MTG Salvation

Now that he gets cut from some cubes I think he deserves a thread.

Thornling is mana intensive, but it is one of my favorite finishers in green decks with access to a lot of mana. It is a fast clock and it is hard to kill. It has trample and haste, both very relevant abilities.

I like it with Birthing Pod in particular, because I can sac a four drop and immediately start attacking.

Yeva, Nature's Herald is a very different card and I for one will keep Thornling and not include her. I also think that Briarhorn is better than Yeva if you are interested in flash creatures.

He's a good curve-topping man. He's mana intensive, but hes hard to remove. If you're flooded, there's fewer topdecks that are better. But I felt that it was redundant with some of the other finishers, and he's currently on my bench. He'll never be down and out forever though, because he's one of my favorite dudes.

I don't think he competes in the same slot as Yeva would.

I think this is my favorite green creature in the six-mana-plus slot. It's really hard to remove and can have haste. As wtwlf, it's probably the best creature you can draw if the game goes long. In my cube, Thornling is one of the creatures with the highest kill counts.

Cheers,
rant

I've found that whenever people talk about him on the forums, they always talk about how "you have to have that 6th mana open to make him indestructible!"

...but in practice, I've dropped him on turn 5 and he still brings the heat. And if he dies, I throw down my 6 drop that they don't have a removal spell for.

I'd cut Genesis before Thornling.

You play decks that are much different from mine, duckpants. I can't afford to throw away 5+cc creatures without getting value from them. Playing it as a 5-drop was so bad for us ...unless I was about to die to their pressure, I always make sure I can give it either haste or indestructible when it was cast.

And there's no way I'd cut Genesis for it.

Quote from duckpants

I've found that whenever people talk about him on the forums, they always talk about how "you have to have that 6th mana open to make him indestructible!"

...but in practice, I've dropped him on turn 5 and he still brings the heat. And if he dies, I throw down my 6 drop that they don't have a removal spell for.

Thank you. He is classified as a 6 drop because you most often play him there, but I have played him at 5 many times for a variety of reasons (mostly I don't have a 6th mana, but occasionally for other reasons, such as having another finisher or needing a blocker ASAP). Find me another green beater that shrugs off removal and combat damage this easily, while being good at five mana and great at ten. Flexible. Scalable. Powerful. Thornling is anything and everything I want from a finisher.

Thornling has an impressive selection of abilities and it should be awesome, but I don't like cards that demand to have mana pumped into them turn after turn to function properly.

Quote from rantipole

In my cube, Thornling is one of the creatures with the highest kill counts.

Weird. In my cube, it is one of the fatties with the lowest kill counts (times on the battlefield vs times it killed a player). Most often, it ends up bounced or edicted or tapped or just raced.

I've never really liked this card, and I haven't seen it perform well in our cube. It's possible that I'm biased, because Chameleon Colossus plays largely the same role that Thornling does - mid-sized beater with ridiculous upside - except typically he arrives two turns sooner, and actually threatens to become gigantic before long. His pump effect is also much stronger with any equipment.

I know they don't compete for the same spots in cube, but when a four drop by and large outclasses a pseudo-six drop, I find it hard to justify the six drop.

I do like Thornling, and it seems to be an effective creature in big mana decks. If I'm honest, having 5 activated abilities is part of the attraction, as it always feels as if you are doing something.

I think Thornling is just the epitome of a solid green beater. He doesn't immediately send your opponent to the scoop phase, but he can be quite scary at times.

The one thing I hate about Thornling is the artwork. If art were a factor in whether or not a card makes it, Thornling would've been cut long ago. I love me some Kev Walker art, and Thornling's art isn't bad, I just don't understand why they didn't get rk post to do a green version of the classic artwork.

Quote from calibretto

The one thing I hate about Thornling is the artwork. If art were a factor in whether or not a card makes it, Thornling would've been cut long ago. I love me some Kev Walker art, and Thornling's art isn't bad, I just don't understand why they didn't get rk post to do a green version of the classic artwork.

My biggest beef with this card is that the art doesn't show two guys facing each other in identical poses. At least after Torchling, that was a given.

Quote from wtwlf123

You play decks that are much different from mine, duckpants. I can't afford to throw away 5+cc creatures without getting value from them. Playing it as a 5-drop was so bad for us ...unless I was about to die to their pressure, I always make sure I can give it either haste or indestructible when it was cast.

It makes sense. Considering your love of blue, you seem like more of a control-type player. I'm in no way saying you don't know how to / don't like to play aggro decks... it just makes sense that you'd want more value out of a single creature in a deck.

When I said that, I was thinking about decks I've made where the theme is to go Doyle Brunson style: go all in by forcing tempo.

I love threaten ing Thornling since he has an ability that kills himself

Hey All,

I was not sure if I should necro this thread or start a new one. I assumed necro, since it is in the list. If that is wrong, I am sorry and I can start a new thread!

I just added Thornling to my list. I was under the impression that it was not well loved, but this thread seems to say otherwise. The Cube Comparison Thread has Thornling played in only 26% of cubes 9 months after the last post here. So what have people replaced him with?

I finally got him in my cube a couple months ago and he is has been awesome. I think hes one of the better "6" drops. He can blank a lot the removal. Ive played him in U/G control decks and G/x ramp decks. We have not seen anyone lose after untapping with Thornling. Later down the road I might give Prime Time a shot in his place but for now hes at no risk of being cut from my cube.

He's been in and out of my list more times than any other creature. He's about to go back in I think.

Quote from wtwlf123

He's been in and out of my list more times than any other creature. He's about to go back in I think.

Cactuars are known to jump and run around very quickly.

I'm in a similar boat of it being in and out of a rotating cast, mainly to find the mix of 5-drops in green that I'm happiest with.

I still run Thorny but I may cut it to add a 4-drop (my 4-drop spot is paltry). It's a really good resilient face-beater responsible for a ton of kills in my group. Hmm. I think I just convinced myself to find another cut to fit that 4-drop in.

Cheers,
rant

Thanks a bunch Eidolon. I am running all of the new adds but Hornet Queen and Silverheart. I am not particularly interested in Silverheart, but have been thinking about adding Queen in, though not in Thornling's spot.

Excited to play with Thornling though!

Cool to see he is still loved!