What are your thoughts on this card from AVR? I feel like it could potentially replace hero which has dwindled in favor for a lot of players as it usually gets removed before it gets to attack. Angel on the other hand would boost our critters the turn it hits and I understand that they server different purposes as Hero is best right after a board wipe, but Angel would probably be a 4/4 or bigger with evasion meaning a better sword holder.
This is a 2 of card possibly a 2-2 split between hero with 1 more angel in the board if you expect to see a lot of pod decks. it also makes a great 5th and 6th honor which is unaffected by Thalia. Yes as a body she is more fragile then honor but also as a body she can win the game by already being a flyer and, as you said will probably be coming in as a 4/4. A 4/4 flyer for 4 that pumps everything else and gives some added effects is well worth the mana. and if we get one swing with the rest of our guys with her down, say 3 dudes, and they hit that is an extra 3 damage and she has paid for herself even if she gets snagged. The other good part of her is that she gives us the ability to play things like wingcrafter or Invisible Stalker and still be able to pump them. Not saying they are the best choices but they would now be worth it.
Take your monoblack deck, then set aside 14 swamps. Add 4 Creeping Tar Pits, 4 Darkslick Shores, 4 Drowned Catacombs, and 2 Jwar isle Refuge and add 4 Jace, the Mindsculptors. Your monoblack deck is instantly better. Better yet, drop those refuges, throw in some islands and some mana leaks, and lo and behold, you're now playing a real deck. Congratulations. Welcome to the world of competitive M:TG.
awful topdeck on its own, and Hero just wins games if you get to swing just once. this thing's better in a token strategy.
it also turns off Dismember if you run that.
Why would we be running Dismember? What are we even removing with it? It doesn't hit most of the threats in the mirror and for the most part, hitting ourselves for 4 in that matchup is doing them a favor. It can remove a Delver of Secrets, but we'd probably be siding the Angel of Jubilation out in that matchup anyway. Beyond that, it doesn't hit Titans or Elesh Norn or really anything that we should actually be afraid of on the other side of the board except maybe against R/G aggro, but that's another deck where we don't really want to be taking the extra four life. It's extremely situational and I think we have better sideboard options and we definitely don't want it maindecked.
As for the angel itself, it's competing with Hero of Bladehold and it's not quite powerful enough to be a game winner at that stage. I'm not even sure it's fast enough to use as Birthing Pod hate, by turn 4 if they had a good hand they have already gained a decent bit of advantage. I'd like to test with two of her, but I'm not really enthusiastic about how well she'll really work there.
awful topdeck on its own, and Hero just wins games if you get to swing just once. this thing's better in a token strategy.
it also turns off Dismember if you run that.
Yes, it is definitely better in token decks, but the flying and the fact that it gets boosted by HoP helps mitigate some of the negatives. That being said, I don't think I want to play it MD until Hero rotates out. It could be a decent SB option against certain decks that materialize, but I'm seeing a LOT of sweepers in the new post-AVR meta -- sweepers like Bonfire of the Damned, Terminus, DoJ, Slagstorm, BSZ, etc. -- and that will increase the chances that you will be left topdecking the Angel.
Of course, perhaps the biggest reason not to play it is that it lacks synergy with Cavern of Souls in W/u humans.
I mean a 1 of dismember wouldn't be horrible. I've seen a rouge infect deck every now and then, and if they land a phyrexian crusader, I don't often win. At the same time, it's a good stop to phyrexian obliterator. It's really meta dependent I suppose.
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22nd Place at Pro Tour Gatecrash....Well Fantasy Pro Tour Gatecrash
Legacy: Death and Taxes
Modern: RG Tron
EDH: Oona, Queen of the Fae
Would be good in tokens, but I feel like Cathar's Crusade is actually going to see some play in token decks. Most of the time they can stall out log enough to get it down, then play-> flashback a souls and amass their board with a silly amount of fat creatures.
As far as w/u humans, I think the other four drops we could play are better. A four mana honor of the pure that can be gfft'd isn't really that great. Might get sideboarded against Frites (to help counteract Elesh) or Pod.
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Playing:
Death's Shadow Jund
Played:
Kiki Chord, Zoo variants, Goblins, Burn
it also turns off Dismember if you run that.
Why would we be running Dismember? What are we even removing with it? It doesn't hit most of the threats in the mirror and for the most part, hitting ourselves for 4 in that matchup is doing them a favor. It can remove a Delver of Secrets, but we'd probably be siding the Angel of Jubilation out in that matchup anyway. Beyond that, it doesn't hit Titans or Elesh Norn or really anything that we should actually be afraid of on the other side of the board except maybe against R/G aggro, but that's another deck where we don't really want to be taking the extra four life. It's extremely situational and I think we have better sideboard options and we definitely don't want it maindecked.
As for the angel itself, it's competing with Hero of Bladehold and it's not quite powerful enough to be a game winner at that stage. I'm not even sure it's fast enough to use as Birthing Pod hate, by turn 4 if they had a good hand they have already gained a decent bit of advantage. I'd like to test with two of her, but I'm not really enthusiastic about how well she'll really work there.
My Decks
UW - Geist's Living Relatives - WU
Yes, it is definitely better in token decks, but the flying and the fact that it gets boosted by HoP helps mitigate some of the negatives. That being said, I don't think I want to play it MD until Hero rotates out. It could be a decent SB option against certain decks that materialize, but I'm seeing a LOT of sweepers in the new post-AVR meta -- sweepers like Bonfire of the Damned, Terminus, DoJ, Slagstorm, BSZ, etc. -- and that will increase the chances that you will be left topdecking the Angel.
Of course, perhaps the biggest reason not to play it is that it lacks synergy with Cavern of Souls in W/u humans.
I have always looked at Dismember as the answer to Phyrexian Crusader...
Which would be relevant if Phyrexian Crusader saw any play. Good thing it doesn't.
Legacy: Death and Taxes
Modern: RG Tron
EDH: Oona, Queen of the Fae
As far as w/u humans, I think the other four drops we could play are better. A four mana honor of the pure that can be gfft'd isn't really that great. Might get sideboarded against Frites (to help counteract Elesh) or Pod.
Standard:
UW HumansWU
Record - 49-19-3 - Retired, for now.
WUDelverUW
Record - 29-10-1