I feel so old...so old that I can remember MTGNews (where I was briefly a mod), which begat MTGSalvation, which will beget...something else, I suppose. End of an era indeed. While never a place for robust strategic conversation, it was THE place for spoilers for the last decade and a half or so, and a place I've been happy to call home.
I will miss this place, and will probably resist creating a new account in the new place before finally relenting in a few years after getting too sad to not be able to discuss Commander and rumored cards.
Farewell and RIP, 'Sally. It's been real.
- Hawk7915
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Dec 4, 2017Hawk7915 posted a message on The Dos and Don'ts of Silver-Border CommanderI wish I owned a copy of this little gem, as "My Library is Riding the Dilu Horse" sounds like the most vaguely disturbing and awesome thing in the history of MtG.Posted in: Articles
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Nov 30, 2017Hawk7915 posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemPosted in: ArticlesQuote from GreenJobTzar »See your number one shows why the costume people are immaterial to the community, they only show up at high level events, therefore with CS gone, nothing was lost. No one is cosplaying at my kitchen table or any other. Saying someone playing dress up makes someone buy an intro deck is such a leap of logic even the worst digital marketing hack wouldn't try it.
And your number two, couldn't agree more. Harassment's just not happening at the players playing with cards level that people think it is unless one thinks social media reflects reality. Try going to you local LGS and be a salty POS. People will play the games for an event, but you're not going to participate much beyond pay to play.
If your LGS is rife with rape jokes, name and shame bruh. Can't find Jeremy doing it, though most of his content isn't great, but would love a link.
Fair that we've gotten pretty far into the weeds here. My LGS seems generally great, my wife hasn't run into issues there and has generally bowed out because she hates limited and we're too poor for constructed. I haven't seen much/hardly any of Jeremy's stuff. I've seen a few of Christina's pictures on WotC's social media page but this whole scandal is the first I've really heard of both of them. They'll be gone, and there will be new cosplayers and scumbags to take their place.
I do think there's room for improvement and inclusion, because data says that something like 35-40% of players are women, but only 1% of serious tournament players or even casual "weekend warriors" are women. Some of that may be legitimate gender and cultural differences, but some of it is almost certainly that women feel unwelcome at local FNMs. It doesn't take the extremes of rape jokes and threats to scare 'em off.
Still, we're way off the issue here. It seems like we're both generally in agreement that being civil is good and that we're here for the larger issue and have no actual buy-in on the individuals involved, and I concede that cosplay is a poor/nonexistant marketing tool as it's pretty niche even among nerds. I do think they should be treated with respect, but fair enough that paying cosplayers to come to events like Hascon is probably money better spent elsewhere (like on fixing Gatherer or improving development or getting mainstream press attention). -
Nov 30, 2017Hawk7915 posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemPosted in: ArticlesQuote from GreenJobTzar »That begs the question, what special accommodations need to be made for non-majority people? As far as I saw from 95-201X, none, but my group and LGS doesn't do any language policing, though we did make fun of the guy with waifu lands until he stopped using them.
I would say the people who demand things non game related do affect the game. Beyond salaries paid by wizards for content managers and other community management roles, money that could be spent on more RnD, better quality product and tourney prize support, we've already seen calls for wizards to pay adults to play dress-up.
So yes people who want to enjoy the game differently are detracting from the game by sapping finite resources. One could say they are growing the pie, but a worse product (ICM and other recent sets) is shrinking the pie more.
1) MaRo doesn't lie, and has repeatedly noted that "casuals" - folks who play for costumes and stories and flinging cards around their kitchen table - are the major audience of Magic the Gathering by a vast, vast magnitude. Super serious players who play professionally, and even semi-serious players who grind FNM every week, are an overall minority of the player population. It is THEIR enjoyment that funds the serious R&D to grind out good products and develop a game that rewards good play at the highest levels. While the recent Standard issues are likely in small part due to overtaxing the development team to serve a story team, the ability to hire new developers and refine/improve R&D with the Play Design team is due to the ever-growing sales from that story change, which has been a huge success for MtG's primary consumers.
2) I don't see why not hitting on people, commenting on their body shape and appearance, or "joking" about rape is an undue and unreasonable accommodation to expect in a professional setting, if you are dead-set on being the very best player beating the very best opponents. If your pleasure comes not from winning but from getting to be a dick to your opponents and drink their tears, you are at odds with the intent of the game. The author, and most female/colored/disabled players, are not asking you to treat them like Kings and Queens. They are asking you to treat them like adults and fellow players. -
Nov 30, 2017Hawk7915 posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemPosted in: ArticlesQuote from Negator_402 »One major difference, and I hope you can appreciate this: heterosexuality is, FAR AND AWAY, the norm. Your analogy would make more sense if women (lets, for the sake of argument, make them all unattractive women) continually asked me out this poorly at a card tournament. It would be sad. If men hit on me, that would be very creepy, because they are presuming interest in homosexual activity, which is a minority. That would be like me handing out Planned Parenthood fliers in Iran, and wondering why I am getting shot.
There is also a public policy issue. We want humans to live in the US, interestingly enough. For that, we need people to, you know, mate! Unwanted advances are sad, and when made repeatedly, are in fact harassment. One-off failed pickup attempts are not, and punishing them will lead to more introversion from an already-introversive group. Should we not be encouraging players to date each other, rather than making women at Magic events sacred cows??
I can accept a middle ground: flirt with tact. At a bar, grossly creeping at a girl results in a drink tossing. At a card event, perhaps a shove? But banning that behavior is wrong.
I get what you're saying, and am all for tact. The point of the author, and many other eloquent folks in this thread, is that it is never "just you" playfully flirting and dropping it if she says no or says nothing. It is every. single. opponent. Every single time. My wife usually made clear she was with her husband, and got creeped on the few tournaments she has been to back when we were just engaged and long-distance so she was attending alone. The fact that it is a constant barrage from all parties means even the guy who says "Hey, you're cool, that game was great, let's get coffee sometime" (which I'd consider to be respectful, tactful, and focused on positive qualities instead of just having sex ASAP) can feel pretty unwelcome because you are in fact the 10th guy to proposition her that day. The truth is that the far too many men are NOT that tactful and respectful, and I get that's because they're nervous and awkward but that is a reason and not a terribly compelling excuse. -
Nov 30, 2017Hawk7915 posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemPosted in: ArticlesQuote from Kryptnyt »That's fair. I didn't know about any Wolfenstein outcry. If there's flamethrowers in that game, it makes a lot more sense I guess. I still don't think Nazism has anything to do with cosplay however.
Yeah, I spend a ton of time on AV Club and most of my friends are hyper-liberal so I saw some of it. There is a legitimate phenomenon of making a tempest out of a tea kettle so I'm not sure how widespread the outcry REALLY was, but it was widespread enough to vaguely ping my radar so I understood that reference. Considering how fresh, and not well-disseminated, the reference is it would probably be good to edit the section to clarify. -
Nov 30, 2017Hawk7915 posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemPosted in: ArticlesQuote from Negator_402 »What you just mentioned (that pickup line) is not harassment, and I fear for a world were that is considered such.
Context matters, so consider my post to be "unsolicited pick-up lines that clearly make the recipient uncomfortable" since sure, you might be flirting and it makes sense to drop old gems like this - but also, if all your pickup lines relate immediately to sex with someone who's just there to play Magic, perhaps you should find a few new ones. THAT's the overall point, really, of my thread here - many here are saying "just let me play cards, this is a game, leave politics and identity out of it", then defending dropping cheesy pick-up lines and trolling for sex with their female opponents who are also just there to play cards. You can't have it both ways. It can't just be a game when it makes you comfortable, and be about your out-of-game needs and wants when it makes you comfortable too.
I opted for a clean example in the interest of not getting a warning or infraction. -
Nov 30, 2017Hawk7915 posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemPosted in: ArticlesQuote from Negator_402 »No, that is NOT what it is. I never mentioned feminism and its goods/ills once. I just want to be left alone and not having thought policing.
I know it's a tough line sometimes, but the issue here is that your privilege to be left alone ends when you harm someone else. If you say "hey, you look great in that dress but it'd look greater on my floor", your female opponent calling you on it or reporting you to a judge for unsportsmanlike conduct is no longer a "Thought Police" issue, it is an anti-harassment issue. Treating people with respect, decency, following the golden rule, etc, shouldn't BE a political issue, and the point of the article is that if you take this as an attack on your personal beliefs and politics, perhaps it is time to do some real soul searching regarding those beliefs and politics. -
Nov 30, 2017Hawk7915 posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemThe full, in-context quote is:Posted in: Articles
"It should go without saying that if you feel personally attacked when someone denounces the Nazis, you ought to take a good, hard, long look inside yourself to find out where that Nazi sympathy comes from. And then you kill it with fire from a good, old-fashioned, American-made M1A1 flamethrower, a fine weapon responsible for killing many Nazis in the actual World War II."
In context, she refers to killing "those feelings of sympathy" with fire, and there is no advocacy of violence against Nazis. "Kill it with fire" is a common turn of phrase, and is here directed entirely as a metaphorical fire-bombing of negative attitudes some may possess, internally.
The "shoot Nazis in Normandy but not New York" bit is specifically referencing the outcry over Wolfenstein's recent release, which a handful of conservatives decried despite Wolfenstein being a long-running series predicated on shooting the hell out of Nazis (something it has in common with many, many, many other Triple A shooter titles on the market), as the context of a Nazi-controlled US still featuring Nazi-shooting was apparently too close to home for some. I admit the messaging is muddled by the long gap (she mentions the game in paragraph one, and the line, with no reference to the game, in her final paragraph), but there is no advocacy of violence here. An edit to make it clear she's referencing Wolfenstein: The New Colossus, however, may be beneficial. -
Nov 30, 2017Hawk7915 posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemI suppose I can appreciate the desire to "face only the strongest". Christina doesn't even play so that's whatever. I would challenge the assumption that welcoming women, people of color, disabled people, etc to the community somehow will give you less worthy opposition. I'm also not sure that folks who enjoy the game differently (for its art, costumes, flavor, etc) should be made to feel unwelcome or be treated poorly when they won't ever dilute your tournament experience or environment.Posted in: Articles
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Nov 30, 2017Hawk7915 posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemI find it interesting that many posts here are to "keep politics out of my escapism". I understand and empathize with the sentiment. I come here to get away from the horror show that is modern politics and news. I generally prefer to tune out and avoid confrontation.Posted in: Articles
Here's the thing though; folks like Christina and the author are "bringing their liberal politics into your game" because you, or folks like you, started it.
I am a white man, so I have a limited perspective on many things, but I am also disabled and in a wheelchair. I have 100% had folks talk...real...real...slow to me, or make cracks about "feeling bad beating up on a cripple" at tournaments. I've let it mostly roll off my back or taken them aside and gently told them that that is very uncool of them, as my physical disability does not overly impact my cognitive functioning and it's a bit insulting to assume othewise. Are my opponents who do this immune to criticism? Am I injecting my "SJW politics" into the game by correcting them, or by posting this?
I would hope logically you'd answer "no, that's all fine and fair" - but then why is it wrong for Christina or Alexandra to similarly share their perspective and defend themselves? I would personally not have been as violent or blunt as the author either, but as someone who can only generally imagine what its like to be treated as "less than" every. single. minute of the day, since I get treated as "less than" a few times a week, I also don't really have the right to tell someone that their anger or protest is inappropriate. We can't endorse a community that does stuff like ask women "are you hear with your boyfriend/husband? You look GREAT in that dress. Are you free later? Do you know how to play? Do you just play for the pictures? Are you just doing this for attention from men?" AND also say "whoa, calm down lady, it's just a game" when they get upset at that treatment. -
Nov 30, 2017Hawk7915 posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemI was a bit nervous about the title here, but this article was dead-on. Many here are quick to say we need to protect valid criticism, but that wasn't the issue here. Christina didn't leave because of "criticism" - it's not like people were telling her she got the colors wrong or ought to have used metal instead of foam on her costume or she should switch to "Urban Decay" for makeup because it doesn't look as tacky and smeared after being in costume all day, or whatever and she couldn't take it. She left because of persistent harassment that crossed the line from respectful criticism to personal attack. The defense of criticism is a borderline non sequitur - it's like leaping into a discussion of how to prevent arson by adding "hey, just remember, roasting marshmallows in your backyard is great though. Let's just remember that some fires are helpful and maybe be a little easier on the arsonist, okay?"Posted in: Articles
The fact that there are so many comments here on MTGS are in defense of Jeremy, or a leap to "if you tell me I can't do as I please to others you are the oppressor and problem!!!!" is as depressing as it is utterly unsurprising. You hit the nail on the head. If you choose to spend your days protecting and defending Nazis, Fascists, rapists, misogynists, and internet trolls, even if you yourself feel you are NOT a Nazi, Fascist, rapist, misogynist, or troll, you can't be surprised to find that you are unwelcome in private communities due to the company YOU have chosen to keep, and the hill YOU have chosen to die on. You really should take a long, hard look at why you feel that this is the side you want to be on if you are uncomfortable with the labels that it entails.
One of the great lies of the 20th century is that all opinions are equal and sacred, that your ignorance is as valuable and valid as my knowledge, and that there is no objective truth. You are absolutely entitled to the opinion that Jeremy is right, that Christina is a crybaby, and that perhaps to go further, women are objects for your amusement or should only wear things that conform to your standards of beauty. You are also entitled to the opinion that the Earth is flat, but that isn't going to help you pass an Astronomy class or leap off the edge of the planet, and you are entitled to the opinion that gravity is a lie but that isn't going to let you take to the air on your own power. You're entitled to the opinion that all medicine is quackery and all nutrition is part of a conspiracy - take a decade off eating healthy and visiting doctors or taking any medicine and get back to me on how you feel. And you will face criticism by those that actually study, learn, research, and listen instead of forming a snap opinion based on their personal, anecdotal, and frequently privileged evidence. That criticism 100% means you will face consequences for sharing the opinions that underline and define Nazis, Fascists, rapists, pedophiles, and misogynists around the world.
I'd say that's the only misstep here. I am not calling you a Nazi - but your spirited defense of them is cause for concern and says a lot about your underlying beliefs and attitudes. If being lumped in with someone that, 10 years ago, we almost all agreed was synonymous with "punchable jerkwads and universal villains" is making you feel discomfort, perhaps it is your beliefs, and not my connecting of the dots, that is the problem. - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Drop the Gelectrode and Dragonauts for 4 counters and some Telling Time and a lone Banefire (you can transmute for that, right?). Once you land a Guildmage, you have a few spell combos that will end the game. If you get him + Training grounds, there are a ridiculous amount of spells that end the game.
So I'd drop the grounds, mage, and and manamorphose and add some more craetures (maybe the ones listed above or maybe just "good" stuff at the 1 and 2 mana slot) and some rebound spells.
What I can see happening is reprinting of famous, fan-favorite artifacts in Scars of Mirrodin (just as got classics Juggernaut and Icy Manipulator and card-table hero Dragon Blood in Mirrodin the first time around). So here's my baseless speculation, based on that theory :D:
Chimeric Idol - the "best creature in standard" for a while; would he still be good in a world of power-creature-creep today?
Aeolipile - colorless removal.
Shield Sphere - you want to slow down standard and make defenders.dec playable? Reprint this!
Ancient Tomb - ridiculously overpowered, but would it be what Eldrazi need to be competitive? They'd have 8 lands in standard that produce 2 colorless at a time, plus Eye of Ugin . . . I think it might work. The only problem is the anti-appeal (big Timmy creatures + massive life loss that Timmy hates), so maybe Cloudpost is a more reasonable suggestion.
Solemn Simulacrum - I know I just said they wouldn't reprint stuff from Mirrodin block, but Wizards has shown that they aren't afraid to reprint pro-designed cards, and Jens is the best one that doesn't have a reprint yet (sorry to the designers of Rootwater Thief and Sylvan Safekeeper, and besides Bob because Bob is OP and was still too recent).
The idea of a deck that honestly hides behind removal, land destruction, walls, and massive card advantage and beats someone to death with freakin' Aura Gnarlid is hilarious, and I think this deck actually has potential. 8 cards cantrip already, the curve is super low, it breaks Jund's back with its "land destruction" package + removal, and its men can dodge a lot of removal with Canopy Cover and Eel Umbra. The big problem is that decks packing Day of Judgment or the new Consume the Meek can really cause this deck some trouble, but hopefully you'll draw so many cards that you'll be able to drop a new Gnarlid + cover or Spiritdancer + cover the turn after and continue the beatings.
That's fair; as I said (in another thread, when he was first previewed) my biggest concern for him is not that he's not good but that he shares a CMC with Walletslayer, and that CMC puts him about 1 higher than what most WW and Bushwacker builds want to pay even though he can be a blowout in those decks if he lands. I guess a guy that ends up as a 1-2 of in most control decks is probably not as "good" as a card that sees play across formats; I was looking more at a pure standard view in my defense.
I wouldn't take any Eldrazi; it seems like massive fat monsters are a dime a dozen in this format and you won't be hurting for them.
On point, Counterspell is basically my favorite card in the history of Magic . . . but I understand that it is simply too oppressive in standard. The fact of the matter is, Wizards has done enough research to be convinced that the "average" player (one unlikely to be on these boards or SCG) hates counters and land destruction. Even though objectively there is no difference between "'I play my Thorn Elemental and...' 'no, countered'" and "'I play my Thorn Elemental and...' 'okay, end of turn Terror'", players feel like there is a difference and that's enough for WotC. It'd be nice to have a 2CC counter, but then again, blue "permission" strategies continued to be monstrous demons in standard when Mana Leak and Remand were in standard together (Solar Flare.dec, Dralnu/Teachings control, etc).
It'd be nice, for M12, to have an experiment and try Mana Leak. We'd only have a few short months with both Deprive and Mana Leak in the same standard, to test whether having both was overly abusive, and then a year to test out if Mana Leak is "too good".
It'll have to be a reprint if we ever do get a "good" counter again though (by whatever definition of good people want to use; I know several people will not be happy until Counterspell itself, or better yet Mana Drain, gets a reprint), because printing a brand new 2CC counter that is nearly as good is just another problem for casual Magic. In that light, I'm a little shocked we got Deprive at all.
If anything, I don't think Gideon is getting enough hype. Imagine if the following card was printed:
Superman
:3mana::symw::symw:
Legendary Creature - Superman
6/4
When ~ enters the battlefield, destroy target tapped creature.
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to ~.
~ cannot block.
It's be totally crazy compared to any similar dude that had been printed before (and totally not white, but meh). But Gideon is more than that. That's Gideon at his worst. Gideon is immune to sorcery speed removal (which in standard really only means he dodges Consuming Vapors, Journey to Nowhere, and most sweepers, but that's still a lot). Gideon can cause your opponent to tap their army and fall to your counterattack, and potentially even survive to swing for 6 of his own. Gideon can easily destroy more than just one guy the turn you play him; he can destroy a tapped dude every turn that he has counters and a target, if that's what you want him to do.
My top 5:
1. Gideon Jura (in case you couldn't tell)
2. Student of Warfare
3. Inquisition of Kozilek
4. Awakening Zone
5. Vengevine, but honestly after the top four its a tie between a lot of different cards that are "fringe" playable or might see a ton of play in older formats but not standard, like Realms Uncharted.
Lay Bare - I can't echo strongly enough how awful this card is. I'd rather play almost any counter in Magic's history over this one, in any format. It's so insulting that I'd almost rather play Induce Paranoia in a deck with no black sources and no other ways to mill :tongue:.
Coralhelm Commander - He's pretty good even as a not lord (blue rarely gets bears, and he's a Phantom Monster if you need to pay his "echo"). As others have pointed out, though, we're a few merfolk short of it being a great deck in standard, and he has some stiff competition in legacy and extended. I'm gonna say no play outside of casual, at least until rotation. He is really good, though. One of the better levelers so far (probably top 5, right behind Dragonmaster, Student, and Treespeaker).
Dude Recall - I'm sorry to say that this is entirely unplayable. I tend to look at cards through rose-tinted glasses (I thought Treasure Hunt was the best EVAR) and even I don't see where this can see play outside of sealed, and even there I'd probably usually run it as a 22nd card (I'd run it before running more land, but would prefer a trick or creature). For an aggro deck, if you have four dudes on the board, you should be swinging for the kill. Even Bant (where some of your dudes just sit there and give Exalted bonuses to people, so they might be free) rarely gets 4 men on the board, and has to give up their deadly 12 damage lifelink attack to draw the 3 if they do have 4 men on the board, so it's not worth it. The new "Bant Defender" deck would have to totally lower its hard-built shields to draw 3, and while they might be able to afford that thanks to Perimeter Captain lifegain, they probably also have the resources to just cast Mindsculptor or Mind Spring or even Mysteries of the Deep for their refill. Merfolk, Allies, Lorescale Gro, Faeries...they'd all rather be turning their 4 men sideways keeping them on defense then Sleeping their team for 3 cards. And with no token producers in blue, that means some sort of G/U spawn build...and clearly spawn ramp wants to be G/R, and splashing a third color for some counters and this is not worth it.
There, an exhaustive list of every deck Duderecall can't go in and why :).
That's true. . .that list is probably honestly better with -4 Surrakar, +1 Forked Bolt, +1 Sphinx, +2 Banefire.
I'm wondering if a green/blue "gro" build (no other colors) might be the best option. . .
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Vedalken Heretic
4 Lorescale Coatl
4 Surrakar Spellblade
4 Vengevine
2 Jace the Mindsculptor
Instants/Sorceries: 15
4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Negate
4 Distortion Smite
4 Ponder
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Halimar Depths
6 Island
10 Forest
Better threat density, some creature recursion, cheaper ways to protect your dudes. The biggest problem here is only having 15. instants/sorceries, but 4 of them have rebound. I desperately want Boar Umbra to fit into this deck, but it's so low on instants/sorceries already. . .
I don't know, I almost feel like Surrakar Spellblade, while incredibly cool, is simply too fragile and too many hoops to jump through for his effect.
4 Surrakar Spellblade
2 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
Planeswalkers: 3
3 Jace the Mindsculptor
Instants: 18
3 Negate
3 Cancel
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Burst Lightning
4 Double Negative
4 See Beyond
3 Forked Bolt
2 Surreal Memoir
Land: 24
4 Scalding Tarn
6 Mountain
11 Island
3 Halimar Depths
Some other card considerations would include Mnemonic Wall, a land-destruction package of Goblin Ruinblaster, Spreading Seas, and Demolish, different finishers like the new Sphinx of Magosi or maybe Chandra Nalaar, and Distortion Smite if there was enough creatures to justify it. SB options include Flashfreeze, Swerve, and Thada Adel, Acquisitor. I'd also be curious on seeing how Deprive fits into this deck, and whether it ought to replace Cancel.
4 Prophetic Prism
4 Kaleidostone
4 Howling Mine
3 Everflowing Chalice
4 Time Sieve
4 Mistvein Borderpost
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
4 Angelsong
4 Open the Vault
3 Time Warp
Planeswalkers: 5
2 Gideon Jura
3 Tezzeret the Seeker
4 Marsh Flats
2 Creeping Tar Pits
1 Swamp
4 Plains
6 Island
I don't think Runed Servitor is necessary; we have 8 "EtB" card draw artifacts plus howling mine, which is more than the original build ran. We have 4 "fog" effects alongside Gideon, who can either fog or act as an alternate win condition. Cards I wish I had room for/might be needed:
-Glassdust Hulk/Architects of Will: Cycling 1 and they come back when you land an Open the Vaults
-Grim Discovery: recur Marsh Flats and a cycler from above.
-All is Dust: an (almost) one-sided Wrath?
-Runed Servitor: More EtB card draw, and a speed-bump against aggro.
- Wall of Omens/Wall of Denial: Buy more time with these walls (and dig deeper with Omens).
- Jace the Mindsculptor: Because 'walkers are really good with all of these time walk effects, and he's the best blue card in standard.
(aside: Transcendent Master is not, as I said when he was previewed, "awful"; you have persuaded me of that. But there is not way he's going to see play. Stag is good due to dodging Maelstrom and Terminate and being unblockable some of the time, and still is mostly in people's sideboards. if WW needs a 3/3 on the ground, they have Student of Warfare who also can murder elves and thrinaxes all day long instead of just trading. And if white wants a finisher they have Wallet-slayer and Gideon (or any other great finisher in other colors) who don't randomly die to Lightning Bolt/Searing Blaze/Urge to Feed and who have additional abilities beyond just being a big lifelink stick. )
Student of Warfare is, if not the best card in the set, solidly in the top 3, and possibly the strongest one-drop ever printed for white. He's that good. In a less-green heavy deck post-rotation, I think Beastbreaker is solid (in mono-green he loses to Leatherback Baloth). I think Dragonmaster is better than you give him credit for especially post-rotation (Red has historically been willing to play 2/2 with drawbacks for 2; this guy can become the evasive finisher that most sligh-type builds desperately need once the ground stalls out and Geopede and Guide aren't good enough). Joraga Treespeaker is excellent for all the reasons you pointed out.
And every single non-mythic leveler is going to be a decisive powerhouse in limited (I am far more confident in my ability to get my Knight of Cliffhaven into the air reliably than I am in my ability to cast an Eldrazi every game, because the Knight can race in for 2 on turn 3 and start early pressure).
As with many cards, the people on these forums will see. . .I seem to recall many people arguing that Baneslayer wouldn't see any play, so I wouldn't sweat the posters too much. Heck, I might even get proven wrong on Transcendent Master
That wall is amazing. Well, it's a known quantity, but being in the color of PtE and Wall of Denial and Gideon and Walletslayer. . .wow. White keeps making out like a bandit; every huge chase card in the set so far is white (Gideon, Student, now this). It also makes me wonder why Mnemonic Wall is :4mana::symu: instead of :3mana::symu: or even :1mana::symu::symu:. I think Bant Wall-ramp (Overgrown, this, Wall of Reverence, denial, and [card]Perimeter Captain[card]s alongside fat Eldrazi to ramp into) might be close to playable, actually; this is a critical mass of elf and leech-stopping road blocks.