MTG Salvation

So more or less in anticipation of what will be coming later today, but spoilers have tecnicaly started with:


Not bad, but worse than Relief Captain I would say. Perhaps for bigger cubes that are really pushing the +1/+1 counter theme?

At first, I thought it just added counters on up to two creatures (including itself) and I was going to say I probably liked it a bit more than Relief Captain because of that floor. Less sure now that I realised it has the same restriction of only giving counters to other creatures.

A quick calculation on the odds of hitting more than one mill from Sphinx's Tutelage puts ita t 7% for 11 identical colour cards. This is a lowball and based on a 12 white, 11 black, 17 land deck and milling 2 black cards. I feel like you have to include the odds of hitting two whites instead somehow but probability is not my strong suit any more.

Assuming:
you play ST on turn 3
ST is how you win the game
You only draw your one card per turn (meaning your opponent mills 3 a turn cycle)
You do not activate ST's looting ability (6 mana is a lot to do nothing).
Your opponent draws no extra cards and doesn't add cards to their deck

It will take 11 turns to end the game with no double mills. 11 turns gives you a 77% chance to get the double mill (which would save a turn and then impact the chance.. it's 1am I'm not going that deep).

But then Teferi's Tutelage gives you an extra mill straight off the bat so it's definitely a turn quicker than the worst case for ST. If your opponent was heavier on one colour then the worst case I assumed above it will start to tip in favour of ST.

I think Teferi is a better teacher than the Sphinx just because looting is handy, but it seems very close. Is anybody even running ST these days?

If there's any idea reinforced from being able to jam Amaz's peasant cube on repeat on MODO, it's that your standard peasant cube is a heavily creature dominated format. The truth of the matter is that when your control deck stabilizes, it's going to have random creatures or tokens with which to kill your opponent. This kind of card really only matters in the heavy removal mirrors, and even then I would probably rather just go for card advantage and try to outpace my opponents answers (or play harder to answer threats like Talrand's Invocation)

Quirion Dryad downshift to uncommon is interesting.

Honestly, at this point, I am pretty unlikely to even run it. Green 2-drop creatures are *stacked*.

In my experience Quirion Dryad always overperforms so I'll definitely try it.

yeah i'm pretty interested in quirion dryad as well. i feel like it'll be good.

Is Shipwreck Dowser the best version of this effect yet? I think it looks pretty strong.

Seems like it is, and by a decent margin. It would be solid as a vanilla 3/3, but with Prowess your Archaeomancer is now a legitimate win con. I envision the Merfolk swinging as a 5/5 or larger on a regular basis.

Llanowar Visionary (jokes aside on WotC just stapling two cards together) actually looks really great too. Cantrips and ramps with a relevant body, that's a lot for 3 mana. Hot take: this feels like the green Cloudkin Seer.

It fuels its own prowess trigger by returning the instant or sorcery as well for later use, so it’s good

Art is terrible

The art is fine. It's not better than Mulldrifter or Illusory Ambusher but maybe I can could one of the more expensive guys.

Green 3's aren't too stacked so I'll make room for Llanowar Visionary. If we get anything better than this then then I'll be pretty chuffed.

I wonder how long it will be before we get another set as "cubeable" as Ikoria.

Rules:
Creatures your opponent control get -1/-0
1U, Discard CARDNAME: Sleight of Hand

I think this could find a home if you're supporting reanimator. Very spicy, handle with gloves.

Is it better than Striped Riverwinder? 7/7 is bigger but hexproof is important on reanimate targets.
Also cycling for 1 instead of 2 can be a big difference. The whale does seem better in decks other than reanimator.

I still prefer Stripped Riverwinder, but if you support UB as your reanimate archetype, maybe you could try to add this whale too, but dies to everything with no great advantage for you after being reanimated.

Stormcaller was spoiled too, from Planeswalkers decks. I like it. Curving Viashino Pyromancer into this guy sounds fine. For me, a better Ghitu Slinger.

I like the Whale. Dont underestimate the static ability. Also, its a better Sleight of Hand as the second hand goes to the graveyard.
Stormcaller is way worse than Ghitu Slinger as it cant hit creatures.

Quote from user-23643864 »

For me, a better Ghitu Slinger.

Storm Caller doesn't hit creatures. That seems the main mode for Ghitu Slinger and Fire Imp is better than both (I see you're not running it. Modern frame only?).

You lose the option to hit creatures, but what I don't like is to pay the echo cost when I'm the aggressive deck and I want to spend my mana dropping threats or casting bolts.

I even run Orcish Hellraiser but the echo is not so expensive (even when you pay two to do a shock).

I think I prefer to do two damage to the face with a better body than paying an overcosted creature.

And to your question, my cube runs some old frame cards, but I don't like that frame so I made some modern ones for those cards.

llanowar visionary is super solid imo, i'm just not sure if i need it or not. could be nice to diversify my ramp and not play both cultivates though.

i thought shipwreck dowser was bad initially, but then i thought about archaeomancer, and how much more you get for 1 mana. it's actually quite a big upgrade.

i really like the scythe. feels like we don't get cubeable equipment too often, so i might just snap this one up.

the whale... i like it, but don't think it's for my cube. nice to see a variation on cycling though.

Malefic Scythe seems great, 1 equip cost is very nice for it's effect. Honestly seems solid in almost any black deck.

I wonder if Llanowar Visionary will finally be the card to replace Civic Wayfinder?

fungal rebirth seems really strong? a lot less consistent than eternal witness perhaps, but easier to cast and instant speed is pretty huge in tradeoff. how many regrowths do we actually need at peasant level as well i wonder... three doesn't feel like too many at all.

I had a few paragraphs written about why I think Fungal Rebirth is bad, but then I re-read the card and realized you actually get the tokens in addition to the regrowth. I thought it was a replacement (you either get the card, or if a creature died you get the tokens instead).

Yeah it's actually sweet.

Thoughts on Indulging Patrician? The body is not embarrassing, and I am always looking for more interesting things to do with w/b.

Fungal Rebirth seems solid since it's still decent even when you don't get to 'Morbid' it, even if overcosted in that instance (which is less of an issue at instant speed).

I also kind of like Concentrated Veteran (1W 3/1 which discards to 'regenerate' by being tapped and gaining indestructible). Similarly to Adanto Vanguard, this means it has in-built protection from removal which does not cost mana to make auras and equipment better.

However, I don't think I like the whale; Hexproof is really important on Striped Riverwinder and it can also be used as a control finisher because of that in-built security. Such 'pure reanimator' cyclers are not something I really like, which is why I also ended up cutting the huge green one from Ikoria. The black one still allows shenanigans besides also being in the primary colour for the archetype, and the red one can be cast on its own and allows for shenanigans as well.

indulging patrician is probably really good if you're pushing lifegain. i'm sure some you are pushing it, we must be close to making it be just the best w/b archetype to push by now? i'm not so idk.

i don't really like the veteran. it's not bad but doesn't really excite me or feel like it forces anything out.