Cyberium wrote: ↑4 years ago
I was wondering why Boros rarely got mentioned. While most are combat oriented, many aren't. I thought about Depala who combines point 1 & 5 from the list above.
I think it's because Boros is (usually rightly) seen as 'bad'. It's a mock suggestion in some circles.
Depala is definitely one of the 'good' Boros generals; vehicles typically dodge board wipes (unless it's Austere Command or something similar) so your board remains relatively intact on wipe giving you card advantage, Depala provides card advantage, and a few of the vehicles do as well (like
Weatherlight or
Skysovereign, Consul Flagship).
My only problem with Depala is that she doesn't leave much room for innovation or creativity. All the secret dwarf and vehicle tech has already been mined because those pools are so shallow. Which are the best vehicles is pretty cut and dried, because it's either something with decent abilities like Weatherlight/Skysovereign/Smugglers Copter, or it's unremarkable rubbish like
Sky Skiff/
Sleek Schooner.
The same with Okaun and Zndrsplt, where there are only a handful of coinflip cards, and it's pretty clear which are the best ones.
Cyberium wrote: ↑4 years ago
1) One that utilizes resources besides mana. This could mean aristocrat, reanimation, energy counters, or even just tapping a creature to crew a vehicle. I like each card to potentially serve as a "resource".
2) Decks that could shift strategy each time you face a different opponent. Examples would be theft cards like Grenzo/Etali/Wrexial/Brudiclad.
3) Something that could throw a wrench onto the table and change its dynamic, like Varchild/Xantcha/Grismold.
4) The gambler in me enjoys a little test of luck. An example would be like Winota, Arjun, Rakdos 3, or Okaun/Zndrsplt where you don't know what result you might get.
5) I like spreading counters, as with Chevill/Scorpion God. This probably goes back to #3 as well.
Something that might appeal to most or all of these is a clone-oriented deck. I once played
Sakashima the Impostor with almost every mono-blue clone ever printed (this played between Khans and Amonkhet). I had a few creatures of my own in case my opponents just didn't have anything to supply, notably
Scourge of Fleets and
Stormsurge Kraken (so Sakashima could be her own lieutenant).
It was a heap of clones, and it was fun for a few reasons:
1) The game was different almost every time. It all depended what my opponents played.
2) It scaled with the table regardless of what I was playing against. If the only thing to clone was a War Mammoth, I got a War Mammoth. If you played Vorinclex, I would definitely clone your Vorinclex.
3) It still had an edge over the competition; it's not a perfect mirror when I pay 4 or 5 for a bomb creature, or if I get a bomb creature two or three times (or two-mana
Twincast a bomb spell).
4) The deck still had its own bombs.
Clone Legion was wild. Cloning
Scourge of Fleets was punishing and brutal for people who couldn't hold removal for it.
How clones might appeal to your list:
1) Whether you answer a creature or clone it is an open question. Do you counter an Ulamog, or do you make copies? Everything becomes a question of how you spend your cards. (You probably clone the Ulamog.)
2) Clones definitely have shifting strategies.
3) Clones are pretty wrench-y; if your plan is Elesh Norn, my plan might be
two Elesh Norns.
4) It's not really all that random within a game, but it's very random between games.
5) I got nothing, here. Unless you clone a counter-oriented creature.
If you play clones, you need not be in mono-blue, either. Simic has clones that could add to this strategy (like
Altered Ego or
Spitting Image) -- "ew simic" notwithstanding -- or you could go a more sinister route with Dimir (perhaps
Lazav, the Multifarious and
Evil Twin?). Maybe even Izzet Okaun/Zndrsplt clones with
Dack's Duplicate?