This card interests me as well. The ability rewards heavy-green builds and worth noting there are already two very solid cube staple Oozes - Acidic Slime and Scavenging Ooze. Experiment One is also an Ooze, for those of us running green aggro.
Seems at minimum testable though I'm not sure what it would push out.
You seem to be implying that Courser is "too slow" for most cubes as well, but perhaps being a 2/4 factors into that, since it buys you more time to get value off of it.
Regarding defensive 2 drops, it's not like aggro decks only play 3 power dudes. There are many 2 power creatures which Greenseeker can block just fine, some even profitably.
I actually think the biggest knock on this card is that the Greenseeker can't get you a land to play on your turn AND block, unlike Courser. So you have to choose between hitting your land drops and defending, similar to Sylvan Caryatid. That makes it much weaker than my initial estimation.
To be fair, it's >40% to draw a land every turn, the same as Courser.
I agree this won't make it in small cubes, it's no Wall of Blossoms, but 2 drops that give card advantage and don't require a bunch of hoops to jump through are generally worth testing at least.
Dryad Greenseeker
1G
Creature - Dryad : Look at the top card of your library. If it's a land card, you may reveal it and put it into your hand.
1/3
Usman mentioned this in his M19 cube review and I was a little surprised to not find a thread for it here. As a 2 mana creature that can provide card advantage (over several turns), I thought it might be worth discussing.
Compared to Courser of Kruphix:
+ Can be played one turn earlier.
+ Can be played in less heavy green decks.
+ Opponent doesn't get to see your top card.
+ Can't be removed by Disenchant effects.
- Smaller body, but can still block 2/2s decently.
- Has to tap to activate, but can be done after blocking or on opponent's end step.
- No life gain.
Goblin Siege Tower 1RR
Artifact
Attacking creatures you control get +1/+0. , Sacrifice a creature: ~ deals 1 damage to any target.
Basically Orcish Oriflamme and Goblin Bombardment smashed together. Neither card is good enough on its own IMO, (Bombardment is maybe a little fringe), but together could make a great support piece for the red token deck.
Also an artifact to give it synergies with the red artifact deck, and to make it a little easier to deal with compared to an enchantment.
I would love if this was printed at 2R and no tap requirement but that would probably be too strong.
I like the comparison to Sea Gate Oracle, which has performed well for us. The 1/3 body being pretty effective against aggro is actually a big part of that. Spellseeker has less value as a body but I see it mainly for abusing in a blink shell, where the ceiling is certainly higher. Having to reveal the card you tutor for is a bummer though.
I'm flip-flopping on it's playability too. I gotta say, looking at this as a 10-mana probably-win-the-game control card that also has an alright 4 mana mode makes me excited. I'd love to slowly make a blue/black bounce/flicker control deck possible, crystal shard and erratic portal + re-using the 4 Mana kill-creatures, venser, mulldrifter... This guy can be bounced there and become a wincon as soon as you get the mana. With that in mind, Karakas also helps him. This is me dreaming but nevertheless it excites me. I'm REALLY digging the 5 toughness. I don't think it would be possible to get a much better 4-mana form (exalted angel comparison is astute), but I wish the kicker was less color intensive. I'd slam it at 540 for some testing, but it probably doesn't make it for me at 420-450.
Any spell for 10 should also probably win the game (Profane Command for example, and that card hasn't been in our cube in years).
Edit: I assume you know this, but you can't pay kicker on a "flicker" effect. But yes I suppose you could bounce him back to your hand and then re-cast.
If there was a reasonable chance to kick this (say if the kicker was 3 and the effect was 3 2/2's) then I'd be interested. As is, no way. 7BBB is a lot.
Seems like another solution would have just been to functionally nerf all the old cards that say "target X" to only mean "target X" and not "X or planeswalker". Planeswalkers would get stronger (and red would get worse) until new cards are printed that restore balance, which is something Wizards likely considered and decided against. But then they wouldn't have to errata hundreds of cards! This change really sucks for people who play with old cards and don't want to replace them for whatever reason (nostalgia, art, cost, etc). I personally don't appreciate having to shell out for new cardboard that doesn't do anything for my cube except to alleviate rules confusion that Wizards themselves created!
Edit: and that's assuming they even reprint the errata'd cards at some point. Which could be years or never.
Can definitely be powerful in the right situation. Seems like green's version of Smash to Smithereens, advancing your game plan while setting theirs back, although this is much better as an early play. For two mana I'm a fan.
- A new cycle of fetchlands for land-graveyard recursion strategies
- A red anthem for token strategies
- More sacrifice outlets/payoff cards on par with Goblin Bombardment, Braids, Cabal Minion, and Smokestack
- A black fatty reanimator target on par with Griselbrand
- A black reanimator spell or creature like Karmic Guide
- 2/1s for R and (W/B) (can't believe they didn't do this in RNA)
- A Gruul card that doesn't cost 4
- More tribrids (finish the cycle from Khans)
- A 2 mana counterspell (never will happen, lol)
- Reprint Imperial Seal
Everything ^ with a power level playable at ~450.Mirror Entity -> everything is an ooze!
Regarding defensive 2 drops, it's not like aggro decks only play 3 power dudes. There are many 2 power creatures which Greenseeker can block just fine, some even profitably.
I actually think the biggest knock on this card is that the Greenseeker can't get you a land to play on your turn AND block, unlike Courser. So you have to choose between hitting your land drops and defending, similar to Sylvan Caryatid. That makes it much weaker than my initial estimation.
I agree this won't make it in small cubes, it's no Wall of Blossoms, but 2 drops that give card advantage and don't require a bunch of hoops to jump through are generally worth testing at least.
Dryad Greenseeker
1G
Creature - Dryad
1/3
Usman mentioned this in his M19 cube review and I was a little surprised to not find a thread for it here. As a 2 mana creature that can provide card advantage (over several turns), I thought it might be worth discussing.
Compared to Courser of Kruphix:
+ Can be played one turn earlier.
+ Can be played in less heavy green decks.
+ Opponent doesn't get to see your top card.
+ Can't be removed by Disenchant effects.
- Smaller body, but can still block 2/2s decently.
- Has to tap to activate, but can be done after blocking or on opponent's end step.
- No life gain.
Artifact
Attacking creatures you control get +1/+0.
Basically Orcish Oriflamme and Goblin Bombardment smashed together. Neither card is good enough on its own IMO, (Bombardment is maybe a little fringe), but together could make a great support piece for the red token deck.
Also an artifact to give it synergies with the red artifact deck, and to make it a little easier to deal with compared to an enchantment.
I would love if this was printed at 2R and no tap requirement but that would probably be too strong.
Any spell for 10 should also probably win the game (Profane Command for example, and that card hasn't been in our cube in years).
Edit: I assume you know this, but you can't pay kicker on a "flicker" effect. But yes I suppose you could bounce him back to your hand and then re-cast.
Edit: and that's assuming they even reprint the errata'd cards at some point. Which could be years or never.