It's good in +1 counter decks and revolt/delirium decks where you can cast for 0 if need be. I don't like it in ramp or mid-range decks, it could also be good with Marionette Master.deck.

Skinners, Ishkana (for the Delirium thing), Verdurous, Nissa...

Yeah, I think it's good in multiple delirium shells, with or without the snake. Ramp too, btw, which is where I first tested it in Duels. Although I'd say in Ramp, it's just one of many good options, in snake.dec it's auto-include.

I found that my ramp decks are very fast at killing (T6/7) so you don't even have time for Ulamog let alone a 10cmc Lava Axe. I can't see any good ramp deck justifying 2 spots for WB, even 1 is a big stretch.

You are grossly underrating the card. It is most certainly not a 10 mana Lava Axe, lol, this card fills many roles. I think a lot of decks want a card that can spread out damage at will. So even if you wanted to pretend it was that weak, you'd still have to account for the fact that it deals 5 damage distributed amongst as many targets as you choose. It's better than that, by far, but even your dismissal undervalues the effect.

I think we will have to ATDA on this, because for me, on its own without help or helping synergy of a specific deck its ability is over-costed for what it does. If you like splitting damage then Avacyn's Judgment might get you more bang for your buck. There will be times when you can attack in with it then fire off the damage but that is win more and a fringe case.

At least now you're in the general vicinity of its power level. Out of curiosity, have you tested the card at all? Because it's performed very well for me, across three different builds, thus far.

You like it in ramp (haven't tried it yet, honest question)? Is it just about having the mana sink for turns you top deck lands?

I know its value with Snake/sharing combo (which negates its downside of being slow af). I can see its value in delirium where it's two card types you can dump to GY for 0cc. I can imagine the artifact recursion combo, but not sure that deck would be any good. Ramp I'm having a harder time seeing its value over other options. Creatures that you drop for 6 mana should be way better than 3/3s - and for damage output, Rolling Thunder is even at 4mana and immediately outclasses WB from there, same as Ravaging Blaze (which only hits 1 target but spellmasters damage to face as well). In my head I can imagine appreciating the mana sink, but Im not sure that's enough to justify inclusion over other options because I'd be hoping to kill opp before mana sink is my best play.

Basically, I understand it as a combo piece, but I'm not feeling it as a stand alone card.

Didn't like it in Golgari Counters. Sure, it can scale, but there are more efficient uses of mana at basically every level.

I have it in my snake.deck and it was good there but without that extra help it would of under-performed.

That's the one place I Really Like it. The moderate boost Snake gives it on casting is whatever, but Bandars/Gearhulk/Kazandu/Tusker/Nissa sharing when Snake is out gives you impressive damage output. That's a scenario I've experienced enough to legit like WB in 1/1 counters. The card actively contributes to a large portion of my wins with those decks by being able to clear clutter and make bad blocks for my attacks, or just deal lethal to the face

When I'm not caring how much I'm casting it for because Sharing is Caring, I don't feel that there are many better uses of mana.

Yeah timh, I liked it in ramp a lot. Ramp generates tons of mana, this allows me to use it in many versatile ways. It's not the best AER card or anything, but it's very good imo.

There's a lot of goldfishing talk in this thread, WB is good against a lot of things, which is why it's worth playing. That's pretty much it. Is it the best card at any CMC if you don't have an opponent? No. But if you do, it looks much better, because it's relevant against many strategies.

So far, I think people are sleeping on WB. It's not always a good card to include, but it does have its place. I've also found that some people haven't been paying attention or reading its abilities, as I've used it to finish off some creatures in combat and to get the final push to the face. I also like that it is an outlet to use untapped mana at your opponent's end step if you've been holding some mana open for instants.

Haven't unlocked all the cards for GB counters yet, but considering the recent Standard tourneys, I couldn't imagine not including Ballista. Sure, the costs aren't great by itself, but it synergizes so well with the rest of the deck, even if we only get two. Snake on T2/3, Ballista on 4, Gearhulk or the new 5/5 counter on everything dude T5. Seems solid.

Hey, remember that time when I gave a good review to Ballista and people said I was crazy?

This card has been fantastic for me in GB +1/+1 counters.

If you get the Constrictor down, everything in the deck is excellent.

Card is Great in 1/1 counters - def a 2 at least (maybe 3, but I'm thinking Snake defines 1/1 more than WB does, and Vert thinks it's optional). Not convinced it pulls enough weight in other archetypes to justify that 4 tho... still feeling it falls somewhere between what I thought and what you thought.

I thought it was crap on paper...then, played it and changed my mind (yep, me too in ramp and in Snakes.dk...)

When I can go over my own negative bias, it's that it's good, imho

and I bet that in an Energy shell it rocks too...with Rocs, precisely...gonna brew, bbl

Why would you play WB over rolling thunder in a ramp deck?

Because you don't get to save points of damage from rolling thunder over time, and they aren't instant speed.