If the apprentice said "target player" or "each", I might have been interested. But a grounded 1/2 is so useless, I'd probably still run the likes of Omenspeaker and Sigiled Starfish, that can actually contribute in combat.
I agree with Leelue on protection. As I understand, Play Design like it as a tool to balance Standard (sometimes you need a blunt instrument, I guess), but I wish they could have kept them at rare if needed for constructed.
Sorcerer's Broom gets you unlimited sacrifice-fodder for 3 per body. And it's colourless. And it can be a dumb blocker early when you face the aggressive decks. I don't have a dedicated sacrifice archetype, but this seems close for those that do?
On Hybrids: If devotion returns in Return to Theros, they may not have been able to push these too hard because of Standard?
If 50% of non-land cards end up in the graveyard (to choose an arbitrary fraction) then it takes 18-19 cards to reach 7 cards in graveyard, i.e. turn 11-12.
I think you must be ok with casting it for its full cost. In that case, it could be a cool finisher in slow matchups. If treshold is on late game, you may have enough mana to draw four cards and follow up with another spell that turn, which should probably just win you the game.
Epic Downfall is probably entirely fair in Peasant environment, so a nice option if you want to diversify your black removal. Also, exile in black could perhaps be of interest?
Target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card in that player's hand or graveyard, and exile it. For as long as that card remains exiled, you may cast it, and you may spend mana as though it were any type to cast it.
Not sure how good it is. I suppose the graveyard-clause gives you somewhat of a safety-net so you can find a spot to fire it off where it won't be entirely wasted.
Probably good in the same games/metas/cubes/situations where Mind Rot is good?
No counterfeiters make the Carl Critchlow 2010 promo Wasteland that I like,
Please do not buy counterfits. Get good proxies/alters if you can't stommack playing with simple proxies. Getting cards into the wild that has the potential for being mistaken for the real thing is bad for everyone. And buying counterfits creates demand for an ilicit product, no matter how noble your intentions might be.
something I'm really into is using cards as my Lord and Savior Richard Garfield intended.
Whenever I see someone using the phrase "as Richard Garfield intended", I am reminded about Dr. Garfield's description of one of his favourite decks: It was from before the max 4-of rule, the deck was all Mox Pearls and Shahrazads, and the deck was larger than the 40-card minimum. Basically, the deck sets up a "nested recursive series" of sub-games, each sub-game with slightly smaller libraries, until you finally play a sub-game where your opponent has a zero-card library and looses from decking. They then lose half their life in the "n-1-subgame", and so you keep starting subgames where they deck themselves until they actually lose all their life the "n-1-subgame" and lose half their life in the "n-2-subgame", and so on, until after I don't know how many sub-games they're finally dead.
I'm a bit concerned about the complexity-level of adventure. I play with some very occasional/casual players every once in a while, and I am not sure if the reminder text alone is enough to make it clear what an adventure does. This means that I will probably not add only one or two adventure card(s) unless they are super good fits, so that explaining adventure at the start of the draft is worth it.
If not for that, I would be interested in the flying gravedigger, the Foulmire Knight and perhaps the adventure Torch Fiend.
Syr Konrad is up for consideration.
What about Beanstalk Giant? I feel it is a good package, but non-board affecting ramp on 3 is a bit iffy. Still, as opposed to Krosan Tusker, you actually ramp, and you get both the land and the chance to play the fattie later.
Equipment/double-strike types might look twice at Fireborn Knight, but I'd imagine that Heartfire Goblin and Iora's Champion might just be better if you are seeding that archetype in WR? I guess, the knight can "abuse" its double strike without other cards, so that is at least something..
Adventures can be cast as kicker (So Goldilocks is eithter G for a 1/2 or 5GGG for a 1/2 and three 2/2s.
Adventures can be cast from the graveyard (so aftermath-ish)
Adventures can be cast from the battlefield repeatedly (highly unlikely given that the rare would have G: create a 1/1, unless there is an additional cost like discarding a card.)
Adventures can be cast when a certain game event happens. When the creature does combat damage to a player, when you sacrifice a food-token, etc.
The ability to cast adventures are triggered by other cards. So you could have a creature with T:"You may cast one adventure from a permanent you control". Or a sorcery that draws you a card and has a rider "you may cast an adventure from a permanent you control". So I guess kinda like how contraptions worked?
---
New cards, but not much exiting: Faerie Vandal1U
Flash, Flying
Whenever you draw your second card each turn, put a +1/+1 counter on Faerie Vandal.
1/2
Witch's Cottage
Land - Swamp
ETB tapped unless you control 3 other swamps.
When ~ETB untapped, you may put a creature from your graveyard on top of your library.
Maraleaf PixieUG
Flying T:Add G or U to your mana pool.
2/2.
I like that they are printing lands with basic land types, but without fetches (and these aren't likely to be going to make me want to run Mirage fetches) it's not very relevant.
The two fliers are probably borderline OK?
BTW: Food tokens apparently are artifacts with "T, sacrifice: Gain 3 life". And other cards can use the food for other purposes (There is a golden goose that is a Birds of paradise but you need to sack a food each time you tap it for mana).
I have had some pretty impressive turns with Trueheart Twins on Magic Duels (anyone remember that..?). I could see the Elemental doing something similar and with even higher upside. Probably wants to go in a Rally the Peasants style deck. I like those kinds of decks, they kinda play like combo, where you sit there and try to craft that big turn where you trigger guttersnipe three times and attack for lethal "out of nowhere". UR spells plays similarly sometimes with Wee Dragonauts and variants.
Not sure about the actual Elemental though. If you have a go wide strategy, how much burn do you have to throw at your opponent..? Gets better with Searing Blood, Thermo-Alchemist, divisible burn...
I kind of like sideboard-only cards and the role they play in a draft. Choosing between a disenchant for the sideboard or a middling main-deck card is interesting.
It’s hardly as if it is hard to get to 23 playables anyways...
I agree with Leelue on protection. As I understand, Play Design like it as a tool to balance Standard (sometimes you need a blunt instrument, I guess), but I wish they could have kept them at rare if needed for constructed.
Sorcerer's Broom gets you unlimited sacrifice-fodder for 3 per body. And it's colourless. And it can be a dumb blocker early when you face the aggressive decks. I don't have a dedicated sacrifice archetype, but this seems close for those that do?
If 50% of non-land cards end up in the graveyard (to choose an arbitrary fraction) then it takes 18-19 cards to reach 7 cards in graveyard, i.e. turn 11-12.
I think you must be ok with casting it for its full cost. In that case, it could be a cool finisher in slow matchups. If treshold is on late game, you may have enough mana to draw four cards and follow up with another spell that turn, which should probably just win you the game.
Epic Downfall is probably entirely fair in Peasant environment, so a nice option if you want to diversify your black removal. Also, exile in black could perhaps be of interest?
Not sure how good it is. I suppose the graveyard-clause gives you somewhat of a safety-net so you can find a spot to fire it off where it won't be entirely wasted.
Probably good in the same games/metas/cubes/situations where Mind Rot is good?
Instant speed on Return from Clouds is significant.
I haven't tried it, but I know people have been running Rise from the tides.
Also Sphinx of the Guildpact.
(G for a 1/1 that gets +1/+1 in combat if you control another non-human).
Please do not buy counterfits. Get good proxies/alters if you can't stommack playing with simple proxies. Getting cards into the wild that has the potential for being mistaken for the real thing is bad for everyone. And buying counterfits creates demand for an ilicit product, no matter how noble your intentions might be.
Whenever I see someone using the phrase "as Richard Garfield intended", I am reminded about Dr. Garfield's description of one of his favourite decks: It was from before the max 4-of rule, the deck was all Mox Pearls and Shahrazads, and the deck was larger than the 40-card minimum. Basically, the deck sets up a "nested recursive series" of sub-games, each sub-game with slightly smaller libraries, until you finally play a sub-game where your opponent has a zero-card library and looses from decking. They then lose half their life in the "n-1-subgame", and so you keep starting subgames where they deck themselves until they actually lose all their life the "n-1-subgame" and lose half their life in the "n-2-subgame", and so on, until after I don't know how many sub-games they're finally dead.
If not for that, I would be interested in the flying gravedigger, the Foulmire Knight and perhaps the adventure Torch Fiend.
Syr Konrad is up for consideration.
What about Beanstalk Giant? I feel it is a good package, but non-board affecting ramp on 3 is a bit iffy. Still, as opposed to Krosan Tusker, you actually ramp, and you get both the land and the chance to play the fattie later.
Equipment/double-strike types might look twice at Fireborn Knight, but I'd imagine that Heartfire Goblin and Iora's Champion might just be better if you are seeding that archetype in WR? I guess, the knight can "abuse" its double strike without other cards, so that is at least something..
Adventures can be cast basically as split cards.
Adventures can be cast as kicker (So Goldilocks is eithter G for a 1/2 or 5GGG for a 1/2 and three 2/2s.
Adventures can be cast from the graveyard (so aftermath-ish)
Adventures can be cast from the battlefield repeatedly (highly unlikely given that the rare would have G: create a 1/1, unless there is an additional cost like discarding a card.)
Adventures can be cast when a certain game event happens. When the creature does combat damage to a player, when you sacrifice a food-token, etc.
The ability to cast adventures are triggered by other cards. So you could have a creature with T:"You may cast one adventure from a permanent you control". Or a sorcery that draws you a card and has a rider "you may cast an adventure from a permanent you control". So I guess kinda like how contraptions worked?
---
New cards, but not much exiting:
Faerie Vandal1U
Flash, Flying
Whenever you draw your second card each turn, put a +1/+1 counter on Faerie Vandal.
1/2
Witch's Cottage
Land - Swamp
ETB tapped unless you control 3 other swamps.
When ~ETB untapped, you may put a creature from your graveyard on top of your library.
Maraleaf PixieUG
Flying
T:Add G or U to your mana pool.
2/2.
I like that they are printing lands with basic land types, but without fetches (and these aren't likely to be going to make me want to run Mirage fetches) it's not very relevant.
The two fliers are probably borderline OK?
BTW: Food tokens apparently are artifacts with "T, sacrifice: Gain 3 life". And other cards can use the food for other purposes (There is a golden goose that is a Birds of paradise but you need to sack a food each time you tap it for mana).
Not sure about the actual Elemental though. If you have a go wide strategy, how much burn do you have to throw at your opponent..? Gets better with Searing Blood, Thermo-Alchemist, divisible burn...
Worth a discussion at least.
It’s hardly as if it is hard to get to 23 playables anyways...