Card/Deck Low Power Card Spotlight

ravnic

ravnic

In the Simic landfall deck I integrated in our cube lately, Baloth Woodcrasher has over performed. He alway hits as an 8/8 trample, which is really something in our meta and he usually threatens the 12/12 on every swing. I don't get how he was so good, being vulnerable and everything, but I tend to underrate landfall effects anyway. Considering this, could this fishy guy here be useful too?

 
genericco

genericco

Windrider eel doesn't seem quite on the same level, but I'm curious if you could get enough of these evasive landfall dudes to support a combo element for landfall. Like making a 20/20 with scapeshift or something
 
Rasmus Källqvist

Rasmus Källqvist

I think it depends on whether or not a 4/4 flyer for 4 (that sort of can't block anything big?) is good enough in your meta to warrant the work to make it an occasional 6/6. Very good clean signaler for the theme.
 
ravnic

ravnic

Hmm yeah, getting more than 2 triggers a turn is really tough in our cube, since we don't have that combo element. Landfall is more about incremental value.

Guess I'll pass on the Eel. Wish he was a 2/4 or a 2/3 at least.
 
ravnic

ravnic

Okay, I have another one that's fringe



How low has the power level to be, to make this a good card? Or am I maybe undervaluing it?
 
RavebornMuse

RavebornMuse

ravnic said:
Okay, I have another one that's fringe



How low has the power level to be, to make this a good card? Or am I maybe undervaluing it?
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The real question to me is: what deck is this supposed to be supporting?

If you have a sacrifice theme, you'd do better with Lumberknot or Algae Gharial. If it's a graveyard theme, you'd do better with Genesis, Kessig Cagebreakers, or The Mending of Dominaria. If you're looking for something that can be played from the graveyard that isn't Genesis, there's Roar of the Wurm or Call of the Herd. I'm really struggling to think of a deck that might be interested in Gigapede that wouldn't just be better-served with a different card. Since it has Shroud, but not Trample, I think it's exceptionally weak, and it'd take a nightmarishly grindy low power list to make it appealing imo. Looking at your list, it'd be your worst 5-drop, and I'd pick any of your 4-drops over it, too (I love Might of Oaks btw! fun include).
 
ravnic

ravnic

Thanks! Yeah, that's what I feared. See, the idea was to find another discard outlets in green for Gruul Aggro Madness. But even there, you probably don't wanna recur a 5-drop that trades with a saproling or goblin token,xeven when the discard is upside. And cards that only do good in one specific deck are something I try to avoid anyway.
 
TrainmasterGT

TrainmasterGT

ravnic said:
What are peoples opinions on this little Dino?

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Frankly, it depends on what you're doing with it. If you just want it as a 3 mana 5/5 when you get to the late game, it's ok. I think it gets much better when you can take full advantage of it's "you may play an extra land each turn" effect. However, you will need to be able to hit those land drops to make it work. I think it is playable in a U/G lands shell (as you play in your cube) or possibly a G/R Experimental Frenzy deck.
 
Kirblinx

Kirblinx

Developer
Staff member
ravnic said:
What are peoples opinions on this little Dino?

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It won Dom an SCG Open, so I would think he has a pretty high opinion of it.

In cube though, I just don't think it does enough. I like Oracle of Mul Daya or Mini and Denn instead as atleast they do other things instead of just allowing for extra land drops, which by turn 3 you don't have that many lands in hand to actually play out. Unless you are running bouncelands, but even then, I think I would rather explore, as atleast it always draws me a card. This doesn't always give you a 5/5.
 
sigh

sigh

Yeah.

Ranumap Excavator, at the same CMC, will probably net more "extra" land drops overall in many games and has the consistent body. Especially true in GR lands, where discarding lands from hand is a focus.
 
ravnic

ravnic

Yeah I drafted him recently when I was on a GW token plan with the thought, that he might be a really consistent 5/5 for 3 in that deck. I should be proved right, but in the later course of the draft I also picked up Tatyova, Benthic Druid, Embodiment of Insight and Vapor Snare, which Let's to a really nice, well fuctioning hybrid of those two archetypes. The dino is a great anchor for that.


TrainmasterGT said:

What is the As-Fan of zombies one would need for this to be decent?
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How often do you wanna trigger his ability? From this you can calculate the number of zombies you want in your deck and from this the asfan. Kinda sucks though imo that he is basically an orzhov card.
 
ravnic

ravnic

Okay, it's me again with a "could this card be actually really good?"-cases



I mean, in a deck with lots of tokens and/or some recurable creatures, this could save many lives and make combat a hell for your opponent, right?
 
Rasmus Källqvist

Rasmus Källqvist

Certainly is an interesting white sac outlet. Maybe it could be really good? Sometimes cards like these makes it so that you can block or get blocked and then choose what trades with what, by letting the bigger creature survive through a smaller creature getting sacced. Probably the easiest way to try it out is to, sleeve up a proxy in a deck and have a go with a friend! It still costs you an entire card, so it really needs tokens for the card advantage to work out in your favor, so it's somewhat narrow, but we have stuff like afterlife now so I think I like it on paper at least?
 
safra

safra

the way that Fanatical Devotion plays is you win every combat, they can't block, and your creatures die in order from smallest to biggest, except if your opponent has a wrath, in which case, they kill only half of your creatures.

It is not fun! Also it isn't that strong, so you have a shitty effect you can't even build a deck around!!!
 
ravnic

ravnic

This card is a classic, but I have a hard time telling where it would land exactly from terrible to great in a modern, lower powered riptide cube.



I can imagine him dominating boardstates. Or just dying to his upkeep cost. It doesn't help, that I never played with this card or even saw it in action.
 
Miasmir

Miasmir

When Masticore is good, it's super good.

4/4 size has to matter both offensively and defensively, regenerate has to work against at least some of the removal, and there have to be enough small creatures that the ping affects the board. With those conditions met, it can be a serious threat that's also fun to play with and against. From the caster's side, there's tension between leaving up regenerates and killing stuff, as well as the careful decision to cast spells when your hand is not going to refill anytime soon. From the other side, you have to evaluate how much you care about the Masticore, and how long you can afford to get card advantage by leaving it in play. It's even more interesting if there's relevant madness stuff for it to play around with.

In other environments? If a 4 mana 4/4 is not already excellent, then imagine you're spending a card per turn for the option to use the ping. It's not great.
 
ravnic

ravnic

Okay, thanks you, I'm definitely going to test it. I think my meta fits the right criteria pretty well, plus Madness, Dredge and Artifacts matter being huge Rolle players should further help make this card interesting for my drafters. And what you describe there sounds like skill-intensive, thoughtful and fun gameplay :)
 
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