This is very Vampire Nighthawk-ish as an evasive creature with lifelink. Ward and modality pushes this over the top as a pretty cheap stat monster and back up cheaty face / Recurring Nightmare / Tinker target.
If you blink it it etbs as the big version right?
I like this one a lot, but I like Gix too. And finding room for two new 1BB cards seems optimistic at best.
Correct, you always get the big version as long as you didn't cast it with its prototype cost. The only exception would be if it phased.
I like this one a lot, but I like Gix too. And finding room for two new 1BB cards seems optimistic at best.
Personally I think the competition for black 3-cmc creatures is kind of weak. This generally has a much higher floor than something like Sedgemoor Witch.
I like it a lot; tinkers, reanimates and blinks well.
It's prototype mode will be a decent speed bump against most decks. It's big mode is likly a bit over coated, but generally I expect to be cheating that cost.
Cool card. testing.
I think the raw number of synergies push it over the top for me.
I love that in a cheaty decks, you can hardcast it as a Hail Mary attempt to stabilize but it’s also a legitimate threat if cheated into play.
It also seems strong as WB agro/midrange card with a few blink effects. That kind of deck really leverages the life loss on the ward.
Both modes are below curve in strength, but not by much.
it’s a little fragile in my cube with a ton of artifact destruction, but I think it’s still worth it to test.
Get in, Wurm! Most everything has been said about it’s synergy abundance, and I’m always up for life gain in black. Only complaint is tracking which mode it’s on could be confusing, but that’s certainly not a dealbreaker.
It’s a cool card, and I agree black 3s are weak. Sedgemoor Witch was pretty bad for us.
I have really like sedgemoore witch (the pests gaining life is surprisingly relevant), but I definitely have black 3's I'm unhappy with and this seems great. I will definitely class it as a black card with the upside bonus of working in the mono-brown/big green mana decks.
I also really like Sedgemoor Witch, but I'm certainly interested in testing this out. The 3 rate is decent and the 7 rate is decent as well with a few more applications. I could see running it in control with the cheap cost being a nice failsafe. Prototype is a really intuitive ability that I'm surprised we haven't seen before.
Prototype is a really intuitive ability that I'm surprised we haven't seen before.
I see this as a reverse kicker'd Kavu Titan, except it's much better with blink / recursion / Sneak Attack / etc. I'd also argue that it's not as intuitive as it seems (on paper at least). Without counters to differentiate wether or not it's in its prototype mode or not, this can bring up a lot of memory issues.
The more I think about it, this will be such a relevant card in either mode that once you and your opponent understand it once, it’s not that confusing. It’s going to either be cast for prototype, which will be verbally communicated and pointed out, or cheated with the big side verbally communicated and pointed out. If you flicker or reanimate it? That’s a big play and hard to “forget” the giant 7/5 lifelink menace. As long as your players are paying even a little bit of attention, this probably won’t be much of a memory issue, especially with dice or other indicators.
This is a very versatile card. It's a target for both creature and artifact reanimation, goes into blink decks and is still a solid 3-mana play. I like it.
Card looks great and fun and I don’t think memory issues will be a thing. Worst case you throw literally indicator on it. Stoked to hopefully try this out and see what else the set and prototype have to offer.
I'm not in love with this card, but I do think it's a flexible creature that has multiple decent modes that will play well in several archetypes. If I can find a slot for it, I'll likely test it out to see how it plays.
Some important notes from BRO's mechanics article.
If a prototype card isn't on the battlefield with its prototype characteristics or on the stack after being cast with those characteristics, it'll have its normal set of characteristics. This means if Phyrexian Fleshgorger is in your library, graveyard, hand, or exile, it's a 7/5 colorless artifact creature with mana cost {o7} and a corresponding mana value of 7.
However, if you cast a prototype spell using the prototype ability, it keeps those characteristics until it leaves the battlefield. That 3/3 Phyrexian Fleshgorger is black, not colorless. Its mana value is 3, not 7. And if you copy it, the copy will also be a prototype—in this case, the 3/3 version of our Phyrexian Wurm friend.
Relevant interactions that I originally thought were the other way around:
- Prototype mode is not immune to Abrupt Decay / revolted Fatal Push / etc.
- Prototype mode is immune to Snuff Out.
- Prototype mode can Birthing Pod into 4-cmc creatures.
- Prototype mode can't get up to a 9-cmc creature with Eldritch Evolution.
Some important notes from BRO's mechanics article.
If a prototype card isn't on the battlefield with its prototype characteristics or on the stack after being cast with those characteristics, it'll have its normal set of characteristics. This means if Phyrexian Fleshgorger is in your library, graveyard, hand, or exile, it's a 7/5 colorless artifact creature with mana cost {o7} and a corresponding mana value of 7.
However, if you cast a prototype spell using the prototype ability, it keeps those characteristics until it leaves the battlefield. That 3/3 Phyrexian Fleshgorger is black, not colorless. Its mana value is 3, not 7. And if you copy it, the copy will also be a prototype—in this case, the 3/3 version of our Phyrexian Wurm friend.
Relevant interactions that I originally thought were the other way around:
- Prototype mode is not immune to Abrupt Decay / revolted Fatal Push / etc.
- Prototype mode is immune to Snuff Out.
- Prototype mode can Birthing Pod into 4-cmc creatures.
- Prototype mode can't get up to a 9-cmc creature with Eldritch Evolution.
Not a big deal to be honest. The flexibility of this creature is more relevant, such as interactions with your cube deck cards like Sneak Attack, Goblin Welder, Tinker and Flicker effects. This is a big finisher that can also pass the Vindicate test if cast as prototype, that's a big deal.
Yeah, those interactions definitely aren't a dealbreaker / maker for me, but they are relevant to know. I definitely assumed it was always cmc of 7 across the board until 24+ hours after it was spoiled, so I'm assuming others may have thought the same. Even if the interactions did hold significant weight, they pretty much balance themselves out.
I really dislike the new direction of complexity some of the cards are taking.
It is a cool card, but I feel like the increased complexity available on MTGA has made some designs a bit lazy.
I really dislike the new direction of complexity some of the cards are taking.
It is a cool card, but I feel like the increased complexity available on MTGA has made some designs a bit lazy.
That's understandable, but I would much rather use this design vs MDFC where they went overboard with in 2020/2021.
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This is very Vampire Nighthawk-ish as an evasive creature with lifelink. Ward and modality pushes this over the top as a pretty cheap stat monster and back up cheaty face / Recurring Nightmare / Tinker target.
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I like this one a lot, but I like Gix too. And finding room for two new 1BB cards seems optimistic at best.
Correct, you always get the big version as long as you didn't cast it with its prototype cost. The only exception would be if it phased.
Personally I think the competition for black 3-cmc creatures is kind of weak. This generally has a much higher floor than something like Sedgemoor Witch.
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It's prototype mode will be a decent speed bump against most decks. It's big mode is likly a bit over coated, but generally I expect to be cheating that cost.
I think the raw number of synergies push it over the top for me.
I love that in a cheaty decks, you can hardcast it as a Hail Mary attempt to stabilize but it’s also a legitimate threat if cheated into play.
It also seems strong as WB agro/midrange card with a few blink effects. That kind of deck really leverages the life loss on the ward.
Both modes are below curve in strength, but not by much.
it’s a little fragile in my cube with a ton of artifact destruction, but I think it’s still worth it to test.
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I have really like sedgemoore witch (the pests gaining life is surprisingly relevant), but I definitely have black 3's I'm unhappy with and this seems great. I will definitely class it as a black card with the upside bonus of working in the mono-brown/big green mana decks.
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I see this as a reverse kicker'd Kavu Titan, except it's much better with blink / recursion / Sneak Attack / etc. I'd also argue that it's not as intuitive as it seems (on paper at least). Without counters to differentiate wether or not it's in its prototype mode or not, this can bring up a lot of memory issues.
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For artifact cube it is better fit as there are not
Much good black cards, and this works for reanimator/welder decks.
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Relevant interactions that I originally thought were the other way around:
- Prototype mode is not immune to Abrupt Decay / revolted Fatal Push / etc.
- Prototype mode is immune to Snuff Out.
- Prototype mode can Birthing Pod into 4-cmc creatures.
- Prototype mode can't get up to a 9-cmc creature with Eldritch Evolution.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/the-brothers-war-mechanics
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Not a big deal to be honest. The flexibility of this creature is more relevant, such as interactions with your cube deck cards like Sneak Attack, Goblin Welder, Tinker and Flicker effects. This is a big finisher that can also pass the Vindicate test if cast as prototype, that's a big deal.
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It is a cool card, but I feel like the increased complexity available on MTGA has made some designs a bit lazy.
That's understandable, but I would much rather use this design vs MDFC where they went overboard with in 2020/2021.