Is Deathrite Shaman the only playable mana-dork in Legacy right now?
Legacy forum
Posted on Oct. 18, 2015, 10:38 p.m. by Hashtag-Netdeck
Hi, in Legacy I play Aluren (my decklist you can view here).
I have had tons and tons of help in these forums, and I'm wondering if other Legacy players (much more knowledgeable than myself) could answer my question: "Is Deathrite Shaman the only playable mana-dork?"
I primarily play Modern (shout-out to "Storm"!), and since the Deathrite Shaman banning, Birds of Paradise and Noble Hierarch have seen significantly more player.
Could the same be said about Legacy? Could Legacy decks (such as Aluren) maindeck Deathrite Shaman? I honestly don't know, but I'm hoping some of you will.
Thanks!
Noble hierarch is fine but not close to the power level of deathrite. It's hard to justify playing other mana dorks when one of the best planeswalkers of all time is also a mana dork.
October 19, 2015 3:59 a.m.
The decks generally do not need manadorks and the decks that do use them have no room for more than 1 of those. When win conditions are 3 or 4 mana at most, you do not need to ramp for them.
October 19, 2015 5:57 a.m.
slovakattack says... #5
Hierarch also sees play in Infect, but the deck really wants the Exalted triggers much more than anything DRS can provide.
There -is- a ramp deck in Legacy, but it uses Cabal Therapy + Veteran Explorer to force ramp. (many decks in legacy have few to no basics, so the deck usually is kinda one-sided.)
October 19, 2015 9:01 a.m.
malfeischylde says... #6
In many decks, deathrite isn't just a dork, he's a win con in grindy matches. His tap black, 2 dmg ability is too good in Grixis delver or delve. Deathrite mixed with pyromancer; you almost don't need the delvers. As has been said, hierarch is in some decks, and birds equipped with swords can be hillarious. I know of a bant blade build that tries that. I was even considering tinkering it.
October 19, 2015 9:14 a.m.
AndWelcomeToTheJam says... #7
I don't play Legacy, so I might be out of place here. But depending on the list, I would think Wild Cantor would be something. It could accelerate Goyf in Jund, or fuel Dredge.
October 19, 2015 11:40 a.m.
Wild cantor doesn't accelerate you. It's "discard this card to have one less card in your hand". It's only played in a couple janky combos to turn Simian Spirit Guide mana into other colours.
October 19, 2015 1:56 p.m.
titanreaver says... #9
So just because there aren't many "ramp" style decks right now, that doesn't mean they aren't viable options. Elves sees quite a bit of play and it uses plenty of "mana dorks". Sure they are also combo pieces but at the same time in some matchups they are just dorks that ramp into a big Craterhoof Behemoth. Also Noble Hierarch sees play in other green based decks like Zoo, which is still a thing. In a more limited scope Metalworker is a great mana dork, and sometimes more than that. Even Sylvan Caryatid and even Wall of Roots have been played in a few fringe examples. Tinder Wall is another example of a deck specific mana dork but still an example. Birds of Paradise has seen plenty of play over the years and in decks with more stringent mana requirements he is amazing. Lotus Cobra is a card that has seen occasional usage, and can be explosive as a mana dork. I guess the basic point of all of this rambling, is that "playable" is a very "elitist" term and as time has shown time and time again, "rogue" can easily become "top 8 competitive".
October 19, 2015 7:32 p.m.
malfeischylde says... #10
Lol, oh elves. Why are you a thing? yes, that is 100% ramp, ramp...ramp aaaand Progenitus, or something. Lol. My friend runs it, and he's hit me in the face with Hoof many a time.
October 20, 2015 1:51 p.m.
slovakattack says... #11
Elves is not a ramp deck. It's a combo deck. They are completely different archetypes.
October 20, 2015 4:17 p.m.
titanreaver says... #12
I agree with you slovakattack however it should be noted that it can switch to a backup game plan of ramping into the win con. Look at how it typically plays in the miracles matchup. Also just for the record I wasn't calling elves a ramp deck I was just saying that it uses mana dorks.
October 20, 2015 4:40 p.m.
It doesn't really use "mana dorks" other than DRS. I'm not sure if you can call cards like Heritage Druid a mana dork.
October 21, 2015 10:41 p.m.
malfeischylde says... #15
@ slovakattack True, I guess. It's either pop tons of elves into the field with glimpse or natural order into a green creature. It's a simple combo, but a combo none the less. They don't tend to use 'dorks' as such. Unless you count tapping three elves for three mana.
October 22, 2015 9:14 a.m.
titanreaver says... #16
Don't people still run a couple of the one mana make one mana dudes like Fyndhorn Elves, or the functional clones I know the numbers went down after DRS was released but I didn't think they were completely cut out of the deck.
October 22, 2015 9:37 a.m.
NotSoLuckyLydia says... #17
A few lists do still run those, titanreaver, but they've mostly been faded out over the years. All your stuff is a mana dork, though, thanks to Heritage and Cradle. Even when compared to Birchlore Ranger, mana dorks are awkward because they can't produce mana the turn they enter the battlefield.
October 25, 2015 11:09 p.m.
titanreaver says... #18
Yeah I guess thats true, it just seems weird to simply cut all of them. I guess when the deck started to shift from elfball to combo elves that kind of makes sense. The current meta does make it difficult to storm with elves or Banefire you to death. I guess its just easier to go the Natural Order way.
GlistenerAgent says... #2
Maverick usually plays a Noble Hierarch to Green Sun's Zenith for. Hierarch was also playable in NO RUG, which isn't really a deck anymore. Birds is just a bit lower in power level.
October 18, 2015 10:50 p.m.