It's a cool card, but being golgari makes it tough. As a big golgari PWer, is this better than Garruk? For one more mana I feel like I get a lot more, but one more mana is a real cost.
I like the high loyalty and +2: make a dude makes her pretty hard to kill with damage. Only two upticks to ultimate is pretty strong too. I think the +2 and -3 abilities are kind of underwhelming though. I'll pass on this since I like my Golgari section and I wouldn't mind not adding a planeswalker for a set or two. I might like Garruk, Apex Predator more than this too.
Agreed that this is a little underwhelming compared to current Golgari options. I'd also prefer Apex Predator I think. I'm currently running The Gitrog Monster in the slot this would fill and I like that better too.
I'm still running Vraska the Unseen as my final Golgari card, so I could consider this over that. But I agree... if you're gonna run this at six mana, maybe you just run Garruk AP at seven instead. Plus original Vraska can whack an opposing PW and this one can't... that's a huge loss. Even with a better + ability and a much more reliable ultimate, giving that PW answer up might not be worth it.
I'm still running Vraska the Unseen and am excited to swap into Pirate Vraska. The + seems like a way better ability, and I think that's more important to me than a middle ability being able to hit one more permanent type.
It's also got the Nahiri "you're dead in 2 turns" threat that I think people are underestimating. Play this and uptick, uptick, ultimate and attack with your menace creatures.
It's probably better than Garruk Apex Predator and comparable to 6 mana Sorin in a slightly weaker guild.
I tink this is the best planeswalker in the guild but probably not good enough to crack smaller lists. I like how she combos with Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast. Kill you thing, make a treasure, kill your creature. I think I'll find a spot but I'm not sure if she'll last.
I run Vraska the Unseen at 540 and I like different things about Vraska, Relic Seeker and I think I might just swap them out. Not being able to nuke a walker is a bit of a drawback, but for 1 extra mana you get more reliable protection and higher loyalty to boot. You also have a much more reliable ultimate for killing the opponent.
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I like this more than the original Vraska, but 6 mana is a lot and I don't think this is ultimately gonna have what it takes to breach a very strong Golgari lineup.
Quite good , best plneswalker in the guild is my guess.
Can protect itself, generate value and end the game quite quickly. Ultimate is very strong.
That being said, I only have so much room for 6 drops, this one doesn't have interesting synergies and think almost all 6 drops I run are stronger than it.
I'll try this over maelstrom pulse.
Really want to push a planeswalker subtheme in sultai with pernicious deed, and this seems like the best bg planeswalker imo.
I respect your decision. It would take a card far more powerful than this for me to drop Maelstrom Pulse.
What are the other cards in your Golgari section?
I like this Vraska quite a bit, but it doesn't breach my current section.
Yeah I would have a hard time cutting pulse. Having a splashable answer to any permanent--most importantly, creatures and PWers--for green decks is great, and it's just an awesome card.
I think this is a better card than people seem to think at first glance. Can protect itself in multiple ways, has a meaningful ultimate that can make up for the slower game speed, it can be a double-removal effect that ramps and fixes mana, makes worthwhile tokens... But even still, it's no Maelstrom Pulse.
Haven't tested her, but comparing her to the power level of other 6-cmc mono-colored planeswalkers (Sun's Champion / Flamecaller) isn't doing Vraska any favors. Although multicolored cards are usually stronger than their mono colored equivalents, I generally think that Ally of Zendikar / Knight-Errant are stronger than Sorin, Lord of Innistrad. I don't mind this though because Sorin is still really strong and AoZ / KE are absurd on their own. I know comparing Vraska to 6-cmc Elspeth / Chandra is a lot different since they don't share any colors, but the overall power level difference is definitely there. They also have similar functions with their + abilities making tokens and their - abilities as removal.
Vraska may have a +2 and a really high loyalty count, but Elspeth being able to +1 and put up 3 blockers or -3 for mass removal makes her the better defensive walker. While Vraska's ultimate is very real, Chandra is still a lot more aggressive. Again, not great comparisons since they don't share the same colors, juat thinking out loud. Going back to the Sorin comparison, I just feel that Sorin is a lot closer to Elspeth / Gideon than Vraska is to other 6-cmc planeswalkers.
Just played against new Vraska twice this weekend at the pre-release and my friend had it in his deck. I'm re-evaluating her for cube now. Having a plus ability that protects her and getting to her ultimate two turns after being put on the board is big game.
The ability to come down in "defensive Karn" mode is a nice spot to be in for a 6 drop too. She hits almost every relevant non-planeswalker threat as removal, then sticks around pumping out evasive 2/2s and removing more threats. This is all ignoring the treasure tokens which feel more like flavor text on her, but hey, if you need lotus petals there you go.
Her ultimate is actually a nice game-ending ability which isn't necessary on a walker, but on a 6 drop it's nice to have what feels like a win-condition. If you're at board parity and use her ulitmate, chances are you've ended the game with your next swing, especially if you've managed to keep your menace tokens in play and not been forced to chump with them.
Overall I've been very impressed, and combined with the splashiness you feel playing her I think Lotleth Troll or Deathrite Shaman might be getting the boot.
Playing it in other people’s cubes, I’ve found this Vraska to be good, not great as both a Golgari card and a 6-mana planeswalker. Her best feature is her resilience, IMO, but I find her to be a bit too low impact at 6-cmc, especially compared to Titans and other 6-cmc planeswalkers like Elspeth / Chandra / Will.
I like this a lot! 6-mana that makes some powerful tokens, comes with 2 downticks with its starting loyalty, and that ultimate is fairly powerful.
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It's probably better than Garruk Apex Predator and comparable to 6 mana Sorin in a slightly weaker guild.
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Can protect itself, generate value and end the game quite quickly. Ultimate is very strong.
That being said, I only have so much room for 6 drops, this one doesn't have interesting synergies and think almost all 6 drops I run are stronger than it.
Pass, but I like it for large cubes.
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She is an interesting option as a Golgari planeswalker and I wonder if I should just drop Lotleth Troll for her.
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I respect your decision. It would take a card far more powerful than this for me to drop Maelstrom Pulse.
What are the other cards in your Golgari section?
I like this Vraska quite a bit, but it doesn't breach my current section.
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StaffVraska may have a +2 and a really high loyalty count, but Elspeth being able to +1 and put up 3 blockers or -3 for mass removal makes her the better defensive walker. While Vraska's ultimate is very real, Chandra is still a lot more aggressive. Again, not great comparisons since they don't share the same colors, juat thinking out loud. Going back to the Sorin comparison, I just feel that Sorin is a lot closer to Elspeth / Gideon than Vraska is to other 6-cmc planeswalkers.
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The ability to come down in "defensive Karn" mode is a nice spot to be in for a 6 drop too. She hits almost every relevant non-planeswalker threat as removal, then sticks around pumping out evasive 2/2s and removing more threats. This is all ignoring the treasure tokens which feel more like flavor text on her, but hey, if you need lotus petals there you go.
Her ultimate is actually a nice game-ending ability which isn't necessary on a walker, but on a 6 drop it's nice to have what feels like a win-condition. If you're at board parity and use her ulitmate, chances are you've ended the game with your next swing, especially if you've managed to keep your menace tokens in play and not been forced to chump with them.
Overall I've been very impressed, and combined with the splashiness you feel playing her I think Lotleth Troll or Deathrite Shaman might be getting the boot.
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