MTG Salvation

Ok, I confess, I have an unnatural love for this card. Phantasmal Image has taught us all the value of a 2-mana clone, and in the BCS, this card is that and more. It does so many things- you can attack with a bunch of tokens and then use one of the unblocked ones to put a giant fatty into play. You can do the usual legend kill Shenannigans. You can use it to return one of your ETB guys to your hand while copying another ETB guy. You can save a guy during combat. Etc...

Worst case scenario, it's Clone with a very slightly harder mana cost.

Love this card.

Favorite story (Not mine)

Swing with a birds, ninja in Student, copy my flipped Ludvik's Test Subject
take 13.

He's been great

I don't run Blightsteel Colossus in my own cube (nor Emrakul), as I think both cards are WAY over the top of what is fun, but I have (several times) copied my opponent's Blightsteel with Student after swinging with some tokens or other nonsense.

It's pretty priceless.

He looks pretty awesome; unfortunately, CMC 4 is a pretty tight competition in blue. I'd like to try him before I dismiss him, though.

My favorite clone besides Image/Metamorph. But ultimately proved not to be good enough.

Quote from wtwlf123

My favorite clone besides Image/Metamorph. But ultimately proved not to be good enough.

Did you just not have enough opportunity to cast him for 1U?

Last time I played him, I bounced a Restoration Angel and copied a Thragtusk, which I then proceeded to blink again. Thragtusk + bounce my angel for 1U is very very sick.

I think being able to control when you used clone without the "unblock attack" is very important. It doesn't make it in my 360.

To be fair, I love this card. I played him in my casual ninja deck. I think it's my 3rd favorite clone effects.

Quote from OP_Forever

I think being able to control when you used clone without the "unblock attack" is very important. It doesn't make it in my 360.

To be fair, I love this card. I played him in my casual ninja deck. I think it's my 3rd favorite clone effects.

Well, you can always cast him for 2UU, which is generally fine in the lategame as you're still getting value from copying a 5 or 6 drop, or a ramp/reanimator target.

I wish Ninijitsu didn't have the unblocked clause - using him as removal would be so sweet.

Quote from "[TJS »

Dandy_Lions;10002618']Favorite story (Not mine)

Swing with a birds, ninja in Student, copy my flipped Ludvik's Test Subject
take 13.

He's been great

Uh, that doesn't work. If you clone a double faced card, the clone is the top face and, because it doesn't have a back face, the clone can never transform.

Quote from Dechs Kaison

Uh, that doesn't work. If you clone a double faced card, the clone is the top face and, because it doesn't have a back face, the clone can never transform.

From

http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/innistrad/dfcrules

"If an effect copies a double-faced card, it copies the characteristics of whichever face is currently showing. It doesn't copy any characteristics of the other face."

Clone can never transform, but it clone the current face. It "could" be the day face, but doesn't have to be.

Quote from OP_Forever

I think being able to control when you used clone without the "unblock attack" is very important.

Keep in mind that you can always clone a guy before you give them the opportunity to block, i.e. before the declare blockers step.

Quote from Checkbox

Keep in mind that you can always clone a guy before you give them the opportunity to block, i.e. before the declare blockers step.

No you can't.

-AA

Quote from Antknee42

No you can't.

-AA

Sure you can. You just have to have Yeva, Nature's Herald out and cast Alter Reality on her, changing green to blue. Then you can hardcast Sakashima's Student for 2UU at instant speed before declaring blockers.

See, easy! I do it all the time...

Quote from Killane

Did you just not have enough opportunity to cast him for 1U?

Last time I played him, I bounced a Restoration Angel and copied a Thragtusk, which I then proceeded to blink again. Thragtusk + bounce my angel for 1U is very very sick.

Ya, had to pay full price far too often.

I like it quite a bit, but it's a toss-up between Student and Vesuvan Shapeshifter for us thanks to a couple reasons.

1. I don't have enough control over the ninjitsu clause. On the other hand, I can unmorph at any time, lending it more of a strategic feel.
2. I would rather pay 3 + 1U over two turns than 2UU if ninjitsu isn't an option.
3. Shapeshifter provides long-term advantage by changing forms over time to fit the situation.

That being said, I love the extra value from ninjitsu and I'll keep running both as long as I can.

The Ninjitsu also has the bonus effect of giving you an extra ETB trigger if you can get a Man-o'-War back or something.

Cool card, but for us it played like a Clone with a "win more" clause attached. How many games where you have a Thragtusk + Resto Angel attacking + two mana up + a meaningful card in hand are you losing?

It's playable, but blue has better things to do in cube, especially for four mana.

I like the card and tested it a lot. Ultimately I cut it because it was kind of awkward, honestly I'd probably run Ninja of the Deep hours first.

Quote from Phantizle

Cool card, but for us it played like a Clone with a "win more" clause attached. How many games where you have a Thragtusk + Resto Angel attacking + two mana up + a meaningful card in hand are you losing?

And even in those cases, wouldn't you rather be holding a bounce spell or counterspell to secure your victory instead?

I play this card at 720 and love it. Having said that I have a lot of clone effects in blue as they are very popular in my play group. Wish it had a foil.

I love Sakashima's Student. I run it in my 630, and would likely include it at any size. It's a skill-testing, high-power clone that provides some very memorable plays. Sounds like it meets all the requirements of being a good cube card. Unsure how people dislike dude to power level. It seems a bit unfair to compare to undercosted, higher-utility clones. I guess I just value clone effects higher than others and am happy to have them in multiples.

Quote from tomchaps

Sure you can. You just have to have Yeva, Nature's Herald out and cast Alter Reality on her, changing green to blue. Then you can hardcast Sakashima's Student for 2UU at instant speed before declaring blockers.

See, easy! I do it all the time...

...

-AA


Seriously, though, I've liked it quite a bit. Actually saw four Geralf's Messengers on the board once with the OG, Student, Metamorph, and Image once...

He won that game.

It's a card that I have never got around to testing but is on the edge of my radar. I had a constructed deck with it and it is capable of powerful plays in a sufficiently aggressive U/X deck, and the standard 'Clone' body as a back up is fine, and playable as a late pick in some drafting formats if you don't go all out tempo. It's hardly a necessary inclusion though, but it looks fun.

As an aside, I don't think having an unblocked creature counts as winning, so I wouldn't use the term 'win more' for this card at all. It's just a big cost reduction if you are a more aggressive type of deck.

Quote from Antknee »

Actually saw four Geralf's Messengers on the board once with the OG, Student, Metamorph, and Image once...

That's just silly... of all the cards to copy, too, it's a very abuseable one!

Quote from Antknee42

No you can't.

-AA

EDIT: nope, you're right. Hrm.