Given we now know how adventure works, I like this card a lot more than with previous speculation!
G for a 1/1, then 2G for a 5/5 later? Or a turn 2 5/5 off a 1-drop elf? Not shabby. The lack of evasion or trample is a little lame.
Lovestruck Beast 2G
Creature — Beast Noble
Lovestruck Beast can’t attack unless you control a 1/1 creature.
//
Heart’s Desire G
Sorcery — Adventure
Create a 1/1 white Human creature token. (Then exile this card. You may cast the creature later from exile.)
I would've liked it more as a 1G 4/3 or something, so it can come down on curve. It has a high ceiling, but it relies on keeping a 1/1 around; something that aggressive decks don't really play a lot of. And a vanilla beater in decks with lots of 1/1 mana dorks leaves much to be desired. It makes its own 1/1, but if that token dies, you need redundancy, and I don't know which deck can give it that AND have it be a good fit.
I absolutely love the design and flavor of this card though.
I really like the interaction with the various 1/1 elves, but I don't know if I'd even play a fat 3mana 5/5 in green without evasion or trample, much less one with a drawback.
I really don't like this at all. Too contingent on having a 1/1 around (which actually isn't common in a straight-up aggro deck), and it's too easy to 2 for 1 it by nailing the 1/1(s). Anthem effects / things like Nissa, Voice of Zendikar also just completely shut this down. Trap card is a trap, IMO.
I really like Little Rhonas, but your green section needs to have a lot of cheap beef in order to make him good. I'm highly skeptical of this creature. I'm tempted to run it just because the design is so on point, but even in an environment with 10+ 1/1 mana dorks in green, he doesn't seem consistent enough.
If you're running a Selsenya tokens deck, this card can slip in well enough. Outside of that, it's essentially a green 5/5 defender for 3CMC, which is probably too underpowered for smaller, powered cubes.
For those with larger cubes this is a tough include to find a cut for. Only real reason to include it is it's fantastic, on point flavour.
If you're running a Selsenya tokens deck, this card can slip in well enough. Outside of that, it's essentially a green 5/5 defender for 3CMC, which is probably too underpowered for smaller, powered cubes.
For those with larger cubes this is a tough include to find a cut for. Only real reason to include it is it's fantastic, on point flavour.
It also fits well with Gruul, considering the number of token producers you find there. Looking at my own list, here are all the red cards that are 1/1s or produce them:
Bomat Courier
Goblin Welder
Grim Lavamancer
Mogg War Marshal
Young Pyromancer
Goblin Rabblemaster
Hanweir Garrison
Imperial Recruiter
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
Legion Warboss
Najeela, the Blade-Blossom
Pia Nalaar
Seasoned Pyromancer
Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Siege-Gang Commander
15 cards out of 95 is a pretty decent chunk, especially considering the quality of some of the names on there. The main issue I see is that many of them compete at that 3 CMC slot.
I run tokens in R/W, so spamming 1/1's isn't that hard. But 1/1's can easily be pumped via varied anthem effects or other means. It's also quite easy to kill a 1/1 to shut this thing off.
I also always measure cards by their floor, not their potential ceilings. The floor is consistent, the ceiling is not. The floor of this, is beautiful flavour, but essentially a 5/5 defender that can turn sideways in a deck spamming tokens, which seems unlikely given it's colour. And even with a larger cube size, it's doubtful to make it in on power level considerations (the only reason we'll try is because of its Beauty/Beast flavour, for our romantic players).
And TBH, if I have to wait until turn 5 to swing with it, after 'maybe' getting another card to produce tokens, then I've failed my draft in my eyes, as turn 5 I should have way, WAY better 5cmc options to be playing with than 'make a 1/1 so Beast can attack'.
You guys realize the card itself creates a 1/1 right? To shut down the 5/5 your opponent would have to spend mana and a card to kill your 1/1. That is ok.
You don’t need s crazy amount of 1/1s to make this an ok card. How many Llanowar elf variants are there?
I don’t think this card is good enough regardless, but a lot of the analysis here is over emphasizing the need for 1/1s and underestimating the value the card provides in decks that are looking for bodies lying around. (Cradle, clamp, opposition, natural order)
It’s best role is as a defender anyway. Make a 1/1 on turn 1 to block a 2-/1, then create a 5/5 on turn 3?
Solid cheap 3 for 1 against Agro.
Lucid is right. This makes the 1/1 by itself. But do we really need a wonky 5/5 for 3? We don't. We don't need to be jumping through these hoops for mere power/toughness. Sheer P/T doesn't mean what it used to. This card is okay, but we can do better at attacking, and we can do better at defending. All this has is flavor.
As a B-list cuber, this is totally good enough, but I wouldn't bother with it, since it's not actually synergistic with much of anything. Sure, it sorta asks you to play swarm, but you'd do better with a card that supports swarm, rather than just benefiting from it. The 1/1 is never better than okay, and neither is the beast when you get down to it. For A-list, you're barking up the wrong beast.
For B-list, this is just fine, and utterly playable. But there's nothing to really recommend it either. Personally there are cards I prefer, like Awakening Zone, but this is a more aggressive card that does some cool stuff.
Lucid is right. This makes the 1/1 by itself. But do we really need a wonky 5/5 for 3? We don't. We don't need to be jumping through these hoops for mere power/toughness. Sheer P/T doesn't mean what it used to. This card is okay, but we can do better at attacking, and we can do better at defending. All this has is flavor.
As a B-list cuber, this is totally good enough, but I wouldn't bother with it, since it's not actually synergistic with much of anything. Sure, it sorta asks you to play swarm, but you'd do better with a card that supports swarm, rather than just benefiting from it. The 1/1 is never better than okay, and neither is the beast when you get down to it. For A-list, you're barking up the wrong beast.
For B-list, this is just fine, and utterly playable. But there's nothing to really recommend it either. Personally there are cards I prefer, like Awakening Zone, but this is a more aggressive card that does some cool stuff.
Yeah, I agree with all of this.
Though it’s very very good as a defender, and I can’t think of many cards better for that role, but that’s probably not what green wants.
I feel like maybe people are discounting the adventure side of this card a little too. Yeah, it's just a 1/1, but you only spent G on it; it didn't even cost you a card, not really. It's an Elvish Visionary for half price that always draws you a 2G 5/5.
This card probably still doesn't quite get there but I don't think the floor is really that low. It's just another illustration of how hard it is to break into a cube these days.
G for a 1/1, then 2G for a 5/5 later? Or a turn 2 5/5 off a 1-drop elf? Not shabby. The lack of evasion or trample is a little lame.
Lovestruck Beast 2G
Creature — Beast Noble
Lovestruck Beast can’t attack unless you control a 1/1 creature.
//
Heart’s Desire G
Sorcery — Adventure
Create a 1/1 white Human creature token. (Then exile this card. You may cast the creature later from exile.)
5/5
I absolutely love the design and flavor of this card though.
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Provides up to 2 bodies of value and a 5/5 for 3 mana is close to cube rate itself.
Skull clamp/Cradle/opposition type decks would be pretty happy with this card imo.
Nothing special, but perhaps worth testing.
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For those with larger cubes this is a tough include to find a cut for. Only real reason to include it is it's fantastic, on point flavour.
This user has language problems due to their mental health problems and sometimes may not use the best wording to explain their thoughts.
Draft the "'What Is This Nonsense?'" casual cube.
It also fits well with Gruul, considering the number of token producers you find there. Looking at my own list, here are all the red cards that are 1/1s or produce them:
Bomat Courier
Goblin Welder
Grim Lavamancer
Mogg War Marshal
Young Pyromancer
Goblin Rabblemaster
Hanweir Garrison
Imperial Recruiter
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
Legion Warboss
Najeela, the Blade-Blossom
Pia Nalaar
Seasoned Pyromancer
Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Siege-Gang Commander
15 cards out of 95 is a pretty decent chunk, especially considering the quality of some of the names on there. The main issue I see is that many of them compete at that 3 CMC slot.
I also always measure cards by their floor, not their potential ceilings. The floor is consistent, the ceiling is not. The floor of this, is beautiful flavour, but essentially a 5/5 defender that can turn sideways in a deck spamming tokens, which seems unlikely given it's colour. And even with a larger cube size, it's doubtful to make it in on power level considerations (the only reason we'll try is because of its Beauty/Beast flavour, for our romantic players).
And TBH, if I have to wait until turn 5 to swing with it, after 'maybe' getting another card to produce tokens, then I've failed my draft in my eyes, as turn 5 I should have way, WAY better 5cmc options to be playing with than 'make a 1/1 so Beast can attack'.
This user has language problems due to their mental health problems and sometimes may not use the best wording to explain their thoughts.
Draft the "'What Is This Nonsense?'" casual cube.
You don’t need s crazy amount of 1/1s to make this an ok card. How many Llanowar elf variants are there?
I don’t think this card is good enough regardless, but a lot of the analysis here is over emphasizing the need for 1/1s and underestimating the value the card provides in decks that are looking for bodies lying around. (Cradle, clamp, opposition, natural order)
It’s best role is as a defender anyway. Make a 1/1 on turn 1 to block a 2-/1, then create a 5/5 on turn 3?
Solid cheap 3 for 1 against Agro.
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As a B-list cuber, this is totally good enough, but I wouldn't bother with it, since it's not actually synergistic with much of anything. Sure, it sorta asks you to play swarm, but you'd do better with a card that supports swarm, rather than just benefiting from it. The 1/1 is never better than okay, and neither is the beast when you get down to it. For A-list, you're barking up the wrong beast.
For B-list, this is just fine, and utterly playable. But there's nothing to really recommend it either. Personally there are cards I prefer, like Awakening Zone, but this is a more aggressive card that does some cool stuff.
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Yeah, I agree with all of this.
Though it’s very very good as a defender, and I can’t think of many cards better for that role, but that’s probably not what green wants.
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This card probably still doesn't quite get there but I don't think the floor is really that low. It's just another illustration of how hard it is to break into a cube these days.