That's definitely an upside over RiP, but not dealing with what is already in the graveyard is a hefty price to pay. In Modern you can get a dozen cards in the graveyard by turn 2, and not handling those as well might make Wheel just a bit too ineffective. A fair amount of the time RiP is just too slow, and with Hogaak things seem to be speeding up.
Yeah I think Wall is the best option there, I understand the reasoning behind Fblthp, as it allows you to pressure opposing Walkers, but I think you just want to increase the number of Snaps you run before throwing a cantripping 1/1 into your deck.
Resto is good to pressure opposing planeswalkers and against Humans / other control mirrors.
How does everyone feel about Watcher for Tomorrow in the midrange control version as a way of replacing Wall of Omens?
I don't like entering tapped, I don't like delayed draw, I don't like only being a 2/1. I'm personally not a huge fan of Fblthp in the midrange/control list that Nassif has been running, and that seems better than this thing. Against decks where you want to be using the slot to attack, Watcher doesn't actually get you card advantage until he is dealt with. Against the aggro decks where you need a blocker, he enters tapped, so you're basically spending 2 mana on a block in two turns and no card advantage immediately. Seems like too much going against him. Would have liked to see them remove the entering tapped part of Hideaway for the Creature version of the ability.
Hm ok. I've been toying with the idea of replacing Baneslayer and something else for 2 Restos in the side, I'm trying to run 3 Snap/2 Clique main, and Restos seem real good there. I can see how Cataclysmic Gearhulk would be good, I just feel that Karn GC doesn't exactly fill any slot amazingly, other than maindeck Artifact hate. Even if Gearhulk isn't taxed by Thalia, Karn is, and an untaxed Gearhulk just costs the same as any other taxed sweeper, and leaves them with their most relevant piece of interaction on the board, though I haven't tested it so wiping all but one might be enough.
Wing Shards is going to build storm count against Boggles, Infect, and Death's Shadow. All three decks cast spells before combat or before connecting in combat.
I don't think that any of those decks need a Storm count for Wing Shards, though. If Bogles has more creatures than Auras, you should already be winning. For Infect, similar thing, they don't usually attack with more than 1 creature, especially with Hierarch out. For Shadow, if they cast anything precombat, it's going to be a Thoughtseize/IoK, and they just take the Shards anyways. Except for special cases where the Bogle player diversifies their threats for some reason, or the Infect player swings with a bunch of Glistener Elves/Inkmoths, or the Shadow player deploys a threat precombat (?!) or casts a Thought Scour at sorcery speed (?!), I don't think Wing Shards lines up particularly well against any of those, at least not moreso than Blessed Alliance would in those same circumstances.
You're running Karn, Great Creator main? Does that do anything other than grab a 6 drop for you in a blind matchup? Just seems worse than Narset or T3feri, imo.
This is all theoretical, I haven't had a chance to test out any spicy combinations with the new 3 mana 'Walkers yet.
I feel the same way with Puzzle Box as I do with Knowledge Pool - It's just a combo piece that does nothing constructive without the relevant Planeswalker. The benefit of Box over Pool is that it is only 4 mana, and it combos with Narset, who seems to be more useful as a 3- or 4-of than T3feri, so you'll actually get both out more often than T3feri (2-of, most likely) and Pool (6 drop).
The inherent downside of Puzzle Box is that, even with a Narset out, you are forced to Windfall every turn, whether you want to or not. Your hand of answers becomes a hand of lands and redundant 'Walkers. If you have Narset out, your opponent is forced to bottom their whole hand every turn, so this isn't such a super-bad thing, but they can still deal with Narset (no + abilities mean an instant-speed Bolt/Hero's Downfall effect break the lock) leaving the game much more up to chance. Meanwhile, T3feri and Pool is much more difficult to crack, as your opponent literally cannot cast spells under it, and they must remove either with solely on-board tricks or non-spell effects, of which there are not many, especially considering you get an extra 6 cards off the Pool (3 from you, 3 from your opponent). In raw power, Pool wins, but its cost and reliance on the lower-run 'Walker might even it out.
I would run neither, but if you want to be adventurous, take Pool if your meta is a little slower and gives you an opportunity to run a 6 drop, Puzzle Box if you really like 4-of Narset (I want to find a slot for the 4th myself) and have a slightly faster meta, where a Turn3-4 punch to soft lock your opponent is enough.
You also don't need Snow-Covered Plains for OTI, it goes on any snow land. You just need one of your early fetches to be a Snow-Covered Island, and to also have a white source to cast OTI.
Yeah I haven't been sold on On Thin Ice yet, I usually play an Oust and I've always been lukewarm to even that. Until I see some data on On Thin Ice I'll probably stick to Oust; I have all Unstable basics, and while the MH1 Snowlands are pretty, the borderless lands are breathtaking.
Is it? It's the same total mana cost of Labman and a cantrip on a winning turn; what makes it that much better? Just that it can be played before comboing off and draw a card each turn?
Well, we got the London Mulligan back. Are people thinking Bogles will benefit from this, or will it just be easier to hate out in games 2 and 3? I didn't get a chance to play around with Bogles during the temporary change.
Definitely going to be trying out Infect again, now that we have the London Mulligan and Scale Up. I'm thinking BI might just need to take a seat, though out-of-nowhere +6 is really good at baiting the win. Are people planning on retooling lists to be more all-in game 1 with the London Mulligan?
With the return of the London Mulligan, I'm thinking about sleeving up Ad Naus again. Has there really been any development in the deck in recent months? I don't think the last few sets have given us anything, really. I don't think we have the Blue or Black cards maindeck to justify the pitch spells.
I don't like entering tapped, I don't like delayed draw, I don't like only being a 2/1. I'm personally not a huge fan of Fblthp in the midrange/control list that Nassif has been running, and that seems better than this thing. Against decks where you want to be using the slot to attack, Watcher doesn't actually get you card advantage until he is dealt with. Against the aggro decks where you need a blocker, he enters tapped, so you're basically spending 2 mana on a block in two turns and no card advantage immediately. Seems like too much going against him. Would have liked to see them remove the entering tapped part of Hideaway for the Creature version of the ability.
I don't think that any of those decks need a Storm count for Wing Shards, though. If Bogles has more creatures than Auras, you should already be winning. For Infect, similar thing, they don't usually attack with more than 1 creature, especially with Hierarch out. For Shadow, if they cast anything precombat, it's going to be a Thoughtseize/IoK, and they just take the Shards anyways. Except for special cases where the Bogle player diversifies their threats for some reason, or the Infect player swings with a bunch of Glistener Elves/Inkmoths, or the Shadow player deploys a threat precombat (?!) or casts a Thought Scour at sorcery speed (?!), I don't think Wing Shards lines up particularly well against any of those, at least not moreso than Blessed Alliance would in those same circumstances.
I feel the same way with Puzzle Box as I do with Knowledge Pool - It's just a combo piece that does nothing constructive without the relevant Planeswalker. The benefit of Box over Pool is that it is only 4 mana, and it combos with Narset, who seems to be more useful as a 3- or 4-of than T3feri, so you'll actually get both out more often than T3feri (2-of, most likely) and Pool (6 drop).
The inherent downside of Puzzle Box is that, even with a Narset out, you are forced to Windfall every turn, whether you want to or not. Your hand of answers becomes a hand of lands and redundant 'Walkers. If you have Narset out, your opponent is forced to bottom their whole hand every turn, so this isn't such a super-bad thing, but they can still deal with Narset (no + abilities mean an instant-speed Bolt/Hero's Downfall effect break the lock) leaving the game much more up to chance. Meanwhile, T3feri and Pool is much more difficult to crack, as your opponent literally cannot cast spells under it, and they must remove either with solely on-board tricks or non-spell effects, of which there are not many, especially considering you get an extra 6 cards off the Pool (3 from you, 3 from your opponent). In raw power, Pool wins, but its cost and reliance on the lower-run 'Walker might even it out.
I would run neither, but if you want to be adventurous, take Pool if your meta is a little slower and gives you an opportunity to run a 6 drop, Puzzle Box if you really like 4-of Narset (I want to find a slot for the 4th myself) and have a slightly faster meta, where a Turn3-4 punch to soft lock your opponent is enough.