The Casual Planeswalker

Tag: Theros

  • Theros Card Talk: Shipwreck Singer

    Theros Card Talk: Shipwreck Singer

    Shipwreck SingerI’m always interested in multi-ability cards in new sets.

    These seem to be the places where the absolute most broken combos are found, and rarely am I disappointed in this venture.

    I’m not saying every mulit-ability card is a winner, it’s just that it’s pretty frequent that there are a few of them that turn out to be sad faces for your opponents.

    Today, I want to talk to you about Shipwreck Singer.

    She’s not exactly hearty at 1/2, but she’s not really going to be used in aggressive decks.

    Clocking in a UB for casting cost, she can be a bit tricky to get out turn two without a good draw, but I’m seeing her as a real hit in limited.

    Now that I’ve had some more time to play around in drafts, it’s been more and more clear that these games are going long, and I’m seeing a lot of 1/1 white soldiers thanks to Evangel of Heliod among other tokens.

    Her constructed viability seems rather light, since I don’t see her fitting into any big decks that exist right now, and there doesn’t seem to be any chance of a UB deck needing her somewhat expensive (by constructed standards) ability.

    I don’t see many constructed decks lying around with two extra mana on turns 3/4/5, and her -1/-1 ability will be far outclassed by the late game in constructed formats. The taunt is cute, but it’s not going to win any serious matches.

    Back to limited though… I think she’s just the right kind of utility to get you through to your late game heavy hitters.

    Slowing down any aggressive deck long enough for you to draw into your wins is exactly what she will do, and she can taunt a low-power creature with deathtouch into attacking, preserving your larger threats.

    She just simply locks down any 1/1, as it can no longer attack unless she tells it to, and any 2/x or 3/x 4/x becomes a lot less scary when she’s singing your victory song on the battlefield.

    Shipwreck Singer may not be a first pick in my book, but I’m definitely going to be eyeing her pretty hard for 2nd or 3rd turn picks- and certainly grabbing her if I’m even remotely considering U/B in my colors.

  • Killer Combo: Doing the (un)Tap Dance

    Killer Combo: Doing the (un)Tap Dance

    Hey Planeswalkers,

    I was playing around with some cool ideas in Theros drafting, and I came across this little gem of a drafting combo. I haven’t decided where the color-power lies completely in Theros yet, and I’ve started some ideas. I’ll let you guys know when I’m ready to come out and make them public!

    Until then, I think you’ll get a kick out of this:

    Prophet of KruphixJust saw a Prophet of Kruphix in your pack 1 or 2? Of course you’re going to windmill slam that guy down, if not for your current draft, for the commander deck that you just saw a great fit in (hey, I know rare drafting gets poo poo-ed, but we all do it sometimes so take a breath and sit back down). Now you have a question going through your mind- what are the best ways to optimize this card?

    Of course, untapping the lands every turn is insanely powerful, and being able to play anything from your hand is good (don’t forget, play a creature in response to them trying to kill the prophet), but what’s the BEST way to optimize this?

    Well, my brother in drafting, the answer to that question is common. Literally, it’s a common. Thassa’s Bounty. These cards are very expensive card draw, and hard to justify normally, but now that you’re untapping on your opponents’ turns, rock on! Spend that mana safely, knowing that you can just play out any necessary creatures on HIS turn! Now, I’ll buy that for a dollar.

    Of course, you’re going to have to watch out for any removal from your opponents when you play the bounties, but it’s okay. If they want to play a slow game, you’ve got them there too because you’ll just play out creatures on their turn as well thanks Thassas Bountyto the prophet.

    Obviously, any card draw is going to be powerful, but the Prophet of Kruphix actually turns marginal card draw (Thassa’s Bounty) into viable strategy!

    I don’t know about you, but I’m always up for some extra card advantage a-la previously-unplayable common. How about you?

     

  • Theros Card Talk: Stormbreath Dragon

    Theros Card Talk: Stormbreath Dragon

    Stormbreath Dragon Card ArtIn case you haven’t heard, the word is Stormbreath Dragon among aggressive red mages. He’s hasty, he’s flying, and he’s even going to evade those annoying white spells that always get in the way.

    I’ve heard a few people complain about the 4/4 and the fact that he’s in prime Mortars territory, but yeah. What card doesn’t have a vulnerability or two (Go away Thragtusk, you don’t count anymore)? We’re getting crazy-awesome value for 5 mana otherwise, and nobody is really complaining about a 4/4 flier for 5 in red anyway. I can’t think of a better way to top off the mana curve of an aggro deck than with this guy plopping down and making things silly.

    Now, I wouldn’t bet on his monstrous ability to make it in a multiplayer game (those kinds of things generally tend to attract unwanted attention and cause a few unwanted, unfriendly alliances in a hurry), but in any sort of constructed standard format, you’re going to be smiling when he hits the table.

    I know personally that a few LGS favorites, Azorius Charm, Detention Sphere, and Banisher Priest are shooting blanks at him. Have fun banishing my Goblin Diplomats while I fly over and deal 4, haha.

    The thing about the dragon that we haven’t even gotten into yet is what I like to call the sleeper/finisher, monstrosity! Yes, it’s expensive, and yes, it’s going to be a huge problem for your opponent when you make this guy monstrous. It’s not likely that you’ll be dealing much direct damage, unless your opponent has some form of Esper/Control with good draw. Then you’re punishing him all the more. Just be mindful of his mana, and whether or not he has a response to your monstrous trigger. Stormbreath Dragon has to be on the battlefield when his ability resolves to actually trigger the ability.

    Remember, you can use monstrosity any time you have the mana up, so look for a time when your opponent is tapped out/doesn’t have an answer in hand to use it. At the very least, it should stop your opponent from using any Sphinx’s Revelations while he’s out. Effectively wasting that card until he can deal with your dragon.