This is possibly a hat that Wolverine would be very happy with. If you can't clear those enchantments for whatever reason...nice life total you had there.
Paradox Engine usually does everything you want this to do much better and allows you to be in the colour of the manadorks, but this is not a bad card on its own. It's just, EDH doesn't tend to be able to accomodate this card as well as Modern or Khans-era Standard could due to the singleton nature.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
I like this ascendancy. It's a weird mix of Paradox Engine, prowess and loot. I use it in Zedruu, much like tstorm82. In that context at least, it's probably more suitable than Paradox Engine, although Engine is stupidly good almost anywhere.
This is one of those cards that is very strong but doesn't have that many homes. You want to be in Jeskai and have a decent amount of both creatures and non-creature spells. And you want many of the latter to be cheap so you can get chaining them. Plus you probably want to add green so you can untap mana dorks.
Still, if you are playing a deck that wants this card, it's going to be an incredibly strong engine.
The way it worked best for me was in a UWRG deck that was Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix & Akiri, Line-Slinger. Akiri already wants the deck to run a lot of artifacts and the Ascendancy makes Kydele into a extremely powerful engine for casting said artifacts. Often times cards like The Locust God and Monastery Mentor along with Earthcraft would show up as well. If I were to make it again Emmara, Soul of the Accord would definitely find a home.
First, the untap. This would be wonderful in storm. Unfortunately, unless I'm playing the duumvirate of love-colored trapezoid, I don't have a lot of mana dorks. Basically you have mana myr (and older cards like Manakin), a few artifacts and lands that can become creatures for a turn (but for the most part cost a lot of mana doing so, so bad plan is bad), a couple oddball things like Sisters of the Flame and Apprentice Wizard, mostly from early sets, and I guess you can use mana rocks with March of the Machines. There's also Lotus Guardian. *crickets* That's the joke.
Secondly, giving all your creatures prowess. Now, this is a lot better. This is actually a storm-like win condition itself. I could see this being big in a token deck that likes to run cards like Raise the Alarm.
Finally, the loot. Alhammarret's Archive or (if you don't mind the UUU in a three-color deck) Thought Reflection can actually make this loot into "your noncreature spells are strictly better cantrips". If you have both, you're drawing 4 and discarding 1 with each noncreature spell. The other two are nice, if a little antagonistic, but the big benefit is here.
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
First, the untap. This would be wonderful in storm. Unfortunately, unless I'm playing the duumvirate of love-colored trapezoid, I don't have a lot of mana dorks. Basically you have mana myr (and older cards like Manakin), a few artifacts and lands that can become creatures for a turn (but for the most part cost a lot of mana doing so, so bad plan is bad), a couple oddball things like Sisters of the Flame and Apprentice Wizard, mostly from early sets, and I guess you can use mana rocks with March of the Machines. There's also Lotus Guardian. *crickets* That's the joke.
I played a lot of this card for like the year after Rune-scarred Demon was released, cause I tutor for my tutors.
I love this card. I’m a bit miffed that Alara was 5 or more power, which oddly clashed with Onslaughts 6 Cmc theme. Obviously they still play well together, but not in the most synergistic way I had hoped.
BTW, why Tutor for that, when you could have tutored for Primeval Titan? Or, why not both I suppose?
Fierce Empath is a fine card, especially in decks based around copying ETB effects or flickering/bouncing creatures. He can also be good in reanimator/recursion decks, letting you get something big to hand and then discarding it to cheat it out and repeating this effect by reanimating/recurring the Empath. Not bad in some Birthing Pod set-ups, either, and fine in decks that give you ways of cheating big creatures from hand to battlefield for cheap. Solid green creature, really. Old-school staple is still good tech after all these years.
Excellent in Animar, Soul of Elements, where you often pay just G to add a counter to Animar and tutor up a colorless Eldrazi or other beatstick which is either cheap or free. I've played it in a few other decks (Mayael and some others), but none of them can abuse it quite like Animar.
It's a good card. Generally speaking, I'd say it should be on the shortlist for any Gx deck. It doesn't always quite make the cut - after all, Green has a good amount of tutors as is - but being a recurrable/blinkable body that can be clamped is a big deal. It's also Reveillarkable, passes the Sun Titan test (which it coincidentally can tutor up) it can be Woodland Bellowered in case you want your Woodland Bellower to tutor a fatty, and it has a relevant creature type to boot. I wouldn't go as far as call it a format allstar, but it's definitely a player that should never be underestimated.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
I always felt like you needed to have Krosan Tusker or Shefet Monitor to take full advantage of this card. Sometimes, tutoring a fatty is useless if you don't have mana to cast it.
Obvious benefit to Animar, Soul of Elements is obvious. Though I use Recruiter in Animar as well, usually to fetch a utility creature.
The CMC 6 or greater theme does go well with both Naya and Temur (Can't believe they sold the same mechanic to us twice! And in very different biomes at that!)
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
You could say I have some experience with this card. It pumps, it untaps, it even makes fruit smoothies!
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Cost / Type / the draw trigger is just gravy, but obviously it depends on the deck in question
Most fun with stuff like Natural Affinity if you can swing it.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Still, if you are playing a deck that wants this card, it's going to be an incredibly strong engine.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
First, the untap. This would be wonderful in storm. Unfortunately, unless I'm playing the duumvirate of love-colored trapezoid, I don't have a lot of mana dorks. Basically you have mana myr (and older cards like Manakin), a few artifacts and lands that can become creatures for a turn (but for the most part cost a lot of mana doing so, so bad plan is bad), a couple oddball things like Sisters of the Flame and Apprentice Wizard, mostly from early sets, and I guess you can use mana rocks with March of the Machines. There's also Lotus Guardian. *crickets* That's the joke.
Secondly, giving all your creatures prowess. Now, this is a lot better. This is actually a storm-like win condition itself. I could see this being big in a token deck that likes to run cards like Raise the Alarm.
Finally, the loot. Alhammarret's Archive or (if you don't mind the UUU in a three-color deck) Thought Reflection can actually make this loot into "your noncreature spells are strictly better cantrips". If you have both, you're drawing 4 and discarding 1 with each noncreature spell. The other two are nice, if a little antagonistic, but the big benefit is here.
On phasing:
Additionally, creatures that untap lands, Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper, and Crystalline Crawler all work to generate mana as you cast spells. It might only take 1 mana dork if you have something like Knowledge Pool or Eye of the Storm, and also you can play it the opposite way, use something like Arcanis the Omnipotent and as many cheap, free, or mana generating spells as you can dig through.
I played a lot of this card for like the year after Rune-scarred Demon was released, cause I tutor for my tutors.
I love this card. I’m a bit miffed that Alara was 5 or more power, which oddly clashed with Onslaughts 6 Cmc theme. Obviously they still play well together, but not in the most synergistic way I had hoped.
BTW, why Tutor for that, when you could have tutored for Primeval Titan? Or, why not both I suppose?
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
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EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
Because Primeval Titan doesn't tutor for Mana Reflection to let me afford Iname as One, of course.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Gotta love that it's an Elf.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Man, the days when Bifurcate was playable just for tutoring up a Titan were dark days.
My first thought too. Honestly, between the two, I prefer "Why am I not white?" Imperial Recruiter, much like I prefer Trinket Mage and Trophy Mage over Treasure Mage, just like Treasure Mage, there are uses for the "bad" one.
Obvious benefit to Animar, Soul of Elements is obvious. Though I use Recruiter in Animar as well, usually to fetch a utility creature.
The CMC 6 or greater theme does go well with both Naya and Temur (Can't believe they sold the same mechanic to us twice! And in very different biomes at that!)
On phasing:
My favorite part is the summoning sickness reminder. It's like flavor text.