Wolfir Silverheart or Geist-honored Monk...Or Other?
Deck Help forum
Posted on March 14, 2013, 5:27 p.m. by Myogenesis
I've come across a Wolfir Silverheart F and am wondering if I should add it to my G/W midrange flicker/ramp deck; deck:trick-or-entreat-the-angels in place of Geist-Honored Monk or another alternative.
I initially put Geist-Honored Monk in as my only source of flying chump blockers or attackers, but with the evolution of my deck into what it is now with Angel of Serenity and Entreat the Angels, after turn 4-6 I'm not really defenseless against flying anymore (which is when Geist-Honored Monk comes out anyways).
Wolfir Silverheart Pros/Cons- 5 CMC 8/8 drop that buffs my other beefy drops. Geist-Honored Monk gives Champion of Lambholt 3 counters and is Cloudshift-able, but Wolfir can give the champion 4/4 right away, in addition to 1/1 just from his arrival. - Can put the 4/4 on angels from Entreat the Angels, giving better flyers than the 1/1's that the monk generates, but creates bigger targets to kill.
-Both have 5 CMC cost, and between 2G or 2W it doesn't really matter, I very rarely have colour fixing issues. Although with Avacyn's Pilgrim being pure plains, it might occasionally be an issue. (Can adjust forest:plains ratio of course).
Anyways, please let me know what you guys think! Thanks. (ALSO, of course always open to other criticisms on my deck besides just this comparison :) )
pokeyrabbit says... #3
wolfir- it makes anything and itself insane. wolfir for sure
March 14, 2013 5:36 p.m.
Myogenesis says... #4
Yeah I think I'm going with Wolfir Silverheart, it's more 'stable' in a way - with Trostani, Selesnya's Voice out I know I'm guaranteed 8 life with stacked triggers, and it still benefits Champion of Lambholt to the same degree that Geist-Honored Monk does. only loss is losing flying, but buffing my angels is better anyways.
March 14, 2013 6:37 p.m.
I think Geist-Honored Monk would be better with Entreat the Angels or if you used flicker on her. Way more than +4/+4 would be distributed in a short time! She seems to fit in the whole theme more. Wolfir Silverheart does get that +4/+4 right away without needing any other cards. But the synergy with Geist-Honored Monk is better in the long run by far. It is also a lot easier to deal with one threat or two than a mess of tokens. Champion of Lambholt benefits more from Geist-Honored Monk after flickering just once. I guess that Wolfir is better at T5, equal at T6, and worse after T7 (assuming one mana per turn - although if Avacyn's Pilgrim is counted, then Wolfir is just roughly equal at T5 and then worse after that - and if you can use two flicker effects the turn after the monk comes out then wolfir is eating dust). Wolfir is more sensitive to removal since removing it or its partner shuts down the whole effect while removing the monk still leaves a bunch of fliers out there to use. If you want a quick boost to Lambholt, why wait until you have 5 mana, just go with some cheap enchantment boosting. That would be even faster than Wolfir. If you think the long-term benefits after repeated flickers and turns of building up your board position doesn't factor in as important, you could even go with super-fast instant speed boosting. That is something you could cast after blockers are assigned, even better.
I guess you could always flicker that Wolfir Silverheart to change up pairings.
Hey! I think I posted this already. Wonder what happened ...
March 15, 2013 2:45 p.m.
Myogenesis says... #6
Thanks for input r3v13w!
I agree that Geist-Honored Monk is definitely a better flicker candidate compared to Wolfir Silverheart, however this discussion of one of the other should also take into consideration the rest of my deck; yes monk > wolfir for flickering, but removing Geist-Honored Monk won't lose too much of a flicker target because I already have tons of other targets, especially Thragtusk in the same CMC bracket and Armada Wurm in the higher.
I agree that 3 counters on Champion of Lambholt would be a better long term investment, but I think by the time the long term pays off I'm already dropping creatures better than both wolfir AND monk - Thragtusk, Angel of Serenity, big Entreat the Angels etc. so it's more of a mid game decision. And I think I like the greater stability from Wolfir Silverheart, in addition putting 4/4 on a creature that is already out and not having to wait for summoning sickness is quite the attractive advantage as well (most likely a Loxodon Smiter, making him 8/8 around turn 4 is pretty nice looking).
So yes I do agree with all your points on a 1 to 1 basis comparing wolfir and monk, but I think with the rest of my deck options, and how it plays out mid-late game, that Wolfir Silverheart is a better stable choice. (plus the 1x i have for now is foil ;) ). Awesome input though, thanks!
Myogenesis says... #2
Foil didn't work I guess, I got greedy - Wolfir Silverheart, of course.
March 14, 2013 5:28 p.m.