How limited affected my view on kahns of tarkir standard.
Standard forum
Posted on Sept. 23, 2014, 2:16 p.m. by HorrorAvengers
On friday I attended the Kahns of Tarkir prerelease, choosing sultai as my clan, due to my love of graveyard bullshit and of BUG. In that prerelease I pulled Rashaka Deathdealer, and 2 other rare bombs in my colors. And as well as they preformed, there was one card that outshined them all.
This little cheeky bastard started coming down turn 3 CONSISTANTLY. I pulled 3 of cannibal apes at that draft, and after just 2 games of playtesting I realized how vastly how powerful a turn 3 4/4 trampler for G is. That card ended games that it resolved and started swinging.
So how does it affect standard?
In draft, the only mill I had access to was a 1-of Sultai Ascendency and 2 of the bad gristly salvages. And yet the card was still consistent. In standard, we have access to Commune with the Gods . Thanks to commune, a turn 2 hooting mandrills will not be an uncommon occurrence. Going T1 elvish Mystic, T2 Commune, grab mandrills, exile the 5 in grave, play ape shit. We also have Satyr Wayfinder , Nyx Weaver , and lowdrop removal like Bile Blight and Thoughtseize to fuel him. And in standard, a 4/4 trampler is a lot meaner than in draft, where he got killed frequently by a become immense or surrak. In standard the best removal we have to deal with crapapult is Hero's Downfall , and in the deck where he will be used, that's a heroes downfall that won't be pointed at your Rashaka Deathdealer, Herald of Torment , or Reaper of the Wilds .
I wholeheartedly believe that this card will see a large amount of play in standard, am I alone in this? Or have other people played with this card? if not, try it. It's better than it looks.
HorrorAvengers says... #3
As nasty as the fiend is, there's a large difference between 6 and 9, even with delve. Mandrills becomes a 1drop after a commune, fiend becomes a 4drop with no fodder for his ability. It's good, but I wouldn't wanna run more than 2 of the fiend in decks that run him.
Sultai scavenger is also good, but I personally prefer a 4/4 trampler to a 3/3 flier, for not dying to bile blight.
The reason I brought it up is because dredge is already a solid standard post-rotation deck, and he fits beautifully in the deck. It's not like speculating on a whole new archetype.
September 23, 2014 2:28 p.m.
Oh yeah, Dredge is looking pretty good in this upcoming Standard. But I like a 4/5 Flier on T3 better than a 4/4 trampler. Even w/o fodder for his ability, Necropolis Fiend can just start swinging for 4. Bile Blight is a fair card to consider favoring Hooting Mandrills over Sultai Scavenger , but I still prefer flying to trample. The only thing to be wary about in Standard is Tormod's Crypt . Hoses Sultai right out of the game.
September 23, 2014 2:36 p.m.
You've forgotten the other great Delve enabler...
Fetchlands!
T1: Wooded Foothills
into Forest
, Elvish Mystic
T2: Bloodstained Mire
into Swamp
.
Without even casting an Instant or Sorcery, your Murderous Cut
is ready to go.
Play another ramp on T2, and T3 you can Polluted Delta into Island ... you're almost able to cast any Delve spell there is.
September 23, 2014 3:06 p.m.
hmmm... my own comments have made me start to think of revisiting my Infect deck.
Verdant Catacombs + Mutagenic Growth + Manamorphose should fill up my grave fairly fast... then... Become Immense
T1: Verdant Catacombs
into Forest
, Glistener Elf
T2: Misty Rainforest
into Forest
, swing... - no block (or block with 1 toughness) = 2x Mutagenic Growth
, and Become Immense
.
September 23, 2014 3:28 p.m.
oops... Ignore the "or block with one toughness". I was originally thinking of ways involving Trample... this method doesn't use it.
September 23, 2014 3:31 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #8
Or you can cast Polukranos, World Eater on turn 3 with an Elvish Mystic or Sylvan Caryatid . Hmm.
September 23, 2014 4:08 p.m.
yeah its something that will be good in limited, but it will never see play in any other format, ever.
September 23, 2014 6:42 p.m.
The flying deamons can see play due to evasion. But the ground pounders are all outclassed by the "normal" 3-4 drop creatures and plainswalkers.
JWiley129 says... #2
There are better things to Delve into in Standard than Hooting Mandrills . Like T3 Necropolis Fiend , 3 lands + 6 cards to exile. While I think it might show up, I'd rather have the Fiend or Sultai Scavenger than Hooting Mandrills .
Also, using Limited to predict Standard isn't a wise idea. If we did that with Theros our metagame would be filled with aggro Heroic decks & Devotion decks. And only one half of that was true.
September 23, 2014 2:20 p.m.