MTG Salvation

been great for me.

The threat of activation is enough that most early drops cant trade with it. If they block, you pump and they are behind. if they don't block you can pump for more damage, and grow at end of turn, or just drop a 3 drop down.

having deathtouch as part of the activation makes blocking and attacking for your opponent super awkward.

Top it off with the fact that its a late game 1 drop that can be pumped multiple times to still be a threat makes it super well rounded.

It's a good 1-drop for aggro because it's often a one mana investment for a 2/3 or a 3/4 creature. It also gives aggro decks something to do with their mana in the event that the game goes longer than they'd like.

It plays very well. Unlike most one drops, it is a decent topdeck. One thing not mentioned yet in previous comments, it how well it can discourage casting planeswalkers. Your opponent has to respect the potential 4 attack damage this one drop will have next turn, and that alone can change their gameplan even if the ability is never activated.

This is obviously good in aggro, but how is it in midrange decks? People basically never seem to pick flesh carver so we were thinking about cutting it for something new, and Heartless Act is obviously fine but lame meanwhile this card has been a monster in standard in pioneer. How fast does it scale with the counters, and does the scaling keep it competitive enough even through later stages of the game in midrange decks? I'm assuming he's at his best paired with red since the burn will help you hit those 4 life breakpoints every turn, but is he still nearly as good paired with white and green?

Quote from NotScottMescudi »

This is obviously good in aggro, but how is it in midrange decks? People basically never seem to pick flesh carver so we were thinking about cutting it for something new, and Heartless Act is obviously fine but lame meanwhile this card has been a monster in standard in pioneer. How fast does it scale with the counters, and does the scaling keep it competitive enough even through later stages of the game in midrange decks? I'm assuming he's at his best paired with red since the burn will help you hit those 4 life breakpoints every turn, but is he still nearly as good paired with white and green?

I think this is much better than Flesh Carver, I would do that swap in a hearbeat.
You can never have enough aggressive 1 drops.

I think Carver is one of the top black 3-drops. I wouldn't cut that for the Knight.

Cheers,
rant

While I do think that Flesh Carver is a good card, I think I'd probably swap it for Knight of the Ebon Legion given the choice between the two. Carver's 1B activation to sac is often a bit of a feel bad where you're tapped out wishing you could get value from it. You really have to find the payoffs in the recursive black 1-drops or token generators to make Carver more than just good. There's also the chance that you pay the 1B, sac a dude to make Carver a 4/4 Intimidate, and your opponent responds by killing your Carver. You do get a replacement 2/2 in that scenario, but it still feels pretty awful. I like Knight because there's more of a threat of activation there. You can swing into an X/4 with your 1/2 and be happy no matter the outcome. They take the one or they lose their blocker, or maybe they don't block and you just activate anyway, deal 4 and have a 2/3 instead. Either of these options are sweet for your aggro deck.

Quote from rantipole »

I think Carver is one of the top black 3-drops. I wouldn't cut that for the Knight.

Cheers,
rant

Agreed with this. Not only do I think that Carver is great, but I found Knight to be pretty disappointing.

I've been a strong proponent of cutting the black aggro creatures for the less good black 1-2 mana discard spells. I just don't think aggressive black will cut it in the current environment.

How's this holding up in 2021 compared to the other B aggro 1-drops? Are the old guard like Sarcomancy and Carnophage better than this?

Quote from opterown »

Are the old guard like Sarcomancy and Carnophage better than this?

I think so. They have more interaction/synergy in the cube, and they can apply meaningful pressure without expending any additional mana as early as T2.

I think this provides later game functionality where a lot of aggro decks would just fold to a decent midrange deck. Black in particular needs that as its aggro archetype is less explosive and more recursion focused.

This is a pretty fine card - It's fairly easy to trigger to 4 life clause with cards like:

- Dismember
- Adanto Vanguard
- Snuff Out
You can also burn the opponent in response to their Fetch/ Shock etc.

etc.

I've been pretty impressed by Evolved Sleeper. I've found these type of cards reward tight play and is less about 1 drop into 2 drop into 3 drop etc.

Just the threat of the death touch and pump alone has been great for screwing with combat math. He gets big VERY fast