MTG Salvation

This card looks similar to Grim Haruspex at first, but I think it has a few advantages that might make it play better. It counts itself, so you don't have to worry about if your opponent Shocks it before you're able to draw any cards from it. It's also a Zombie, so it plays very well with Gravecrawler.

I thought Grim Haruspex would be good enough for a cube slot, but it got pushed out rather quickly. I think this is better, but I'm not sure it's better enough. I run at 720 and the most logical cut for this might be Mardu Strike Leader... and I think Strike Leader is better. I might pull something at another CMC to give this a test run though.

I think its a great addition to the abundant recursive creatures black already has for cube. I have players building grindy stax decks/resilient aggro with cards like bloodghast or gravecrawler, so I will definitely be trying this knight out

I am interested, as it's very on theme for the black section of my cube.. But I worry about the 1 damage draw back... maybe it's an over-reaction as decks with pressure and red removal tend to be very bad matchups for black anyway. Really wish there was more life gain in black :/

I do think it's a solid tier above grim haruspex, for the reasons you mentioned .. zombie + counts itself > 1 point of damage drawback + morph interactions.
Grim haruspex played out worse than I was expecting.

Probably give it a test run...

Hard to evaluate at first glance. Seems like it'll just die off in combat and replace itself; don't know how often I'll get the massive card draw engine going. Not sure how much better/more reliable this is in comparison to something like Phyrexian Rager. Which will always draw me a card, and does so right away.

I'm not super excited about this, but I may take it for a spin in the Ruin Raider slot. Zombie synergy is solid, and having random Knight value for History of Benalia is entertaining trinket text (given that I currently only have 5 knights in the cube).

Black 3 is one of the perpetual testing slots in my cube, so I'll try this out.

I didn’t realize that this triggered off of itself, so although I personally won’t test this card, I’ll be excited to hear what others have to say about it in a month or two.

I like making more and more black creatures draw at least 1 card during their life, with abuse potential. This peaks my interest so much, but currently the only thing I'd cut would be Nighthawk and that's a stat monster and board-changer in comparison to a synergistic sitting 3/2.

I loved the idea of haruspex but it failed badly. This is much better and I like the idea of more zombies. I’m not sure it has the impact I’m looking for but it fits well in G/B recurring value decks and the skull clamp bloodghast decks.

I think with the Zombie synergy its good enough for larger cubes.

I like these grindy value cards, even if this particular one is maybe a bit too fair. I'm still running Master of the Feast, and I think we could do without one more boring stats monster. Will test.

Has has it been for anyone who tested it?

I like it. Not sure how long it'll stick, but it's a solid value card for creature decks, with additional upside in decks that sacrifice creatures.
Beats down, easy to cast and is good wrath insurance.

Made it past the first round of testing for me, but hasn't earned a permanent home.

It's better the fairer the format for whatever that is worth.

Quote from steve_man »

I played Grim Haruspex in the past, so I can't imagine this'll be THAT much better?

The difference in getting value from it's own death is a pretty big deal... Almost guarntees a 2 for 1.
Doesn't matter against decks that are trying to combo you or go way over the top, but against decks that are trying to grind you out, it's a big deal... Which is the matchups that haruspex excels in anyway.

I think it's better, but ya, not THAT much better

How did/does this card play for everyone? Specifically does it need a dedicated aristocrats shell, or is it generically good with the recursive black 1-drops, Ghast, etc?

We have a player asking for it, and I had never considered it before. We’re low on zombies right now, so another zombie for Gravecrawler would be welcome.

It is a fine card. We currently do not play it because we try to push reanimator, but it is probably better than some of our worse three drops. Not a powerhouse without aristocrats though.

3 mana 3/2 that draws a card is pretty good stats.

I do have an aristocrats theme in my cube.

This is on the top of my standby list in black to replace if one of 2-4 drops under performs, he replaces them.

I'm thinking cut Flesh Carver for this, what do you think ?

I think Flesh Carver's a lot better, personally.

Also like Flesh Carver over Midnight Reaper, by a modest amount.

Carver is a much more proactive card that gets increased benefit from recurring 1-and-2-drops. It also helps you retain a board post-wipe by leaving behind a body. I think Reaper is cool in slower cubes (where you'll probably have more time to play the bonus cards it draws you) but I think it suffers from having to rely on other cards for sacrifice outlets etc before you really get much out of it.