General Fight Club

I like Shalai a tiny bit more, as defending the rest of your team is pretty relevant. She is very obnoxious with any way to give her hexproof or shroud, so maybe watch out if you run Lightning Greaves or similar.

I also like her pump ability more than Sigarda's token generation. Making 1/1s without evasion stalls games; permanently growing your whole board ends them.

I don't intend to run either, because I really don't like effects that give players hexproof, but that seems to be the crux of what you're looking for here, so I'll not try too hard to dissuade you.
 
Yeah good advice. In general I do not like hexproof and I have removed ALMOST all of it from my cube. The one thing I can make exceptions for is the occasional thing which gives other things (i.e. not itself) hexproof so there is a relatively clear path to deal with it. I.e. with Shalai all you have to do is remove Shalai and then you are ok. With something like Carnage Tyrant you either have to have some type of board clear (I only run like 3 or 4 in the cube) or an extremely well set up Diabolic Edict. Either way, you are right you have to be careful with even the softer type of hexproof.
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
I think Shalai simply has a bit more play to her. As a four drop it's easier to make room for, and the activated ability is a perfect late game ability for the typical {G}{W} weenie deck. In a pinch, a 3/4 flyer for four that hexproofs the rest of your team isn't the worst in any wX deck either, regardless of whether you can activate her ability.
 
Another vote for Shalai - her protection feels very clean IME. Wanna target Shalai? Sure. Anything else? No. Easy to grok, and like you say, she's almost a Totem Armor card where she dies and then you go back to normal creatures.
 
I've been a bit bummed out about here in MTG Arena because she blanks the two copies of Sleep I run in my bad merfolk deck, but I'm still considering here for my cube. In a way, the effect works a bit like standard bearer, which isn't the worst thing to play against.
 
two or so versions in the history of MTG seems fairly unique.

Define unique: “being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.”

You can be fairly rich, tall or old. (Relative words)
You cannot be fairly pregnant, unique or male. (You either are or you aren’t)

Edit: This is a stupid conversation. I should just have made a funny non-verbal comment like most other on this page and simply attached a picture of Ancetral Memories to communicate something like “Ancestral Memories says hi” and be done with it.
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
I'm amazed at how literal you can interpret things sometimes Velrun. To me it's pretty obvious Dom didn't mean 'unique' as in: "there exists exactly one card that does this", it's also used to describe something that's "remarkable, special, or unusual" (source: Google)! I think an effect that only got printed twice in the history of Magic counts as unusual! ;) On the other hand, I bet you're right not many people remember Ancestral Memories. That effect sure looks a lot worse on a 5 mana color intensive sorcery though! :)
 
Yes it is certainly ‘unusual’ and had he only used that word then he wouldn’t be in the wrong and in need of a correction.

Another way of looking at it: If it doesn’t hurt you, then please just grab a beer and let the people who didn’t think Dig Through Time was a callback to an old card have their ‘aha’ moment instead of debating this into oblivion.

Otherwise there is no need for a forum at all. What I have now learned is just to tone it down to a non-verbal post with simply adding a picture of a card. This seems like the norm in here and explaining something with words appearently initiates long debates. Next time I will just post a picture and let the picture do the talking for me.
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Yes it is certainly ‘unusual’ and had he only used that word then he wouldn’t be in the wrong and in need of a correction.

Another way of looking at it: If it doesn’t hurt you, then please just grab a beer and let the people who didn’t think Dig Through Time was a callback to an old card have their ‘aha’ moment instead of debating this into oblivion.
Well, you wouldn't be in this discussion if you didn't insist Dom was in the wrong and in need of a correction, because he's not. Unique literally has more than one meaning, one of which is "unusual". Also, how is it you get to point out Dom's wrong (when he's not), but if I try to point out you are wrong I should just sit back and shrug because "it doesn't hurt me"?

Like TrainmasterGT I miss the introduction to this fight :) I second his answer though, Approach just seems like a far more interesting card. Splendor cripples your opponent, but doesn't actually win you the game. Approach creates an interesting sub game where your opponent knows they have at most seven more turns to beat you. GO!
 

Super is a synonym for ‘perfect’ according to thr dictionary and that was my intention. It can also be a relative word but I wrote it as that synonym.

Happy?

Now can everyone just please chill? There is nothing wrong with correcting someone on MtG-related arguments if that person forgot the origin of a card. Next time I will simply let the picture do the taking because that seems more socially acceptable on this page than actually writing the words.
 
Approach is the card that invites the more interesting lines of play as I see it. When you cast it, you start a timer for when you're just going to straight up win. Additionally, you can abuse this clock with card draw or spell copying, so it opens up a lot of room for some combo feel as well. All the while the opponent will still be very much a part of the game, where Splendor can just shut things off and make the game a drag.
 
I also vote for Approach of the Second Sun for the same reason as Rasmus Källqvist above me. I run it in my cube and the players love it.

Furthermore every scry 1 or surveil 1 ticks you one step closer to midnight.

Same goes with cycling, explore effects like Jadelight Ranger, Fog effects, Sleep effects, Time Warp effects etc. And cards sweepers like End Hostilities and defensive taxation effects like Ghostly Prison can truly give you the edge in the mini (mega?) game. Massive token produktion for blockers like Bitterblossom or Oketra’s Monument also become attractive. The game suddenly drastically changes somehow without Approach actually doing ANYTHING to the board which is quite interesting if you ask me.

I have given my Approach a custom keyword called ‘Alpha’ which means it will always appear in Booster Pack no. 1.
 
Sorry for not writing anything, the context is that I have two white control finishers that are represented by Bolas' horns and there's really only space for one of those in my cube.

It seems like we have a clear winner in Approach.
 
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