Hangarback Walker: let's discuss
Standard forum
Posted on March 23, 2016, 10:08 a.m. by capriom85
Hangarback Walker, whether you love it, hate it, have your playset, need to hunt them down, or want nothing to do with it this card has made an impact in standard at some point.They are still seeing play, usually as a 4 of, and they continue to be one of my favorite cards to play right now. Heading into SOI, do we think they will still be a strong force? Does it get better, worse, stay the same?My favorite way to utilize it was definitely to make it big, sac the Walker, and then +1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor. That's not an option anymore soon, so I'm going to stuff then into my UW tempo/aggro.
What are everyone else's plans for Hangarback Walker coming to the end of KTR and going into the SOI season? Are we playing them, devoting sideboard slots to stopping then, or have any new ways to use and abuse them?
ninjaclevs13 says... #4
Well, I still use them in my sacrifice deck, but it's kind of a rogue deck that not many other people play. It's hilarious sacrificing my Walker to get 3-5 tokens, just to have more things to sacrifice. What's even more hilarious is when I cast it for 0 and all of my triggers trigger (Zulaport Cutthroat, Grim Haruspex, Catacomb Sifter), all for 0 mana.
March 23, 2016 10:31 a.m.
alanwescoat says... #5
It is a solid card, playable in Standard, Modern, and Legacy. The real beauty of it is that it can serve as a filler in almost any deck. Short a card or two? No problem. Just toss in Hangarback Walker until you obtain what you actually need. The card is a house in an of itself. While it is not a particularly fast clock, it is a clock. It eventually must be dealt with somehow.
I really want to try to get a viable Modern deck going with Hangarback Walker + Enduring Renewal + Disciple of the Vault. It also works well with Enduring Renewal + Krark-Clan Ironworks.
The new Standard looks like deck strategies will be relying on quite a bit of synergy, synergy which so far does not seem to mesh with Hangarback Walker. I am losing three cards post rotation for my Constructicon Standard deck, and so far, I have seen nothing which would serve to replace those three cards. Thus, I do not see it as a core card in any particular deck. It is still a house, but I do not see it as an indispensable part of any strategy. It is more likely to see sideboard use.
March 23, 2016 10:35 a.m.
Hangarback Walker looks better and worse going into SOI. It will really depend on which side matters more and what support gets printed.
There's certainly going to be more Silkwraps going around when fewer decks are these four color decks that have Dromoka's Command, keeping things out of the graveyard matters, and removal looks worse in general. On the flip side, Hangarback Walker lends itself really well to some of the sets themes. It doubles up on delirium and can be sacrificed for value.
It still lines up poorly against Sylvan Advocate though.
March 23, 2016 10:37 a.m.
That's interesting, what do you want to side it against, alanwescoat?
March 23, 2016 10:40 a.m. Edited.
To be clear, I'm referencing my local meta when I said that only a few people still play them.
If Declaration in Stone becomes popular as a Sideboard option it will hit the Walker hard.
March 23, 2016 10:40 a.m. Edited.
Yes, I'm considering forgoing Declaration in Stone for SB though in favor of keeping Hallowed Moonlight. It hoses Walker all the same and hits a lot of other things, even if Rally the Ancestors does go away.
March 23, 2016 10:50 a.m.
alanwescoat says... #10
capriom85, I really do not play enough Standard to know what I would even come up against. It was certainly effective when people were playing control, especially against Languish, but I really do not know. I do not pay a whole lot of attention to Standard, so I usually just bring a rogue/jank deck to Standard tournaments. However, I have played Hangarback Walker in Standard, Modern, and Legacy, and the card just works wherever I play it. However, I have been playing streamlined colorless Construct decks in all three formats, decks in which Hangarback Walker has synergy with the other cards. I just took a look at the spoilers currently posted at Wizards, and, so far, I see nothing with which Hangarback Walker will have particularly good synergy, though working it with Indulgent Aristocrat looks tempting, especially because I love vampire tribal.
March 23, 2016 11:11 a.m.
alanwescoat says... #11
Also, I should mention that simply dropping out Hangarback Walker for 0 can help to enable delirium.
March 23, 2016 11:16 a.m.
Yes, it will actually be a cool play along with Topplegeist in my deck
March 23, 2016 1:22 p.m.
RicketyEng says... #13
Try playing Hangarback Walker with Olivia, Mobilized for War. Throw in Stromkirk Mentor and Indulgent Aristocrat and I can see a set of walkers having relevance.
Argy says... #2
They just always get shut down with Silkwrap in my local meta, killed early so they only make 1 Thopter, or get Exiled for no profit.
Only a few people still play them, and don't do very well with them. I think they worked better when they first came out and still had a surprise factor.
March 23, 2016 10:15 a.m.