I think it needs to be mentioned that the longer this card lasts on board, the higher probability it has to kill both players at once and cause a draw.
So if your deck isn't built to use the leverage that this card gives in treasures, and use it quickly, the card will not help you win per se.
Until I considered this point, I thought that I might even splash for this card in ramp decks, but perhaps even ramp decks aren't fast enough to utilize the storm of treasures it provides.
I do think that it's an intriguing card for multiple archetypes, including aggro, ramp, and artifacts.
So here's a thought I had.
Yes, if you build your deck right, this card plays as a Polymorph. However, I think that the card type clause is quite significant, and I believe it can be abused with proper cube crafting and deck building.
The thing is that if you target an artifact (token) that ISN'T a creature, while your deck has no artifacts, this card is kind of like a pseudo-Tinker.
The most common types of this type of token existing are Treasures, Clues, and Food tokens. And while the latter two aren't really a thing in red, we've just gotten two consecutive sets filled with red treasures from cards like Professional Face-Breaker and Fable of the Mirror Breaker, so it could be a good basis. Not to mention the great cards that red has which incidentally produce Treasures. Prismari Command, Goldspan Dragon, and of course Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer.
So while this kind of interaction would definitely not be enough for a solo archetype of an entire cube, I think it could be a great compliment to other cheat decks or artifact matters archetypes. It feels like it might be at home in the same type of decks as Goblin Welder and Daretti, Scrap Savant.
Plus, if the deck is in a pinch, the card could also do a decent Polymorph impression.
How does this card fare in 2022? Red 3s have gotten ridiculously stacked, but Recruiter still serves a unique tutoring purpose.
Also worth mentioning: How significant is the difference between having or not having KikiCombo in your cube for this card to be worth it?
Let's continue the thought process for more red planeswalkers.
It's no secret that Sneak Attack is a great card, and that Through the Breach is the boring and fairer version of it. Well, seeing as TTB isn't close to being played in constructed anymore, but red cheat decks still really want to exist, let's try and power it up a bit!
Tibalt, Deranged Anarchist 2RR
Whenever you discard a card, put a loyalty counter on Tibalt.
0: Draw two cards, then discard a card at random.
-2: Tibalt deals 6 damage to a creature or planeswalker an opponent controls chosen at random.
-4: You may put a creature card at random from your hand into play. It gains haste. Sacrifice it at the end of the turn.
{3}
Speaking of red cheat decks, Lukka is obviously interested, but so far his execution has been lacking for cube purposes.
Lukka Uncaged 3RR
Whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to an opponent, create a red 2/2 Hound creature token.
+1: Target creature gains your choice of First Strike, Menace, or Trample until end of turn.
-2: You may sacrifice a creature. If you do, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature card with power equal to 1 plus the sacrificed creature's power. Put that card onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library.
{4}
I'm curious about a comparison between this card and Stoke the Flames.
The latter seems to have left many cubes, and it's quite similar to this card except it can go face - so one wonders what the differences are?
Seems innocuous at first, but take a moment to read the card. It targets all nonland permanents, and steals ALL abilities except loyalty, including mana abilities.
So it's almost like a mini Dack Fayden early game, and late game it will disable the opponents' planeswalkers.
And at the bare minimum, it's a 2/3 for 2.
Seems like it's quite worthy of discussion, though perhaps it's not quite as versatile as 3feri.
EDIT: Any fun-loving decks will be delighted to learn that you can target your own stuff to benefit from the activation color filter: target your own Najeela, the Blade-Blossom or Golos, Tireless Pilgrim to convert WUBRG to 5!
With the triland cycle reaching completion in New Capenna, running 3 color cards is starting to look much more sustainable, and Siege Rhino is one of the best rated 3 color cards.
However a lot has changed since Khans in terms of four drops, which now give the Rhino a run for its money more than they did in 2014.
So do we bring back the Rhino back, or does it simply not keep up nowadays?
This is actually pretty good with the Kamigawa sagas, since their III ability causes them to go into exile anyway. So you can sacrifice an enchantment creature to get a saga, which will exile itself then return itself flipped without Call's drawback affecting it.
However, I have difficulty seeing where else it could see play.
Looks like we're in the habit of resurrecting old threads.
In the past it was quite unreliable, but between MDFCs, mono-colored manlands, and what look to be very solid Kamigawa lands, perhaps this card has become more powerful. Especially so when green's aggressive and midrange elements seem to be becoming more prominent.
This card could pressure planeswalkers as well.
What do you guys think?
Happy new year everyone. I'm down for a few wishes for some cards in the following year.
I feel like black needs better planeswalkers, especially 5 drops, and I feel like Liliana, Dreadhorde General was a bit of a missed opportunity since its +1 was so underwhelming - also people didn't like her ult. With that in mind, here's my version of her.
Liliana, Chained by the Pact 3BB
Legendary Planeswalker - Liliana
Whenever a Zombie you control dies, draw a card.
+1: Each player discards a card. If at least one creature was discarded this way, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
-3: Each player sacrifices two creatures and/or planeswalkers.
-8: All creatures get -X/-X until end of turn, then you create a X/X black Demon creature token with flying and haste, where X is the number of creatures in all graveyards.
{4}
There are some decent red PWs around, but somehow most - beyond Chandra ToD and Chandra AI - almost never find a concrete cube slot. Let's make some cube-worthy red planeswalkers!
Daretti, Engineer Extraordinaire 3RR
Whenever you sacrifice an artifact, put a loyalty counter on Daretti, Expert Engineer.
0: Exile the top card of your library. You may play that card this turn. If it's an artifact creature, it gains haste until end of turn.
-X: Create X colorless Treasure artifact tokens.
-4: Return up to two target artifact cards with mana value less than or equal to 3 from your graveyard to the battlefield.
{5}
Koth, Desperate Pit Fighter RR
+1: Until end of turn, Koth becomes a 2/2 red Human Warrior with menace, indestructible, and haste.
-2: Destroy target artifact or land. Koth deals 2 damage to you.
-7: Koth deals 7 damage to each creature, each planeswalker, and each player.
{3}
White has really gotten some bangers over the recent years, but two things it could use more of are good 1 drops and card advantage.
Mardu Master-at-Arms W
Creature - Human Warrior
First Strike
2/1
For lands to be worth as slots in cube, they have to provide value over a basic land - otherwise they just take up cube space for nothing. Flagstones and Pendelhaven don't find homes for this reason.
The cycling mono lands improve upon this concept by possibly replacing themselves when you don't need lands... However the drawback is steep, since they enter tapped and only provide one color.
Other lands fix something of this drawback, and even add basic types in order to be fetched, like the Amonkhet duals and the tri-lands - and they are actually good enough to see cube play.
Finally the zendikar MDFC lands are the best iteration of this effect, since they staple on an actual card instead of paying mana to replace itself, and you can even play them untapped. Agadeem's Awakening is discussed for this reason.
Takenuma is very comparable, since it has a land side that enters untapped, and has a spell side. However while this spell might not be as powerful as recurring creatures to play, Grapple With the Past is still a fair spell, especially if it could get PWs, and playing it is actually much more reliable for as little as B, than looking to stack BBB AND have enough creatures with matching costs in the yard...
I think that for this reason, if it comes down to Agadeem vs Takenuma, I think Takenuma is usually a better pick for a cube slot. However I argue that having a black Noxious Revival on a colorless land is worse than both, even if it can be used multiple times.
How does this card stand in a comparison to Volrath's Stronghold?
Theoretically, the latter can provide infinite value, but it requires your draw for the turn, only targets creatures, and does not provide colored mana.
Do you think a colored land with a stronger one-shot effect is better than theoretical infinite value?
I think the comparison should be strongly considered.
So if your deck isn't built to use the leverage that this card gives in treasures, and use it quickly, the card will not help you win per se.
Until I considered this point, I thought that I might even splash for this card in ramp decks, but perhaps even ramp decks aren't fast enough to utilize the storm of treasures it provides.
I do think that it's an intriguing card for multiple archetypes, including aggro, ramp, and artifacts.
Yes, if you build your deck right, this card plays as a Polymorph. However, I think that the card type clause is quite significant, and I believe it can be abused with proper cube crafting and deck building.
The thing is that if you target an artifact (token) that ISN'T a creature, while your deck has no artifacts, this card is kind of like a pseudo-Tinker.
The most common types of this type of token existing are Treasures, Clues, and Food tokens. And while the latter two aren't really a thing in red, we've just gotten two consecutive sets filled with red treasures from cards like Professional Face-Breaker and Fable of the Mirror Breaker, so it could be a good basis. Not to mention the great cards that red has which incidentally produce Treasures. Prismari Command, Goldspan Dragon, and of course Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer.
Out of color there are less treasures, but then the other tokens become more relevant. Blue has Hard Evidence, but green has a lot, with Tireless Tracker, Gilded Goose, Briarbridge Tracker, Oko, Thief of Crowns and more.
So while this kind of interaction would definitely not be enough for a solo archetype of an entire cube, I think it could be a great compliment to other cheat decks or artifact matters archetypes. It feels like it might be at home in the same type of decks as Goblin Welder and Daretti, Scrap Savant.
Plus, if the deck is in a pinch, the card could also do a decent Polymorph impression.
What do you guys think?
Also worth mentioning: How significant is the difference between having or not having KikiCombo in your cube for this card to be worth it?
It's no secret that Sneak Attack is a great card, and that Through the Breach is the boring and fairer version of it. Well, seeing as TTB isn't close to being played in constructed anymore, but red cheat decks still really want to exist, let's try and power it up a bit!
2RR
Whenever you discard a card, put a loyalty counter on Tibalt.
0: Draw two cards, then discard a card at random.
-2: Tibalt deals 6 damage to a creature or planeswalker an opponent controls chosen at random.
-4: You may put a creature card at random from your hand into play. It gains haste. Sacrifice it at the end of the turn.
{3}
Speaking of red cheat decks, Lukka is obviously interested, but so far his execution has been lacking for cube purposes.
3RR
Whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to an opponent, create a red 2/2 Hound creature token.
+1: Target creature gains your choice of First Strike, Menace, or Trample until end of turn.
-2: You may sacrifice a creature. If you do, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature card with power equal to 1 plus the sacrificed creature's power. Put that card onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library.
{4}
The latter seems to have left many cubes, and it's quite similar to this card except it can go face - so one wonders what the differences are?
Seems innocuous at first, but take a moment to read the card. It targets all nonland permanents, and steals ALL abilities except loyalty, including mana abilities.
So it's almost like a mini Dack Fayden early game, and late game it will disable the opponents' planeswalkers.
And at the bare minimum, it's a 2/3 for 2.
Seems like it's quite worthy of discussion, though perhaps it's not quite as versatile as 3feri.
EDIT: Any fun-loving decks will be delighted to learn that you can target your own stuff to benefit from the activation color filter: target your own Najeela, the Blade-Blossom or Golos, Tireless Pilgrim to convert WUBRG to 5!
However a lot has changed since Khans in terms of four drops, which now give the Rhino a run for its money more than they did in 2014.
So do we bring back the Rhino back, or does it simply not keep up nowadays?
However, I have difficulty seeing where else it could see play.
In the past it was quite unreliable, but between MDFCs, mono-colored manlands, and what look to be very solid Kamigawa lands, perhaps this card has become more powerful. Especially so when green's aggressive and midrange elements seem to be becoming more prominent.
This card could pressure planeswalkers as well.
What do you guys think?
I feel like black needs better planeswalkers, especially 5 drops, and I feel like Liliana, Dreadhorde General was a bit of a missed opportunity since its +1 was so underwhelming - also people didn't like her ult. With that in mind, here's my version of her.
3BB
Legendary Planeswalker - Liliana
Whenever a Zombie you control dies, draw a card.
+1: Each player discards a card. If at least one creature was discarded this way, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
-3: Each player sacrifices two creatures and/or planeswalkers.
-8: All creatures get -X/-X until end of turn, then you create a X/X black Demon creature token with flying and haste, where X is the number of creatures in all graveyards.
{4}
There are some decent red PWs around, but somehow most - beyond Chandra ToD and Chandra AI - almost never find a concrete cube slot. Let's make some cube-worthy red planeswalkers!
3RR
Whenever you sacrifice an artifact, put a loyalty counter on Daretti, Expert Engineer.
0: Exile the top card of your library. You may play that card this turn. If it's an artifact creature, it gains haste until end of turn.
-X: Create X colorless Treasure artifact tokens.
-4: Return up to two target artifact cards with mana value less than or equal to 3 from your graveyard to the battlefield.
{5}
RR
+1: Until end of turn, Koth becomes a 2/2 red Human Warrior with menace, indestructible, and haste.
-2: Destroy target artifact or land. Koth deals 2 damage to you.
-7: Koth deals 7 damage to each creature, each planeswalker, and each player.
{3}
White has really gotten some bangers over the recent years, but two things it could use more of are good 1 drops and card advantage.
W
Creature - Human Warrior
First Strike
2/1
The cycling mono lands improve upon this concept by possibly replacing themselves when you don't need lands... However the drawback is steep, since they enter tapped and only provide one color.
Other lands fix something of this drawback, and even add basic types in order to be fetched, like the Amonkhet duals and the tri-lands - and they are actually good enough to see cube play.
Finally the zendikar MDFC lands are the best iteration of this effect, since they staple on an actual card instead of paying mana to replace itself, and you can even play them untapped. Agadeem's Awakening is discussed for this reason.
Takenuma is very comparable, since it has a land side that enters untapped, and has a spell side. However while this spell might not be as powerful as recurring creatures to play, Grapple With the Past is still a fair spell, especially if it could get PWs, and playing it is actually much more reliable for as little as B, than looking to stack BBB AND have enough creatures with matching costs in the yard...
I think that for this reason, if it comes down to Agadeem vs Takenuma, I think Takenuma is usually a better pick for a cube slot. However I argue that having a black Noxious Revival on a colorless land is worse than both, even if it can be used multiple times.
Theoretically, the latter can provide infinite value, but it requires your draw for the turn, only targets creatures, and does not provide colored mana.
Do you think a colored land with a stronger one-shot effect is better than theoretical infinite value?
I think the comparison should be strongly considered.