So it looks like the gods don't all have equipment on the other side, which will make them all wildly different from one another. This one's pretty nifty.
A cheap side for early and an expensive side for late are a classic combination, and this does some remarkable things particularly on the front. The downside is that Valki can whiff a lot more easily than Kitesail Freebooter, but the X ability can be pretty powerful depending on what you get. 2 power is also something.
Then there's the back, which frankly isn't as impressive on its own, since it's kinda a basic high-end planeswalker. But it answers creatures and artifacts, and it draws cards in each of its abilities. Note that the emblem lets you play the cards after Tibalt dies.
Looks like a winning combination to me, although I probably won't play it in my cube unless I open a copy (since it will be a somewhat expensive card).
BUT, it's black/red on the backside, and a lot of people won't be willing to play it outside a guild section, which makes it a lot harder to get in.
Looks good, but I do think it doesn't beat out Freebooter since Flying > additional power and taking noncreatures > taking creatures. Still solid. I'd classify this as a black card, not a Rakdos card, just like Najeela, the Blade-blossom is a Red card, not a five-color card. The option to cast the back half is nice, but if you're running this, it's for the front half.
The X ability is also kind of weak since it doesn't get ETBs
Yeah, I am a stickler for "guild cards go in the guild" but would play this as a black card. I'm not sure if I'll run it yet, but I can make room for it if I do.
My initial thoughts are pretty medium on Valki. It doesn't perform any particular niche well for any archetype really. I don't think this is any better than Order of Midnight / Nullpriest of Oblivion.
Cheap disruption that's only slightly overcosted, that can turn into a legitimate threat.. that also has the option of being cast for a bomb instead when you have 5BR.
Versatility, disruption and high upside... Winning formula imo.
One strike against it is it's a "good stuff" card in a color that is generally archetype focused, but think it's power level is high enough to overcome that barrier.
The threat of activation on this card makes Tibalt very hard to block especially if the exiled creature is undercosted/ overstatted (Uro anyone?). Couple that with the late game planeswalker and I think we have a winner here. Will definitely test.
So it's a more limited brain maggot but you get a better creature in trade (I at first thought the copy was EOT, but it's forever, so grabbing a creature with hexproof or other protection is a big game) and you get the option of an often game-winning 7 mana play on the back. Like, if you're ahead or a parity, Tibalt ends the game in short order by drawing 2 cards a turn, and if you're behind he can still hit a big threat. This seems like an easy test for sure. I'll need to see how many times it misses and how many times Tibalt is cast, but on its face this looks to be nearly as good as freebooter to me.
This may be in the running for *the* highest combined word count for any card in the history of the game. Insane
That said, while I certainly admire aspects of both halves I fail to see a super compelling reason to play either half. The first half honestly feels like "God" was just stapled on there (not one element of it feels very godlike?) and the new Tibalt seems kind of all-over-the-place for being 7 mana on top of it all. I'll wait and see what others think but I do not see a reason to run either of these. (And I do run a lot of the Grixis 'steal-your-stuff' in my cube--I don't think this new Tibalt will make nearly the impact those guys do in most games due to that stout CMC attached.)
You could argue that the front-half not being very "Godlike" works considering this isn't a true god, but a trickster playing at being a god.
Really going to need to test this one - feels very matchup dependent. A ton of cube creatures have value tied to their etb triggers but this becomes the creature permanently and even grants a sort of pseudo-haste (e.g. if you turned this into Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin on turn 3 or Hero of Bladehold on turn 4 you can reap the benefits a turn earlier than usual) and it has a PW side to boot.
Valki is decent. Variant on the Mesmeric Fiend/Brain Maggot/Kitesail Freebooter template. Some of the old timers here will remember that we all used to cube Fiend. The 2 power is very welcome, the restriction to exiling a creature card less so. But then growing into that creature is quite strong, depending on the nature of the target. Hitting a Questing Beast or Uro is mean, but just growing to a random 3/3 for 3 is still going to be good. Sometimes you'll hit a 1/1 or 8 mana card and do nothing with it, it happens. Overall OK and I will test.
I think Tibalt is actually quite the bomb. -3 is a straight up Exile removal that also guarantees not just card advantage, but also gas (since you access whatever you removed, which was presumably a useful target). And also remains to be played if Tibalt gets removed. The +2 is a draw 2 with the same caveat. Pretty solid. The ultimate is quite quick to access and draws both graveyards, with a handful of mana to replay a removal spell or something. He reminds me a bit of Karn Liberated with the CMC and first two abilities.
The main issue is really that they are going in two different decks. Tibalt is more of a control finisher, Valki is more of an aggro dork, so this puts it in a weird place. I have drafted decks that would just run it for one face though, so I'm going to test it. Having options is always good for those times when the game doesn't go to plan.
So it looks like the gods don't all have equipment on the other side, which will make them all wildly different from one another. This one's pretty nifty.
A cheap side for early and an expensive side for late are a classic combination, and this does some remarkable things particularly on the front. The downside is that Valki can whiff a lot more easily than Kitesail Freebooter, but the X ability can be pretty powerful depending on what you get. 2 power is also something.
Then there's the back, which frankly isn't as impressive on its own, since it's kinda a basic high-end planeswalker. But it answers creatures and artifacts, and it draws cards in each of its abilities. Note that the emblem lets you play the cards after Tibalt dies.
Looks like a winning combination to me, although I probably won't play it in my cube unless I open a copy (since it will be a somewhat expensive card).
BUT, it's black/red on the backside, and a lot of people won't be willing to play it outside a guild section, which makes it a lot harder to get in.
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The X ability is also kind of weak since it doesn't get ETBs
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Cheap disruption that's only slightly overcosted, that can turn into a legitimate threat.. that also has the option of being cast for a bomb instead when you have 5BR.
Versatility, disruption and high upside... Winning formula imo.
One strike against it is it's a "good stuff" card in a color that is generally archetype focused, but think it's power level is high enough to overcome that barrier.
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That said, while I certainly admire aspects of both halves I fail to see a super compelling reason to play either half. The first half honestly feels like "God" was just stapled on there (not one element of it feels very godlike?) and the new Tibalt seems kind of all-over-the-place for being 7 mana on top of it all. I'll wait and see what others think but I do not see a reason to run either of these. (And I do run a lot of the Grixis 'steal-your-stuff' in my cube--I don't think this new Tibalt will make nearly the impact those guys do in most games due to that stout CMC attached.)
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Really going to need to test this one - feels very matchup dependent. A ton of cube creatures have value tied to their etb triggers but this becomes the creature permanently and even grants a sort of pseudo-haste (e.g. if you turned this into Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin on turn 3 or Hero of Bladehold on turn 4 you can reap the benefits a turn earlier than usual) and it has a PW side to boot.
I think Tibalt is actually quite the bomb. -3 is a straight up Exile removal that also guarantees not just card advantage, but also gas (since you access whatever you removed, which was presumably a useful target). And also remains to be played if Tibalt gets removed. The +2 is a draw 2 with the same caveat. Pretty solid. The ultimate is quite quick to access and draws both graveyards, with a handful of mana to replay a removal spell or something. He reminds me a bit of Karn Liberated with the CMC and first two abilities.
The main issue is really that they are going in two different decks. Tibalt is more of a control finisher, Valki is more of an aggro dork, so this puts it in a weird place. I have drafted decks that would just run it for one face though, so I'm going to test it. Having options is always good for those times when the game doesn't go to plan.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms: