I like Tireless Tracker a lot, but I disagree with your assessment. I find that Courser of Kruphix is a must-answer far more often. It will often draw more cards than the Tracker. The lifegain combined with 4 toughness makes it a real roadblock for the aggro deck in a way that Tracker rarely is.
Courser is better against aggro, sure, but I wouldn't expect it to draw more cards than Tracker on average. If you've got library manipulation, maybe, but you can synergize with Tracker too, in the form of fetchlands or land recursion. Courser's also harder to cast at 1GG, will never provide the same offensive punch as Tracker, and lets your opponent know every card you draw.
Unless a game is moving very quickly or you're doing an excellent job of tapping out every turn, there will often be windows to crack a Clue with mana you weren't going to spend otherwise. I think that's a fine tradeoff for the aggressive value Tracker provides.
I think Courser > Tracker, FWIW. I think it leads to more card advantage on average, especially considering how much more survivable it is for the first few turns it's on the battlefield. And it generates its card advantage for free, gains life in the process, and provides an immediate defensive board presence.
I also agree that it's both better and prob draws more cards. Mechanically, it cares about the same things tracker does (lands entering the battlefield) but it's upfront resiliency and application vs aggro decks/in races I value a bit more, especially since Tracker dies to almost everything. The aggressive/build-up nature of Tireless Tracker gives it a higher ceiling into the mid-later game, but that is indeed a build up and it can be actually bad as a top deck. Courser dies to Disenchant, which is real, but definitely less than the number of things that kill Tracker.
Courser over Tracker for sure. I know this is not exactly the same thing, but remember Courser was a primary player that shaped an entire format for awhile. The free CA and stout defensive value were the primary factors in that scenario as well.
Courser is better against aggro, sure, but I wouldn't expect it to draw more cards than Tracker on average. If you've got library manipulation, maybe, but you can synergize with Tracker too, in the form of fetchlands or land recursion. Courser's also harder to cast at 1GG, will never provide the same offensive punch as Tracker, and lets your opponent know every card you draw.
Unless a game is moving very quickly or you're doing an excellent job of tapping out every turn, there will often be windows to crack a Clue with mana you weren't going to spend otherwise. I think that's a fine tradeoff for the aggressive value Tracker provides.
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For sure. I’m just remembering how the Caryatid/Courser tandem snuffed out an entire theater (aggro) as a competitive strategy.