MTG Salvation

show and tell

What are people's thoughts on this card. Has anyone tried it?

I played it in my classic cube. It's narrow, and risky. But it's pretty good when it works. I think blue's too tight to run it in small/med sized cubes, but larger cubes (particularly larger cubes that support Eldrazi Ramp as an archetype) can get some mileage out of it.

My opinion is that this is exactly the sort of card that makes cube drafting fun. It's completely insane, supports a very fun archetype (reanimator), and gives you many wtf moments. In my play experience it's either a first pick or else it'll be a last pick. Would never cut it.

Quote from Sasky

My opinion is that this is exactly the sort of card that makes cube drafting fun. It's completely insane, supports a very fun archetype (reanimator), and gives you many wtf moments. In my play experience it's either a first pick or else it'll be a last pick. Would never cut it.

Yeah, I'm thinking I might even run this card at 360 powered, actually. It's definitely a fun build-around-me card that already fits into a sustainable archetype.

I love it.

So recently I had started gathering cards for my cube again since I have regained interest in finishing it. I didn't see a thread for this card however I'd like to know what people think about it since I am thinking about adding it into my cube.

Merged with existing thread.
-:ER:

Quote from GiftsFTW

I didn't see a thread for this card

I did: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=426420

i don't have any experience with it, but i think this card has been getting more popular recently from what i've seen in discussions. build around cards have in general enjoyed more interest lately. i think this is a winner if your group doesn't mind risky cards and its best case scenario is really high. personally i think it looks really fun. i'd give it a try.

I think I like this card as almost a 'backup Tinker' in a way. Sometimes you need redundancy in effects, specifically these type to cheat fatties in play. It's a little tougher than Tinker to get to work at times because it needs to be in your hand. However typically when you draft those style of decks you will have 3 or more 6+ CMC creatures which significantly ups the potential of this card being good.

It can't go in every deck, but I think it has huge upside if built around well

Quote from Fidelis

I think I like this card as almost a 'backup Tinker' in a way. Sometimes you need redundancy in effects, specifically these type to cheat fatties in play.

This is an interesting way to look at it. I was not considering this card's inclusion, because it is such a unique, yet deck defining effect and I like some redundancy in these. I knew that it was a good back-up plan in reanimator decks, but I never considered Tinker to be part of this equation.

Quote from wtwlf123

I played it in my classic cube. It's narrow, and risky. But it's pretty good when it works. I think blue's too tight to run it in small/med sized cubes, but larger cubes (particularly larger cubes that support Eldrazi Ramp as an archetype) can get some mileage out of it.

So... at what size cube would you play it in? 540 and up? 720?

Whats the best case senario for this card? You have it and two fatties in your hand turn 3 (maybe even 1 in powered cubes)? If your opponent can answer with Moat or a sweeper, or if you only have one fatty and they have removal... What's the back up plan for those kinda decks? Seems too narrow for me. (I'm not playing power though and maybe it makes more sense in that environment)

Quote from Ultimateer

Whats the best case senario for this card? You have it and two fatties in your hand turn 3 (maybe even 1 in powered cubes)? If your opponent can answer with Moat or a sweeper, or if you only have one fatty and they have removal... What's the back up plan for those kinda decks? Seems too narrow for me. (I'm not playing power though and maybe it makes more sense in that environment)

Couldn't you say the same thing with Reanimate?

However your opponent may also have something Juicy that you have to deal with now if they have a piece of removal. The card seems more fun than practical, hence why I brought it up for discussion.

Quote from GiftsFTW

Couldn't you say the same thing with Reanimate?

However your opponent may also have something Juicy that you have to deal with now if they have a piece of removal. The card seems more fun than practical, hence why I brought it up for discussion.

I don't have to draft and build a deck to make Reanimate good. It helps define a type of build, but isn't useless if I go B/x aggro for example. Show and Tell can be really good, that's easy to see, but I don't think I'd draft it out of someone else's cube to try and make it work...

I ran it in my Multiplayer cube in its initial incarnation, but it proved too risky for anyone to actually play it.

Quote from pkedu

So... at what size cube would you play it in? 540 and up? 720?

Probably 540 and up, or as soon as you start supporting a super-ramp theme.

It's solid if you're supporting other ways to cheat in big 7+ CMC creatures, like Tinker, Sneak Attack, super ramp, and reanimation strategies. I'm happy to have the extra redundancy, and the Sneak and Show archetype is quite popular with the people I cube with.

This works well, I wouldn't recommend eureka to everyone, but show and tell comes together a lot. (Eureka being too expensive to just test, and frequently only having 1 maybe 2 targets to hit in your hand)

Show and Tell has a notorious reputation on Magic online because of the high risk of giving your opponent a fatty and sees little play due to that. However, this card plays out differently in paper because you greatly reduce the amount of fatties available for your opponents as you're picking them up yourself, or hate-drafting them, which from my experiences make the card quite valid.

Thoughts?

Quote from en fisk »

Show and Tell has a notorious reputation on Magic online because of the high risk of giving your opponent a fatty and sees little play due to that. However, this card plays out differently in paper because you greatly reduce the amount of fatties available for your opponents as you're picking them up yourself, or hate-drafting them, which from my experiences make the card quite valid.

Thoughts?

This is my experience with it too. It's far better in a paper cube than an online cross-pod draft for exactly the reasons you mentioned.

Show and Tell isn't a great Plan A IMO but I've found it as the safest of the backup plans:

- It is decent in Reanimator decks - Through the Breach can be a good plan B, but reanimator often does not have Eldrazi, it often needs the creature to stick around and doesn't curve into 5 CMC as well as Breach decks.
- It can be a ritual in storm decks to power out Thousand-Year/ Bolas Citadel/ Memory Jar etc. Its not the best ritual, but its can do a serviceable job if the deck is short on playables.
- It can be good in ramp decks - These decks would prefer Natural Order/ Channel but you cannot have everything.
- It can be decent in Polymoprh/ Oath decks.
- Not the best card in the Mindslaver/ Welder Daretti Archetype, but does a serviceable job.

I've never found Show and Tell to be the MVP in any deck, but I've found it to be a consistent enabler to help smooth out these various archetypes. I would never recommend any drafter to have Show and Tell as their Plan A but have it as their Plan B in these various deck is they're short on enablers (which 60-80% of the time they would appreciate some redundancy).