Vampire Nighthawk minus flying for 2 mana definitely has my attention. BB really hurts it though where Nighthawk can be more easily played on curve. Cube already has a glut of 2-cmc and BB staples unfortunately. It's hard to fit in another BB spell on top of Hymn / Sinkhole / Bloodghast, don't think I can fit this in my 540 unfortunately
Also, just noticed that Yahenni is a vampire like this guy and that's awesome.
BB sucks ass; the stats do not. Might be worth it since this is a pretty dope aggro hoser that is also good in those decks. I'm a fan...of everything but BB. And that could be huge.
I won't be playing this. Harder to play on curve than Nighthawk, and lacks the evasion that makes the card so good barely playable still. Easy pass for me.
Say it was 1B instead of BB. Clearly very good and clearly it hoses aggro decks. But how many cards like this can be included before aggro can't even be a thing anymore?
Not sure where I am going with this. I don't think aggro has too much hate currently but I wouldn't want to add too many cards like this out of fear unbalancing the aggro/midrange/control balance.
Say it was 1B instead of BB. Clearly very good and clearly it hoses aggro decks. But how many cards like this can be included before aggro can't even be a thing anymore?
Not sure where I am going with this. I don't think aggro has too much hate currently but I wouldn't want to add too many cards like this out of fear unbalancing the aggro/midrange/control balance.
How to make a baller card for aggro / midrange / control using this card as a template:
- Change cost to 1B
- Replace all text / stats and replace it with Tamogoyf's text / stats
- ?????
- Instant cube / Modern / Legacy staple
The comparison to Vampire Nighthawk is a good one but i don't like justifying nighthawk by saying he's easier to play on curve. Sure nighthawk is easier to play on curve but if you played gifted aetherborn on turn 3 you will still have one mana up to bolt or vampiric tutor or whatever else you want to cast. And obviously the CC on turn 4 allows even more flexibility when compared to nighthawk. Gifted Aetherborn is not for smaller cubes for sure but he packs a lot of punch for two mana and I think I like him more than relentless dead.
Black 2 is overflowing at the moment, and a solid defensive BB creature is not really what I'm in the market for.
This card reminds me a lot of ayli, which I liked, but was never spectacular. There aren't any decks that I'm happy to get a card like this into. I like it in midrange, but BB further hurts that application. I see it as a 23rd-25th playable in the vast majority of black archetypes
I feel the same about vampire nighthawk fwiw.
How useful this is likely depends a lot on your cube make up.
Black Vampires as a sub-cube theme is getting super close to a possibility now. Also a fantastic card for mono black devotion themes.
Being able to play your 2-drop on T3 isn't an upside. Every 2cc card has that option. But if I have to wait because I don't have BB yet, I'd MUCH rather pay the extra 1 and get the evasion from Nighthawk when it comes down later in the curve. It adds so much additional value to the effect (especially with the deathtouch) and I think it makes this card much worse than Nighthawk is.
I'm passing on this one, but if I expanded it'd be in the conversation.
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Being able to play your 2-drop on T3 isn't an upside. Every 2cc card has that option. But if I have to wait because I don't have BB yet, I'd MUCH rather pay the extra 1 and get the evasion from Nighthawk when it comes down later in the curve. It adds so much additional value to the effect (especially with the deathtouch) and I think it makes this card much worse than Nighthawk is.
Having a lower CC is inherritantly better than a higher one and this is an advantage that is relevant at all points in the game. If you're filling a similar role with a cheaper card it's usually best to stick with the cheaper one.
Another thing to note is that Vampire Nighthawk exists in a tighter slot. If/when Nighthawk gets replaced by a better 3cc card, Aetherborn fills a similar role in a slot with weaker competition.
This is a great creature but even at 540 the competish at black 2 is pretty high. Might give it a short test run over something like Nezumi Graverobber (who s getting harder and harder for me to justify keeping in my cube) or Relentless Dead but I really don't love the color requirement.
Still, Nighthawk has completely changed the course of a game for me more than a few times, which is a point in favor of this little stat monster. Cheap deathtouch beaters are great, especially when they can put up a respectable pass rush.
Seems great for pauper from my very limited experience. I think BB kills it for normal cube as this seems at its best in control and control decks are often 3 colors, making the BB worse. I like relentless dead more because, while it is pretty narrow, it's much better at what it does.
Card is pretty sick. I play Relentless Dead because I find it interesting and Menace is a thing. Card looks super cool though but am worried about too much BB to include another one.
FWIW, Nighthawk hasn't made the grade for quite a while round here, and the two slot has got just as competitive. And Nighthawk is the better card. I think CC cards need to be more unique and interesting to warrant the sometimes awkward cost.
FWIW, Nighthawk hasn't made the grade for quite a while round here, and the two slot has got just as competitive. And Nighthawk is the better card. I think CC cards need to be more unique and interesting to warrant the sometimes awkward cost.
Nigththawk is still hanging on with us, but flying is a massive part of it, and it might go away soon. Wizards heard our call for black 2 drops (Wish they heard it for 5 drops but that is not where they are pushing power level right now). But I agree you can't get much more loaded than this guy for two but he is narrow without providing any unique abilities. My blacks section doesn't seen to have much self damage like it used too either so the lifelink is a little meh.
I also don't like that it is a stonewall to white and green aggro but red will just spload it without a sweat. In black I push aggro and reanimator with my two drops. My black control decks don't want a creature on turn 2, except for the attrition deck which wants recursive creatures. Relentless dead is the best BB card and it is borderline but at least it is unique, a zombie, and has evasion for the aggro deck. I'm likely a pass.
Black has many BB cards. Only consider this if you have a weak BB card to replace it with. I'm going to replace Vampire Hexmage with this, as back now has more removals for planeswalkers and Gifted Aetherborn is the more broadly playable card. Plus black wants more lifegain.
As we’ve received many awesome creatures over the past couple years I’ve found an opportunity to fill gaps with cards that are more narrow as opposed to being generically good. This card hit my radar as a 2-drop that fills black control’s biggest weakness: red aggro. Dimir in general is awesome against combo and other control decks but cries when a turn one Goblin Guide hits the board. We’ll see if Gifted Aetherborn helps or if it proves to be too much of a SB card.
This card seems like a shoe-in! Above curve stats, with great combat abilities.
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Also, just noticed that Yahenni is a vampire like this guy and that's awesome.
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so goodbarely playable still. Easy pass for me.My 630 Card Powered Cube
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Not sure where I am going with this. I don't think aggro has too much hate currently but I wouldn't want to add too many cards like this out of fear unbalancing the aggro/midrange/control balance.
How to make a baller card for aggro / midrange / control using this card as a template:
- Change cost to 1B
- Replace all text / stats and replace it with Tamogoyf's text / stats
- ?????
- Instant cube / Modern / Legacy staple
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
This card reminds me a lot of ayli, which I liked, but was never spectacular. There aren't any decks that I'm happy to get a card like this into. I like it in midrange, but BB further hurts that application. I see it as a 23rd-25th playable in the vast majority of black archetypes
I feel the same about vampire nighthawk fwiw.
How useful this is likely depends a lot on your cube make up.
Black Vampires as a sub-cube theme is getting super close to a possibility now. Also a fantastic card for mono black devotion themes.
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Another thing to note is that Vampire Nighthawk exists in a tighter slot. If/when Nighthawk gets replaced by a better 3cc card, Aetherborn fills a similar role in a slot with weaker competition.
Still, Nighthawk has completely changed the course of a game for me more than a few times, which is a point in favor of this little stat monster. Cheap deathtouch beaters are great, especially when they can put up a respectable pass rush.
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On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
Nigththawk is still hanging on with us, but flying is a massive part of it, and it might go away soon. Wizards heard our call for black 2 drops (Wish they heard it for 5 drops but that is not where they are pushing power level right now). But I agree you can't get much more loaded than this guy for two but he is narrow without providing any unique abilities. My blacks section doesn't seen to have much self damage like it used too either so the lifelink is a little meh.
I also don't like that it is a stonewall to white and green aggro but red will just spload it without a sweat. In black I push aggro and reanimator with my two drops. My black control decks don't want a creature on turn 2, except for the attrition deck which wants recursive creatures. Relentless dead is the best BB card and it is borderline but at least it is unique, a zombie, and has evasion for the aggro deck. I'm likely a pass.
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