This is technically a flip card but I'm mostly interested in the front side here. 2/1's without haste or don't make waves but the combination of pinging on activated abilities and firebreathing is pretty solid. The silence side is pretty bad and I'd be more interested in including this as a straight red card than as a boros one.
Harsh Mentor was close for my playgroup and a worse body definitely hurts but hitting loyalty abilities is really nice. How close would this be for your cube if it was just the Celebrant?
One thing I thought about with this guy and elite spellbinder (which I think is better than this card) is how effectively they set you up for Armageddon. A thing that has been getting more and more difficult with creatures taking a more dominant role over the years. For this reason, I'm at least a little bit interested.
The worst things about Silence effects are that they do nothing to affect the board, and that planeswalkers don't care about them, which can make them terrible topdecks.
This card offsets the first part by having a creature mode, and the creature is actually nice. Harsh Mentor's worst part was that it didn't punish planeswalkers, which this creature does, and that its body was aenemic, while this creature at least has some firebreathing.
I also believe that the silence effect hitting planeswalker abilities can potentially be pretty big. It can prevent everything from free removal / blockers to game-winning ultimates from your opponent for one turn, which may be all that aggro needs to finish the game, or that midrange needs to break a stalemate.
On top of all of that, the card is playable even if you run only one color, though that would probably be red.
I'll conclude by saying that this card is by no means going to throw off any Lightning Helix from anyone's list, but I do believe it's a solid card with a good ceiling.
Yeah that was my thinking, it's clearly not good enough for Boros but if it can squeak into a red section on the front side alone I might put it in red like I did with Dryad Militant in white (I don't support green aggro at all really). The backside could be hidden upside that occasionally comes up but it would be in my cube as a red 2 drop. The silence is definitely not weak it's just not enough to crack a boros section or be included in most decks without Red.
I'll probably give it a run but I think it's just going to barely miss being good enough as a red card to stick.
Surprised there's not more discussion about this card.
Think it's powerful in boros and mediocre but playable filler in red.
Chip damage vs fetch lands and planeswalkers is real.
Firebreathing can really add up if unblocked.
The silence is an incredible high upside option to have when you have a strong tempo/battlefield advantage.
Playing a cheap creatures and then denying opponent from advancing is a great way to go hellbent and push in the last few points of damage.
It's far too situational to be worth a card in itself, but tacked onto a card that is fine to play on curve while developing, I love it.
Surprised there's not more discussion about this card.
Think it's powerful in boros and mediocre but playable filler in red.
Chip damage vs fetch lands and planeswalkers is real.
Firebreathing can really add up if unblocked.
The silence is an incredible high upside option to have when you have a strong tempo/battlefield advantage.
Playing a cheap creatures and then denying opponent from advancing is a great way to go hellbent and push in the last few points of damage.
It's far too situational to be worth a card in itself, but tacked onto a card that is fine to play on curve while developing, I love it.
The problem is red's 2 drops are way too competitive. The options right now for the last 2 slots are:
You can make the case this is a good card, but I don't see it getting the edge over all these other cards.
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In my very, very limited testing I like it more than Lightning Mauler and Kiln Fiend never performed for us. I think I like it more than Geopede as well. Dire Fleet isn't' a card I really compare to the aggro two drops but Stormblood is the only one I'd definitely rank over it right now. I think it's close to Kargan in some very very very limited testing (as a red card not a Boros one).
Surprised there's not more discussion about this card.
Think it's powerful in boros and mediocre but playable filler in red.
Chip damage vs fetch lands and planeswalkers is real.
Firebreathing can really add up if unblocked.
The silence is an incredible high upside option to have when you have a strong tempo/battlefield advantage.
Playing a cheap creatures and then denying opponent from advancing is a great way to go hellbent and push in the last few points of damage.
It's far too situational to be worth a card in itself, but tacked onto a card that is fine to play on curve while developing, I love it.
The problem is red's 2 drops are way too competitive. The options right now for the last 2 slots are:
You can make the case this is a good card, but I don't see it getting the edge over all these other cards.
Yeah, the front side alone is worse than all these cards. The option of creature / high upside situational spell is what appealed to me.
Upon further reflection (I have limited computer access rn), the front side is worse than I first thought.
Prob a miss, but silence//creature split card is no joke if the creature side was a TINY bit better
This is technically a flip card but I'm mostly interested in the front side here. 2/1's without haste or don't make waves but the combination of pinging on activated abilities and firebreathing is pretty solid. The silence side is pretty bad and I'd be more interested in including this as a straight red card than as a boros one.
Harsh Mentor was close for my playgroup and a worse body definitely hurts but hitting loyalty abilities is really nice. How close would this be for your cube if it was just the Celebrant?
The worst things about Silence effects are that they do nothing to affect the board, and that planeswalkers don't care about them, which can make them terrible topdecks.
This card offsets the first part by having a creature mode, and the creature is actually nice. Harsh Mentor's worst part was that it didn't punish planeswalkers, which this creature does, and that its body was aenemic, while this creature at least has some firebreathing.
I also believe that the silence effect hitting planeswalker abilities can potentially be pretty big. It can prevent everything from free removal / blockers to game-winning ultimates from your opponent for one turn, which may be all that aggro needs to finish the game, or that midrange needs to break a stalemate.
On top of all of that, the card is playable even if you run only one color, though that would probably be red.
I'll conclude by saying that this card is by no means going to throw off any Lightning Helix from anyone's list, but I do believe it's a solid card with a good ceiling.
I'll probably give it a run but I think it's just going to barely miss being good enough as a red card to stick.
Think it's powerful in boros and mediocre but playable filler in red.
Chip damage vs fetch lands and planeswalkers is real.
Firebreathing can really add up if unblocked.
The silence is an incredible high upside option to have when you have a strong tempo/battlefield advantage.
Playing a cheap creatures and then denying opponent from advancing is a great way to go hellbent and push in the last few points of damage.
It's far too situational to be worth a card in itself, but tacked onto a card that is fine to play on curve while developing, I love it.
Last Updated 02/07/24
Streaming Standard/Cube on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/heisenb3rg96
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The problem is red's 2 drops are way too competitive. The options right now for the last 2 slots are:
- Kargan Intimidator
- Plated Geopede
- Kiln Fiend
- Lightning Mauler
- Stormblood Berserker
- Dire Fleet Daredevil
You can make the case this is a good card, but I don't see it getting the edge over all these other cards.
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
Yeah, the front side alone is worse than all these cards. The option of creature / high upside situational spell is what appealed to me.
Upon further reflection (I have limited computer access rn), the front side is worse than I first thought.
Prob a miss, but silence//creature split card is no joke if the creature side was a TINY bit better
Last Updated 02/07/24
Streaming Standard/Cube on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/heisenb3rg96
Strategy Twitter https://www.twitter.com/heisenb3rg