I have yet to see them in action, but in the right deck Gisa and Geralf seem superior to Meren of Clan Nel Toth. Meren starts doing it for free after a while, but Gisa and Geralf set you up with a bit of milling and you get the creatures slightly sooner.
G&G seems almost strictly worse than Meren. Both cards have an initial investment of 4 mana and a card but Meren "draws a card" for 0 mana every turn from there on out whereas G&G only provides value on turns where you elect to take advantage of her recursion. Since I value the Raise Dead over the mill 4 on the turn that you cast either I have Meren at least a tier above G&G and possibly even 2. Just so we're clear I've basically never had the experience counters truly matter (you typically need a card like Prossh, Skyraider of Kher to consistently trigger it) and I don't assign any value to it. When analyzing the card I only care about the "base mode" and if she sometimes goes above and beyond that's awesome but not something that I'm ever banking on.
That isn't to say that I dislike G&G, they're a powerful recursion engine, but at the same time there's a clear divide between them and Meren. The fact that one only works with Zombies and has recurring mana requirements are serious drawbacks when compared to things like Graveborn Muse that only ask for a single investment and work with anything. Clearly the power-ceiling of G&G is significantly higher but the floor is also noticeably lower. Still, the reason why I liked this card is because when it works it's oppressive so it's definitely worth discussing.
Yes, Meren in a canter. GG are good, but pretty much limited to Zombie tribal (because otherwise, you lose half the benefit of self-milling each turn).
I'm disappointed in the fact that they really don't work nicely next to a lot of the normal Zombie tribal elements - Noxious Ghoul kills it, Lord of the Undead can't resurrect it, etc. etc. It's like you have to kill them and then Rise from the Grave them back into play to go properly nuts. So yes, good card, but it has its issues.
I, for one, are curious about Black updates over the last year or so.
My guides are still linked in the single stickied thread.
I'm currently in the process of re-vamping some of my guides. Working on Blue atm and hoping to roll it out in this week. Red and White both received major overhauls recently but the other colors need serious updates.
My "working" guides are linked in my sig and since I post in ~80% of threads I'm not hard to find.
I, for one, are curious about Black updates over the last year or so.
My guides are still linked in the single stickied thread.
I'm currently in the process of re-vamping some of my guides. Working on Blue atm and hoping to roll it out in this week. Red and White both received major overhauls recently but the other colors need serious updates.
My "working" guides are linked in my sig and since I post in ~80% of threads I'm not hard to find.
Yah, we were starting to clog the top of the forum up with stickies, so we agreed to roll it all into the single stickied thread. I should imagine if you post in one of the Guide threads, they'll bounce back up to the top of the forum as per normal.
And yes, I will do a full overhaul of the Artifice Guide soon-ish. I need to pull it apart and set it up like Prid3 has with his Red and White guides.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Added Grim Flayer and Tamiyo, Field Researcher. Tamiyo might come off at a later time but insofar as cards like Armageddon and Doubling Season exist I figure that she'll always be reasonably competitive.
Taking opinions on Gisa and Geralf. Is the Fleshbag Marauder/Gray Merchant of Asphodel/Sidisi, Undead Vizier loop powerful enough to justify making the cut? Especially on a 4/4 for 4 that self-mills 4 cards (which is usually better than drawing a card)? After all, we all love us some cards like Animate Dead, Accumulated Knowledge, Treasure Cruise, etc.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
G&G seems almost strictly worse than Meren. Both cards have an initial investment of 4 mana and a card but Meren "draws a card" for 0 mana every turn from there on out whereas G&G only provides value on turns where you elect to take advantage of her recursion. Since I value the Raise Dead over the mill 4 on the turn that you cast either I have Meren at least a tier above G&G and possibly even 2. Just so we're clear I've basically never had the experience counters truly matter (you typically need a card like Prossh, Skyraider of Kher to consistently trigger it) and I don't assign any value to it. When analyzing the card I only care about the "base mode" and if she sometimes goes above and beyond that's awesome but not something that I'm ever banking on.
That isn't to say that I dislike G&G, they're a powerful recursion engine, but at the same time there's a clear divide between them and Meren. The fact that one only works with Zombies and has recurring mana requirements are serious drawbacks when compared to things like Graveborn Muse that only ask for a single investment and work with anything. Clearly the power-ceiling of G&G is significantly higher but the floor is also noticeably lower. Still, the reason why I liked this card is because when it works it's oppressive so it's definitely worth discussing.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
(And on the previous addition: Altered Ego has yet to disappoint me, it's a HOUSE!)
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
I'm disappointed in the fact that they really don't work nicely next to a lot of the normal Zombie tribal elements - Noxious Ghoul kills it, Lord of the Undead can't resurrect it, etc. etc. It's like you have to kill them and then Rise from the Grave them back into play to go properly nuts. So yes, good card, but it has its issues.
My Stupidly Large Number of Current Decks
PucaTrade with me!
The Multiplayer Power Rankings
Cube: the Gittening (My Multiplayer Cube) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
The N00b Cube (Peasant cube for new players) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
But that card likes any dead stuff.
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
I, for one, are curious about Black updates over the last year or so.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
My guides are still linked in the single stickied thread.
I'm currently in the process of re-vamping some of my guides. Working on Blue atm and hoping to roll it out in this week. Red and White both received major overhauls recently but the other colors need serious updates.
My "working" guides are linked in my sig and since I post in ~80% of threads I'm not hard to find.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Yah, we were starting to clog the top of the forum up with stickies, so we agreed to roll it all into the single stickied thread. I should imagine if you post in one of the Guide threads, they'll bounce back up to the top of the forum as per normal.
And yes, I will do a full overhaul of the Artifice Guide soon-ish. I need to pull it apart and set it up like Prid3 has with his Red and White guides.
My Stupidly Large Number of Current Decks
PucaTrade with me!
The Multiplayer Power Rankings
Cube: the Gittening (My Multiplayer Cube) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
The N00b Cube (Peasant cube for new players) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I was an idiot and thought that she blinked herself AND a creature, not OR a creature. I've since removed her.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold