MTG Salvation

On first glance I thought Shadowfax, Lord of Horses was pretty nice, but I have t agree with Mat here. Most creatures it can cheat into play have a strong 'well why didn't you play this before' to them.

Quote from Mat »

Seems decent, but it's a strange card for Boros aggro. It's not a bad curve topper for an aggro deck, but if you are playing the aggro role, will you have creatures in your hand on turn 5 after this one attacks?

You'll also miss your 5th land on turn 5 about half the time, so you'd often need creatures in hand still on turn 6.

I would agree that Shadowfax is a poor choice for conventional Boros aggro for all the reasons mentioned. I have seen comparisons to Winota, Joiner of Forces, but I do not think that is fair since Winota grants card advantage by digging.

I am interested in Shadowfax more for a Boros midrange shell. Being able to drop a hasty 4/4 and a hasty Cloudgoat Ranger (9 damage), Scrapper Champion (10 damage), or Fearless Skald (16 damage) is something new for Boros. Shadowfax also gets around countermagic, dodges a lot of damage based removal, and can force your opponent to respect your attacks during a race. Splashing this into G/R or G/W +1/+1 counters can open up dropping even larger (green) creatures.

Maybe I am being too optimistic.

Edit:

A few other interesting cards:

Meneldor, Swift Sailor: Repeatable blink can do some powerful things and 3/3 flier is not a bad baseline.

Barrow-Blade: +1/+1 is not a huge boost, but the cast and equip costs are right. I am not sure how often removing abilities will be relevant, but it is unique and can be strong in the correct situations.

Rise of the Witch King: Deadly Brew that costs more, but returns the permanent to play instead of hand. I do not think I want this, but reanimating a permanent (as opposed to a creature) makes it stand out.

Some thoughts on cards I have not yet seen mentioned:

Meneldor, Swift Savior- A reasonable close parallel to Galepowder Mage. Does not help you get blockers though or clear opposing tokens, but also allows your creatures to attack before blinking. As someone down on the blink archetype, feels like a generic good card as opposed to a "good in blink decks card."

Stern Scolding- Of the 263 cards I classify as "Creatures" in my cube, which also includes token makers, this hits ~200 of them. That is a lot of interaction for a one-mana spell, and it should be a really neat effect for control. Maybe a blue Fatal Push?

Generous Ent- A big creature that does a little bit of everything: okay-ish Ramp target, bins itself for Reanimator, Forestcycles. The turn 1 cycling makes this another cool turn-2 Exhume play. Also, this is why I do not like Abundant Harvest. So many other green cards do a similar thing while also fitting green's normal gameplans.

Troll of Khazad-dum- Better color for reanimator, worse color for ramp. Might replace Void Beckoner.

Quickbeam, Upstart Ent- Decently big creature that pushes damage through. This is not a traditional ramp target, but it tops curves well and probably does well on certain boards for Ramp decks as it pumps mana elves like the world's worst Craterhoof.

I've been fairly quiet now that actual spoilers are rolling, as this set just hasn't been doing it for me (convoluted tempt mechanic, food tokens, generally uninteresting cards).

But Meneldor, Swift Savior is fantastic. It plays into two of my archetypes - flying and blink - while also doubling as just a good pseudo-vigilance ability for another creature. I'll be adding this for sure.


Barrow-Blade intrigues me. Obviously, it may be better in other formats where creatures have stronger abilities (like indestructible), but being able to nerf trample or deathtouch or first strike seems pretty good. A token wielding this can stop all damage from Pelakka Wurm.

Troll of Khazad-dûm seems pretty gross with Animate Dead. Turn 1 swampcycle, turn 2 reanimate, kills the opponent by itself on turn 6 if they can't remove it or spam the board with at least three creatures. Even if they do kill it after a couple hits, it's done an incredible amount of damage and may be unrecoverable.

And Shire Terrace is good fixing on a land that can also produce mana the turn it comes down. Reminds me most of the Panoramas, but this is useful in every color combo.

@rancoredmalone - "Fatal Shush" seems great. Stern Scolding hits ~75% of the creatures in my cube (198/263), and does so at a mana-advantage for 161 of them.

With the addition of Generous Ent there's now a lot of pretty good land cyclers (some of which ramp) on beefy green creatures. How would you all ranks these?

• Generous Ent
• Timberland Ancient
• Krosan Tusker
• Greater Tanuki
• Beanstalk Giant
• Shefet Monitor

Quote from Frozen_In_Ice »

With the addition of Generous Ent there's now a lot of pretty good land cyclers (some of which ramp) on beefy green creatures. How would you all ranks these?

• Generous Ent
• Timberland Ancient
• Krosan Tusker
• Greater Tanuki
• Beanstalk Giant
• Shefet Monitor

You're missing (at least) one: Orchard Strider.

Also I would urge anyone looking at Quickbeam, Upstart Ent for pure power to look instead to Great Oak Guardian, which is a total house.

One mana cyclers could be interesting in my cube given that I run the basic-land-typed duals ex. radiant grove

Stern Scolding is making me feel a certain way. That card is unbelievably good and I'm excited for it. Great great control card.

Quote from Frozen_In_Ice »

With the addition of Generous Ent there's now a lot of pretty good land cyclers (some of which ramp) on beefy green creatures. How would you all ranks these?

• Generous Ent
• Timberland Ancient
• Krosan Tusker
• Greater Tanuki
• Beanstalk Giant
• Shefet Monitor

Tier 1:
Generous Ent
Krosan Tusker

Tier 2:
Beanstalk Giant
Greater Tanuki

Tier 3:
Shefet Monitor
Timberland Ancient
Orchard Strider

Tier 4:
Elvish Aberration
Wirewood Guardian

Tier 5:
Sylvan Bounty

A (I'll be running all three)
Beanstalk Giant (Singlehandedly solves the issue of drawing the wrong half of your ramp deck.)
Krosan Tusker (The instant is just so solid on this it even fits into more 4-5 mana value-leaning decks)
Generous Ent (The creature Boon of the wish-giver, which is underrated anyway, and has the best body of these)

B (I wouldn't blink if I saw this in a list)
Timberland Ancient (It's the exact middle point between the Ent and the Tanuki, respectable in any board state.)

C (I would be... surprised to see these but they aren't embarrassing)
Greater Tanuki (This card is just playing too safe with every number. Also randomly dies to like... break ties)
Shefet Monitor (These two might not even be better than Akoum Warrior. Is overpaying for bad ramp really better than just being the land?


/
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I think Easterling Vanguard is the first of these black 2 mana token generators with 2 power. Worth a mention as it probably pushes out lazotep reaver for those of us still holding onto it.

Rosie Cotton of South Lane does a lot of work and merits attention

Shire Terrace's insistence that you set yourself back for the turn in order to use it is something we have never had to deal with before. It might be worse than mirrodin's core. At least the core can be fixing for any individual play starting on turn 2, whereas this land would disallow you from even playing a 2.

Stern Scolding is... probably good? It's probably the best anti aggro counterspell besides force spike, and even then.

Quote from Leelue »

I think Easterling Vanguard is the first of these black 2 mana token generators with 2 power. Worth a mention as it probably pushes out lazotep reaver for those of us still holding onto it.

But the second body only comes upon death, where both Putrid Goblin and Carrier Thrall already exist.

A Tier:
Beanstalk Giant- Payoff for its own ramp.

B Tier:
Generous Ent- Cheapest to cycle, decent body.

C Tier:
Greater Tanuki- Actually ramps, okay body
Krosan Tusker- Best cycling effect, horrible body.
Timberland Ancient- Meh cycling, decent body
Orchard Strider- Cycles for other colors, bad body, okay ETB.

I would rather be playing a lot of other ramp/fixing cards at 3 mana before I played the C-tier stuff. Llanowar Visionary, Jewel Thief, and both Cultivates.


I *love* Great Oak Guardian, so maybe a bad one is still okay? Although it is embarrassing how much Guardian outclasses Quickbeam, Upstart Ent.

Rosie Cotton of South Lane is one of those cards where I am underwhelmed by the card outside of the combo potential. It is definitely getting filed away for later as part of a potential combo package.

Shire Terrace- I was pretty hyped on this card but have cooled down. It does not fix until turn 3, at which point you have to spend a lot of time to fix your mana. If your splash is light, you are probably fine with a land that keeps you fully functional until you fix.

I like Théoden, King of Rohan. How does it stack up against newcomer Bladehold War-Whip and old reliable Iroas' Champion? Quite a large number (81 out of 241) of the creatures in my cube are humans, and most of those are in Boros colours. Losing double strike on the defense is a bummer, though.

And regarding 6 drops, I run al lot of them and I really like them. More often than not, they can end up being the second target for stuff like Baloth Null. I think I like the Greater Tanuki least, and Beanstalk Giant most, with Krosan Tusker and Generous Ent in the middle. I do not run Orchard Strider or Timberland Ancient, because of coloured mana payments and worse bodies.

I like Shire Terrace for the ability to work well in 4c/5c midrange strategies, where you often need a specific mana later in the game to cast your Migratory Route/Colossal Skyturtle/Lingering Souls. Early on it can cast stuff like Mind Stone or Sphere of the Suns. I like it and will definitely test it.

Stern Scolding is definitely powerful, and so is Meneldor, Swift Savior. Slower than Soulherder, but slightly more aggressive.

I also like Barrow Blade, stopping keywords is interesting. Gets rid of potential good death-triggers, like Orzhov Enforcer or Watcher for Tomorrow.

I feel like I'd want some flash humans to really make Theodon sing

Quote from TyranidBill »

I like Théoden, King of Rohan. How does it stack up against newcomer Bladehold War-Whip and old reliable Iroas' Champion? Quite a large number (81 out of 241) of the creatures in my cube are humans, and most of those are in Boros colours. Losing double strike on the defense is a bummer, though.

I like Shire Terrace for the ability to work well in 4c/5c midrange strategies, where you often need a specific mana later in the game to cast your Migratory Route/Colossal Skyturtle/Lingering Souls. Early on it can cast stuff like Mind Stone or Sphere of the Suns. I like it and will definitely test it.

I am surprised you have so many Humans in your cube. I am down under 23% now (60/263), although white does still have more than the other colors. Did you try Coppercoat Vanguard?

I will also test out Shire Terrace, given the copious mana fixing I try for. Similar to the green land-cyclers, I am curious how people rank the "colorless" fixing lands.

Aether Hub
Ash Barrens
Cave of Temptation
Crystal Grotto
Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse
Mirrodin's Core
Shimmerdrift Vale/Temple of the Dragon Queen/Uncharted Haven
Shire Terrace

Quote from rancoredmalone »

Quote from TyranidBill »

I like Théoden, King of Rohan. How does it stack up against newcomer Bladehold War-Whip and old reliable Iroas' Champion? Quite a large number (81 out of 241) of the creatures in my cube are humans, and most of those are in Boros colours. Losing double strike on the defense is a bummer, though.

I like Shire Terrace for the ability to work well in 4c/5c midrange strategies, where you often need a specific mana later in the game to cast your Migratory Route/Colossal Skyturtle/Lingering Souls. Early on it can cast stuff like Mind Stone or Sphere of the Suns. I like it and will definitely test it.

I am surprised you have so many Humans in your cube. I am down under 23% now (60/263), although white does still have more than the other colors. Did you try Coppercoat Vanguard?

I will also test out Shire Terrace, given the copious mana fixing I try for. Similar to the green land-cyclers, I am curious how people rank the "colorless" fixing lands.

Aether Hub
Ash Barrens
Cave of Temptation
Crystal Grotto
Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse
Mirrodin's Core
Shimmerdrift Vale/Temple of the Dragon Queen/Uncharted Haven
Shire Terrace

I haven't tried out the Coppercoat Vanguard, but I am considering it! I thought I had a whole lot less humans, but I do have a quite a bunch, and some flashy ones as well. However, I like Vanguard less than say, Accorder Paladin, and by itself it is just a bear, whilst Theoden, King of Rohan is also a pretty good on-curve play. Giving aforementioned Accorder Paladin or other 2-drop double strike is pretty good. I like my tribal cards to be self-sufficient, too, Cenn's Tactician, Merchant Raiders, Liliana's Devotee, Battle-Cry Goblin and Imperious Perfect all do something whether or not you are tribal, they just get better if you are. Whilst Theoden is not as powerful as those, I think the 'give your 2-drop double strike' is strong enough to warrant inclusion over other, similar cards. It also opens up blink tricks or flashy plays, which I think is fun.

Regarding lands, I play Ash Barrens, which I consider the best, both Terramorphic Expanse and Evolving Wilds, which I like for triggering landfall with, and also fuelling Delve/Delirium. Shuffling the library is nice too, situationally. I used to play both Aether Hub and Mirrodin's Core, but I don't anymore. Core was often just clunky, and Hub was just... unexciting, even though it is a good card, and I wouldn't fault anyone for running it.

I will be running the new Shire Terrace as well, I like it for the landfall reasons I mentioned earlier, but I also like being able to keep open 2 mana for countermagic or removal, whilst still providing an action if no response is required.

Assuming I am interpreting it correctly, Entish Restoration does not require sacrificing the land as part of the casting cost. So it is less painful than Harrow if countered, although the lands do come in tapped.

Éowyn, Lady of Rohan shares a similar space as Danitha Capashen, Paragon and the 4 toughness makes her hard to remove. I think this is a great inclusion if you support equipment in your cube.

Fiery Inscription is the enchantment version of Guttersnipe. I really like this card, but I really wish it did not have the tempt mechanic.

The Mouth of Sauron seems like a good finisher in a UB control deck even if it doesn't fly. That token can get pretty big in the late game. I just wish either it or the token had some evasion or keyword

Is Fiery Inscription better than Guttersnipe? I don't run the latter anymore, because it died without impact too often. Is this good enough?

Quote from TyranidBill »

Is Fiery Inscription better than Guttersnipe? I don't run the latter anymore, because it died without impact too often. Is this good enough?

Although Fiery Inscription is not able to attack or block in a pinch like Guttersnipe, it is harder to kill and it has an immediate impact to the board (the Tempt mechanic). If you felt that Guttersnipe died too easily without impact, I suspect Fiery Inscription will feel like a significant upgrade.

Thoughts on Shire Shirriff? White makes a lot of tokens and with Thraben Inspector it can occasionally be used on curve. That being said, Fairgrounds Warden is only one mana more and does not require the sacrifice.

I mean, the "dream curve" of Inspector into Shire Shirriff let's you exile their 1-drop, yay? You get to hit for 1, then they play their 2-drop and it blanks both of your creatures. Later in the game you might have a token, might not, and you put an insignificant body on the battlefield. I feel like I'll want the more reliable 3mv exilers.

I think the entire set is now spoiled with some massive leaks a few hours ago.

This is a good one:

Rally at the Hornburg
1R Sorcery
Create 2 1/1 white Human Soldier creature tokens. Humans you control gain haste until end of turn.

Dragon Fodder is a card I used to run, but not anymore. Giving the guys haste seems pretty solid to me! I might give it a whirl.

What do we think about Elven Farsight?
G
Sorcery
Scry 3. Then, you may reveal the top card of your library. If it's a creature card, draw a card.

Is this a green Preordain, or am I crazy?

The biggest problem I have with Elven Farsight is that it doesn't find lands and that makes it a lot worse. Cantrips are good because early game they can dig for lands and late game they can dig for answers or threats. If I want a card to dig for a creature I honestly think Commune with Nature is better and almost nobody is playing that.