I didn't think I could like Liam much more, and then I hear he's at least potentially a fan of SSBM (best game in the series) and has won at least one money match in it. Wonderful.
I could see him being like a Ganondorf or DK or Luigi player. Something still more or less capable, but a little bit weird (within the conventional tier list) and requiring far more creativity or just matchup/game knowledge to make work at the same level.
The story behind induced amnesia is that vraska asks Jace to wipe her recent memory so Nicol bolas can't tell she met him. (This is according to the art book)
I once played a wizard in Dungeons and Dragons that would wipe his own memory because he was bad at lying. I eventually started having NPCs reference conversations that I didn't remember as a player to which the DM said "Funny how your character often doesn't remember stuff." It was pretty awesome trying to figure out all the stuff that my character had gotten up to that neither of us remembered happening.
North 100 show idea: Top X cards for a given effect (where X is the relevant number for that effect for Highlander). For example: Top 10 tutors, top 10 bolts, top 10 counterspells, top pump spells, top board sweeps, etc. Not just the lists, but why the show hosts put them in that order.
Does stealing and reequipping Grafted Wargear really work? Remember, it says "sacrifice that creature" on the wargear, it's not text added to the equipped creature, and I'm unconvinced that you can sac your opponent's creatures.
if you control that creature, then yes, you absolutely sacrifice it. You can't sacrifice creatures you don't control, but original owner doesn't matter.
ScarletW I think you may have misunderstood. The scenario was about gaining control of the wargear itself. If you then unattach it from the opponent's creature, you can't sacrifice it because you're not allowed to sacrifice permanents you don't control. (See the card rulings itself for more info)
For Release to the Wind, you can use it to bounce something like an Emrakul that you've reanimate so you can get the cast trigger if you want it, and it will be cheaper total than trying to get the cast trigger normally. also gets around the exile clause of things like Goryo's Vengeance and lets you keep the creature, but it might be a little slow for that case
Im really curious about the Emrakul idea as well - are there any big "Cast" Eldrazi relevant in Canadian Highlander? Are there decks that care about Ulamog or Kozilek or - obviously - about Emrakul (all either 1.0 or 2.0)?
How would this combo with Dualcaster Mage? At best you have infinite enter/leave play triggers if you had 6 mana open. But you are right about the Emmy's.
I know I'm a little late to the party, but I hope you guys still read the comments. I think the biggest problem with Huatli is that she has such steep competition in those colors for the kind of deck you would run her in. Elspeth Knight-Errant; Gideon, Ally of Zendikar; Ajani Steadfast; Ajani Goldmane; Garruk Relentless; and Garruk Wildspeaker are all reasonable choices that put out bodies and/or have a much more appreciable immediate impact on a board full of creatures. Not to mention the W/B Sorin walkers if you go Abzan.
18:00 Quick note on the Induced Amnesia flavor: The official story didn't reach that point yet. However, the art book apparently hints at it as a way Vraska will survive her next encounter with Nicol Bolas. In other words, Jace mind-wipes her because he cares. 55:00 In relation ot Dark Depths, Blood Sun is a bit like Solemnity with built-in trigger suppression. If you play Dark Depths with a Blood Sun out and then remove Blood Sun from the battlefield, you get Marit Lage.
I really like these set reviews. I'm primarily a commander player with a bit of modern, and it's interesting to see how cards that I evaluate for multiplayer get evaluated in Highlander. In EDH, im having a blast with Ghalta as my new green stompy general, because the commander increased-per-return-to-the-zone cost (+2) is effected by his cost reduction, so you could ALWAYS get him out for 2-4 mana if you're going steady.
Hey Serge! Induced amnesia+ release to the wind, and those cards don't come back other cards that would interact favorably with this card are things like Felidar guardian, riptide chimera, leonin relic-warder. Don't let those bullies at the table tell you this isn't good, I bet you could throw together a U/W or Bant ETB matters deck (or even enchantress) as a path to Victory! You can do it!
The galaxy brain play I saw with World Shaper was float six, use four to armageddon, let that resolve, then use the other two on a spell that had an additional cost of sacrificing a creature to guarantee they'd get the dies trigger unless they literally had a stifle effect that they couldn't stop the geddon with. Having played a bunch of Radiant Huatli now, she protects herself quite well in any situation where you want her just by virtue of immediately jumping to either ult range or above ult range, forcing them to either go after her instead of you or just let you emblem and probably stick around after doing so if you had five creatures on the board. Her home is in exactly a go wide tokens deck and basically nowhere else.
I'm not sure if it's good enough with anything yet but Famished Paladin seems like it could be an interesting combo piece some day. I know people have already found an infinite life combo with it and Resplendent Mentor but there might be better stuff either now or in the future. Also could Curious Obsession make it into some sort of blue sky or boggle deck? It's only 1 mana and grants 1 power and card advantage. Even if you can't protect it in the long term it's easy enough for it to at least cantrip.
I'm kinda surprised that Legion Lieutenant wasn't mentioned. 2/2 for WB that lords your other vamps. Is it just because Vamplander isnt a thing yet and therefore has no real deck to go into?
When I first saw Elenda I screamed a little because my very first thought was Abzan Aristocrats. I'm an EDH and limited player right now and I keep seeing EDH players getting pissy about this card because it's not a good general since it has to go to the graveyard. I keep screaming at them it's not a general! It's a card for the 99 in an aristocrats deck. Ghave, Alesha, Ayli/Teysa versions of Aristocrats ALL want this card badly. And as for me, not only do I plan to get this card, but if I were to get into Highlander I would DEFINITELY build aristocrats in a heartbeat. I want an episode where these guys talk about Aristocrats in Highlander.
I'm glad you guys gave Huatli a fair assessment instead of dismissing it, going "It can't protect itself, it's bad". I'd like to add a perspective that may make it a little (not a lot) better. The way I see it, there's 3 ways for an opponent to react to Huatli (and perhaps all planeswalkers). 1.) They go all in to attack Huatli to kill it as fast as possible. This strategy can work for other planeswalkers, but even if you only have 3 creatures, Huatli is at 8 loyalty (assuming you + Huatli). If you held back a blocker or 2, it's likely you can make some profitable trades/eat some creatures, and Huatli still stands. This puts your opponents in the awkward situation of being attacked with a creature with Huatli's - buff, or having you + Huatli and for them to try to repeat the process with their diminished board state. 2.) They commit some, but not all resources to trying to keep Huatli down. In this case, your opponent is probably just trying to keep you from ulting, and preventing you from making good attacks with the - ability. This might seem bad, but this is a losing battle for your opponent. Everything they use is something not going to something better, and every turn they use attacking Huatli is a turn they're not killing you, allowing you to advance your board state, which in turn makes it even harder for your opponent to deal with her. 3.) They ignore Huatli. Unless your opponent is killing you in 2 or 3 turns, this is a complete mistake. As soon as you ult Huatli once, you are generating incredible value off of playing creatures and token generators. This is the best time for your opponent to kill Huatli, but by then it's too late; you are now always investing 0 cards whenever you play a creature. If they continue to ignore Huatli, this problem compunds. It was mentioned that you feel bad if your opponent is ignoring you and Huatli is left at 30 loyalty, but you want to ult every time you can. Each emblem stacks with the last, and you quickly run away with the game. All of this doesn't necessarily mean that Huatli is "good", or that she has a place in Highlander. I just wanted to offer my perspective so people don't miss out on deckbuilding opportunities that they might otherwise overlook.
With Release to the Wind you don't have to recast it the turn you do it, so you can do weird edge cases where you exile something with an etb effect to save indefinitely. Also, any Eldrazi with on cast effects?
Correct, but you can only cast it at any time you could normally cast it. But yes, any cast triggers will happen when you recast the exiled card. (Note that both Emrakuls have protection from Release to the Wind.)
Twilight Prophet is literally just the +1 ability on Sorin, Grim Nemesis, right? Or am I mis-reading that...? Also, an alternate name for Dire Fleet Daredevil that I've been using is "Snatch-Caster"
Not quite. Twilight Prophet also gains you the life. And while it's cheaper than Sorin, it requires you to get the city's blessing first, and it needs to survive until your next turn. But then again, if your opponent doesn't expect you to get to ten permanents until your next upkeep, they may prioritize something else with their targeted removal. Who knows...
Going back and watching this video in 2020. Watching the Blood Sun reaction from Liam only makes me wonder how he would have reacted to any of the 2019/2020 magic card designs.
Notes on Release to the Wind: - It's not just a flicker effect. You can use it as a flicker effect, but the clause "as long as it remains exiled" is relevant here. You basically have the targeted creature on layaway for the rest of the game. - Getting the card back from Release to the Wind counts as CASTING it (but not from your hand, so that particular avenue for breaking the card is out). There's got to be some deck out there that can make this clause matter in a big way.
I was inspired to make a Highlander deck by one of the prior episodes. If you guys could tell me what you think I would greatly appreciate it. tappedout.net/mtg-decks/bug-aggro-turns/ The first week in April I plan on visiting Victoria and will be playing CanLander while I'm there. It will be nice to meet (and probably lose to) you all in person!
You said at some point that Nezhahal can dodge wrath effects. I just realized that Release to the Wind does the same. It can be used as a very effective protective spell! Your opponent plays a wrath or a removal spell, if you don't have a counter, this protects your creature. You just exile it, and cast it again for free next turn :D
I'm curious about Awakened Amalgam I thought this might be really good in highlander seeing as you would have a lot of different named lands. with each non basic only being one of, this thing should be very easy to turn into a 5/5 6/6 or stronger.
While I don't play Highlander of the Canada, I play Highlander of the Elder dragon variety, and I whole-heartedly agree with Serge. #Fastobondto1 #UnbanFastbondinCommander
As someone who doesn't play much magic, I wonder about the viability Ghalta in a hoof deck because some of the mana dorks will effectively tap for at least one more mana when casting this card.
For a control finisher I'm surprised no one ever mentioned Sphinx of the Final Word. It can't be countered, has evasion, has hexproof and says there will be no counter war.
Also if there is any sort of mirrari's wake deck I think that zacama primal calamity has a ton of potential. Also I think its an interesting natural order target since it can untap cradle and can destroy problematic perminants.
Release to the Wind seems good because it's not until end of turn, just as long as it stays exiled. So it might let you get a threat down early & then bring it back later once removal/sweepers are spent. Also flash creature shenanigans
Right, the thing it exiles can only be cast at its usual speed. This could be use as a bounce spell during your turn against a non-flash permanent your opponent controls and the earliest they would get it back is during their first main phase. The other thing is, you can use Release to the Wind to repeat not only ETB triggers, but also cast triggers. You can't use it on either Emrakul due to protection, but the other titans and the large non-legendary Eldrazi are fair game. Oh, and since Paradox Engine seems to be a thing, this can go infinite with any permanent (e.g. Eternal Witness, Greenwarden of Murasa) that returns an instant from the graveyard to your hand, as long as you somehow also gain the necessary amount of mana from untapping non-land mana sources. And in storm, sometimes all you want it just a slightly higher storm count - this spell can add two to that number by letting you blink and recast a permanent that only serves to reduce spell costs. Maybe you even just "untap" a mox.
And for making absurd combos that hinge off of a single permanent slightly less fragile, if you hold it in exile for however long it's completely safe until you need it, and it comes out for free whenever you're ready to do whatever combo you're doing.
Use release the wind with high tide Palinchron for one less mana than it's ability plus you still untap the lands and have access to its ability. They figured it out lol
For release to the wind, you could use it on a hostage taker after you've cast the creature you stole with it to steal another, assuming you've used all your better flicker effects i guess.
So don‘t know how relevant these lands are in highlander but I am scared what Liam may think of what Blood Sun does with: Lotus Vale, Scorched Ruins, Ancient Tomb, City of Traitors, City of Brass etc
Ancient Tomb is not affected by Blood Sun, but the other lands sure do become busted. Blood Sun can heavily improve greedy (but otherwise unreliable) mana bases that use trilands, rainbow lands and lands that tap for more than one mana. But if your mana base relies on Blood Sun, you are quite screwed if you can't find it. Fun fact: Blood Sun is your Artifact towards Glimmervoid. ;-)
Err, Dream Stalker's ability still uses the stack. So he doesn't have to choose before resolution, but you still can kill his Imperial Recruiter in response. He can/must bounce something else though. Edit: And if you want to respond to a targeted ability, you still have to do it *before* it resolves, just after it was put on the stack (which in this case happens when the Dream Stalker resolves) I'm pretty sure that even in Professional REL you couldn't mess that up by thinking it was a targeted ability. You don't ask for targets upon resolution, but when it is put on the stack. Or is there something I don't understand about Tournament Rules Enforcement? (Not my strong suit)
Max Power when you ask someone what they are choosing for a non targeted ability it is assumed the ability is resolving. In this case Serge doesn't get to know that the Dream Stalker is bouncing the recruiter. So when he asks what the Stalker is bouncing he is implying the trigger is resolving.
Azor’s Gateway: “If cards with five or more different CMC are exiled with Azor’s Gateway,” Doesn’t this mean cards like Horde of Notions and Door to Nothingness would trigger on it’s own?
My question for the group is "What about Zetalpa in reanimator? It seems like a sweet card to cheat into play, not a lot of interaction can be done with it and with any kind of power increase like Elesh Norn you could be nugging them for upwards of 12. It's not incredibly interactable, though without shroud or hexproof I guess there's always still path or other exiling effects, but I still thought of it as a good target for bringing back after you pitch it if you just want to get your opponent.
I was expecting Jer and Liam to be excited about Warkite Marauder as a way to turn off hate creatures for a turn so you can combo off. I kind of see it as something like a Xantid Swarm. You get a chance to Storm out through Ethersworn Canonist, Thalia, or any other hate bear, you can turn off Spirit of the Labyrinth and draw a ton of cards, you can turn off Containment Priest and reanimate your big fatty, etc. There are lots of hate creatures that shut off combos, and yeah you can kill hate creatures but you'll almost always have to spend mana to do so, whereas with this if you have it in play it just shuts them off for a turn and you combo off.
Stefan Witkowski-Baker the problem with that role in highlander is that small creatures in combo decks are incredibly liable to die to removal. Since more often than not there are no other targets.
The story event that Induced Amnesia depicts has not yet come to pass, so we don't know for sure that that's about yet. It certainly looks hella tragic though, what with the seemingly nonconsensual editing of Vraska's memories and Jace looking pretty torn up about it.
Izandai We know from the art book that it is consensual: Vraska asks Jace to wipe her memories of their time together so that Bolas doesn't find out. Thankfully the card mechanics imply the memories can come back :)
Pretty sure they don't have to sacrifice the creature if you gain control of their Wargear. Since the ability is on the Wargear, you control the trigger telling you to sac the creature, and you can't sacrifice a permanent you don't control.
For Induced Amnesia if u flick it does ur opponent still get the cards back to his hand if it’s not on the field if not since the card says only when it hits the yard you can continuously flick or bounce and make them exile their deck
I think the "Slap-caster mage" might actually make it U/R or Jeskai delver lists, if you can get your opponents brainstorm or ponder on turn 3 on the play with this, then you cantripped, maybe got a token with a young pyro/monastery mentor with a mox AND denied them flashing it back with their actual snapcaster... the ceiling for it is pretty high but a 2/1 first strike for 2 isn't the worst floor in the world either.
Not sure how relevant for highlander it is, but I can see tetzimoc working as a pseudo mind game card, where during the turns you can use up any spare black mana you have and put prey counters around, and if your opponent has counters, they'll keep them up to deal with tetzimoc possibly coming down when there's other better stuff they could be doing otherwise or at least force them to keep mana available instead of casting more. Much like a planeswalker, it's a card your opponent is going to react to and worry about playing around when they have other things they should be dealing with.
With Tetzimoc you can also bait your opponent(s) to flush their board or bin creatures you want to bring back from their graveyard, might get them unawares if they're only thinking about that 6/6 dino
Ok so I am really excited for the card Golden Guardian, but I do not think that it is good in highlander. However, I would enjoy hearing you guys talk about it so you should mention it.
For a white anthem, how about Trial of Solidarity? It's an enchantment, so you have to play it at sorcery speed, but it stays on the board, which could be relevant for the new ascend mechanic. Upside though, your creatures get +2/1 and vigilance till end of turn.
Jared Lindberg the issue with trial is that it is a one shot effect and the decks that play anthems tend to play them for their effect over the course of several turns. They make creatures harder to kill either with removal or in combat and of course get in more damage. If you aren't winning the turn you cast trial it likely didn't end up helping very much.
Canadian Highlander True enough, good response. Think I was conflating anthem with more of a trumpet blast type effect there. I was kind of thinking of it in comparison with the new Pride of Conquerors that only gives the +2/2 if you've hit ascent, and how it could be helpful to drop a combat trick that sticks around if you wanted to hit your 10 permanents for other stuff. But I'm not sure how useful ascent as a mechanic will be anyways. Just a thought, cheers
Ghalta seems pretty good in the black/green deck Alex talks about so often. Recurring threats means the cost reduction should often be pretty efficient, so maybe you can get this big boy to hit the table reasonably fast?
I heard that the Hymen Pirate deck is already busted.
*applauds*
I always assumed that when Serge said Protein Hulk he knew what he was doing, and was meme'ing. Oh my. Poor Serge.
I want to hear more about Liam's SSBM money matches now.
I didn't think I could like Liam much more, and then I hear he's at least potentially a fan of SSBM (best game in the series) and has won at least one money match in it. Wonderful.
I'm trying to guess his main. I'm pegging him as a Marth player, but I'm not sure why.
I could see him being like a Ganondorf or DK or Luigi player. Something still more or less capable, but a little bit weird (within the conventional tier list) and requiring far more creativity or just matchup/game knowledge to make work at the same level.
Liam is without a doubt a Luigi main. It just makes too much sense.
I definitely didn't consider the mid-tiers enough. Luigi for sure.
Surge coming up with the nickname for Nezahal on the spot with "the second half of walk the plank" awesome.
Lachlan McBeath also "Nessie"
Poor Serge, all he wants to do is read the cards and along comes Protein Raider and Hymen Pirate.
The story behind induced amnesia is that vraska asks Jace to wipe her recent memory so Nicol bolas can't tell she met him. (This is according to the art book)
I once played a wizard in Dungeons and Dragons that would wipe his own memory because he was bad at lying. I eventually started having NPCs reference conversations that I didn't remember as a player to which the DM said "Funny how your character often doesn't remember stuff." It was pretty awesome trying to figure out all the stuff that my character had gotten up to that neither of us remembered happening.
North 100 show idea: Top X cards for a given effect (where X is the relevant number for that effect for Highlander). For example: Top 10 tutors, top 10 bolts, top 10 counterspells, top pump spells, top board sweeps, etc. Not just the lists, but why the show hosts put them in that order.
I really like that idea
Yes, because that's what YT needs - more top 10 lists :P
I'm being facetious, I like this idea.
no, YOU'RE a Hymen Pirate!!
I LOVE Alex's reaction to Elenda, the Dusk Rose 1:14:25 and on
Blood Moon kills interesting manabases but Blood Sun kills intricate mana bases (i.e. fetchlands etc)
yeah both pretty much molly wop my mana base
Serge: #FastbondToZero
Alex: You get one per Episode!
Serge: Nah Dawg
Well fast bond is zero now it worked
Does stealing and reequipping Grafted Wargear really work? Remember, it says "sacrifice that creature" on the wargear, it's not text added to the equipped creature, and I'm unconvinced that you can sac your opponent's creatures.
if you control that creature, then yes, you absolutely sacrifice it. You can't sacrifice creatures you don't control, but original owner doesn't matter.
ScarletW I think you may have misunderstood. The scenario was about gaining control of the wargear itself. If you then unattach it from the opponent's creature, you can't sacrifice it because you're not allowed to sacrifice permanents you don't control. (See the card rulings itself for more info)
Pretty sure you're right actually
For Release to the Wind, you can use it to bounce something like an Emrakul that you've reanimate so you can get the cast trigger if you want it, and it will be cheaper total than trying to get the cast trigger normally. also gets around the exile clause of things like Goryo's Vengeance and lets you keep the creature, but it might be a little slow for that case
Im really curious about the Emrakul idea as well - are there any big "Cast" Eldrazi relevant in Canadian Highlander? Are there decks that care about Ulamog or Kozilek or - obviously - about Emrakul (all either 1.0 or 2.0)?
Both Emrakuls have protection from Release to the Wind. What I'M interested in doing is DUALCASTER INFINITES, LIAM
Sneak attack?
How would this combo with Dualcaster Mage? At best you have infinite enter/leave play triggers if you had 6 mana open. But you are right about the Emmy's.
It's also infinite storm count. It doesn't win by itself, but it is still an infinite. No one said that having infinite of something HAD to be good
Can i be honest- this is the best channel/series for tier 3 modern decks
I know I'm a little late to the party, but I hope you guys still read the comments. I think the biggest problem with Huatli is that she has such steep competition in those colors for the kind of deck you would run her in. Elspeth Knight-Errant; Gideon, Ally of Zendikar; Ajani Steadfast; Ajani Goldmane; Garruk Relentless; and Garruk Wildspeaker are all reasonable choices that put out bodies and/or have a much more appreciable immediate impact on a board full of creatures. Not to mention the W/B Sorin walkers if you go Abzan.
#FastbondtoZero
18:00 Quick note on the Induced Amnesia flavor: The official story didn't reach that point yet. However, the art book apparently hints at it as a way Vraska will survive her next encounter with Nicol Bolas. In other words, Jace mind-wipes her because he cares.
55:00 In relation ot Dark Depths, Blood Sun is a bit like Solemnity with built-in trigger suppression. If you play Dark Depths with a Blood Sun out and then remove Blood Sun from the battlefield, you get Marit Lage.
For Serge, warkite marauder to get platinum imperion out of the way
Liams reaction got me sold on Blood Sun as a Blue Moon player. Dose that also mean that we should change the deck's name to Blue Sun? Probably not.
Drummi Blood in the Water?
Blood Magic?
With Huatli you can ult multiple times, which is sick.
induced amnesia is a pretty sweet combo with notion thief
induced amnesia with Notion thief and just GEEET EM!
I know it's not the same format but listening to Liam and Jer's pitch on Elenda made me want to build an edh deck with her as the commander.
THEY BROKE ALEX WITH ELENDA!!!!!!!
I really like these set reviews. I'm primarily a commander player with a bit of modern, and it's interesting to see how cards that I evaluate for multiplayer get evaluated in Highlander.
In EDH, im having a blast with Ghalta as my new green stompy general, because the commander increased-per-return-to-the-zone cost (+2) is effected by his cost reduction, so you could ALWAYS get him out for 2-4 mana if you're going steady.
World Shaper + Jokulhaups..... numnumnumnum
Hey Serge! Induced amnesia+ release to the wind, and those cards don't come back other cards that would interact favorably with this card are things like Felidar guardian, riptide chimera, leonin relic-warder. Don't let those bullies at the table tell you this isn't good, I bet you could throw together a U/W or Bant ETB matters deck (or even enchantress) as a path to Victory! You can do it!
March of the Machines and Pitiless Plunderer is infinite death triggers, can be infinite mana with an anthem effect
The galaxy brain play I saw with World Shaper was float six, use four to armageddon, let that resolve, then use the other two on a spell that had an additional cost of sacrificing a creature to guarantee they'd get the dies trigger unless they literally had a stifle effect that they couldn't stop the geddon with.
Having played a bunch of Radiant Huatli now, she protects herself quite well in any situation where you want her just by virtue of immediately jumping to either ult range or above ult range, forcing them to either go after her instead of you or just let you emblem and probably stick around after doing so if you had five creatures on the board. Her home is in exactly a go wide tokens deck and basically nowhere else.
Obviously the best card for Highlander from Rivals is Legion Conquistador
Perfect in combination with Brainstorm. :-)
I'm not sure if it's good enough with anything yet but Famished Paladin seems like it could be an interesting combo piece some day. I know people have already found an infinite life combo with it and Resplendent Mentor but there might be better stuff either now or in the future.
Also could Curious Obsession make it into some sort of blue sky or boggle deck? It's only 1 mana and grants 1 power and card advantage. Even if you can't protect it in the long term it's easy enough for it to at least cantrip.
I'm kinda surprised that Legion Lieutenant wasn't mentioned. 2/2 for WB that lords your other vamps. Is it just because Vamplander isnt a thing yet and therefore has no real deck to go into?
When I first saw Elenda I screamed a little because my very first thought was Abzan Aristocrats. I'm an EDH and limited player right now and I keep seeing EDH players getting pissy about this card because it's not a good general since it has to go to the graveyard. I keep screaming at them it's not a general! It's a card for the 99 in an aristocrats deck. Ghave, Alesha, Ayli/Teysa versions of Aristocrats ALL want this card badly.
And as for me, not only do I plan to get this card, but if I were to get into Highlander I would DEFINITELY build aristocrats in a heartbeat. I want an episode where these guys talk about Aristocrats in Highlander.
Around 37:30, I really wanna see a BUG/WUBG ETB goodstuff deck w/ Panharmonicon, Scarab God, Doubling value creature deck that just is like, a toolbox
I'm glad you guys gave Huatli a fair assessment instead of dismissing it, going "It can't protect itself, it's bad". I'd like to add a perspective that may make it a little (not a lot) better.
The way I see it, there's 3 ways for an opponent to react to Huatli (and perhaps all planeswalkers).
1.) They go all in to attack Huatli to kill it as fast as possible. This strategy can work for other planeswalkers, but even if you only have 3 creatures, Huatli is at 8 loyalty (assuming you + Huatli). If you held back a blocker or 2, it's likely you can make some profitable trades/eat some creatures, and Huatli still stands. This puts your opponents in the awkward situation of being attacked with a creature with Huatli's - buff, or having you + Huatli and for them to try to repeat the process with their diminished board state.
2.) They commit some, but not all resources to trying to keep Huatli down. In this case, your opponent is probably just trying to keep you from ulting, and preventing you from making good attacks with the - ability. This might seem bad, but this is a losing battle for your opponent. Everything they use is something not going to something better, and every turn they use attacking Huatli is a turn they're not killing you, allowing you to advance your board state, which in turn makes it even harder for your opponent to deal with her.
3.) They ignore Huatli. Unless your opponent is killing you in 2 or 3 turns, this is a complete mistake. As soon as you ult Huatli once, you are generating incredible value off of playing creatures and token generators. This is the best time for your opponent to kill Huatli, but by then it's too late; you are now always investing 0 cards whenever you play a creature. If they continue to ignore Huatli, this problem compunds. It was mentioned that you feel bad if your opponent is ignoring you and Huatli is left at 30 loyalty, but you want to ult every time you can. Each emblem stacks with the last, and you quickly run away with the game.
All of this doesn't necessarily mean that Huatli is "good", or that she has a place in Highlander. I just wanted to offer my perspective so people don't miss out on deckbuilding opportunities that they might otherwise overlook.
With Release to the Wind you don't have to recast it the turn you do it, so you can do weird edge cases where you exile something with an etb effect to save indefinitely. Also, any Eldrazi with on cast effects?
Correct, but you can only cast it at any time you could normally cast it. But yes, any cast triggers will happen when you recast the exiled card. (Note that both Emrakuls have protection from Release to the Wind.)
Twilight Prophet is literally just the +1 ability on Sorin, Grim Nemesis, right? Or am I mis-reading that...?
Also, an alternate name for Dire Fleet Daredevil that I've been using is "Snatch-Caster"
Not quite. Twilight Prophet also gains you the life. And while it's cheaper than Sorin, it requires you to get the city's blessing first, and it needs to survive until your next turn. But then again, if your opponent doesn't expect you to get to ten permanents until your next upkeep, they may prioritize something else with their targeted removal. Who knows...
Prophet also gains you life.
Going back and watching this video in 2020. Watching the Blood Sun reaction from Liam only makes me wonder how he would have reacted to any of the 2019/2020 magic card designs.
Notes on Release to the Wind:
- It's not just a flicker effect. You can use it as a flicker effect, but the clause "as long as it remains exiled" is relevant here. You basically have the targeted creature on layaway for the rest of the game.
- Getting the card back from Release to the Wind counts as CASTING it (but not from your hand, so that particular avenue for breaking the card is out). There's got to be some deck out there that can make this clause matter in a big way.
I was inspired to make a Highlander deck by one of the prior episodes. If you guys could tell me what you think I would greatly appreciate it.
tappedout.net/mtg-decks/bug-aggro-turns/
The first week in April I plan on visiting Victoria and will be playing CanLander while I'm there. It will be nice to meet (and probably lose to) you all in person!
Shocker, Blood Sun is not a main deckable card unless your deck is playing maybe MAYBE Lotus Field. Classic raging over nothin lol
You said at some point that Nezhahal can dodge wrath effects. I just realized that Release to the Wind does the same. It can be used as a very effective protective spell! Your opponent plays a wrath or a removal spell, if you don't have a counter, this protects your creature. You just exile it, and cast it again for free next turn :D
I'm curious about Awakened Amalgam I thought this might be really good in highlander seeing as you would have a lot of different named lands. with each non basic only being one of, this thing should be very easy to turn into a 5/5 6/6 or stronger.
While I don't play Highlander of the Canada, I play Highlander of the Elder dragon variety, and I whole-heartedly agree with Serge. #Fastobondto1 #UnbanFastbondinCommander
As someone who doesn't play much magic, I wonder about the viability Ghalta in a hoof deck because some of the mana dorks will effectively tap for at least one more mana when casting this card.
For a control finisher I'm surprised no one ever mentioned Sphinx of the Final Word. It can't be countered, has evasion, has hexproof and says there will be no counter war.
I'm pretty sure they've mentioned SotFW in previous episodes
Also if there is any sort of mirrari's wake deck I think that zacama primal calamity has a ton of potential. Also I think its an interesting natural order target since it can untap cradle and can destroy problematic perminants.
Release to the Wind seems good because it's not until end of turn, just as long as it stays exiled. So it might let you get a threat down early & then bring it back later once removal/sweepers are spent. Also flash creature shenanigans
Right, the thing it exiles can only be cast at its usual speed. This could be use as a bounce spell during your turn against a non-flash permanent your opponent controls and the earliest they would get it back is during their first main phase.
The other thing is, you can use Release to the Wind to repeat not only ETB triggers, but also cast triggers. You can't use it on either Emrakul due to protection, but the other titans and the large non-legendary Eldrazi are fair game.
Oh, and since Paradox Engine seems to be a thing, this can go infinite with any permanent (e.g. Eternal Witness, Greenwarden of Murasa) that returns an instant from the graveyard to your hand, as long as you somehow also gain the necessary amount of mana from untapping non-land mana sources.
And in storm, sometimes all you want it just a slightly higher storm count - this spell can add two to that number by letting you blink and recast a permanent that only serves to reduce spell costs. Maybe you even just "untap" a mox.
And for making absurd combos that hinge off of a single permanent slightly less fragile, if you hold it in exile for however long it's completely safe until you need it, and it comes out for free whenever you're ready to do whatever combo you're doing.
Spirit of the labyrinth curves right into that 3 drop blue enchantment. Probably not good, but that's not nothing.
Use release the wind with high tide Palinchron for one less mana than it's ability plus you still untap the lands and have access to its ability.
They figured it out lol
For release to the wind, you could use it on a hostage taker after you've cast the creature you stole with it to steal another, assuming you've used all your better flicker effects i guess.
Doesn't blood sun shut down Tron? It still let's it tap for Mana but wouldn't it get rid of the "if you control the other ones" clause?
So clearly the play is turn 2 some green 3 power creature, turn 3 wayward sword tooth, turn 4 ghalta :)
Grafted Wargear is also an excellent sac outlet...
He said moments before they talked about that.
Release to the Wind is good with cheated out eldrazai, and cascade. Malestorm wanderer for instance will let you cascade twice.
2 years later I'm still disappointed that no one brought up Eldrazi cast triggers with release to the wind
Can we get an aristocrats list so I can see what it looks like? I was pretty confused during that part of the conversation.
Is the 2/1 for one deck a thing? It seems like an easy deck to get into the format with?
@Surge Cloudstone Curio for Enchantress 2018
2 mana 2/1 Hymen Pirate does that make it the best card in magic because it steals virginity on damage?
Umm, is it me or does Pitiless Plunderer + Rags to Riches win the game for Aristocrats?
So don‘t know how relevant these lands are in highlander but I am scared what Liam may think of what Blood Sun does with: Lotus Vale, Scorched Ruins, Ancient Tomb, City of Traitors, City of Brass etc
Ancient Tomb is not affected by Blood Sun, but the other lands sure do become busted. Blood Sun can heavily improve greedy (but otherwise unreliable) mana bases that use trilands, rainbow lands and lands that tap for more than one mana. But if your mana base relies on Blood Sun, you are quite screwed if you can't find it.
Fun fact: Blood Sun is your Artifact towards Glimmervoid. ;-)
Release to the winds is casting for free which means "on cast" effect trigger twice as opposed to etbs so it has more uses.
Pitiless Plunderer + Visera Seer + Gravecrawler + Blood Artist
Liam's rage-boner for Blood Sun fills me with joy.
Hymen pirate, raiding them treasure caves, if yar now what i mean...
can someone with the required skills please turn 1:02:28 into a gif?
that is all.
Pitiless Plunderer + Skullclamp, just sayin'
Err, Dream Stalker's ability still uses the stack. So he doesn't have to choose before resolution, but you still can kill his Imperial Recruiter in response. He can/must bounce something else though.
Edit: And if you want to respond to a targeted ability, you still have to do it *before* it resolves, just after it was put on the stack (which in this case happens when the Dream Stalker resolves) I'm pretty sure that even in Professional REL you couldn't mess that up by thinking it was a targeted ability. You don't ask for targets upon resolution, but when it is put on the stack. Or is there something I don't understand about Tournament Rules Enforcement? (Not my strong suit)
Max Power when you ask someone what they are choosing for a non targeted ability it is assumed the ability is resolving. In this case Serge doesn't get to know that the Dream Stalker is bouncing the recruiter. So when he asks what the Stalker is bouncing he is implying the trigger is resolving.
Arch of orazca is just whispers of the muse with buyback
Azor’s Gateway: “If cards with five or more different CMC are exiled with Azor’s Gateway,” Doesn’t this mean cards like Horde of Notions and Door to Nothingness would trigger on it’s own?
Josh Monahan no cmc means total cost regardless of color not total colors.
My question for the group is "What about Zetalpa in reanimator? It seems like a sweet card to cheat into play, not a lot of interaction can be done with it and with any kind of power increase like Elesh Norn you could be nugging them for upwards of 12. It's not incredibly interactable, though without shroud or hexproof I guess there's always still path or other exiling effects, but I still thought of it as a good target for bringing back after you pitch it if you just want to get your opponent.
SjtPatrik It could be a reanimator target. But it doesn't do a great job at stabilizing the board nor does it pressure your opponent super quickly.
I was expecting Jer and Liam to be excited about Warkite Marauder as a way to turn off hate creatures for a turn so you can combo off. I kind of see it as something like a Xantid Swarm. You get a chance to Storm out through Ethersworn Canonist, Thalia, or any other hate bear, you can turn off Spirit of the Labyrinth and draw a ton of cards, you can turn off Containment Priest and reanimate your big fatty, etc. There are lots of hate creatures that shut off combos, and yeah you can kill hate creatures but you'll almost always have to spend mana to do so, whereas with this if you have it in play it just shuts them off for a turn and you combo off.
Stefan Witkowski-Baker the problem with that role in highlander is that small creatures in combo decks are incredibly liable to die to removal. Since more often than not there are no other targets.
The story event that Induced Amnesia depicts has not yet come to pass, so we don't know for sure that that's about yet. It certainly looks hella tragic though, what with the seemingly nonconsensual editing of Vraska's memories and Jace looking pretty torn up about it.
Izandai We know from the art book that it is consensual: Vraska asks Jace to wipe her memories of their time together so that Bolas doesn't find out. Thankfully the card mechanics imply the memories can come back :)
Wayward Swordtooth makes that elder dino 5 cheaper too.
does release to the infinite get infinite etb with dualcaster mage?
Pretty sure they don't have to sacrifice the creature if you gain control of their Wargear. Since the ability is on the Wargear, you control the trigger telling you to sac the creature, and you can't sacrifice a permanent you don't control.
Nonov Yurbisniss you're right
At the prerelease I had seven mana in rakdos, played Etali and equipped the strider harness and swung for seven with the ability. It felt amazing
I know other formats love it so why isn't Rekindling Phoenix here? I feel like there are not that many places it is at worst a 2 for 1.
For Induced Amnesia if u flick it does ur opponent still get the cards back to his hand if it’s not on the field if not since the card says only when it hits the yard you can continuously flick or bounce and make them exile their deck
....interesting clause. Good catch. Silly, but relevant.
Why didn't the outro have the sword swipe? :(
Id ask what a hymen pirate is but i really dont want to know
It’s painful that they kept ignoring that Azor’s Gateway loots in a really wierd way. Net cards put in vs out is 0, not negative
Azors gateway is a card that you never get back.
I think the "Slap-caster mage" might actually make it U/R or Jeskai delver lists, if you can get your opponents brainstorm or ponder on turn 3 on the play with this, then you cantripped, maybe got a token with a young pyro/monastery mentor with a mox AND denied them flashing it back with their actual snapcaster... the ceiling for it is pretty high but a 2/1 first strike for 2 isn't the worst floor in the world either.
IT HAPPENED!
SERGE FINALLY GOT ONE!!!!
Also, 1:14:00 for the biggest mind blown moment you've ever seen.
What about Rekindling Phoenix
Stuff you forgot about:
Baffling end
Famished paladin (for shenanigans)
Negate
Arterial flow
Oathsworn vampire
Tomb Robber
TBE
Not sure how relevant for highlander it is, but I can see tetzimoc working as a pseudo mind game card, where during the turns you can use up any spare black mana you have and put prey counters around, and if your opponent has counters, they'll keep them up to deal with tetzimoc possibly coming down when there's other better stuff they could be doing otherwise or at least force them to keep mana available instead of casting more. Much like a planeswalker, it's a card your opponent is going to react to and worry about playing around when they have other things they should be dealing with.
Dire fleet daredevil= snatchcaster mage
With Tetzimoc you can also bait your opponent(s) to flush their board or bin creatures you want to bring back from their graveyard, might get them unawares if they're only thinking about that 6/6 dino
One year later, nobody plays blood sun^^
I like Pearl Lake Ancient over Nezahal
Huatli ultimite plus word of wilding is fun
Poor Serge, he needs to work on his Vowels. :)
Ok so I am really excited for the card Golden Guardian, but I do not think that it is good in highlander. However, I would enjoy hearing you guys talk about it so you should mention it.
For a white anthem, how about Trial of Solidarity? It's an enchantment, so you have to play it at sorcery speed, but it stays on the board, which could be relevant for the new ascend mechanic. Upside though, your creatures get +2/1 and vigilance till end of turn.
Jared Lindberg the issue with trial is that it is a one shot effect and the decks that play anthems tend to play them for their effect over the course of several turns. They make creatures harder to kill either with removal or in combat and of course get in more damage. If you aren't winning the turn you cast trial it likely didn't end up helping very much.
Canadian Highlander True enough, good response. Think I was conflating anthem with more of a trumpet blast type effect there. I was kind of thinking of it in comparison with the new Pride of Conquerors that only gives the +2/2 if you've hit ascent, and how it could be helpful to drop a combat trick that sticks around if you wanted to hit your 10 permanents for other stuff. But I'm not sure how useful ascent as a mechanic will be anyways. Just a thought, cheers
I was actually working on building Soldier Tribal (its janky af) before I even saw this review. Now I'm much more inspired to.
Release to the Wind on your Eldrazi Titans
If you've resolved an Eldrazi titan, you're already winning.
Release to the Winds sort of combos well with Burning-Tree Emissary + Panharmonicon for a storm deck 3 mana to net another 4 mana and 2 storm count?
Dire Fleet Poisoner is nasty. I got caught blocking against a 1/1 pirate and lost my 0/3 dino to the deathtouch! Bugger got to keep his 1/1 too!
Ghalta seems pretty good in the black/green deck Alex talks about so often. Recurring threats means the cost reduction should often be pretty efficient, so maybe you can get this big boy to hit the table reasonably fast?