UB Wind and Rain BR Thunder and Lightning RG Life and Liberty GW Heaven and Earth
Seems that the names are designed around complementary concepts this time around instead of opposites, so Heaven and Earth doesn't fits. I also don't get the feeling the B out of "wind and rain" nor "thunder and lightning". I like Life and Liberty tho.
Aww... It's not a pun like Umezawa's. That's too bad.
Well, anyways, this seems great. Unconditional counter at 3 CMC isn't great in Modern, but it's solid and definitely playable. Draw 2 for 3 CMC at Instant speed, however, is pretty sweet, and that last mode is just the icing of the cake that, while situational, could be game-winning. Stealing Death's Shadow definitely sounds fun, but honestly, here's hoping I can steal a Hexdrinker with that 3rd level up activation on the stack and untap.
I see enough disadvantage, that if this was to be modern playable 4 is simply too much, but thats because the bar to being playable is essentially 'this card is a mistake.'.
Except it's not. It's a Timmy card, it's not supposed to be efficient, it's supposed to be exciting. It will still, however, win games in Modern, even if just by stealing a huge mana bomb from Tron in some rogue player's janky deck, and that's fine as well. Remember: "If you think X is a mistake, maybe X is just not made for you".
Even then, the Tier 1 argument is extremely dumb. Yes, Phoenix and Humans are more about low-cost threats rather than big single spells. So why should we print an extremely powerful card that pushes the low-tier decks down even further? That makes zero sense and is counter-productive to the format's health.
Enjoy playing against the Tier 2 Jank with this then. Tier 1 is what matters, as its what you play against online and at events where balance, cmc, and potential matters.
This is not a playable card in Modern constructed.
You're either incapable of reading or just grasping at straws. You're saying this card should be printed at 3 CMC. I said that maybe it could, but it shouldn't, because it would bring nothing to the format other than random Turn 3 wins against a wide plethora of decks. Your argument is that Tier 1 decks in the Modern format would still not be affected by it, and that Tier 1 is all that matters.
Then, once again, we come back to the original issue: Why should WotC ever print a 1UB version of this? It contributes nothing for/against the Tier 1 which, as you said, is the only thing that matters, and pushes T2 and down lower even further. So what good this brings to the Modern format, except making it even more of a inbred mess full of the same 4~5 decks than it already is?
1. How is it unblockable? Just..block, or kill the board.
I don't thin you read it fully. A 2 mana evasive beater can be Ninjutsu'd into this after the Declare Blockers step. You could get anything with ~2 CMC and evasion and it would be hard to stop, but if you want to be 100% sure about it, go Invisible Stalker. By doing so your only possible interaction is being untapped and having an Instant-speed answer.
3. Win on the spot? VERY unlikely. What Tier 1 decks does this 'win on the spot' if it connects, in Modern.
Tron is the obvious one - hit Karn/Ugin and unless an opponent has Natural Turn 3 Tron, he's done for. But both Amulet Titan and UW Control have it pretty hard - you can steal a Primeval Titan / Hornet Queen from Titan, a Teferi from UW or even a Cryptic Command and start bouncing lands to out-tempo your opponent.
Even then, the Tier 1 argument is extremely dumb. Yes, Phoenix and Humans are more about low-cost threats rather than big single spells. So why should we print an extremely powerful card that pushes the low-tier decks down even further? That makes zero sense and is counter-productive to the format's health.
Drop the stats (3/2 or something), the effect is super strong (until you whiff and hit a land and an Expedition Map), put the Ninjitsu at 3cmc (1UB), and the actual cast cost at 4.
4 Mana is the big stuff in Modern, its what ends games. Keeping something attacking AND hold 4 mana? Or just hard cast at 5? Nah.
Dude, 2 mana evasive beater into a 3 mana nearly unblockable, uncounterable guy with a relevant body that can randomly win you the game on the spot against some decks sounds like the most frustrating thing ever. I'm not saying that it COULDN'T cost 3... I'm saying it SHOULDN'T cost 3.
I'm not sure I see the hype here. It's either a 4/4 for 3G, or it dies to a stiff breeze. What am I missing?
A Savannah Lions for G is meh. A Savannah Lions with a mana sink attached to it is fine. A Savannah Lions that can win the entire game by itself if left unchecked is definitely something to be excited about.
Once you're in topdeck mode with like 5 mana open, you drop this and suddenly it doesn't dies to removal anymore - your opponent's removal dies to it.
Does any non-Tron deck have a mana sink in Modern? And for Tron, there are so many better options.
Literally any deck that runs out of steam and is trying to be agressive could use a mana sink with a relevant body.
The easiest comparison to this card is Scavenging Ooze. Both are small creatures that use mana sinks to grow. Scooze has the advantage of being Graveyard hate, which admittely is VERY relevant in Modern right now, and that 1 lifegain is neat, but Hexdrinker has a lot of advantages over the Ooze. 2/1 for 1 is much better than 2/2 for 2, generic mana cost instead of G is much more relevant in a format filled with Blood Moons, not relying on graveyards to grow is neat and the added protection to Instants is extremely useful when everyone and their mother runs Fatal Push and Path to Exile.
Is it a game-breaking card that will change Modern forever? No, but it's still very good, and "dies to removal" is a bad argument when said thing costs 1 mana.
I'm not sure I see the hype here. It's either a 4/4 for 3G, or it dies to a stiff breeze. What am I missing?
A Savannah Lions for G is meh. A Savannah Lions with a mana sink attached to it is fine. A Savannah Lions that can win the entire game by itself if left unchecked is definitely something to be excited about.
Once you're in topdeck mode with like 5 mana open, you drop this and suddenly it doesn't dies to removal anymore - your opponent's removal dies to it.
This is nice. I have no idea what kind of deck would want both the "six-to-the-face" mode and the "surprise blockers" mode, but still, even paying 3 mana for this effect during your turn seems pretty reasonable. Maybe Death's Shadow would want this to protect his usually single-digit life total from any nasty surprises...?
I don't get it, it says Umezawa's Charm but there's no charm on the picture, only Umezawa looking at you with a sm... Oooooooh.
That's very clever Wizards. Kudos
Well, anyways, this seems great. Unconditional counter at 3 CMC isn't great in Modern, but it's solid and definitely playable. Draw 2 for 3 CMC at Instant speed, however, is pretty sweet, and that last mode is just the icing of the cake that, while situational, could be game-winning. Stealing Death's Shadow definitely sounds fun, but honestly, here's hoping I can steal a Hexdrinker with that 3rd level up activation on the stack and untap.
Then, once again, we come back to the original issue: Why should WotC ever print a 1UB version of this? It contributes nothing for/against the Tier 1 which, as you said, is the only thing that matters, and pushes T2 and down lower even further. So what good this brings to the Modern format, except making it even more of a inbred mess full of the same 4~5 decks than it already is?
Tron is the obvious one - hit Karn/Ugin and unless an opponent has Natural Turn 3 Tron, he's done for. But both Amulet Titan and UW Control have it pretty hard - you can steal a Primeval Titan / Hornet Queen from Titan, a Teferi from UW or even a Cryptic Command and start bouncing lands to out-tempo your opponent.
Even then, the Tier 1 argument is extremely dumb. Yes, Phoenix and Humans are more about low-cost threats rather than big single spells. So why should we print an extremely powerful card that pushes the low-tier decks down even further? That makes zero sense and is counter-productive to the format's health.
The easiest comparison to this card is Scavenging Ooze. Both are small creatures that use mana sinks to grow. Scooze has the advantage of being Graveyard hate, which admittely is VERY relevant in Modern right now, and that 1 lifegain is neat, but Hexdrinker has a lot of advantages over the Ooze. 2/1 for 1 is much better than 2/2 for 2, generic mana cost instead of G is much more relevant in a format filled with Blood Moons, not relying on graveyards to grow is neat and the added protection to Instants is extremely useful when everyone and their mother runs Fatal Push and Path to Exile.
Is it a game-breaking card that will change Modern forever? No, but it's still very good, and "dies to removal" is a bad argument when said thing costs 1 mana.
Once you're in topdeck mode with like 5 mana open, you drop this and suddenly it doesn't dies to removal anymore - your opponent's removal dies to it.
Oooooooh.
That's very clever Wizards. Kudos