Sets (MID) Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
- Thread starter shamizy
- Start date
bands with other tokens, phasing 6, new border landwalk, protection from pushed mythics
Oh. I forgot to give it a power and toughness lol.
The thing is... I don't think Briarbridge Tracker fits in the same slot as Tireless Tracker/Tireless Provisioner/Evolution Sage. Unlike those three cards, it isn't a value engine that cares about lands — it's an above-average beater with a little bit of extra value when it enters the battlefield.
I need that very last ability.
I don't mean on a card, I mean for myself, personally.
It’s fair version of Tireless Tracker. It should be interesting to you to make the switch from the snowball card to the fair card.
tireless tracker is fair, it’s just stronger
In terms of snowballing, it's slower than Vinelasher Kudzu at growing, and while the incremental advantage you get out of Tireless Tracker's clue tokens is real, so is the cost of taking half of your mana each turn to maintain the engine. To get value out of it the turn you play it, you typically have to hold it back until turn 4, and it doesn't compare favorably to other 4-drops. It's also somewhat medium as a late-game top-deck.
I think Tireless Tracker is fundamentally strong but still fair, but it lets you draw cards without having to interact with your opponent unlike other three-drop creatures including Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar and Edric, Spymaster of Trest...so I do see your point. I'm actually at a loss at other 3-drops creature that provide similar value, though the Tracker is much worse at defending itself against your opponent than a planeswalker that can potentially generate similar results or 4-drops that have similar explosiveness. Hmm.
I think Tireless Tracker is fundamentally strong but still fair, but it lets you draw cards without having to interact with your opponent unlike other three-drop creatures including Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar and Edric, Spymaster of Trest...so I do see your point. I'm actually at a loss at other 3-drops creature that provide similar value, though the Tracker is much worse at defending itself against your opponent than a planeswalker that can potentially generate similar results or 4-drops that have similar explosiveness. Hmm.
I think it's fundamentally "fair" because it doesn't do anything like breaking the mana system, but it's extremely strong and can overpower other things your format is doing, making it difficult to face in actual play. That can make it "unfair" to deck selections and gameplay experiences without being "unfair". It's like Baneslayer Angel, which doesn't break any rules of the game engine, but in it's time it offered so much advantage it made effectively facing it difficult.
So for me, if anything it would be unfair to the rest of my green section by overshadowing it.
So for me, if anything it would be unfair to the rest of my green section by overshadowing it.
Tireless Tracker is the gold standard of what a fair card should be in my mind. It provides you value over time and moves the game forward with its strong attacks.
I mean fair in the sense that attacking with creatures to win the game is fair, as opposed to making infinite mana or lethal storm count or etc. to win the game as unfair.
EDIT: to go along with Sigh’s point, if i put Tireless Tracker in a low/mid synergy style cube she will FEEL unfair because of the huge power delta she probably creates, but that’s not her fault, that’s my fault for putting her in an environment that is fundamentally incorrect for her. but really… she doesn’t even have evasion OR protection. she’s just really good.
I mean fair in the sense that attacking with creatures to win the game is fair, as opposed to making infinite mana or lethal storm count or etc. to win the game as unfair.
EDIT: to go along with Sigh’s point, if i put Tireless Tracker in a low/mid synergy style cube she will FEEL unfair because of the huge power delta she probably creates, but that’s not her fault, that’s my fault for putting her in an environment that is fundamentally incorrect for her. but really… she doesn’t even have evasion OR protection. she’s just really good.
Last edited:
thankfully there’s like 4-5 lower power variants of the “tokens/counters/lands/other stuff pivot” at 3 mana now, so the temptation to drop her like a cluster bomb on an innocent retail cube should be pretty easy to resist these days
I just like keeping my power level a little lower in that slot so I can have a bit more diversity of choice (in that slot and in adjacent slots). Tracker ends up feeling like a "default" slot, and I like as many of mine to be as flexible as possible.
I don't think the removability has ever been a difficulty for me, but cards like it can focus the entire game state around themselves even if you cube 20 Swords to Plowshares. Like how arcbound ravager in modern is easily removable yet can still collapse the game into "deal with me or die"
I don't think the removability has ever been a difficulty for me, but cards like it can focus the entire game state around themselves even if you cube 20 Swords to Plowshares. Like how arcbound ravager in modern is easily removable yet can still collapse the game into "deal with me or die"
Last edited:
Interesting. So is something like Pia and Kiran Nalaar less of an issue for you than Tracker due to the lack of competition in red 4's?
yes. and i use it the same way in a cube context.
I guess so, but I also find P&K much less "problematic" for a variety of reasons. It's a one time ETB rather than a constant stream for one thing, and it's abilities don't lead to constant advantage gain for you.
it also costs 4 which is just a lot of mana. still solid though
I guess what I find issue with is any card that contributes to invalidating a slot/section by just being the best choice in that position regardless of synergy considerations. That's maybe me decrying higher power levels, but not exactly what I mean.
For example, I don't want to play the rockstar 1 mana cantrips like ponder in my GY format because they contribute to invalidating other draw mechanisms I have in my cube that support my design goals (cathartic reunion, careful study, flashback spells as card advantage, etc). Even if the play pattern is "totally fine", it decays the usefulness of slots around a card when it's a standout rockstar, especially more niche synergy picks that suddenly look less attractive because XYZ generic powerful thing can be maindecked instead.
("why run this Think Twice for it's #synergy with my Careful Study? I can just run a way better cantrip and forget both those other cards!")
My personal opinion for your format @inscho is that Tracker reduces the viability of things like turntimber sower, loaming shaman, and world shaper because if I draft tracker it becomes a default slot in my deckbuilding, so might lead to me leaving out the more interesting stuff for the raw power. I become less incentivized to chase a GY combo if I can just take the path of "play a normal game of magic and I get this monster body + card draw engine".
it is just one card so maybe it's not all that, but that's the angle I take, and something I am continuous looking out for in my environment.
For example, I don't want to play the rockstar 1 mana cantrips like ponder in my GY format because they contribute to invalidating other draw mechanisms I have in my cube that support my design goals (cathartic reunion, careful study, flashback spells as card advantage, etc). Even if the play pattern is "totally fine", it decays the usefulness of slots around a card when it's a standout rockstar, especially more niche synergy picks that suddenly look less attractive because XYZ generic powerful thing can be maindecked instead.
("why run this Think Twice for it's #synergy with my Careful Study? I can just run a way better cantrip and forget both those other cards!")
My personal opinion for your format @inscho is that Tracker reduces the viability of things like turntimber sower, loaming shaman, and world shaper because if I draft tracker it becomes a default slot in my deckbuilding, so might lead to me leaving out the more interesting stuff for the raw power. I become less incentivized to chase a GY combo if I can just take the path of "play a normal game of magic and I get this monster body + card draw engine".
it is just one card so maybe it's not all that, but that's the angle I take, and something I am continuous looking out for in my environment.
Last edited:
I'm enjoying exploring these differences in our card evaluation. A lot of which is inevitably defined by subtle (and not so subtle) differences in our formats.
I can see how Tracker being an autonomous source of continuous/snowballing value would be less appealing. I find Tracker less of an autopick in my cube, because it is less abusable (in an explosive sense) and very midrange. Midrange doesn't thrive in my format unless it's disrupting (hand/lands) or doing something else cheaty.
Turntimber Sower, Loaming Shaman, and World Shaper are all abusable in ways that Tracker isn't. I see them as having pretty different roles in my cube despite clear overlaps. There are definitely lots of times I prefer Tracker over the others, and Tracker is more powerful on its own...the others are lower floor/higher ceiling cards....The non-committal generic value of Tracker becomes more appealing the earlier in the draft you are.
In contrast, P&K slots into every red deck in my format outside of the most aggressive aggro decks. It's combination of raw stats on hardcast, evasion, built-in removal, and etb abuse via blink and recursion make is such a no-brainer pick. Not only is it better than any other red 4 drops I would run, it drowns out many of the other red cards in general and overshadows most other token generators in my cube.
I'm not committed to Tracker, but Tracker provides a couple unique synergy intersections in green by intersecting lands with power as well as lands with artifacts. P&K's synergy intersections are much more common imo. P&K provides basically 70% of all red synergy points in a single cost efficient card, and that's part of why I love it, and hate it for being such a default draft pick and any stage in the draft.
I can see how Tracker being an autonomous source of continuous/snowballing value would be less appealing. I find Tracker less of an autopick in my cube, because it is less abusable (in an explosive sense) and very midrange. Midrange doesn't thrive in my format unless it's disrupting (hand/lands) or doing something else cheaty.
Turntimber Sower, Loaming Shaman, and World Shaper are all abusable in ways that Tracker isn't. I see them as having pretty different roles in my cube despite clear overlaps. There are definitely lots of times I prefer Tracker over the others, and Tracker is more powerful on its own...the others are lower floor/higher ceiling cards....The non-committal generic value of Tracker becomes more appealing the earlier in the draft you are.
In contrast, P&K slots into every red deck in my format outside of the most aggressive aggro decks. It's combination of raw stats on hardcast, evasion, built-in removal, and etb abuse via blink and recursion make is such a no-brainer pick. Not only is it better than any other red 4 drops I would run, it drowns out many of the other red cards in general and overshadows most other token generators in my cube.
I'm not committed to Tracker, but Tracker provides a couple unique synergy intersections in green by intersecting lands with power as well as lands with artifacts. P&K's synergy intersections are much more common imo. P&K provides basically 70% of all red synergy points in a single cost efficient card, and that's part of why I love it, and hate it for being such a default draft pick and any stage in the draft.
Last edited:
yeah interesting discussion. Blink for me is much less of a focus, I'm considering removing charming prince because it indicates a synergy that isn't really explicitly supported at all. In fact considering removing soulherder for the same reason. I have emiel the blessed as an available blink engine if a drafter really wants to go that route, and it's an engine that also supports my +1/+1 counter theme explicitly. This discussion may have just encouraged me to pull that trigger actually 
P&K does sit near the peak of my power band, but like you say it does so much for various strategies that I really don't see a reason to exclude it. Thopters for carrying equipments from my RW theme, artifacts,, 3 bodies for counters, sacrifice outlet in a way, fair version of on-board damage, 2 power and toughness for the various things that care about that. It's a kitchen sink.
P&K does sit near the peak of my power band, but like you say it does so much for various strategies that I really don't see a reason to exclude it. Thopters for carrying equipments from my RW theme, artifacts,, 3 bodies for counters, sacrifice outlet in a way, fair version of on-board damage, 2 power and toughness for the various things that care about that. It's a kitchen sink.
To go further and further off topic by digging in a little deeper and comparing our blink packages:
I run:
You run:
It really boils down to Ephemerate. I like Ephemerate, because it allows for some straight up absurd plays...the kind of plays I seek out in my cube. I feel like I keep it blink in check by avoiding cards like P&K. Doing weird stupid stuff with Versperlark is more enjoyable to me than blinking P&K multiple times....there's more hoops to jump through, but with the right setup you can achieve some equally high-end outcomes.
Just a great example of how a couple differences in card selection can radically shift the ethos of a cube.