Whenever players attempt to restructure cards to remove infect and compare them to previous mechanics or creatures, it ends up both confusing and almost always inaccurate. The problem here is that it is not dealing double damage to players, it is putting on poison counters. They aren't equivalent. If boggart ram gang had infect instead of wither, it wouldn't have seen any play at all, because it could do 0 damage to the opponent. This creature, in a green deck, cannot deal damage to an opponent. It can give poison counters, but dealing double damage is vastly better. This isn't the same.
A clear demonstration why: a deck with goblin guides and plated geopedes can deal a huge amount of damage turns 1-3. Then this comes in turn 5 dealing trample and double damage to players. That's 10 hasty damage. That is excellent. However, it doesn't do this. It gives 5 poison counters. There is no infect goblin guide. There is no infect plated geopede. 2 mana gets you a 1/1 infect with flying, not a 3/3-5/5 plated geopede. The tempo of a poison deck is entirely different, and as a result, the power of this card is much less. This probably won't get in for the last 5 counters, because you'll be struggling to push your first 5 counters through, instead of sneaking in for 2 damage on your first turn with a goblin guide.
Ramgang wouldn't of witnessed any play because it wouldnt of had any other support in the form of dealing poison counters. A weak counterpoint at best. You are right that there isn't a 2 infect creature for B or G. Why? Because it would be stupid powerful for a creature to hit you for 4 EQUIVALENT life points. Poison = Life Total in a poison deck. You can't argue the opposite. When the deck is designed to kill you with poison, Poison Counters = Life Total. I don't know how else to explain it. Infact it's even better then life total because you can't remove poison counters, compared to gaining life. RDW gets screwed over when a person gains 4 life. At 10 life it becomes impossible, Poison goes LOL. We also still havn't seen the spell bombs. Which I wouldn't be surprised if one put a poison counter on a player. Vines of vastwood suddenly turns a measly 1/1 into a kill condition. While I can't say Poison will be 100 percent top tier competitive. It has certainly received the proper win cons it needs, it's up to the common/uncommon department to provide some support in the form of the early game to seal the deal. With cards like Ichorclaw Myr and Ichor rats, I have my hopes high.
5 poison counters = half of some ones life total. In a poison deck this is half of the clock. Sure theirs tons of removal. But that means they can't ever tap out.
Its like saying Ball Lightning never hit some one for 6. It happens frequently enough to make this the deal sealer for a poison deck.
Not sure why this card isn't black, but oh well. I don't think it's that great, especially on turn 5 if you expect this out of your opponent. I'm sure there's way to remove poison counters, but remember you don't lose until the 10th.
I don't like it but I can see why some do. It's new and exciting, but a 5 mana green monster that dies after 1 swing isn't that exciting to me.
Because it swings for half of a persons life total? After a sweeper and players are in top deck mode, this can win you the game right there if you have been playing the poison game at all. This is the deal sealer for a poison deck.
I've been running MBC for a minute now, and here is my current list. I see a lot of lists running 1 for 1 cards, and MBC can not do that. Every card you run has to be able to do multiple things in the current standard if you even want to go toe to toe with Jund, UW, Valakut.
I really want to fit in a mind sludge or two, I just have no idea how.
On Rotation the fetches and Ob are prolly going to bounce and be replaced by Abyssal Persecutor, I could see my self still sticking with the fetches though for deck thinning. So as the game progress's, I'm still hitting my threats even though my opponent is top decking lands. Ob is also typically a win more card. Where I have my opponent locked down from sheer card advantage and he ends up just becoming a 12/12 or something ridic. Losing Tendrils is going to suck hard.
Things I want to add: Abyssal, Mind Sludge, Memorcide. Skittles might be fun to toy around with, but we will see. I'm really hoping for some insane black cards that put poison counters on yourself in return for awesome effects.
Posted in: New Card Discussion
Wait, why are people saying this is good in Grixis? In a low creature deck like Grixis, they will always have some removal in hand to deal with it, unlike Jwar Jwar, which has a slightly more friendly cost, arguably better evasion, and wins in the same number of turns.
Because every one sides out removal against grixis, so you side him in. He's a bluffcard, and a damn good one. Not only that, but his big beefy frame makes him protectable, except against two removal spells. It's not like Grixis doesn't run counters anyways.
Plus bringing back any spell in a graveyard is a bit brutal.
Whether he pans out or not, it's hard to say but he already has a home in one deck.
I'm going to get 4 of them ASAP, just because he might be the card that knocks everybody on their butt this set.
Imagine an elf jumping through the air with a cleaver in one hand the other hand drawing a omnipotent portal with some magical energy(blightning even) flowing out of it at the nearest bad guy, or even the viewer himself.
I think that would look badass.
Grixis Control and U/W/x decks are lacking a solid draw spell. When the best draw spells in T2 are Worldly Counsel and Sign in Blood and the best one drop is Goblin Guide(outside of Phyrexian Negator), how can you expect control to keep up. I do believe U/W or another form of control is just a card or two away from being T1 though.
On the subject of a Urza card I'd expect it to read much like the Steamflogger Boss, doesn't make entirely too much sense on it's own, but would come together just fine with the other pieces.
I do agree with Tezzeret on the whole Urza wouldn't say win the game. Urza had no strategic skills what so ever, he just had the ingenuity to create several super generals(Metathran Commanders), and a literal deus ex machina(Legacy Weapon). He didn't even know how the legacy weapon worked, he just created it so it would figure out on it's own to beat the phyrexians.
Sadly, with the thousands of words I've posted about the inconclusivness of Jund's results, people still can't see past the top 8's. Sadly, people still think that the "best deck" always wins.
But, if 2 or 3 are saying it, there's probably dozens who are thinking the same thing, and hundreds who can't even understand the language.
Sadly, with what little interaction I have with these individuals, I can't remedy the problem. Maybe a formal education will help. After an education, I won't even need to spit out so many words anymore. All I'd have to say is "standard deviation of a statistical distribution" and "limited outcome range" and people would understand.
But I try to take the upside, and maybe be a little grateful, when the meta-game is so predictable. I mean, even something as high stakes as the stock market is full of a bunch of unthinking lemmings, so why should a game be any different?
Can some one infract that dude for trying to start a flame war?
****ing troll. Consistently hollow posts this time laced with insults.
As much as I like the "idea" of the card in practice he falls very short. If their was ever a deck that could run him; mana barbs would do the exact same thing but better.
MTGO competition is a lot more fierce. Also, don't do swiss noobs tend to pass on stupid things a lot more often stick to the 4-3-2-2. For some reason when I was heavy in the drafting on MTGO I consistently won more there.
Ramgang wouldn't of witnessed any play because it wouldnt of had any other support in the form of dealing poison counters. A weak counterpoint at best. You are right that there isn't a 2 infect creature for B or G. Why? Because it would be stupid powerful for a creature to hit you for 4 EQUIVALENT life points. Poison = Life Total in a poison deck. You can't argue the opposite. When the deck is designed to kill you with poison, Poison Counters = Life Total. I don't know how else to explain it. Infact it's even better then life total because you can't remove poison counters, compared to gaining life. RDW gets screwed over when a person gains 4 life. At 10 life it becomes impossible, Poison goes LOL. We also still havn't seen the spell bombs. Which I wouldn't be surprised if one put a poison counter on a player. Vines of vastwood suddenly turns a measly 1/1 into a kill condition. While I can't say Poison will be 100 percent top tier competitive. It has certainly received the proper win cons it needs, it's up to the common/uncommon department to provide some support in the form of the early game to seal the deal. With cards like Ichorclaw Myr and Ichor rats, I have my hopes high.
Creatures with infect deal damage to planeswalkers normally.
Its like saying Ball Lightning never hit some one for 6. It happens frequently enough to make this the deal sealer for a poison deck.
Because it swings for half of a persons life total? After a sweeper and players are in top deck mode, this can win you the game right there if you have been playing the poison game at all. This is the deal sealer for a poison deck.
4x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Grave Titan
4x Vampire Hexmage
2x Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
2x Consume The Meek
2x Smothers
4x Tendrils of Corruption
3x Grim Discovery
1x Haunting Echoes
4x Sign in Blood
4x Everflowing Chalice
12x Swamp
4x Marsh Flats
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Tectonic Edge
3x Sadistic Sacrament
4x Doom Blade
2x Smother
4x Suffer The Past
I really want to fit in a mind sludge or two, I just have no idea how.
On Rotation the fetches and Ob are prolly going to bounce and be replaced by Abyssal Persecutor, I could see my self still sticking with the fetches though for deck thinning. So as the game progress's, I'm still hitting my threats even though my opponent is top decking lands. Ob is also typically a win more card. Where I have my opponent locked down from sheer card advantage and he ends up just becoming a 12/12 or something ridic. Losing Tendrils is going to suck hard.
Things I want to add: Abyssal, Mind Sludge, Memorcide. Skittles might be fun to toy around with, but we will see. I'm really hoping for some insane black cards that put poison counters on yourself in return for awesome effects. Posted in: New Card Discussion
Because every one sides out removal against grixis, so you side him in. He's a bluffcard, and a damn good one. Not only that, but his big beefy frame makes him protectable, except against two removal spells. It's not like Grixis doesn't run counters anyways.
Plus bringing back any spell in a graveyard is a bit brutal.
Whether he pans out or not, it's hard to say but he already has a home in one deck.
I'm going to get 4 of them ASAP, just because he might be the card that knocks everybody on their butt this set.
I think that would look badass.
Just doesn't measure up to the captivation the original possessed.
I do agree with Tezzeret on the whole Urza wouldn't say win the game. Urza had no strategic skills what so ever, he just had the ingenuity to create several super generals(Metathran Commanders), and a literal deus ex machina(Legacy Weapon). He didn't even know how the legacy weapon worked, he just created it so it would figure out on it's own to beat the phyrexians.
Can some one infract that dude for trying to start a flame war?
****ing troll. Consistently hollow posts this time laced with insults.