I've never liked Dungeon Geists because I felt like the effect wasn't strong enough to outweigh Geists evasion (or lack thereof). This guy is essentially better in every regard for an extra colorless - which may be huge in cube - and I'm very interested to try him out. I'm not sure if however, because this guy is 5 CMC, Frost Titan just becomes the better alternative.
I would play Dungeon Geists first if I wanted this effect, and that card wound up getting cut. Making it cost more mana does not incentivize me to retest this kind of effect. The 4th power is nice, but the targeting tax is a really small upside. I think it's a safe pass.
I really like Dungeon Geists. They feel like a beefier and more stable Sower of Temptation. The BCS is obviously a lot worse, but you don't get blown out by instant removal and the Geists are harder to kill to begin with. And they also hit harder. (I am not sure what "lack of evasion" means, Geists have flying, just like Sower and this dragon here.)
For an additional mana, I don't think Icefall Regent offers enough to replace the Geists. The tax on removal is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that this is a 5-mana creature with only 3 toughness. If the dragon was a 4/4, I would consider replacing Geists with it or just running both. As printed, it misses the mark for me.
I think I might give this a try. 4 drops are hella crowded and even though this cost one more and still is in bolt range, it is much more likely to last until at least their next turn due to the tax, and the tax will nullify most of the tempo loss. My problem with geist is that it was always cheaper, often much cheaper to kill than the 4 mana I put in.
Now I currently don't run frost titan, and I am loathe to run 3 blue 6 drops in my 450. But if this guy feels good at all I may have to see if frost titan wouldn't be better, curves be damned.
Meloku is my only true 5 creature right now, with Aetherling and Consecrater Sphinx at 6.
Edit: I like tax effects because they combine well with force spike, mana tithem daze, and are sexy on a creature if you cheat it out early.
I guess the thing to consider here is how it stacks up to Frost Titan. This is only 1 more than Geists, and Titan is only 1 more than this. Titan can lock down a thing permanently, locks down non-creatures in a pinch, can switch targets, has +2/+3, leaves the target tapped for a turn even if he dies, and only really lacks flying.
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I run Dungeon Geists and like it quite a bit, and I don't see this guy cracking the 5-drop section. A fourth point of toughness might have swayed me, but as is, I'll pass on this.
If they had only thrown an additional toughness instead of what they did add, it would be closer than it is now. But they didn't. So it still dies to like every piece of removal so they can unlock their threat, except this one costs 5 mana instead of 4.
I don't run any 1 mana 3 damage burn spells (well, fiery temper but you have to work to make that cost 1), so this guy is a little more appealing to me. I also don't think we have much to work with in the 5 CC slot for blue, so I'll probably test this. I loved Dungeon Geists, but I had to drop it because the 4 CC slot for blue is ridiculously crowded. I'd really like to get this effect back into the cube.
I popped it in recently for Prognostic Sphinx so we'll see how it goes. I understand all the downsides for this card but for my newer playgroup, downsides are sometimes outweighed by familiarity and understanding of how a card works.
I've never liked Dungeon Geists because I felt like the effect wasn't strong enough to outweigh Geists evasion (or lack thereof). This guy is essentially better in every regard for an extra colorless - which may be huge in cube - and I'm very interested to try him out. I'm not sure if however, because this guy is 5 CMC, Frost Titan just becomes the better alternative.
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I think I'd prefer Dungeon Geists for its cost over the +1 power and the Frost Titan effect, but I also don't run Geists.
EDIT: Upon further review, maybe I do like this guy. I have a lot more 4-drops than 5-drops, but I don't think I like this more than any of:
Meloku the Clouded Mirror
Mulldrifter
Prognostic Sphinx
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It's a shame too because I love Frost Titan effects
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For an additional mana, I don't think Icefall Regent offers enough to replace the Geists. The tax on removal is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that this is a 5-mana creature with only 3 toughness. If the dragon was a 4/4, I would consider replacing Geists with it or just running both. As printed, it misses the mark for me.
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Now I currently don't run frost titan, and I am loathe to run 3 blue 6 drops in my 450. But if this guy feels good at all I may have to see if frost titan wouldn't be better, curves be damned.
Meloku is my only true 5 creature right now, with Aetherling and Consecrater Sphinx at 6.
Edit: I like tax effects because they combine well with force spike, mana tithem daze, and are sexy on a creature if you cheat it out early.
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Worse than Dungeons Geists,
1 mana is not worth an additional power and frost Titan defense, not close.
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