I actually like Beast Within. More than Bramblecrush/Creeping Mold tbh. Very flexible. An out to deal with anything from the opponent and can give you a 3/3 flash when you need it.
Not more than Bramblecrush, but I do play it over Creeping Mold. Bramblecrushing planeswalkers is very much a thing.
I like Beast Within. It is not for every deck, but it is very powerful. Turning some major threat into a lousy 3/3 is very good, especially at instant speed.
And I'd hardly consider a 3/3 body lousy. It's bigger than the majority of the creatures in the cube.
That is true, I was exaggerating a bit. But it often is quite bad compared to what it would be without Beast Within, which of course is the whole point of the card. I mainly play it because I like the 2G casting cost so much more than 2GG for Bramblecrush, and I like green to have an answer to everything. The nice thing is it even kills creatures.
I'd much rather pay the extra one mana and remove the card I want to remove rather than turn one threat into another threat, and lose 3 mana and a card in the process. I'm glad other groups have fun with the card, but it was completely terrible for us.
Instant speed is relevant, as well. Bramblecrush never made maindecks around here, I think I'd like Beast Within better if I had to throw one back in at the moment.
Bramblecrush is really, really solid in ramp or midrange. It can kill walkers, blow up swords before they ever hit, and supplement a LD strategy. Beast Within is just always such a bad deal. Within an actual game situation, it can occasionally be a decent play, but getting a 3/3 is a big deal (see Thragtusk or Call of the Herd).
Instant speed is relevant, as well. Bramblecrush never made maindecks around here, I think I'd like Beast Within better if I had to throw one back in at the moment.
I do still play Beast Within, and it is an okay card, while I do not play Creeping Mold. That was more the idea from my last post.
Beast Within is more significant for not being very green than it is significant for being a good card. I would simply add that green has a lot of great tools to fight aggro.
I also would never run brumblecrush, a four mana removal in a meta with vindicate, maelstrom pulse, o-ring, d-sphere - it looks just poor and mono green is not a deck here.
But if I have to run one, it would be the Beast Within. 2G instant is a lot better than 2GG sorcery and it is more versitale.
This post doesn't make sense to me.
Of course Vindicate is a better effect than Bramblecrush. How is that relevant? It's a WB gold card. Maelstrom Pulse is also better? Can't break a Maze of Ith, but sure. Except that it is also a gold card. Bramblecrush has a very good effect at a reasonable cost and no drawback.
As to your second point, you can't compare them in that manner without taking into account that one has a very real drawback and the other does not.
I currently run Jace B, Jace AoT, and Tamiyo in Blue. And I actually think they are all really close. While Tamiyo is perhaps my favorite walker on art and style; I think I value AoT more in my deck.
AoT has consistently done work for us, with the +1 often being a significant swing, and the -2 being amazing since card quality is so high. At this point, I value AoT over Tamiyo. But she is a pet card for me, so I run both!
I would say that Jace AoT and Tamiyo are a toss-up, and both are much better than Jace B. My playgroup has actually expressed interest in cutting Jace B due to the growing number of planeswalkers in my cube (currently up to 20) and the fact that Jace B is really just a fancy draw spell - it doesn't actually do anything else like the other Jaces do.
I would say that Jace AoT and Tamiyo are a toss-up, and both are much better than Jace B. My playgroup has actually expressed interest in cutting Jace B due to the growing number of planeswalkers in my cube (currently up to 20) and the fact that Jace B is really just a fancy draw spell - it doesn't actually do anything else like the other Jaces do.
It is a fancy draw spell, but it is good at what it does. To my mind, Jace Beleren shouldn't be competing with other planeswalkers. He should be competing with other draw spells.
My group under valued Beleren to start, but he is actually very sought after in our group now. In a game of 2HG last Wednesday he manged to draw 9 cards. He has turned into a must answer in our cube, which makes him very, very safe.
(Also Kalonian Hydra in 2HG is good times. 64/64 trample? Yes please.)
Beleren > AoT > Tamiyo for us, as much as it pains me.
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Easily Beast Within. Exarch just costs too much.
Beast Within for sure
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Agreed. I don't like either card much at all.
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Not more than Bramblecrush, but I do play it over Creeping Mold. Bramblecrushing planeswalkers is very much a thing.
Paying 3 mana and losing a card to turn their threat into another threat was just terrible.
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As for the Loxodon Warhammer vs. Trusty Machete: I recently cut down the number of actual Swords to three (cutting Sword of Feast and Famine and Sword of Body and Mind) because I felt there were too many expensive equipments. I added Silver-Inlaid Dagger because of the human interaction (there are quite a few humans in Cube, especially in white and red). These artifacts (Trusty Machete, Silver-Inlaid Dagger, Darksteel Axe) are much lower impact than Swords or Hammers, but they are also much cheaper, and you can even get them with Trinket Mage.
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And I'd hardly consider a 3/3 body lousy. It's bigger than the majority of the creatures in the cube.
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I do still play Beast Within, and it is an okay card, while I do not play Creeping Mold. That was more the idea from my last post.
Beast Within is more significant for not being very green than it is significant for being a good card. I would simply add that green has a lot of great tools to fight aggro.
This post doesn't make sense to me.
Of course Vindicate is a better effect than Bramblecrush. How is that relevant? It's a WB gold card. Maelstrom Pulse is also better? Can't break a Maze of Ith, but sure. Except that it is also a gold card. Bramblecrush has a very good effect at a reasonable cost and no drawback.
As to your second point, you can't compare them in that manner without taking into account that one has a very real drawback and the other does not.
I already have Jace 1&2, and Tezz.
Tamiyo for me.
AoT has consistently done work for us, with the +1 often being a significant swing, and the -2 being amazing since card quality is so high. At this point, I value AoT over Tamiyo. But she is a pet card for me, so I run both!
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It is a fancy draw spell, but it is good at what it does. To my mind, Jace Beleren shouldn't be competing with other planeswalkers. He should be competing with other draw spells.
To the previous, I'd keep Tamiyo over Jace, AoT.
(Also Kalonian Hydra in 2HG is good times. 64/64 trample? Yes please.)
Beleren > AoT > Tamiyo for us, as much as it pains me.