General (BLB) Bloomburrow Spoilers
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Chris Taylor
Contributor
Excited to curve bob in bab into double bab into die
Want to know what card I am most excited about so far? Let me show you!
Sultai Courser of Kruphix, you say?
Courser of Kruphix has always been my favorite member of the "future sight for lands" family of cards. Courser has a relevant body in addition to a cool card draw ability, making it an ideal option for grindy midrange decks that want to start committing to the board early while also snowballing value. While the life gain was less than ideal for hosting aggro decks a little bit too hard, the increase in the average quality of low-cost threats has made this less of an issue over time.
Glarb is awesome because he takes the basic Courser of Kruphix formula and adds some excellent synergistic abilities that make him an ideal build-around for a Cube deck. In addition to a modified version of the Courser of Kruphix ability that does not reveal your deck's top card, Glarb can also allow you to cast spells with a mana value of 4 or greater. Additionally, Glarb can tap to Surveil 2. This ability is actually key, because it not only allows a player to rearrange the top cards of their deck to set up a better Glarb chain, but it also fuels the graveyard. When all of the pieces combine, Glarb becomes the best signpost enabler for Sultai Delve strategies we have ever seen! Not only does Glarb serve as an engine for playing lands and casting delve spells, but he also serves as a mini-ritual for paying delve costs. I'm very excited to put Glarb into a deck with the following cards:
Glarb also comes closest to continuing the legacy of Courser of Kruphix in over 10 years since the holy centaur was originally printed. Other cards in a similar space to Courser have historically proven to be less than compelling for creating fun and balanced games. Oracle of Mul-Daya is too small for its cost, yet occasionally very explosive, making it a weird swingy removal check. The Fourth Doctor was cool, but his ability to only play Historic lands makes him a poor choice for many Cubes. The closest variant to Courser, Augur of Autumn, loses the point of toughness that makes Courser of Kruphix such a great midrange card in exchange for an ability to play creatures from the top of the library in the late-game. The result is a less power, less balanced card that generally leads to worse games. Glarb, Calamity's Augur is the first member of this class to keep the fantastic elements of Courser of Kruphix intact, while providing an excellent and synergistic expansion of the effect for synergy decks.
Glarb, Calamity's Augur is what Augur of Autumn and The Fourth Doctor should have been. I am excited to give him a try in my Cube!
Sultai Courser of Kruphix, you say?
Courser of Kruphix has always been my favorite member of the "future sight for lands" family of cards. Courser has a relevant body in addition to a cool card draw ability, making it an ideal option for grindy midrange decks that want to start committing to the board early while also snowballing value. While the life gain was less than ideal for hosting aggro decks a little bit too hard, the increase in the average quality of low-cost threats has made this less of an issue over time.
Glarb is awesome because he takes the basic Courser of Kruphix formula and adds some excellent synergistic abilities that make him an ideal build-around for a Cube deck. In addition to a modified version of the Courser of Kruphix ability that does not reveal your deck's top card, Glarb can also allow you to cast spells with a mana value of 4 or greater. Additionally, Glarb can tap to Surveil 2. This ability is actually key, because it not only allows a player to rearrange the top cards of their deck to set up a better Glarb chain, but it also fuels the graveyard. When all of the pieces combine, Glarb becomes the best signpost enabler for Sultai Delve strategies we have ever seen! Not only does Glarb serve as an engine for playing lands and casting delve spells, but he also serves as a mini-ritual for paying delve costs. I'm very excited to put Glarb into a deck with the following cards:
Glarb also comes closest to continuing the legacy of Courser of Kruphix in over 10 years since the holy centaur was originally printed. Other cards in a similar space to Courser have historically proven to be less than compelling for creating fun and balanced games. Oracle of Mul-Daya is too small for its cost, yet occasionally very explosive, making it a weird swingy removal check. The Fourth Doctor was cool, but his ability to only play Historic lands makes him a poor choice for many Cubes. The closest variant to Courser, Augur of Autumn, loses the point of toughness that makes Courser of Kruphix such a great midrange card in exchange for an ability to play creatures from the top of the library in the late-game. The result is a less power, less balanced card that generally leads to worse games. Glarb, Calamity's Augur is the first member of this class to keep the fantastic elements of Courser of Kruphix intact, while providing an excellent and synergistic expansion of the effect for synergy decks.
Glarb, Calamity's Augur is what Augur of Autumn and The Fourth Doctor should have been. I am excited to give him a try in my Cube!
Glarb gives BFE (Big Frog Energy).
Oh hey, it's a Ninja deck in a can. I will say, I appreciate that most of the classes we've seen so far have been generically good, and not... Barbarian Class.
Am I alone in thinking that this is really good?
Ottersports -
Instant
Create a 1/1 red and blue Otter creature token with prowess. If this spell was cast from somewhere other than your hand, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.
Flashback
Ottersports. Ottersports. Ottersports.
Yeah. Definitely a good white two drop.
This could help me with WG blink and green aggro. Nice.
I think it's really solid everywhere. Blue decks can almost always take on a decent creature with flash. I'm hesitant to run it because of how good the ceiling is (2 mana flying Mystic Snake).
Chris Taylor
Contributor
This thing looks brutal in a way I'm excited about. I'm a bit worried about it triggering off your opponent double spelling, but I like where the incentives are at.
I like it! I have enough cheap spells and flashback that I might want to find space for this thing.
Here's a comparison:
For those of us that have squinted at the abbot and tried to imagine that it's good, Emberheart Challenger might be an interesting card to consider. As with the Abbot, I wish you could play the exiled card until the end of your next turn. These Valiant cards are making it easier to include a heroic theme.
That's honestly what makes the card interesting. It gives you an incentive to speed up and villain an incentive to slow down.
...
That Abbot vs. Challenger comparison is... I'm not sure that the cards are comparable? Like, if a 2/2 hasty prowess critter for
that impulse draws you a card every turn is a reasonable card in your cube, I don't think that Abbot was even in consideration.
I'm not sure the challenger is quite as busted as that in my cube. I have three colorless equipments plus Ancestral Blade, so that's a possible combo rather than an automatic second card each turn. Otherwise there are a handful of effects that can target it without killing it.That Abbot vs. Challenger comparison is... I'm not sure that the cards are comparable? Like, if a 2/2 hasty prowess critter for
But yeah, the point is that Abbot is much weaker. The one toughness really hurts it, and as an aggro guy it's serviceable but it's mainly a 2/1 that sometimes becomes a 3/2, which gets blocked and killed by most of the same defenders either way. It's nice to see a 2/2 prowess guy with haste. The valiant ability on its own is pretty specific. I think a red bear with only that ability would be too weak and niche to be appealing, at least for me.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
I can see the comparison of "If you tried abbot but it was a bit weak/awkward, give this a shot, it's got a lot of the same words on it in a configuration your cube might be more at home with"
Like I'm probably gonna try some of the valliant stuff just because while I don't have a full on heroic theme, there's probably something in here that can trigger this thing, triggering off abilities is huge.
Time will tell.
Like I'm probably gonna try some of the valliant stuff just because while I don't have a full on heroic theme, there's probably something in here that can trigger this thing, triggering off abilities is huge.
Yeah, it's more that my cube already has such a huge emphasis on cantrips to make everyone's deck function, I can just see this triggering a bit too often for comfort. I'm going to try it, but given how strong Ledger Shredder was, it's possible this thing is just a 6/3 haste for 3, which I wouldn't be interested in.
Time will tell.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Here's an interesting little thingy:
Compare:
Each of your 4 power or bigger creatures gives you a kinda Chandra, Torch of Defiance +1. I figure for a titan trigger, "draw a card" is a fine thing to be repeating, and I figure if you have other creatures that are big enough this game is probably over soon anyways.
Compare:
Each of your 4 power or bigger creatures gives you a kinda Chandra, Torch of Defiance +1. I figure for a titan trigger, "draw a card" is a fine thing to be repeating, and I figure if you have other creatures that are big enough this game is probably over soon anyways.
YES! This has been a long time coming. I know Safra has a version of this called "Pick up the Wrong fight", that has rebound and creates a monk prowess token. This is worse, because the flashback is too expensive, but it's worth a try.Ottersports -
Instant
Create a 1/1 red and blue Otter creature token with prowess. If this spell was cast from somewhere other than your hand, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.
Flashback
Ottersports. Ottersports. Ottersports.
I struggle to rate this one. I know, Thermo Alchemist was really good, so we wouldn't get a straight up noncreature version. At least at common. But three mana is a lot if this should work in an aggressive shell. How does it compare to Firebrand Archer and the new version of it that is a 2/2 and has offspring?
I don't know if this is doing much more than Firebrand Archer or Otter Bois. Being able to activate once every turn for free is nice, but the spell-velocity decks that would play this type of card don't usually lack for cast triggers.
I struggle to rate this one. I know, Thermo Alchemist was really good, so we wouldn't get a straight up noncreature version. At least at common. But three mana is a lot if this should work in an aggressive shell. How does it compare to Firebrand Archer and the new version of it that is a 2/2 and has offspring?
Honestly I have this pinned more as a worse Thermo-Alchemist for singleton pauper Cubes than an awesome option for unrestricted Cubes.
Is this the first worthwhile clone for creatures below MW 3?
The synergies with ninjas is definitely there!
I can't tell you how many 3-drops and even 2-drops I've cloned in recent months...being able to play tit-for-tat with your opponent's threat on turn 2 or 3 is really cool, and since yours flies, you're still ahead even if you spent the same amount of mana. I'm really interested!! A 1/1 flyer for 1 is not the worst WCS either.
This is the fourth Standard-legal set in a row with a white three drop creature I've been into!
Aven Interrupter being WW did sink it.
Delaney, Streetwise Lookout is still cool but not for me, you know?
Sanguine Evangelist played well in actual Standard, but... well, it's no Blade Splicer but it's at the level where it's like, not definitively worse. Just does different things.
Fourth time's the charm?
I will admit I probably run fewer fliers in white than most people. It's just Selfless Spirit, Serra Paragon, and Restoration Angel, plus Soulherder and Spell Queller and Yorion and sure, Atraxa, Grand Unifier is also a white card, let's get real nitpicky. So it's more of a white-blue gold card, secretly. Shame it doesn't do anything when Lingering Souls or Staff of the Storyteller tokens die, that's probably gonna sink it... but you know, I'm liking this future where I can see white three drops during spoiler season and actually be interested.
edit: oh my god ctrl-enter is a shortcut to post or something oh no everyone will see my half finished typo post