Our poor little shamans starting to look very spicy and competitive. I stopped playing Bosk Banneret because of not agressive enough stats, and this guy is both more agressive and wider. My body is ready for sick T2 plays via Hierarch, BTE and this little fella.
This card pushes the entire deck and adds so much to its power level, on top of Shamans also getting a solid turn 1 play with Ignoble Hierarch. Burning-Tree Emissary turns into a Dark Ritual on legs, Elvish Visionary to go up on cards, Goblin Ruinblaster to shred the opposing manabase, Reclamation Sage, Essence Warden, Burning-Tree Shaman, Wolf-Skull Shaman, Plaguecrafter, etc. all become amplified and the deck gains a sort of velocity many tribal thems can't achieve in modern
There are a ton of creative implementations for the shell with the MH2 prints and I'm excited to see how things shake out
Yeah, that's true, but I'm still a little bit worried about creature type.
Wolf-skull is more anti-synergistic, as you need to have less shamans in your deck. And card itself is meh anyway. I'm more excited about BTE's, Visionary, Judith's and Rage Forger's triggers as the most tempo-is. And probably its enough to justify using a non-Shaman in this deck.
Just imagine a play like
t1 Hierarch
t2 wizard+1-drop
t3 CoCo finding BTE and Visionary then casting another CoCo off BTE's mana and finding Rage Forger plus Judith.
This doesn't look like a miracle, just a regular game.
A fixed OUaT, Abundant Harvest, looks like a 4-of in almost any green deck in Modern and Historic. It's gonna be printed in MH2 to become Modern-legal.
Conspiracy Theorist looks solid and can be played as 1-of in main and 1-2 in the sideboard. Plargg, Dean of Chaos is pretty similar as a looter and offers interesting manasink option. I'd also prefer both of them having haste.
I think, the main viable Mardu midrange (not Death Shadow which already looks good now) deck gonna look differently. It's gonna feature several value planeswalkers/token generation engines with Mystic completely replacing Pyromancer as a 2-drop. Mainly because we now need play more than 21 lands without filtering Looting provoded and don't get that crucial 28-30 instants+sorceries for Pyro and Reveler. Yep, reveler is 100% out too.
Tokens are necessary to wield Swords. I also have a big faith in 3-mana Chandra and Yawgmoth combination. Hell, Chandra alone is a Snapcater Mage that can be activated several times per game!
I gonna brew and test something like this. Anyway, new era looks promising and full of intersting brews.
I'm just currently testing a list, based on THIS SUCCESSFUL ONE. Tweaked it with some of my favorite (but underrated for this archetype) cards like Goblin Rabblemaster and Rakdos Charm, also 3 Unearth looks and plays pretty weird without Monastery Mentor, which I think is the best target for it.
Sooo, Goblin Rabblemaster+Yawgmoth, Thran Physician work as insane value engine without losing in agression. Even if oponent has some big creatures that block our tokens, you just sacrifice them to make blockers smaller. Loved them and thinking about adding more goblins, they are too fun!
Canopy-lands were great each time I drew them. This deck needed them for sure.
Smiting Helix is a big deal. Lifegain, removal and a value fodder with Seasoned Pyromancer and Faithless Looting was also what the doctor ordered for Mardu. Also considering now opponents often forget about Helix being castable from the graveyard. They always keep in mind Lingering Souls, but Smiting Helix works as a cutting edge tech in some matches.
Gonna test it more with my play group to get more experiene with this version.
Akki doesn't replace Banneret. And it's much worse that Emissary. Emissary is played without ruining your mana curve, it can be chained into Rage Forger turn 3. Akki is just a 1 mana 1/1 that can't be played turn 1, that's it.
He looks allright, surely I'm interested to test him, but his -3 looks very underwhelming (hitting 2 creatures in 4 cards too hard, if you have less than 30 creatures). +1 is nice though.
Fireblade Artist BR Creature - Human Shaman
Haste
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may sacrifice a creature. If you do, Fireblade Artist deals 2 damage to target opponent or planeswalker.
2/2
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Elvish Visionary
3 Eternal Witness
4 Flamekin Harbinger
3 Goblin Anarchomancer
4 Harmonic Prodigy
4 Ignoble Hierarch
4 Rage Forger
4 Collected Company
4 Lightning Bolt
Land (22)
4 Copperline Gorge
4 Cragcrown Pathway
3 Forest
3 Mountain
4 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Dismember
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Magus of the Moon
3 Reclamation Sage
2 Void Mirror
Yeah, that's true, but I'm still a little bit worried about creature type.
Wolf-skull is more anti-synergistic, as you need to have less shamans in your deck. And card itself is meh anyway. I'm more excited about BTE's, Visionary, Judith's and Rage Forger's triggers as the most tempo-is. And probably its enough to justify using a non-Shaman in this deck.
Just imagine a play like
t1 Hierarch
t2 wizard+1-drop
t3 CoCo finding BTE and Visionary then casting another CoCo off BTE's mana and finding Rage Forger plus Judith.
This doesn't look like a miracle, just a regular game.
Conspiracy Theorist looks solid and can be played as 1-of in main and 1-2 in the sideboard. Plargg, Dean of Chaos is pretty similar as a looter and offers interesting manasink option. I'd also prefer both of them having haste.
Other new shamans in the last 5 sets are bad.
Tokens are necessary to wield Swords. I also have a big faith in 3-mana Chandra and Yawgmoth combination. Hell, Chandra alone is a Snapcater Mage that can be activated several times per game!
I gonna brew and test something like this. Anyway, new era looks promising and full of intersting brews.
2x Arid Mesa
4x Blackcleave Cliffs
2x Blood Crypt
4x Bloodstained Mire
1x Godless Shrine
2x Marsh Flats
1x Mountain
1x Plains
2x Sacred Foundry
1x Silent Clearing
1x Sunbaked Canyon
2x Swamp
Planeswalker (4)
3x Chandra, Acolyte of Flame
1x Liliana of the Veil
2x Collective Brutality
1x Dreadbore
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Lingering Souls
2x Thoughtseize
Instant (8)
1x Kaya's Guile
2x Kolaghan's Command
4x Lightning Bolt
1x Rakdos Charm
Creature (8)
2x Seasoned Pyromancer
4x Stoneforge Mystic
2x Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
Enchantment (2)
2x Bitterblossom
Artifact (2)
1x Batterskull
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
1x Basilisk Collar
1x Dreadbore
2x Extirpate
2x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1x Liliana of the Veil
1x Nihil Spellbomb
2x Plague Engineer
1x Sword of Light and Shadow
1x Terminate
2x Wear / Tear
1x Zealous Persecution
4 Young Pyromancer
3 Seasoned Pyromancer
2 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
Spells (28)
4 Faithless Looting
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
1 Unearth
4 Smiting Helix
1 Collective Brutality
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Dreadbore
4 Lingering Souls
1 Kaya's Guile
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Blood Crypt
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Godless Shrine
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Marsh Flats
2 Arid Mesa
2 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Mountain
1 Silent Clearing
1 Sunbaked Canyon
3 Ravenous Trap
2 Plague Engineer
2 Wear // Tear
2 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Dreadbore
1 Terminate
1 Kaya's Guile
1 Kaya, Orzhov Usurper
1 Zealous Persecution
Sooo, Goblin Rabblemaster+Yawgmoth, Thran Physician work as insane value engine without losing in agression. Even if oponent has some big creatures that block our tokens, you just sacrifice them to make blockers smaller. Loved them and thinking about adding more goblins, they are too fun!
Canopy-lands were great each time I drew them. This deck needed them for sure.
Smiting Helix is a big deal. Lifegain, removal and a value fodder with Seasoned Pyromancer and Faithless Looting was also what the doctor ordered for Mardu. Also considering now opponents often forget about Helix being castable from the graveyard. They always keep in mind Lingering Souls, but Smiting Helix works as a cutting edge tech in some matches.
Gonna test it more with my play group to get more experiene with this version.
Simian Spirit Guide ->
Looting discards Thunderkin Awakener and Lightning Skelemental ->
Blood Crypt ->
Unearth for Thunderkin Awakener ->
Thunderkin Awakener attacks and reanimates Lightning Skelemental.
He looks allright, surely I'm interested to test him, but his -3 looks very underwhelming (hitting 2 creatures in 4 cards too hard, if you have less than 30 creatures). +1 is nice though.
Fireblade Artist
BR
Creature - Human Shaman
Haste
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may sacrifice a creature. If you do, Fireblade Artist deals 2 damage to target opponent or planeswalker.
2/2