I keep wondering if the cards would all have been over-powered if they simply set to "day" (or "night") instead of this wordy conditional version?
Yes, it would have made switching easier, but IMO that's a plus because all these cards depending on day or night switching a really weak if you can't make the switch often enough to be worth it.
It's likely less about power level of these cards, and more about ensuring they don't screw werewolves over by making the switch back to day too trivial.
Who thought that vivisection was overtuned as a common?
Likely less "overtuned" and more "much stronger in an environment where decayed tokens are rampant and thus the cost to sacrificing a creature is much lower."
it is just a payoff for pitiless plunderer and chatterfang. You actually still need a *gasp* repeatable sacrifice outlet. Granted this card is amazing as part of the 99 - but it isn't anymore of the combo than zulaport cutthroat/blood artist/bastion or any of the other 8 million payoff cards.
Chatterfang is a repeatable sac outlet, you just sac the treasure you create to pay thr black.
You know, it abilities like this started with “the first time each turn that” or “at the beginning of your postcombat main phase” instead of listing a perfectly good ability and adding a restriction like “triggers once per turn” or “use only as a sorcery” to the end, I don’t think that we’d be complaining about these abilities nearly as much.
I think that the modern template for these abilities “feels bad”.
Which is really funny, because the versions you listed are strictly worse than "triggers once per turn". Like, the modern template is more powerful, so it's weird that it's seen as worse than the more restrictive versions.
With New Capenna coming down the pipe this might be a strong card to invest in.
oh yea thats a great point out this is probably a prep for that set.
wont last long though once dominaria united comes it this rotates out
That is incorrect. Midnight Hunt rotates with the fall/Q3 set in 2023, not Dominaria United. Dominaria will rotate out the 4 sets before Midnight Hunt, as normal.
While mechanically the effects could probably be done without being double sided, it loses *all* of the flavor. A version of the card that works with counters would have no room for flavor text at all, much less the two pieces seen here. And without transformation, the feeling of "flipping through" the book disappears.
This is not the sort of card that would make you add DFC's to a set, but once they're already in, it's an interesting and flavorful design that makes good use of them.
I do not know about anyone else's opinion here, but I am starting to get a bit tired of seeing zombie tokens with decayed. With this set I would hope for having some zombie tokens that can block, and zombie tokens that do not die after one attack. I get it, that is the flavor of the tokens and the set, but sometimes they can push a mechanic a little too much. I see them push mechanic too much in the past, such as the second time we visited Zendikar.
There's a lot more I really like in the set, but I do feel let down on the zombie tokens.
They typically only use one type of token for each creature type in a set. Your best bet for zombie tokens without decayed is in the commander decks, but its unlikely.
This almost feels worse than Call of the Death-Dweller because it requires two colors to cast, has an exiling drawback, is restricted to reanimating one body, and doesn't add on counters. How can the former be an uncommon while this is a rare? Is a 5 mana flashback cost really worth making this rare? I love cats and will get a playset of this, but still don't understand the relationship between card power level and rarity sometimes. If it could reanimate a creature from any graveyard I'd be much happier, but it doesn't even feel as good as unburial rites (is it?). At least it looks better than the recently printed graceful restoration.
Flashback is an extremely strong mechanic to staple onto any spell. Imagine if Call of the Death-Dweller had "draw a card" printed on it. That would make it significantly stronger, right? So even if the "card" you draw is an overcosted version of the same spell, the card advantage inherent in doing so should be obvious.
It needs to be at least 1 non-basic land destruction in every standard, at all times.
A bunch more non-basic land destruction if possible, but the corner stone to not be dead in the pool is to have an answer that is viable for all decks.
Field of Dead was a problem and every land that turns into a issue has to have a answer, if not, bad things happen.
The book should say the ability only works while its a creature, the fact it doesnt produces the same combo with Mutavault, even better as its cheaper.
The fact its not a persistent problem in older formats is the simple existence of land-destruction, proper counterspells and removal.
There is a nonbasic that destroys lands in standard currently. It's actually a pretty good one, sees play in multiple formats.
The issue is, that mechanics like Adventure and Escape create so much inherent card advantage without costing any tempo loss at all are highly prevalent, so sacrificing a land, or risking being stuck out of a color is too high a cost to include Field of Ruin.
Or, you know, the fact Field of the Dead is not legal in Standard 2022. You know, the *Arena Only* format where they let people play with only cards that will be around after the rotation? The only one that Book of Exalted Deeds has been banned in? The one without a single card with Adventure or Escape?
And they were doing so well with sets released in 2021 so far.
Like why ban it for Standard 2022 and not for the format moving forward post-rotation? The combo pieces will still be intact so how is this any different or going to solve anything?
Future Future League needs to be reintroduced.
'buster
Either there's something that will solve the problem in Innistrad: Midnight Hunt or they didn't want to reveal that there isn't. All it takes is a Field of Ruin or Ghost Quarter reprint or something similar.
Could also just be they want to wait and see how it is with IMH since they noted the deck isn't that good.
It's also specifically being banned because it's a Bo1 format, which prevents sideboarding in solutions to it. Even bad land destruction could chase it out of the format if it threatened to be a problem in a Bo3 format. I'd be very surprised if this "combo" is a concern moving foward.
So with Neverwinter Hydra you might end up paying 8 mana for a 3/3... I think I’ll skip, thanks.
While possible, you're highly unlikely to do so (only a 0.46% chance). You'll have extremely good odds of getting an 8/8 or better (83.8%), which seems reasonable given the upsides of trample and Ward 4.
Do be careful that only combo decks are going to fall for that trick. Aggro and control decks probably have the removal.
Note that mutavault keeps the ability after reverting to a land. While it's certainly possible they are running removal for lands, it's likely to be much less if they have any.
Get to Legacy and you can reduce the removal numbers down to Bolt and Swords to Plowshares, and then you can up the combo deck density in the meta. Unfortunately, Wasteland is format-warping good and common in Legacy, and decks that cheat in Emrakul, the Aeons Torn are significantly more common in Legacy, and Emrakul's Annihilator 6 will eventually get your Mutavault.
While there's a lot of removal that hits mutavault while it's a creature, you only need 1 turn where they tapped out to dodge it. After that, none of that creature removal matters if you don't turn it back into a creature, which you never have to do. Given the strict color requirements and telegraphed nature of the combo, it's unlikely to do much competitively, but it's intriguing jank.
Wow he is so mediocre and gimmicky. He loses his Planeswalker status when he has 7 or more loyalty markers? I double checked this and Gideons effect always mentioned something like ... "he is still a Planeswalker". Does this mean that he loses his activated abilities, too? He has some ways to protect himself but I don't know seems strange this one.
By losing his planeswalker status, he maintains the activated abilities (because loyalty abilities can function on any permanent), but can't be attacked or have counters removed by damage anymore, which is rather important if he's going to be attacking and blocking. Essentially, it's a 1 way upgrade, unless your opponent has cards that remove loyalty counters.
This is not the sort of card that would make you add DFC's to a set, but once they're already in, it's an interesting and flavorful design that makes good use of them.