Mighty-morphing?
Standard forum
Posted on May 12, 2015, 11:14 p.m. by IzDevil
Morph is a very unique ability. I believe that the khans block makes it powerful as well. It's ability to hide a plan until the last moment is marvelous, and the fact the morphing up can't be countered makes it very powerful indeed. Players often won't waste valuable kill spells on a creature that might be a harmless manifested land. So I ask: is morph powerful enough to see major play in the current standard meta? Why or why not? How could it be better?
True, however I've seen very little in terms of decks built around the mechanic.
May 13, 2015 11:07 a.m.
HorridBEAST says... #4
There are several G/W decks that are built around the Den Protector/Deathmist Raptor combo, often with Rattleclaw Mystic for extra triggers for the raptor and side boarded Hidden Dragonslayer to deal with Siege Rhino and other big threats. Most, if not all, Abzan decks, regardless of what variation they are running, have incorporated the Raptor/Protector/Dragonslayer package into their decks. Shorecrasher Elemental single-handedly revived the Mono-Blue Devotion deck. Ashcloud Phoenix often sees play in G/R decks and occasionally in Mardu decks, because it is so good against heavy removal and control (if you can dodge a counter spell).
I think what you are asking is why there isn't a deck that plays exclusively or at least very high majority of morph cards, and the reason is that morphs just aren't efficient enough or powerful enough to win games on their own. Deathmist Raptor has megamorph, but the only time it is played face down is when you don't have a Den Protector in hand and you want to get your other Deathmist Raptors back from the graveyard. Den Protector and Hidden Dragonslayer both have amazing effects and megamorph, but playing them requires paying 3 mana to get them face down, then you need to pay 2 to flip them. So you've just payed 5 mana for a 3/2 creature with a one time effect. And the big creatures that could win you the game just aren't good enough to see play over non-morph creatures. Why pay 3 to morph and 5 to unmorph Sagu Mauler, or 3 and 6 for Stormcrag Elemental/Woolly Loxodon, or 3 and 7 for Segmented Krotiq when you could just play Polukranos, World Eater for 4 or Arbor Colossus for 5, even if you never monstrous them, they already better value. And when you do go monstrous Polukranos, World Eater wreaks token and weenie decks and Arbor Colossus gets to kill a Stormbreath Dragon and then be big enough to block Dragonlord Atarka
May 14, 2015 10:59 a.m.
There are both Bant and Abzan megamorph decks doing fairly well in SCG tournaments currently.
UpperDeckerTaco says... #2
There already is... Den Protector, Deathmist Raptor, Ashcloud Phoenix, Stratus Dancer, Shorecrasher Elemental, Hidden Dragonslayer, etc...
May 13, 2015 10:32 a.m.