General "Looking for a card"-Thread

[safra]

as this forum's historical biggest booster of the initiative i would suggest that it's not worth doing unless you're playing vintage cube with a focus on combo. they invalidate any degree of combat that isn't fish.dec

warp+blink
smokebraider etc+elementals
Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant

 

[Nanonox]

Looking for a token payoff in Red that isn't Purphoros.



Thoughts on the doggo? I tried the cat version and really like it for go wide decks. I'd like a token payoff in Red and this seems like a fun one thanks to haste and the resiliency it offers.

Not related, but thought of ojer as a Red build around that is also hard to kill. Has anyone tried this type of effect (could be on another card)?



Seems like a fun build around that transforms a Red deck into a burn deck. Most burn spells will get a +1 or +2 boost, but some like Lava Dart get downright nasty. Goblin Bombardment, Fiery Confluence and Grapeshot are the other big beneficiaries in my list.
Too win more?

 

[LadyMapi]

Ojer Axonil's a fun buildaround, but it honestly feels a bit overpriced outside of an EDH context? Which sounds ridiculous considering how wild it can get with pump spells or a bunch of pingers, but if your deck is an effective burn deck without it you don't really need it, and if you just want it as a finisher Torbran, Thane of Red Fell is right there, far broader, and will give an equal-or-bigger pump to anything that deals 2+ damage anyway.

It's kinda like Pestilent Spirit, where it's win-more if you're mostly running good general-purpose burn spells but becomes more interesting if you're pairing it with stuff like Iroh's Demonstration and Searing Blood. And at some point you have ask if that's something you actually want to do vs. something you're doing to support one card that might not even end up in someone's playables.

It's a good pick for a commander cube, or I could see making a custom card that makes it cheaper with lower power if you want to have that janky combo-burn aspect to it (I honestly think it'd be a really cool ability on a 2/1 prowess for ?)

 

[Nanonox]

but if your deck is an effective burn deck without it you don't really need it, and if you just want it as a finisher Torbran, Thane of Red Fell is right there, far broader, and will give an equal-or-bigger pump to anything that deals 2+ damage anyway.

I forgot about Torban! The idea was more if I have my classic Red removal suite that is centred around burn, can Ojer (or Torban) give me a combo finish like a burn deck?

I’m always dreaming big, so Ojer triggering off his power means I can aspire to slap a Grafted Wargear or something onto him and go nuts.

And at some point you have ask if that's something you actually want to do vs. something you're doing to support one card that might not even end up in someone's playables.

Honestly was scrolling to find a Red 4 drop I like and stumbled upon Ojer. Some pieces are in the cube already, not sure if it’s worth it.

 

[LadyMapi]

More detailed thoughts later (running late to work) but what about

?

 

[Nanonox]

More detailed thoughts later (running late to work) but what about

?

Excited to read them. Imodane is definitely in the right ball park, though needing a creature limits whether or not I can go off in the first place and limits the amounts of times it can trigger. Being limited to instants and sorceries is a bit narrow too.

I'll expand my line of thinking a bit more. My format is high on spell velocity in terms of cantrips and actual cheap cards. You have the classic payoffs that produce tokens, or grow bigger. What I don't have are many ways to convert that spell velocity into a win. Say you open the draft with

-> ->

Later in the pack you see Ojer/Torbran and then you might start thinking you could convert your bread and butter interaction pieces into an actual combo finish.

-> ->

That's 9 (Torbran) or 12 (Ojer) damage from a pretty tame sequence if you have either on the battlefield.

-> ->

That's 4 creature sacrifices and 12 (Torbran) or 16 (Ojer) damage from your sacrifice outlet.

The threshold for going off is reduced dramatically at the cost of having a 4/4 for 4.

 

[EzPzJapanezy]

Thoughts on the doggo?

It's better than Ogre Battledriver but idk Battledrivers original art wins on pure red vibes alone so I run it instead. If you run this sort of effect I think Ardoz, Cobbler of War is worth consideration. She is an amazing fires / token support piece that also being a mana-sink / win-con, she is really an awesome card.

Not related, but thought of ojer as a Red build around that is also hard to kill. Has anyone tried this type of effect (could be on another card)?

While I am obviously at this point extremely biased towards Dragons, I actually think Twinflame Tyrant is the *cleanest* version of this effect while also being incredibly strong. It's one of the most fun Wildfire pieces ever printed and absolutely slaps in Sneak Attack shells. Juicing both your cheated in ETBs and the follow-up combat damage is exhilerating.

 

[LadyMapi]

I feel like Ojer's probably worth a test, then.

 

[Nanonox]

Oh no! I dissuaded you to post your ideas. Wasn’t my intention, sorry. I’d love to hear them if you’d share.

 

[LadyMapi]

My idea was mostly that Imodane is a neat midrange-y way to recontextualize your burn suite, since you no longer have to "waste" burn on removing blockers/utility dorks... which doesn't really fit the "way to turn spell velocity into a win" need that you expressed in your reply.

 

[Zoss]

Looking for a token payoff in Red that isn't Purphoros.

Okay, some of these are Purphoros 2, but Siege-Gang and Battle Cry rule if most of your tokens are goblins.

 

[Rusje]

 

[Nanonox]

My idea was mostly that Imodane is a neat midrange-y way to recontextualize your burn suite, since you no longer have to "waste" burn on removing blockers/utility dorks...

That’s a good point! Reminds me of Questing Beast that hits face and takes out a planeswalker along the way. Useful for another cube project, thanks for the explanation.

I’ll also be stealing your Torbran suggestion. It’s a lot cleaner than Ojer and works creatures too.

but Siege-Gang and Battle Cry rule if most of your tokens are goblins.

Funny you should mention goblins, I was thinking about a sacrifice/artifact goblin package recently



In that context, Siege-Gang and Battle Cry certainly shoot up in value!

Reminds me that I keep forgetting Weftstalker Ardent! Working with artifacts vs being an artifact is an interesting decision, but either way, a good angle to explore.

That is a good suggestion and my cube is well setup for it with Paradox Engine and Jeskai Ascendancy. Even works with aforementioned Torbran.

Thanks for the feedback folks!

 

[ravnic]

This post made me think that Juzam Djinn could be a cool occasional for my lower/mid powered cube, where a four mana 5/5 would be like a C- or maybe even just D+, but the Djinn has a cool legacy. Now, of course I would be proxying here (wtf, I knew it was expensive, but 18oo€?).

So I was wondering if there were more cool cards at the really old sets that could still cut it at lower powered cubes. I'm talking Arabian Nights, The Dark, Legends, Antiquities ... if you know any old gems from these sets, let me know!

 

[alvoi]

Now, of course I would be proxying here (wtf, I knew it was expensive, but 18oo€?).

Do you have any Sliver in your list?

Because if the answer is "not", then Plague Sliver is almost functionally identical

 

[Zoss]

No one remembers this gem because it's reserved list. I guess it was actually a drawback at that time because of mana burn, but woof, what a card.



Storm World is a weird stax enchantment. Could never fit it in anywhere, but maybe you can?



Lhurgoyf is actually pretty good.



Love me some Icatian Javelineers, and they can do silly things with proliferate (ex. Metastatic Evangel)



Portent is a solid cantrip. Dunno how forgotten it is, but it's pretty good!

 

[ravnic]

Do you have any Sliver in your list?

Because if the answer is "not", then Plague Sliver is almost functionally identical

But it does not have the same coolness factor. Juzam Djinn has a legacy and fame.

No one remembers this gem because it's reserved list. I guess it was actually a drawback at that time because of mana burn, but woof, what a card.



Storm World is a weird stax enchantment. Could never fit it in anywhere, but maybe you can?



Lhurgoyf is actually pretty good.



Love me some Icatian Javelineers, and they can do silly things with proliferate (ex. Metastatic Evangel)



Portent is a solid cantrip. Dunno how forgotten it is, but it's pretty good!

Some sweet ones here! Keep them coming

 

[alvoi]

But it does not have the same coolness factor. Juzam Djinn has a legacy and fame.

Yeah indeed, you are right oh if only they removed the reserved list!

Well, I don't want to go too much off-topic! A couple of old-school personal favourites:


"the black pacifism"


banding is pretty good, at the end of the day I think it is over-hated but it is not harder that some of the recent mechanics (like descend...). Also, I love Chatzuk, Mighty Guitarist


maybe not too old, but these two are SO iconic for me. Ice Age is full of very iconic art in my opinion, even though most cards are bad

 

[KhitriyKrab]

Banding really does seem good. Provided you have two creatures with toughness greater than 1 each, this usually ruins a lonely attacker, negates trample and deals with first strike/deathtouch by sacrificing only one of the blockers. It is also a cantrip.

I wish to play with this guy some day. A potent on-board trick and a counterspell (note he can sacrifice himself and doesn't have to tap), both at a fair price.

That's just cool as hell. No wonder the Satanic Panic happened. Also Wizards are cowards for not reprinting this in any of the Theros sets. Come on, the fact that it's an enchantment that heavily supports playing Mono-Black is just a surplus on top of the name HECATOMB.

Yeah, this one is mostly cool for the wonderful collaborative art. It is also a sort of repeatable Fling.

In a sufficiently low-power environment both modes seem very good. Is a color pie break, but, imo, not that different from "deal 13 damge to target creature".

Some classics to ponder.

 

[gaytransmulldrifter]

If you want a dumb idiot beater that isn't 12 million dollars there's always:


Some other old ass cards I like:

 

[Nanonox]

To combo with Su-chi



A cool reanimation effect



A theft effect that can scale.



Pseudo pacifism.



Easily ramp up to your Eldrazi titans??

 

[ravnic]

Wow, I wasn't aware of Soldevi Adnate. That's a cool card. Also a fan of the Old Man.

 

[MilesOfficial]

Most of my favorites were already mentioned (really happy to see some love for Soldevi Adnate!), but there's a few left that are still relevant in modern Magic! I love love love the aesthetic of these sets in particular, I think the game lost that sauce after the Mirage block, even if I still do like the next few sets as well.



Steal your opponents' creatures straight from their library...in colorless!




I frequently run this one. Works well with its best buddy Orcish Lumberjack to help you ramp into a big play early, and plays surprisingly similarly to Grim Monolith.




White stealing creatures is very funny, and it does it in a white way. I ran this card for a decade and still wish I did now, to be honest, but I run way too many tokens to justify it.




If you support tokens, this takes a turn to get going but is absolutely absurd once it does. Great in commander for a reason, and has been on-deck in my powerful Cube as well.




Making a Threaten effect have instant speed massively expands the roles it can play. Great blowout potential, and still close to being reasonably costed in powerful environments. This was in my Cube for a decade and still threatens to come back.




Another founding member of my Cube, there to support the green aggro deck (go Jungle Lion go!). It's a little mean, but very good.




I like playing these like you'd play Armageddon in a white deck. Basically, you make a tempo/aggro deck in blue where you only need 1mv and 2mv threats, and back them up with counterspells, then you play this as your top end to make sure your opponent can never properly stabilize. They're both on the outside looking in because they're a little too mean to enfranchised players, but I'd love to put Mana Vortex back in, to be honest.




Just a totally fine Magic card.