It's the shiznit. It's the blue 'finisher' I wanted (Consecrated Sphinx isn't quite that in what it does, so I find no reason to cut him for Aetherling). The Blink ability is gorgeous, and I was always disappointed that supporting Argent Sphinx would be a little hard.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that instant speed removal blanks this guy for a turn. While aetherling can certainly protect himself and grind out the game, he's not quite as dependable as morphling since morphling can instant shroud and still swing in, especially when the game is really tight (and down to a turn). if you're on the line with aetherling and go through the motions of pump, etc., an instant speed doom blade will blank all the mana you just invested for a big hit, preventing you from casting other threats, leaving countermagic open, etc.
but i do like the fact that he can dodge your wraths.
Well, I like it, and I'll try to find a way to cube with it. It has some pros and cons vs the original Morphling, but it hits harder and can be made wrath/edict proof on its own. It's much worse against repeatable removal like Icy, Ring and Maze, but it can still has pseudo-vigilance and has a better natural body for killing off their ground attackers. And unblockable makes it a better finisher, but a less reliable blocker. At first I thought it was plain worse because I wasn't thinking about using the flicker ability to allow it to block. That's pretty cool that it has a secret built-in untap ability still.
I'm torn, because I really like Morphling. It comes down a turn earlier, can protect itself while sticking around, and the untap is kind of cool with things like Opposition.
I'm probably just going to find room for both.
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Assuming that you mean the same round, that is also true for Aetherling, since you are able to exile it and bring it back untapped at the end of your turn.
Yea that is right, it can also attack and block if you bounce it post-combat main, I missed that. It is still not a reliable attacker/blocker when you need it to be. There are not that many effects that blank it permanently, so that is good, but when the game is tight it sucks that you cannot rely on it to stick around.
I think this guy is a lot better than morphling. He doesn't block as well but he's going to kill your opponent unless they throw multiple removal spells at him or kill you first.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
This card is wicked sweet! I love it. I'm not sure it will pan out in cube, but I certainly want to try it. Not sure what I'll cut--it's terrible to find cuts in blue.
If your cube wants a blue 7 drop that is not a great reanimator target, this is definitely one of the best of them. Not sure if most cubes are interested in that, though, and I don't think mine is. Comparing this to Consecrated Sphinx, Frost Titan, or Sphinx of Jwar Isle is not valid - Aetherling is much worse as a 6 drop than any of them.
7 drops are hard-castable for control, and he's a pretty strong reanimation target as long as you have U up. It's good to have a 6 and a 7 drop in blue, like I have Sun Titan and Elesh in white.
He's actually not half bad in blue based reanimator. All you really need is a single U to sufficiently protect him.
In addition, if you used something like Necromancy (or any of the enchantment based reanimation), blinking him will remove the enchantment and keep him on the battlefield.
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Ya, he plays like a 7-drop. But it's an unkillable finisher that bashes for 8 unblockable damage, and has pseudo-Vigilance at the same time. I'm a fan.
I need to test it but I really think this guy is the best finisher possible for blue control. He's a great ramp target, too. I can't say when the last time I saw a dedicated reanimator deck was, so I don't care too much about that, but I think he'd actually be surprisingly good there. Blue has a lot of ok finishers but nothing as good as black, white, or even red.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
Saying he's the best finisher possible is a tricky use of words. This guy is excellent in creature-light control mirrors, where you just need a large threat to stick so you can end the game.
However, finishers are about more than resilience and damage output. They are also about catching you up from behind, which this guy does not do very well. He has no lifegain and no board impact other than being a 4/5. If you blink him in response to removal, then he can't block that turn either.
Not saying he's unplayable, just that he's only great in certain matchups. The bar for 7 drops is really high in cube - I'm not sure if he makes the cut in my 450 unpowered list.
What blue finishers are you using with lifelink or board impact beside a single body? The only one I can think of that does something like that is meloku. Don't get me wrong, meloku is an amazing cube card. But I'd love a more resilient finisher for blue control. A huge selling point for this guy is being able to play a wrath after dropping him, I've had plenty of times I wanted to wrath but didn't have another finisher in hand.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
As I have a 360 unpowered cube that still needs work on being great, I'm definitely putting this guy in. I needed another blue finisher to run alongside Consecrated Sphinx and didn't Titan or Jwar. This is the guy.
Saying he's the best finisher possible is a tricky use of words. This guy is excellent in creature-light control mirrors, where you just need a large threat to stick so you can end the game.
However, finishers are about more than resilience and damage output. They are also about catching you up from behind, which this guy does not do very well. He has no lifegain and no board impact other than being a 4/5. If you blink him in response to removal, then he can't block that turn either.
Not saying he's unplayable, just that he's only great in certain matchups. The bar for 7 drops is really high in cube - I'm not sure if he makes the cut in my 450 unpowered list.
Very good points. I think I will replace Keiga in my list with the Aetherling to try him out. However, you're absolutely right about the fact that he does little to stabilise when you are behind, which is something that other finishers (like Meloku, Wurmcoil, Grave Titan, Hornet Queen etc.) do a much better job at.
I think the pseudo-Vigilance makes it an excellent creature when you're trying to stabilize. It's pretty much exactly what I want in a dedicated control finisher.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
What blue finishers are you using with lifelink or board impact beside a single body? The only one I can think of that does something like that is meloku. Don't get me wrong, meloku is an amazing cube card. But I'd love a more resilient finisher for blue control. A huge selling point for this guy is being able to play a wrath after dropping him, I've had plenty of times I wanted to wrath but didn't have another finisher in hand.
I don't play any blue 7 drops, but I wasn't comparing Aetherling against blue 7 drops, since I have no benchmark.
7-drop finishers I play in cube:
Elesh Norn - huge board impact, good reanimator target
Myr Battlesphere - huge board impact, ends games quickly
Hornet Queen - huge board impact, is in a color that wants huge fatties
Karn Liberated - is Karn Liberated
Angel of Serenity - huge board impact, resilient
Simic Sky Swallower - similar card to aetherling, better reanimation target, better blocker, and worse against mass removal
The only 7-drop I play that has a comparable board impact to Aetherling is Simic Sky Swallower, but Swallower also doubles as a target for the cheat-into-play decks, where Aetherling is not as good.
Again, when Aetherling is good, he's really good, but he lacks some qualities that you want in a finisher.
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but i do like the fact that he can dodge your wraths.
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I'm probably just going to find room for both.
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In addition, if you used something like Necromancy (or any of the enchantment based reanimation), blinking him will remove the enchantment and keep him on the battlefield.
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However, finishers are about more than resilience and damage output. They are also about catching you up from behind, which this guy does not do very well. He has no lifegain and no board impact other than being a 4/5. If you blink him in response to removal, then he can't block that turn either.
Not saying he's unplayable, just that he's only great in certain matchups. The bar for 7 drops is really high in cube - I'm not sure if he makes the cut in my 450 unpowered list.
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Very good points. I think I will replace Keiga in my list with the Aetherling to try him out. However, you're absolutely right about the fact that he does little to stabilise when you are behind, which is something that other finishers (like Meloku, Wurmcoil, Grave Titan, Hornet Queen etc.) do a much better job at.
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I don't run either, so yes. Ultimately I don't think either of those guys does enough for the cost.
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I don't play any blue 7 drops, but I wasn't comparing Aetherling against blue 7 drops, since I have no benchmark.
7-drop finishers I play in cube:
Elesh Norn - huge board impact, good reanimator target
Myr Battlesphere - huge board impact, ends games quickly
Hornet Queen - huge board impact, is in a color that wants huge fatties
Karn Liberated - is Karn Liberated
Angel of Serenity - huge board impact, resilient
Simic Sky Swallower - similar card to aetherling, better reanimation target, better blocker, and worse against mass removal
The only 7-drop I play that has a comparable board impact to Aetherling is Simic Sky Swallower, but Swallower also doubles as a target for the cheat-into-play decks, where Aetherling is not as good.
Again, when Aetherling is good, he's really good, but he lacks some qualities that you want in a finisher.
Assuming you're talking about Jwar Sphinx and not Consecrated Sphinx, yes. I'd cut either of them for AEtherling.
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