Card/Deck Riptide Laboratory (the card)

[CML]

it's been a hectic weekend (my beloved pet died, 20 rounds of standard / legacy) so i'm not gonna be able to try the post-draft utility land thing jason came up with until later. however!! i can pluck a riptide lab from my collection and shove it in al'kaabah.

targets:
boros reckoner
bob
delver
dimir guildmage
enclave cryptologist
galepowder mage
glen elendra archmage
grim lavamancer
magus of the scroll
meloku
mirror entity
nighteyes the desecrator
qpm
sea gate oracle
snapcaster
sower
sylvan safekeeper
thornscape battlemage
v clique
venser

the effect seems like it's at right about the target power level for how easy it is to integrate lab into the cube, but i worry that it will either do nothing (not justifying a colorless land in such a slot) or be too repetitious and obnoxious. it also doesn't play all that well with the blink theme and though there are 20 wizards only 5 have etb effects. what do you guys think?

 

[Jason Waddell]

Hi Chris, sorry to hear about your pet. As I write this I have a dog sitting in my lap. My condolences.

Regarding Riptide Laboratory, I don't think I would include it in my main cube. Even with the utility draft thing it only gets played every 3 or 4 drafts. In that sense, lands like this were exactly why the utility draft was made.

It has been a really fun card when played, and hasn't been repetitive. The worst I saw was a Venser soft lock, and the RipLab player lost that game. It also looks like you might be missing a Wizard or two. I'll have to look at my list, but off the top of my head Augur of Bolas fits the bill as a Wizard with an ETB effect.

For what it's worth, I "discovered" the card while browsing Vintage decklists. It was a 1-of in a deck running a playset of Snapcasters.

 

[CML]

hey jason, thanks for the sympathies. ignatius truly was an immortal degu. just a week ago he was shredding the furniture and dancing around for treats. ah well.

i'm not gonna try riptide lab, but i might try volrath's stronghold (again). i have similar reservations about power level and repetitive gameplay and would like to hear everyone else's experiences.

has augur of bolas been played in your cube? i really want the guy to work but god does he whiff often (in Standard decks that are constructed with him in mind) ...

 

[Jason Waddell]

I play Augur nearly every opportunity I get. It gets on board early, holds back 2/1 attackers, and I seem to hit with it around 80% of the time. Perhaps I've just been lucky though. Anyways, players were always asking for more three-toughness two-drops in their control decks, and Augur turned out to be exactly what I needed.

 

[CML]

constructedwise augur is the only merfolk i've ever hated. but say no more, i'm tossing him in!!

 

[CML]

volrath's stronghold was a huge hit

 

[Jason Waddell]

Volrath's Stronghold is very powerful. It is one of the few utility lands that can hold its own in the regular section of the cube. It's always a strong pick in the utility draft too. The card is at its scariest in a big dumb Timmy Golgari Thragtusk deck.

 

[CML]

one of our dudes drafted hardcore ubg control in the mold of that old legacy deck; stronghold was best for just recurring bloodline keeper over and over again. my own card-quality engine of spitting image couldn't keep up and his drownyard eventually killed me. i was very happy to lose that game!! what a sweet deck!!