veteran explorer and enemy fetches

[Mr. Fix it]

I haven't played veteran explorer in any deck yet but i have seen and understand the mana surge he is capable of producing. When you use him in a deck are you using him just for the surge of mana alone or are you using it because it can give you a surge of mana and a large number of match ups are most likely not going to have very many basics to go fetch thus making it a one sided surge?

I am hesitant to use him because i am giving my opponent lands. With all the new enemy fetches I'm guessing more decks will have more basics in them and the chance of your opponent not having anything to fetch with him will drop even more than as it already is.

[Media314r8]

I haven't played veteran explorer in any deck yet but i have seen and understand the mana surge he is capable of producing. When you use him in a deck are you using him just for the surge of mana alone or are you using it because it can give you a surge of mana and a large number of match ups are most likely not going to have very many basics to go fetch thus making it a one sided surge?

I am hesitant to use him because i am giving my opponent lands. With all the new enemy fetches I'm guessing more decks will have more basics in them and the chance of your opponent not having anything to fetch with him will drop even more than as it already is.

I use it in a rock deck with:

enablers:
4 c therapy
2 innocent blood

mana sinks
4 eternal witness
3 pernicious deed
2 profane command
4 sensei's top
1 volrath's stronghold

Explorer is in my deck to capapult me into the midgame, where my card advantage and expensive recursion spells dominate most decks 1-2 drops and cantrips. I often board them out against goblins unless I'm on the draw and need additional outs to T1 lackey, as goblins, elves, and survival are some of the only decks able to use the mana as well as rock can.

[Mr. Fix it]

But with the new enemy fetches doesn't it seem like the list of decks you wouldn't want to go up against with him as a turn 1 drop for the land acceleration would also increase? As decks that couldn't run solly on basics will now be able to?

[Valtrix]

Thinking about it, you might be able to combine veteran explorer and path for some nice effects.

[Media314r8]

But with the new enemy fetches doesn't it seem like the list of decks you wouldn't want to go up against with him as a turn 1 drop for the land acceleration would also increase? As decks that couldn't run solly on basics will now be able to?

The issue with explorer isn't how MUCH mana they get, it's how WELL they can use it. A thresh deck, even if it has more basics, will still be just casting cantrips into guys, same with 6 lands as with 3, they may be able to hold open five lands midgame for a hardcast force, that's the only difference having extra lands would make to them.

A meta you would not want to take explorer to would be one with decks like survival, NO thresh, or goblins, where they can actually make use of the extra lands granted by explorer.

Obviously explorer is a major nonbo with running wastelands in the same deck, so that was your plan pre-enemy fetches, shame on you.

[Mr. Fix it]

Thinking about it, you might be able to combine veteran explorer and path for some nice effects.

well if you wanna run them out of lands and land bomb with ghost quarter it would make for a interesting stradegy as they would have not basics to grab with ghost quarters fetch a basic clause.

[Bardo]

Do this in the appropriate thread, not this one-off.