Avacyn Restored Card Discussion [SIMMERING POT OF FECAL MATTER]

[frogczar]

Vexing Devil just made my day.

Please go ahead and underestimate him further. It'll help keep the cost down for me to buy a playset immediately.

Thank you WotC for making burn players happy.

[Gheizen64]

This card show why Vise wouldn't be playable. This sucks way too much as a topdeck sadly. Should have been a 3/2 intimidate to be playable.

That said, i'll test it somewhere for sure.

[SpikeyMikey]

Exactly. When you desperately need that card to be burn spell (probably at end game) he is a dead body. In the first two or three turns, when you prefer him to be a creature, the opponent will choose to take 4 to the dome.

Turns 1-3, you probably want him to be a creature. The opponent will take the damage instead.
Turns 3+, you probably want him to be burn spell (not always, but probably). The opponent will probably choose to have him be a critter.

Against a combo deck, this guy gives the opponent at least one turn before he deals damage.

However, with all that being said, he is rather under-costed and I'd guess that warrants testing.

I'm not speaking for any deck other than burn. However, in burn, you're looking to win turn 3/4 every game with no manipulation. And you're not particularly interactive, so that's not a number that's flexible, the way say Bant or Maverick is flexible in its FT. So you're talking 2-4 draws outside of your opening 7. You're talking between 13% and 25% of the time drawing one outside of that opening 7. Yes, if you draw it on turn 4, it's pretty meh. However, a 4/3 body is *not* negligible even then. So what if they take 4 when you play it on turn 1? It's still better than Lightning Bolt most of the time, and you'll play even bad Lightning Bolt variants in burn (see Shard Volley, Chain Lightning, Lava Spike, Bump in the Night, etc.)

[I am the brainwasher]

Longhorn Firebeast will make a damn frowny face right now... .

[rufus]

No love for Descendant's Path in some kind of tribal deck?

[cheerios]

Descendant's Path can work with mutavault, don't know if the "combo" is legacy playable or not tho.

[UnsungHero]

Descendant's Path has some amazing artwork.

[Raystar]

Descendant's Path and Mutavault in play.

Wordly tutor for Emrakul, activate Mutavault...

I'll be called Chicken Little I know, but this seems a lot more busted than Time Walk 2.0 and can really be format breaking.

UGw Combo control anyone?

[Kich867]

It's really scary when magic has gotten to the point where a 4/3 for 1 mana or a 4 damage lava spike is being looked at skeptically and not good enough.

And we complain about power creep..

I remember when Savannah Lions were considered good because they're over budget.

[(nameless one)]

No love for Descendant's Path in some kind of tribal deck?

Honestly, is EOT Worldly Tutor for an Eldrazi, activate Mutavault on your upkeep to trigger Descendant's Path worth the play?

So much cards to rely on. Would it work in the mono-green 12post Eldrazi shell deck as an alternative in cheating an Eldrazi into play?

[Raystar]

I was just exaggerating, you could build a control shell and just fish for a big beater while you control the game and go through your deck like a champ sorting with a Top.

[feline]

Vexing devil, 1 mana to deal 4 damage to player, or 1 mana for a 4/3, opponents choice, I think we just found the new "browbeat" but even better/cheaper! I'm definitely getting 4 of these things! >^,^<

[Greenpoe]

Descendant's Path + Congregation at Dawn (With Mutvault of Course) into Coiling Oracle into Dryad Arbor into Chorus of the Conclave or something. Maybe there's some combo there. You don't actually need Mutavault with Congregation at Dawn, you could just do a simple stack of say Woodland Changeling into Emrakul. It could probably fit in a deck that would already want Worldy Tutor/Congregation at Dawn and Descendant's Path.

[Ignithas_]

Indeed. UW Planeswalker could be exciting.

What about Planeswalkers at 2cc? I think its possible in Legacy. Might cause problems in standard though where they don't have Pierce, Daze, and Snare.

Yeah. Imagine that:
T1: Brainstorm
T2: UW Plainswalker
T3: Miraclewalk
With FoW, that's gg.

[TorpidNinja]

Yeah. Imagine that:
T1: Brainstorm
T2: UW Plainswalker
T3: Miraclewalk
With FoW, that's gg.

Okay, I'll bite: gg why?

[Aggro_zombies]

Okay, I'll bite: gg why?

The UW planeswalker's +1 is "Target player mills 30 cards," clearly.

EDIT: I think the thought process here is usually, "I'm taking an extra turn for 1U, which is like Time Walk" ==> "Time Walk is part of the Power Nine" ==> "The Power Nine are broken" ==> "Therefore, taking an extra turn for 1U is broken." In the example you quoted, it's merely good: Ignithas_ gets an Explore and an extra use out of his two-mana planeswalker, which is fine, but not anywhere close to being back-breakingly broken. People are really overvaluing extra turns in the abstract here.

[ivanpei]

Too much trouble to set up emrakul finish when you can just polymorph a man land into an emrakul. That's much easier and doesn't see any play. What's interesting is that it's a Phyrexian Arena + Aether Vial all in one. Notice that it triggers during upkeep and does not replace your draw step.

Tribal decks which are 50++ % dudes could make use of the card as a draw engine/accelerator. It also works with Top/Sylvan library. Maybe a Green splash in Goblins for 2/3 pieces of Descendant's Path? Or an Vial Elf Aggro deck with Sylvan Library and Descendant's Path for gas/stacking? Even if you don't hit a dude with Descendant's path, it shoves it to the bottom for you, so it prevents you from drawing dead cards like Vial/Lands late in the game. Pretty nice to be honest. Has the potential to be swingy.

[Rizso]

Green got so many great humans that they probly wont be needing much to get the path activated alot even without mutavault.

[Xero]

Descendant's Path has some amazing artwork.

I agree, though I don't think it looks like a Magic card.

[Gheizen64]

I've played a couple of games with the Devil guy in my burn deck. He's better than i expected. It's true that being conditional is bad blah blah blah however those are a few point i noticed while playing:

- even lategame, the devil isn't that bad. If you play things like lavamancer or goblin guide, chances are the removal they use on him is a removal they don't use on another creature. What happen in a burn deck that play creatures, is that usually lategame he stick or remain a burn 4 spell, not bad. In a burn deck with him as the only creature, he's obviously going to be much worse.
- drawing 2 or 3 in your starting hand is the nuts. Something like 2xdevil, 1xgoblin guide mean you have something like 10 damage by turn 2 dealt by creatures. If they don't play a sweeper T3 they're dead.
- comparing this to Vise was too harsh. This is much better on any turn that isn't T1. And it's comparable T1.

Also, i was thinking that Stromkirk Noble is probably one of the best 1-drop right now for red. It can't be blocked by Noble Hierarch, Mom, KotR, Snapcaster, Pre and post flip delver, veteran explorer, grim lavamancer. Basically only Goyf, SFM and Ooze can block him regularly. Goose wouldn't want to block him early on.