Monthly Archives: June 2019

Marauding Raptor is Probably the Best Card in Your Deck

Marauding Raptor

Marauding Raptor is probably the best card in your deck.

We’ll get to that in a second; but how about some other hits from the upcoming M20?

Brought Back from Core Set 2020 Has Some Awesome implications for Modern

Brought Back

How about with fetchlands?

  1. Start with, say an Arid Mesa.
  2. Follow up with, I dunno, a Windswept Heath.
  3. Then crack them both! You can go and get basic Plains or some kind of Sacred Foundry action… Whatever. Cast Brought Back!

You’ll have four lands in play on turn two. Four!

While this is kind of color-bending-ly good, Patrick points out that it essentially costs three mana because you forego your first turn mana tap to set it up turn two.

How about good old Mulldrifter?

You know how you can cast Mulldrifter for five mana, get a 2/2 flying creature, and draw two cards?

In our hypothetical you play your fifth land (and crack it); then evoke Mulldrifter for three mana. You draw two cards and put your flying fish in the graveyard. Now cast Brought Back.

… You’ll not only get the 2/2 body back, but the land you played and cracked. The outcome on this sequence is two additional drawn cards (and a free Ramp) over the five-drop cast.

Colossus Hammer Will Create an All-New Archetype

Check out Colossus Hammer:

Colossus Hammer

This card is super cheap… But has a prohibitive equip cost. However, if you just neutralize that equip cost, you can give a creature +10/+10!

Here is Patrick’s proposed sequence:

  1. Kor Duelist (1/1 double strike for W)
  2. Sigarda’s Aid (W) + Colossus Hammer!

You’ll pay a total of three mana for a double striking 11/11 creature… Lethal (in most cases) on turn two.

Big game, right? Big and quick.

But sure… How About When Marauding Raptor is the Best Card in Your Deck?

This creature is quite impressive.

The obvious follow-up is Ripjaw Raptor. You can play it for three (perfect curve out from your two drop), buff your Ripjaw Raptor, and draw a card! Rawr.

But Raptor Hatchling is also great.

Raptor Hatchling is already a great card for defensive decks in Standard. In With Marauding Raptor, though? For only R — one mana — you get +4/+0 to your Marauding Raptor and a 3/3 Dinosaur! Being able to cast multiple Raptor Hatchlings [specifically] in one turn will provide enormous amounts of power.

We’ll just skip the Polyraptor “combo” for now.

Tons more in the cast. Give it a listen?

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Cards We’d Actually Want to Play from Core Set 2020

Wow! Core Set 2020 (M20) spoilers sure have been hitting rapid fire! It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were talking Modern Horizons… And it barely feels like the concrete has hardened on War of the Spark Standard.

But M20 is here, and while there are a ton of “interesting” cards (we’re looking at you, Atemsis, All-Seeing), there are more than a few that we want to jam into our decks and brew with. Following are a handful of these future Staples and combo pieces.

Corpse Knight from Core Set 2020 May Revitalize an Archetype

Corpse Knight

The Skinny: This card is great types. Zombie and Knight are both relevant text in Standard. Might Corpse Knight help bring back B/W Knights alongside Knight of Grace, Knight of Malice, or History of Benalia?

Maybe.

But this creature gets even more interesting when you treat it not just as a synergistic two-drop… But a Fireball!

What about Corpse Knight into March of the Multitudes? What if you have two copies of Corpse Knight in play?

Not bad, huh? We’re just getting started on the creature-combo Fireballs.

Pair Dread Presence from Core Set 2020 with Scapeshift for an instant kill

Dread Presence

“Necro!”
-Patrick

Yes, yes. Dread Presence has a little Necropotence to it; a little Phyrexian Arena, more like. And it has a little Sorin’s Thirst.

You can play Dread Presence as a five drop and turn it into either a cantrip or a Nekrataal of sorts. I guess that would be fine… But it might also be wasting the potential of this card.

How about you play Dread Presence with seven lands in play? Drop the eighth for two, and then Scapeshift the lot of them for another sixteen.

Can you manage two more points?

The only thing “bad” about this combo is that you’re playing a Hill Giant. Yes, yes. You’re playing a 3/3 creature for four mana.

It doesn’t take much to make Chandra’s Regulator from Core Set 2020 worth playing

Chandra's Regulator

First and foremost, this card is priced to move. It’s cheap to drop, and will usually get down before you play your first Chandra Planeswalker. Assuming you tap out for her, you’re not gong to get any Chandra’s Regulator benefit initially… But this artifact’s effect will put you way ahead after only one or two double-ups.

Can you imagine making RRRR for 1? How about double emblems?

The other ability on Chandra’s Regulator is also eminently relevant, and might help to produce an all-new Mono-Red archetype. Stay tuned.

As a matter of fact, just listen up now!

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Is it ALREADY Time to Ban Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis?

Meet Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis from Modern Horizons:

Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis

Clearly Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis is chock full of keywords. A one-card synergy squad, Hogaak rewards you for creatures in play, for cards in graveyard.

Ideally set up by Faithless Looting, Hogaak can exploit synergies with Bridge from Below, Vengevine, and a host of fast creatures.

Too fast.

Altar of Dementia isn’t Doing Anything Good for the Format, Either

Altar of Dementia

Altar of Dementia is back!

A source of sacrifice for zero mana; a way to win so long as you have any creatures… And in this deck a way to fill your graveyard (for Bridge from Below, especially)… Altar of Dementia is a powerhouse next to an 8/8 powerhouse.

Together, these cards are prohibitively fast. Check out this (representative?) Tweet:

You’ve got a Rest in Peace in your opener… But turn two is too slow? Eep!

In other news…

Chandra, Awakened Inferno is Just One Chandra in M20

Chandra, Awakened Inferno

After lots of Hogaak talk, Patrick and Michael muse over three new versions of Chandra Nalaar from the upcoming set. This one is particularly cool because of what the [+2] emblem does against a particular hated archetype.

But we’ll let you discover that in the cast. Give it a listen:

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Is Command the Dreadhorde the Biggest Big Spell in Standard?

Welcome to a new era of big spells in Standard!

Sure, Mono-Red is going to try to play Fun Police, but much of the rest of the format? They’re casting big, big, Magic: The Gathering spells. No no – Bigger than that.

Command the Dreadhorde

Command the Dreadhorde – Is it the Biggest?

Certainly not in every deck.

Ben Friedman played a copy in his main deck (and other copy in his sideboard). Otherwise? Just a modified “Esper Superheroes” deck. Yes, there were powerful Planeswalkers to get back (as well as a full quartet of Basilica Bell-Haunts… But this is not really where Command the Dreadhorde shines brightest.

Dedicated Command the Dreadhorde

Command the Dreadhorde is more central to the winning deck of last week’s Classic, played by Robert Hayes.

With a ton of Explore creatures like Jadelight Ranger and Merfolk Branchwalker, the Hayes deck willfylly dumps extra cards into the graveyard, making for potentially juiced commands. On top of this, four copies of Tamiyo, Collector of Tales both fills the graveyard and searches for our key spell.

Tamiyo, Collector of Tales

The card that laces everything together is Wildgrowth Walker!

Wildgrowth Walker can help you gain life along the way, which will either give you fuel to Command the Dreadhorde or a ton of triggers paying you back once you already have.

I’d say keep your Walker safe, but if you don’t you can always get him back later, life-granting Explore triggers and all!

Hayes is so big into having the biggest end game he even played Trostani Discordant.

Oh I get it… Is Mass Manipulation even Bigger of a Big Spell?

Mass Manipulation

Sometimes!

Your size will vary on Mass Manipulation depending on how big and strong and overall powerful the kinds of cards are that it will steal.

But what we do know: Trostani Discordant could be better.

Trostani defends creatures only… So if the opponent lines up to get Planeswalkers? The Selesnya Legend has no opinion 🙁

Check it all out:

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