How many other female giants were depicted on cards? I don't think this is the first, but it is quite a rare sight to see.
I believe the giant(ess?) depicted in Wild Ricochet is female, as are Rosheen Meanderer and Skyraker Giant. They're a rare sight to be sure and the art on this one definitely gives that "death by snu-snu" vibe.
The card itself is nothing special, but it's definitely limited playable. She dodges most of the common removal we've seen so far and could be a decent wall if the limited environment isn't overly aggro heavy.
Tiana: Jhoira? You're looking off into space again. Are you thinking about Teferi?
Jhoira: Yeah... I'm so jealous of him and his spark. Getting to go around the multiverse, helping people...
(meanwhile, on Ravnica)
Jace: Okay, so we're all gathered here, ready to defend..
Chandra: Yeah, but look at us, Jace. We're all like little kids compared to Bolas.
Jace: I thought of that. So I got two of the oldest planeswalkers to help out. Introduuuuuuuuuuciiiiiiiiiiiing... Drumroll?
(Half-hearted drumroll)
Jace: SORIN AND NAHIRI (gestures dramatically at two curtains, which raise simultaneously)
Nahiri: SORIN!?
Sorin: NAHIRI?!
(The entire area suddenly explodes with stone fragments and blood, covering all the planeswalkers. The two oldwalkers are nowhere to be found, but their battle echoes in the distance.)
Huatli: What just happened?
Jace: I... wasn't... expecting...
(Words cut off as Nahiri destroys six city blocks)
Teferi: (looking at Jaya) So, does it bother you that WE'RE the two most mature oldwalkers?
(Jaya nods, exasperated)
Gideon: So is there anyone else?
Jace: Um.... Ugin?
Chandra: The dragon that pretty much swore he'd unmake us the moment he saw us again?
Jace: Look, all things considered, its a miracle we've survived the last ten minutes, okay?
I enjoyed this post thoroughly. Thank you for the chuckle.
I used to run this consistently in Mayael to decent effect. I think it's fallen by the wayside as Commander tables have become steadily more optimized, but I could still see it doing work in a laid back group.
I get that WotC wants, "dark and forboding" but there are definitely different ways this could have been portrayed without sacrificing the intent here.
I agree and they've shown in the past that they can do dark and forboding without sacrificing color scheme, in sets like Shadowmoor and Innistrad.
I don't think the art is bad so much as it's misused. If we'd seen the layers lightened a little or maybe we'd gotten different frames or full arts (the frame juxtaposes heavily from the art and makes the whole thing look weird, imo) then I think it would have been much more acceptable.
As mentioned, UG doesn't typically play around with spell slinger effects, but is focused on growth. If you're serious about playing a custom card, I'd look to something more like this:
Omnath, Locus of the Mind
3UG
Omnath, Locus of the Mind gets +1/+1 for each card in hand.
Whenever you draw a card, you may pay [UG]. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
2/2
Keeps you on theme, and is not terribly broken but has some potential for powerful plays.
I'm not typically one to nay say, but a situationally better Benthic Giant that can temporarily gum up the board doesn't feel Mythic to me. If this were 1 cheaper and rare, I'd say it's passable.
It feels like it's missing something, like the ability to create more illusions, or giving illusions an anthem, or even just some evasion (hello, Islandwalk?). As it is, it feels bad man.
Again, I love this thread for when cards like this pop up, had no idea this existed.
Probably not going to see a lot of play these days, but definitely budget friendly for a mono-black deck if you're looking for a compliment to your Cabal Coffersthat's somehow in your budget .
This could be a useful backup for Urborg if your meta sees a lot of non-basic land hate.
Lots of great suggestions here, but just going to toss in that adding U can also give you ways to tutor it up, as well as giving you Phyrexian Metamorph and Clever Impersonator which can become 2nd copies of the pod for you to use.
Obviously they're not always going to fill the same criteria, but Winds of Rath feels like it does this effect much better. While it's true that Extinguish is much better for go wide strategies, those don't seem to be very common in enchantress builds outside of WB Dax.
6cmc does seem kind of steep when you compare it to Crux, but I honestly would assess it closer to Plague Wind or a poor overloaded Cyclonic Rift . You're only going to be running it in a deck where you can create a situation where you can use this to wipe out the opponent's board while keeping yourself in a strong position. I don't think it's a stellar card by any means, but I think it's effect and cost are fair for the deck that wants it.
That's what I love about the card of the day, I never even realized this was a card.
While he's not as immediately playable as his cousin Spike Weaver , I could definitely see Spike Tiller being a decent card in a few decks, and he would probably be an all star in a +1/+1 Counter Combo Tribal deck.
Yeah, in my experience you can kind of break lands down into two archetypes - sacrifice and landfall.
Jund tends to care more about getting lands in the GY or using them as a resource there - cards like Gitrog, Titania, and Worm Harvest lead by a commander like VV2 (land sac with attack trigger) or Windgrace (dumping lands to fuel draw and then replaying them from the GY). This strategy still runs well with Locus of Rage, while gaining neat black effects like Retreat to Hagra and Ob Nixilis, the Fallen.
Bant (or 4C in the case of K&T) prioritizes landfall a bit more and looks to abuse effects like Roil Elemental, Emeria Angel and Admonition Angel (among many others). K&T grants you red, which gives again gives you access to Locus of Rage and an additional extra land per turn guy with Mina and Denn. K&T almost guarantees 2 landfall triggers a turn, which in with land bounce effects can get out of hand quickly.
I absolutely love Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis for a land build. Though mine is currently an Enchantress deck, K&T lands is a blast, getting the extra card draw and having a potential 2nd land a turn in the command zone can be highly underestimated.
You get most of the aboved mentioned cards like Tatayova and Locus of Rage, while adding in the Patron of the Moon and the other Soratami Moonfolk that give you an effect for bouncing lands.
He also titled the thread "Budget Options", so the sense I (and I'm assuming the others) had was that he was looking for some small upgrades to his current deck list without spending a ton of money to give him a fighting chance in his meta. Even building a completely budget deck from scratch can run between $50-$100, and not everyone has that laying around that they can immediately throw at a deck. Small upgrades to what he has now can continue letting him have fun and other budget ideas can give him things to build towards over time. I don't think anyone promised him that he'd suddenly start winning if he sat down with Ruric Thar at the helm, just that he might get better results short term.
I should have included it before, but my suggestion for a deck to start building towards would be Animar. Even a budget version can be competitive and fun to play, and with the RG base you have you already some solid inclusions. When I get to an actual computer, I'll post a deck list that should be cheap enough to put together through trades and rifling through the .25 cent bin at your lgs.
Omnath is solid support in my 5C Lands-Matter deck (which is primarily built around land-animation, then expanded upon covering the weakness of animating lands, then themed around Elementals because so many cards, Omnath included turned out to be of the tribe).
Do you have a list up anywhere, by chance? I've run Jund lands with Lord Windgrace and 4C lands with Tiro and Kynaios of Meletis, and I've been looking for ideas to go 5C with the deck.
As far as Omnath goes, I've run him in my aforementioned land decks to great effect, but the best stories I have of him involve targeting an opponent's Omnath with a kicked Rite of Replication . So many triggers.
I believe the giant(ess?) depicted in Wild Ricochet is female, as are Rosheen Meanderer and Skyraker Giant. They're a rare sight to be sure and the art on this one definitely gives that "death by snu-snu" vibe.
The card itself is nothing special, but it's definitely limited playable. She dodges most of the common removal we've seen so far and could be a decent wall if the limited environment isn't overly aggro heavy.
I enjoyed this post thoroughly. Thank you for the chuckle.
I used to run this consistently in Mayael to decent effect. I think it's fallen by the wayside as Commander tables have become steadily more optimized, but I could still see it doing work in a laid back group.
I agree and they've shown in the past that they can do dark and forboding without sacrificing color scheme, in sets like Shadowmoor and Innistrad.
I don't think the art is bad so much as it's misused. If we'd seen the layers lightened a little or maybe we'd gotten different frames or full arts (the frame juxtaposes heavily from the art and makes the whole thing look weird, imo) then I think it would have been much more acceptable.
Omnath, Locus of the Mind
3UG
Omnath, Locus of the Mind gets +1/+1 for each card in hand.
Whenever you draw a card, you may pay [UG]. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
2/2
Keeps you on theme, and is not terribly broken but has some potential for powerful plays.
It feels like it's missing something, like the ability to create more illusions, or giving illusions an anthem, or even just some evasion (hello, Islandwalk?). As it is, it feels bad man.
Probably not going to see a lot of play these days, but definitely budget friendly for a mono-black deck if you're looking for a compliment to your Cabal Coffers that's somehow in your budget .
This could be a useful backup for Urborg if your meta sees a lot of non-basic land hate.
6cmc does seem kind of steep when you compare it to Crux, but I honestly would assess it closer to Plague Wind or a poor overloaded Cyclonic Rift . You're only going to be running it in a deck where you can create a situation where you can use this to wipe out the opponent's board while keeping yourself in a strong position. I don't think it's a stellar card by any means, but I think it's effect and cost are fair for the deck that wants it.
While he's not as immediately playable as his cousin Spike Weaver , I could definitely see Spike Tiller being a decent card in a few decks, and he would probably be an all star in a +1/+1 Counter Combo Tribal deck.
Jund tends to care more about getting lands in the GY or using them as a resource there - cards like Gitrog, Titania, and Worm Harvest lead by a commander like VV2 (land sac with attack trigger) or Windgrace (dumping lands to fuel draw and then replaying them from the GY). This strategy still runs well with Locus of Rage, while gaining neat black effects like Retreat to Hagra and Ob Nixilis, the Fallen.
Bant (or 4C in the case of K&T) prioritizes landfall a bit more and looks to abuse effects like Roil Elemental, Emeria Angel and Admonition Angel (among many others). K&T grants you red, which gives again gives you access to Locus of Rage and an additional extra land per turn guy with Mina and Denn. K&T almost guarantees 2 landfall triggers a turn, which in with land bounce effects can get out of hand quickly.
You get most of the aboved mentioned cards like Tatayova and Locus of Rage, while adding in the Patron of the Moon and the other Soratami Moonfolk that give you an effect for bouncing lands.
I should have included it before, but my suggestion for a deck to start building towards would be Animar. Even a budget version can be competitive and fun to play, and with the RG base you have you already some solid inclusions. When I get to an actual computer, I'll post a deck list that should be cheap enough to put together through trades and rifling through the .25 cent bin at your lgs.
1 Shrieking Drake
1 Man-o'-War
1 Dream Stalker
1 Temur Sabertooth
1 Ancestral Statue
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Wood Elves
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Rattleclaw Mystic
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Somberwald Sage
1 Embodiment of Spring
1 Growing Rites of Itlimoc
1 Siren Stormtamer
1 Mystic Snake
1 Draining Whelk
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Duplicant
1 Nantuko Vigilante
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Caustic Caterpillar
1 Sylvok Replica
1 Den Protector
1 Tidespout Tyrant
1 Voidmage Apprentice
1 Brutalizer Exarch
1 Meteor Golem
1 Disruptive Pitmage
1 Chromeshell Crab
1 Willbender
1 Voidmage Husher
1 Clone
1 Peregrine Drake
1 Cloud of Faeries
1 Greenwarden of Murasa
1 Panharmonicon
1 Abundance
1 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
1 Tishana, Voice of Thunder
1 Raven Familiar
1 Fierce Empath
1 Vizier of the Menagerie
1 Mulldrifter
1 Sages of the Anima
1 Primordial Sage
1 Soul of the Harvest
1 Riverwise Augur
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Riptide Survivor
1 Ruric Thar, The Unbowed
1 Maelstrom Wanderer
1 Nullstone Gargoyle
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
1 Thunderfoot Baloth
1 Decimator of the Provinces
1 Forgotten Ancient
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Opal Palace
1 Karplusan Forest
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Shivan Reef
1 Llanowar Reborn
1 Halimar Depths
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Gruul Turf
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Sheltered Thicket
1 Cinder Glade
1 Vivid Creek
1 Vivid Crag
1 Vivid Grove
3 Mountain
8 Forest
8 Island
Do you have a list up anywhere, by chance? I've run Jund lands with Lord Windgrace and 4C lands with Tiro and Kynaios of Meletis, and I've been looking for ideas to go 5C with the deck.
As far as Omnath goes, I've run him in my aforementioned land decks to great effect, but the best stories I have of him involve targeting an opponent's Omnath with a kicked Rite of Replication . So many triggers.