The dreamer in me wants to think they're connected, and that some Uw deck is doing filthy things rebounding an awoken Part the Waterveil with Narset to take so many additional turns. But that deck also gets to nine mana, and while I don't readily play standard, that just feels weird.
What does that mean, as an arrogant outsider. Are foils of Lone Missionary valuable? A terse glance on ebay didn't bring any up so I'm assuming it's somehow very rare for no reason?
On a very separate note, what sort of future do we expect for the Dragons of Tarkir rares? Collected Company is doing very well despite being printed in a clash pack. I have a hard time imagining it stays above 20 like it is now, but as I said, I'm definitely not particularly involved in the modern scene.
I'll also warn that people seem to consider you threatening just for ramping, because they don't know what you're ramping to. Everyone assumes its a Genesis Wave for 20+ or Gelatinous Genesis, so I've been hated out even before I nuked all the lands just because people don't trust a deck that "just ramps"
I haven't crunched the numbers but I would assume no still. From a very short glance through the prices the midline for all but 3 or 4 rares is below pack value (and the majority of those rares are DFCs). Furthermore, the mythic gambit seems pretty bad this time around; so many of them are so low right now, and the high ones aren't that high. I suppose you could argue that each pack having up to three chances at a rare or mythic makes this the set to open, but I believe you'll find it ends up equalizing in prices within the next few weeks. I'm not the most representative person for this, but unless you're planning on selling everything you open as soon as possible it just feels more correct to buy the singles you need, as per usual. Especially since prices seem so reasonable on almost everything.
I would wait on a few cards, like Arlinn and Avacyn as people have mentioned already but also TitI and Westvale. As DFCs, theoretically they'll just have a different frequency, and with the popularity of the game right now I assume the market will be saturated with them soon enough.
How many creatures are you running? I see Sarkhan Vol in a lot of Superfriends list that run maybe 6 creatures at max, so he's basically an expensive Threaten if you don't have Doubling Season or another doubler. I don't value Threaten effects very highly in Commander ('cause, well, if it's a high value target like Blightsteel, odds are that he's coming in *and* swinging the same turn, or coming out at instant speed on someone's end step and then swinging. If you have a threaten effect just sitting on board, that typically makes you the priority #1 target, lol). I don't see value in him, so I'd drop him for new Jace, but if you run enough other creatures to warrant him being useful as more than just a bad Threaten twice, then sure thing. You need a crit mass of token producers or a doubler for Sarkhan to be good, while Jace would be good by itself most of the time.
If you can't tell, I much prefer to just deal with the creatures instead of stealing them once or twice because if it's that bad that you want it, yourself, then it should be dead.
Sarkhan serves a similar role to Sorin in this list. His plus is anthemic and his ultimate is fantastic with doubling season. His threaten effect is gravy in case there's something worth while. I could see Arlinn Kord taking his place, but her ultimate is just less good here.
Quote from "SoldierofFortune »
I'd definetly see Chandra Nalaar being replaced by Jace. Same cmc, much relavant abilites. I also recommend you to replace Ob with his newer version.
Chandra and Ob serve a very particular purpose in the list. Chandra is an excellent sweeper, especially with doubling season and rings of brighthearth, and either one of them serve as a win condition with Tezzeret and the Chain Veil.
As far as the rest of the list goes, it's literally mana rocks, wraths, the expected enchantments (Conspiracy/Xenograft/Inexorable Tide/Doubling Season), and one lone Scuttlemutt.
I think the biggest weak spots are things like Ral, Dack, Gideon, and Garruk (Primal Hunter). I like what you brought up about perceived threat though. And the unraveler could slot in nicely to replace Mind Sculptor.
So with the release of yet another batch of planeswalker, I'm forced once again to look at my list for Superfriends and reevaluate my life choices? I'm running Reaper King as my commander to aim for the dream of xenograft/Conspiracy, so color is never an issue, but at this point I'm way beyond critical mass. It's getting so difficult to evaluate the value of something like Jace, Unraveler of Secrets, especially in a deck where achieve the ultimate is completely reasonable.
Do others have this issue? I can kind of imagine that this is the sort deck that has an optimized form, so maybe I just missed that. Any thoughts at all?
Yeah, I'll echo the general sentiment that you definitely don't need the Cradle to be a contender with an Elfball build. The additional note is that if you have a Cradle, you'll probably always search it up every game. For me, this is a huge fail in the EDH world in that games should be different every time. It's not the only reason, but I like to think that this sort of issue was a big contributing factor in why Primeval Titan and Prophet of Kruphix are banned. They're good cards, to the point that if you're running them, you're playing your deck wrong by not using them every game.
Go buy a Nykthos for $7 and a Deserted Temple for $8. The former will give you a similar effect and the latter is a nice card to have around that pairs very well with Nykthos (or Cradle should you ever acquire one).
I know it's a bit off-topic, but what happened to Kiki-Jiki just around Oath? He doubled in price seemingly overnight, and I can't recall of something that would have triggered it, like what the banning of Prophet of Kruphix did to Seedborn Muse. Is it just modern season?
EDIT: Nevermind, I found the event. Titan Bloom got banned. Bummer
Six, just like Chandra. The others from the original five have seen either four (just Liliana) or five (Ajani and Garruk). They're the longest-standing planeswalkers, and you play a game where blue is a pretty popular color. There's no denying that Jace has been a posterboy for the game for a while, but I think the numbers show that Wizards has stayed their hand quite a bit actually.
Angel's Grace is actually quite wonderful because it's super sneaky and as long as you've got a life gain source out it usually changes an alpha strike against you into a complete win for you. You're still taking damage and getting a bunch of tokens but they can't actually kill you which is one of my bigger issues with my Darien deck (no one attacks me until they can wipe me out in one fell swoop.)
I feel like the obvious choices for this are Kokusho, the Evening Star and Massacre Wurm. Everything else seem good, but not disgusting. Hydra Omnivore gets credit if you can make them deal unblockable damage, and Yosei, the Morning Star is also obviously mean, but I feel like Koko and the wurm get major credit for actively working to finish the game.
I'm glad to see some variety in responses but I'm mostly not surprised here. Anyway, here goes:
Anya - 1: I generally agree. She feels incredibly bland, and any interesting aspects she has going for her lie in the weird tension in her design. She feels like she's best in the 99 which just seems odd. I would have much preferred this on a non-legendary creature.
Arjun - 3: I adore this card and I can't wait to see it get played. It's not creative, but it's extremely elegant and obviously does its job very well. Moreover, I feel like Mindmoil is underestimated in what it does to supply much needed card advantage so that the deck doesn't need to worry about it as much.
Daxos - 4: My second favorite of the experience commanders, though obviously not the strongest. I love his abilities, but I don't understand the flavor/mechanic tie-in. I appreciate that this officiates a new archetype for the color combination, though it feels like an odd way to do so. I'm incredibly interested to see where these decks go.
Ezuri - 4: Obviously powerful and lends toward several builds, but I'm in the camp that was definitely let down that they went with +1/+1 counters. Not to go off on a tangent, but I would've have preferred something more like Biomass Mutation or Omnibian, though that edges in closely on Daxos territory. Bottom line, he's obviously strong, but he doesn't feel like a new or necessary addition to the Simic pool.
Kalemne - 3: While not as exciting as it could have been, this card is obviously powerful and requires almost nothing to build around. I love my Brion deck, but Kalemne allows me to build two decks in one. I get a super strong voltron option without having to give up my deckbuilding to that cause; instead I get to build an interesting Boros deck with a phenomenal plan B. I think people will warm up to her very nicely.
Karlov - 5: Phenomenal design, very powerful and honestly a fresh take on a theme that does not get love. I genuinely don't understand any distaste for this card aside from people who just don't like life-gain.
Kaseto - 4: Deceptively powerful, which a very cute upside for Snake decks. I adore everything about this nod to those weirdos that play odd tribes (with the exception of the art), and I can't wait to use this as a redundant Thassa where it's needed.
Mazirek - 4: This is a well done card. The design is simple, but not too lazy, and it's remarkably powerful. I think this will make for an excellent general to play and play against.
Meren - 4(1): This card is powerful and remarkably easy to use. That's all fine and good, but I can't help but be furious at how boring and lazy this design is. I'm sure she'll be used everywhere she can be, but it just feels like a wholly wasted opportunity.
Mizzix - 4: This was the best use of experience counters in my opinion in that you actually have to try harder each time (sort of) to grow so it feels more like a learning process. The card also has a great and powerful effect, though I do kind of wish they'd thrown in non-creature instead of instant/sorcery to appease more people and make for a more interesting card overall.
This is also assuming they all cost 4. Is that known information? Otherwise I could totally see blue at 6 with a straight up draw option.
White at 2WW
-Target creature permanent indestructible until end of turn.
-Target player sacrifices an attacker or blocker
-Destroy target enchantment
Blue at 4UU
-Target player draws a card
-Tap target permanent and keep it tapped for a turn
-Counter target spell unless its controller discards a card
Black at 2BB and sorcery
-Target creature gets -2/-2 ueot
-Return target creature from graveyard to hand
-Target player loses 3 life
Green at 1GG
-Fetch a basic to hand
-Target creature gets +1/+1
-Deals 1 damage to each creature with flying
Yes, but this card pretty desperately needs another reprint or a functionally similar card to be printed. There's no reason not to, and it showcases one of the strongest attributes of Wizards as a company, in that they listened and used the players' ideas to make an overall well-done and wholly loved card. I agree with you that I don't think it'll be in the C15 release, but it should happen soon just because there is literally no reason not to. Also, I feel like it fits in wonderfully into the Zendikar setting, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Oath.
On a very separate note, what sort of future do we expect for the Dragons of Tarkir rares? Collected Company is doing very well despite being printed in a clash pack. I have a hard time imagining it stays above 20 like it is now, but as I said, I'm definitely not particularly involved in the modern scene.
I'll also warn that people seem to consider you threatening just for ramping, because they don't know what you're ramping to. Everyone assumes its a Genesis Wave for 20+ or Gelatinous Genesis, so I've been hated out even before I nuked all the lands just because people don't trust a deck that "just ramps"
I would wait on a few cards, like Arlinn and Avacyn as people have mentioned already but also TitI and Westvale. As DFCs, theoretically they'll just have a different frequency, and with the popularity of the game right now I assume the market will be saturated with them soon enough.
Sarkhan serves a similar role to Sorin in this list. His plus is anthemic and his ultimate is fantastic with doubling season. His threaten effect is gravy in case there's something worth while. I could see Arlinn Kord taking his place, but her ultimate is just less good here.
Chandra and Ob serve a very particular purpose in the list. Chandra is an excellent sweeper, especially with doubling season and rings of brighthearth, and either one of them serve as a win condition with Tezzeret and the Chain Veil.
As far as the rest of the list goes, it's literally mana rocks, wraths, the expected enchantments (Conspiracy/Xenograft/Inexorable Tide/Doubling Season), and one lone Scuttlemutt.
1x Ajani Steadfast
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Jace, Architect of Thought
1x Liliana Vess
1x Chandra Nalaar
1x Garruk Wildspeaker
1x Garruk, Primal Hunter
1x Garruk, Apex Predator
1x Venser, the Sojourner
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1x Elspeth Tirel
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1x Sarkhan Vol
1x Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1x Gideon Jura
1x Vraska the Unseen
1x Ral Zarek
1x Teferi, Temporal Archmage
1x Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath
1x Kiora, the Crashing Wave
1x Karn Liberated
1x Xenagos, the Reveler
1x Dack Fayden
I think the biggest weak spots are things like Ral, Dack, Gideon, and Garruk (Primal Hunter). I like what you brought up about perceived threat though. And the unraveler could slot in nicely to replace Mind Sculptor.
Do others have this issue? I can kind of imagine that this is the sort deck that has an optimized form, so maybe I just missed that. Any thoughts at all?
Go buy a Nykthos for $7 and a Deserted Temple for $8. The former will give you a similar effect and the latter is a nice card to have around that pairs very well with Nykthos (or Cradle should you ever acquire one).
EDIT: Nevermind, I found the event. Titan Bloom got banned. Bummer
Anya - 1: I generally agree. She feels incredibly bland, and any interesting aspects she has going for her lie in the weird tension in her design. She feels like she's best in the 99 which just seems odd. I would have much preferred this on a non-legendary creature.
Arjun - 3: I adore this card and I can't wait to see it get played. It's not creative, but it's extremely elegant and obviously does its job very well. Moreover, I feel like Mindmoil is underestimated in what it does to supply much needed card advantage so that the deck doesn't need to worry about it as much.
Daxos - 4: My second favorite of the experience commanders, though obviously not the strongest. I love his abilities, but I don't understand the flavor/mechanic tie-in. I appreciate that this officiates a new archetype for the color combination, though it feels like an odd way to do so. I'm incredibly interested to see where these decks go.
Ezuri - 4: Obviously powerful and lends toward several builds, but I'm in the camp that was definitely let down that they went with +1/+1 counters. Not to go off on a tangent, but I would've have preferred something more like Biomass Mutation or Omnibian, though that edges in closely on Daxos territory. Bottom line, he's obviously strong, but he doesn't feel like a new or necessary addition to the Simic pool.
Kalemne - 3: While not as exciting as it could have been, this card is obviously powerful and requires almost nothing to build around. I love my Brion deck, but Kalemne allows me to build two decks in one. I get a super strong voltron option without having to give up my deckbuilding to that cause; instead I get to build an interesting Boros deck with a phenomenal plan B. I think people will warm up to her very nicely.
Karlov - 5: Phenomenal design, very powerful and honestly a fresh take on a theme that does not get love. I genuinely don't understand any distaste for this card aside from people who just don't like life-gain.
Kaseto - 4: Deceptively powerful, which a very cute upside for Snake decks. I adore everything about this nod to those weirdos that play odd tribes (with the exception of the art), and I can't wait to use this as a redundant Thassa where it's needed.
Mazirek - 4: This is a well done card. The design is simple, but not too lazy, and it's remarkably powerful. I think this will make for an excellent general to play and play against.
Meren - 4(1): This card is powerful and remarkably easy to use. That's all fine and good, but I can't help but be furious at how boring and lazy this design is. I'm sure she'll be used everywhere she can be, but it just feels like a wholly wasted opportunity.
Mizzix - 4: This was the best use of experience counters in my opinion in that you actually have to try harder each time (sort of) to grow so it feels more like a learning process. The card also has a great and powerful effect, though I do kind of wish they'd thrown in non-creature instead of instant/sorcery to appease more people and make for a more interesting card overall.
White at 2WW
-Target creature permanent indestructible until end of turn.
-Target player sacrifices an attacker or blocker
-Destroy target enchantment
Blue at 4UU
-Target player draws a card
-Tap target permanent and keep it tapped for a turn
-Counter target spell unless its controller discards a card
Black at 2BB and sorcery
-Target creature gets -2/-2 ueot
-Return target creature from graveyard to hand
-Target player loses 3 life
Green at 1GG
-Fetch a basic to hand
-Target creature gets +1/+1
-Deals 1 damage to each creature with flying