This dude is looking sweet. A much, much better body than Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, but with a more fragile long-term payoff.
Ramps you when you need mana
Draws for you when you need cards
The can't-block ability could win some games
Not-entirely-negligible upside that when you already have Ragavan or Kari Zev earlier in your curve, he pays off the turn he hits the table. You could even trigger all three in one turn!
I'm a sucker for 3/3's with first strike, but this dude just seems good all-around. Downside is he doesn't pass the Vindicate test 90% of the time, but has a lot of gas past that. I personally enjoy having 1-3 creatures with that value proposition in each color, so this would slot in alongside Fable.
Sylvan Caryatid vs. Wall of Roots (Wall usually wins, but in 2023, is fixing & hexproof more valuable for key ramps into crazy multicolor options like Minsc?)
Shriekmaw is beginning to show it's age for me. It's casting flexibility still feels unmatched except for Solitude, but it's limitations will only continue to grow.
"Nonartifact" has become noticeably narrow for me lately. In recent years, we've received a few stellar multipurpose creatures for Ramp, Reanimator, Tinker/Welder, Sneak/Show/Erueka, Oath/Stampede, et. al. In particular, Ancient Stone Idol & Triplicate Titan each serve 3+ different Cheatyface strategies. Other newcomers like Archon of Cruelty & the most powerful new 40K additions also dodge it.
Now, Shriekmaw doesn't need to kill a game-ending threat to be good. Plenty of times, 2 mana kills their 3-5 mana creature and you're feeling good. Other times, a 3/2 with Fear cuts through a Soldier token, Elk, or the ****ing Hamster and finishes off the walker. But time really isn't on the maw's side.
However, it is massively superior to all other picks in 1 way: that sweet nasty rad over-the-top Lorwyn foil promo.
Emeria's Call > Reveillark > Serra Paragon > Sun Titan
My thought process:
Decent effect on a land maindecked ~100% of the time > creature with amazing value if it dies; no need for mana payment > creature with amazing value if it doesn't die; often requires mana payment > great value even if it dies but costs 6 mana up front.
Seems like a good substitute. the unblockability is not typically what generates those play patterns anyway; this thing dies, and dies, and dies, and dies. But it kills PWs, only need 1 blue pip, and divides the cost across 2 turns. I love all of that
This is quite an exciting version of "ETB, discard your hand, draw three". Anje's Ravager was more a more powerful trigger, as they can do it every turn, but it was on a riskier/clunkier body. Not sure if it gets there by itself, but if you're already running Goblin Engineer, Unearth, Alesha, Who Smiles At Death & others, it could be great. I love the colorless front.
This boi can't get Elked or yoinked by Oko, Knight of Autumn'd, shattered by Kolaghan's/Prismari Commands, blocked by hamsters, hurt by Minsc, Vindicated, stolen by Dack, Trophy'd, Helix'd, Defiler'd, Fractured, bounced by 3feri, Pup'd, killed by Grist or blocked by insects. He's always a decent 23rd in artifact.dec or ramp. He blocks fliers, blocks any sword, can be cast on any turn, tramples over planeswalker blockers, likes being 4/4'd by Tezz, and can win you the game with Channel.
Lots of these are corner cases, marginal upsides or just unexciting. But they reveal how ubiquitously reasonable he is in many decks, in many matchups, on many turns. There are stronger cards for this slot, but there aren't many colorless creatures as maindeckable. If you want to spend 1 colorless slot on a card that every player might maindeck every time you draft, try him out.
But d0rsal, I could say the same thing about activating Recruitment Officer's ability: if you're doing that, things have gone badly for you. Between falling behind my opponent on resources, or having plenty of mana and not enough gas, I consider the former to be the worst scenario to be stuck in; even if it's less likely to come up, I prefer the card that could very occasionally dig me out of a truly crappy hole.
I totally agree with those strengths. This gets a big plus being another PW-killing creature, and I really like paying the 2 upfront without colors, getting a tiny bit of blocking value, and finding the spare U later before combat, with 2 mana held up for a counter. The 2U is gravy at that point and I'd threaten to activate it a lot more than actually spending 3 mana that way.
This dies to shock, but that's not a requirement I ask for in a 2-drop; this dude... let's call it a 2.75 drop.
I think Frontier Explorer is underplayed. I prefer insurance against mana screw than mana flood.
This ability is sweet, definitely just bonus value. Could be better than Soldier of the Pantheon. But I think Dauntless Bodyguard is also better than this.
Funny that this is less powerful for folks with identical basics. My basics are singleton and I try to support loam strategies, so I'm stoked for the potential here. If this isn't good enough right now, it'll just get better every year.
Where have people landed on categorising this card? Considering just calling it a white card
Are people casting it for its regular cost?
I see this card as significantly different than a hybrid Orzhov card, so it isn't occupying a guild slot for me. You can cast either half in an Orzhov deck, but it's also extremely maindeckable in a mono-white deck, while middling in a mono-black deck. When I can find room for it, I'll be using one of my 10 "rainbow slots" where all my hybrid cards & weirdly-colored cards go. It's like a tiny chunk of cards that I can use however I want & break rules lol
Edit: Well, having a showcase galaxy foil in hand is different. I was fond of the design space for Outlaws' Merriment, and this seems much more potent. I'll test it, and sadly be cutting Ajani Vengeant in order to keep Tajic, Legion's Edge for Aggro/Earthquakes.
One small edit: Matt Tabak confirmed in this article that "In Booster Draft, sticker sheets aren't drafted. After you open an Unfinity booster, remove the sticker sheet before drafting any cards. Before each game, choose up to three from among the sticker sheets you opened."
I initially think the Limited ruleset will work best for us. If I try them, I'd curate a stack of ~24 sheets out of the total 48, and then randomly give out 3 sheets per player before the draft begins.
This dude is looking sweet. A much, much better body than Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, but with a more fragile long-term payoff.
I'm a sucker for 3/3's with first strike, but this dude just seems good all-around. Downside is he doesn't pass the Vindicate test 90% of the time, but has a lot of gas past that. I personally enjoy having 1-3 creatures with that value proposition in each color, so this would slot in alongside Fable.
Sylvan Caryatid vs. Wall of Roots (Wall usually wins, but in 2023, is fixing & hexproof more valuable for key ramps into crazy multicolor options like Minsc?)
Primeval Titan vs. Old One Eye vs. Gruff Triplets
Ledger Shredder vs. Subtlety (A weird slot, I know)
"Nonartifact" has become noticeably narrow for me lately. In recent years, we've received a few stellar multipurpose creatures for Ramp, Reanimator, Tinker/Welder, Sneak/Show/Erueka, Oath/Stampede, et. al. In particular, Ancient Stone Idol & Triplicate Titan each serve 3+ different Cheatyface strategies. Other newcomers like Archon of Cruelty & the most powerful new 40K additions also dodge it.
Now, Shriekmaw doesn't need to kill a game-ending threat to be good. Plenty of times, 2 mana kills their 3-5 mana creature and you're feeling good. Other times, a 3/2 with Fear cuts through a Soldier token, Elk, or the ****ing Hamster and finishes off the walker. But time really isn't on the maw's side.
However, it is massively superior to all other picks in 1 way: that sweet nasty rad over-the-top Lorwyn foil promo.
My thought process:
Decent effect on a land maindecked ~100% of the time > creature with amazing value if it dies; no need for mana payment > creature with amazing value if it doesn't die; often requires mana payment > great value even if it dies but costs 6 mana up front.
Shame this doesn't actually work with Feldon of the Third Path or Body Double effects.
Lots of these are corner cases, marginal upsides or just unexciting. But they reveal how ubiquitously reasonable he is in many decks, in many matchups, on many turns. There are stronger cards for this slot, but there aren't many colorless creatures as maindeckable. If you want to spend 1 colorless slot on a card that every player might maindeck every time you draft, try him out.
This dies to shock, but that's not a requirement I ask for in a 2-drop; this dude... let's call it a 2.75 drop.
This ability is sweet, definitely just bonus value. Could be better than Soldier of the Pantheon. But I think Dauntless Bodyguard is also better than this.
Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance vs. Den of the Bugbear?
Gideon Jura vs. The Wandering Emperor?
I see this card as significantly different than a hybrid Orzhov card, so it isn't occupying a guild slot for me. You can cast either half in an Orzhov deck, but it's also extremely maindeckable in a mono-white deck, while middling in a mono-black deck. When I can find room for it, I'll be using one of my 10 "rainbow slots" where all my hybrid cards & weirdly-colored cards go. It's like a tiny chunk of cards that I can use however I want & break rules lol
Edit: Well, having a showcase galaxy foil in hand is different. I was fond of the design space for Outlaws' Merriment, and this seems much more potent. I'll test it, and sadly be cutting Ajani Vengeant in order to keep Tajic, Legion's Edge for Aggro/Earthquakes.
One small edit: Matt Tabak confirmed in this article that "In Booster Draft, sticker sheets aren't drafted. After you open an Unfinity booster, remove the sticker sheet before drafting any cards. Before each game, choose up to three from among the sticker sheets you opened."
I initially think the Limited ruleset will work best for us. If I try them, I'd curate a stack of ~24 sheets out of the total 48, and then randomly give out 3 sheets per player before the draft begins.