Also, look at this little sneak:
The first fortell card that really intrigues me. It is a colorless aggro 2-drop that can also come into play for free after Wildfire/Upheaval/Devastation.
Sets [KHM] Kaldheim Official Previews
- Thread starter TrainmasterGT
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The first fortell card that really intrigues me. It is a colorless aggro 2-drop that can also come into play for free after Wildfire/Upheaval/Devastation.
It would be very long to describe but in short: Power creep is not when a new card is better than an old card. Power creep is when everything in the game suddenly has to be a lot better as a result of a mistake or a choice in the past.
Example: The fact that creatures are now stronger than Gray Ogres is not power creep because they do not creep the overall power curve of the game because Gray Ogres were never on curve. However if Wizards one day made a 2 mana 7/7 (just an example) and kept it in the game, there would be no reason to play any other 2 drop in your deck over that new shiny creature. And it would even be able to eat 3 mana creatures alive as well so 3 mana creatures would have to be a lot stronger too. Etc etc until you reach Emrakul at 15. It would shift the overall power curve of the game from the mean we have now up to a new mean that would cause all old cards to be useless. This is luckily not the case with Magi the Gathering where the old cards are the strongest and new cards offer new strategies and fun but not an overall power creep. The video also suggests how to about power creep in a game. It took longer to write than to watch those videos
Foretell is so obviously a control mechanic (especially since a lot of the cards are some kind of removal) that I'm reasonably sure that we'll end up seeing a RW Control deck in Standard, despite that very much not being the seeded mechanic.
Foretell a bunch of removal/board wipe cards, and finish on this sweet combo:
Foretell a bunch of removal/board wipe cards, and finish on this sweet combo:
I appreciate it - I have bad ears, so I generally prefer reading to listening whenever possible.
All I wanted fromnthis set was a single useful landfall card thats either
It looks like you just had to wait a set
Well, it seems that I used the term powercreep loosely. That saga still looks pretty damn strong.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Okay MB, someone has topped the "Most EDH" comment:
1) Is it? I honestly don't know, I've never played a Rhino. They're pretty damn good, but a Serra Angel + Removal + A Double-Striking Serra Angel seems pretty good too.
2) The rhino is named Dennis???
I think Dennis is a little better. I think a 4/5 Trample ETB Lightning Helix the opponent's face for 1CCC is going to be better on average than a 4/4 Flying Vigilance comes with suspend 1 Reave Soul suspend 2 Double Cleave if it lives for 1CCC.
My reasoning is simple. Siege Rhino always does something if it resolves. Worst case scenario, it's a Smiting Helix that makes the opponent discard a removal spell. The Angel Saga's fail state is the opponent trades with the Angel, usually at at an advantageous mana rate. All you're left with is a do-nothing enchantment containing a bunch of random text about Angels and a sinking feeling about how badly you just got owned. I'm usually not a big proponent of Dies to Removal arguments, but when a card's entire worth revolves around the continued existence of a single creature, its value goes way down. Any creature that costs 4 or more mana and does not immediately do anything is by nature weak to interaction. Losing 4 mana and a turn to a two mana Doom Blade variant is simply a huge risk.
This Angel card is better than a lot of big meaty creatures, but it doesn't cross Dennis because it doesn't always do anything. The saga better than stuff like Baneslayer Angel, and it's probably in a similar space to Polukranos, World Eater. It just can't cross big bodies with ETB's attached.
I've been calling him that
. There was a Rhystic Studies video release about 15 months ago in which Sam compared Siege Rhino to Dennis the Menace. Siege Rhino is an influential enough card where I felt it deserved a nickname, so I started to call it Dennis. It's a very good video, anyone who hasn't seen it should give it a watch.
Oh yeah, that was a good one! Dennis is a great name, but...he has trample, not menace.
That's absolutely reasonable about Rhino being better on average than Angry Emo Angel in an environment in which people can be expected to have Doom Blade. I feel like I need to host a round table discussion on removal, because it shapes so many decisions about cubes and often gets swept under the rug. What's your removal policy? For example, I tend to tone down my removal, especially in terms of putting a lot of it at sorcery speed, so of course the Saga is going to be stronger from my point of view than from yours (note: after looking at my cube I was right; I only have 2 pieces of 'unconditional' removal at CMC 2 and they're both at sorcery speed, with people having to go up to CMC 3 before it starts becoming common. Burn of course is available freely for 2 or even 1, but it's not going to be able to take down a 4-toughness creature easily. There's a fair amount of removal, actually, but a lot of it is conditional or requires some amount of extra work like Heartfire Immolator or Fiend Hunter). Also, good thing Dennis will never have to worry about Doom Blade
Do you think ANY CMC4 creature passes the Dennis test in an environment with Modern-ish levels of removal? I feel like Yawgmoth, Thran Physician or Urza, Lord High Artificer might meet your standards, but even then I agree it's a tough bar.
That's absolutely reasonable about Rhino being better on average than Angry Emo Angel in an environment in which people can be expected to have Doom Blade. I feel like I need to host a round table discussion on removal, because it shapes so many decisions about cubes and often gets swept under the rug. What's your removal policy? For example, I tend to tone down my removal, especially in terms of putting a lot of it at sorcery speed, so of course the Saga is going to be stronger from my point of view than from yours (note: after looking at my cube I was right; I only have 2 pieces of 'unconditional' removal at CMC 2 and they're both at sorcery speed, with people having to go up to CMC 3 before it starts becoming common. Burn of course is available freely for 2 or even 1, but it's not going to be able to take down a 4-toughness creature easily. There's a fair amount of removal, actually, but a lot of it is conditional or requires some amount of extra work like Heartfire Immolator or Fiend Hunter). Also, good thing Dennis will never have to worry about Doom Blade
Do you think ANY CMC4 creature passes the Dennis test in an environment with Modern-ish levels of removal? I feel like Yawgmoth, Thran Physician or Urza, Lord High Artificer might meet your standards, but even then I agree it's a tough bar.
I should state before I get into any of this that my list up on Cube Cobra right now does not reflect what I'm planning on with my latest writings. I think the variation up on CC right now matches the majority of what I'm about to say, but if there are any incongruences, it's because that list hasn't been touched in a year.Oh yeah, that was a good one! Dennis is a great name, but...he has trample, not menace.
That's absolutely reasonable about Rhino being better on average than Angry Emo Angel in an environment in which people can be expected to have Doom Blade. I feel like I need to host a round table discussion on removal, because it shapes so many decisions about cubes and often gets swept under the rug. What's your removal policy? For example, I tend to tone down my removal, especially in terms of putting a lot of it at sorcery speed, so of course the Saga is going to be stronger from my point of view than from yours (note: after looking at my cube I was right; I only have 2 pieces of 'unconditional' removal at CMC 2 and they're both at sorcery speed, with people having to go up to CMC 3 before it starts becoming common. Burn of course is available freely for 2 or even 1, but it's not going to be able to take down a 4-toughness creature easily. There's a fair amount of removal, actually, but a lot of it is conditional or requires some amount of extra work like Heartfire Immolator or Fiend Hunter). Also, good thing Dennis will never have to worry about Doom Blade
I let conditional removal exist at any cost, but usually below 3 mana. I'm perfectly happy to play Lightning Bolt, Fatal Push, and Disfigure. These cards help slower decks deal with aggro builds by taking out key cards such as Legion Warboss which can act as unstoppable value factories when not removed. The rest of my removal I tend to keep in the 2-3 mana range. This way, all of my removal is in roughly the same neighborhood of power. As an example, Journey to Nowhere is more efficient at killing creatures than Prison Realm, but they don't look silly together in the same way Swords to Plowshares and Divine Verdict would. I play some expensive removal spells when they serve alternative purposes. I'm fine with playing Vraska's Contempt because it's instant speed planeswalker removal, and I love Elspeth Conquers Death as a multi-turn value engine. I eschew one-mana hard removal such as Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares. While these cards aren't unfair per say, they tend to invalidate creatures costing more than 3 mana which need to stick around to be worthwhile. I still want cards like Polukranos, World Eater to be playable cards. Even if he dies immediately, the Tempo swing is less game-defining when it's being done with Doom Blade or Banishing Light as opposed to Condemn.
I know some around here like to play removal suites with high power deltas, I have never had good draft experiences with that school of design theory. It feels really bad when the opponent can answer your 4 or 5 mana threat with Path to Exile, but you have to answer their equally large thing with Blessed Light. That sort of efficiency swing can change the outcome of games, and that just isn't, interesting, balanced, or fun.
Absolutely! Urza, Lord High Artificer passes the test because he brings along a little robot buddy. Even if Urza immediately dies, the Robot can still pack a punch, and Vise Versa. Urza is probably even better than Dennis in some cubes! Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is a little more tenuous. He has a manaless activated ability that can be used at instant speed, which is always a plus when dealing with these types of cards. In response to a kill spell, you could sacrifice your board to put a bunch of counters on things. Of course, having to sac your board on the opponent's terms is rather unhelpful. I think Yawgmoth, Thran Physician technically passes the Dennis test, but I don't think the card is anywhere near as powerful without proper support. Some cards that I would argue also pass the Dennis test are:
-Restoration Angel: It always does a blink no matter what.
-Combustible Gearhulk: Losing this card immediately hurts a lot because it costs so much to cast, but the ability is still backbreaking.
-Flamewake Phoenix: It doesn't stay dead if it dies.
-Goblin Rabblemaster: It's cheap enough where dying before making a token is irrelevant- the opponent probably spent almost as much mana removing it as you spent to cast it.
Also remember that a card isn't bad or unplayable if it doesn't provide an immediate value upon ETB. Far from it! Like I said earlier, I still play Polukranos, World Eater, and that card was almost pushed out of standard by Dennis. There's also cards like Questing Beast which technically fail the Dennis test, but can do enough the turn they come into play where the risk of dying to a Doom Blade effect is offset by the incredibly high ceiling a single combat connection can offer.
The larger point I am trying to illustrate with comparisons to Siege Rhino is that these seemingly pushed new cards have worse base rates than an extremely fair creature. Our new Angry Emo Angel saga is very pushed, and it's a good card. I think it's probably on par with or a little better than Polukranos, World Eater. It's just not better than Siege Rhino.
Trainmaster
About the 10 uncommon Realm Lands: This set will be the rise of the Primeval Titan!
The blue-green Realm Land creates a copy of a creature and puts counters on it.
About the 10 uncommon Realm Lands: This set will be the rise of the Primeval Titan!
The blue-green Realm Land creates a copy of a creature and puts counters on it.
lol what the hell, they brought back poison counters?
I'm kinda annoyed that it's 2 poison counters and not 1. "Hit a player with creatures with deathtouch five times" isn't terribly difficult, especially when you move out of Standard.
And I'm someone who thinks poison counters are perfectly OK. The problem is that WotC decided to make the primary way of putting them onto people hyper-aggressive, rather than something control oriented.
What could have been...
And I'm someone who thinks poison counters are perfectly OK. The problem is that WotC decided to make the primary way of putting them onto people hyper-aggressive, rather than something control oriented.
What could have been...
Chris Taylor
Contributor
For posterity
Primeval Titan would be fun with that, but direct looping is also awesome
Also works well with Titania, Protector of Argoth, or Quarry Beetle if you want slightly lower power.
So... you're saying it's Prime Time for Prime Time?
Titania technically works, but that "Legendary" is a big downer. Forgot about quarry beetle. that guys awesome.
I have never seen that card before