I love how you split up your four cents for easy viewing . A very solid case! I'll note that it can take 12 mana in 2 colors to make SS very worthwhile, GY depending, but I definitely see the point.
I always found it very weird how Reach tokens don't even have.... reach?
I would expect spawning to wheel because its more specialized, and the floor is kind of meh if you have high powered cards running around at the same time. Reach doesn't have to worry about color combinations or deck synergy. We really don't see spider spawning here as the more speculative pick? Of course, I will concede that there exist people who would slam first spider spawning, I just don't agree with that until you've established that the deck that wants it is that ubiquitous in those color combinations.
Though I still think the two cards aren't really competing for the same slot. Spider spawning just sort of clogs the board all at once, while reach seems so much slower. Probably would be a really great card to run alongside werewolves...hmm...
I do love worm harvest quite a lot. I do like how well it meshes with the lands-in-my-hand-matter angle that green can take. In this way Reach also synergizes with that angle. But spawning works with "running creatures in my deck that might die", so green's ok with that too lol.
I have a soft spot for this card. Maybe just because it is one of the durdliest cards known to dredge-kind, maybe because it nice to get see the word worm instead of wurm on a magic card, maybe, just maybe it is the card that saved my life. Sorry, I went a bit overboard there but this card rustles more jimmies than you could ever imagine.
It's power and subsequent pick position varies wildy on your environment. You need to be able to make sure that the initial casting is going to produce a respectable amount of tokens to make a board stable. For my peasant cube, this is 3. As there isn't anything too big and swingy and being able to get 4 then 5 in subsequent turns should be able to overwhelm the opponent. In my wobbly cube, it probably needs to be 4+ as spending turn 5 on making minimal guys for the hope on making more in later turns (if you draw land) probably won't cut it in that format.
Lets check out what can help make Worm Harvest work for you:
Play in a medium power level fetch heavy environment
Use as an incidental value card in a dredge strategy
That is about it really. I really do adore the card, but it isn't working in my wobbly cube. It is there as dredge support, but they never want to use it as they all want to be creature heavy for Sidisi. It's going to be a sad day but it will be cut next update. It's a shame as I wanted to at least give it one chance before it disappeared. I think I was hoping it could fit with Wildfire for some RG control shenanigans but that was just too lofty an ambition. I think me drafting this deck in one of Grillo's cubes revved me up too far.
As Safra is to Doomsday I am to Worm Harvest. If you have it in your list I will seek it out, and try and force the jankiest thing with it. For I shall forever be grinding with the worms.
I love the design of Worm Harvest, but it was a little too low power for my environment unfortunately. Even when I tested it in a full fledged dredge deck, it's just barely good enough and I've never seen anyone actually make a deck that dredge focused in my cube. Low powered graveyard centric cubes are perfect for this card, and the mechanic oozes Golgari.
Actually, there was a ridiculously ambitious Worm Harvest deck during my last draft (sadly that was in January...) that won in epic style! First the customs, then the rest of the deck.
Return of the Wildest Worm Harvest - Cruel Harvest, This Time It's Real!
I actually lost one game to a barrage of two and three drops, then another game because he kept looping Worm Harvest thanks to Life from the Loam. It was pretty awesome
I kind of want to get a little more context for the comparison:
These are all pretty low power cards. I've never found spider spawning to be very impressive, even within the context of a lower power graveyard format, with some power spikes: and it was those power spikes that mostly contributed to it being unimpressive. It (and worm harvest) could be anecdotally impressive, but they were never consistent. I would expect reach of branches to be similar.
I don't think its unreasonable to have a level 0 analysis of whether these are even the droids you are looking for.
Part of the reason behind the probe, yes. Maybe it is just that playing like genesis is better because it still synergizes with "creatures in yard" but also isn't horrific on WCS. Actually, now that I think of it...
v.
(both are in mono-G in my cube, at least)
I like Worm Harvest the best of the three previous spells. It can turn all your late game top deck lands into more useful resources. It also has some neat play with other cards we are ok with (in some capacity or another):
I feel like the top two are more powerful in a vacuum but I like that the bottom two have synergy with human tribal themes while still being serviceable mana creatures a green deck would be interested in. Thoughts?
My first thought is to choose them based off what you think your green section needs more of. Is green having trouble with aggro? or are your mana dorks getting killed to easily? Choose the top two. Do you want green to have more aggressive potential? Do you want green to be less oppressive against aggro? Choose the bottom two.
I love mana dorks that can also turn sideways in the red zone. I recognize that 2/1's for 2 aren't the best aggro bodies, but they're serviceable to shock the opponent when necessary. On the other hand, I find the big butt mana dorks tend to reinforce the fact that green stomps most aggro decks. There isn't much to do against a ramp creature that doubles as a good defender.
The former two - especially Wall of Roots - are really good in slower, controlling ramp strategies, while the latter two are better in decks with other small and medium-sized creatures that want to get into the red zone sooner rather than later. It really depends what you're going for; if ramp needs a boost in your cube, Wall of Roots is the ticket, whereas if your aggro and midrange green decks need a little more juice in the form of a mana boost, Deathcap Cultivator could lend a hand. Unless a drafter is really stretching for playables, though, I generally cringe at seeing Sylvan Caryatid in the same deck as something like Rattleclaw Mystic.
Unless a drafter is really stretching for playables, though, I generally cringe at seeing Sylvan Caryatid in the same deck as something like Rattleclaw Mystic.
It's generally the former - putting their mana abilities aside for a moment, you normally wouldn't want a 2/1 for in the same limited deck as an 0/3 defender.
Yeah, I vote Caryatid and Rattleclaw, Rattleclaw being conditional on also having 1-drop mana accel. Both let you curve 1-2-4 but Rattleclaw lets you curve 1-3-6 if you have a Hierarch in your opener too.
If you want all your dorks at 2 mana, I'd vote Caryatid and Lotus Cobra. I would probably also go 'harrumph' a bunch.