Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I would have given them different names, though admittedly Sandsteppe Citadel doesn't quite fit the picture.
Article ChannelFireball: Utility Land Draft
- Thread starter Jason Waddell
- Start date
CML
Contributor
At this point y'all probably want to add Haven of the Spirit Dragon
Which Dragons are we all running? Do we want any of the Dragon theme cards too?
Which Dragons are we all running? Do we want any of the Dragon theme cards too?
Dom Harvey
Contributor
These all seem fine at various power levels:
It's a shame it can't get back Nameless Inversion/Crib Swap.
Scaleguard Sentinels is bad, Scorn isn't consistent enough, Draconic Roar is often a more situational Searing Blaze, Foul-Tongue Invocation is worse than Tribute to Hunger. Orator of Ojutai is cool though?
It's a shame it can't get back Nameless Inversion/Crib Swap.
Scaleguard Sentinels is bad, Scorn isn't consistent enough, Draconic Roar is often a more situational Searing Blaze, Foul-Tongue Invocation is worse than Tribute to Hunger. Orator of Ojutai is cool though?
Chris Taylor
Contributor
I actually laughed when I saw Dragon Hunter in Wtwlf's cube...with zero other dragons or changelings
I run it over other 2/1s because it's a Human Warrior, and that has some good synergies. Occasionally it's just "fuck you, Thundermaw Hellkite", and that's okay too.
That's not okay!
Thunderbreak Regent and Swift Warkite look like they could help with the elusive "Big Red" deck that's fabled to exist in cube but never shows up because mono-red/burn is more obvious.
FlowerSunRain
Contributor
The thing with dragons is that they all cost 5 or more, besides Phantasmal and Thunderbreak at least. Unless you are a running a figurative (literal??) dragon cube you can't include too many cards at those costs and there are probably non-dragons you want in those spots too, so you're never really going to collect them in mass to the point where you need (or even want) to incentivize them.
Now, if you were to make some weird project cube where you started with two basics in play so the mana curve could start higher, there are certainly more then enough dragons to make it a thick, sexy theme.
Now, if you were to make some weird project cube where you started with two basics in play so the mana curve could start higher, there are certainly more then enough dragons to make it a thick, sexy theme.
I'm running:
They've all been pretty solid, giant Sower is pretty fun.
I had Dragonlord Ojutai and he was pretty interesting for a bit as a dual finisher for Jeskai and Control decks. He was a little hard to deal with though being a semi-hexproof flyer who doubles as a reasonable card advantage clock. Will prob slot him back in once the price drops. Not sure how good Dragonlord Atarka is either, had her in for a few drafts but no one ever got around to casting her.
They've all been pretty solid, giant Sower is pretty fun.
I had Dragonlord Ojutai and he was pretty interesting for a bit as a dual finisher for Jeskai and Control decks. He was a little hard to deal with though being a semi-hexproof flyer who doubles as a reasonable card advantage clock. Will prob slot him back in once the price drops. Not sure how good Dragonlord Atarka is either, had her in for a few drafts but no one ever got around to casting her.
Atarka is the nuts. Get her back in there, maybe push R/G big dudes.
Mine currently looks like this. We've done a few drafts already, picking 4 lands each at the end of the draft, rolling a die to see who picks first and taking turns until we're at 4 each. So far so good, though we may switch to 4 +1 free cycle land. I really enjoy the added depth, and the lands give a lot of new dimension to our games. It makes me want a bit more LD in Red, though..
(sidenote: "Cloudpost" represents a pick that includes 3xCloudpost/2xGlimmerpost, and it counts as 3 picks that you get all at once.)
(sidenote: "Cloudpost" represents a pick that includes 3xCloudpost/2xGlimmerpost, and it counts as 3 picks that you get all at once.)
Emeria has to never be correct, right?
Emeria is pretty powerful, and is a great reward for a white-based list that can make it to the late game. No matter how fast my format is, it's still prone to stalls as players build up the necessary resources to push through each other. That's where Emeria shines; breaking late-game stalls, which imho is something everyone needs to consider when shaping their lists. So far, Emeria has been picked and played as a Plan B in a list that never needed the effect to win, but I'm optimistic so far about its potential to slowly dig a player out of a stalled board and pressure the opponent to act faster. Note that we're prone to 2-colour decks and decks that have a clear pillar colour (ie 65%+ of cards are the main colour) here, which makes Emeria much better; if your drafters are mostly 4-5colour goodstuff, then it will be shite. I like reward cards like this, though, so it's an easy card to keep on the list for us.
Bloodhall hasn't seen play yet, but I'll be drafting again later today and I'll try to force BR Grindfest, which is where Bloodhall wants to be. I don't have high hopes for it, but so often games can durdle out (see: Emeria, above) and I've seen Grim Lavamancer win those games. My hope is that the great Bloodhall might provide a plan B for grinding out while the BR player is in topdeck mode and drawing 4 lands in a row, but I'll report back conclusively as soon as I can, it could very well just be clutter that never gets used.
I've picked Maze and been pleased in similar situations (re: re: boardstall) already using a really, really mean UB midrange beats deck that had a really sick lineup of Aether Adept, Sower of Temptation, Dungeon Geists and Icefall Regent to lock up the board, and the Maze helped to keep me safe in the final turns in a race. It seems like a reasonable pick for midrange or control strategies. I find it a fair effect, since it allows a re-use of opposing ETB effects while also offering a way to eat token builds, and I'm big on "fair"-feeling value cards like this. I recommend it for anyone at or below my power level, it's definitely worth a spot imo.
EDIT: Maze also works great as a "threat of activation" effect, causing your opponent to pass combat assuming you will use it when you have the mana open. You then eot an instant and watch them stare directly into the camera like they're in The Office.
Bloodhall hasn't seen play yet, but I'll be drafting again later today and I'll try to force BR Grindfest, which is where Bloodhall wants to be. I don't have high hopes for it, but so often games can durdle out (see: Emeria, above) and I've seen Grim Lavamancer win those games. My hope is that the great Bloodhall might provide a plan B for grinding out while the BR player is in topdeck mode and drawing 4 lands in a row, but I'll report back conclusively as soon as I can, it could very well just be clutter that never gets used.
I've picked Maze and been pleased in similar situations (re: re: boardstall) already using a really, really mean UB midrange beats deck that had a really sick lineup of Aether Adept, Sower of Temptation, Dungeon Geists and Icefall Regent to lock up the board, and the Maze helped to keep me safe in the final turns in a race. It seems like a reasonable pick for midrange or control strategies. I find it a fair effect, since it allows a re-use of opposing ETB effects while also offering a way to eat token builds, and I'm big on "fair"-feeling value cards like this. I recommend it for anyone at or below my power level, it's definitely worth a spot imo.
EDIT: Maze also works great as a "threat of activation" effect, causing your opponent to pass combat assuming you will use it when you have the mana open. You then eot an instant and watch them stare directly into the camera like they're in The Office.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Jees, white 8 drop at best? o.O And worse the better your manabase is?
When is that ever on? Like even in an 80/20 tilt W/x deck, you need on average 11-12 lands in play?
When is that ever on? Like even in an 80/20 tilt W/x deck, you need on average 11-12 lands in play?
They are slow, but they help a lot I think with smoothing draws. How much tolerance your meta has for ETB tapped lands I think determines how playable cycle lands are. In my meta, it's totally acceptable to drop them T1 tapped if you need their color. I prefer to hold them and cycle them away on T3 or T4, but only if I've got enough lands. Speaking of which, I usually run one extra land when I play these so that I error on the side of more land versus less.
That is going to play nicely with the new Molten Vortex and Magmatic Insight, both of which also want 1 extra land in your deck IMO. And that solidly supports landfall, Life From the Loam and Crucible of Worlds shenanigans, which in turn just makes delve better. So I'm honestly a big fan of how it all meshes. The overall benefit of slightly more land is less mana screw too, so it's win win all around. I want more cards that encourage this honestly.
Update re: Stensia Bloodhall
I played B/R control last night with Bloodhall. It's pretty solid. Think of it as a multicolour Firebolt that you get to flashback infinitely for 1 more mana that can only target your opponent. That sounds mighty narrow and expensive - I'll grant you that much, because it is quite a bit of mana! But for a repeatable source of burn to the face, it does a fine job and it slots into the deck that wants it with no trouble. In the long games, I had it deal as much as 10 damage. Others, it just tapped for colourless and went about my business. Is this a land that is going to singlehandedly win you the game? Probably not, and that's fine by me, because it's a friggin land. But in a topdeck war, it really applies a strong amount of pressure when you want it to. I'd pick it again, and I'd rank it above other fair ULD picks like Halimar Depths. I can only see an issue with drafters being too shy to try it, but it did well enough here that I'm happy to have it around for when it can do some more hard work in a grindfest match where I have drafted a B/R shell that wants to win in the long game.
I played B/R control last night with Bloodhall. It's pretty solid. Think of it as a multicolour Firebolt that you get to flashback infinitely for 1 more mana that can only target your opponent. That sounds mighty narrow and expensive - I'll grant you that much, because it is quite a bit of mana! But for a repeatable source of burn to the face, it does a fine job and it slots into the deck that wants it with no trouble. In the long games, I had it deal as much as 10 damage. Others, it just tapped for colourless and went about my business. Is this a land that is going to singlehandedly win you the game? Probably not, and that's fine by me, because it's a friggin land. But in a topdeck war, it really applies a strong amount of pressure when you want it to. I'd pick it again, and I'd rank it above other fair ULD picks like Halimar Depths. I can only see an issue with drafters being too shy to try it, but it did well enough here that I'm happy to have it around for when it can do some more hard work in a grindfest match where I have drafted a B/R shell that wants to win in the long game.
Seems okay, six is just a LOT of mana to keep up unless I'm already answering everything their playing one-for-one or by wiping away the board every time. Good in a topdeck war, but not what I'd want to do most of the time. It makes sense in the most control-y of BR based lists, but I just don't see those too often in my cube. My BR control lists are usually three color builds that can't really spare slot for a do-nothing till T6. Seems interesting though.
It's easiest played in a removal/burn-heavy control list. I typically kept the mana up with a card in hand and EOT Bloodhall when I didn't need to remove something/was bluffing. In a 2-c list, an overcosted effect that can be repeated infinitely is always good in my book, but it's probably going to be used rarely, that's for sure.
I suppose so, but if I'm some Grixis Control blend, I'm gunning for that Desolate Lighthouse as an early pick. I can see the appeal of it for very particular decks, but it doesn't like a card that would get drafted too often in my ULD at least. It just seems way too slow and I've always thought that it was the worst of that Innistrad cycle.
CML
Contributor
oh come on it's way better than alchemist's refuge and some people play it in modern
all the same, colorless lands have a really high opportunity cost in literally any cube. nephalia drownyard always makes the cut, though.