MTG Salvation

Is the bottom text just flavor text? Is reach worth anything? I'm leaning towards a general "no" as it doesn't seem much better than Garruk's Companion, but would like to hear some thoughts first.

Reach an trample are the real draw here, but I don't think the +1/+1 ability is just flavor text as there are a bunch of good cube creatures with +1/+1 counters. That said, I'm not interested in this card. Even if it cost 1G I think green has better 2 drops. Maybe if it had Vigilance and another point of toughness.

Correct. The reach and trample are abilities that don't work together, and the extra +1/+1 counter probably won't trigger with any regularity in a typical cube. So this is just a slightly better Garruk's Companion, which isn't seeing cube play anywhere.

I could see it being valuable in a constructed deck with a +1/+1 counter theme though.

It's sure an efficient creature with strong abilities, but it's just a no for us. If it got counters after the fact, when you play other things with counters, it would be of greater interest but there are few relevant cards to trigger it early. And I don't really want a 3/2 for GG late game even if it is very efficient. Maybe as a 3/3 although that's a lot to ask...

I don't think it's out of the question that they could one day and soon print a 3/3 for GG with similar stats. The one toughness makes a difference, but it wouldn't totally break the creature.

Quote from Krazedkarl »

Turn 1 Experiment 1, Turn 2 value town baby.

It's a non-bo because it "enters with" instead of "when cardname enters." So X1 will evolve, but no bonus counter for the Avatar. Unless your cube has a +1/+1 counter theme of some kind I don't see it.

Quote from Krazedkarl »

Turn 1 Experiment 1, Turn 2 value town baby.

Sadly, this doesn't work, since Experiment One gets the counter when the other creature already entered the battlefield and Avatar of the Resolute checks for other creatures with counters before it enters the battlefield. Therefore, if you curve one into the other, Avatar will get no counters.
[Edit: Ninja'ed while writing this.]

I have a theme cube with a strong +1/+1 counter theme where this would be good. Not in my regular cube though, no way.

nope

I realllllly want a strong cubeable reach creature or 2 in green tho, so was sad when this just missed the cut. Wouldn't take much more for me to want to add it. 3/3 would do it

Its going right into my Ghave EDH deck but no where near my cube.

Certainly an upgrade to Garruk's Companion for anyone still running that, but the upsides are just so awkward. You have reach on a creature that doesn't want to block, you ask it to care about +1/+1 counters that no green 1-drops have, you're rewarded for playing it later but inclined to play the cheap beef first. It may randomly be good enough, but it won't feel good to play with unless you've got a dedicated +1/+1 counter archetype.

In black white or red a 3/2 trample for 2 would get more attention. Garruck's companion is strong. Just isn't what I'm trying to do with green.

It is what I'm trying to do with green, and it's still no good. It trades with everything in combat and has a terrible casting cost. Pass.

The casting cost makes it really hard to play a card like this on turn two, since most aggressive decks that would want a creature like this aren't primarily green. Having only 2 toughness also hurts. I would cube a Kalonian Tusker for 1G. I would not cube a strictly better Garruk's Companion like the Avatar here.

I guess I don't know enough about green aggro. I have weeded most of the XX creatures out of my cube so it makes sense. I guess if Ash Zealot is on the bubble this guy isn't great. I feel like we will get a 1G 3/3 someday. A GG 3/4 would be tempting.