Quote from rancored_elf »You could probably work backwards from a similar card to get the red angel.
Thundermaw Hellkite is a good example because it's the same colour, same rarity, and almost the same cmc.
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Done. I don't think there's any reason to add another drawback (such as you take double damage as well).
A fragile 4 power creature that also makes you lose the game faster isn't undercosted at 4 mana. Nor is it interesting of flavourful.
And on top of that: Thundermaw Hellkite taps most things that can block it on the turn it enters play, and wipes out any chump blockers among them. Meaning that the dragon is much more likely to actually connect with your opponent's face as well as helping your other creatures hit face. Thundermaw Hellkite might be a bit too good for its price, but there's a much bigger gap between it and the new angel than there should be.
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After stabilizing around Christmas, M15 is up slightly:
1) Nissa Worldwaker (19)
2) Goblin Rabblemaster (13)
3) Battlefield Forge (9)
4) Garruk Apex Predator (9)
5) Perilous Vault (9)
6) Ajani Steadfast (7.5)
7) Chandra Pyromaster (7.5)
8) Liliana Vess (7.5)
9) Shivan Reef (6.5)
10) Sliver Hivelord (6.5)
11) Hornet Queen (6)
12) Llanowar Wastes (6)
13) Urborg Tomb of Yawgmoth (6)
14) Soul of Theros (5)
15) Jace the Living Guildpact (4.5)
16) Yavimaya Coast (4.5)
17) Chord of Calling (4)
18) Stoke the Flames (4)
19) Caves of Koilos (3)
20) Hushwing Gryff (3)
21) Sliver Hive (3)
22) Soul of New Phyrexia (3)
23) Waste Not (3)
The card's most recent move is on right.
Hushwing Gryff, Soul of New Phyrexia, and Waste Not moved above the $3 market this update, making 23 cards worth opening in a booster pack, and on the tally.
Nissa may have FINALLY bottomed, just under $20, but time will tell on that. Rabblemaster has been at $13 (and 2nd place) for quite a while now. Battlefield Forge remains top of the painlands, and is now $9 for 3rd place. Anyone know why Boros kicks ass when it comes to painlands? It has always been the absolute worst of the 10 painlands, now it's the best. Perilous Vault is another hot mover, up 50% from $6 to $9! Could it keep going? Ajani, Chandra, and Liliana's reprints are bunched together at $7. Got your Sliver Hivelords yet? Unless they're reprinted, this is a sure bet for $40 within a few years, just like all the other Sliver WUBRGs. It bottomed at $4 and has crept now to $6.... not because Slivers are becoming more popular in Standard (they aren't), but because supply is waning and demand will always be there from the casual scene. Hornet Queen continues to be played and is also up to $6 now, while Soul of Theros, new to the Tally last update, holds tight at $5. Stoke is still top uncommon ($4 and 18th place in the set). Hushwing Gryff moved up this month perhaps because it helps nullify the popular Siege Rhino? Waste Not is up based on synergies with Fate Reforged which was just released. Just off the Tally sit Genesis Hydra, Scuttling Doom Engine, and Soul of Innistrad.
Despite the good news, M15 does contain a lot of bulk rares. It's a large set, and the highlights don't cancel out all the chaff. Box value is around $80 currently, which means it's not all that profitable for most people to open boxes. That has an upside though, the set should continue to have value going forward, as several of the cards are playable in older formats (or they're casual staples). Value is fairly nicely spread over 20 to 25 cards, which is reasonable. Would be nice to see some better commons in a set, but can't have it all. Next full update in a couple weeks.
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The fetchlands cool, allowing the value in the set to spread out:
1) Flooded Strand (15)
2) Polluted Delta (15)
3) Sorin Solemn Visitor (14)
4) Sarkhan the Dragonspeaker (12)
5) Windswept Heath (12)
6) Wooded Foothills (11)
7) Bloodstained Mire (10)
8) Dig Through Time (6.5)
9) Sidisi Brood Tyrant (6.5)
10)) Wingmate Roc (6.5)
11) Anafenza the Foremost (4.5)
12) Siege Rhino (4.5)
13) Clever Impersonator (3.5)
14) Ashcloud Phoenix (3)
15) Hooded Hydra (3)
The card's most recent move is on right.
Now there are 15 cards worth $3 or more, and therefore worth opening in a booster pack. Sidisi, Ashcloud Phoenix, Anafenza, and Clever Impersonator returned to the tally after some time away, and Hooded Hydra made its first appearance.
The fetchlands, which had risen slightly off their lows a few weeks ago, have returned to those lower prices again. Each lost $1 to $2 this update, as demand held steady but supply increased due to them being reprinted in Fate Reforged. The blue fetches remain the top cards in the set. Sorin and Sarkhan both fell yet again, as they have done nonstop since release, having lost 2/3 their original value. Dig Through Time did well in recent tournaments and is now the top non-fetchland rare. Sidisi returned to the Tally all the way up to 9th place and nearly $7. Wingmate Roc is a card I've yet to sell a single copy of, despite consistently listing it for $1 less than the cheapest copy on eBay. I'm not entirely convinced anyone is actually playing with this card.... but it's hard to explain it going for $8+ each on eBay in that case. Perhaps my customers just don't like birds, who knows. I'm thinking of dropping it to $2 each to see if anyone buys any, then! Anafenza also returned to the Tally, helped by Siege Rhino's continued popularity, as well as because Anafenza's second ability is very powerful against Tasigur, the card-to-beat from Fate Reforged at the moment. Hooded Hydra makes an appearance on the backs of the manifest mechanic in the new set, but I doubt it will have much staying power.
EBV has pulled back a couple bucks into the mid 80s, putting it close behind the new set which is in the mid 90s at the moment. I'm surprised it held up so well. I see the fetchlands have come down in price with their reprinting in FR, but in a way that's helped the set even out. Value can stop chasing the fetchlands so hard, and end up bolstering some playable cards that have been undervalued, like Siege Rhino and other cards lower down on the Tally. Fetches (and the 2 Planeswalkers) have come down but other cards have come up to compensate. Overall the set is still pretty good value, especially if you can get boxes below street prices.
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I was fiddling with Gatherer the other day and saw quite a few cards I've never even heard of before. Good stuff, too, some creatures I'd like for some of my casual decks. Weird that so many cards are coming out (or being reprinted) that it takes full time attention to be aware of them all.
Feels a bit like shark-jumping, if you catch my drift. Feels like hockey cards in 1991. Just saying.
Looks like Tasigur is coming back down to $8 or so now, with lots of supply coming online after the recent demand surge.
Frontier Siege has stabilized around $3 for now. I really like the card and think it has more potential if the right enablers are available.
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Ugin back on top of a shrinking Tally:
1) Ugin the Spirit Dragon (29)
2) Monastery Mentor (25)
3) Soulfire Grand Master (17)
4) Tasigur the Golden Fang (9)
5) Brutal Hordechief (8)
6) Shaman of the Great Hunt (8)
7) Warden of the First Tree (7.5)
8) Whisperwood Elemental (7.5)
9) Crux of Fate (6)
10) Temporal Trespass (5)
11) Torrent Elemental (4.5)
12) Frontier Siege (3)
The card's most recent move is on right.
There are now just 12 cards worth $3 or more, and therefore worth opening in a booster pack, as Flamewake Phoenix, Soulflayer, and Monastery Siege fall off the Tally and Frontier Siege moves onto it.
Ugin held tight just below $30 as Mentor lost a few bucks and slid to 2nd. Grand Master remains at 3rd and sinking toward $15. Tasigur has been the talk of the town in the past 48 hours, doubling in price to $9 after doing well in a tournament. I'm skeptical that it will be able to hold above $10, as it is only a rare, and legendary, and requires either black-green or black-blue. None of those things make it a bad card, but they do restrict demand. People are saying $20, but that would make it stronger than Thoughtseize or fetchlands, and those are played in far more decks, across every format. I do think it will continue to be played though, and won't return to $4. The Orc mythics continue to hang around in the $8 range along with Warden of the First Tree and the creepy/useless Whisperwood. Crux of Fate is holding strong around $6 for now.
Frontier Siege popped onto the Tally after surprising some people over the weekend. It's worth noting that it is essentially a full playset of Llanowar Elves in one card, and much less vulnerable to removal. And 2 of them essentially have haste, as you get
Box value is coming down a little and appears to be just under $100 at the moment, but that depends greatly how you calculate it of course.
Next update in a couple days
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Legendary Creature - Human Warrior
First Strike
Whenever Alesha attacks, you may pay
3/2
Notice "with power 2 or less", not mana cost.
So what are your picks for some of the most amazing interactions possible with this card?
I'll update the following list as we go, please make suggestions for things to be added - or removed.
I'm going for cards that not only work with Alesha, but have lots of synergy with it (and hopefully each other). It looks like a "tookbox" type of creature deck is possible, playing WBR (Alesha's colours). G has a lot to offer, in terms of targets to recur with Alesha. U has Clever Impersonator (becomes anything in play) and Mulldrifter but not much else so far.
Beatsticks
Clockwork Dragon (6/6 flying)
Phantom Nishoba (7/7 trample lifelink)
Minion of the Wastes (if you have more life, you win)
Master of Cruelties (if they can't block, you win)
Gigantomancer (attacks, then becomes 7/7 and makes Alesha 7/7 too)
Ghave, Guru of Spores (5/5 with some serious activated abilities)
Doran, the Siege Tower (5/5 and may also pump your other creatures)
Knight of the Reliquary (2/2 with +1/+1 for each land in your graveyard)
Token-makers
Trostani's Summoner (1/1, 2/2 vigilance, 3/3, 4/4 trample)
Siege-Gang Commander (2/2, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1, and a sac outlet)
Hornet Queen (2/2 flying deathtouch, 4x 1/1 flying deathtouch)
Maul Splicer (1/1, 3/3 trample, 3/3 trample)
Goblin Rabblemaster (probably only good enough in a Standard Goblin deck)
Ponyback Brigade (2/2, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1 - probably only good enough in Standard or Block)
Support
Daghatar the Adamant (can be hard cast or returned with Alesha, and shifts counters around your board)
Ankle Shanker (makes Alesha almost impossible to kill in combat)
Squealing Devil (Pumps Alesha's power to keep her alive in combat)
Mardu Skullhunter (discard and good synergy in Standard)
Kathari Bomber (Deals 2 flying damage, casts Dragon Fodder, and sacrifices itself so you can do it again next turn.)
Mogis's Marauder (Makes 1 or more attackers much harder to block.)
War-Name Aspirant (great synergy in a Standard deck with Alesha)
Juniper Order Ranger
Disciple of Griselbrand (lifegain, graveyard enabler)
Stingscourger (bounce a potential blocker, don't pay upkeep, rinse and repeat)
Silverblade Paladin (upgrade Alesha to double strike)
Battle Brawler (synergy with Alesha deck in Standard)
Gray Merchant of Asphodel (lifedrain if the deck is heavily
Loxodon Gatekeeper (your opponent's stuff enters tapped)
Palisade Giant (soaks up any damage you or Alesha would take)
Undercity Informer (graveyard enabler with good synergy)
Balefire Liege (would be very strong in some builds)
Huntmaster of the Fells (good synergy and value)
Murderous Redcap (direct damage and recursion)
Saffi Eriksdotter (keep Alesha around)
Mardu Heart-Piercer (direct damage, especially in Standard)
Inner-Flame Acolyte (hold Alesha back until turn 4 and then go off even nastier)
Funny
Peacekeeper (Alehsa puts Peacekeeper into play, attacking, and if he survives, your opponent can't attack. Don't pay the upkeep... rinse repeat!)
Tree of Redemption (lol....what?)
Wall of Stone (just because)
Bane of Progress (probably never going to happen, but in a huge multiplayer game this would be hilarious)
Indomitable Ancients (2/10 haste, why not?!)
Removal
Necrotic Sliver (
Avalanche Riders (Destroy any land, don't pay upkeep, rinse and repeat.)
Fulminator Mage (Sac to destroy a nonbasic land, rinse and repeat.)
Triskelion (2 counters act as a Forked Bolt, the 3rd kills the Triskelion after combat, rinse and repeat.)
Bone Shredder (kills a creature then goes to your graveyard so you can rinse and repeat)
Acidic Slime (there are better options most of the time)
Magus of the Disk (attack 2/4, then wipe the board next turn)
Duplicant (exiles a creature, plus Clone effect)
Card advantage
Mentor of the Meek (perfect synergy with Alesha and rest of the deck)
Burnished Hart (fixes mana, thins decks)
Imperial Recruiter (gets almost any card in the deck)
Dark Confidant (incredible synergy and card draw - if you're not playing Gigantomancer, Hornet Queen etc)
Solemn Simulacrum (solid, but becomes excellent with a sac outlet)
Recursion
Karmic Guide (reanimate anything - even Alesha - and don't pay the upkeep so you can rinse and repeat)
Anarchist (probably not very useful unless you're building around Sorceries)
Eternal Witness (less useful unless you're heavily into
Crypt Champion (brings back Alesha, and Alesha brings back him!)
Reveillark (not perfect synergy with Alesha, but excellent with the rest of the deck)
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Too bad Pygmy Allosaurus isn't legendary
I think Alesha, who Smiles at Death would like it.
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Thanks.
So she will toss Clockwork Dragons at my opponents for 2 mana?
Peacekeeper would be funny to send into battle and get killed, turn after turn after turn.
Gigantomancer enters as a 1/1 and promptly pays
4
Can she throw Primalcruxes at my opponent? Or how about Sekki, Seasons' Guide?
Also....
Does she bring out Avalanche Riders to kill a land, let them die during upkeep, and bring them back again next turn?
Can I sac Basal Sliver for the BB to bring it back into play?
Will Burnished Hart help fix my mana so that I can return it again later?
Does she have mad synergy with Crypt Champion? Squealing Devil?
Fulminator Mage maybe?
Kathari Bomber suddenly has a friend?
Will Necrotic Sliver clear the path?
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But all 4 are pretty decent. Nice little set of multicoloured spells.