+2: Until your next turn, up to one target creature gets -2/-0 and loses flying
-3: Create a 4/4 blue Elemental Bird creature token with Flying
-8: You get an emblem with "Islands you control have 'T, draw a card.'"
Starting Loyalty: 2
Interesting design. She reminds me of Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver in the sense that you can only use her minus ability until you've activated her plus ability at least once and that her minus ability creates a creature. I do like Mu Yanling over Ashiok since her plus ability actually has an impact on the board and she has a set rate of a 4/4 flyer on her minus ability.
As far as 3-cmc blue planeswalkers goes, I think Jace and Narset have broader applications. She's pretty bad if all you do is get to activate her plus ability before she dies. Might give her a spin if I can find a cut, but I'm not too optimistic about her in general.
Interesting walker, feels kind of tempo-y. If she pluses and dies immediately it means you don't have good blockers and your opponent has 6+ power on the board. In this situation pretty much any < 6 mana walker would be bad and having her eat a full attack step is probably not all that bad. I like that if she comes down early she can represent a significant road block for aggressive and midrange decks, like a mini Will Kenrith in some ways. It's neat that her plus ability also makes the creature lose flying which can clear the way for her 4/4 to crash in which could help you turn the corner and put the pressure on.
When you are ahead or at parity I think she can be a real beating, but when you are behind on the board I don't think she's all that great. This is a common problem for walkers so it's not like Mu is unique in having this weakness, but in a lot of blue decks I'm ok with just dropping a walker to draw cards and letting it die and gain me life.
I feel like she'd play best in blue creature based decks and tempo decks, which is a big enticement to me. I also like that she's an entirely different flavor of blue walker and we haven't really seen something like this before. Not sure if I'm going to test her or not, but I'm interested.
I really like her abilities and I think she has an interesting line of play that's both compelling for you and not needlessly frustrating for your opponents like so many 'walkers are, but I also think she's a lower power-level than we'd normally want in blue in cube. The comparison to Liliana, the Last Hope that I've seen makes me feel good, though, because the way she plays out is pretty satisfying, and even if the raw power's a little lower, only costing three mana makes a big difference. The art is great too...I think I'll test her out.
I was sad when I first was reading the abilities and didn’t realize that you couldn’t minus the first turn. I need something to replace the boring card that Jace Beleren is.
I was sad when I first was reading the abilities and didn’t realize that you couldn’t minus the first turn. I need something to replace the boring card that Jace Beleren is.
3 mana Narset seems like a pretty natural swap from Baby Jace. I may test Mu over both of them because it seems fun but I'm not sure.
Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer - Jace Beleren - Narset, Parter of the Veil.
Mu Yanling is a bit like Serra the Benevolent in that she is often going to make a 4/4 flyer on turn 4 and leave behind a 1 loyalty PW. It is less assured with Mu Yanling that you will get to make the creature though since she has to make it a turn without taking damage. Luckily her +2 helps in this regard which is neat. I'm pretty lukewarm on Jace Beleren so I could be persuaded to make a change there.
I still like Baby Jace just fine, but it's good to have options. I don't have Narset yet, but I'll probably end up playing her over Mu because uncommon status controls her price somewhat. Mu will have a typical mythic planeswalker pricetag, and she's just not worth it to me when there are two other great options.
A +2 on a three mana planeswalker is more interesting than anything else about her. She can skyrocket up to the ultimate pretty fast if your opponent doesn't have early pressure.
The most common line will definitely be +2, then -3, then she gets killed by something. If nothing else, that's a nice discount for Air Elemental.
I think baby jace is still better than either this PW or narset.
I do too.
Though I do think this 'walker is good. Blackwaltz3's comparison to Serra the Benevolent is apt and was the first thing that jumped to my mind; it changes the - -> + cycle and the immediate body for a + -> - cycle that delays the arrival of the creature. But it also costs 1 less mana and can protect herself and impact the board with her {+} ability. This card will play better than it looks.
I've been contemplating upping walker caps to 4 as part of my cube expansion to 480-500 or so. I'd much sooner run this then Tezzeret, Artifice Master and while I like Narset, I think this is a bit better than her--still not a good as Baby Jace.
I got a few games in with Mu Yanling over the weekend. I was piloting a U/W tempo list and she was quite good for me. Not only does she defend herself by removing power form your opponent's creatures, but she allows for more aggressive attacks by worsening their blockers. She felt a lot like Serra, the Benevolent in terms of gameplay and I think Mu is pretty close to Serra in power. Big fan so far.
+2: Until your next turn, up to one target creature gets -2/-0 and loses flying
-3: Create a 4/4 blue Elemental Bird creature token with Flying
-8: You get an emblem with "Islands you control have 'T, draw a card.'"
Starting Loyalty: 2
Interesting design. She reminds me of Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver in the sense that you can only use her minus ability until you've activated her plus ability at least once and that her minus ability creates a creature. I do like Mu Yanling over Ashiok since her plus ability actually has an impact on the board and she has a set rate of a 4/4 flyer on her minus ability.
As far as 3-cmc blue planeswalkers goes, I think Jace and Narset have broader applications. She's pretty bad if all you do is get to activate her plus ability before she dies. Might give her a spin if I can find a cut, but I'm not too optimistic about her in general.
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When you are ahead or at parity I think she can be a real beating, but when you are behind on the board I don't think she's all that great. This is a common problem for walkers so it's not like Mu is unique in having this weakness, but in a lot of blue decks I'm ok with just dropping a walker to draw cards and letting it die and gain me life.
I feel like she'd play best in blue creature based decks and tempo decks, which is a big enticement to me. I also like that she's an entirely different flavor of blue walker and we haven't really seen something like this before. Not sure if I'm going to test her or not, but I'm interested.
3 mana Narset seems like a pretty natural swap from Baby Jace. I may test Mu over both of them because it seems fun but I'm not sure.
Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer - Jace Beleren - Narset, Parter of the Veil.
Mu Yanling is a bit like Serra the Benevolent in that she is often going to make a 4/4 flyer on turn 4 and leave behind a 1 loyalty PW. It is less assured with Mu Yanling that you will get to make the creature though since she has to make it a turn without taking damage. Luckily her +2 helps in this regard which is neat. I'm pretty lukewarm on Jace Beleren so I could be persuaded to make a change there.
A +2 on a three mana planeswalker is more interesting than anything else about her. She can skyrocket up to the ultimate pretty fast if your opponent doesn't have early pressure.
The most common line will definitely be +2, then -3, then she gets killed by something. If nothing else, that's a nice discount for Air Elemental.
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I do too.
Though I do think this 'walker is good. Blackwaltz3's comparison to Serra the Benevolent is apt and was the first thing that jumped to my mind; it changes the - -> + cycle and the immediate body for a + -> - cycle that delays the arrival of the creature. But it also costs 1 less mana and can protect herself and impact the board with her {+} ability. This card will play better than it looks.
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