Quote Originally Posted by Giles View Post
My opinion of Street Wraith: It is a good card. It going to help out a lot of combo decks. However, TES is not one of the.



Seriously Magus of the Future would be better. Last time I check there is no way of giving MotJ haste. Thus, this makes it a wasted slot. Getting first turn. Then next turn ( or leaving 5 mana in the pool) having is not going to happen. then untap-ing then having to combo with wasted resources, then getting a sub-par Draw7 hand..... and fizzling. The reason that I think that Returns is good is because it takes the graveyard and put it back into the deck.

If LW gets Bob, then 4 mana (one being ) to play the damn thing then watching trying to get back for when you wasted at least 3 cards from your hand. You are better off playing Bob in the MD.

Minion of the Wastes is to put is simply stupid. for something that says "If you are able to deal with me you win" Also you are fucking lucky if you have 3bbb in your pool. and there is much better things at that mana cost, that at least do something.
I just read that as, "I don't understand how to use Living Wish."

No one is casting Living Wish for Magus of the Jar on turn one, casting Magus of the Jar on turn two and activating Magus of the Jar on turn three. Living Wish for Magus of the Jar is a second or third threat that grinds the opponent out of the game,

For instance, TES is on the draw, it's game 2, the opponent puts a Tundra on the board, go.

Cast Xantid Swarm, opponent casts Swords to Plowshares, now at this point Living Wish can tutor for the Xantid Swarm and protect another threat or another threat can be cast.

The opponent puts an Island on the board, taps both lands to cast Meddling Mage naming LED, go.

Cast Burning Wish, opponent casts Force of Will, and now Living Wish can either tutor up a Dark Confidant to win small or Magus of the Jar to win big on the following turns.

Now for a second premise.

The opponent puts a Tundra on the board, go.

TES has a hand that can combo out, but it doesn't have protection, Xantid Swarm, or an alternate threat, Empty the Warrens, to play around any of the opponent's disruption, you Brainstorm and reveal more mana and pass the turn.

The opponent puts an Island on the board, go

Living Wish in hand, Infernal Tutor and more than enough mana to combo off in hand. Cast Dark Ritual, cast Living Wish and cast Dark Confidant, the opponent casts Force of Will on Dark Confidant. If the opponent had Swords to Plowshares he would have cast it, if all the opponent had in his was Force of Will he would be set up for a loss.

The opponent puts a Tropical Island on the board, casts a threat, go.

At this point it smells like Stifle, combo off into Diminishing Returns and proceed to have a prayer.

Now for a third premise.

Opponent puts a Fetchland on the board and cracks it for Tundra, go.

Cast Xantid Swarm, opponent casts Swords to Plowshares on Xantid Swarm.

Opponent puts an Island on the board, go.

The opponent has another card, it's either going to be Force of Will or Stifle, the hand has enough mana to combo off and needs to consider doing it right now, the opponent has cast one Swords to Plowshares, if he has Force of Will he wins regardless, if he has Stifle ... Living Wish for Minion of the Wastes at 19/19 ... he had Stifle.

Those are all from IRL experiences I have had with the card in the deck.

Minion of the Wastes is not "just stupid," this could come as a surprise, but there are aggro-control and control decks that don't use Swords to Plowshares, GAT, Faerie Stompy, U/g/r Threshold, U/g/b Threshold and a slew of other home brew decks.

Infernal Tutor for the Ill Gotten Gains chain costs 8 mana, the same amount of mana as Living Wish for Minion of the Wastes, and an unprotected Infernal Tutor for the Ill Gotten Gains chain gives the opponent the same amount of outs, Force of Will and Stifle, as a Minion of the Wastes, Force of Will and Swords to Plowshares, and Swords to Plowshares can be baited with Xantid Swarms or SB Dark Confidants etc.

It isn't a bad card, but you'd actually have to test it to know that.

Edited for Wastedlife:

For me, the two, not three, SB cards I cut weren't an issue, because all I ever seem to do is SB in Dark Confidant for random cards against control or SB out Xantid Swarm for live cards against aggro. I've never mastered the median in SBing for Faerie Stompy, which is really the only match up I would ever consider bringing in both Dark Confidant and Shattering Spree, and against aggro I can just Wish for an answer or go to game two if hate hits the board.

I think people can add Living Wish and make the adjustments to the MD and SB with out contorting either of them, being either conservative with the Living Wish board or teched out with the Living Wish board is up to them.

Whether or not Burning Wish can do some stuff that Living Wish can't do or Living Wish can do some stuff that Burning Wish can't do isn't the issue. I think one of the problems with people's judgement on Living Wish is that its targets are different from the conventional fair, while Burning Wish and Infernal Tutor have the exact same targets to choose from (discounting Burning Wish's access to answers and Infernal Tutor's access to acceleration) and abstract targets just "have to be bad."

Comparing Living Wish to Burning Wish and Infernal Tutor is an unfair comparison, unless Living Wish is competing against Burning Wish and Infernal Tutor for MD slots, and it isn't. The question we have to ask ourselves is whether or not Living Wish, as a card in and of itself, is offering effects that are good enough to be in Storm Combo, and I think the answer to that question is a definite yes.

I'm not certain I am going to be using the card, because I designed TES around abusing Simian Spirit Guide and Empty the Warrens to win small against aggro-control and I have it down to a science, but for people who hate certain cards in the deck, I think Living Wish provides them with another option to consider at 1 to 3 in the MD and 3 or so SB targets (counting Dark Confidant).

I'm just glad I spent enough time with Living Wish based Dragon and Gamekeeper to recognize a good thing when I see it.