Post by chad on Sept 24, 2013 15:16:01 GMT
Ari Lax put out a review of theros cards that could crack the modern format..
most of them didnt make the cut... however here are some that he made arguments for:
Master of waves
is a "maybe" at best
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STORMBREATH DRAGON Thumbs Up
The monstrous ability is a bit ambitious, so it's protection from Path to Exile and Restoration Angel double blocks versus the extra power on Thundermaw Hellkite. In my mind, that seems fairly close. Both cards dodge Lingering Souls, so the trigger is only relevant if you are afraid of Spirits racing back, and both cards dodge Colonnade, so the extra toughness doesn't count for much. I am not a Jund or U/W/R master by any means, so I will not make a definite statement either way, but Stormbreath Dragon is way more reasonable than it would seem at first.
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Polkuranos, the world eater
This guy stands up to Tarmogoyf, especially after a monstrous activation. It also does cool things like eating mana guys, Lingering Souls tokens, Huntmaster of the Fells, and random Affinity guys. Definitely competing with Olivia for doing approximately the same thing, but Polukranos doesn't die to Lightning Bolt on the turn it hits play and is mono-green for the non-red lists of "Jund."
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Sylvan Caryatid
In the no-Chord Kiki Pod lists, this is likely a better Wall of Roots. Making all of your colors seems better than randomly blocking Goyfs (when you board it out there anyway). The only thing that might swing this the other way is that Wall of Roots costs one due to being able to activate it the turn it enters play.
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Spellheart Chimera
This is competing with Vendilion Clique for the role of "three-drop threat in U/R/x that hits hard and still dies to Lightning Bolt." In this battle, it's a question of if flash and buffing Spellstutter Sprite are better special abilities than "doesn't die to Electrolyze." This is all a fairly moot point until Jund dies down again because decks with removal are basically unbeatable for all these tempo variants, but this guy could round out Delver of Secrets and Young Pyromancer as a legitimate two-color threat base.
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most of them didnt make the cut... however here are some that he made arguments for:
Master of waves
is a "maybe" at best
===
STORMBREATH DRAGON Thumbs Up
The monstrous ability is a bit ambitious, so it's protection from Path to Exile and Restoration Angel double blocks versus the extra power on Thundermaw Hellkite. In my mind, that seems fairly close. Both cards dodge Lingering Souls, so the trigger is only relevant if you are afraid of Spirits racing back, and both cards dodge Colonnade, so the extra toughness doesn't count for much. I am not a Jund or U/W/R master by any means, so I will not make a definite statement either way, but Stormbreath Dragon is way more reasonable than it would seem at first.
===
Polkuranos, the world eater
This guy stands up to Tarmogoyf, especially after a monstrous activation. It also does cool things like eating mana guys, Lingering Souls tokens, Huntmaster of the Fells, and random Affinity guys. Definitely competing with Olivia for doing approximately the same thing, but Polukranos doesn't die to Lightning Bolt on the turn it hits play and is mono-green for the non-red lists of "Jund."
===
Sylvan Caryatid
In the no-Chord Kiki Pod lists, this is likely a better Wall of Roots. Making all of your colors seems better than randomly blocking Goyfs (when you board it out there anyway). The only thing that might swing this the other way is that Wall of Roots costs one due to being able to activate it the turn it enters play.
===
Spellheart Chimera
This is competing with Vendilion Clique for the role of "three-drop threat in U/R/x that hits hard and still dies to Lightning Bolt." In this battle, it's a question of if flash and buffing Spellstutter Sprite are better special abilities than "doesn't die to Electrolyze." This is all a fairly moot point until Jund dies down again because decks with removal are basically unbeatable for all these tempo variants, but this guy could round out Delver of Secrets and Young Pyromancer as a legitimate two-color threat base.
===