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Thread: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

  1. #1

    [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Nightscape Familiar
    Blue spells and red spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
    {1}{B}: Regenerate Nightscape Familiar.
    Converted mana cost: 2

    What deck or archetype can this card be used in and why?
    Any Esper Shell or Grixis Shell

    How does this card fulfill the role of another card in an existing archetype more effectively than the card it would replace?
    While DRS serves as a Mana fixer. This card offers as a Mana reducer at a slower, higher cost of CMC 2.

    How has the metagame changed or what new cards exist now to make this card playable?
    Thanks to the absence of DRS, the format has less graveyard interaction game one, and is currently dominated by Grixis Control and Miracles. These 2 archetypes are fundamentally slow, makes the cmc 2 zombie fast enough to be on the battlefield. The fact that the zombie can regenerate has a significant implication.

    It can block Gurmag, Death's Shadow all day, DnT's Thalia and Germ token as long as there's no Mom in play. Doing all that, Familiar can just offset Thalia's +1. If you put Familiar in Esper or Grixis shell, you can effectively do the Snapcaster + K-Command for 3 Mana; you can also do Supreme Verdict for 3 Mana while spending 2 more Mana to regenerate the zombie, of course you can also do turn 2 Familiar, turn 3 Jace. I have experimented with Accumulated Knowledge + Familiar, but the result was a mixed bag. Negate + Familiar is tremendous, especially if you spend UU to Snapcaster flashback Negate when Familiar is in play. You can also try YP for one red Mana, but I wasn't able to get much values. Long story short, the play pattern can get very creative in this fair meta, feel free to check it out.

    Sample Grixis
    // Artifact
    3 Baleful Strix
    1 Sapphire Medallion

    // Creature
    4 Nightscape Familiar
    3 Snapcaster Mage
    2 Gurmag Angler
    1 True-Name Nemesis

    // Instant
    4 Brainstorm
    2 Kolaghan's Command
    2 Negate
    2 Fatal Push
    2 Diabolic Edict
    4 Force of Will
    1 Spell Pierce
    2 Lightning Bolt

    // Planeswalker
    2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
    1 Liliana, the Last Hope

    // Sorcery
    3 Ponder
    1 Toxic Deluge

    // 20 Land
    3 Bloodstained Mire
    3 Island
    4 Polluted Delta
    2 Scalding Tarn
    2 Swamp
    3 Underground Sea
    1 Badlands
    2 Volcanic Island

  2. #2
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    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Reduce can be good if your build around it (for example Ruby Storm).

    Your build isn't gaining too much:

    3 Baleful Strix - not affected
    1 Sapphire Medallion - not affected

    // Creature
    4 Nightscape Familiar - not affected
    3 Snapcaster Mage affected
    2 Gurmag Angler - not affected
    1 True-Name Nemesis affected

    // Instant
    4 Brainstorm - not affected
    2 Kolaghan's Command affected
    2 Negate affected
    2 Fatal Push - not affected
    2 Diabolic Edict - not affected
    4 Force of Will - not affected
    1 Spell Pierce - not affected
    2 Lightning Bolt - not affected

    // Planeswalker
    2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor affected
    1 Liliana, the Last Hope - not affected

    // Sorcery
    3 Ponder - not affected
    1 Toxic Deluge - not affected

    Summary:
    10 spells affected vs 32 not effected.

    Would you use Shaman which gives mana only for 1/3 your spells ? Also it cost more, and have very high cost (on Legacy Standards) of regeneration.
    That's why this card was good only in Psychatog / Void Era.

    Vs D&T it could be some not great solution vs Thalia - but probably Dread of Night will be tons better.

  3. #3

    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Quote Originally Posted by Fatal View Post
    Reduce can be good if your build around it (for example Ruby Storm).

    Your build isn't gaining too much:

    Would you use Shaman which gives mana only for 1/3 your spells ? Also it cost more, and have very high cost (on Legacy Standards) of regeneration.
    That's why this card was good only in Psychatog / Void Era.

    Vs D&T it could be some not great solution vs Thalia - but probably Dread of Night will be tons better.
    The key here is still the package, or a list around the Familiar. The sample deck is just for reference, for the sake of thought experiment. Hence, please don't get too caught up on a particular deck list, feel free to find a better home utilizing this package, maybe there's a combo deck better utilizing the package.

  4. #4
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    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Quote Originally Posted by twndomn View Post
    The key here is still the package, or a list around the Familiar. The sample deck is just for reference, for the sake of thought experiment. Hence, please don't get too caught up on a particular deck list, feel free to find a better home utilizing this package, maybe there's a combo deck better utilizing the package.
    But that's the issue. Why run less efficient spells that then get reduced with Familiar when you can just run more efficient spells in the first place? That's what made Deathrite good, that you could run your already good/efficient spells and get incidental ramp in there. If you didn't draw/resolve/keep a Deathrite, it didn't matter, your deck was still as efficient as it could be. In any deck made to leverage Familar, if you don't draw/resolve/keep one, your deck is already sub-par.

    That being said, go to town and try it, but you are going to have to find a bigger upside to having less efficient spells in the deck, so probably try to leverage more powerful, higher CMC cards. But again, you are going to suffer when you don't get Familiar in play.
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    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Quote Originally Posted by twndomn View Post
    maybe there's a combo deck better utilizing the package.
    If this was the case, the combo deck would probably go with one of the Medallions instead. Creatures are a lot more vulnerable than artifacts, and regenerate doesn't matter much if you have to hold up mana for it.

  6. #6
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    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Lejay used it to top8 the latest MCM tournament in Paris, I'm guessing that's why this is a thread. So yes, there probably is a combo deck utilizing it well:

    http://series.magiccardmarket.eu/cov...acy/#top8decks

    Edit: straight to the list:
    http://series.magiccardmarket.eu/201...u-b-omni-tell/

  7. #7

    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    There is a thread somewhere buried in the "New&Development"-section of this forum about a control deck that utilized Nightscape Familiar along with Flametongue Kavu , Fact or Fiction and Standstill.

    found it:

    http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...ck-Burning-Tog

  8. #8
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    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    The list I see on that link is SnS, which does present an interesting point - Burning/Cunning Wish would be a reasonable starting point in trying to get value out of Familiar, as with either one you're probably saving 2 mana instead of just 1, and can allow you to play some bigger, higher value spells to capitalize on your mana without cluttering up your hand. Deep Analysis is also a possibility.
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    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Quote Originally Posted by pettdan View Post
    Lejay used it to top8 the latest MCM tournament in Paris, I'm guessing that's why this is a thread. So yes, there probably is a combo deck utilizing it well:

    http://series.magiccardmarket.eu/cov...acy/#top8decks

    Edit: straight to the list:
    http://series.magiccardmarket.eu/201...u-b-omni-tell/
    This is a little disingenuous, since it wasn't in the main and was played as a single copy in Lejay's sideboard. Saying he "used it to Top 8" is likely giving it too much credit. We don't even know if it ever hit the battlefield. I would guess the maindeck Duress had more of an impact. It makes sense to bring in utility creatures when you expect your opponent to cut spot removal, which is pretty different from twndomn's premise, but I think that plan is worse in the wake of Arcane Artisan. In any case, congrats to Lejay; he's a master.

  10. #10

    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Probably need to be omega level durdle with pfire/snapcasters, with almost everything more than 1cc having a colorless mana to reduce, or combo with sneak and show. I don't think you want to play both strix and familiar in the same deck, and in a normal grixis deck I don't think you would ever want familiar over strix.

  11. #11
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    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Quote Originally Posted by ESG View Post
    This is a little disingenuous, since it wasn't in the main and was played as a single copy in Lejay's sideboard. Saying he "used it to Top 8" is likely giving it too much credit. We don't even know if it ever hit the battlefield. I would guess the maindeck Duress had more of an impact. It makes sense to bring in utility creatures when you expect your opponent to cut spot removal, which is pretty different from twndomn's premise, but I think that plan is worse in the wake of Arcane Artisan. In any case, congrats to Lejay; he's a master.
    True, I presumed you would all interpret my comment the way you described the situation. I shouldn't have written "used" since I don't know if it was used. Edit: or actually I meant "used" in the more abstract (abstract? Passive?) way, it was in the deck he used to top8 and thus he used it.

  12. #12

    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Quote Originally Posted by ESG View Post
    This is a little disingenuous, since it wasn't in the main and was played as a single copy in Lejay's sideboard. Saying he "used it to Top 8" is likely giving it too much credit. We don't even know if it ever hit the battlefield. I would guess the maindeck Duress had more of an impact. It makes sense to bring in utility creatures when you expect your opponent to cut spot removal, which is pretty different from twndomn's premise, but I think that plan is worse in the wake of Arcane Artisan. In any case, congrats to Lejay; he's a master.
    I can see why U/B Show and Tell would SB Familiar in as it would reduce Thalia tax, block-regen when no mom, and speculate that DnT would cut creature removal. If you want to go to the combo route, then the reducer along with Sapphire would just become a worse version of Storm. I haven't found any combo that might be able to abuse reducers. High Tide maybe? Or would Splinter Twin be possible?


    Quote Originally Posted by phonics View Post
    Probably need to be omega level durdle with pfire/snapcasters, with almost everything more than 1cc having a colorless mana to reduce, or combo with sneak and show. I don't think you want to play both strix and familiar in the same deck, and in a normal grixis deck I don't think you would ever want familiar over strix.
    Interestingly you've considered PFire. That reminds me Clash(Stryf)'s Punishing Thieves. That deck relies on Dack heavily, I'm not sure if mana reducers would be relevant if you start with their list.

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    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    It's possible but unlikely this would work in grixis tezzeret in place of signets. It reduces tons of cards and blocks. However the deck might not produce enough colored mana without the signets. Good idea though, I might try it sometime.

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    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Quote Originally Posted by Erdvermampfa View Post
    There is a thread somewhere buried in the "New&Development"-section of this forum about a control deck that utilized Nightscape Familiar along with Flametongue Kavu , Fact or Fiction and Standstill.

    found it:

    http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...ck-Burning-Tog
    Nightscape familiar worked well in this deck largely because of burning wish. Burning wish was useable at 2 mana, but great at one mana. The fact that wish could get both sorceries that could be reduced by familiar and those that didn't need a cost reduction was also important.

  15. #15

    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Quote Originally Posted by Slag View Post
    Nightscape familiar worked well in this deck largely because of burning wish. Burning wish was useable at 2 mana, but great at one mana. The fact that wish could get both sorceries that could be reduced by familiar and those that didn't need a cost reduction was also important.
    Sounds like s card that goes well with pfire, intuition and the new legacy allstar accumulated knowledge as well as planeswalkers and snappy. There’s surely a deck out there.


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  16. #16

    Re: [SCD] Nightscape Familiar

    Quote Originally Posted by twndomn View Post
    I can see why U/B Show and Tell would SB Familiar in as it would reduce Thalia tax, block-regen when no mom, and speculate that DnT would cut creature removal. If you want to go to the combo route, then the reducer along with Sapphire would just become a worse version of Storm. I haven't found any combo that might be able to abuse reducers. High Tide maybe? Or would Splinter Twin be possible?
    The best thing about Familiar against DnT is that it is a creature. They side out x4 StP for g2, because they have 0 targets, and you bring in your miser Familiar. If you win g2 and won g1, sign your slip and go. If you are going to g3 after resolving a Familiar you are giving your opponent a potential headache when it comes to siding back in those StP's and diluting his deck. It's like hitting someone with Daze, or Spell Pierce and having your opponent keep up mana every turn. They start trying to adapt to play with you.

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