[DGM] Ral Zarek

[Lemnear]

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/mm/242

Ral Zarek - 2UR

4 Loyalty

+1: Tap target permement, then untap another target permement

-2: Ral Zarek deals 3 damage to target player or creature

-7: Flip 5 coins. Take an extra turn after this one for each coin that comes up heads.


P.S.: can't upload pictures mobile :/

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Won't be played. Makes me sad.

[Lemnear]

Won't be played. Makes me sad.

Not in Legacy. Potential for Modern's WUR Midrange

[Tao]

I like this card a lot, design-wise. Does all sorts of Izzet things and the ultimate is really fun. Thumbs up.

I think this has some kind of potential. In Standard it will probably see play. Two Bolts on a stick isn't half bad.

For Legacy it probably can't compete with Jace TMS But he has potential. Good with things that EtB tapped, like Nevi Disk, or things that don't untap during untap step, like Grim Monolith.

[Royal Ass.]

Untaps Time Vault :)

[Koby]

Untaps Time Vault :)

And kills Lodestone Golem. Easily a Vintage utility card. Could easily make UR Control Slaver a thing again (with Izzet Charm to replace Thirst for KNowledge).

[Wilkin]

It's a good card.

Hard to see it being Legacy playable since at 4 mana and it's blue, you will inevitably ask yourself "Shouldn't I just play Jace, The Mind Sculptor instead?"

But hey, Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas in the right deck can be scarier than Jace. Maybe there's a way to abuse Ral's +1 Ability. As part of a control strategy with Meekstone, tapping down your opponents creatures perhaps, using Goblin Welder twice a turn, accelerate with Grim Monolith.

[Phoenix Ignition]

Not in Legacy. Potential for Modern's WUR Midrange

I dunno, seems like Ajani Vengeant does exactly what this one does but much better. It might be relevant to the format if there is a deck that plays UR without W but I don't see it.

[Lemnear]

And kills Lodestone Golem. Easily a Vintage utility card. Could easily make UR Control Slaver a thing again (with Izzet Charm to replace Thirst for KNowledge).

Kills Lodestone for 5 mana ... Unplayable. Vintage is done unless WotC slaps more restrictions or enables the format to free from the stranglehold of Shops and Bazaar

[Koby]

Kills Lodestone for 5 mana ... Unplayable. Vintage is done unless WotC slaps more restrictions or enables the format to free from the stranglehold of Shops and Bazaar

Im less concerned with Resistors than I am with Tangle Wire and Revokers. You're just repeating the same old line without thinking of what the actual threats from Shops are.

[edgarps22]

He has particular uses in Metalworker MUD in legacy, allowing for multiple activation's of Welder or Forgemaster, as well as being able to untap Monoliths and do other fun things. That is the deck I see him working the best in, since it saves a bit of room no not needing/relying on Voltaic Key so much while still adding in other levels of disruption.

In vintage, this guy is very very very good. Can also untap Time Vault, much like Tezzeret 1.0, basically gives another out if they nuke your key. Can untapthings you tapped for the Tanglewires, or my god tap down the Trinisphere allowing you to play your moxen and Lotus. Looks very good to help control boards with the tap and bolt options available, the ultimate will probably never be hit before the game ends anyways, but if it is ever hit in vintage, the game is over more often than not. Dismissing this card is a bad idea since his utility is fairly high, not Jace high, but high.

[Lemnear]

Im less concerned with Resistors than I am with Tangle Wire and Revokers. You're just repeating the same old line without thinking of what the actual threats from Shops are.

The rise of Tera Nova Shops with Phyxrexian Metamorph and Sculpting Steel is sure because copying Revoker and Wire is better than Lodestones... /sarcasm

[Koby]

The rise of Tera Nova Shops with Phyxrexian Metamorph and Sculpting Steel is sure because copying Revoker and Wire is better than Lodestones... /sarcasm

Oftentimes, yes actually. What use are multiple Lodestones if I can cast and use my Moxen to fight thru those Resistors. Tangle Wire shuts down that plan cold.

The peospect of using Welder Twice on the same turn is very lucritive.

[Lemnear]

Oftentimes, yes actually. What use are multiple Lodestones if I can cast and use my Moxen to fight thru those Resistors. Tangle Wire shuts down that plan cold.

The peospect of using Welder Twice on the same turn is very lucritive.

So does Chalice. I agree on Welder but don't see it reviving Slaver in Vintage alongside Strategic Planning

[CardboardCrack]

I'll be really curious if there's some way to abuse his +1 ability in Vintage.

[Lemnear]

I'll be really curious if there's some way to abuse his +1 ability in Vintage.

This thread already made some suggestions

[bruizar]

both his +1 and his -2 protect him. his +1 can untap a blocker and tap an attack which means your opponent now needs 3 creatures to start dealing with ral zarek. That's pretty good.

[Lemnear]

both his +1 and his -2 protect him. his +1 can untap a blocker and tap an attack which means your opponent now needs 3 creatures to start dealing with ral zarek. That's pretty good.

How does tapping his creature my Turn affect his attack in his Turn?

[Vacrix]

By itself, its +1 isn't too good at protecting itself.. except perhaps untapping your islands for permission. You could play combat tricks with it but only on your turn, so its +1 needs to interact with something else to reach full utililty. Welder seems pretty good. Stasis is a potential option as well. Untapping Islands each turn is good; tapping down the opponents lands as they try to get enough of them to answer Stasis is also pretty good. It is a win condition all on its own as well both in taking extra turns to push an active Stasis over the top or dealing direct damage with Ral Zarek.

Its worth noting that Ral Zarek's -2 can hit creatures or opposing planeswalkers. Seems good. Not against all of them, but if you lay it down against, say an opposing Jace, you can punish a player if he's been Brainstorming. Its worth noting that 'Lightning Bolts' from Ral Zarek allow you to trade with creatures with less than or equal to 6 toughness.. which just about covers the non-Reanimator size of fat we tend to encounter in Legacy. This also helps in a Ral Zarek vs. Jace showdown in UR Zarek vs. Ux Jace because UR will be packed with Burn to help shrink the Jace quickly before the Jace player acquires too much card advantage. I'd say Ral Zarek is quite aggressive for a Planeswalker and is finally something that aggro control could play. He could easily fit into UR Delver. Ral Zarek can clear the path for Delvers/Goblin Guide, which only need to connect a couple times for the reach to close the deal. Further, his ultimate is quite good. Extra turns in a control deck isn't nearly as dangerous (when you already have Jace to +2 away the opponents turn in a draw-go situation, or a +0 to get the best part of your turn; CA) as extra turns in an aggro control. A UR Delver player who gets extra turns will certainly draw some burn, extra creatures and/or simply extra attack phases for the ones already there. Not to mention, extra turns means extra counters for Ral Zarek, which means extra direct damage.


In general, I think that Jace is probably still better. After all, Jace can bounce huge dudes, and basically just pseudo-mindslaver the opponent by negating the opponents draw with the +2 or fixing their own with the +0. Its easier to stay ahead with Jace as well as get back in the game with Jace.. however.. Ral Zarek looks like he's pretty good in his own way. He has a much shorter term usage than Jace. Ral Zarek has the ability to synthesize well. His +1 works with Stasis as well as Goblin Welder. I'll be trying RUG Stasis in Cockatrice sometime soon, since Goblin Welder is quite good with Quirion Ranger which combos with Stasis and a Tropical Island/Birds of Paradise. He could function like Garruk in GU Turbo Stasis, only Ral Zarek's +1 under a Stasis lock makes your position quite secure. I have quite the experience under Stasis lock; usually, with Garruk, he allows you to build quite a bit of steam and get the lock more and more secure... but if the opponent can find an answer AND play enough lands, then the opponent can break the Stasis lock. In this case, Ral Zarek taps down lands whilst untapping yours. Also, unlike Garruk, while building this lock, you can just unload all your counters into the -2 after holding it for long enough and he becomes your win condition, unlike Garruk, who is primarly just a holder of the lock.

[catmint]

Nice analysis Vacrix (and others). Good to see "out of the box thinking" instead of just "not better than jace".

Don't think UR Delver wants a 4 cmc spell, but if they would want one they might play him over Jace.
Looking forward to see your Stasis lists, since you seem to have experience with that archetype.

The ultimate is super cool. Unfortunate that it apparently will be only a fringe PW for freaky Welder or Stasis decks.

That he compares bad to Ajani Vengeant is true, but Ajani does not have awesome, which is a huge downside. :tongue:

[Arsenal]

I dunno, seems like Ajani Vengeant does exactly what this one does but much better. It might be relevant to the format if there is a deck that plays UR without W but I don't see it.

Ral feels like a combat walker (tapping down an opposing blocker and swinging in with Geist) whereas Ajani Vengeant definitely feels like a control walker. I think it just depends on what you're looking for your 4cc walker to do for you. Although in the context of Modern UWR Midrange, Elspeth would be better than both Ajani Vengeant and Ral Zarek.

[marax]

The guy combos sweetly with Stasis

I expect it will not be good enough for Legacy though

[SpikeyMikey]

I think the thing that people are missing with the Ajani Vengeant comparison is that Ral Zarek taps something. Ajani keeps something from untapping, but you can't hit something that's already untapped. Of course, your opponent gets to untap it again on their turn, so it's terrible from a defensive standpoint, but as Vacrix pointed out, it's good for getting creatures through. I'm saying this is potentially Legacy playable, definitely Modern playable and nutty in Standard, at least until the October Rotation when Geist of Saint Traft goes away.

[Darkenslight]

I think the thing that people are missing with the Ajani Vengeant comparison is that Ral Zarek taps something. Ajani keeps something from untapping, but you can't hit something that's already untapped. Of course, your opponent gets to untap it again on their turn, so it's terrible from a defensive standpoint, but as Vacrix pointed out, it's good for getting creatures through. I'm saying this is potentially Legacy playable, definitely Modern playable and nutty in Standard, at least until the October Rotation when Geist of Saint Traft goes away.

I generally agree with this sentiment, with a caveat: I think Tribal decks will splash the other color for a 2-of from the SB, to push through the last points of damage either with the +1 or the -2. The -2 will be especially useful with Merfolk's more Tempo game. Could it spawn another deck? Possible, but unlikely. After all, Ral is made of AWESOME.

[Julian23]

The guy combos sweetly with Stasis

True.


I expect it will not be good enough for Legacy though

You already said that.

[DrJones]

All the designers that worked on this product are fantastic except the lead designer, so I predict plenty of fun cards and horribly unimaginative mechanics.

[Malakai]

Kills Lodestone for 5 mana ... Unplayable. Vintage is done unless WotC slaps more restrictions or enables the format to free from the stranglehold of Shops and Bazaar

This is laughable. A year ago people were complaining that the blue decks had finally "solved" vintage, and a year before that Shops was again the bogeyman of the format.

[evanmartyr]

I'd agree that Ral is unplayable because of JTMS...but Stasis is a thing. Ral seems absurd for it. No longer having to splash hard into green or rely on Forsaken City or weird, combined effects. Just one Planeswalker makes the deck.

[eq.firemind]

The guy combos sweetly with Stasis
And Winter Orb.
As being said, UR Goblin Welder-Tangle Wire-stuff tier 3 decks are getting a boost.

[DragoFireheart]

I'd agree that Ral is unplayable because of JTMS...

To be fair, every Planeswalker being made post-Jace the Wallet Slayer will be "unplayable" because WotC would have to make it so good that they'd need to ban it in Standard. Ral will find a home somewhere as he has pretty decent abilities.

[Megadeus]

Liliana is VERY playable in a post Jace era... I could possibly see Ral seeing some play

[Arsenal]

Liliana is VERY playable in a post Jace era... I could possibly see Ral seeing some play

I think he meant 4cc planeswalkers as non-4cc planeswalkers (like Liliana of the Veil) obviously aren't fighting with Jace for consideration on that manacurve slot.

[DragoFireheart]

Liliana is VERY playable in a post Jace era... I could possibly see Ral seeing some play

Which is why I had "unplayable" in quotations.

Liliana and Elspeth are quite playable, but not as broken as Jace.

[Malakai]

Garruk Relentless is also sweet. And Sorin does a good Elspeth impression.

I would be interested in seeing some sort of riduculous RUG Stasis deck with Winter Orb, Ral, Forsaken City, and Quirion Ranger / Scryb Sprite. There is still the issue of killing them, however.

[Oiolosse]

Yeah, so stasis lock is my pet deck.

The issue is that red brings nothing else, imo. I am on U/G with Winter Orb, Stasis, Tanglewire. GSZ for mana dorks and untappers to sustain lock along with Garruk. I am currently testing 1 huntmaster to speed up the clockand kill utility creatures that make it through.

I haven't tested Tamiyo but that feels better since the draw is potentially nuts. Tapped Hierarch, Ranger, Dryad arbor, beast token...draw 4 thanks! Tamiyo's +1 is nice as well. If threats make it through, it's usually just one, maybe two, perma tap is nice. But Tamiyo's ultimate sucks in stasis. Surei get my stuff back, but it's no wincon.

JTMS is great in stasis. We dump our hand quickly and the card quality/adv is great. Threatsthat make it through can be bounced. Fatseal to keep the off the few outs they have, and he is a win con to boot. JTMS > Tamiyo.

Ral? His +1 is awesome for stasis. His -2 is awesome as well. Stasis needs removal. His ultimate is stupid. I get that mtg has a random component...the top of my library, that's all the variance i care to endure. What am i gonna do, even if i flip 3, so what? I mean, what a retarded fucking ultimate. Three turns of exalted ranger beats, yay.

I will def test though, his +1 rocks hard and his -2 is very solid. One taiga + birds is prolly fine. Rangers save duals from wastelands pretty well. But, he sustains lock very well, so may want to run three?

Outside of Huntmaster and Ral, how can red benefit U/G Stasis?

[Gheizen64]

This look like a planeswalker for artifacts decks to me. Tangle Wire, Welder, Mana stones etc... I don't know if this is better than the not so old UB artifact decks that attacked with 5/5 strixes and whatsnot (probably no) but it open possibilities in another color. Welder should still be a pretty good card with a deck that can support it (aka not die if welder do).

[Koby]

Outside of Huntmaster and Ral, how can red benefit U/G Stasis?

Pyro/REB

[cogitoergosum]

I think this card is going to be solid in the right deck. I agree that he is worse than jace, but his first abioity will create some cool interactions, he can create CA, and his ultimate should win you the game. Also, his ultimate comes much quicker than a jace ultimate.

[evanmartyr]

Ral? His +1 is awesome for stasis. His -2 is awesome as well. Stasis needs removal. His ultimate is stupid. I get that mtg has a random component...the top of my library, that's all the variance i care to endure. What am i gonna do, even if i flip 3, so what? I mean, what a retarded fucking ultimate. Three turns of exalted ranger beats, yay.

Outside of Huntmaster and Ral, how can red benefit U/G Stasis?

Even if you ult and flip two extra turns, that means you can let Stasis die, untap, and cast another one while your opponent does nothing. It gives you extra cards to protect the lock. It can let you play enough lands or recharge Forsaken City to drop another Planeswalker or a creature (cough, Huntmaster, cough) to win while Ral rebuilds loyalty maintaining the lock.

He seems really damn good. He does what Garruk does but he appears to do it better. Maybe think about a switch away from UGr towards URg? I mean sure, red adds very little other than Ral and Huntmaster, but those two things are pretty impressive.

[feline]

Ha ha Stasis, the ultimate prison deck! Has "that deck" had any success in the past, 5 years, I have to admit that is a type of deck I would not mind seeing make a splash somewhere, when I actually played it though it was like 10 years ago and even then it was more of a "fun" or at least "fun for me" deck.

[dontbiteitholmes]

Will probably see play in Standard at some point. There's probably going to end up being some permanent that has synergy with his +1.

In Modern I don't see any place for him right now since he's basically competing with Ajani V in every deck he fits in and Ajani V is just heads and tails better since he locks down a permanent and his -2 also gains life. Both ultimates effectively end the game 90ish% of the time, since if you are enough ahead to +7 either guy wiping all the opponents lands or taking 2.5 extra turns is usually going to finish the job.

In Legacy he's more or less a casual card. I mean I guess he fits in some fringe decks but he's competing with Jace here and coming up way short.

In Vintage unless you have Vault in play he's pretty bad. Once again he's competing with Jace only this time in a format where Brainstorm is banned because 1/4 of your deck is the most broken cards in the history of MtG. Anyone planning on killing a Lodestone with this guy is going to be pretty sad and he's lackluster at best vs. every real deck in the format unless you have some kind of combo going with him, and to be honest there is just a million better ways to make that happen.

[kwis]

Yeah, so stasis lock is my pet deck.

The issue is that red brings nothing else, imo. I am on U/G with Winter Orb, Stasis, Tanglewire. GSZ for mana dorks and untappers to sustain lock along with Garruk. I am currently testing 1 huntmaster to speed up the clockand kill utility creatures that make it through.

I haven't tested Tamiyo but that feels better since the draw is potentially nuts. Tapped Hierarch, Ranger, Dryad arbor, beast token...draw 4 thanks! Tamiyo's +1 is nice as well. If threats make it through, it's usually just one, maybe two, perma tap is nice. But Tamiyo's ultimate sucks in stasis. Surei get my stuff back, but it's no wincon.

Assuming you're playing a spell like Boomerang you can actually turn her ult into a wincon. You should get to some critical mass of lands at which point you can bounce stasis on their endstep and then proceed to bounce a bunch of their stuff into their hand. After a few iterations their entire board will be in their hand and you'll be developed. It might not win the game on the spot but it certainly wins the game.

[Oiolosse]

Agree, Tamiyo's ult is way better. The more i think about it the more i really like Ral's +1. I will def test more red in Stasis. Two lands from Garruknisnhuge though. Cradle, port is so much fun with an active Winter Orb.

[Kayradis]

By itself, its +1 isn't too good at protecting itself.. except perhaps untapping your islands for permission. You could play combat tricks with it but only on your turn, so its +1 needs to interact with something else to reach full utililty. Welder seems pretty good. Stasis is a potential option as well. Untapping Islands each turn is good; tapping down the opponents lands as they try to get enough of them to answer Stasis is also pretty good. It is a win condition all on its own as well both in taking extra turns to push an active Stasis over the top or dealing direct damage with Ral Zarek.

Its worth noting that Ral Zarek's -2 can hit creatures or opposing planeswalkers. Seems good. Not against all of them, but if you lay it down against, say an opposing Jace, you can punish a player if he's been Brainstorming. Its worth noting that 'Lightning Bolts' from Ral Zarek allow you to trade with creatures with less than or equal to 6 toughness.. which just about covers the non-Reanimator size of fat we tend to encounter in Legacy. This also helps in a Ral Zarek vs. Jace showdown in UR Zarek vs. Ux Jace because UR will be packed with Burn to help shrink the Jace quickly before the Jace player acquires too much card advantage. I'd say Ral Zarek is quite aggressive for a Planeswalker and is finally something that aggro control could play. He could easily fit into UR Delver. Ral Zarek can clear the path for Delvers/Goblin Guide, which only need to connect a couple times for the reach to close the deal. Further, his ultimate is quite good. Extra turns in a control deck isn't nearly as dangerous (when you already have Jace to +2 away the opponents turn in a draw-go situation, or a +0 to get the best part of your turn; CA) as extra turns in an aggro control. A UR Delver player who gets extra turns will certainly draw some burn, extra creatures and/or simply extra attack phases for the ones already there. Not to mention, extra turns means extra counters for Ral Zarek, which means extra direct damage.


In general, I think that Jace is probably still better. After all, Jace can bounce huge dudes, and basically just pseudo-mindslaver the opponent by negating the opponents draw with the +2 or fixing their own with the +0. Its easier to stay ahead with Jace as well as get back in the game with Jace.. however.. Ral Zarek looks like he's pretty good in his own way. He has a much shorter term usage than Jace. Ral Zarek has the ability to synthesize well. His +1 works with Stasis as well as Goblin Welder. I'll be trying RUG Stasis in Cockatrice sometime soon, since Goblin Welder is quite good with Quirion Ranger which combos with Stasis and a Tropical Island/Birds of Paradise. He could function like Garruk in GU Turbo Stasis, only Ral Zarek's +1 under a Stasis lock makes your position quite secure. I have quite the experience under Stasis lock; usually, with Garruk, he allows you to build quite a bit of steam and get the lock more and more secure... but if the opponent can find an answer AND play enough lands, then the opponent can break the Stasis lock. In this case, Ral Zarek taps down lands whilst untapping yours. Also, unlike Garruk, while building this lock, you can just unload all your counters into the -2 after holding it for long enough and he becomes your win condition, unlike Garruk, who is primarly just a holder of the lock.

I do like the way where this thread is heading!

[LOurs]

I like this pw in term of card design.
However, at the moment, I cant see where it could be effective among the legacy meta.
Regarding stasis, I think Tezzeret 1.0 has more potential in that archetype : beside being full blue, tutoring and untaping 2 artifacts abilities seem better. It should depend from the win condition though. And tezz cost is 5 cmc vs 4 cmc for zarek, but tezz deserves it imo.
I remain curious to see how this pw can be ran though.

[DragoFireheart]

In Modern I don't see any place for him right now since he's basically competing with Ajani V in every deck he fits in and Ajani V is just heads and tails better since he locks down a permanent and his -2 also gains life. Both ultimates effectively end the game 90ish% of the time, since if you are enough ahead to +7 either guy wiping all the opponents lands or taking 2.5 extra turns is usually going to finish the job.


Ral is better in WUR Mid-range compared to Ajani. He can tap blockers so your Geist can swing through.

[Malakai]

Short answer: He'll have some uses, in fringe strategies. I wouldn't pay more than $10 for him.

[Lemnear]

Short answer: He'll have some uses, in fringe strategies. I wouldn't pay more than $10 for him.

Then you can wait forever.

UWR midrange in Modern is his natural fit. Geist loves all abilities

[phonics]

What if he was 1UR and had three loyalty starting?

[Lemnear]

What if he was 1UR and had three loyalty starting?

"What if" doesn't give us actual cards to fit into existing decks or create new ones. Of course less mana would be better because in this case 4 or 3 loyalty doesn't matter. Try 1RU and 1 loyalty which would have been more likely

[DragoFireheart]

You know, a UWR Modern Control deck running Ral and Ajani would be pretty badass. Ral taps the dude and Ajani keeps him tapped down. Both planeswalkers can burn opposing creatures. You can even have both burn the same creature, allowing you to take our larger creatures. Finally, both can be used to keep down up to 2(!) creatures tapped so a Geist can swing. Tap one with Ral, keep tapped with Ajani. On the next turn, keep the same one tapped with Ajani and then tap another with Ral.

I expect Ajani to go up in price soon.

[TraxDaMax]

By itself, its +1 isn't too good at protecting itself.. except perhaps untapping your islands for permission. You could play combat tricks with it but only on your turn, so its +1 needs to interact with something else to reach full utililty. Welder seems pretty good. Stasis is a potential option as well. Untapping Islands each turn is good; tapping down the opponents lands as they try to get enough of them to answer Stasis is also pretty good. It is a win condition all on its own as well both in taking extra turns to push an active Stasis over the top or dealing direct damage with Ral Zarek.

Its worth noting that Ral Zarek's -2 can hit creatures or opposing planeswalkers. Seems good. Not against all of them, but if you lay it down against, say an opposing Jace, you can punish a player if he's been Brainstorming. Its worth noting that 'Lightning Bolts' from Ral Zarek allow you to trade with creatures with less than or equal to 6 toughness.. which just about covers the non-Reanimator size of fat we tend to encounter in Legacy. This also helps in a Ral Zarek vs. Jace showdown in UR Zarek vs. Ux Jace because UR will be packed with Burn to help shrink the Jace quickly before the Jace player acquires too much card advantage. I'd say Ral Zarek is quite aggressive for a Planeswalker and is finally something that aggro control could play. He could easily fit into UR Delver. Ral Zarek can clear the path for Delvers/Goblin Guide, which only need to connect a couple times for the reach to close the deal. Further, his ultimate is quite good. Extra turns in a control deck isn't nearly as dangerous (when you already have Jace to +2 away the opponents turn in a draw-go situation, or a +0 to get the best part of your turn; CA) as extra turns in an aggro control. A UR Delver player who gets extra turns will certainly draw some burn, extra creatures and/or simply extra attack phases for the ones already there. Not to mention, extra turns means extra counters for Ral Zarek, which means extra direct damage.


In general, I think that Jace is probably still better. After all, Jace can bounce huge dudes, and basically just pseudo-mindslaver the opponent by negating the opponents draw with the +2 or fixing their own with the +0. Its easier to stay ahead with Jace as well as get back in the game with Jace.. however.. Ral Zarek looks like he's pretty good in his own way. He has a much shorter term usage than Jace. Ral Zarek has the ability to synthesize well. His +1 works with Stasis as well as Goblin Welder. I'll be trying RUG Stasis in Cockatrice sometime soon, since Goblin Welder is quite good with Quirion Ranger which combos with Stasis and a Tropical Island/Birds of Paradise. He could function like Garruk in GU Turbo Stasis, only Ral Zarek's +1 under a Stasis lock makes your position quite secure. I have quite the experience under Stasis lock; usually, with Garruk, he allows you to build quite a bit of steam and get the lock more and more secure... but if the opponent can find an answer AND play enough lands, then the opponent can break the Stasis lock. In this case, Ral Zarek taps down lands whilst untapping yours. Also, unlike Garruk, while building this lock, you can just unload all your counters into the -2 after holding it for long enough and he becomes your win condition, unlike Garruk, who is primarly just a holder of the lock.

Nice find.. Stasis.. :O

[Arsenal]

Nice find.. Stasis.. :O

Watch the speculators buy every copy of Statis out; it'll go from a $3 card to a $15 card in the matter of days...

[phonics]

"What if" doesn't give us actual cards to fit into existing decks or create new ones. Of course less mana would be better because in this case 4 or 3 loyalty doesn't matter. Try 1RU and 1 loyalty which would have been more likely

Well I guess I was lazy when making that post, but to me ral's abilities seem more similar to a 3cc planeswalker like Liliana than a 4cc planeswalker.

[bruizar]

Watch the speculators buy every copy of Statis out; it'll go from a $3 card to a $15 card in the matter of days...
oops,

bought out betas

edit:
always had a love for Stasis. Giant troll-deck, but so awesome.