New Planeswalker OP? Is it legit?
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on April 10, 2014, 10:14 a.m. by hassankachal
The new Planeswalker, Ajani, Mentor of Heroes , does not look real. It is too OP. Can someone tell me if it's actually real?
GoldGhost012 says... #4
The "gain 100 life" ability isn't game ending, it's game stalling. It buys you probably 5-10 extra turns, which doesn't mean you automatically win.
April 10, 2014 10:34 a.m.
I've seen a few people say that it only buys you 5-10 extra turns. Think about it, for it to buy you 10 extra turns that would mean your opponent did an average of 10 damage to you every single one of those turns to get you back to where you started. While that's not impossible, its highly unlikely your opponent is gonna hit you for 10-20 damage every turn. Especially in standard, the format he'll probably see the most play in considering his cost and how this block has slowed the format.
April 10, 2014 11:47 a.m.
I think people are underestimating him. I keep seeing all of the same old arguments that just don't make sense. The whole it's too expensive, doesn't protect itself well, and does nothing when it hits an empty board arguments are all played out. Just because it's not gonna see play in every format from the second it's released doesn't make it a bad card. Its from a set that is part of a block literally designed to be slower (especially in comparison to the play of other formats or even pre-theros standard). That means it's prime use will come during it's time in standard, EDH, and casual, just by nature of the sets design. Those old played out arguments just don't make sense to me. It's called Deck Building and Play Testing. You'll build your deck accordingly and when you test you'll figure out what opportunities against which match ups are best for you to play it. The whole "but it does nothing when played on an empty board" argument baffles me. Here's an idea, if it does nothing on an empty board then don't be an idiot and play it on an empty board. That means don't run 4 copies so your hand isn't flooded with planeswalkers. Build your deck properly and you'll have options every turn and can choose which one of those is the best in that situation instead of forcing yourself to play this Ajani at a bad time because you think it'll prove you right when you say it sucks. His first plus one is good. It allows you to distribute the counters on up to 3 different creatures. That means your opponent can't come in and Doom Blade one creature and nullify the turn you took to play Ajani and +1 him. His second +1 ability is amazing. It's a better Domri Rade first ability. You get to dig through 4 cards not just the top card, and you have multiple options (Auras, Creatures, and Planeswalkes). His ultimate isn't the greatest but he makes up for that with the first two abilities. It's not that his ultimate is bad, I just think it's more of a last chance desperation move, the kind of thing you do if you absolutely know you've got a card in your deck that can win you the game but need possibly 10+ more turns to make sure you can draw into it. You know, those types of rare situations. Otherwise your better off trying to win the game with the help of his first two abilities. Sorry about the little rant just tired of seeing all of the negativity towards every card the second it's spoiled. I know that's not really what was going on here but after commenting on the 100 life only buying 5-10 extra turns I had to get it off my chest lol.
April 10, 2014 11:50 a.m.
The most interesting thing is that they omitted a 0 or a small negative ability to avoid getting to the ultimate, possibly because it's not game-ending.
It's really not OP, particularly with a 5 casting cost. I don't think the + abilities will synergize with heroic or evolve, for example, so it's just a +3/ +3 to your board state. If there's a counter strategy in standard which will synergize with this, it doesn't leap to my mind. You'll see him in standard because Planeswalker more than because he actually contributes to decks.
A Jace, Memory Adept in a mill deck this is not. Maybe somebody will come up with something clever in Modern.
April 10, 2014 12:19 p.m.
Ultimaodin says... #9
I just want to ulti then play Voracious Wurm .... Then because it's magical Christmas Land I cast Blood with no response. :)
April 10, 2014 12:28 p.m.
KrosanTusker says... #10
No, sorry. I responded to Ajani's ultimate with Skullcrack ! That's what the other section of the players want from the new Ajani.
April 10, 2014 12:50 p.m.
Sanguine Bond is still Standard. That would be... interesting. The thing about planeswalkers is if they have a plus ability (or 0 ability) you want to use every turn, then that's good. The other stuff is just sauce. Both +1's have places in decks that already exist. I think he's a fun card that will see at least fringe play.
April 10, 2014 1:18 p.m.
Its real. Hes really good, but not quite OP. You just have to have an answer for him. He might get some things banned in other formats with infinite combos and stuff, but by himself he is just really good, not super OP. Everyone was clambering for him to be good, so there is no reason to be upset now that it happened. There are enough answers in standard to keep him in check, as long as you don't blatantly overlook him, you should be ok.
April 10, 2014 1:24 p.m.
who cares for the first +1 ability just use the 2nd one in bant walkers or something. fetch those kiora's jace and elspeths. when i can ult ajani it just means i have created so much time i just win.
April 10, 2014 1:28 p.m.
hassankachal says... #15
One combo:Sunbond , Spike Feeder and Ajani, Mentor of Heroes . Modern, beware!
April 10, 2014 2:11 p.m.
I like that he curves perfectly with all the walkers in Standard. Cast Kiora turn four, -1 into an extra land, cast Ajani turn five, +1 into Elspeth, cast Elspeth turn six. It seems fun.
@abenz419: I don't remember anyone saying he's bad. That's me, but I've never heard it. Everyone here is just saying he's not op. The closest ability he has to op (in my opinion) is his +1 that reveals the top four. He's definitely not bad, and I think that people who say he's bad are silly, but he's definitely not op.
April 10, 2014 4:46 p.m.
Is it OP, no. An opponent can still win the game if you have 120 life. Whether it is dealing a lot of damage, or milling them out, or something else like that, it definitely isn't OP.
Good? Very good. The selective draw card being a +1 is really powerful. The counter distribution can be very powerful. An obviously 100 extra life is great.
April 10, 2014 5:49 p.m.
@codebread Like I said that wasn't really whats going on here, I just merely felt like venting about it after I had responded earlier about the whole 5-10 extra turns thing. If you haven't seen anyone say he's bad and unplayable then that probably means you haven't read any of the other million threads about the new planeswalker yet. It's also not all about this card specifically. It's obnoxious the way people will so easily dismiss every card spoiled using those tired played out excuses. I'm sure there are quite a few good players on Tapped Out, but I highly doubt that every member is so skilled that they can look at a card and without any thought decide if the card is playable or not like they act like they can do. Not even half of the new set is spoiled and there is absolutely no way for you to know what will be coming in "huey", "duey", and "luey". I just think they look like idiots puffing out their chest acting like they know everything about magic when they're obviously talking out of their ass. How can you make a decision on a cards playability if you don't even know what half of the cards in that same set are or know whats coming in the next block? Both of those things will have huge impacts on whether or not the new planeswalker sees play and without knowing them or doing any kind of deck building/testing, they just look ignorant when they immediately judge the cards the way they do. It wouldn't bug me so much if people were giving their opinion and actually backing it up with a thought of their own, but they're not. They just regurgitate the same garbage someone stupid told them before, regardless of how relevant or accurate it is.
April 10, 2014 6:09 p.m.
idea for a deck name; Ajani's proliferating addiction to LifeGain. LoL
April 10, 2014 6:13 p.m.
@abenz419: Yeah, a lot of magic players just regurgle the same thing that they've heard from other players rather than come up with an opinion on their own. While I do believe that a card's playability can be estimated, I don't believe that everyone can do it. Which is why a lot of the time people are wrong in these kinds of guesses. Just gotta learn to ignore it so later you can say ''I told ya so.''
Though, in my personal opinion I don't like this Ajani very much. He's indeed very strong, but I'd take Ajani Vengeant over it any day.
April 10, 2014 7:24 p.m.
Ultimaodin says... #22
It's kind of like the 'dies to doomblade' statement. Some people just don't seem to acknowledge the fact their are methods past this.
Servo_Token says... #2
Yeah, it's real. It's also not that overpowered, due to all of the walker removal and burn in the format. Also, there's already several threads on the new Ajani, i'd go there if you want more info.
April 10, 2014 10:16 a.m.