4 mana Bitterblossom
Modern forum
Posted on May 28, 2015, 6:08 p.m. by ToolmasterOfBrainerd
Is there any card similar to Bitterblossom that costs 4 mana? I want 4 mana so it's immune to Abrupt Decay. I also don't want to pay $30+ each for a few blossom. Also, in grixis colors so I can actually play it.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #3
If it was half rounded up, I would play it for sure. I have 4 Gurmag Angler in my deck so it's not unrealistic to get 1 on the field and start the zombie swarm, but 2 is a little bit of a stretch. I'll test it though. Thanks!
May 28, 2015 6:16 p.m.
Growing Ranks will work if you have some other way to generate tokens, probably Spectral Procession or Lingering Souls. With a Spirit token out Growing Ranks, you've got a un-Decayable Bitterblossom without the life loss. Obviously the trade-off is in the mana cost and requirement of a token already, but I'm sure you could build around it to have it triggering on turn 5 consistently.
May 28, 2015 6:24 p.m. Edited.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #5
Hmmm. I'll have to try that as well. Unfortunately it isnt in grixis colors, but I can try to play around it. Thanks!
May 28, 2015 6:30 p.m.
jandrobard says... #6
a) 4 mana.
b) Makes tokens every turn, and since he's a goblin you don't need to set it up
c) Here's the problem. He dies to Lightning Bolt.
May 28, 2015 6:41 p.m.
Oh sorry, totally missed the Grixis part. In that case, Call of the Nightwing is similar just not as stable as it makes your ciphered creature an obvious target. For some more mana investment, there's Rakka Mar. Drop her on turn 5 and you're guaranteed at least one 3/1 haster even if they have removal. Not as safe as enchantment based tokens, but has the benefit of haste so it is essentially just as fast as another turn 4 token producer.
May 28, 2015 6:45 p.m.
Honestly, running a worse card just to get around decay doesn't seem worth it to me. Just my opinion though.
May 28, 2015 7:11 p.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #9
You can play Bitterblossom... You have a few other critters in Grixis that you may want to stick, like Delver of Secrets Flip, Young Pyromancer, and so forth. Baiting them with Blossom isn't so bad, if your other critters stick or you can counter a removal spell...
May 28, 2015 7:52 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #10
Garruk Relentless Flip coincidently the flip side dies to Abrupt Decay
May 28, 2015 9:16 p.m.
mathimus55 says... #11
Part of the reason Bitterblossom is probably the best option is bc it at least comes down t2 and doesn't have any other conditions. Looking for something to come down t4 or later has to have a massive impact on the board the turn it comes down otherwise it's just doing too little too late. Bitterblossom is already considered slow bc it doesn't impact the board when it lands. So either way you're looking for Bitterblossom or a slower conditional Bitterblossom. Modern is a turn 4 format so if you're spending your entire critical t4 on something that isn't making an immediate impact you're just playing the wrong card, especially in a delver deck.
May 28, 2015 9:31 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #12
Ugh why does delver need an additional token Gen beyond Young Pyromancer?
May 28, 2015 9:42 p.m.
Bitterblossom is already bad in modern... you're looking for even worse bitterblossom?...
May 28, 2015 10:06 p.m.
jandrobard says... #15
Cmon, you guys are discouraging the spirit of innovation!
May 28, 2015 10:10 p.m.
I mean, asking for a replacement of an existing card isn't really innovating. I'm all for trying new decks and cards and fully support the token gen in Grixis idea. Could be cool. I'm just saying BB is the best option for it as far as I can tell.
May 28, 2015 10:12 p.m.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #18
Who said this was for a delver deck? I wouldn't consider my deck to be delver and besides, there are no deck lists allowed on this forum anyway. Thank you all who have commented, I will consider each of the cards mentioned as they all look like they could work.
May 28, 2015 10:29 p.m.
I play grixis control in modern and I tested Bitterblossom and I say no, do not run it in a control deck.
The card is great and the tokens win games, but I always found better things to do on turn two. like leave a Mana Leak or Think Twice up and late game I win with Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Cruel Ultimatum, Keranos, God of Storms, or Batterskull. A point to note- your life is a resource and while you can expend it to place pressure on your opponent, or for cheap blockers, I always found the constant life drain to be more a threat to myself.
Bitterblossom is a must have in a faerie tribal deck and its ok in a mid-range deck. But they unbanned Bitterblossom for modern maybe 2-3 years ago now and its never seen that much play in any tournaments.
If you want to play a fast-aggro grixis color deck then please use Delver of Secrets Flip and Young Pyromancer, maybe Goblin Guide they are cheap mana creatures that do alot of work.
If you want to play a grinding control grixis color deck then its all counter spells, burn spells, destroy, and draw and about 10 creature cards max.
Sorry, but I tested it out and it rarely worked well.
May 28, 2015 10:46 p.m.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #20
Thank you for the input. My deck is more of a grixis midrange with some pretty respectable life gain, so the life loss doesn't seem to be that bad. The main reason I am considering BB or the like is because the tokens are able to trade with Lingering Souls, fly over defenders to attack Lili or provide sac outlets. The card is mainly for the sideboard against abzan which I am foolishly trying to sideboard for instead of build a different deck.
I have no experience at all with BB or the like so I have no idea if it will work, but I still want to give it a try. My plan is to swarm with a lot of hard to interact with cards and hope for the best. It isn't going to work, but I refuse to give up without trying.
Thank you all for your input. It has been very helpful.
May 28, 2015 10:53 p.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #21
Truth be told, Grixis Control and other control decks, perform poorly in the current meta saturated with Aggro decks (There have been very few that have made Top 8 in the past few months, but good pilots and few, far in between). That being said, Bitterblossom may be a poor choice in a meta flooded with Aggro and Lingering Souls tokens. This is also why Dark Confidant doesn't see much play outside of Jund.
Tempo decks, like Delver, Abzan, and Jund, seem to fair better in the current meta. However, if one chooses to run Bitterblossom, you better have the lifegain to back it up.
I also concur with the above, in that at 4 CMC you better be a game impacting card like Siege Rhino, that one Elspeth planeswalker I can't recall, Cryptic Command, Splinter Twin, and so forth. Modern is too fast for anything else.
May 28, 2015 11:02 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #22
It hurts my heart to hear Elspeth, Knight-Errant called "that one Elspeth card I can't remember". So much better than Tirel or Sun's Champion.
May 28, 2015 11:25 p.m.
Krenko, Mob Boss with Lightning Greaves and he becomes a factory the turn he is played. back ups include Swiftfoot Boots or Champion's Helm Depending on your game format. Spellskite to protect your token factory and his hex/shroud artifact.
May 28, 2015 11:52 p.m.
jandrobard says... #24
Thi is modern, unless something drastically changed while I wasn't looking.
May 29, 2015 12:03 a.m.
Souljacker says... #25
First Response is something that could work the way you want, but it's in white. I remember reading an article that the developers were afraid the card would break standard, but apparently no-one has found use for it yet.
May 29, 2015 4:35 a.m.
JaceArveduin says... #26
Those wimpy token generators? Here's a generator for a real man!
May 29, 2015 5:04 a.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #27
Gidgetimer I'm an Old Fogey with booze on the brain lol.
ThisIsBullshit says... #2
Well there's Endless Ranks of the Dead but that only works if you're playing zombies.
May 28, 2015 6:11 p.m.