube lists... i.e. I'm not even running "upgraded" comparable cards like Aetherling, et all).
To wtwlf123's point, he's a very powerful and flexible card that fills a lot of different roles. And he's in a color with no baneslayer type card at 5CC (and why he keeps coming back for me - that and nostalgia I think), he just costs a lot to fully unlock is all and so I can see why some would choose (and not be wrong IMO) to run other things. I think many in this thread (those arguing vehemently either way) are either underrating him or overrating him. He's not Wurmcoil Engine but he's also not Storm Crow. He's not underpowered in any list, but he's also not broken anymore.
If they printed a card that did all the things Morphling does without the mana-intensive upkeep, I'd be all for it. To bad there is no such card, or anything close to it.
If they printed a card that did all the things Morphling does without the mana-intensive upkeep, I'd be all for it. To bad there is no such card, or anything close to it.
Morphling is a great, unique and flavorful card. I think he deserves to be in the cube but that the size of it really does matter. I don't think there's space in a cube under 720. But at it, I'd say that he's solid staple. He does all kind of stuff and feels like a control toolbox creature when playing it. Solid when he's on board with tons of mana.
I'd run him at 600 if...
1) Richard Garfield Ph.D. haven't ever been print
2) I wasn't already not running Aetherling.
The way it is right now, I think my cube is somehow a bit too fast so he needs less mana dependant finishers. And the ling-brothers certainly aren't.
I think my cube is somehow a bit too fast so he needs less mana dependant finishers.
I don't think the need for less mana-dependent finishers has anything to do with cube speed. In fact, the faster the cube is, the more reliant you'd be on finishers that can both protect you and close out the game quickly ...finishers that don't have to decide between attacking and blocking. Morphling is probably better in cubes that don't provide you the time to find your win conditions and defensive cards from separate sources. The slower the cube is, the easier it is to use one card to protect you and wait around until you can find another card to win the game for you. When you're under pressure, you need cards that can do both for you (while protecting themselves too).
You may be right on Morphling, but I think Aetherling is pretty damned slow in a deck that just want to cast it in a fair way. Post wrath, I rather play something like Meloku or Frost Titan to ensure those kind of wins. But I understand and truly respect the power that contains the ling-brothers. Been there, done that, that's all. And further comeback in the cube is a possibility.
If they printed a card that did all the things Morphling does without the mana-intensive upkeep, I'd be all for it. To bad there is no such card, or anything close to it.
Sphinx of Jwar Isle seems pretty close, and it's what I'm running along with Meloku and Aetherling as big blue control finishers. For one more mana, which you'd need to be holding up to protect Morphling with shroud anyway, Sphinx has shroud, flying, and 5 power and toughness full time without needing to sink more mana into it. The only thing Morphling has over Sphinx is the ability to untap, is that enough reason to run Morphling instead?
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Sphinx of Jwar Isle seems pretty close, and it's what I'm running along with Meloku and Aetherling as big blue control finishers. For one more mana, which you'd need to be holding up to protect Morphling with shroud anyway, Sphinx has shroud, flying, and 5 power and toughness full time without needing to sink more mana into it. The only thing Morphling has over Sphinx is the ability to untap, is that enough reason to run Morphling instead?
Personnally, I prefer Morphling to Sphinx of Jawr Isle for the untap factor of it. But they're pretty close IMO.
If they printed a card that did all the things Morphling does without the mana-intensive upkeep, I'd be all for it. To bad there is no such card, or anything close to it.
Sphinx of Jwar Isle seems pretty close, and it's what I'm running along with Meloku and Aetherling as big blue control finishers. For one more mana, which you'd need to be holding up to protect Morphling with shroud anyway, Sphinx has shroud, flying, and 5 power and toughness full time without needing to sink more mana into it. The only thing Morphling has over Sphinx is the ability to untap, is that enough reason to run Morphling instead?
Absolutely. Sphinx only does 2 of the critical 3 things that Morphling does. It can't function as a win condition and a way to defend me at the same time. Which is crucial if the opponent is applying any pressure at all. When the format is slower, I think Sphinx gets better because you have the time to locate different cards to function as protection and win-cons, but Morphling does all those things rolled up into one.
Not to mention the advantages that pseudo-hexproof has over Shroud (being able to protect my win-con from Wraths and Edicts by bouncing it myself, the ability to carry equipment, etc) and the awesome interaction with Opposition.
Interesting. I've been running Sphinx of Jwar Isle for a pretty long time, and I'd always assumed it was better than Morphling and you were just running Morphling instead for nostalgia reasons. Morphling is pretty cheap these days, so even though I wasn't looking for a replacement for my Sphinx I don't see any reason not to give it a try for a bit.
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I can't believe Magic has reached a time in its life where the sentence "Morphling is not good enough." can be found on the internet. I may just be reiterating the things that have already been said, but Morphling is still an absolute monster to deal with in almost every match up. He is definitely a mana sink, but that's ok because what you're sinking your mana into is worth the investment. Using your mana on Morphling activations will likely win you the game.
Red can't burn him out and black and white can't just kill it with targeted removal. He blocks most aggro and midrange critters like a champion and because of his untap ability he can apply pressure and still protect your life total. Let's say on average you're investing five to six mana per turn cycle on his activations in this match up. Why is this a bad thing? It's attacking through your opponent's creature wall, it's protecting your life total from their attacks, and it's near indestructible while doing these things. You don't have to cast spells because you have a Morphling in play. Just play your lands and hold your spells. If they do somehow find a way to deal with him, you now have a hand full of spells and tons of mana in play.
I can't imagine a scenario where Morphling doesn't live up to his legacy where I wasn't losing no matter what I played. If it's possible for you to still win the game, then Morphling is a fantastic option to get you there.
I can't imagine a scenario where Morphling doesn't live up to his legacy where I wasn't losing no matter what I played. If it's possible for you to still win the game, then Morphling is a fantastic option to get you there.
Any situation where you're facing down multiple 3/3's or 4/4's, and any other control finisher 6-drop or greater doesn't have to trade to kill them or be content with just blocking one.
But in that case, you're investing 6 mana for a blocker. I want my finishers to be able to attack and block and defend themselves. No other finisher can do that as well as Morphling can. Ætherling can, but it's more expensive, it can't block flying creatures and it can't block against removal.
Any situation where you're facing down multiple 3/3's or 4/4's, and any other control finisher 6-drop or greater doesn't have to trade to kill them or be content with just blocking one.
Right, but in that same situation other blue 5cc cards (and some 6cc cards) perform similarly. The difference there being that you can still apply pressure with Morphling while leaving him back to block. Not being able to trade is a point against him, but he still attacks, blocks, and protects himself, which is something that none of these other cards can do in that situation.
I just don't agree with this at all. It's exactly the kind of card I'm willing to pay mana into, because it does everything that I need my game-ending card to do. It protects itself, protects my life total, and wins the game reliably and quickly. I don't care if I have to sink extra mana into it, because I don't have to invest mana into multiple cards to do the same things that Morphling can do by itself.
I don't agree with this either. They still haven't printed another blue creature that fills his 3 roles more efficiently than he does. Ætherling is a more reliable finisher, but it's much worse at protecting you.
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Sure, he's fine as a post-wrath threat, but so is pretty much every control six-drop. Morphling does NOT stabilize well,* though, as it blocks terribly for 6 mana on the turn you play it. I don't think I've ever been in a situation in control where exactly morphling would have saved me and other control finishers wouldn't. Moprh is just too slow and mana intensive for modern cubes where aggro is strong and control can't be set up to only beat midrange.
Finally, I don't really buy that Morph is that much better at protecting you except in the exact situation where your opponent can use removal to punch damage through, expecially given how much worse it is at actually ending the game. Let's assume that the opponent has no flyers, but has ground critters. If you want to deal 4 damage and then block with morphling, you need to invest 2 mana, then possibly an additional 1 if your opponent attacks into it. If you want to deal 4 with aetherling, you spend the exact same two mana to get it untapped in your end step, and it's a lot less likely you'll need to dump more mana into it to actually block well. I just don't think Morph being mediocre (for cube) at filling three roles makes it better than the plethora of other cards that can maybe only fulfill 2, but fulfill them both excellently. I guess we'll just have to disagree on this =P
*Obviously this is in the context of cube. Morphling is still better than 95% of magic creatures hands down.
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To wtwlf123's point, he's a very powerful and flexible card that fills a lot of different roles. And he's in a color with no baneslayer type card at 5CC (and why he keeps coming back for me - that and nostalgia I think), he just costs a lot to fully unlock is all and so I can see why some would choose (and not be wrong IMO) to run other things. I think many in this thread (those arguing vehemently either way) are either underrating him or overrating him. He's not Wurmcoil Engine but he's also not Storm Crow. He's not underpowered in any list, but he's also not broken anymore.
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Jodah's Avenger but only against mono-red I suppose.
I'd run him at 600 if...
1) Richard Garfield Ph.D. haven't ever been print
2) I wasn't already not running Aetherling.
The way it is right now, I think my cube is somehow a bit too fast so he needs less mana dependant finishers. And the ling-brothers certainly aren't.
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I don't think the need for less mana-dependent finishers has anything to do with cube speed. In fact, the faster the cube is, the more reliant you'd be on finishers that can both protect you and close out the game quickly ...finishers that don't have to decide between attacking and blocking. Morphling is probably better in cubes that don't provide you the time to find your win conditions and defensive cards from separate sources. The slower the cube is, the easier it is to use one card to protect you and wait around until you can find another card to win the game for you. When you're under pressure, you need cards that can do both for you (while protecting themselves too).
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Sphinx of Jwar Isle seems pretty close, and it's what I'm running along with Meloku and Aetherling as big blue control finishers. For one more mana, which you'd need to be holding up to protect Morphling with shroud anyway, Sphinx has shroud, flying, and 5 power and toughness full time without needing to sink more mana into it. The only thing Morphling has over Sphinx is the ability to untap, is that enough reason to run Morphling instead?
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Personnally, I prefer Morphling to Sphinx of Jawr Isle for the untap factor of it. But they're pretty close IMO.
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Absolutely. Sphinx only does 2 of the critical 3 things that Morphling does. It can't function as a win condition and a way to defend me at the same time. Which is crucial if the opponent is applying any pressure at all. When the format is slower, I think Sphinx gets better because you have the time to locate different cards to function as protection and win-cons, but Morphling does all those things rolled up into one.
Not to mention the advantages that pseudo-hexproof has over Shroud (being able to protect my win-con from Wraths and Edicts by bouncing it myself, the ability to carry equipment, etc) and the awesome interaction with Opposition.
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Red can't burn him out and black and white can't just kill it with targeted removal. He blocks most aggro and midrange critters like a champion and because of his untap ability he can apply pressure and still protect your life total. Let's say on average you're investing five to six mana per turn cycle on his activations in this match up. Why is this a bad thing? It's attacking through your opponent's creature wall, it's protecting your life total from their attacks, and it's near indestructible while doing these things. You don't have to cast spells because you have a Morphling in play. Just play your lands and hold your spells. If they do somehow find a way to deal with him, you now have a hand full of spells and tons of mana in play.
I can't imagine a scenario where Morphling doesn't live up to his legacy where I wasn't losing no matter what I played. If it's possible for you to still win the game, then Morphling is a fantastic option to get you there.
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Any situation where you're facing down multiple 3/3's or 4/4's, and any other control finisher 6-drop or greater doesn't have to trade to kill them or be content with just blocking one.
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Right, but in that same situation other blue 5cc cards (and some 6cc cards) perform similarly. The difference there being that you can still apply pressure with Morphling while leaving him back to block. Not being able to trade is a point against him, but he still attacks, blocks, and protects himself, which is something that none of these other cards can do in that situation.
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