Domri Rade, Stomping Ground, and the rest of GRx
Economics forum
Posted on July 13, 2014, 7:19 p.m. by BoromirOfGondor
RTR is rotating in about 2 months, and I will be playing Naya after it does. In the meantime, I was thinking of picking up a few GRx monsters cards to use until rotation (given that I already have most of the cards in the post rotation deck prepared, and they are very similar lists). Is it worth buying Stomping Ground and Domri Rade , and how will their prices change?
Servo_Token says... #3
Stomping Ground ; Yes.
Domri Rade ; No.
Domri isn't used in practically anything save GRx EDH decks and one or two fringe modern decks. He stands next to zero chance to go up in price over time save something new is printed that breaks him.
Now, that's not to say that he'll be cheap. He'll probably only drop a few more dollars when rotation happens, and stay there for the rest of the time. He's not a bad investment if you plan on using him.
Also, we still have nearly 4 months until rotation. It's on Sept 26th.
July 13, 2014 7:36 p.m.
Rhinowarrior says... #4
I just traded my cousin a mimeoplasm for stomping ground and a watery grave
July 13, 2014 8:19 p.m.
trentfaris242 says... #5
@ThatBlueMage You're right about Domri :( but I don't know why! He's so good in GR/x creature based decks! I'm gonna miss my old buddy.
July 13, 2014 8:36 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #6
He's good, but he really just doesn't do anything in other formats. Standard is slow enough that you can durdle till ultimate with him and maybe draw a card or two. His fight mechanic is strictly worse than any piece of non-standard removal, and the ultimate is kind of win-more.
Plus, playing him in non-jund GR decks in modern just takes up your turn. You should be getting your opponent down to 5 on turn three in those decks.
Like I said, he's just tooooooooooooo slow.
July 13, 2014 8:40 p.m.
Grimgrinner says... #7
You're not using the phrase "strictly worse" correctly. Is his ability just a sorcery speed Pit Fight that costs 3? Well yes, but Pit Fight doesn't repeat itself.
Strictly worse means two cards have same card type, but one of them does the same thing at either a better mana cost (i.e Counterspell is strictly better than Cancel ) or they're the same mana cost. but one has upsides or lack of downsides (Dissolve over Cancel ).
If you're talking about creatures, you usually also have to include creature type, power/ toughness /ect.
July 14, 2014 1:14 a.m.
@Grimgrinner: No, I'd have to agree with ThatBlueMage. Domri Rade is strictly worse than Lightning Bolt if all you're doing is ticking him down. Unless your Tarmogoyf or Knight of the Reliquary grew up quickly, I'd rather just nuke something for three and cast a follow-up Scavenging Ooze or Tribal Flames . 3 mana for maaaaaaybe 4 damage and your guy has damage on him for a turn is pretty bad in Modern.
That being said, I think Domri Rade has a place in Big Zoo because that deck wants to grind things out and could use the extra card advantage.
Lastly, Ancestral Recall is strictly better than Serum Visions , so your definition of cards needing to share a type is off.
July 14, 2014 6:41 a.m.
Servo_Token says... #9
I'll just assume that you know what the words 'Better' and 'Worse' mean.
When you are saying that something is 'Strictly Better', then you are saying that it is the better option in 100% of circumstances. Lightning Bolt is strictly better than Rift Bolt . Liliana Vess is strictly better than Rise of the Dark Realms . A Double Cheeseburger is strictly better than a salad (bias). Having a fire extinguisher is strictly better than not having a fire extinguisher.
The term doesn't need to have all of these extra stipulations that you are putting onto it.
July 14, 2014 9:10 a.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #10
Only modern deck I've ever played against that runs Domri Rade
was a Jund build and quite honestly he was a power house in that deck in the games I played against it.
July 14, 2014 10:46 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #11
Strictly better is incorrect... Domri Rade 's -2 can be used to remove a X/4+ creature while Lightning Bolt can't. In all cases Lightning Bolt is not better than Domri Rade and thus not strictly better.
July 14, 2014 11:26 a.m.
Servo_Token says... #12
But you're comparing a 3 mana spell that requires 2 cards to a 1 mana spell that can sometimes need a second card. If you think about it in the sense of "What will it take to kill an X/4", lightning bolt is still the better option because you can do damage through the same creature that you would be fighting with Domri to push through the rest of the damage. Unless you have an unpowered Ornithopter attacking, The other creature will have at least 1 damage on it anyway. These are both conditional pieces of removal in this sense, so I wouldn't say that either is clearly better in any given situation, but I still favor Lightning Bolt in this case because it can help you actually win the game faster.
July 14, 2014 11:32 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #13
I'm not making an argument either way, just that you cannot correctly claim Lightning Bolt is strictly better than Domri Rade .
July 14, 2014 11:36 a.m.
Servo_Token says... #14
Well, in a vacuum, Domri does nothing whereas Bolt hits for 3 to the face, so I think that there is some justification to call that Strictly better.
July 14, 2014 11:40 a.m.
Grimgrinner says... #15
I'll concede that my definition of strictly better was a tad off, but basically it comes down to what Rasta_Viking29 is saying. If there's even a single instance (in the same format) where one card can outperform the card it's being compared to, then the word strictly does not apply. You can say mostly better, or better in almost every situation, but not strictly better.
Back on topic though, If you liked the Theros block standard G/R Monsters deck, then I would hold onto your Polukranos, World Eater . The price is going to rise once people stop opening theros packs and drafting it. Im no aware of any modern decks that play it, but a 5/5 for 4 with growth is always going to be good in any standard environment.
Same deal with Stormbreath Dragon . This card even sees a smidge of modern play (Path to Exile can suck it), and with Sarkhan Vol being a featured character in the Tarkir block, dragon tribal synergies are likely to happen.
GoofyFoot says... #2
both will probably go up over time, Now is probably the best time to buy.
July 13, 2014 7:22 p.m.