Onderz post is perfect.
General Fight Club
- Thread starter Jason Waddell
- Start date
vs. I know Sage is the famous "gray-ogre-at-the-very-least", and a Toolbox creature for Birthing Pod and Green Sun's Zenith, but I've seen some lists running Claim instead, even alongside these tutors. Are there some aspects making Nature's Claim better?
I know Sage is the famous "gray-ogre-at-the-very-least", and a Toolbox creature for Birthing Pod and Green Sun's Zenith, but I've seen some lists running Claim instead, even alongside these tutors. Are there some aspects making Nature's Claim better?
Claim is a 1-mana instant, but that's about it. If you're in the market for one of these effects, I think Reclamation Sage is better given the toolbox cards it would be run aside.
Evolving Wilds
Voting closed: It seems like we have a clear loser in the original from Rise of the Eldrazi with only Ravnic putting it above Dragons of Tarkir, Rivals of Ixalan and Ikoria.
Voting closed: It seems like we have a clear loser in the original from Rise of the Eldrazi with only Ravnic putting it above Dragons of Tarkir, Rivals of Ixalan and Ikoria.
I know Sage is the famous "gray-ogre-at-the-very-least", and a Toolbox creature for Birthing Pod and Green Sun's Zenith, but I've seen some lists running Claim instead, even alongside these tutors. Are there some aspects making Nature's Claim better?
In my opinion it greatly matters which artifacts and enchantments you are running.
Imagine the feelbad moment when you cast your 5 mana Mirari’s Wake and it getting gunned down by a 1 mana instant removal. However if you run Mox Sapphire then Reclamation Sage will lose the fight to Nature’s Claim.
Wow, y'all really gonna diss the OG? ROE or nothin' over here!
I hate Rec Sage as an ETB +1 with tempo. I'd consider Wilt or Back to Nature if you're really looking for this effect. My suggestions might be crap, as The Black Cube gets to run such diverse removal. I'd suggest Anguished Unmaking, Putrefy etc, but I'm pretty sure it isn't worth the gold slot for most.
I hate Rec Sage as an ETB +1 with tempo. I'd consider Wilt or Back to Nature if you're really looking for this effect. My suggestions might be crap, as The Black Cube gets to run such diverse removal. I'd suggest Anguished Unmaking, Putrefy etc, but I'm pretty sure it isn't worth the gold slot for most.
reclamation sage slots in any deck due to the grey ogre case. nature's claim, however can be a dead card. I like it when a card requires a true choice, do I add the claim to my deck knowing that there are times when it is a dead card? That it is an instant is also nice and the wake example is not a strong one. Often you have no untapped lands left when playing it so it does not matter whether it will be claimed or saged. Besides do you rather get 4 life or an opposing creature when your enchantment gets destroyed? I will not leave open one green if I have a claim unless my opponent already has an enchantment/artifact.
One has to be very careful when one has the tutors. Do you really want that one can find an answer for about everything with a tutor? That leads to repetitive and almost unbeatable decks. It is part of the reason why survival of the fittest is banned in legacy.
Long story short: claim is most of the times weaker, but more fun. Imagine the case when an opponent plays an aura and then attacks. Surprise!
One has to be very careful when one has the tutors. Do you really want that one can find an answer for about everything with a tutor? That leads to repetitive and almost unbeatable decks. It is part of the reason why survival of the fittest is banned in legacy.
Long story short: claim is most of the times weaker, but more fun. Imagine the case when an opponent plays an aura and then attacks. Surprise!
My favourite EWilds art is the one from the FNM promo, which sadly is available only in foil, as Onder pointed out.
I always used the artwork from Dark Ascension, as I love the Innistrad vibes and always want as much as possible of it.
Also, I planned to use EWilds and TExpanses in my cube, as I also like the chaotic art of TExpanse, but instead I think I'll add copies of EWilds with the Dragons of Tarkir art (NOT the Tarkir Dragonfury art which has been posted here). Those are my two favourite EWilds artworks that exist nonfoil.
Rise of the Eldrazi art is also cool, as it really looks like 'crack land: fetch basic', the artwork really gives me the feeling of what actually happens.
I dislike Ikoria, Rivals of Ixalan, Rivals of Ixalan Promo, Battle for Zendikar and Amonkhet art. Tarkir Dragonfury art is okay.
I always used the artwork from Dark Ascension, as I love the Innistrad vibes and always want as much as possible of it.
Also, I planned to use EWilds and TExpanses in my cube, as I also like the chaotic art of TExpanse, but instead I think I'll add copies of EWilds with the Dragons of Tarkir art (NOT the Tarkir Dragonfury art which has been posted here). Those are my two favourite EWilds artworks that exist nonfoil.
Rise of the Eldrazi art is also cool, as it really looks like 'crack land: fetch basic', the artwork really gives me the feeling of what actually happens.
I dislike Ikoria, Rivals of Ixalan, Rivals of Ixalan Promo, Battle for Zendikar and Amonkhet art. Tarkir Dragonfury art is okay.
I do think evolving wilds|roe has the weakest art of those 4, and that partly may be due to the fact that the art was a decade ago, but evolving wilds|rix has the weakest flavor to me because it's less that the wilds are evolving, more that they're being shaped by the Sun Empire. Maybe it should've been named terramorphic expanse instead, but for one block they would've had both evolving and expanse which I know they don't want. So that's why I think I would personally cut evolving wilds|rix of those 4
but I would probably add either evolving wilds|bfz or the art variant dragons of tarkir one over evolving wilds|roe like onderz said
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Yeah, I think Coercion effects want to be at two mana.
(my emphasis)
Not to be a stickler, but Memory Leak is not quite coercion in that it can target the graveyard and it exiles. If you fire it off and whiff, you get to look at their hand and exile a flashback card or a gravecrawler. I am interested in people's opinion of the two. I wound up making the switch from Leak to Unburden because of your post. The exiling part is definitely relevant for my format, though, with a lot of recursion going on.
I love yidaro’s design, it’d be an easy pick for me. Drakuseth doesn’t really excite me, but I have like zero inner Timmy. The risk with the dragon is that you just have to wait a turn to win the game? It’s trigger is on the attack so it wrecks everything before there’s any worry of combat damage.
vs
I'm pretty sure Yidaro is better due to flexibility, but I like that people need to incur some risk to get a payoff. Which is cooler?
Yidaro, Wandering Monster is the pick, hands down. Drakuseth, Maw of Flames is just a big idiot creature that probably wins the game if he attacks and sticks. He's the definition of a swingy card, and is definitely not something that I'd really want running around in my cube.
Yidaro, Wandering Monster, on the other hand, provides a good rate when cast (although certainly not a gamebreakinig rate), with the upside of being able to be cycled away when he's not needed. The only downside with Yidaro is that sorcery-speed reanimation can't be used to cheat him into play. Frankly, Yidaro is a better design and will lead to more fun games.
Drakuseth is just a removal-check. It will hit for 11 and blow up your board if you can't kill it first. It's less nasty if it's not granted haste, though. I would look into Bogardan Hellkite instead.
I don't think Yidaro is very good or very useful. You wouldn't play it for the body and having to cycle your only copy four times isn't great.
I don't think Yidaro is very good or very useful. You wouldn't play it for the body and having to cycle your only copy four times isn't great.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I think that depends very much on the removal in your cube. Seven mana is very atainable for control-leaning builds and ramp decks, and an 8/8 haste, trample actually hits like a brick. I've been testing it a bit, and I've been pretty pleased with it. You aren't actually trying to cycle it four times, the cycling helps to tuck it back into the deck in search of something more relevant for the mid-game, and eventually you'll redraw your Yidaro at a point that you can probably hardcast it. Don't dismiss that ability as a gimmick, just because it has some trinket text about cycling it four times.
That's what I mean: I don't think people would play it for the body, but the body is the part that is actually good. I think people consider Yidaro mosly on the cycling ability, when it should be the opposite.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
That was not what I thought you were saying when you said you didn't think Yidaro was very good or very useful, but fair enough
I mean, People Play Lots of Cycling Cards just for the cycling ability. Having a cantrip in your deck is not a bad reason to play a card. I agree with you that the body is the actually good part of Yidaro, but I'm not sure my control player valuing it for the cantrip is a reason not to include the thing in my cube. Magic Players are bad at evaluating cards, after all.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
The cantrip part is not bad though. Sure, it's not a great rate, because you'ld rather pay one mana to cycle a card away, but the insurance of getting it back (eventually) without resorting to reanimation shenanigans is pretty sweet.
That's one of the reasons why I'm looking at Yidaro. Giving players insurance that they're not throwing away their finisher when they cycle is a good way to get people to use all of the parts of the card.