Venser, the Sojourner is my favorite card, because it speaks to me from multiple angles.
First and foremost, I love blink effects. Something as small as a blink can change the way a lot of things operate, by repeating enter-the-battlefield triggers, rescuing your mind-controlled or perpetually-tapped creature or other permanent, or even just giving something pseudo-vigilance. Or, perhaps in a cube, you can do something nasty like blink a wincon and proceed with a wrath - or even nastier, an Upheaval - and continue onward uncontested. It's a lot of versatility, making Venser's first ability elegant, even though it's incredibly simple.
Venser's second ability is perhaps a bit confusing to a control deck trying to abuse his +2 with the likes of Wall of Omens or Mulldrifter; why would you ever use this ability? I always believed this is because Venser was designed for the BantPod deck when it was standard legal, a midrange monstrosity that abused etb triggers and eventually amassing a huge board. With Venser, you can build up advantages until you can simply overwhelm your opponent; a -1 with "Creatures are unblockable this turn" could just as well read "win the game" in the right deck. I enjoy cube, and find Venser doesn't need to use this ability to be good, but having the option allows him to fit in more decks than many other planeswalkers who don't have as straightforward abilities as "Draw a bunch of Cards". For this reason I think he trumps most other guys outside the Lorwyn 5. Both the +2 and -1 can work together, but they don't need to.
Venser's ultimate is incredibly powerful - a little wonky, to be sure, but powerful. Spells giving you free, colorless exiles is exceptionally good, and cantrips like Preordain suddenly become incredibly valuable. If you have a Batterskull on the table, you're in amazing shape. And this isn't an ultimate that takes forever to get to, either.
Venser is far from the best card, or even best planeswalker in MTG. But, all three of his abilities are potentially powerful, which lead to enjoyable experiences every time I play it. Because Venser's abilities require a little bit of planning, I find that deck construction with him becomes quite interesting; some already good cards gain additional value, some strategies suddenly have an entirely new angle when he hits the field. Being able to think ahead and see real benefits of that planning make playing the card a very rewarding experience.
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- Blue_Oneironaut
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LOL it's funny trying to imagine how awkward that'd be for Mike
Yeah I know, I'm just blabbing. I like doing that.
That's reasonable.
Although, I've got to wonder if some PWs could ever really settle down. I suppose it could make sense for Ajani. And characters like Sorin could always fade back into the background; he can go back to his "behind the curtain" deal. But, I could never see either sort of resolution for the likes of say, Karn... although, I have little doubt characters like him are going to continue to be in the minority.
5 sideboarded lands? Just play your lands bro.
Man, somebody hates Venser. I never read the books, though. So maybe I'd hate him too. But for now, I play a deck with his PW card in it, 'cause it's hella cool.
Ral Zarek seems cool. But, doesn't seem like he has strong chances of popping into the scene. I would like to see Nissa or Sarkhan; from the little wiki blurbs and the comics, they seem like they have potential for growth, and have - I guess - plausible excuses for being around.
Really curious what the "New" planeswalker is going to look like. At the same time, I wonder if there'll be a point where they've made "too many" planeswalkers. I suppose you can't have too many stories going on if they kill off more, but won't that be really annoying to people who get attached?
Although, if this is on top of bombs, I would run Ray if it were in-color since it's instant speed and two uses is nifty. Otherwise, yeah, Revoke; it applies to other targets really well, like Wurmcoil Engine and permanently gets rid of O-Rings.
Well I guess it's not particularly great at killing tokens if the only valid target is the Angel token made by Geist of Saint Traft.
Otherwise, what?
I mean, say you play a turn 1 gravecrawler. Turn 2...some guy. Turn 3, Messenger. If your opponent tries to Day of Judgment for some reason, they're eliminating your turn 1 and 2 plays and leaving you with a 4/3. And they lose life for doing it. And on your next turn, since Messenger is still on the battlefield, you can recast crawler from the graveyard.
So basically, I think this guy, in conjunction with other cards that work towards the same goal, discourage people from trying to disrupt your board position. You just slowly grow and grow until you have a horde of creatures.
The trouble is playing ETB tapped dudes when you're against other aggressive decks. Although, Victim of Night is pretty good in constructed IMO; having access to that in your cardpool seems significant. So I guess while not super impressive individually, I think Messenger fits well into what could be a good overall gameplan.
I think this is a solid card in an environment dominated by aggro because of how he's got lifegain and removal as perks without sacrificing effective power on the battlefield. That it's 4 mana for two 2/2s as opposed to a single 4/4 seems like a blessing in disguise to me -- two blockers seems good when people are swarming you with dudes. I think R/G lists should absolutely consider running a few of this guy, since he's an effective aggro-staller who also has the perk of being able to carry a game alone if necessary. And, if you're really going to make arguments against him because he fails the Crusader test, I should point out in playing him you'll have access to Red and Green; Red has Galvanic Blast and Green has...lots of fat creatures and, if you really want, Beast Within.
Hexproof creatures can't be "Targeted" by spells and abilities your opponents control; putting an enchantment aura that isn't a spell (but a permanent recurred via Sun Titan or such) onto a Hexproof creature involves neither a spell or ability. You can't Cast a Pacifism onto a Hexproof dude, but can recur one and attach it onto one.
But grapes are so delicious!
Pre-DKA I don't think Pod really fit into the "Crappy Deck" list that the OP brought up; what resonated with me was the idea that the moment after DKA was open for discussion, there were about twelve new threads in Standard Deck Construction that featured Sorin, Lord of Innistrad or Vault of the Archangel for no apparent reason. I think it would be more accurate to say this is the point of the OP's rant; not hating on build-around-me style necessarily, not hating on cards that have fallen out of favor due to less ability to abuse them (like Birthing Pod), but just noting people seeing a card, and making decklists that barely have any notable synergy or even a plan, if it has but a matching manabase to the specific card in question.
I think it's a little unfair to say all Pod lists inherently fall into this category. It does have a plan, if at times it can be difficult to execute it due to the top competitors. It does have some element of sophistication. And despite few results, it is still posting them. With the advent of the undying mechanic, I think there lies some potential to exploit Pod's ability again, if to a lesser degree than when Splinter Twin was legal.
I think some of the Pod supporters are being a little defensive when it gets to Pod's true ability to compete at the moment (I do believe its rarity is due to how difficult it is to build a list that is relevant in a meta dominated by Humans, Wolf Run and Delver), but to be fair the thread has "crappy" in the title, and associating people who make negative comments with those who downright insult the nature of the deck isn't too farfetched in my mind. I think personal egos on both sides are making any meaningful discussion difficult.