Saturday, July 7, 2012
M13 for #MayaelFTW
Boundless Realms: The problem with this card is that you basically have to be on an all- or mostly-basics manabase for it to work. I think if that's the case, it's probably better than Mana Reflection for sure and maybe better than Mirari's Wake, by virtue of being a sorcery instead of an enchantment. But I am not convinced it's worth skewing my manabase to accommodate Boundless Realms.
Elderscale Wurm: The thing with this guy is that the ability just isn't all that relevant in this format. It's probably okay against certain matchups, but most decks won't care about it at all, and Blazing Archon and Gisela are far, far stronger versions of the effect. Elderscale Wurm will not be making it into my deck.
Mwonvuli Beast Tracker: Oh joy, another tutor for Primeval Titan? No thanks, I think I'll be fine. That's pretty much the only guy worth tutoring for with the Beast Tracker here, and lord knows we get enough of Titan already. Plus, Fierce Empath already does the same thing better, and we're aren't exactly nuts about him, are we? Pass.
Thragtusk: This is one of those guys who fits in the "Baneslayer Angel" slot: the early-game lifegain dude. My initial thoughts are that it's worth testing, sort of a smaller version of Pelakka Wurm that's probably better than Mycoid Shepherd but worse than Baneslayer Angel or Wurmcoil Engine.
Thundermaw Hellkite: Not really worth a slot. He's just too low-impact. He'll come down, hit for 5, and then maybe durdle for a while. 5/5 is too small to race anything, but big enough that the guy you attack with it will want to kill it. And aside from being a body, he doesn't actually do anything. I'm putting him down as "bad".
Worldfire: "Ooh look at me I have a Greater Gargadon suspended." Yes, you're very clever. Next card, please.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride: While planeswalkers in general are tough to miss with, the Mayael deck doesn't really get much out of this effect. I guess you could play it if you want, since it's just a generically nice card, but I wouldn't.
Rings of Valkas, Kalonia, and Thune: I personally think these cards are really cool. They're not very strong, though. I mean, you could be running, like, Sword of Fire and Ice. Or any of the other four. Or, I dunno, Mask of Memory or something? Whatever. Point is, if you're gonna buff creatures, these are not exactly the prime options. I mean, I don't even run Loxodon Warhammer. Can't see running these.
Cathedral of War: Exalted is nice, but it's not so nice that I'm willing to run a land that's colorless and comes into play tapped. You don't see me playing Llanowar Reborn, and I'm pretty sure this is worse than that.
Hellion Crucible: We have enough manlands that don't require you to sacrifice them, and the "colorless land" slots are already very crowded. Nantuko Monastery is better than this card, and I don't run Nantuko Monastery. This is not making the cut.
Thoughts on some notable reprints
Serra Avatar and Hamletback Goliath: If you're in the market for "Creatures that are absurdly gigantic but otherwise vanilla", these are two of the best. Me, I like to get more utility out of my guys, but maybe your build wants them.
Fervor: I don't think the deck needs this effect. If it did, though, Fires of Yavimaya is the clearly superior choice.
Rancor: Notably, very good with those big dumb vanilla creatures like Hamletback Goliath and Serra Avatar.
Akroma's Memorial: This is an okay card for some decks, but I don't like it here. There are too many better options for mass pump effects. I have a long list of cards I would run in this slot before going to Akroma's Memorial; off the top of my head, Triumph of the Horde, True Conviction, Overwhelming Stampede, Insurrection, Craterhoof Behemoth...
Gilded Lotus: This is actually a pretty nice ramp spell, but being in green, we get to use Mana Reflection, Mirari's Wake, and Primeval Titan already, so this isn't something I'd be looking to run.
Reliquary Tower: I really like having this card in my deck just to deal with annoying Howling Mine effects, but over time the deck's been wanting new colorless lands, and Reliquary Tower has definitely been on the weaker end of the scale, and in my last update I ended up cutting it. It's still pretty good if you run a lot of card draw, though, like Garruk, Primal Hunter or Greater Good or whatnot.
The Verdict
There's nothing in M13 that I'm looking to add to my Mayael deck. The expansion has a fair share of decent, playable cards for the deck, but none of them are better than what we already have.
Maybe Thragtusk.
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