Sarcomancy is interesting as a 'non-creature creature', like Sram's Expertise or Spectral Procession. It's relevant to Prowess and some of the spells-matter package, albeit in the wrong colours, but it's relevant to some Stax effects which are very much in the right colours (and now Ascend, I guess). Of course, blink/bounce is a thing, but often overstated since there aren't that many cards that do it, and Sarcomancy is hardly a primary target - but it all adds to the intrigue of the card.
Sarcomancy is interesting as a 'non-creature creature', like Sram's Expertise or Spectral Procession. It's relevant to Prowess and some of the spells-matter package, albeit in the wrong colours, but it's relevant to some Stax effects which are very much in the right colours (and now Ascend, I guess). Of course, blink/bounce is a thing, but often overstated since there aren't that many cards that do it, and Sarcomancy is hardly a primary target - but it all adds to the intrigue of the card.
Oh, it needs a foil printing please.
Something something reserved list
That said, they have reprinted reserved list cards as judge foils before, like Wheel of Fortune. Speaking of, I'm trading for one at my LGS, but I have the option of Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Mana Drain as well as Wheel of Fortune. Which should I trade for?
Yeah, I'm going to keep running it for a bit longer because so many people have favorable opinions for the card. Speaking of Sram's Expertise and Spectral Procession, which token generator do you guys generally prefer of the two?
I don't know. It's pretty close. Flying is relevant, but so is the fact that the tokens are artifacts in certain decks. Sram also 'repays' 75% of its mana cost in a sense which can be a big tempo boost.
I like Malicious Affliction pretty well, but I prefer Ruinous Path. The versatility to hit a planeswalker in addition to the option to cast it with awaken later on is just better, imo, than the potential to get a two for one with Malicious Affliction.
Serendib Efreet > Aether Adept > Thassa, God of the Sea
Re: Sram's and Procession: neither are A+ cards but they make up for the pretty shallow four drop creature slot in white and also support the Prowess/spells matter deck. Sram's works well in the artifact deck too when that goes into Esper, Jeskai or White Grixis.
I'd cut Shrine unless all your red aggro is mono-red, in which case I'd cut Mentor. Smash is also a reasonable cut in unpowered cubes with a lower artifact density; especially now that we have Abrade.
Vandal>>Gremlins, being a creature is huge and def more important than scalability.
Hazoret>Hero, both are good but I feel like I have a million Heros, in fact Hazoret is kind of a Hero too but does a bit more in other decks that want a discard outlet + it's easier to cast.
I actually like Release the Gremlins more. You lose the Rev, Survival, Alesha, Blink interactions, but the ability to pop 2 artifacts midgame and create two 2/2's without any other help is just as strong. If the artifact and other mana rock decks are popular in your cube (and it looks like you have all the support for it), I'd lean towards Release the Gremlins.
I think Hazoret is superior to Hero. There's already some redundancy in Hellrider and aggro has plenty of 4 drops to choose from like Salmo mentioned. An active Hazoret can be incredibly hard to fight, and even if it is somehow stonewalled, the reach provided with its Shock ability can help push through the last few points--especially against troublesome cards like Moat.
I agree with Thunderwang (what a name). In addition, Red likes effects on spells too, for various reasons. And the scalability is extremely relevant. I am very happy to have cut Vandal for it.
I prefer Hazoret to Hero as well. Much more interesting and it's less tricky to switch on than I'd anticipated.
Manic Vandal vs. Release the Gremlins is actually really interesting. They both destroy an artifact and give you a 2/2 for 2R. Release is more scalable, where Vandal is tutorable by Survival of the Fittest, Imperial Recruiter, Recruiter of the Guard. I think its more dependent on your cube. I think if you've got Kiki-Jiki, I'd go Vandal, as you're also likely playing one or both of the Recruiters to find it, plus you can copy it with Kiki-Jiki for repeatable effects. Release is probably better for big red decks like Wildfire, as well as Spells Matter decks. I think I prefer Vandal in general because its tutorable and blinkable, and casting Release for 4R or more seems rarer than Vandal's benefits being relevant, but in some cubes I could see Release being better. Both seem to have the same floor, just different ceilings depending on how they're supported.
dont forget that you can also still cast manic vandal when there are no artifacts on the field and you need to have artifacts on the field for release the gremlins to even be castable.
/\/\/\ Plus Vandal works better both with and against bounce effects.
Gremlins is the better card, but Manic Vandal might be more important because it's attached to a body. It matters for all the cards that interact with creatures, which in red includes at least Alesha, Recruiter & Feldon, plus a ton of non-red cards. If red contributes to the decks where creatures matter relatively often (ETB abuse decks, reanimation shells, survival/squee shenanigans, etc.) the fact that it's card type is creature opens up a lot of important interactions. They're really close, but I think it's still Vandal for now.
Hazoret > Hero, but not by a whole lot. It's a more fun and interesting card though, and has a higher ceiling.
I don't play either Hellspark or Marauders, but I play both Abbot and Mentor. I prefer those since I think they're roughly as good in the RDW deck, and Midrange decks like them too.
I prefer Hellspark to Marauders, though.
Yeah, I was a little confusing. I'm only cutting one of the Hellspark or Marauders. The other cut is coming from somewhere else. I think I want to add a 2-drop, so I'm just cutting one to add two.
Oh, it needs a foil printing please.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
That said, they have reprinted reserved list cards as judge foils before, like Wheel of Fortune. Speaking of, I'm trading for one at my LGS, but I have the option of Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Mana Drain as well as Wheel of Fortune. Which should I trade for?
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[180 classic cube]
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
[180 classic cube]
2 - Thassa, God of the Sea vs Serendib Efreet vs Aether Adept ? What order ?
Serendib Efreet > Aether Adept > Thassa, God of the Sea
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Path > Affliction
If you're supporting a dedicated blue devotion package, it's Thassa > Adept > Efreet. If you're not, it's exactly the opposite order.
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Wordly>Oath, but I would play both.
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I need to find a cut: Harsh Mentor, Smash to Smithereens, Shrine of the Burning Rage
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Hazoret the Fervent vs. Hero of Oxid Ridge
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Hazoret>Hero, both are good but I feel like I have a million Heros, in fact Hazoret is kind of a Hero too but does a bit more in other decks that want a discard outlet + it's easier to cast.
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I think Hazoret is superior to Hero. There's already some redundancy in Hellrider and aggro has plenty of 4 drops to choose from like Salmo mentioned. An active Hazoret can be incredibly hard to fight, and even if it is somehow stonewalled, the reach provided with its Shock ability can help push through the last few points--especially against troublesome cards like Moat.
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I prefer Hazoret to Hero as well. Much more interesting and it's less tricky to switch on than I'd anticipated.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
[180 classic cube]
Gremlins is the better card, but Manic Vandal might be more important because it's attached to a body. It matters for all the cards that interact with creatures, which in red includes at least Alesha, Recruiter & Feldon, plus a ton of non-red cards. If red contributes to the decks where creatures matter relatively often (ETB abuse decks, reanimation shells, survival/squee shenanigans, etc.) the fact that it's card type is creature opens up a lot of important interactions. They're really close, but I think it's still Vandal for now.
Hazoret > Hero, but not by a whole lot. It's a more fun and interesting card though, and has a higher ceiling.
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Hellspark Elemental vs. Keldon Marauders. I think the elemental is cooler, but I'm not sure if it's better. I'm looking for room in my cube for Harsh Mentor and Abbot of Keral Keep.
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Yeah, I was a little confusing. I'm only cutting one of the Hellspark or Marauders. The other cut is coming from somewhere else. I think I want to add a 2-drop, so I'm just cutting one to add two.
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