The problem with trying to use Strategic Planning with Abandoned Sarcophagus is that if you throw something with cycling into the graveyard it will wind up being exiled because it wasn't cycled...unless, of course, the card you put in your hand had cycling and then you cycled it. I tried using Taigam's Scheming after KTK came out, figuring I could spend turn 2 fixing my next couple of draws and throwing stuff into the graveyard for delve fuel--that plan worked somewhat well--and then I tried Contingency Plan for Sultai Delirium before Emrakul got banned but that didn't work out so well--adding blue made the deck weaker, not stronger.
In a Limited/Sealed setting I suppose looking at the top 3 and choosing the best isn't really all that bad and throwing instants/sorceries into the graveyard is not a problem as long as you have a couple of Bloodwater Entities to restock them.
edit/add: Baral's Expertise. Bounce two of your opponent's creatures and the entity, summon the entity for free, restock the Expertise, draw it into your hand at your end step via Fevered Visions, then draw your next real card and do it again next turn. You may not get ahead this way but your opponent won't make much progress, either.
Given the named considerations for removal (and the fact that he explicitly said "Standard"), it sure seems like he's talking about standard and you're not.
If your only concern is if there are better options in Modern, almost any card is bound to disappoint you.
What thatmarkguy said. I evaluate cards only for Limited/Sealed or Standard because those are the only formats I know; I don't do Modern at this time. Some day soon, yes, but for now I don't.
The point I was addressing was that people are claiming this creature is bad because it adds keywords to itself only at the beginning of each combat step rather than having them at all times. The problem with that logic is that they are overlooking the fact that in a deck like GW Tokens (Standard version) the creature might be a vanilla but it so large that vanilla doesn't matter any more. Without removal, all your opponent can do is chump the 20/20 and hope you don't find a way to give it some combination of flying, menace, and/or trample next turn. The fact that you are playing this creature in green means that it probably already has trample, so when you send it into combat on turn 6 or turn 7 it becomes a case of "block with everything or die". In Limited, this creature will win games.
Hazoret's Undying Fury just got better. Exile this and three other cards, sweep first, then cast the other nonland cards. Your lands not untapping next turn probably won't matter at that point.
In any sort of blue deck, I can see using a full set of Tragic Lesson--drawing 2 cards during your opponent's end step is always good, whether you are subsequently discarding a card or not. It may not be quite as useful as Hieroglyphic Illumination but it does cost less.
In GW Tokens, it is not outside the realm of possibility that this creature could be a 12/12 when you summon it on turn 5 then an 18/18 or even 20/20 when you attack with it on turn 6 without needing any keywords on it whatsoever. At that point, the typical removal used by most top decks in Standard won't work--you need unrestricted removal like Never // Return, Unlicensed Disintegration, or Anguished Unmaking to take it out. Of course, without trample the lonely little Narnam Renegade will gladly trade with it in combat.
Only fourcreatures in Standardinnately have hexproof (at this time) so that ability will be a little difficult to attain; the rest of the abilities are easily found in green/red. I would not be upset to open this in Sealed next weekend.
I cannot be the only one to notice that it says "target permanents", can I? When you cast one of those "Last x" spells that says that lands you control don't untap during your next untap step, you figure out the mana you need, tap the lands, cast the "Last x" spell, get its effect, then spend W1 to bounce those lands back to your hand and play one untapped (presuming you are in one of your main phases). You may set yourself back a few lands but if they were going to be tapped, anyway, they may as well be in your hand and give you the option of replaying them untapped.
Naturally, even if you aren't doing that this makes removal partially irrelevant--bounce the perm before the removal spell resolves.
At any point in the mid-to-late game, the aftermath side lets you filter through your hand very efficiently, getting rid of what you don't need and ideally finding something better, in addition to letting you summon two or more Hollow Ones for free.
edit/add: No, I wasn't the only one--Life_Weaver noticed it, as did Psyruby. Good--at least I wasn't the only one. I wanted to make certain I didn't accidentally misread the card before posting.
Rant off. Let me actually read the card now. So by gaining life I can get a 5/5 indestructible creature at my end step? Lifegain is trivial--sign me up. The Lone Rider approves.
Just to be clear, this doesn't work. You need to gain before the End Step or the trigger won't go onto the stack at all due to the "intervening if" clause.
However, this seems like a really good card. A 5/5 for 5 that requires little more than the use of a gain land or something with Lifelink and you can start pumping out 5/5 indestructible horses.
I can see that I didn't make it clear that the expectation was that I would somehow gain life before the end step. Yes, that assessment is correct--if the life gain doesn't happen before the end step then no horse token. I used Lone Rider only as an example because it has first strike and lifelink, so even if it dies in combat I still gained life when it blocks; the fact that it is riding a horse--or becomes a "horse"? horrorrse? difficult to figure the transformed creature out--is entirely coincidental.
In a Limited/Sealed setting I suppose looking at the top 3 and choosing the best isn't really all that bad and throwing instants/sorceries into the graveyard is not a problem as long as you have a couple of Bloodwater Entities to restock them.
edit/add: Baral's Expertise. Bounce two of your opponent's creatures and the entity, summon the entity for free, restock the Expertise, draw it into your hand at your end step via Fevered Visions, then draw your next real card and do it again next turn. You may not get ahead this way but your opponent won't make much progress, either.
What thatmarkguy said. I evaluate cards only for Limited/Sealed or Standard because those are the only formats I know; I don't do Modern at this time. Some day soon, yes, but for now I don't.
The point I was addressing was that people are claiming this creature is bad because it adds keywords to itself only at the beginning of each combat step rather than having them at all times. The problem with that logic is that they are overlooking the fact that in a deck like GW Tokens (Standard version) the creature might be a vanilla but it so large that vanilla doesn't matter any more. Without removal, all your opponent can do is chump the 20/20 and hope you don't find a way to give it some combination of flying, menace, and/or trample next turn. The fact that you are playing this creature in green means that it probably already has trample, so when you send it into combat on turn 6 or turn 7 it becomes a case of "block with everything or die". In Limited, this creature will win games.
With a little ramping, get to 8 mana then Insult // Injury followed by Hour of Devastation just because. Perhaps those forgotton Vessels of Volatility will have some legitimate use.
Life Goes On + Renewed Faith + lifelink creatures + Felidar Sovereign = a possible game plan.
The green 2-drop is an average green 2-drop--not great, but not bad, either.
The Naga Vitalist approves of the Survivors' Encampment.
He is just doing what evil overlords always do--hijack some nuclear weapons and hold the world hostage.
No worries. It's all good.
Naturally, even if you aren't doing that this makes removal partially irrelevant--bounce the perm before the removal spell resolves.
At any point in the mid-to-late game, the aftermath side lets you filter through your hand very efficiently, getting rid of what you don't need and ideally finding something better, in addition to letting you summon two or more Hollow Ones for free.
edit/add: No, I wasn't the only one--Life_Weaver noticed it, as did Psyruby. Good--at least I wasn't the only one. I wanted to make certain I didn't accidentally misread the card before posting.
I can see that I didn't make it clear that the expectation was that I would somehow gain life before the end step. Yes, that assessment is correct--if the life gain doesn't happen before the end step then no horse token. I used Lone Rider only as an example because it has first strike and lifelink, so even if it dies in combat I still gained life when it blocks; the fact that it is riding a horse--or becomes a "horse"? horrorrse? difficult to figure the transformed creature out--is entirely coincidental.