Comments on: Simon Says #5: Exploring Innistrad

By: bt

bt — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:44:03 +0000

Glad to see you went with my suggested title, I think it suits the series.

I just wanted to weigh in on the Spider Spawning debate, since after about 30 drafts I feel I have a good grasp of the format. It isn’t a bomb or a p1p1 slam (like Kessig Cagebreakers, absolute bomb) but in the right deck it is incredible and worth splashing black lands when in green.

Any deck with 16 or more creatures and especially decks with Cleaver or Silver Inlaid Dagger can break the game open with that card. It goes best in a WGb or RGb deck, just don’t pair it with U due to the anti-synergy of zombies. The aggressive GW deck in particular gets to play equipment, humans, werewolves, tappers and can force trades to set up a devastating late game spider swarm. Red gets aggressive creatures and nightbird’s clutches to force bad/no blocks and cards like ashmouth hound almost always trade up, not to mention the ability to simply burn them out.

By: MonKei

MonKei — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:56:26 +0000

Please re-watch this draft in 3.-4 weeks, Simon. And please re-evaluate your choices and think about what you said when the format was new. I disagree with A LOT of picks.

By: elcentromax

elcentromax — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 06:18:16 +0000

@Kuriboh A bomb is something that can end games if gone unanswered. Spider Spawning can do that.

By: Kuriboh

Kuriboh — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 13:36:22 +0000

@elcentromax If you have to work really hard to make it good, it isn’t a bomb.

By: Marc

Marc — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:17:35 +0000

The thing with wolf is that he essentially has evasion until your opponent puts out either a guy with 5+ toughness or multiple 2/3s. He might as well say unblockable until one of those conditions are met. The argument for ambush viper is as a late game removal spell for something like Geist-Honored Monk or Grimgrin which can both take over the game and become very large. There’s certainly an argument for having one of each, but when you’re just looking to beatdown and end the game as quickly as you can, then you probably want as many wolves as you can get.

By: wjb147

wjb147 — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:48:38 +0000

Prey upon+Ambush viper kills any creature in the format without hexproof. His specific comment during the video was that wolf was better than ambush viper for prey upon. I don’t see how this is even a contest. Sure it is a 2 for 1 on the wrong end, but when you need to kill a balefire demon or an 5/5 dearly departed, let me know how it goes with wolf. People are quick to point out that wolf is good in other areas but forget to point out that viper is basically a removal spell on its own when you need it for that.

Also, dark thicket wolf is more of a mid-range to stompy aggro card. You aren’t pumping wolf if you are an aggressive beat down deck, as you can’t afford to not cast anything on turns 3 and 4. It gets some damage down then ends up getting double blocked, and maybe not even killing two creatures if you pump. You are prone to time walking your self while pumping due to removal. Viper is probably a better late game top deck than wolf on a stalled board or when you are behind. If the opponent has an early flipper, you can’t really afford to pump and not cast a spell, etc etc.

Don’t get me wrong… wolf is a really good card, and an effective creature, but when you already have one in the deck I am looking for removal and evasion creatures.

By: mark kelso

mark kelso — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 01:34:54 +0000

Kessig Cagebreakers is a p1p1 windmill slam.

Pack 3 and you’re already in green? Yeah, take that man. One of the best rares in the set IMO.