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Hi all,

so the new set is fully revealed and I'm wondering why no one has become excited enough to start a discussion. I for myself am not very good at predicting how good a card might be, but there are definetely some cards that caught my attention (as a control player). These are:


1. Dig through Time + Treasure Cruise

I like both of them very much. They have the same CMC, one draws an additional card compared to the other and costs only U in the best case, the other costs at least UU but has instant speed and "tutors" the best two out of the top seven cards of your library (which is arguably a little stronger than "just" drawing three blind cards).

I've already been a fan of Tombstalker as finisher in my U/B(w) control deck and guess that Dig through Time will be another nice addition with the delve mechanic. More than two might be overkill, so Treasure Cruise might not make the cut.


2. Utter End

4 mana for a 1:1 trade doesn't sound too promising at first glance. However, I like that Esper Control gets another sorcery / instant - answer to permanents, especially planeswalkers, besides Unexpectedly Absent, Council's Judgment and Vindicate. I always loved O-Ring, D-Sphere and Banishing Light as an answer to early problematic permanents, but hated how fragile they were.

Now, with Utter End, Esper can maybe refrain from relying on the CMC-3 enchantments, replacing them by the named four spell-based answers and thus making room for overall board sweepers like Planar Cleasning, Akroma's Vengeance and Fated Retribution.


3. Sultai Charm

BUG Oath will love this. No need to run a one-sided answer like Nature's claim for Mystical Teachings anymore. And if it can't get the job done, it still digs at instant speed for a card that can handle the problematic situation.


4. Murderous Cut

The longer the game goes, the closer this gets to a non-conditional "B: Destroy target creature." Overall a very nice card in B's removal package. To get rid of an enemy Druid Hermit on the draw still requires you to play Innocent Blood or Fetchland + Ghastly Demise, but the other common choices (Doom Blade, Go for the Throat, Ultimate Price) also fail to save you in that situation.


5. Sharkan, the Dragonspeaker

This might serve as a nice finisher for Izzet control. It's more about his first and second ability to control the board if needed (Flametongue Kavu effect) and bashing for a solid 4 points of damage while being hard to remove.


6.Mantis Rider

(Maybe?) This will find its place in aggro-control strategies like URw Tempo. From my feeling, it looks pretty good, but can't really evaluate, if aggressive decks are satisfied with 3 power for CMC 3.


That's it from me so far, what cards are you guys excited about?

Hey.

So, I'm pretty surprised that there are next to no reactions in this forum regarding the bans published at the beginning of the month. I have at least expected some kind of hot discussion about TNN that may stay for some more time (it seems like so many people hate it and find it to be too non-interactive for our creature-heavy format) and the unbanning of Mystical Tutor (where people either think it will be blatantly OP due to Miracle effect cards or just another strong choice of the Mirage tutor cycle).

I personally like the unbanning of the M. Tutor, but can't share the hate for TNN except for being the ultimate planeswalker killer against control decks. Considering to unban Gifts Ungiven is also a step by our council that I welcome very much.


Is there nothing you guys are happy / salty about?

Hi all.

So, I've been following the daily Theros spoils and I actually do think that there are some cards that will probably see (maybe even a lot of) play in our beloved Highlander format although many people say that they are somewhat disappointed so far.

I'm namely talking about:


I. Steam Augury

A 'reversed Fact or Fiction' and my personal favourite so far. This is by no means at the same power level of the real FoF simply because you give away information while making piles, but I actually think it might become another staple of CA generating CMC 4 bombs in control decks. Obviously, the main counter-argument will be that you can't really use this card in a defensive way when things get really tight. E. g. you are facing lethal damage in the opponent's next turn and are desperately looking for a solution, but even if you do the 4-1 split, your opponent can still prevent you from getting what you need in a certain defensive situation (unless there are two cards in the five that save your ass).

But - and this is why I think the card is so interesting - when the board is even or maybe just slightly in your opponent's favour, this card can seal the game with massive card advantage. And this is what makes it look so good for decks with controlish elements, since in the the current meta single cards can turn around close games easily. Best way to prevent this is to have sufficient solution options, and these are usually achieved by outnumbering your opponents options (usually cards in hand, thus card advantage). I for myself am so going to test this.


B. Spellheart Chimera

X/3 trampling flyer for CMC 3 with built-in Runechanter's Pike. This one might see play in some kind of midrange Izzet deck. Personally, I like it very much, especially when you consider that it's only UC.


C. Fleecemane Lion

The better Watchwolf. The monstrostiy option gives aggroish decks a nice mana sink when the game goes longer than they want and is always a thread. Sure, a spot removal in responste to the activation will kill it, but if you look at it this way, it forces the enemy to leave mana open and be ready to react. Either way, it's a win:win-situation since no one really wants to see hexproof + indestructible on the same card under an opponent's control.


D. Xenagos, the Reveler

This guy is pretty underrated in my eyes. 2/2 haste for free every round is still nice in midrange-type decks, but the potential ramp will help pumping out higher cost creatures consistently up until the ultimate will pretty much end the game.


E. Hero's Downfall

Since black is arguably one of the weaker colours in our format, the BB cost might prevent it from seeing a lot of play. Decks like Oath and the rarely seen MBC will still make good use out of the card.


F. Swan Song

This will replace the Dispel in all the blue based 'let's ramp up and drop some bombs' artifact / combo control archetype decks and can even become a staple in the typical blue countersuit next to its CMC 1 brothers Pierce, Misstep and Snare. A 2/2 flyer is irrelevant when you exchange it for a resolved Sphinx's Revelation for 5+. At the same time, tempo decks might not want that card since a 2/2 in the air might trade with their Vendilion Clique etc.


G. Anger of the Gods

A Firespout-like effect that exiles everything that dies that turn. Sounds good, will push Izzet Control decks like some other of the spoiled cards.


So far, so good. All in all, I have probably missed some nice cards but this is what I instantly recalled after seeing it for the first time. What are your thoughts?

Hi all.


Here are the current changes to the Highlander banlist.

My thoughts on certain decisions.


I. Stoneforge Mystic banned

Well, this one was a controversial discussion over months now. In the end, I pretty much agree with the ban. I for myself don't really play creature based decks. But even as a dedicated control player, Stoneforge Mystic was a staple in my builds just for the random Turn 2 win against aggressive decks that didn't manage to handle it in time. I had this one experience at the HL GP in Iserlohn two or three years ago, where I won a counterwar about an enemy Stoneforge Mystic and then slammed down my own for the win. This one silly card forces you to spend so many resources on handling it that I'm sure its banning will reduce the amount of random wins provided by sheer power.

II. Demonic Tutor still watchlisted

In my experience, this card is still used for defensive purposes in most cases, especially in the early game. I understand that having a tutor effect for any card in your deck is somewhat odd when you look at the nature of a singleton format. On the other hand, what else does black have to offer? Almost nobody runs Black as a main colour, and that for a good reason: it's not known for a wide variety of good cards. It's almost always just used as a support colour and I predict that it wouldn't even be splashed to support if there wasn't Demonic Tutor. Vindicate, CC1 discards, Pernicious Deed, Lingering Souls, Mystical Teachings etc. are all nice and sweet, but if it wasn't for Demonic Tutor, people would think twice before splashing black. It's more like the tutor more or less brings other splash goodies to the party that otherwise wouldn't be considered.

III. Mystical Tutor unban watchlisted

Yes, unbanning that card could be really dangerous, EoT going for Entreat the Angels is pretty ridicoulus. However, as long as there is its green pendant in the format, this one should be free to play, too. "Either both or none" is my philosophy.


What do you think?


Best regards,

Doks

Hello everyone.


Once I read the news in this thread, I immediately thought that these bannings will cause a lot of discussion again (which is not a bad thing).

Things that personally interest me the most:


- Enlightened Tutor unbanned:

Hell yes, I really like this decision! While it opens more possibilities for almost every archetype, the currently 'weaker' ones like heavy control, stax and to a certain degree combo will probably benefit more from it than creature based strategies which in the end should be a very good thing for the format.
I'm not even that worried about pushing Oath based decks with this unbanning since it's 'only' one really strong card and it was not like Oath dominated one Top8 after the other.

- Demonic Tutor on watchlist:

I strongly disagree with this decision. Paired with good old Mana Drain, DT is one of the very few left 'true' control staples
that let the archetype keep up with stronger and stronger creatures.
I'm not saying that he's only run in pure control decks (obviously every deck playing black will probably run him), but from my experience, he is rather used to find answers than getting a threat itself, so all in all a somewhat 'more defensive' spell. I have no problem with 'igniting a discussion' as the council's explanation was given, but I'm seriously worried about a real ban in the upcoming spring.

- Mystical Tutor on watchlist:

A very good, although only logical follow up to the Wordly Tutor watchlist placement and unbanning of E. Tutor. M. Tutor will most likely replace stuff like Mystical Teachings or Intuition in decks that can't abuse the latter to its fullest. However, I don't think it will push Miracle stuff over the top. If people really wanted to abuse Miracle cards, they could have already done it with Personal Tutor that we currently almost never see.


- Tutor policy:

In general, I think the council has done a pretty good job with this october's decisions. It's only kind of 'fair' to unban the other Mirage Tutors when the arguably strongest (Wordly Tutor because of the power creep level) one is legal for years now while the problems its strengths brings are so obvious.


Your thoughts? Kind regards,

Doks