great mana sink and alternate win con.
though the problem itself lies in the fact that it is a mana sink. maybe an AIR deck can get some love out of this card. or maybe something for RDW to not sputter mid-late game.
Not sure if it's already been confirmed, but it looks like Vampire tribe is still present as well. Under the Black Mana exploration it highlights a Vampire tribe on Mirrodin.
i think it's very likely since there was a mephidross vampire back in mirrodin. i hope it doesn't suck now. haha
I was really unimpressed with Venser though. Why U/W? Why an aggro power when he is some trick based mage? Why not something neat like bullt in Clone or Vedalken Shackles effect. Lame for Blue.
at least you can refresh your walkers with him if you use up their counters. the second ability looks like something you can use for when you just gotta pump up a few points of damage in some tricky matchups. but he is kinda subpar and out of color with u/w. the last ability is crazy though. opponents are gonna have a hard time choosing to kill him or jace in a u/w deck since venser might suck, but his last ability is real good.
do i really have to bring up jitte,affinity,cascade, or skullclamp?
jitte = kinda imba, but being a legend means it's more fragile than most.
affinity = really broken back in standard (hence the banning of artifact lands), out of standard it's just kinda meh.
cascade = lol. do we really have to bring this up again?
skullclamp = too powerful, hence it got banned.
magic is balanced cause wizards can ban/unban certain cards to make the playing field more level. honestly, they are always having a hard time cause of players that just can't be satisfied and who always want the perfect card game ever. you can't please everyone, and as long as there are more people playing than people hating, you're just wasting your time trying to hate on wizards. sometimes, you just gotta play the game and not muck about with the rules.
anyway, the new cards look nice; darksteel axe seems pretty cool with phylactery lich, plus the rat+proliferate ability would look like a fun casual deck. maybe even competitive if wizards would give the cards it needs.
titan is a great creature and it also ramps you to boot, but the problem i see is in it's flexibility. most green decks could easily afford to run vengevine as a cheap recurring beater. but with primeval titan, it's more of a waste if you can't abuse the ramp ability. plus, it's a 6 drop, when you get to 6 mana your opponent will most likely have answers for it. even if you ramp it, it's just gonna be redundant in that you have other ramp spells, it's just gonna be overkill.
vengevine on the other hand, it may be smaller and not have trample or something similar like primeval, but it's a great aggro creature and it's so hard to deal with if you can recur it repeatedly. it's just a good card in general that can be splashed in different decks.
so for now, i say vengevine. but on the other hand, if you want the primeval ,valakut's a very good option right now, and bulk of the deck is in zendikar. so it could still be viable for a long time.
i suggest you keep it. you never know if a ramp deck tops a ton of events, thus making the price soar. if not, it's still a good card with zendikar and those manlands around.
I think that it works well with fauna shaman but thats it, on its own its a chump blocker, after the first its a dead card without shaman, its 4 slots in a deck that does nothing on its own, shame it wasnt a 2/x would be diff story then
at the very least it's a deck thinner. but yeah, squadron hawk is pretty one-dimensional. but in the context of a deck with venge, and fauna shaman, it's pretty good.
I'd rather bounce a Wall of Omens with Skyfisher, recast Wall, and draw another random card than cast two 1/1 fliers for the same mana.
And again, Cunning Sparkmage is everywhere. If your deck is relying on 1/1 fliers to build a board presence, Naya will eat you alive.
Basically, I think the format is far too aggressive to mess around with cute CA cards like Squadron Hawk. Perhaps it will be better after the rotation, but I'm just not seeing it right now.
i think the hawk is more of an engine rather than something to create presence. it can activate vengevine, it can chump block, it helps with fauna shaman, and it can thin decks (a teeny bit).
using the hawks to create board presence will be the last thing you're gonna do with it.
how's the deck doing btw? i don't really see it in my area anymore, which is kinda sad. how bout you guys? still whuppin ass with vengevines and hasty beats?
it's a bit off topic, but maybe you could take a bant color approach? stuff like negate are very flexible in this deck, and they can also add another level of protection for your auras.
that also opens up jace as an option. imagine the card advantage you get from spiritdancer, jace, and permission spells. the instant speed aura also comes to mind.
it's just theory crafting though..
also, ranger of eos goes hand in hand with steppe lynxes and the singleton 1 drops.
The only way I've forced him to work is with a Whispersilk Cloak. Canopy Cover is pretty good, Vines of the Vastood isn't consistent enough, Bear Umbra is good but doesn't last long enough, and Emerge Unscathed is the same deal. Whispersilk Cloak sticks (unless it's O-Ringed), protects, and makes him unblockable.
problem with that is it requires even more mana to protect him. 3+2 (though you don't have to equip asap) and if you tap out, some odd person might use fallout on you or play an earthquake for 1. ouch.
he's too much trouble for what he's worth. at least with the nantuko shade he's a 2 power for 2. you could pump him if you have any extra mana, and if not, he's still decent.
though the problem itself lies in the fact that it is a mana sink. maybe an AIR deck can get some love out of this card. or maybe something for RDW to not sputter mid-late game.
i think it's very likely since there was a mephidross vampire back in mirrodin. i hope it doesn't suck now. haha
isn't he just a disembodied head post mirrodin?
EDIT: sorry, was thinkin of someone else.
at least you can refresh your walkers with him if you use up their counters. the second ability looks like something you can use for when you just gotta pump up a few points of damage in some tricky matchups. but he is kinda subpar and out of color with u/w. the last ability is crazy though. opponents are gonna have a hard time choosing to kill him or jace in a u/w deck since venser might suck, but his last ability is real good.
jitte = kinda imba, but being a legend means it's more fragile than most.
affinity = really broken back in standard (hence the banning of artifact lands), out of standard it's just kinda meh.
cascade = lol. do we really have to bring this up again?
skullclamp = too powerful, hence it got banned.
magic is balanced cause wizards can ban/unban certain cards to make the playing field more level. honestly, they are always having a hard time cause of players that just can't be satisfied and who always want the perfect card game ever. you can't please everyone, and as long as there are more people playing than people hating, you're just wasting your time trying to hate on wizards. sometimes, you just gotta play the game and not muck about with the rules.
anyway, the new cards look nice; darksteel axe seems pretty cool with phylactery lich, plus the rat+proliferate ability would look like a fun casual deck. maybe even competitive if wizards would give the cards it needs.
titan is a great creature and it also ramps you to boot, but the problem i see is in it's flexibility. most green decks could easily afford to run vengevine as a cheap recurring beater. but with primeval titan, it's more of a waste if you can't abuse the ramp ability. plus, it's a 6 drop, when you get to 6 mana your opponent will most likely have answers for it. even if you ramp it, it's just gonna be redundant in that you have other ramp spells, it's just gonna be overkill.
vengevine on the other hand, it may be smaller and not have trample or something similar like primeval, but it's a great aggro creature and it's so hard to deal with if you can recur it repeatedly. it's just a good card in general that can be splashed in different decks.
so for now, i say vengevine. but on the other hand, if you want the primeval ,valakut's a very good option right now, and bulk of the deck is in zendikar. so it could still be viable for a long time.
at the very least it's a deck thinner. but yeah, squadron hawk is pretty one-dimensional. but in the context of a deck with venge, and fauna shaman, it's pretty good.
i think the hawk is more of an engine rather than something to create presence. it can activate vengevine, it can chump block, it helps with fauna shaman, and it can thin decks (a teeny bit).
using the hawks to create board presence will be the last thing you're gonna do with it.
that also opens up jace as an option. imagine the card advantage you get from spiritdancer, jace, and permission spells. the instant speed aura also comes to mind.
it's just theory crafting though..
also, ranger of eos goes hand in hand with steppe lynxes and the singleton 1 drops.
problem with that is it requires even more mana to protect him. 3+2 (though you don't have to equip asap) and if you tap out, some odd person might use fallout on you or play an earthquake for 1. ouch.
he's too much trouble for what he's worth. at least with the nantuko shade he's a 2 power for 2. you could pump him if you have any extra mana, and if not, he's still decent.