Had a strong feeling that this was better than the initial reception, but I still would not slot this in over Daretti. I'm probably going to slot this in over Dreadbore personally.
Exciting to hear the strong feedback on this one. We have had a buffet of middling 4CC PW options for Gruul and Wrenn and Six never really appealed to me (also not worth a Benjamin to me). I will be picking this up - likely replacing Huntmaster of the Fells.
Nice to see some support for Baneslayer types -- I was pushing this same line in 2020 and the response was almost universally "nope, they're bad, thanks for playing" and then inevitably someone questioned the removal in my cube -- usually without looking at my readily available list. While power focused cube lists do have premium removal, the opponent still has to have it and have it before too much value has been accumulated. There's always going to be a place in my cube for the best 5CC threats that swing the game when unanswered even if they are susceptible to removal.
At 6CC on up I think you do have to insist on immediate value or self-protection -- the only 6CC and above creature I run that doesn't meet that standard is Consecrated Sphinx and this is because the card draw it generally provides makes this card worth it even without these features.
Nice option for less power focused cubes. For me there are three big strikes.
1) 4 toughness - This card already has the same weakness as Consecrated Sphinx by costing six mana and not having any form of self-protection. Dropping the toughness to 4 expands the menu of options that can kill this even further to include several red options (FTK, Chandra) and attacking creatures with 4 power that you need to block.
2) Downgrade to Catalog from Divination.
3) Worse trigger condition - Even with the upfront value, only triggering thereafter on attack is much worse than whenever an opponent draws a card.
Below are some custom land designs for my FF9 inspired set. Once completed this will be a 10 land legendary cycle. All of the lands are legendary painlands that cannot be tapped for colorless, but do have an added ability that only requires tapping.
Cleyra, the Spinning Sands
Legendary Land (R) : Add G or W. Cleyra, the Spinning Sands deals 1 damage to you. : Untap target attacking creature with flying. Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to and dealt by that creature this turn.
In FF9, Cleyra is a city protected by a massive sandstorm. Cleyra trades off some pros and cons with Maze of Ith. Unlike Maze, Cleyra is Legendary and can only target flying creatures. Cleyra has the upside of being able to also tap for mana however.
Lindblum
Legendary Land (R) : Add R or W. Lindblum deals 1 damage to you. : Reduce the crew number for target vehicle you control by 1 until end of turn. That vehicle gains haste until end of turn.
Lindblum is the city of industry -- famous for airships. Added a pair of abilities that are powerful due to being free, but still require you to have both a creature and vehicle to take advantage of the ability.
Kuja's Desert Palace
Legendary Land (R) : Add B or R. Kuja's Desert Palace deals 1 damage to you. : Exile the top card of your library. You lose life equal to its converted mana cost plus two and you may cast that card from exile until end of turn.
Really wanted to play off of the Antlion traps in the game. FF9 adds some intrigue to finding Kuja's Desert Palace by making it one a handful of sinkholes but if you pick the wrong one you are attacked by an Antlion. I interpreted that idea into Magic as an impulse draw mechanic, with a potentially substantial life penalty depending upon the card drawn. This is the one I'm the most iffy as to whether it could see print -- even with the "plus two" clause.
This is the new Muscle Burst, but no more useful I'm afraid.
Not sure I understand this comparison. Synthesis has a lot more utility and flexibility then a Kindle/Muscle Burst style card. You're seeing a single uncommon application of the mechanic. Synthesis does not necessarily require duplicate copies of the same card although in this example it does. Synthesis abilities aren't going to be limited to p/t boosts either. Synthesis is primarily a cost reduction mechanic that allows you to have a sideboard similar to a learn-board from which you can cast otherwise reasonably costed equipment at a much more advantageous rate if you can draw and play the two cards that synthesize to make that card.
You need to retemplate this because, as written, its a static ability that will be constantly checking "Do you want to do this" until you do it, but its an easy enough fix.
Much appreciated. Nailing the right wording is often a challenge. What are your thoughts on making the auto-equip dependent upon the equipment entering from outside the game? Too restrictive?
I have a hobby of working on my custom Final Fantasy IX themed set as time allows and I have always wanted to way to make Synthesis work within Magic the Gathering. Early attempts at this mechanic looked like Meld, only for equipment. I pulled some inspiration from both Zendikar Rising (auto-equip) and Strixhaven (learn boards) for this iteration.
Mage Masher3
Artifact - Equipment (U)
Equipped Creature gets +1/+1
Non-creature spells cost 1 more to cast.
Equip 1
Synthesize - If you control two permanents named Mage Masher, you may exile them and put an artifact card named “The Ogre” from outside the game onto the battlefield. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
Had originally costed Mage Masher at 2 and didn't have a toughness boost and then realized I just created a near strictly better Thorn of Amethyst. I think this Thorn of Amethyst + Short Sword at 3cc would make for a strong and printable uncommon.
The Ogre5
Artifact - Synthesis Equipment (U)
When The Ogre enters the battlefield, attach it to target creature you control.
Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and trample.
Non-creature spells cost 2 more to cast.
Equip 4
The Ogre is reasonable option for its regular cost, but a much better deal when cast via synthesize.
Could make a really strong argument for this as the #1 Gruul planeswalker / #1 Gruul card in general. Wrenn and Six is different enough to contest it as a walker, IMO, but W6 can be pretty niche where this isn't.
Also, I just realized that Karakas really throws a wrench in this card until you can find something else to pump.
Agree. My comment was based on how I perceive others evaluate W6. I'm personally not very high on it - especially in unpowered lists. This card is insane in both unpowered and powered.
New 2nd best Gruul walker. It clamps and repeats, it swings hard and hasty, and it burns and draws gas. I'm really happy to see a Gruul walker that outclasses the existing glut of mediocre options at 4cc.
Great set to bolster the available equipment options. I particularly appreciate that as someone who has struggled to justify Stoneforge Mystic in my cube because I don't run any of the swords cycle. Boseiju, who Endures is pretty insane. It's effectively a 2CC or less Creeping Mold with the cons of not being able to hit any land and allowing them to replace the target with a basic land, but with the pro that it can be an untapped forest. It has gorgeous art to boot.
Still find this card to be criminally underrated. Getting to Mill 10 and double reanimate for 5 mana when you are playing the reanimator deck decides games.
I'm well aware this isn't a popular take, but recruiters are somewhat low in the pecking order for me compared to other cube three drops. I know they enable you to dig into your toolbox for needed answers, but I often find that the anemic 1/1 body is a problem. I still run the white recruiter since it works well enough with multiple white strategies. Not a fan of the red recruiter since it seems too slow for red decks that largely rely on burst damage.
"This is what the people at Stonewall died for!"
and then this zinger about Bearscape....
"I was onboard until I saw Bearscape. It's just too difficult to shuffle my deck with one hand."
At 6CC on up I think you do have to insist on immediate value or self-protection -- the only 6CC and above creature I run that doesn't meet that standard is Consecrated Sphinx and this is because the card draw it generally provides makes this card worth it even without these features.
1) 4 toughness - This card already has the same weakness as Consecrated Sphinx by costing six mana and not having any form of self-protection. Dropping the toughness to 4 expands the menu of options that can kill this even further to include several red options (FTK, Chandra) and attacking creatures with 4 power that you need to block.
2) Downgrade to Catalog from Divination.
3) Worse trigger condition - Even with the upfront value, only triggering thereafter on attack is much worse than whenever an opponent draws a card.
Cleyra, the Spinning Sands
Legendary Land (R)
In FF9, Cleyra is a city protected by a massive sandstorm. Cleyra trades off some pros and cons with Maze of Ith. Unlike Maze, Cleyra is Legendary and can only target flying creatures. Cleyra has the upside of being able to also tap for mana however.
Lindblum
Legendary Land (R)
Lindblum is the city of industry -- famous for airships. Added a pair of abilities that are powerful due to being free, but still require you to have both a creature and vehicle to take advantage of the ability.
Kuja's Desert Palace
Legendary Land (R)
Really wanted to play off of the Antlion traps in the game. FF9 adds some intrigue to finding Kuja's Desert Palace by making it one a handful of sinkholes but if you pick the wrong one you are attacked by an Antlion. I interpreted that idea into Magic as an impulse draw mechanic, with a potentially substantial life penalty depending upon the card drawn. This is the one I'm the most iffy as to whether it could see print -- even with the "plus two" clause.
Not sure I understand this comparison. Synthesis has a lot more utility and flexibility then a Kindle/Muscle Burst style card. You're seeing a single uncommon application of the mechanic. Synthesis does not necessarily require duplicate copies of the same card although in this example it does. Synthesis abilities aren't going to be limited to p/t boosts either. Synthesis is primarily a cost reduction mechanic that allows you to have a sideboard similar to a learn-board from which you can cast otherwise reasonably costed equipment at a much more advantageous rate if you can draw and play the two cards that synthesize to make that card.
Much appreciated. Nailing the right wording is often a challenge. What are your thoughts on making the auto-equip dependent upon the equipment entering from outside the game? Too restrictive?
Mage Masher 3
Artifact - Equipment (U)
Equipped Creature gets +1/+1
Non-creature spells cost 1 more to cast.
Equip 1
Synthesize - If you control two permanents named Mage Masher, you may exile them and put an artifact card named “The Ogre” from outside the game onto the battlefield. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
Had originally costed Mage Masher at 2 and didn't have a toughness boost and then realized I just created a near strictly better Thorn of Amethyst. I think this Thorn of Amethyst + Short Sword at 3cc would make for a strong and printable uncommon.
The Ogre 5
Artifact - Synthesis Equipment (U)
When The Ogre enters the battlefield, attach it to target creature you control.
Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and trample.
Non-creature spells cost 2 more to cast.
Equip 4
The Ogre is reasonable option for its regular cost, but a much better deal when cast via synthesize.
Agree. My comment was based on how I perceive others evaluate W6. I'm personally not very high on it - especially in unpowered lists. This card is insane in both unpowered and powered.
Blade of the Oni
Lion Sash
Eater of Virtue
Boseiju, Who Endures
Testing
The Wandering Emperor
Watching
Junji, the Midnight Sky
Rabbit Battery
Touch the Spirit Realm
Great set to bolster the available equipment options. I particularly appreciate that as someone who has struggled to justify Stoneforge Mystic in my cube because I don't run any of the swords cycle. Boseiju, who Endures is pretty insane. It's effectively a 2CC or less Creeping Mold with the cons of not being able to hit any land and allowing them to replace the target with a basic land, but with the pro that it can be an untapped forest. It has gorgeous art to boot.
You have to measure up to Oko, Uro, and Krasis now....I'm not going to see a Simic update for sometime I predict.