MTG Salvation

reckless bushwhacker

Reckless Bushwhacker - 2R
Creature - Goblin Warrior Ally
Surge 1R
Haste
When ~ enters the battlefield, if its surge cost was paid, other creatures you control get +1/+0 gain haste until end of turn
2/1

This seems testable to me for aggressive decks. Obviously playing it for its non-surge cost is absolutely abysmal, but playing it for the surge cost seems absurd. Curving into 2 power one-drop, 2-drop, then another 2-power 1 drop plus this guy has you hitting (assuming the 2-drop was only 2 power) for 3+3+3+2=11 on turn 4. Not to shabby.

Assuming the ACS is on the triggering surge side, this guy seems great. Obviously if the ACS leans towards casting him as a 2/1 haste for 3, he will be pretty bad.

Edit - forgot p/t! Added

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WHat's his body? Is Surge paid in addition to its casting cost like kicker? More info please?

Quote from Salmo »

WHat's his body? Is Surge paid in addition to its casting cost like kicker? More info please?

Surge is "if you or a teammate (which won't matter in most cubes, so let's assume just you) case another spell this turn, you may cast it for its surge cost."

So it makes the spell cheaper if you cast another spell this turn. Kind of a fixed storm.

Very high-risk, high-reward. I suspect the fail case occurs pretty often, and red threes are pretty good. I don't think I need this.

I like this. It's an easier to cast Goblin Bushwhacker that is a slightly jankier top deck. That feels like a good trade off. I'm going to find a spot for this.

Quote from TheTennesseeFireman »

Very high-risk, high-reward. I suspect the fail case occurs pretty often, and red threes are pretty good. I don't think I need this.

Eh, between spells and creatures, my Rx aggressive decks have probably 10 1-mana spells, so it seems like in those decks he's pretty easy to trigger (and not the worst top deck in the world - he is at least a 2-power haste creature which is a lot better than drawing a lot of the creatures that go in these aggressive decks late in the game). I think his main issue is his narrowness, not how often you get the fail case - I think he will be very good in creature-heavy red aggressive decks, but horrendous everywhere else. Still, I think testing is important with this guy - it's really hard to estimate how often you miss on surge.

The total mana cost will be greater than goblin bushwhacker, since you need to cast a spell previously before casting this for surge (previous spell + MR) vs bushwhacker's static RR to get the same effect. Difference is this always has haste and the extra toughness, but that is severely overcosted at 2R. Other thing to note is that he is an ally, though ally tribal isn't something in most cubes. Looks like a pass

Quote from steve_man »

I think Goblin Bushwhacker is way better than this card.

Lol, I kind of forgot that card existed =X

Bushwhacker is a really bad T2 play. It's more a T4/T5 play. Problem is he requires RR to do his thing, but you often want to cast another red spell with him effectively requiring RRR. With this new guy, you play your other red spell and then only have to pay 1R for the exact same effect (better since this guys stays a 2/1).

The bushwhacker effect is a really strong one that is very desirable but the cost always made it feel limited to heavy red builds. This guy solves that at the expense of sucking when you don't have another spell to play before you drop him. With that said, he always has haste so isn't completely useless as a top deck either. Cool card.

You forgot to add his Haste ability.

I think Goblin Bushwhacker is better, and I think Goblin Bushwhacker is pretty bad.

Quote from steve_man »

Requiring RR on turn 3+ is a much more reliable cost than having 1R + some other spell.

It's also a lot less useful without that other spell which might be why no one likes Goblin Bushwhacker here. You don't usually want to play him alone. IMO, his best use is as a surprise attack with something else. dude (or dudes) + Bushwhacker on T5 can net a ton of damage out of nowhere (even with no prior board presence), especially true in token decks. The new version does this at a more splashable cost which makes him much more appealing I feel.

Surge is pretty nifty as it rewards sequencing and planning turns in an interesting way.

There's less exposure though. Having to commit everything to the board and hoping you don't get wrathed versus having the option of holding something back for an alpha strike.

Surge also works really well with dash. It seems pretty easy to trigger surge late game by just ordering your spells. I think it's an ability that is going to play really well honestly. Drawing a land with a lone surge spell in hand will be a bummer, but drawing land when you need gas is already a bummer so doesn't feel like that big of a deal.

I dont think this is any better than Goblin Bushwhacker either. He doesnt even give haste to himself. Pass.

I think this looks better than Goblin Bushwacker, significantly better even - that RR on a 1/1 is just awful. This is more a (worse) Lightning Mauler variant, the surge should be really easy to trigger in an aggro deck. It's a bit harder to trigger in midrange, but there are scarier creatures to gave haste to too.

Like ahadabans said, it's just a matter of timing. I'm not sure how good it is, but I don't think it's as bad as you guys make it out to be.

I think there's a subtle distinction between this and Lightning Mauler. Mauler is about giving one guy haste and that tends to be best used on a haymaker of sorts. It's more a midrange card I feel (lay Mauler early then drop something expensive later and give it haste).

The bushwhacker effect is better with more dudes because the anthem is just as valuable as the haste (more so really). Elite Vanguard, Mogg War Marshal, Reckless Bushwhacker would cost you 2WRR and put 9 hasty power on the board. Mauler does very little in that scenario and OG bushwhacker requires 1WRRR for the same effect and you are left with a 1/1 instead of a 2/1.

Yes, I definitely didn't mean it was the same or filled the same niche as Mauler (I did say 'variant') - Reckless Bushwacker is indeed first and foremost an aggro card. I only referenced Mauler because it's also a 2-drop that gives other creatures haste.

The narrow part of the card that fails it for cube is the "if surge was paid".

I like this card more than Bushwacker and since I have it in my cube, I'll likely swap it for this one.

I have a bit of token support with Empty the Warrens and manarocks + Moxen. I can see a turn 2-3 where you go Mox, Mana Vault, Mana Crypt, Empty the Warrens and then this guy. Of course that's best case scenario...

Both bushwackers are awful.

I feel like if I wanted to play one of these two cards, I'd be playing it for the effect, and not necessarily the body. So I think the increased consistency of Goblin Bushwhacker is more important, even if it's a worse card when the trigger isn't doing much for you.

This guy has the potential to make waves in constructed, but I don't like it for cube.