Sram's Expertise is borderline Cube-able and is usually just 2WW make 3 1/1 artifact Servo tokens. Release the Dogs feels like an upgrade with the 4th creature and easier mana cost. Thoughts?
I think it is definitely worse than Spectral Procession and Secure the Wastes, but I'm not convinced it's worse than Sram's Expertise and Finale of Glory. There are several token density archetypes that play cards like Purphoros, Blood Artist & friends, etc, and the 4 bodies for splashable 4 mana feels like a sweet spot for this type of effect. For example, Mardu decks struggle to cast CC cards.
It's way worse than Sram's expertise IMO. Yeah, it's better when you top deck it in the late game with no hand, but Sram's letting you cast an anthem off it, or one of the many playable 3cmc PW's, or a value creature, etc is fantastic. Also the tokens being artifacts matters occasionally, whereas dogs will only ever be dogs.
If you run Honor of the Pure or have some kind of white pumping subtheme in your cube, maybe you'd want this, but since Sram's is already a borderline card, I have no interest in this.
I've played empty the warrens(in a non storm setting) and hordling outburst in red at various times and this similar. But as others said this is worse than other options, particularly secure the wastes and battle screech
From my experience playing Sram's Expertise the free cast ability was usually not that helpful, and artifact matters decks didn't play WW cards. When you weigh the casting cost and additional token vs free cast ability and artifact creatures, it's difficult for me to see how Release the Dogs is "way worse" than Sram's. I think it's close in some ways, but the free cast ability is only OK.
I played Hordeling Outburst for a bit and would love that card if it cost 2R instead of 1RR and if we didn't have so many great red 3s. I find that one of the biggest issues with the Mardu tokens deck is that there are too many CC cards in the wedge.
Hell is this even that much better than triplicate spirits? That's a card very few cubes are playing.
I’m struggling to see how Release the Dogs is anything like Triplicate Spirits.
I think Sram’s Expertise is one of the best comps we have. Battle Screech is a good comp too, but I found the flashback to be too finicky/inconsistent, and therefore Sram’s > Battle Screech by a decent margin in my opinion.
Right now I don’t think I’ll add Release the Dogs, but if the tokens were humans I’d strongly consider it. I do like it more than Sram’s mostly because the free cast on Sram’s was never that impactful for our group. I almost certainly would have tried this card a couple years ago.
I'm generally not a fan of the token-generating spells, because I frequently find them lackluster outside of specific decks. Specialized cards are okay, but I also don't feel they're amazing in the decks that want them, either. Exceptions for me are X-cost spells, because these can be fantastic mana sinks in the late game, or a good plan for big mana decks.
Getting four bodies for 4 mana is pretty good. And, if you're working with anthems like Spear of Heliod, this can actually be pretty potent. But, I would first compare them to cards like Hero of Bladehold and Leonin Warleader. These two cards are already doing a great job of giving you tokens for your investment, and I think in a much better way. Additionally, there are a bunch of 4cmc walkers like Elspeth, Knight-Errant and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar that also add to token support. I think the primary benefit here is that you get a burst of tokens immediately. But, apart from that benefit, I have to ask: do you really need more tokens?
Because, we already have lots of cards that plop a bunch of dudes onto the field. Even in white, at 5cmc, you've still got stuff like Cloudgoat Ranger if you really want it, and even more people nowadays include Angel of Invention. These cards have the added benefit of having blink interactions, which a spell-based tokens generator lacks.
Now, all that aside, if you still insist on playing cards like Sram's Expertise or this, I think that's totally valid but I highlight the above to really parse out why you'd want this card. If your primary goal is just maximum tokens in one go, then you already know your answer on a per-card basis: this makes 4 dudes for 4 mana. But, if it's not so cut-and-dry, Expertise does grant you an uncommon tempo advantage that might enable some fancy plays. I think if you consider it a toss-up, examine just what exactly what 3-drop you plan to freely drop to make use of that feature. If you can't particularly think of how to abuse it, maybe you want the dogs.
I'm generally not a fan of the token-generating spells, because I frequently find them lackluster outside of specific decks. Specialized cards are okay, but I also don't feel they're amazing in the decks that want them, either. Exceptions for me are X-cost spells, because these can be fantastic mana sinks in the late game, or a good plan for big mana decks.
Getting four bodies for 4 mana is pretty good. And, if you're working with anthems like Spear of Heliod, this can actually be pretty potent. But, I would first compare them to cards like Hero of Bladehold and Leonin Warleader. These two cards are already doing a great job of giving you tokens for your investment, and I think in a much better way. Additionally, there are a bunch of 4cmc walkers like Elspeth, Knight-Errant and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar that also add to token support. I think the primary benefit here is that you get a burst of tokens immediately. But, apart from that benefit, I have to ask: do you really need more tokens?
Because, we already have lots of cards that plop a bunch of dudes onto the field. Even in white, at 5cmc, you've still got stuff like Cloudgoat Ranger if you really want it, and even more people nowadays include Angel of Invention. These cards have the added benefit of having blink interactions, which a spell-based tokens generator lacks.
Now, all that aside, if you still insist on playing cards like Sram's Expertise or this, I think that's totally valid but I highlight the above to really parse out why you'd want this card. If your primary goal is just maximum tokens in one go, then you already know your answer on a per-card basis: this makes 4 dudes for 4 mana. But, if it's not so cut-and-dry, Expertise does grant you an uncommon tempo advantage that might enable some fancy plays. I think if you consider it a toss-up, examine just what exactly what 3-drop you plan to freely drop to make use of that feature. If you can't particularly think of how to abuse it, maybe you want the dogs.
This is a great post! I pretty much agree with everything said here.
I’m struggling to see how Release the Dogs is anything like Triplicate Spirits.
Well, they are both sorceries that make tokens...
My main point in comparing them (and battle screech, but that was already brought up) is that there are a lot of ways to get 3 or 4 flying 1/1's in white for around 4 mana if you jump through some hoops, and I think 3 flying 1/1's is basically always better than 4 ground 1/1's. I mean, spectral procession is almost always 4 mana at most, and it is way better than this, and it's a marginal card nowadays (I run it but only because I support RW tokens, I wouldn't otherwise).
I’m struggling to see how Release the Dogs is anything like Triplicate Spirits.
Well, they are both sorceries that make tokens...
My main point in comparing them (and battle screech, but that was already brought up) is that there are a lot of ways to get 3 or 4 flying 1/1's in white for around 4 mana if you jump through some hoops, and I think 3 flying 1/1's is basically always better than 4 ground 1/1's. I mean, spectral procession is almost always 4 mana at most, and it is way better than this, and it's a marginal card nowadays (I run it but only because I support RW tokens, I wouldn't otherwise).
I think the larger objection is that Triplicate Spirits costs 6, and even with convoke is a hard sell to compare to a 4 mana spell. Spectral Procession and Battle Screech are both much better comparisons.
Sram's Expertise is borderline Cube-able and is usually just 2WW make 3 1/1 artifact Servo tokens. Release the Dogs feels like an upgrade with the 4th creature and easier mana cost. Thoughts?
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
If you run Honor of the Pure or have some kind of white pumping subtheme in your cube, maybe you'd want this, but since Sram's is already a borderline card, I have no interest in this.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
I played Hordeling Outburst for a bit and would love that card if it cost 2R instead of 1RR and if we didn't have so many great red 3s. I find that one of the biggest issues with the Mardu tokens deck is that there are too many CC cards in the wedge.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
I’m struggling to see how Release the Dogs is anything like Triplicate Spirits.
I think Sram’s Expertise is one of the best comps we have. Battle Screech is a good comp too, but I found the flashback to be too finicky/inconsistent, and therefore Sram’s > Battle Screech by a decent margin in my opinion.
Right now I don’t think I’ll add Release the Dogs, but if the tokens were humans I’d strongly consider it. I do like it more than Sram’s mostly because the free cast on Sram’s was never that impactful for our group. I almost certainly would have tried this card a couple years ago.
Getting four bodies for 4 mana is pretty good. And, if you're working with anthems like Spear of Heliod, this can actually be pretty potent. But, I would first compare them to cards like Hero of Bladehold and Leonin Warleader. These two cards are already doing a great job of giving you tokens for your investment, and I think in a much better way. Additionally, there are a bunch of 4cmc walkers like Elspeth, Knight-Errant and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar that also add to token support. I think the primary benefit here is that you get a burst of tokens immediately. But, apart from that benefit, I have to ask: do you really need more tokens?
Because, we already have lots of cards that plop a bunch of dudes onto the field. Even in white, at 5cmc, you've still got stuff like Cloudgoat Ranger if you really want it, and even more people nowadays include Angel of Invention. These cards have the added benefit of having blink interactions, which a spell-based tokens generator lacks.
Now, all that aside, if you still insist on playing cards like Sram's Expertise or this, I think that's totally valid but I highlight the above to really parse out why you'd want this card. If your primary goal is just maximum tokens in one go, then you already know your answer on a per-card basis: this makes 4 dudes for 4 mana. But, if it's not so cut-and-dry, Expertise does grant you an uncommon tempo advantage that might enable some fancy plays. I think if you consider it a toss-up, examine just what exactly what 3-drop you plan to freely drop to make use of that feature. If you can't particularly think of how to abuse it, maybe you want the dogs.
This is a great post! I pretty much agree with everything said here.
Well, they are both sorceries that make tokens...
My main point in comparing them (and battle screech, but that was already brought up) is that there are a lot of ways to get 3 or 4 flying 1/1's in white for around 4 mana if you jump through some hoops, and I think 3 flying 1/1's is basically always better than 4 ground 1/1's. I mean, spectral procession is almost always 4 mana at most, and it is way better than this, and it's a marginal card nowadays (I run it but only because I support RW tokens, I wouldn't otherwise).
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588