Morningtide Review - Black

[raybomb]

This thread is for the discussion of the article "Morningtide Review - Black" by Blake Rasmussen. You can find it here - http://Magic.TCGplayer.com/db/article.asp?id=7931

Discuss!

[maidengames]

Sodtosser does, indeed, reduce prowl cost. Which is just gross when you really think about.

Also, Studio 60 was pure genius. It's NBC's fault for poorly advertising this fantastic and hilarious program about show business.

For those two things alone I gave your article a 1 rating. I know you're entitled to your opinion, but you're also entitled to suffer for it.

Beyond that though I do agree with many of the points you made. To bad you had to rip on one of my favorite shows.

[RoninX]

Ack! Only one card in and I have two comment.

First, I think you mean Brian Scalabrine... man does he take alot of flack. For years he ha sbeen getting dished by the Sports Guy and now magic writers start in on him? Ouch.

2nd... you realize that Auntie's Snitch ability essentially lets him "prowl" out of the 'yard, right?

Since a rogue deals damage to return him to your hand, then since a rogue has already dealt damage that turn you can play him at the prowl cost! That sounds darn powerful to me.


...and thats about it. I agree with your sentiments about the rest of the cards - though from what I saw at the pre release it looks a little easier to enable prowl in limited than you seem to be estimating.

[desapig]

I also have to savagely disagree with the rating of auntie's snitch. It is a 3/1 for two that you can essentially play from the 'yard.

[snowden]

@Studio 60: I'm sorry. I love Aaron Sorkin. I was excited by this show. I own every episode of Sports Night and all of the good episodes of West Wing (I figured out when the show jumped the shark...it was when Mrs. Landingham (sp?) died and Martin Sheen had his knock-down-drag-out-*****-at-God in the middle of the national cathedral...when he started spouting Latin, just cause he could, and basically told God he could shove it because his secretary died? Huh?)...but Studio 60 blew. The first five episodes were ok, but every freakin' episode was preachy to no end. And every single episode, Bradley Whitford gave that "We're gonna buck the system and come out on top because the system sucks" smirk that said that, not only was he smarter than everyone else, but morally superior too.

Add to it the fact that their "comedy" skits weren't funny, and it just didn't get there.

And...poor advertising? This thing was promoed 24/7 and was their premier show for the season. It's really hard to discredit advertising here when the show got huge initial numbers that just straight up went away.

@Brian Scalabrine...yes, I misspelled his name. I only thought of him because I read Sports Guy religiously. My first instinct was to go with Wally Sczerbiak (I'm from MN), but he's closer to a 2 than a 1.

@Auntie's Snitch. Maybe I'm underestimating him. I'm still not sure. The only comparable card we have in standard is Masked Admirers, which really costs 6 to get back and cast, but comes back more reliably. Admirers draws a card, but costs prohibitively more than Snitch. Admirers sees fringe play as a 2-of, mostly to help fight attrition wars. I can see this having that use. However, Admirers is excellent as a top-deck...this is not. You really want him on turn two or not at all.

I suppose I should have given him 3-stars, because he probably will see play if Prowl makes the scene, but I like creatures like him to be playable without outside assistance (like the Prowl Impulse) or just absolutely nuts with said help (Earwig Squad). This guy is pretty bad without assistance, and merely "very good" with help.

Plus...I mean...he's just so vulnerable to Offalsnout (<--sarcasm people...I don't want to see messages about this).

@Prowl...I saw some just stupidly powerful builds that enabled prowl constantly...but those were the exception rather than the rule (I guess I technically saw one). My own Faerie deck a) only had so many prowl cards, despite 3 packs of Morningtide and b) I had to not only get through, but have the prowl in hand. I cast the Impulse for 3 mana way more than at 1, and I cast the Timewalk-ish spell for 4 more than I did for six.

That being said, I wasn't saying that it was difficult to enable prowl...just that it was MORE difficult to enable prowl in limited than in constructed.

@Sodtosser...You're correct, it does reduce Prowl. That was a misinterpretation on my part. I'll give him an extra .5 rating.

[Falkor]

Blake, curious about your decision about Morsel Theft. I personally think the card is great, since it is a six-point life swing in an aggressive, sui-black style deck. Plus, it replaces itself. Wow. I personally think it is an auto-include in the Rogue lists that will pop up all over the place in the new Standard.

No need to beat yourself up about some of the card interactions. I need to review the interaction between Changeling creatures and the new equipment again, since I heard a nasty rumor about not attaching right away from the judges at the prerelease. Makes no sense...

[Hookhand]

Scarblade elite was a BEAST in my sealed deck at the prerelease (I finished Top 8 in the Main event).

I had plenty of changelings, and assassins in the form of 2 weed-pruner poplars (Disgusting) and a Hunter of Eyeblights.
I wiped entire boards with it. Hey, did you know nameless inversion is an assassin when it's in the graveyard? That's what we in the industry call a "2 for 1"

Weed-pruner poplar will kill your X/1 creatures if your opponent doesn't have any creatures. You know what we call a game state where your opponent doesn't have any creatures? An imminent win. Several times I laid leaf gilder with poplar out and no other creatures in play. My opponents hung onto their creatures. Yeah, that's fine. Don't play anything. Reinforce leaf gilder with hunting triad... SWING for 7. CRACK! Thanks for holding onto that silvergill douser, my man.

If poplar is killing your guys, you're winning. I'd have given it a 4 in limited. I wouldn't change the rating on the scarblade, I'm mostly just jazzed how great it was in that one very luck pool.

[Zygonn]

I keep thinking the most important line on Maralen is "players can't draw cards." Ever. Not just at the beginning of the turn, you just can't draw cards. Unfortunately they will usually grab a way to kill it, and kill it, but I agree that there is some potential there.

[RoninX]

I keep thinking the most important line on Maralen is "players can't draw cards." Ever. Not just at the beginning of the turn, you just can't draw cards. Unfortunately they will usually grab a way to kill it, and kill it, but I agree that there is some potential there.

Maralen is pretty crazy - I'm not sure a bigger "if" card has ever been printed. If you can protect her... If your opponent is on low life... If you can reach your next upkeep with her in play...

All that said, isn't she essentially a black timewalk that deals 3 damage to your opponent if you are on the play and lay her on turn 3? Don't they have to spend their 3rd turn (often a critical turn) removing her instead of developing their board position.

What if she sees play in a suicide black deck (along with auntie's snitch?) if they don't kill her don't you just find a bad moon and lay some serious beats? Is this just yet another "if"? Yes. But every time I feel like I can write her off something else occurs to me.

[berzerker]

I disagree with a lot of the 0's in constructed. While I definitely feel black is the weakest color in Morningtide, some of the cards are so cool to play. Some of the 0's are viable in a fun casual standard deck, that might do well at some FNMs. To say that they have no playability is almost asking to be proven wrong. I personally have made a decklist (and have been testing it) using Nightshade Schemers and Paradox Haze, and have had some success. The deck is fast and has lots of Faeries and Rogues and other cards that have upkeep abilities. Its not Tier 1 by any means but it is a ton of fun and I will probably play it at FNM.

[cschaefer]

FYI - you said West Wing started sucking after Rob Lowe left the show. That was actually the same time that Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlame (his director) left the show. So the reason the last 3 seasons sucked was because they were written and directed by someone else.

[slimedude99]

Anyone else say this guy's name in their head with a British accent? Tosser is a bit of an insult over there, and I'm pretty sure in the Motherland they'll come up with cleverer things to say with this guy than I can. That said, I don't think he'll cut it. The best part of Goblin Warchief was that he gave everything else haste. Having it here is only semi-relevant to help trigger prowl. Note that this doesn't reduce Prowl costs.

Holy Christ!? When will everyone get that this actually does reduce prowl costs!?

Sorry to yell/be rude, but I was hoping that columnists who write about this game would know the rules at least a bit better than that.