Well it's a Mox and that word alone means it won't be cheap... but i's by far the worst Mox to date. As others have pointed out already, it does not accelerate you in the early game and come turn 3 or 4, I'd rather have that card be Thran Dynamo then this. Unless you're playing 5 color legends tribal, then this will be better.
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The secret to enjoyable Commander games is not winning first, but losing last.
If my post has no tags, then i posted from my phone.
I find it a bit funny how Akiri is called a "he" when the flavour text points her out as the opposite.
I also think Captain Sisay and Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain are two of the better decks to use this in. Captain Sisay can tutor it and have it serve as an additional mana rock, and it's essentially a cantrip that also gives you mana in Jhoira.
Believe it or not, i meant to write "She" i must have missed the "S"
Well it's a Mox and that word alone means it won't be cheap... but i's by far the worst Mox to date. As others have pointed out already, it does not accelerate you in the early game and come turn 3 or 4, I'd rather have that card be Thran Dynamo then this. Unless you're playing 5 color legends tribal, then this will be better.
Hmm, that is True, Dragons would like this card as I play 19 legendary creatures.
Well it's a Mox and that word alone means it won't be cheap... but i's by far the worst Mox to date. As others have pointed out already, it does not accelerate you in the early game and come turn 3 or 4, I'd rather have that card be Thran Dynamo then this. Unless you're playing 5 color legends tribal, then this will be better.
It's not a matter of being "better" in this instance. It's a matter of what you need, and Mox Amber has its uses in certain decks that aren't "5-color legends tribal".
Something to note is that Mox Amber can color-fix hybrid Commander (or other legendary creature) decks. The only Commander I can think of that is both hybrid and cheap enough to make it relevant is Sygg, River Cutthroat... and given that he draws cards, free cards are always useful...
The number of places this is good is pretty narrow, as pointed out. Seems like a rule of thumb is that you need as many of the following as possible to be true:
- Your deck's Commander is cheap; ideally 1 or 2 CMC and certainly no more than 4 CMC.
- Your deck runs a significant amount of legendaries and planeswalkers (25+)
- Your deck is more than one color - bonus points if your commander is hybrid so that this can "fix".
- Your deck matters about artifacts.
- Your deck has either a combo that utilizes zero-cost spells (STORM) or has some sort of draw engine that makes bonus mana ramp at a bargain mana price valuable.
The number of places this is good is pretty narrow, as pointed out. Seems like a rule of thumb is that you need as many of the following as possible to be true:
- Your deck's Commander is cheap; ideally 1 or 2 CMC and certainly no more than 4 CMC.
- Your deck runs a significant amount of legendaries and planeswalkers (25+)
- Your deck is more than one color - bonus points if your commander is hybrid so that this can "fix".
- Your deck matters about artifacts.
- Your deck has either a combo that utilizes zero-cost spells (STORM) or has some sort of draw engine that makes bonus mana ramp at a bargain mana price valuable.
I'd say that any one of those being true would be enough to consider running it, two being true enough to make you have to think twice about cutting it, and three or more making it nearly an auto include.
Simply having a 1 or 2 drop commander makes it a Mox of that color most of the time. A deck that cares about artifacts can make use of it even if it isn't turned on, and storm decks other than. ad Nauseum tend to use their commanders to facilitate the storm, such as new Jhoira or Mizzix, so it will be on when you really need it. Legends matter decks will have plenty of legends other than your commander to turn it on, but I'd say this is only enough to make it worth considering running Mox Amber if a lot of those legends are fairly cheap. An Arvad deck focused on running cheap legends to pump with Arvad when he drops will want this, because I can see playing it turn 1 alongside Gideon to also drop Isamaru, then accelerate after that, and Sisay can tutor it, but if a more mana expensive legend deck exists it would need a cheaper general or something else to make it worthwhile. Fixing off hybrid mana is just a bonus that I'd barely consider, though. I wouldn't stick it in a non artifact, non storm deck just because the 5cmc + commander is hybrid, but I'd stick it in pretty much any storm deck or CMC 1 commander deck.
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Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
if you regularly cast more than one spell per turn
if you regularly cast spells costing two or more mana of the same color
if you regularly cast spells costing more than your commander
if you regularly activate abilities, especially abilities requiring colored mana
That's actually a pretty good list. But it's still lower than most mana rocks, especially since TBH Darksteel Ingot can do all the same. It costs more, but it's unconditional, and harder to remove. If you're in green, Birds of Paradise is easier to remove, but it's also unconditional, and cheaper. (Or use Sylvan Caryatid.)
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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!
This card does not make you discard or exile anything from the hand to use it. Very strong. There will probably be a deck that uses 4x of this in Standard, with lots of others on the cusp of including more legendaries to claim access to it.
Now a format where everyone starts with a Legendary creature? That is pushing staple status. Nay-sayers underestimate the power of a Mox. Early game acceleration is not the only reason behind it, even though that is what the Moxes are known for in Vintage. But, even a dead one is no worse than the second to last land in your hand. Their usefulness lies in the subtle strength of being just marginally better than the Land card they emulate.
Great way to kick-off the Brawl format by asking $30 from everyone for their first Mox Amber.
I play 35 legendary creatures in one of my decks and I still don't want this thing. I need my mana to be available at all times, not be gone after a boardwipe.
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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 play 35 legendary creatures in one of my decks and I still don't want this thing. I need my mana to be available at all times, not be gone after a boardwipe.
I guess no one plays Wildfire, Death Cloud, or other such board wipes in your area. Nothing is guaranteed to survive in the way of mana sources.
If, when it entered the battlefield you chose a color from among Legends/PWs you control and it taps for just that color from then on, it would have been really good.
Or, we have and do play with the legal moxen on a regular basis. You grossly overestimate the strength of this card.
Out of all the decks I have played, zero would be improved by this card. Including it would actually make most worse, as doing so removes an actually useful card, like a Basic Land.
This card does not make you discard or exile anything from the hand to use it. Very strong. There will probably be a deck that uses 4x of this in Standard, with lots of others on the cusp of including more legendaries to claim access to it.
Now a format where everyone starts with a Legendary creature? That is pushing staple status. Nay-sayers underestimate the power of a Mox. Early game acceleration is not the only reason behind it, even though that is what the Moxes are known for in Vintage. But, even a dead one is no worse than the second to last land in your hand. Their usefulness lies in the subtle strength of being just marginally better than the Land card they emulate.
Great way to kick-off the Brawl format by asking $30 from everyone for their first Mox Amber.
While I think this will be a staple in certain decks and a strong card, it is absolutely not an every deck staple. The power of Moxen can be undone by a severe drawback, and this is a severe drawback, albeit one, like Mox Opals, that can be drastically mitigated by the composition of the deck its in. Mox Diamond is a phenomenal card, but topdecking one with no lands in hand sucks, as does having one in hand when you are too low on land to afford to pitch one. Chrome Mox is often a bad play, because outside the early game the card you imprint is usually worth more than the mana acceleration. It's the early ramp and fixing that make them great, which outside of certain decks Amber lacks. Of course, I'd argue that Amber is better than either Diamond or Chrome later in the game, which is irrelevant to cEDH but important in casual. In the right decks, Amber will be better than Chrome and Diamond, just like Opal is, but those decks are likely fewer than the ones for Opal, and even then you are more likely to end up with it turned off than you are with Opal in its best fit decks.
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
I've been tossing this up too - in a good scenario, I have a couple of decks that could use this. Dralnu needs color fixing and colored rocks to untap with Paradox Engine, and Sydri, who needs a lot of colour fixing and early rocks. That being said, commanders die all the time, and I don't have a lot of decks with high legendary density.
Otherwise, considering its a decent value pull I want to either get some use out of it or trade it for the best possible value. What do we think in terms of this keeping its current value? EDH doesn't hold a lot of sway for the markets, so it really depends how well it plays out in standard/modern.
If, when it entered the battlefield you chose a color from among Legends/PWs you control and it taps for just that color from then on, it would have been really good.
This card does not make you discard or exile anything from the hand to use it. Very strong. There will probably be a deck that uses 4x of this in Standard, with lots of others on the cusp of including more legendaries to claim access to it.
Now a format where everyone starts with a Legendary creature? That is pushing staple status. Nay-sayers underestimate the power of a Mox. Early game acceleration is not the only reason behind it, even though that is what the Moxes are known for in Vintage. But, even a dead one is no worse than the second to last land in your hand. Their usefulness lies in the subtle strength of being just marginally better than the Land card they emulate.
Great way to kick-off the Brawl format by asking $30 from everyone for their first Mox Amber.
While I think this will be a staple in certain decks and a strong card, it is absolutely not an every deck staple. The power of Moxen can be undone by a severe drawback, and this is a severe drawback, albeit one, like Mox Opals, that can be drastically mitigated by the composition of the deck its in. Mox Diamond is a phenomenal card, but topdecking one with no lands in hand sucks, as does having one in hand when you are too low on land to afford to pitch one. Chrome Mox is often a bad play, because outside the early game the card you imprint is usually worth more than the mana acceleration. It's the early ramp and fixing that make them great, which outside of certain decks Amber lacks. Of course, I'd argue that Amber is better than either Diamond or Chrome later in the game, which is irrelevant to cEDH but important in casual. In the right decks, Amber will be better than Chrome and Diamond, just like Opal is, but those decks are likely fewer than the ones for Opal, and even then you are more likely to end up with it turned off than you are with Opal in its best fit decks.
My exact point is that it does not need to win in a competition with Diamond, Opal, Chrome, etc. That is why Moxes continue to get used, no matter how progressively weak that WOTC prints them. The real competition is a land card. And in that competition, Mox Amber comes out ahead in all but the most land-starved EDH decks.
This card does not make you discard or exile anything from the hand to use it. Very strong. There will probably be a deck that uses 4x of this in Standard, with lots of others on the cusp of including more legendaries to claim access to it.
Now a format where everyone starts with a Legendary creature? That is pushing staple status. Nay-sayers underestimate the power of a Mox. Early game acceleration is not the only reason behind it, even though that is what the Moxes are known for in Vintage. But, even a dead one is no worse than the second to last land in your hand. Their usefulness lies in the subtle strength of being just marginally better than the Land card they emulate.
Great way to kick-off the Brawl format by asking $30 from everyone for their first Mox Amber.
While I think this will be a staple in certain decks and a strong card, it is absolutely not an every deck staple. The power of Moxen can be undone by a severe drawback, and this is a severe drawback, albeit one, like Mox Opals, that can be drastically mitigated by the composition of the deck its in. Mox Diamond is a phenomenal card, but topdecking one with no lands in hand sucks, as does having one in hand when you are too low on land to afford to pitch one. Chrome Mox is often a bad play, because outside the early game the card you imprint is usually worth more than the mana acceleration. It's the early ramp and fixing that make them great, which outside of certain decks Amber lacks. Of course, I'd argue that Amber is better than either Diamond or Chrome later in the game, which is irrelevant to cEDH but important in casual. In the right decks, Amber will be better than Chrome and Diamond, just like Opal is, but those decks are likely fewer than the ones for Opal, and even then you are more likely to end up with it turned off than you are with Opal in its best fit decks.
My exact point is that it does not need to win in a competition with Diamond, Opal, Chrome, etc. That is why Moxes continue to get used, no matter how progressively weak that WOTC prints them. The real competition is a land card. And in that competition, Mox Amber comes out ahead in all but the most land-starved EDH decks.
I think if you are cutting land for your ramp, you are usually making a mistake. You are definitely making a mistake doing that for Mox Amber, since it won't be making early mana reliably unless your commander is a 1 drop. Anything that costs mana to cast, and anything that isn't 100% reliable, does not replace a land. The only rock I can say could be swapped in for a land is Crypt, because it is always on and costs nothing. Moxen, and all rocks, are competing with other rocks and non mana cards. The easy answer for sticking in a mox, including Amber, is to cut one of your less powerful rocks. It should be replacing the likes of Chromatic Lantern or Coldsteel Heart. Otherwise, cut a card that isn't part of your mana base, the weakest of your spells.
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Every single one of them would be made worse by cutting a card for Mox Amber. Often especially a land.
Every single one of them already plays Mox Diamond, and a couple include Mox Opal.
Exiling a card in a singleton format makes Chrome Mox a poor choice for most decks, but its value is still usually higher than Amber's.
I play 35 legendary creatures in one of my decks and I still don't want this thing. I need my mana to be available at all times, not be gone after a boardwipe.
I guess no one plays Wildfire, Death Cloud, or other such board wipes in your area. Nothing is guaranteed to survive in the way of mana sources.
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.
Not to be misunderstood, I don’t see land count as the main consideration for running Amber. If your deck is not built right, then you would certainly cut Amber before you cut a land. But, assume that your deck is built right. You are cutting something else, probably any number of non-land mana sources. It’s part of your overall land count to non-land mana to draw mixture in your deck. Honestly, lots of decks are under-gassed, and they are missing draw more crucially than they are missing mana.
That being the case, say you include a card like Night’s Whisper in enough quantity, what would you rather draw out of 2x land and a land a Mox Amber? Answer, you would rather draw literally anything than your second to last land. By the rules of the game, the second to last land is of zero use. That is what I mean by a Mox out-competing a land.
Granted, most of the time you draw 2 you are not drawing 2x land, but now when you are drawing 5-6 cards at a time from something like Mystic Remora or Greater Good, or you have something like a Crucible? You start to see the difference in having enough non-land mana, and in good quality.
I remember when people used to think Exploration and Burgeoning were mediocre to poor cards, since they didn’t do anything for your opening land count. But, now they are format all-stars, because people realized that cards that depend on draw volume to be good are actually still good. You just find the draw volume.
I stuck my Mox Amber in Isamaru and didn't look back. I also have no intention of putting it in any of my other 34 decks or any of my planned upcoming decks.
Not to be misunderstood, I don’t see land count as the main consideration for running Amber. If your deck is not built right, then you would certainly cut Amber before you cut a land. But, assume that your deck is built right. You are cutting something else, probably any number of non-land mana sources. It’s part of your overall land count to non-land mana to draw mixture in your deck. Honestly, lots of decks are under-gassed, and they are missing draw more crucially than they are missing mana.
That being the case, say you include a card like Night’s Whisper in enough quantity, what would you rather draw out of 2x land and a land a Mox Amber? Answer, you would rather draw literally anything than your second to last land. By the rules of the game, the second to last land is of zero use. That is what I mean by a Mox out-competing a land.
Granted, most of the time you draw 2 you are not drawing 2x land, but now when you are drawing 5-6 cards at a time from something like Mystic Remora or Greater Good, or you have something like a Crucible? You start to see the difference in having enough non-land mana, and in good quality.
I remember when people used to think Exploration and Burgeoning were mediocre to poor cards, since they didn’t do anything for your opening land count. But, now they are format all-stars, because people realized that cards that depend on draw volume to be good are actually still good. You just find the draw volume.
But exploration and burgeoning, and this is key, accelerate your mana early, while outside of the cheapest commanders, Mox Amber does not. Burgeoning would suck, flat out, if it didn't come online until turn 4-5 for most decks. Same with Exploration. You'd need a specific set of circumstances to make them good, either a way to make them viable turn 1-2, or strong synergies that they can interact with. Mox Amber is in that boat. It works well with artifact synergies, storm, and legend decks, and works like a Mox should work by accelerating early mana with cheap commanders, but it will suck, flat out suck, in something like Prossh. That doesn't mean its a bad card, in fact I think its a pretty great card, but only in the right decks. There are plenty of cards that are pretty great but only in the right circumstances.
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
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Hmm, that is True, Dragons would like this card as I play 19 legendary creatures.
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
It's not a matter of being "better" in this instance. It's a matter of what you need, and Mox Amber has its uses in certain decks that aren't "5-color legends tribal".
- Your deck's Commander is cheap; ideally 1 or 2 CMC and certainly no more than 4 CMC.
- Your deck runs a significant amount of legendaries and planeswalkers (25+)
- Your deck is more than one color - bonus points if your commander is hybrid so that this can "fix".
- Your deck matters about artifacts.
- Your deck has either a combo that utilizes zero-cost spells (STORM) or has some sort of draw engine that makes bonus mana ramp at a bargain mana price valuable.
That list pretty much leaves us with Rhys The Redeemed, Sygg, River Cutthroat, Jori En, Ruin Diver, Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain, Captain Sisay, Baral, Chief of Compliance, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, Rona, Disciple of Gix, Breya, Etherium Shaper and some partner builds featuring Akiri, Line-Slinger as the homes for this, and the only ones of those where I'd say this is an auto-include are Sygg and Rhys since it can basically replace a land and those decks can take advantage of the extra mana. If you run any of those commanders, or want to, maybe hold onto this? If not, trade away as it's probably going to go down before it goes up.
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
I'd say that any one of those being true would be enough to consider running it, two being true enough to make you have to think twice about cutting it, and three or more making it nearly an auto include.
Simply having a 1 or 2 drop commander makes it a Mox of that color most of the time. A deck that cares about artifacts can make use of it even if it isn't turned on, and storm decks other than. ad Nauseum tend to use their commanders to facilitate the storm, such as new Jhoira or Mizzix, so it will be on when you really need it. Legends matter decks will have plenty of legends other than your commander to turn it on, but I'd say this is only enough to make it worth considering running Mox Amber if a lot of those legends are fairly cheap. An Arvad deck focused on running cheap legends to pump with Arvad when he drops will want this, because I can see playing it turn 1 alongside Gideon to also drop Isamaru, then accelerate after that, and Sisay can tutor it, but if a more mana expensive legend deck exists it would need a cheaper general or something else to make it worthwhile. Fixing off hybrid mana is just a bonus that I'd barely consider, though. I wouldn't stick it in a non artifact, non storm deck just because the 5cmc + commander is hybrid, but I'd stick it in pretty much any storm deck or CMC 1 commander deck.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
That's actually a pretty good list. But it's still lower than most mana rocks, especially since TBH Darksteel Ingot can do all the same. It costs more, but it's unconditional, and harder to remove. If you're in green, Birds of Paradise is easier to remove, but it's also unconditional, and cheaper. (Or use Sylvan Caryatid.)
On phasing:
Now a format where everyone starts with a Legendary creature? That is pushing staple status. Nay-sayers underestimate the power of a Mox. Early game acceleration is not the only reason behind it, even though that is what the Moxes are known for in Vintage. But, even a dead one is no worse than the second to last land in your hand. Their usefulness lies in the subtle strength of being just marginally better than the Land card they emulate.
Great way to kick-off the Brawl format by asking $30 from everyone for their first Mox Amber.
(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'
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 guess no one plays Wildfire, Death Cloud, or other such board wipes in your area. Nothing is guaranteed to survive in the way of mana sources.
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
Or, we have and do play with the legal moxen on a regular basis. You grossly overestimate the strength of this card.
Out of all the decks I have played, zero would be improved by this card. Including it would actually make most worse, as doing so removes an actually useful card, like a Basic Land.
A Dying Wish
To Rise Again
Chainer, Dementia Master
Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
While I think this will be a staple in certain decks and a strong card, it is absolutely not an every deck staple. The power of Moxen can be undone by a severe drawback, and this is a severe drawback, albeit one, like Mox Opals, that can be drastically mitigated by the composition of the deck its in. Mox Diamond is a phenomenal card, but topdecking one with no lands in hand sucks, as does having one in hand when you are too low on land to afford to pitch one. Chrome Mox is often a bad play, because outside the early game the card you imprint is usually worth more than the mana acceleration. It's the early ramp and fixing that make them great, which outside of certain decks Amber lacks. Of course, I'd argue that Amber is better than either Diamond or Chrome later in the game, which is irrelevant to cEDH but important in casual. In the right decks, Amber will be better than Chrome and Diamond, just like Opal is, but those decks are likely fewer than the ones for Opal, and even then you are more likely to end up with it turned off than you are with Opal in its best fit decks.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Otherwise, considering its a decent value pull I want to either get some use out of it or trade it for the best possible value. What do we think in terms of this keeping its current value? EDH doesn't hold a lot of sway for the markets, so it really depends how well it plays out in standard/modern.
This.
My exact point is that it does not need to win in a competition with Diamond, Opal, Chrome, etc. That is why Moxes continue to get used, no matter how progressively weak that WOTC prints them. The real competition is a land card. And in that competition, Mox Amber comes out ahead in all but the most land-starved EDH decks.
I think if you are cutting land for your ramp, you are usually making a mistake. You are definitely making a mistake doing that for Mox Amber, since it won't be making early mana reliably unless your commander is a 1 drop. Anything that costs mana to cast, and anything that isn't 100% reliable, does not replace a land. The only rock I can say could be swapped in for a land is Crypt, because it is always on and costs nothing. Moxen, and all rocks, are competing with other rocks and non mana cards. The easy answer for sticking in a mox, including Amber, is to cut one of your less powerful rocks. It should be replacing the likes of Chromatic Lantern or Coldsteel Heart. Otherwise, cut a card that isn't part of your mana base, the weakest of your spells.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Lets take a look at all of my current decks, shall we?
Every single one of them already plays Mox Diamond, and a couple include Mox Opal.
Exiling a card in a singleton format makes Chrome Mox a poor choice for most decks, but its value is still usually higher than Amber's.
How about planned decks?
A Dying Wish
To Rise Again
Chainer, Dementia Master
Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
Oh they do get played. Just not as often as Austere Command, Bane of Progress, Reclamation Sage, Vandalblast, etc etc.
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.
That being the case, say you include a card like Night’s Whisper in enough quantity, what would you rather draw out of 2x land and a land a Mox Amber? Answer, you would rather draw literally anything than your second to last land. By the rules of the game, the second to last land is of zero use. That is what I mean by a Mox out-competing a land.
Granted, most of the time you draw 2 you are not drawing 2x land, but now when you are drawing 5-6 cards at a time from something like Mystic Remora or Greater Good, or you have something like a Crucible? You start to see the difference in having enough non-land mana, and in good quality.
I remember when people used to think Exploration and Burgeoning were mediocre to poor cards, since they didn’t do anything for your opening land count. But, now they are format all-stars, because people realized that cards that depend on draw volume to be good are actually still good. You just find the draw volume.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
But exploration and burgeoning, and this is key, accelerate your mana early, while outside of the cheapest commanders, Mox Amber does not. Burgeoning would suck, flat out, if it didn't come online until turn 4-5 for most decks. Same with Exploration. You'd need a specific set of circumstances to make them good, either a way to make them viable turn 1-2, or strong synergies that they can interact with. Mox Amber is in that boat. It works well with artifact synergies, storm, and legend decks, and works like a Mox should work by accelerating early mana with cheap commanders, but it will suck, flat out suck, in something like Prossh. That doesn't mean its a bad card, in fact I think its a pretty great card, but only in the right decks. There are plenty of cards that are pretty great but only in the right circumstances.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!