I wonder if Martyr for the Cause is playable. It would basically be another 2 mana effect for humans. There's plenty to proliferate between Champion of the Parish, Thalia's Lieutenant, Aether Vial, and maybe some other fringe stuff.
Tried Dreadhorde Arcanist in UR Phoenix. Man, this guy was awkward. Too often, he gets bounced by my own Awoken Horror. A Turn 2-3 Arcanist also can't cast anything surprisingly often, despite me putting 18(!!!) 1-cmc instants and sorceries in my UR Phoenix deck. Worse, this guy clashes curve-wise with Thing in the Ice. I wanted Pteramander back.
Phoenix is not the right deck for it. I think you're going about this all wrong.
T1 Land, Faithless Looting.
T2 Land, Arcanist.
T3 Land, Become Immense, Temur Battle Rage, Swing, copy Become Immense.
That's 13 double strike/trample damage on turn 3.
I would be looking for decks that can pump it. Rhythm of the Wild seems like a natural include. Something like Groundswell is also great.
The problem with Grim Initiate in Aristocrats is that you don't get a token if you already have an Army, you just make the existing token bigger. Aristocrats is a deck where having two 1/1s is better than having a 2/2 because you get to drain them twice.
Yes, but sacrificing usually isn't a problem in that deck.
Aristocrats looks to be getting several tools. I wonder if that will get enough toys here to become a real deck. The spoilers seem to be pushing a BR sacrifice deck pretty hard, and cards like Grim Initiate would eliminate the need for white, which opens up a lot of deck space.
Not to mention the fact that the deck would now have four different Blood Artist effects between Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, Cruel Celebrant (if you stay white), and that enchantment with a similar effect (forgetting the name at the moment)
Haven't seen much discussion on it yet, but I think Dreadhorde Butcher is very playable. On curve it can trade with an X/2 if the opponent has a blocker, and against anything other than exile removal it will always deal damage. Seems quite good for an aggro deck, and it has two potentially relevant creature types.
from what amass cards have been spoiled so far im pretty underwhelmed. after the first instance of the effect (ie first getting that 0/0 token) each subsequent one is less potent; so in other words there are diminishing returns equating to the difference between getting a 1/1 token and giving a creature +1/+1 counters.
more spoilers on the way though, so maybe something is a little more pushed.
as for the flavor of the mechanic, i think its a miss. maybe they couldnt figure out how to balance creating separate tokens or whatever, but 'amassing' an army by getting one duder that grows doesnt make much sense to me.
Definitely a flavor miss. But, getting a 2/2 or something isn't bad either, and of course if you aggressively trade off 1/1's that can be really helpful.
Like any mechanic, the cards you get with it are important but this one has a lot of potential.
Anyone else think that Honor the God-Pharaoh might see play? For one more mana than Tormenting Voice, you get Tormenting Voice on a 1/1! And it's on a sorcery, which could get useful!
Not sure, but Amass is a very constructed playable mechanic. Attaching a 1/1, or sometimes larger to spells you cast is a fairly decent effect.
The fact that Mox Amber can't actually cast anything until the Legendary permanent is already on the battlefield makes it aggressively mediocre. It will be interesting to see if someone actually breaks it, but its reliance on things already being there is significantly more difficult than turning on Mox Opal. It's hype and speculation, and I'm guessing many people are going to regret buying them (just like the people who pre-ordered them for $30, only to see it fall to $7).
Yep. I tried it out in EDH. My EDH deck is Jace, Vryn's Prodigy which means that from the very start of the game I have access to a 2 CMC legendary creature. Despite that, I still haven't been able to make Mox Amber work. I've got a playset just incase, as I do think it will eventually be viable, but at the moment I'm just not seeing it.
Playing around with the idea of a BUG Vannifar deck. It's ideally less all in on a combo (but one still exists) and instead a little bit stronger on board presence and interaction.
There's still a couple things I may want to alter. Glen Elendra Archmage, Murderous Redcap, and so on seem interesting for more interaction, but the slots are a bit tight at the moment. Maybe fewer Exarchs, and instead more fliers. Removing one Fatestitcher might be ok.
Anyone brewing with Vannifar? It feels like there's something there.
Lots, the most popular ones so far have been using 4 color with a Kiki combo or Rhythm for persist. I've been messing with Bant and BUG variants that have their own combos. I really like BUG for the interaction it offers, but the combo is weaker. BUG presents the possibility for two different combos, either using Melira/Finks/Redcap/Seer, or Triskelion/Mikaeus.
I've really been interested in the untap route going up to 5 for Corpse Conneisseur, then using that for a fatestitcher to get to 6 as it seems to be the only reliable way to do so. With 6 mana it becomes possible to get to double 6 drops by going Corpse, get Fatestitcher, unearth, pod corpse to 6, unearth corpse, get fatestitcher, pod to 6. But this requires 3BUU to pull off. Alternatively there's a way for 3 mana if you go corpse, fatestitcher, pod fatestitcher to Disciple of the Ring, untap, corpse to 6, untap, disciple to 6. This requires 2U on the combo turn which is way more reasonable as it leaves 2-3 mana available for other things, but it requires having cast 2 spells earlier (and still having them in the GY) which is a big ask for a Pod deck.
Maro is excited about every product he's worked on. I'd be hilariously surprised if he wasn't -> "Yeah this product I helped design, but it's alright I guess. I wouldn't waste your money on it to be honest."
Although I think people would probably be appreciative of his blunt honesty. WOTC Board of Directors/shrareholders not so much.
'buster
Ya, he's the hype man. It's like when you watch a late night show and in the opener they always tell you they have a really good show that night.
He probably is excited, the guy seems to like Magic a lot. That's not a guarantee that the product is any good though.
There are currently 3 slots remaining. The creature count is sufficient, so the remaining 3 slots can be anything, but they should ideally be some sort of interaction. I was thinking Selfless Spirit could be potent, as it can protect your combo and isn't too hard to cast off of Chord of Calling, not to mention Rallier can get it back.
But, that leaves 2 other slots which you ideally want to use to stop the opponent from doing something and that's where I'm not quite sure what to include.
They will introduce a new non-rotating format next year when the cards from Ixalan rotate out from Standard so people can keep playing their cards on Arena.
This future format will take some share from Modern because it's playable on Arena and Modern isn't.
I'm not so sure they will, there's still the issue that for most players any non rotating Arena format would still require 75 wildcards to build a deck, especially as the format grows and new players enter.
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/cards/war-of-the-spark/36224-martyr-for-the-cause
Phoenix is not the right deck for it. I think you're going about this all wrong.
T1 Land, Faithless Looting.
T2 Land, Arcanist.
T3 Land, Become Immense, Temur Battle Rage, Swing, copy Become Immense.
That's 13 double strike/trample damage on turn 3.
I would be looking for decks that can pump it. Rhythm of the Wild seems like a natural include. Something like Groundswell is also great.
Yes, but sacrificing usually isn't a problem in that deck.
Not to mention the fact that the deck would now have four different Blood Artist effects between Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, Cruel Celebrant (if you stay white), and that enchantment with a similar effect (forgetting the name at the moment)
Definitely a flavor miss. But, getting a 2/2 or something isn't bad either, and of course if you aggressively trade off 1/1's that can be really helpful.
Like any mechanic, the cards you get with it are important but this one has a lot of potential.
Not sure, but Amass is a very constructed playable mechanic. Attaching a 1/1, or sometimes larger to spells you cast is a fairly decent effect.
Yep. I tried it out in EDH. My EDH deck is Jace, Vryn's Prodigy which means that from the very start of the game I have access to a 2 CMC legendary creature. Despite that, I still haven't been able to make Mox Amber work. I've got a playset just incase, as I do think it will eventually be viable, but at the moment I'm just not seeing it.
Creatures 30
3 Noble Hierarch
1 Birds of Paradise
2 Scryb Ranger
2 Wall of Roots
2 Kitesail Freebooter
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Eternal Witness
2 Bounding Krasis
2 Deceiver Exarch
1 Kitchen Finks
3 Prime Speaker Vannifar
3 Fatestitcher
2 Breaching Hippocamp
1 Corpse Connoisseur
1 Disciple of the Ring
1 Shriekmaw
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Triskelion
3 Chord of Calling
2 Dismember
3 Thoughtseize
There's still a couple things I may want to alter. Glen Elendra Archmage, Murderous Redcap, and so on seem interesting for more interaction, but the slots are a bit tight at the moment. Maybe fewer Exarchs, and instead more fliers. Removing one Fatestitcher might be ok.
Lots, the most popular ones so far have been using 4 color with a Kiki combo or Rhythm for persist. I've been messing with Bant and BUG variants that have their own combos. I really like BUG for the interaction it offers, but the combo is weaker. BUG presents the possibility for two different combos, either using Melira/Finks/Redcap/Seer, or Triskelion/Mikaeus.
I've really been interested in the untap route going up to 5 for Corpse Conneisseur, then using that for a fatestitcher to get to 6 as it seems to be the only reliable way to do so. With 6 mana it becomes possible to get to double 6 drops by going Corpse, get Fatestitcher, unearth, pod corpse to 6, unearth corpse, get fatestitcher, pod to 6. But this requires 3BUU to pull off. Alternatively there's a way for 3 mana if you go corpse, fatestitcher, pod fatestitcher to Disciple of the Ring, untap, corpse to 6, untap, disciple to 6. This requires 2U on the combo turn which is way more reasonable as it leaves 2-3 mana available for other things, but it requires having cast 2 spells earlier (and still having them in the GY) which is a big ask for a Pod deck.
Ya, he's the hype man. It's like when you watch a late night show and in the opener they always tell you they have a really good show that night.
He probably is excited, the guy seems to like Magic a lot. That's not a guarantee that the product is any good though.
4 Windswept Heath
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Temple Garden
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Breeding Pool
2 Razorverge Thicket
2 Forest
2 Plains
1 Island
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Gavony Township
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Walking Ballista
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Birds of Paradise
2 Teardrop Kami
1 Wall of Roots
2 Scryb Ranger
3 Voice of Resurgence
3 Renegade Rallier
1 Eternal Witness
1 Spike Feeder
1 Restoration Angel
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Ranger of Eos
3 Prime Speaker Vannifar
1 Archangel of Thune
1 Reveillark
1 Woodland Bellower
3 Chord of Calling
2 Path to Exile
There are currently 3 slots remaining. The creature count is sufficient, so the remaining 3 slots can be anything, but they should ideally be some sort of interaction. I was thinking Selfless Spirit could be potent, as it can protect your combo and isn't too hard to cast off of Chord of Calling, not to mention Rallier can get it back.
But, that leaves 2 other slots which you ideally want to use to stop the opponent from doing something and that's where I'm not quite sure what to include.
About 6 months ago I picked up a set of foil textless bolts...
I'm not so sure they will, there's still the issue that for most players any non rotating Arena format would still require 75 wildcards to build a deck, especially as the format grows and new players enter.