Do you think they'll make a strictly worse Goyf

Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum

Posted on Jan. 20, 2014, 6:49 p.m. by forestlore44

Everyone knows Dark Confidant is incredibly powerful, and lately Wizards have been making strictly worse impostors Blood Scrivener , Pain Seer . Does anyone think we'll eventually get the same thing in the form of strictly worse Tarmogoyf s?

ChiefBell says... #2

January 20, 2014 6:53 p.m.

JWiley129 says... #3

ChiefBell is correct, Lhurgoyf already exists.

January 20, 2014 6:58 p.m.

graft says... #4

At this point, I doubt it. If you read Mark Rosewater's columns, there is a lot of talk about how important it is to WotC to keep low the "mental footprint" required to play any given card. Tarmogoyf is one card that has a large mental footprint because it requires the player to track things that aren't typically important in a game of Magic. Cards like Consuming Aberration are about as close as I expect them to get.

January 20, 2014 7 p.m.

CharonSquared says... #5

"Strictly worse." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2y8Sx4B2Sk

None of these three cards are strictly worse than their counterparts. Blood Scrivener only makes you lose 1 life regardless of the drawn card's CMC. Pain Seer has 1 additional toughness, and if you're at risk of dying to his trigger, you can simply stop attacking with him. As for Lhurgoyf, well, if you have fifty creatures in your graveyard, then he's going to be pretty massive compared to your opponent's Tarmogoyf.

That aside, I don't expect them to make a watered-down 'goyf. Dark Confidant has a relatively simple mechanic: every turn, draw an extra card at the cost of life. You see similar abilities on Phyrexian Arena , Graveborn Muse , and Bloodgift Demon . Tarmogoyf, on the other hand, has a very specific ability: having power and toughness equal to the number of card types in all graveyards. The only simple ways to alter him would be to increase his mana cost to three or take away his base 1 toughness.

January 20, 2014 7:06 p.m.

Epochalyptik says... #6

The important thing about Tarmogoyf is that it's a super-efficient beater. WOTC has printed loads of efficient beaters, and loads of inefficient beaters. These cards don't all have to operate on the P/T-determining CDA that Tarmogoyf has.

Also, I'm moving this to S&R because it isn't really about Modern so much as it is about theoretical printing possibilities.

January 20, 2014 7:07 p.m.

sylvannos says... #7

Nemesis of Mortals . Strictly better Tarmogoyf because it's a 5/5 instead of a 4/5.

January 20, 2014 7:19 p.m.

Gidgetimer says... #8

Lhurgoyf is a creature type that includes 8 creatures including Tarmogoyf . Amongs those creatures are every possible iteration of counting a single card type (Cantivore , Cognivore , Mortivore , Magnivore , Terravore ) except Planeswalkers and Artifacts. Unless they make "Bolasivore" or "Relicivore" I feel that the design space is pretty well used up.

January 20, 2014 7:30 p.m.

cr14mson says... #9

Nighthowler ..?

((i wanna go on record saying that I like this card more than the 'goyfs ))

January 20, 2014 7:36 p.m.

forestlore44 says... #10

Oh yeah, I just remembered Spellheart Chimera

January 20, 2014 7:44 p.m.

Gidgetimer says... #11

yeah Nighthowler is a pretty close to a reprint of Mortivore I don't see more similar bestow creatures being printed since all the gods are enchantments; instants aren't associated with any one god; sorceries aren't associated with any one god; and there is no "god of the land". A bestow Terravore in black/red would be cool though since those are the land destruction colors.

January 20, 2014 7:44 p.m.

This discussion has been closed