MTG Salvation

Rishkar, Peema Renegade
2G
Legendary Creature - Elf Druid
When Rishkar, Peema Renegade enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to two target creatures.
Each creature you control with a counter on it has "T: Add G to your mana pool."
2/2

Seems very solid, potentially 4 power and up to 2 mana accelerated for 3 mana. 3 isn't where I like my accelerants, but this slots into aggressive green decks as well as creature-centric ramp (read: Simic.) Likely going to test over Tireless Slacker.

Doesn't seem great to me. Certainly doesn't feel better than tracker. Tracker's stats are good on their own plus it draws you cards. That much better than a little acceleration.

Tracker has been really strong for us. This looks neat though, slots into a lot of different decks.

I think this is a great little card and is the right kind of thing to be hitting with your collected company. The fact that it permapumps potentially 2 dudes can be very good in aggro. Dropping this after 1 drop 2 drop is not a bad play. Tireless tracker isn't a very good aggro card.

Cube with this guy can make some dome things happen
A play of E1, sylvan advocate, this guy, Attack for 6 ( leaving 9 power on the board and being able to cast a 7 drop next turn....).

It really doesn't go in the ramp deck though as it's power doesn't stack well with other mana dorks.

For those that have a +1/+1 counter theme this is pretty boss.

The power-level is there for a medium to large sized cube, but I get the feeling this would end up going super late in draft. I'll think on it more, but probably a miss for me.

Love this card!

I've been pining for another green 3-drop that costs 2G to support my aggro decks! Playing Plow Under ahead of schedule while adding 3-4 power to the board sounds awesome!!

Definitely testing this guy.
Splashable, 4 power for 3 mana, blinkable, and works with greens natural strategy for ramping.

Elf -> Rishkar -> restoration angel

is a 2/2 3/3, and a 4/5 flyer by turn 3.

All 3 of which can produce mana...

Not bad for an unpowered start

This card looks great! I've been wanting a green 3-drop that can actually beat down, and this does that while allowing you to ramp by gg, or even more if you have other creatures with +1/+1 counters. I can't wait to try it.

All those playing this card must play Kalonian Hydra. Supporting a +1/+1 counter theme in green is getting easier all the time.

Very good in aggro, but probably playable in most green decks. Allows for explosive starts. I'm going to try it.

Quote from dschumm »

All those playing this card must play Kalonian Hydra. Supporting a +1/+1 counter theme in green is getting easier all the time.

Quote from dschumm »

All those playing this card must play Kalonian Hydra. Supporting a +1/+1 counter theme in green is getting easier all the time.

what are some other counter theme playable cards?

I've never tried it before there are all the Khans cards like Abzan Falconer and Hardened Scales

but generically off the top of my head

Experiment 1
Dromoka's Command
Nissa Vastwood Seer
Anafenza, Kin Tree Spirit
High sentinels of Arashin
Champion of the Parish
Avatar of the Resolute
Sage of hours
Doubling Season
Curse of Predation
and so on

Quote from steve_man »

This is an odd card. Aggro doesn't necessarily need the ramp and if you're curving into this with midrange, there's a good chance your creatures on the battlefield can alread produce mana. A 3 mana 3/3 that can tap for mana isn't bad for
a WCS, but it's not exactly good either.

Tireless Tracker was a miss for us. I do like this card design wise, but I don't think it's something green needs or has space for in my cube.

Yeah, I was all excited to play this on t2 and get 2 mana producing creatures. Then I realized that if I had 3 mana on t2, the other creature is almost certainly an elf, soooooooo?????

BCS for getting 2 additional mana out of this guy is probably playing him on t3 after playing something on t2 that made a token, but that's far from happening every time. I think this is testable, but I doubt this will stick in many cubes.

So far this set has been resoundingly mediocre for cube. Too much energy interaction I think.

Wish it could put both counters on itself when I need it to. Looks pretty sweet with Lotus Cobra tho...

I'll be testing this over Tireless Tracker. Solid in aggro, solid in midrange, and playable in ramp. Seems like an all around great green creature.

Yeah, I was all excited to play this on t2 and get 2 mana producing creatures. Then I realized that if I had 3 mana on t2, the other creature is almost certainly an elf, soooooooo?????

Then you have a 2/2 elf, so you're either attacking for 5 on turn 3, you have access to 5 mana on on turn 3. Sounds sweet to me either way.

Wish it could put both counters on itself when I need it to.

That would be nice, but a Nessian Courser that taps for G sounds pretty decent as a WCS.

any testing in with this guy. thought i heard some good stuff elsewhere im on the fence right now.

This guy isn't a T2 play off of a mana dork. It's a T3 play off of a T2 Midrange Creature.

2CC List:
Porcelain Legionnaire (Wow. 4/2 First Strike that ramps into top end the next turn.)
Any 2CC Shadow (Good)
Wall of Roots (Awesome! 7 Mana Turn 4, or Wildfire or BoX with land and Roots intact.)
Aether Chaser (Also Awesome!)
Wall of Blossoms (Midrange Ramp!?)
WoO (See Above)
Raise the alarms
Artifact mutation
Bitterblossom
Dragon Fodder
Safehold elite

Others worth mentioning off curve, but provide synergy:
Woodfall Primus
Kitchen Finks
Tireless Tracker
Silverblade Paladin
Glen Elendra Archmage
Recurring Nightmare
Guarantees Shaman of the Great Hunt :/
Crystaline Crawler

These will be the cream of the crop. Unfortunately, some of these wont reach a 450 list. I'd like to think it can be used best with persist strategies and keeping damage going. Can also be recruited by both creatures.

Some builds where he really seems to shine, and others where he's not so great. But it's nice to have green with some meat at the 3cc slot–green plays the card advantage/ETB midrange game really well, but it needed more creatures to help your bodies outpace the board, and Rishkar does that. 4 power for 3 mana, and quite a bit of utility to boot. I was more skeptical at first, but it's very solid.

Do the folks running this card think I should find room for it at 450? I'm not really excited to cut anything for it, but I'm open to having my mind changed.

Cheers,
rant

Hey rant,

I don't think you absolutely need to add this guy, but if you wanted to add a decent sized body that can generate some nice tempo (kinda like a bigger Lotus Cobra for beatdown decks, he's pretty good. Sometimes your Rakdos Cackler or Student of Warfare will randomly add green mana in your Gruul or Selesnya beatdown decks, which can help you get a Sword online earlier, etc. Maybe cut the Song or the monarch fattie?! Kinda depends which direction you wanna steer your green section.

I run it at 540, but I don't think it would survive a cut down to 450, no.

Quote from steve_man »

How's Rishkar been testing for people? He's definitely an "on the radar" card for me, cuts are tough though.

Favourable, but nothing spectacular.

He does exactly what most green decks want to do in my cube; beatdown and ramp at an efficient rate.

Nothing broken, rarely takes over the game by himself, but still solid.
I think he's in the 450-540 range. I'd think hard about putting him in at 450, and would probably auto-include at 540.

I play him at 485 with duplicates (effectively 450) but I'd be surprised if he lasted a couple years.