Card/Deck Low Power Card Spotlight

[sigh]

I can say with plenty of usage experience that it's perfectly fine. Strong, but easily removed. And there are cards we run that are just about as swingy. Offa the top Goblin Bombardment and other powerful auras like rancor come to mind.
On ACS madcap often either comes down T2 for about +3 to +6 damage, or it tries to come down later in a tap out of the opponent's mana. Either way, still an aura, one of the most fragile permanent types, and the lack of extra toughness keeps options like burn and double blocking open. Double blocking usually is a 2 for 2, so that's fine but not busted. And for two mana the investment is almost never super big on the users part.

In my cube it's been an important tool in the creation of slightly slower aggro decks that focus more on attrition and evasion. See all creatures above etc etc.


is a cool card I might run if MCS ends up being too much for an environment.

 

[theCubeMiser]

Nightbirds Clutches and Feeling of Dread are both good for that effect in their colors (Jeskai) for any instants/sorceries-matter archetypes. There are a lot of playable creatures with prowess now too, so those double-casts can add up quickly.

 

[sigh]

This's a little slow, but with some new madness support, it seems like it could be a useful green low drop for lower power? No? At the very least it seems good for grinding out top deck wars by turning late lands into Llanowar elves. Is it still too durdly?

 

[Dom Harvey]

I remember this being a great control 'finisher' back in TSP Block/Standard. It feels a lot less oppressive than Forbid/Capsize, since it's easier to overload by casting multiple spells in a turn.

 

[vennythekid]

Ooooh this thing is awesome in Modern mono-Blue Tron, where at some point you have a Platinum Angel in play, this in hand, and a metric fuck-ton of mana... you can't lose!

I think overall Condescend is a better player in Cube unless your environment gets to 10+ mana consistently, as the Scry 2 when countering something early is really strong.

 

[Grillo_Parlante]

I could actually run that as a control finisher: interesting idea, I remember it from the days of UW triscuit tron (even though that deck was only good for the week after worlds)

 

[Tzenmoroth]

My problem with spell burst is that I need to be 4 mana ahead of my opponent to actually get the lock of countering their spell every turn. Even for green ramp, that can be a challenge. Even in the most low powered of formats, having to pay more mana than them means the format has to involve players consistently having more mana out than the cost of their spells, which doesn't even happen in pauper cubes. Maybe in a 1CMC cube? I could see it being sweet there. It just needs a really special kind of environment.

 

[whydirt]

I just don't like buyback as a mechanic. It either does nothing or leads to really repetitive gameplay.

 

[Grillo_Parlante]

My problem with spell burst is that I need to be 4 mana ahead of my opponent to actually get the lock of countering their spell every turn. Even for green ramp, that can be a challenge. Even in the most low powered of formats, having to pay more mana than them means the format has to involve players consistently having more mana out than the cost of their spells, which doesn't even happen in pauper cubes. Maybe in a 1CMC cube? I could see it being sweet there. It just needs a really special kind of environment.

You can generate 10 mana naturally with bouncelands, which is close enough to mimicing the urzatron effect where I could see this working as a lock piece in certain control decks in the late game.

Not sure if its healthy for the environment, but its not as crazy as it seems.

 

[sigh]

Probably the only buyback spell I really like is

Buyback spells do lead to repetitive play, but this ones a neat card quality engine. Its like toned down top except cooler.

 

[whydirt]

I am listening to the latest episode of Limited Resources and LSV is talking about Epitaph Golem of all things being a key card in a G/W self-mill Delirium control archetype as letting you essentially Demonic Tutor every turn once you've emptied your library. This strategy is likely too fragile and durdly for most cubes, but could maybe work in the right environment.

 

[RavebornMuse]

If your format is low on Pacifism effects, could this be a card for more controlling decks to take advantage of? I feel like it's probably a notch too weak for most standard Riptide cubes, but as I've said about a million times already, I find myself continually looking for ways to walk down in power level; where do you need to be for this to work out? I see it doing good work in a spells-oriented control deck, or artifact/enchantress-style decks where creatures are present, but fewer. Something I really loved about the Legendary Cube on MTGO was that I could actually build a control deck with as few as 4 creatures if they were the right creatures for the job; that isn't a luxury I often feel in my own environ, where I must occasionally resort to sliding in 2-3 more bodies than I really want out of fear that I won't survive a more stompy deck, or that I might not have a strong enough win-con without a body to jab in.

 

[ahadabans]

I know Meren makes this look like absolute crap, but on a whim I tossed this into a mono black deck this weekend and it was immensely fun to maximize the value of this card. Re-buying key cards that you discarded to smallpox effects or just creatures that got removed, etc.

This card to me represents a time when how you played mattered more than what you played. I know I'm constantly soap boxing this and most are sick of hearing it, but there's something fundamentally unsatisfying about playing game state altering card after game state altering card. It just makes the game feel a lot less deep to me.

 

[Grillo_Parlante]

Epitaph golem looks great, especially when you consider that it can suddenly become a flying, trampling, regenerating, vigilant 4/6 out of nowhere.

If only junktroller could attack.

 

[Suicufnoc]

I am listening to the latest episode of Limited Resources and LSV is talking about Epitaph Golem of all things being a key card in a G/W self-mill Delirium control archetype as letting you essentially Demonic Tutor every turn once you've emptied your library. This strategy is likely too fragile and durdly for most cubes, but could maybe work in the right environment.

Solid role player in some Pod decks, to get back dead stuff. Combo's with Grenzo too, I suppose.

 

[frostymoose]

Epitaph golem looks great, especially when you consider that it can suddenly become a flying, trampling, regenerating, vigilant 4/6 out of nowhere

What am I missing?

 

[Grillo_Parlante]

What am I missing?

It gets buffed from the splicer lords, which makes a seemingly marginal card a lot more justifiable.

 

[Rasmus Källqvist]

Hey, you can even use it together with this guy!

 

[whydirt]

The more I think about it, I really like the idea of self-mill as a soft "combo" archetype/theme/package. It seems much less parasitic than trying to do something like storm where not only the payoff but much of the enabler cards only work in that deck. Even without repeatable recursion back to the library as a tutoring effect or Lab Maniac for the direct, you can still mill yourself for value with delve, flashback, reanimation, and theshold/delirium.

 

[anotak]

oh this is interesting

 

[safra]

There's also the cheaper (but less niche)

 

[James Stevenson]

Those are both interesting. I think the black one could be costed down a bit maybe?

 

[Grillo_Parlante]

Bequeathal is a card people have been trying to brew with for ages in pauper, and it never quite gets there. Turn crafting just to get card advantage off of your 1 mana aura is rather awkward.

Heres a spicy one if you don't mind including mono colored interactions



Green high tide.

 

[Alfonzo Bonzo]

In the context of lower powered temur engine decks, how do we feel about a blue nostalgic dreams?

 

[Dom Harvey]

Nostalgic Dreams is great at 2 mana, really bad at 7 mana