Nathan Weizenbaum said:
Eric Chan said:
Hannes Vermissen said:
Christopher Morris-Lent said:
Card/Deck Aetherling
- Thread starter Jason Waddell
- Start date
Hannes, I suspect you overstate the simplicity of the card. If you have no other cards or ways to spend your mana, then perhaps. However, you do have to decide whether to cast it with mana open or not.
Perhaps the difference in opinion can be attributed to the much slower nature of your environment. Getting to 7 mana is no minor feat, and even an indestructible hexproof non-evasive 4/5 wouldn't be a very big prize. Obviously this guy does more than that, but the lack of any ETB effect or flying is a serious knock against his power level.
Not to mention that on defense Aetherling is really not very good. A Doom Blade at his face and he has to blink out for the rest of the turn.
Perhaps the difference in opinion can be attributed to the much slower nature of your environment. Getting to 7 mana is no minor feat, and even an indestructible hexproof non-evasive 4/5 wouldn't be a very big prize. Obviously this guy does more than that, but the lack of any ETB effect or flying is a serious knock against his power level.
Not to mention that on defense Aetherling is really not very good. A Doom Blade at his face and he has to blink out for the rest of the turn.
Still, that Doom Blade would have killed most other blue beaters.
I do suspect this to be the main reason i value him differently. I guess we can conclude after yesterday's grid that even the big dragon Keiga can get reduced to a utility creature when playing my cube. He also strongly reminds me of the grand set of '-lings' (wich he should do) and the "problematic" Thornling-mishap in my cube.
I'm gonna re-evaluate the card, but i'll stay wary of it. It's a card that would be on a really tight leash if i ever add it to my list.
Well, if we're looking at the top end of the blue scale, the competition is:
Consecrated Sphinx
Sphinx of Jwar Isle
Frost Titan
Sphinx of Jwar Isle is thoroughly unexciting, but being un-targetable is often the kind of reliability that you need in a finisher. Frost Titan was never really great except for a two-week period in Standard (all the Titans had their day in the sun somehow). Aetherling doesn't hit any of my personal nostalgia chords, but I can see it being potentially fun to play with. You cited them as negatives, but many of the interactions seem fun. Blinking a creature for the turn and board wiping while it's in exile is precisely what made Venser, the Sojourner so much fun in standard. Blink your Sun Titan, cast Day of Judgment, destroy your Wall of Omens, Sun Titan returns bringing back Wall of Omens...
Consecrated Sphinx
Sphinx of Jwar Isle
Frost Titan
Sphinx of Jwar Isle is thoroughly unexciting, but being un-targetable is often the kind of reliability that you need in a finisher. Frost Titan was never really great except for a two-week period in Standard (all the Titans had their day in the sun somehow). Aetherling doesn't hit any of my personal nostalgia chords, but I can see it being potentially fun to play with. You cited them as negatives, but many of the interactions seem fun. Blinking a creature for the turn and board wiping while it's in exile is precisely what made Venser, the Sojourner so much fun in standard. Blink your Sun Titan, cast Day of Judgment, destroy your Wall of Omens, Sun Titan returns bringing back Wall of Omens...
For my environment i currently value frost titan as being perfectly on-track. (only need to acquire one. They seem to have disappeared along with their standard presence)
As for Aetherling Whith sweeps: Beastly strong in my opinion. I prefer the Venser way for it needs an additional card. In the end i'll have to conclude I do not like Aetherling, but the general audience and my environment might. Once it's out, i'll have to look for a copy and just give it a try to be able to value it firsthanded
As for Aetherling Whith sweeps: Beastly strong in my opinion. I prefer the Venser way for it needs an additional card. In the end i'll have to conclude I do not like Aetherling, but the general audience and my environment might. Once it's out, i'll have to look for a copy and just give it a try to be able to value it firsthanded
The more I think about Aetherling, the more I like him. He seems interesting in all the right ways, and powerful, but not in a dominating, unfun way. I mean, right off the bat, you get to make a decision when casting him: as soon as you hit 6 mana, or wait until you reach 7?
He's not the greatest blocker in the world, and you need to make sure you can afford his monthly installments, but I think he's a lot less boring than something like Sphinx of Jwar Isle. Hey, you might not attack for 8 unblocked damage every turn - you might only crash in for the 4, and then blink him out so he can play some D. I like that he's a versatile switch-hitter that can do a couple of things well.
And hey, he's got to be better than Thornling. Right?
Frost Titan has been really good for us in our cube. Even as the runt of the Titan family, he has a pretty game-changing effect when he hits the table. It's not insignificant that in a Titan-on-Titan battle, he almost always comes out ahead.
He's not the greatest blocker in the world, and you need to make sure you can afford his monthly installments, but I think he's a lot less boring than something like Sphinx of Jwar Isle. Hey, you might not attack for 8 unblocked damage every turn - you might only crash in for the 4, and then blink him out so he can play some D. I like that he's a versatile switch-hitter that can do a couple of things well.
And hey, he's got to be better than Thornling. Right?
Frost Titan has been really good for us in our cube. Even as the runt of the Titan family, he has a pretty game-changing effect when he hits the table. It's not insignificant that in a Titan-on-Titan battle, he almost always comes out ahead.
CML
Contributor
jason: 6cmc blue dudes: frost titan, keiga, deadeye
though i love sphinxes in general i think jwarjwar is kinda lame and consecrated is really frustrating to play against
edit: aetherling is terrible. it's a slight update on morphling but it drags it from 1999 only to like 2006 or so. even lone revenant is better
though i love sphinxes in general i think jwarjwar is kinda lame and consecrated is really frustrating to play against
edit: aetherling is terrible. it's a slight update on morphling but it drags it from 1999 only to like 2006 or so. even lone revenant is better
My blue 6's are
Draining Whelk
Arcanis the Omnipotent
Deadeye Navigator
Nucklavee
And Sphinx of Uthuun in the 7 slot. Actually I think it's about time to cut a blue finisher, since 5 already contains Meloku and Teferi, which is quite enough. The choice must be Arcanis, but I can't bring myself to get rid of him :C. He actually pulls his weight, I think he's really sweet.
The only one of these cards that's been mentioned in this thread is Deadeye, and he is awesome. People try to make flicker decks in my cube, and they're pretty great. I try to have as many ETB effects as possible, and Deadeye can be tapping all your opponents lands every turn (or just destroying them), drawing cards, bouncing stuff, countering stuff, or even just being hard to kill. He's sweet. And if you get to pair him with Sphinx you get to deck yourself!
Actually all these top end guys have been both great and great fun, though I think my cube is a lotleth powerful than most.
Draining Whelk
Arcanis the Omnipotent
Deadeye Navigator
Nucklavee
And Sphinx of Uthuun in the 7 slot. Actually I think it's about time to cut a blue finisher, since 5 already contains Meloku and Teferi, which is quite enough. The choice must be Arcanis, but I can't bring myself to get rid of him :C. He actually pulls his weight, I think he's really sweet.
The only one of these cards that's been mentioned in this thread is Deadeye, and he is awesome. People try to make flicker decks in my cube, and they're pretty great. I try to have as many ETB effects as possible, and Deadeye can be tapping all your opponents lands every turn (or just destroying them), drawing cards, bouncing stuff, countering stuff, or even just being hard to kill. He's sweet. And if you get to pair him with Sphinx you get to deck yourself!
Actually all these top end guys have been both great and great fun, though I think my cube is a lotleth powerful than most.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Frost Titan has the perfect ammount of shroud in my eyes.
I'll notice nobody here has mentioned consecrated sphinx, is he on the wurmcoil list?
I'll notice nobody here has mentioned consecrated sphinx, is he on the wurmcoil list?
I run Consecrated Sphinx. My control decks would be too weak without it.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
It depends on what it's on. There has to be a way to deal with control finishers, and shroud removes one of those avenues.
Jar Jar sphinx you can sometimes win by just feeding creatures to it so all your other guys get through, but not always.
I just like there to be more options is all.
Frost Titan and Jetting Glasskite are some of my favorite resiliant blue win conditions ever, I just wish glasskite was better
Jar Jar sphinx you can sometimes win by just feeding creatures to it so all your other guys get through, but not always.
I just like there to be more options is all.
Frost Titan and Jetting Glasskite are some of my favorite resiliant blue win conditions ever, I just wish glasskite was better
Frost Titan's "shroud" is so irrelevant by the time either player is at 6 mana. Especially considering the cost of cube removal. I guess it does protect him from death by Goblin Bombardment and Zealous Conscripts.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
I like that he makes removing him similarly expensive to what you payed to play him.
I don't mind shroud because cubes tend to have outs. I get the feeling that if you can't beat a sphinx your deck was probably not as good as the sphinx guy'z one.
Lets get back to talking about how great palinchron is.
I don't mind shroud because cubes tend to have outs. I get the feeling that if you can't beat a sphinx your deck was probably not as good as the sphinx guy'z one.
Lets get back to talking about how great palinchron is.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Is palinchron anything other than a combo piece thesedays? Or is he still doing that Spire Golem of yesteryear impersonation
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Something about a rare bird?