Ajani, Mentor of Heroes!
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on April 9, 2014, 12:03 a.m. by DrFunk27
Congrats. http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/ajanimentorofheroes.html
NuBByThuMB says... #3
@the5ervant How can this card actually be included anywhere near the same league as Jace, the Mind Sculptor ? Let's break this down for you.
First, let's have a look at his mana cost and loyalty. 3WG and 4 loyalty state that this clearly is a later game card than you really want it to be. Granted, this can be powered out as soon as turn three with a Sylvan Caryatid and an Elvish Mystic on board, but that leaves him completely vulnerable to your opponent's turn three play. Hero's Downfall is still a card, by the way. The thing Ajani really has going for him in this case is that he doesn't actually die to Boros Charm .
Ajani's first +1 is the bees' knees. If you do play him as late as turn five, he could potentially buff some of your threats from annoying to highly threatening. Fleecemane Lion and Loxodon Smiter are poised and ready. A turn four Advent of the Wurm on your opponent's end step into Ajani turn five gives you acces to an 8/8 trampling beater. Pretty Solid, I'd say.
Ajani's second +1 is a little softer. For the most part you aren't going to be activating this ability until the turn AFTER you've casted him. Giving your opponent plenty of time to handle him before he gets out of hand. A turn three Ajani leaves him completely vulnerable to aggro. And five damage on turn four is below average for an aggressive build. A turn three Ajani in no way is profitable. Three +1/+1 counters on your Sylvan Caryatid (Who is tapped, by the way) does nothing to stonewall aggro decks until the following turn.A turn four Ajani protects himself slightly better, leaving you at least one creature to block with, and even then there's no guarantee that he isn't just dead on board, anyways. Turn five, to me seems like the optimal play for this guy, instead of spending your turns trying to ramp into him, you could be playing aggressively yourself. Ajani's initial +1 stands to play a better role for that here than his secondary +1. I honestly can't think of a card in standard that I'd actually want to sacrifice Ajani for by using his second ability tapped out.
As for his bomb, I don't think there are going to be many games where you actually reach 8 loyalty. At the soonest, turn 8 yields you 100 life. And at that point, you may well be dead anyways. Against control, his bomb is decent. You've really only got AEtherling to compete against, which still sets you on a comfortable clock to finish the game (barring Supreme Verdict ).
In my personal opinion, Ajani is fine and balanced, hardly Jace, the Mind Sculptor territory. Obviously, he wants to see play in synergistic creature decks. But for the most part, his second ability is useless and his first is only really good in aggro. So he's fine. But he certainly isn't off the wall nuts like Jace. To be honest, I don't even know if he's going to actually see play in Standard. GW aggro decks fell out of favor months ago and I don't see anything pressing (minus MAYBE Godsend) that might warrant the resurgence of this deck. Ajani isn't clutch enough to get it there on his own.
April 9, 2014 10:26 a.m.
KrosanTusker says... #4
I think it's cool. I don't have much to say that hasn't been said already, but I really like the card and I actually laughed out loud when I read the ultimate. Useless, win-more, say what you like, but... 100 life!? Sign me up!
April 9, 2014 10:30 a.m.
NuBByThuMB, the Hero's Downfall argument is irrelevant. It would seem to imply either that there is a planeswalker that survives it or that don't bother playing planeswalkers because they will just die. With the same logic you could say, oh don't bother playing creatures they'll just get HD'd.
I don't think you put enough stock into the second +1, who wouldn't want to scry 4 draw one?
I do agree that he is well balanced and certainly no Jace, but I feel like he has a ton of potential.
April 9, 2014 10:38 a.m.
NuBByThuMB says... #6
@EKGwins The Hero's Downfall argument was a simple implication that bombing Ajani is unlikely. Regardless of how he dies, the worst that will happen is that he'll be 1 for 1'd. We call this the Baneslayer Arguement for a reason. It's more relevant than irrelevant, I'd say.
I don't put stock in the second +1 because again, I can't think of a card in GW I'd want to tap out and waste Ajani for. Sure, card advantage is card advantage, but at what cost? I'm really not a fan of paying five mana to draw a single card. Also, this is NOT a scry. It's "Look at the top four cards, pick one and tuck the rest," so there's plenty of opportunity to both screw yourself there AND lose card advantage with the loss of your planeswalker. The ability is just not as good as people want it to be.I'd say his best potential lies in Commander. Which is exactly where I'll be sticking him.
April 9, 2014 10:50 a.m.
BlastercoolWeird says... #7
I like how people are complaining about Ajani's Ultimate being meh.
Because I recall people saying the exact same thing about Elspeth, Sun's Champion Which is SUCH a shame because Elspeth totally doesn't see play in almost every epser and uw control deck in standard at the moment because her mediocre ultimate
Sarcasm aside, I put money on Ajani being good. 5 mana is hardly unreachable (Stormbreath Dragon ) and has TWO PLUSES both of which are very useful.
April 9, 2014 10:55 a.m.
You're thinking too small: Doubling Season ! comes in with 8 loyalty, place 6 counters and go to 10 loyalty!
April 9, 2014 1:25 p.m.
If anybody's interested, I made an infinite combo with this bad boy:
April 9, 2014 1:26 p.m.
Mauvai Doesn't work quite that way. The +1 is considered a cost and doesn't double. Still, place 6 counters and end up with 9 loyalty. Not exactly a disaster.
April 9, 2014 1:42 p.m.
if i played g/w i would have a couple Voracious Wurm in the deck just in case i could cast it after i ultimate new ajani. why? cause 102/102 wurm thats why.
April 9, 2014 1:48 p.m.
it'd totally suck if you opponent had Erebos, God of the Dead out
April 9, 2014 6:19 p.m.
I love the new ajani, I think he's by far the coolest and most effective planeswalker of the entire block.
April 9, 2014 6:32 p.m.
I see a lot of people talking about how well he will do in standard and all that. I play casual mostly and I just want to say that this is going to be AMAZING in my friends' casual games. I have a friend who runs a lifegain deck and he would literally die for this card. And it's funny 'cause he only trades for cards. Anyway, I love this card!
April 9, 2014 8:22 p.m.
Honestly, I think that he's definitely got a spot in the Bant Control sideboard. At the very least, to come in vs. other control. Your probably running 4 Jace, 3 Elspeth, 2-3 Kiora in your mainboard of Bant control, and tossing this guy in as a 2 of seems feasible. Drop him down whenever and have him search for another walker. Or, if you have the mana open, drop three counters onto a Mutavault.
Vs. Control that seems pretty decent, and considering that most Esper control lists aren't running Hero's Downfall, I don't see this being a problem. And really, if you get his -8 off vs. a control deck, Aetherling just went from being a three turn clock to not even being a problem. So while I can understand that you guys are upset that he doesn't seem to fit into any aggro or midrange decks, I think as a sideboard option for Bant Control, he's going to be a huge benefit.
April 9, 2014 9:41 p.m.
Ajani + Sunbond + Fleecemane may sound like good game, but then I hit you with Merciless Eviction . That's right. Get that crap outta here.
April 22, 2014 3:31 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #23
He looks like he was designed to be a superfriends' best friend. +1 reveal a bunch of cards, take planeswalker, play planeswalker. BAH.
April 27, 2014 5:17 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #24
If I get one of these, it's going in my Jund Blitz deck.
April 27, 2014 5:18 p.m.
hungerwolf says... #25
I hope this sets a precedent for future planeswalkers, in that the "final" ability isn't an automatic win. Most other planeswalkers essentially are- An emblem that makes everything stupid, a handful of extra turns, a selective board wipe, functionally limitless mana- Most planeswalkers are functionally a countdown to death unless you remove them.
This one is different- The "Final" doesn't do anything particularly stupid- It's a lot of life, but as mentioned, it's not an automatic win. It's a stall mechanic that will probably hinder the enemy a lot, but not a wincon of its own as many others are.
In response, they've buffed the low-tier abilities. If later planeswalkers are designed like this, it would make them much less stupid. They add a good advantage, but are not wincon timers.
April 27, 2014 9:15 p.m.
Cameronius1 says... #26
I has 2 ajani's pulled an athreos, straight trade for ajani, then pulled an ajani in my WORST player of the pre release booster...haha, so lucky hahahahaha. also...anyone like ajani +1 counter effect on heroes bane then 4 mana double the counters on heroes bane? hahahah done it.its insane
April 27, 2014 10:43 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #27
There are better ways to use it, for example, pop them on Gyre Sage , it's like you just played an extra three forests. Pop them on something, attack with Kalonian Hydra they just doubled. Stack em up on Fathom Mage , draw three cards.
April 28, 2014 7:12 a.m.
Schuesseled says... #28
Sage of Hours ....two more and you got an extra turn! ! !! ! !
April 28, 2014 7:14 a.m.
I witnessed someone open a god pack. Literally 15 gods all in one pack. I was like :OOOO
Slycne says... #1
DrFunk27 Depends entirely on the deck. Sure, a little WW aggro deck probably can't finish the game out if you combine that with any kind of interactions, but there are plenty of decks that can put out 100 damage in reasonable time.
April 9, 2014 10:13 a.m.