[Community Discussion]: Journey into Nyx reactions
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on April 10, 2014, 4:35 p.m. by Epochalyptik
Let's talk JOU.
What cards impress you so far? What seems overhyped? Are there any cards you can't wait to get your hands on?
Iroas seems over hyped for me at the moment,
The underworld coinsmith has me drooling a bit, I think that would be fun in b/w aggro deck.
In general, the constellation mechanic is something I'm loving.
Godsend is nice, but I think at this moment it's not right for the standard decks around, might be a thing next set. And it shouldn't see legacy play, as some are speculating.
Overall, I'm good with this set, will buy a box for sure, pre-order a couple things, and prepare to battle bant walkers.
I really think so far bant has made out like a bantdit and will be the next top contender to mono-b's throne.
April 10, 2014 4:40 p.m.
THUS FAR no nothing really excites me because the gods and scry lands are out of my personal colors. I do however like Godsend I dont need it snd for me its honestly just a casual card but its cute lol. Alot of people like Ajani, Mentor of Heroes too much, I think that in standard he isnt going to do a whole lot but again hes cute. This whole block was kind of a disappointment for me personally.
April 10, 2014 4:40 p.m.
This entire block has been a huge letdown. I'm not big on the flavor and think the last 3 blocks have been far superior. I really dislike the state of standard and can't wait for the next block to come out already.
April 10, 2014 4:41 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #6
Above everything else, Eidolon of the Great Revel has made me want so very badly to build Modern Burn. I think it's a really powerful ability and it's being totally overlooked right now in the shadow of Meh-jani.
I really don't think that Ajani will be all too great, but hype is hype. Ral Zarek was $30 at one point.
I'm also pretty excited for Gnarled Scarhide, because it gives Mono Black Aggro a chance to be a thing post rotation. Granted, it's not the only card that makes it a thing, but having 8 1-drop 2/1s is pretty awesome. Also, Bestow creatures. I'm very excited to be playing this as the first deck of theros standard.
April 10, 2014 4:43 p.m.
This set is probably a million times better than BNG even if the cards currently spoiled were the only cards released. I agree that strive is cool, but the cards so far seem just slightly underpowered.
I'm definitely excited for Ajani, Keranos, Iroas, and even sightless brawler seems like a decent card to me. I think I personally got overexcited for Godsend and now that I've calmed down it isn't as good as I would like. A lot of people like Kruphix, but I think he's the disappointing God of the set so far. I'm very excited to see the rest of the set, and I wish everything would just get spoiled at once!
April 10, 2014 4:44 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #8
I'm really excited about making a U/R deck, that's about as janky as you can get.
April 10, 2014 4:50 p.m.
thataddkid says... #9
EKGwins, kruphix doesn't seem right in standard but I'd watch out for him in EDH games. Firing off all your lands EoT to cast dumb things quickly seems fun, and the tacked on no maximum hand size makes him a fit in some control decks.
April 10, 2014 4:50 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #10
Dakra mystic looks really fun, perfect to use against net deckers who think using 4x Courser of Kruphix in every deck is a good idea.
April 10, 2014 4:51 p.m.
thataddkid, I would agree, I was just focusing on the standard aspect and I didn't specify, my bad!
April 10, 2014 4:56 p.m.
I like how the cards that they've previewed seem strong, but none seem overtly format-breaking.
As an EDH player, the gods they've shown so far seem like they'd all make interesting commanders, too, which is nice.
The enchantment enchantress is a cool card. As are the starfish and the extra turns hero.
April 10, 2014 5 p.m.
golffore297 says... #13
Kruphix has given me hope that U/G can only get better post-rotation, even though we will be using a few powerful cards from RTR block. While all the cards that have been spoiled thus far have been cool, there hasn't been much that's mind-boggling or overpowered. This is how it goes with most spoiler seasons, card gets spoiled, lots of over speculation, and then it's generally the cards we least expect to see play that make it.
I'm holding out for Atheros, God of Passage though. I have a feeling he is going to be very powerful.
April 10, 2014 5:01 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #14
I'm absolutely loving this set. My favorites are Kruphix, God of Horizons, Godsend, Sigiled Starfish, and Dictate of Kruphix. I'm gonna try my damnest to get a foil Godsend and Keranos, God of Storms.
April 10, 2014 5:09 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #15
Bant can now have infinite turns and damage potential.
Sage of Hours , Ajani, Mentor of Heroes and Kalonian Hydra .
(add three counters to the sage with ajani, attack with the hydra, double to six, remove six take an extra turn. REPEAT until opponent is dead.)
April 10, 2014 5:11 p.m.
SevenSeasAgo says... #16
I think the JOU gods are much more more powerful than the BNG gods. Mogis is still my favorite, but I think the effects of the new gods are way better.
April 10, 2014 5:17 p.m.
NixTheThird says... #17
I'm still waiting for more previews. At first I was underwhelmed, now I'm more excited, but have a strange sense of forbidding that the cards will go downhill from here. That last feeling, however, is based on absolutely nothing and is totally indefensible.
Now, when I see the two gods I was most curious to see, I'll have a more solid idea.
April 10, 2014 5:39 p.m.
Although that interaction does work, it is two 5-drops plus summoning sickness from the Kalonian Hydra which needs to swing to activate his +1/+1 counter doubling ability.
Replace Kalonian with Vorel of the Hull Clade and the combo works with less moving parts, while also lowering the curve. Vorel comes out 2 turns sooner than Kalonian so it won't have summoning sickness issues when you are ready to go infinite.
The kalonian hydra can double down as your built-in win-con, but assuming you get the infinite turns locked in, you can just solitaire into any win-con you could possibly want, anything from Elspeth, Sun's Champion to Jace, Memory Adept , if they can't stop you from getting infinite turns online there's a good chance they won't be able to stop an Elspeth or Memory adept from going off.
Just seems like a waste of the 'infinite turns' to just beat them to death with one of the creature-based combo pieces, it's like, whats the point, I can probably just build a Kalonian Hydra deck than can beat face without infinite turns.
April 10, 2014 5:44 p.m.
Ajani, Mentor of Heroes is too cool, unless they blow us away with another mythic I'd say he's my fav from the set, flavor and story line wise anyways.
April 10, 2014 5:54 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #21
I find the cards spoiled so far to be underwhelming. People like to put down BNG but so far we haven't seen a card as powerful as Brimaz, King of Oreskos or Kiora, the Crashing Wave . Even just looking at commons and uncommons, nothing comes close to Searing Blood and Bile Blight .
Ajani, Mentor of Heroes is a cool enabler/support walker but not anything to write home about. I like him in Bant Superfriends but that has more to do with the cards he is mentoring.
Keranos, God of Storms and Iroas, God of Victory are solid but not archetype cornerstones. Kruphix seems fun but pointless in Standard.
Dictate of the Twin Gods is being criminally overlooked. Furnace of Rath at instant speed without a drawback is a game changer. Only card I've preorderd so far.
Dictate of Kruphix is very intriguing. Standard is starved for card draw and this seems playable. Works well with Dissolve which is a positive sign.
Gnarled Scarhide is an upgrade over Rakdos Cackler for Black Aggro. Good value for a 1 drop.
April 10, 2014 5:55 p.m.
SevenSeasAgo says... #22
I'm ready to build standard Man Cows. Free Gnarled Scarhide if you have Ragemonger lol
April 10, 2014 5:58 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 - I wouldn't call Gnarled Scarhide an "upgrade" over Rakdos Cackler . I would say it's another option for mono-black Aggro. I do agree with your other favorite cards. I just want to know what the other Dictates do. TELL ME MARO!
April 10, 2014 6:02 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #24
@Rasta_Viking29 "works well with dissolve..." in what manner?
April 10, 2014 6:07 p.m.
he means you can leave Dissolve open, then if they cast nothing worth countering, just drop the dictate and profit
April 10, 2014 6:11 p.m.
WovenNebula says... #26
The Theros block thus far has been really disappointing except for a few select cards. If only Ajani, Mentor of Heroes first +1 ability triggered heroic but sadly he doesn't even do that since its ability is not cast. His 2nd ability is where is strength lies and his 3rd ability I couldn't help but to laugh and here is a 100 life. Godsend another card I am interested to see but I am disappointed with some, just seems like a cheap ripoff of the swords, maybe I would see more value if it had protection from black also, I may get them to play around with once the price drops on that one. Some of the cards remind me of the over hype that has been given to cards in the past like Pain Seer which I believe will be a bulk rare once it is out of standard. There has been a few interesting cards though in this block, that I see potential not necessarily in standard like Satyr Firedancer and in this set Eidolon of the Great Revel , Dictate of Kruphix , Hall of Triumph (a slightly better version of Glorious Anthem in a way that you can use in mono - red, or mono - green aka elves. Most like the other cards in this Theros block there seems to be a lot of over hyped cards and under appreciated cards tho most cards are applicable in Standard and maybe some limited but some of the cards I have listed that I see have potential in other formats and maybe not immediately, they are just waiting for a future card to make them abusive. Though this is just my opinion and its based on what will be playable in other formats.
April 10, 2014 6:17 p.m.
danielseth says... #27
What are you talking about, Rakdos Cackler
is much better then Gnarled Scarhide
, i mean is bestow, actually an upside in mono black when you have, four drops like Desecration Demon
April 10, 2014 6:24 p.m.
danielseth says... #28
sorry i thought this would be right after Rasta_Viking29's comment
April 10, 2014 6:27 p.m.
McSleuthburger says... #29
Am I the only on really excited for Spite of Mogis? because that will be beautiful for my scry deck (and of course Sigiled Starfish)
Sage of Hours seems interesting though and im might try to get it to work
the gods and Ajani, Mentor of Heroes seems to be pretty nice right now though I cant wait to see what else comes out
April 10, 2014 6:36 p.m.
Chaos_Gopher says... #30
The set is so so for me. I can see simic and bant getting more play. My favorite card so far has gotta be the starfish. Lol.
April 10, 2014 6:38 p.m.
HarbingerJK says... #31
I've hated just about everything about Theros block, but I'm digging Journey into Nyx. I like the new Ajani, and I want one!
April 10, 2014 6:47 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #32
Yes, the bestow on gnarled scarhide is a tremendous upside. No, Rakdos Cackler is not better than this card. Sure, it can't block, but given the fact that it isn't a dead draw late in the game gives it so much more reach than the cackler ever had.
Considering that rotation is a thing, this card will be a huge contender in black aggro.
Desecration Demon won't be a thing for very long, and once it's gone for good, I believe that bestow based black aggro will be a huge player in the upcoming meta.
April 10, 2014 6:49 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #33
The one toughness is insignificant. I think the only 1/1s seeing a lot of play are Elvish Mystic and Cloudfin Raptor , both good trades for Scarhide.
Bestow is actually very useful late game. Anyone who has played Black Aggro in this standard will tell you the heroic trigger from Tormented Hero being bestowed with a Herald of Torment is significant. Tack him on the Herald to get a 5 power flyer instead of a 2 power 1 drop that can no longer attack.
The only thing Rakdos Cackler brings is an emergency chump blocker.
April 10, 2014 6:50 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #35
Kruphix, Decree of Kruphix, Ajani, Keranos, and Sage of Hours.
In that order. For me that is.
April 10, 2014 6:56 p.m.
This set appeals to me far more than the previous ones. I think people are undervaluing Iroas a bit. You drop him T4 or T5, suddenly the majority of your creature are largely unblockable and you swing for the win. Just what an aggro deck needs.
April 10, 2014 7:02 p.m.
The Doctor says... #37
It's irritating that people are saying Iroas is a "win-more" card.
What.
That's what every card is.
April 10, 2014 7:07 p.m.
I play Rakdos aggro atm and I'm with ThatBlueMage. For an aggro deck to have early drops that are relevant lategame is rather insane. I see myself heading over to heavy black-based or mono-black aggro. Man... If only Lifebane Zombie got to stay...
April 10, 2014 7:08 p.m.
Agreed ChiefBell, I know what I'll be saving my Detention Sphere 's for. Iroas is one scary dude.
April 10, 2014 7:09 p.m.
Yeh I find it baffling that no-one is talking about him. I find him very scary.
April 10, 2014 7:09 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #41
I like Iroas, he's scary, but I found a long time ago that my luck with this game is terrible. This is why I build midrange. Iroas fits best as an aggro god and that places him, for me, in the "not screaming break me" category.
He's good, I'm going to need to keep answers, he's just not my style.
April 10, 2014 7:13 p.m.
sertsew123 says... #42
Personally I am loving everything so far. Nothing format breaking but a lot of stuff that will excel at limited and I am curious to see exactly what new decks emerge. Anybody got any ideas for a practical standard use of kruphix?
April 10, 2014 7:16 p.m.
danielseth says... #43
ThatBlueMageIf you are playing a deck with one of those, "Late in The Game" is never a phrase you want to here, adding on that upside isn't that good, because you' be loosing a game that goes late
April 10, 2014 7:47 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #44
Considering that i've been piloting the sort of deck that we're discussing for 2 months now, I believe that I have a pretty firm grasp on what is and is not good in it.
Granted, I realise that you don't want a late game, but you also don't want to get mana screwed in any given game either. Magic happens. Sometimes late games happen. I'd rather be prepared for them than just auto-scoop because it's past turn 10.
While it "Isn't that good" it's still strictly better than drawing a Rakdos Cackler on turn 10. It has a greater tempo advantage built in, and that is why it is better.
Also, never assume that you've lost a game just because things aren't going as planned. A good deck is able to come back from a dire situation (In this deck's case, a game that goes on longer than anticipated), and this card helps with that bounce back.
April 10, 2014 8:03 p.m.
Everyone is pointing fingers at Eidolon's drawback. These people are forgetting about AEther Vial . Being able to not cast spells while still playing powerful two-drops is incredible.
April 10, 2014 8:21 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #46
Being a Modern player, I am only somewhat impressed with this set. Godsend could be very powerful in the right deck in Modern, and could be very scary in Legacy alongside Stoneforge Mystic and what have you.
April 10, 2014 8:31 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #47
Godsend +Grappling Hook in casual is downright hilarious. Or Lure .
April 10, 2014 8:34 p.m.
thataddkid says... #48
Godsend has no place in legacy. It pigeonholes you into a heavily-white build in a blue-dominated format, while it is outclassed in utility and "beatstick" by both Umezawa's Jitte and Batterskull . Godsend might impact modern soul sisters or some fringe midrange builds, but the blocking is pretty irrelevant in legacy and +3/+3 isn't too impressive when for a sixth of the investment and no creatures out you can just Lightning Bolt .
April 10, 2014 9:55 p.m.
HorrorAvengers says... #49
I wanna have iroas and heliod on the field anf watch as my opponent scrambles to put enough defense on the board to survive and enough offence to get past my tokens. Is that too much to ask for?
April 11, 2014 12:12 a.m.
CommanderOfBolas says... #50
I love Keranos, God of Storms . I think he is powerful and balanced. He provides card advantage and burn at the same time. I am very impressed with the testing I have done with him in a Grixis shell. one of the biggest draw backs for playing grixis has been the lack of draw power, but keranos helps mitigate that. Although he is not as great as I hoped he would be, I am still satisfied and I want a few foil copies of him. Im also very interested in Worst Fears. Although it likely wont see standard play, I think it would be a great casual card.
flyguy says... #2
This whole set has been pretty impressive for me. I may just have new card excitement, but most non-promo rares seem pretty playable so far. I really like strive, though I think it might be a bit underpowered. Though I dislike constellation, I don't think it really takes away from the set much. I would be overjoyed to get a sage of hours- it just seems so cool.
April 10, 2014 4:39 p.m.