General "Looking for a card"-Thread

psly4mne

psly4mne

TrainmasterGT said:
Do you think Bend or Break is a card anyone is going to actually play? It doesn't seem that good, especially in a fairly high-powered environment like yours. I say if Ravages of War has been good in your white aggro decks, then don't replace it because it already has shown results.
Click to expand...

I like weird effects, and I think Bend or Break has a chance to be a real card. In aggro, it delays the big answers by 2-3 turns while still allowing the aggro deck to play cheap burn/reach. In ramp, if you don't have a huge bomb handy, it could extend the midgame where your mana advantage is more relevant, and it puts lands in the graveyard for value stuff. It's the kind of thing I have to try out.
Armageddon is still in, and I didn't feel like the redundancy of Ravages was fun. If the change does end up making aggro a little worse, I'm okay with that.
 
Mondschwein

Mondschwein

That's actually interesting. I like that Fact or Fiction 'cycle', and I do want some more disruptive cards, especially in red, and Bend or Break actually seems to fit just that. I'd appreciate it if you could give a report about your next draft if someone happened to pick that card up and try it. :)
 
TrainmasterGT

TrainmasterGT

I need help finding Vanilla creatures (creatures with no abilities) and French Vanilla creatures (creatures with only keyword abilities) for my Noob Cube. I started populating the list and my average word count per card is already above what I want it to be. Try to make sure they're reasonably on rate, like Stormfront Pegasus, Deadly Recluse or Knight of New Benalia. My tentative list isn't done yet, so I don't have a set in stone power level other than generic "mid power." The most powerful card right now is Feasting Troll King, the worst is probably Nest Robber or Gallant Cavalry. Don't go any lower than those last two cards, I may still cut those if they prove not to be good enough.
 
japahn

japahn

I'm always in the lookout for those too. Take a look at my cube, you will find many that fit the definition loosely (use set mechanics but are simple otherwise.

The vanilla/french vanilla creatures I run or have ran recently:
 
TrainmasterGT

TrainmasterGT

Thank you guys! I am definitely going to use at least some of these.

Also, I went through and counted words on the common/uncommon slots of m19 and 20 (not all of the way but enough to get a feel for the average) and it seems like I can have about 15 words per card before I start getting above the complexity level of those sets. As long as I keep the super wordy things to a minimum except for specifically archetype enablers and possibly some bomby finishers, I should be fine in that department now that I have access to all of these great Frenches.
 
TrainmasterGT

TrainmasterGT

japahn said:
What are your favorite burn spells? Looking for all power levels.
Click to expand...


These are the ones I would consider playing, not including Fireball effects.

The best burn is the cheap stuff that hits hard and early. I don't waste time with things that can't hit both creatures and players- abradeing their artifact is cute, but I'd rather they just die to my burn spells before it matters!
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
TrainmasterGT said:
The best burn is the cheap stuff that hits hard and early. I don't waste time with things that can't hit both creatures and players- abradeing their artifact is cute, but I'd rather they just die to my burn spells before it matters!
Click to expand...

I like me some



It goes in a different deck than the ones TrainmasterGT mentioned, but that doesn't mean it has no place in a cube. Others I like:



I feel TrainmasterGT should like the Death Ray, and Incendiary Flow > Volcanic Hammer :) Fight with Fire is great in slower, controlling or rampy decks, where it can deal with a threat in the early game, or do a board clear plus some damage to the opponent in the late game. Pyrokinesis is a great tempo spell for aggressive decks, because you can use it to clear multiple blockers, all at no cost so you can deploy your board in the same turn. It's funny with the Heroes from THB (and Feather, the Redeemed) as well. Pyrohemia is definitely not for the aggro deck, but great in red, controlly decks.
 
TrainmasterGT

TrainmasterGT

Onderzeeboot said:
I like me some



It goes in a different deck than the ones TrainmasterGT mentioned, but that doesn't mean it has no place in a cube. Others I like:



I feel TrainmasterGT should like the Death Ray, and Incendiary Flow > Volcanic Hammer :) Fight with Fire is great in slower, controlling or rampy decks, where it can deal with a threat in the early game, or do a board clear plus some damage to the opponent in the late game. Pyrokinesis is a great tempo spell for aggressive decks, because you can use it to clear multiple blockers, all at no cost so you can deploy your board in the same turn. It's funny with the Heroes from THB (and Feather, the Redeemed) as well. Pyrohemia is definitely not for the aggro deck, but great in red, controlly decks.
Click to expand...
I don't think fight with fire really counts as a burn spell- it's more of a cross between Murder and Fireball, both of which I would categorize into other groups. That said- it's a very flexible card and I think it's worth playing for the reasons you mention above. Removal+Finisher is a good combination for control.

I really dislike death ray in comparison to stuff like Searing Blaze/Blood because you're paying more mana for less damage output. Blaze does 6 damage for 2 mana while Blood does 5 damage for 2 mana. Meanwhile, Super-duper death ray only does 4 damage for 3 mana. Also, you have to be fine with using silver border stuff if you want to play death ray, which a lot of people like to avoid. Cubes in the marked for a 3rd searing effect are probably happy with the death ray, but I don't think it makes the cut before Blaze/Blood except for in extremely low powered environments.

I don't like Incendiary Flow all that much because the volcanic hammer variants are lightyears worse than Lightning Strike and friends, to the point where they only are cards burn decks would want. Because of this, Incendiary Flow's exile clause is usually irrelevant and confuses drafters into thinking it's a removal spell and not a burn spell for face. Volcanic Hammer is far more elegant in that regard. Given that Incendiary Flow's upside is marginal and wordy, I think Volcanic Hammer is the superior card from a design perspective. I feel the same way about incinerate vs Lightning Strike, but I think all of the instant speed 2 mana 3 damage spells are almost always playable, whereas I don't think the same is true for the sorcery speed variants.

Pyrokinesis is cool though. It's like Fireblast meets Force of Will :).




I totally forgot to mention Rift Bolt, by the way. That card is worth playing before any of the 1 mana for 2 damage burn other than Firebolt and Burst Lightning.
 
Nanonox

Nanonox

I like my burn spells to be cheap and ideally have some late game value. I also greatly favor instants since it leads to more decisions which I try to promote.

1CC



Lightning Bolt doesn't fit my criteria, but gets there on sheer power and nostalgia. The others can act as a simple shock, but with upside.



This one I like as synergy with Emry and Welders as well as smoothing your draw.

2CC



Judgment is fine at 2 mana, but can act as a nice discard payoff in a color that likes to discard cards. Giant is very solid and high power and Magma Jet fixes draws.

3+CC


I still remember Volt Charging my opponent’s planeswalker while ticking up my Phyrexian Scriptures to wrath to save me from lethal. Also red has a bunch of +1/+1 counter cards and proliferate is a strong mechanic.
I like that the Confluence can be a pick for both aggro or control and incidental artifact hate. It's a hybrid wrath/fireball but it plays well. Very powerful though.
Pyrokinesis is important I feel for high pressure environments. It enables you to tap out for that important 3 or 4 drop and survive the onslaught.

Doesn’t hit players



Ribbons actually does hit players, but I didn't know where to put it :p It's a nice payoff for self-mill/discard. Mortars is more of a control removal spell, but I feel it has it's role. I like Abrade due to the high amounts of artifacts I run and the fact that I don't want to run something like Shatter. So versatility is key!
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
TrainmasterGT said:
I really dislike death ray in comparison to stuff like Searing Blaze/Blood because you're paying more mana for less damage output. Blaze does 6 damage for 2 mana while Blood does 5 damage for 2 mana. Meanwhile, Super-duper death ray only does 4 damage for 3 mana. Also, you have to be fine with using silver border stuff if you want to play death ray, which a lot of people like to avoid. Cubes in the marked for a 3rd searing effect are probably happy with the death ray, but I don't think it makes the cut before Blaze/Blood except for in extremely low powered environments.
Click to expand...

There's one other reason I like the Death Ray over both of those in my environment, and it has nothing to do with me having a low powered environment: casting cost. RR is significantly harder to cast than 2R. In addition, Death Ray can clear 4 toughness creatures, which both of the other two spells can't (Searing Blood can't even clear 3 toughness creatures, in fact). I mean, that doesn't invalidate your points, they do have some advantages, but it's not like the situations where I'ld rather have the Death Ray are extremely rare.
 
ravnic

ravnic

My wet dream of a burn spell is probably the so far unmentioned:



It has a high complexity and adds a bunch of decisions, even some stupid synergies with itself (cycling with madness), but this is exactly my jam to be honest. It also has hunor, old frame and is a payoff for my problem child, the madness deck. But besides all these subjective upsides, it also is a very good and flexible burn spell.
 
Mondschwein

Mondschwein

I also like Super-Duper Death Ray for being an instant that does 4 damage and dealing excess damage, good for aggro decks. Compared to Ob Nixilis's Cruelty and conditional hard removal like Bone Shredder, I'm still not sure if Death Ray is good enough for my cube. Char at least can be thrown directly at the face, same is true for Exquisite Firecraft (which I dislike because of RR in its cost ;)).

I actually never tried Blast from the Past despite looking really interesting, but I HATE the font in which card type and artist are printed. That's the reason why I don't even search for cards that were only printed in Portal 1/2/3. Dealing 2 and drawing a card for 1RR looks pretty cool, though, but I like Magma Jet and Firebolt better.
 
ravnic

ravnic

But Blast from the Past is a 3 for 1 usually, Jet and Firebolt can't offer you that. You usually use Cycling with Madness and then flash it back for four mana soon. But all modes are relevant, even the buyback for a late game top deck duel.
 
psly4mne

psly4mne

Onderzeeboot said:
There's one other reason I like the Death Ray over both of those in my environment, and it has nothing to do with me having a low powered environment: casting cost. RR is significantly harder to cast than 2R. In addition, Death Ray can clear 4 toughness creatures, which both of the other two spells can't (Searing Blood can't even clear 3 toughness creatures, in fact). I mean, that doesn't invalidate your points, they do have some advantages, but it's not like the situations where I'ld rather have the Death Ray are extremely rare.
Click to expand...

I think Searing Blaze is better - it kills most of Death Ray's targets, it deals more face damage, it can go face if the opponent only has big creatures, and having some less splashable burn is fine.
I'd run Death Ray long before Searing Blood because it's simply better on average. Blood is better with an exactly 2 toughness target, but otherwise Death Ray is better.

For comparison, against a target with...
1 toughness: All kill it and do 3 to face (tie)
2 toughness: All kill it. Blaze and Blood do 3 to face, Ray does 2 to face (Blaze = Blood > Ray)
3 toughness: Blaze kills it and does 3 to face, Ray kills it and does 1 to face (Blaze > Ray > Blood)
4 toughness: Ray kills it. Blaze deals 3 to face (Ray / Blaze > Blood)
5+ toughness: Blaze deals 3 to face (Blaze > Ray = Blood)

Blast from the Past is great. A little too slow in aggro, but still good when you account for the flashback. Slower decks love it.
 
Mondschwein

Mondschwein

I can really see its uses, and I also find the whole concept of the card to be hilarious. In my cube, although offering a slower environment, this would nearly never being kicked or bought back, it will nearly always be 1RR Instant 'draw a card deal 2 f/c' and flashback 3R 'deal 2 f/c'.
For Prowess, Firebolt could be more interesting for chaining lots of spells in one turn (due to its low cc) while Fiery Temper is more interesting for Madness as it deals 3 (you usually don't want to discard BftP for something else as drawing a card for 2 mana to enable it being a Shock usually is better).

I don't know, it's a really sweet card, but it doesn't seem to be a fit for me.
 
Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor

Contributor
Blast from the past ignoring buyback and kicker is still a sweet card.
There's a lot of sweet cards though, I had to cut Super Duper Death Ray recently for lack of space
 
ravnic

ravnic

Okay guys, I need a hit. I'm looking for the best aggressive 3-drop(s) green has to offer. They should be really tempting you to play aggro and not jsut by being a 3/3 for three with some minor, non-aggressive upside. The best I can think of really is this guy here:



Dying to a ping is a little annoying, but it is a splashable, reliable 4/4 trampler on attack, so ....

Bonus points are given for cards that cost {2}{G} and/or maybe interact with the graveyard.
 
TekLazar

TekLazar

The only card I could find that fits those specifications is

Definitely an aggressive three drop I wouldn't mind playing if I'm behind, but also would be fun in other decks. It seems pretty pushed, but if you're not playing Fetchlands Delirium can be hard to get online

Sorted by powerlevel

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top