As much as I love how efficient this guy is I was kind of hoping for a more splashy build around me RUG commander so I wouldn't be entirely disappointed if this turned out to be fake.
This card is really difficult to evaluate but I feel like a lot of blue based tempo or control decks will want to test this where they can just get value out of the spells they are already playing to begin with and fetchlands filling up the yard for those greedy multicolor control decks. Too expensive for any sort of dedicated reanimator/self mill deck though.
You should be pretty happy opening this for limited. You either gonna blow them out or get in free damage as long as you get multiple morph creatures.
Yes. I should be exactly +0/+1 more happy than I would have been opening Inspired Charge, an unpopular common in the most recent Magic set to be released.
Oh, wait, I have to pay 4 more for that effect? Well, then.
Yes because ignoring the body that Master of Pearls has at all stages of the game and comparing it to an instant is totally apt.
This card isn't flashy or exciting like a rare should be, but I think people are just going to be angry getting used to the downshift in power that the sets will be slowly going through. Right now a lot of cards that in other sets would be weak may actually see constructed play in standard simply because they are the best alternative around. Now if you are a Modern/Legacy or Powered Cube player then you have some legitimate complaints to make as the depowering of standard right now will almost certainly effect those formats much harder than Standard will be. From an aggro standpoint if there is any WW type deck running around, a 2/2 for 2 is a decent start in a weaker standard but having the ability to have an instant speed pump spell to force through some damage and allow your two drops to be useful top decks late game shouldn't be underestimated. It can be a solid roleplayer depending on how the meta shapes itself in the next few months. Then again people didn't think Desecration Demon, Nightveil Specter or Pack Rat would see serious constructed play while Innistrad was still in standard either.
As for the "but limited" argument why wouldn't Wizards focus on the format that actually gets people to open packs and moves product? Besides, just because standard as a whole is lowering in power doesn't mean its strictly done for limited gameplay, wizards can't just keep power creeping everything forever otherwise we just end up with something as awful as yugioh.
Well considering in Magic bears are known simply for the fact that they are 2/2 and there are plenty of humans(albeit legendary or otherwise) that are 4/4 or greater, I didn't think it would be too much of a stretch to imagine that at one point those values were reversed.
I think there's a conscious decision being made here to not make bears 2/2 all of the time when humans are consistently bigger than that. Seems like someone at WotC said, "You know, aren't bears supposed to be... big?"
I think its mostly that temur is all about power greater than 4 and they had multiple temur token making cards so it was probably easiest to reflavor it all as bears. I'm sure we'll get an explanation in the alphabetical set overview later on.
I wonder if another card also makes 4/4 bears because to me it would have made much more sense for the human to be 4/4 and the bear 2/2 but whatever.
How many humans do you know who are twice as strong and tough as a fully-grown bear?
Well considering in Magic bears are known simply for the fact that they are 2/2 and there are plenty of humans(albeit legendary or otherwise) that are 4/4 or greater, I didn't think it would be too much of a stretch to imagine that at one point those values were reversed.
I wonder if another card also makes 4/4 bears because to me it would have made much more sense for the human to be 4/4 and the bear 2/2 but whatever. fits with the 4 or greater theme of temur
Deadbridge chant is fine, but it costs 6 and is also a mythic so I don't think the comparison is apt from a power standpoint, but I understand where you're coming from in terms of what you would expect out of a BUG lich
Probably only limited fodder but coming from an aggro background I've come to learn to not underestimate a good costed body with late game upside. It could at some point in its standard life see play in a white based agrro deck as an on curve beater that can help force through a late game alpha strike if you draw it late.
Kheru Lich lord is one of those cards that is just asking for too much. It looks like a fun card, but its just got too much going on. Wizards designs these bomby cards that people want to play, but we just can't. They just need to make something that's cheaper and simpler, then maybe people would play these cards over a diverse range of formats. In comparison to that Mardu Demon, this card is a disappointment. Had I designed this card...
Kheru Lich Lord BGU
Creature - Zombie Wizard (Rare)
At the beginning of your upkeep, return a card at random from your graveyard to your hand.
3/3
So simple. So playable. Not broken. The random factor minimizes shenanigans. Returning any card allows for creatures (black) spells (blue) and all cards (green) to work together in harmony. It's a 3/3 to make sure it's not terribly weak, as black and green have strong creatures, and blue has a high toughness. Anyhow, this is what I would have made. Many decks would have played it, and I think it's far from broken. It's a lot better than what we got, however...
I am glad you are not a developer
one, getting card advantage every turn
two, it is incredibly annoying to randomly select a card from a graveyard when they often become giant quickly, especially in decks that want stuff in the graveyard
three, delve itself allows you to filter out stuff you don't want so with this guy on the field you can keep recycling creatures and spells over and over by filtering out everything you don't want with delve since this guy doesn't exile anything after it brings it back.
The card as is is bad don't get me wrong, but your solution isn't very good either. I think its simply not an easy card type to balance developmentally so they obviously didn't try to push anything that involves recursion because that can really dominate a format.
My first instinct was that this card was terrible but then I remembered morph creatures are colorless. I love the ghostfire area of cards to explore in entirely colorless spells so I would love to see more. This seems ok in limited if you have solid morph creatures to play, but I feel like uncommon would have been more appropriate for its limited power level.
Incredibly disappointed in Temur's mechanic. Finally had the option to give RUG a real unique identity and now its already inching its way towards boring naya.
Yes because ignoring the body that Master of Pearls has at all stages of the game and comparing it to an instant is totally apt.
This card isn't flashy or exciting like a rare should be, but I think people are just going to be angry getting used to the downshift in power that the sets will be slowly going through. Right now a lot of cards that in other sets would be weak may actually see constructed play in standard simply because they are the best alternative around. Now if you are a Modern/Legacy or Powered Cube player then you have some legitimate complaints to make as the depowering of standard right now will almost certainly effect those formats much harder than Standard will be. From an aggro standpoint if there is any WW type deck running around, a 2/2 for 2 is a decent start in a weaker standard but having the ability to have an instant speed pump spell to force through some damage and allow your two drops to be useful top decks late game shouldn't be underestimated. It can be a solid roleplayer depending on how the meta shapes itself in the next few months. Then again people didn't think Desecration Demon, Nightveil Specter or Pack Rat would see serious constructed play while Innistrad was still in standard either.
As for the "but limited" argument why wouldn't Wizards focus on the format that actually gets people to open packs and moves product? Besides, just because standard as a whole is lowering in power doesn't mean its strictly done for limited gameplay, wizards can't just keep power creeping everything forever otherwise we just end up with something as awful as yugioh.
I think its mostly that temur is all about power greater than 4 and they had multiple temur token making cards so it was probably easiest to reflavor it all as bears. I'm sure we'll get an explanation in the alphabetical set overview later on.
Well considering in Magic bears are known simply for the fact that they are 2/2 and there are plenty of humans(albeit legendary or otherwise) that are 4/4 or greater, I didn't think it would be too much of a stretch to imagine that at one point those values were reversed.
I am glad you are not a developer
one, getting card advantage every turn
two, it is incredibly annoying to randomly select a card from a graveyard when they often become giant quickly, especially in decks that want stuff in the graveyard
three, delve itself allows you to filter out stuff you don't want so with this guy on the field you can keep recycling creatures and spells over and over by filtering out everything you don't want with delve since this guy doesn't exile anything after it brings it back.
The card as is is bad don't get me wrong, but your solution isn't very good either. I think its simply not an easy card type to balance developmentally so they obviously didn't try to push anything that involves recursion because that can really dominate a format.