I need to start losing to Hakeem on purpose in our casual games so he'll be nicer to me the next day on the forums.

I'd call myself Mr. Glass but I don’t want to get reported

didn't even mention my simic deck

Naya has Radiant Flames, Rolling Thunder, and Omnath. No contest.

yeah but Edward has sparkly skin.


Ok, I give up on the list, I thought it would be a good idea if there were only two colour combinations in contention. But everyone seems to think a different combination is best (which is a CRAZY good thing), so no sense in maintaining the list. I'm going to leave DJ on Team Stoopid just because.

Team stoopid here... I think I'm on the fold. I really like Bant, but Naya is also obviously good.

Here's my question. Is Emeria actually that good? Should we even bother trying to fit her into decks? Seems like 'dies to removal' is actually a pretty big deal with that card, considering she's an 8 mana play if you want any guarantee that you get value out of her - and even then what is she doing, bringing a card back from the grave? One time... Is that even worth it?

Depends on the card. Last night, I was playing against a guy and I dropped her out and played a plains to get back Gideon. He responded immediately with Plummet (WTF? Really?). Gideon is a good target, as it blanked his removal and I was able to keep his creatures back with the token.

Personally, after playing her in many decks, I don't think she is a 2-of. She pulls you out of a stalemate and can bring you back to parity if you are behind. If you are playing , I'd put 1 in your main, but I wouldn't take Gruul (which is everything Naya wants to be but better) and water it down for her.

Yeah, I may be on the same page. I was checking her out in Bant, because in Bant you can turn all your ramp into permanent based effects, which means that the majority of your cards are Emeria targets. She is pretty valuable in that deck, and hard to whiff on, even if you get her out early.

Makes you a lot more vulnerable to sweepers though. It's a balance.

Are we forgetting that Naya has Planar Outburst and pushes Radiant Flames to X=3? A singleton Shepherd is just a bonus.

Not at all. We are just talking about whether or not Emeria is even worth running in that deck. Radiant flames, planar outburst, even tragic arrogance are all good reasons to run white mana in ramp.

I think she's worth a slot for sure, you have a low threat density because your deck is full of ramp, Offshoots etc. Recursion is a big deal. Greenwarden puts a card in hand for six mana and leaves a 4/5 and no one questions that card. Emeria does the same for eight mana and adds a 4/4 flier. She breaks things when you play a Plains, though.

Well that's kind of my point, Greenwarden gets you anything back at 6, and it's supposed to happen twice. Emeria only gets permanents, and most of the spells in Naya are non-permanents, AND she costs 7+1. Meanwhile, plated crusher, or GR.... I'm not sold, and I REALLY want to like that card. She is 100% my style of card. Bottom line, if you see her in your opening hand, are you certain that if she resolves you will win? Because for 7 mana, that's kind of what I'd expect.

P.s.: when did you and I switch roles?

I think GR is better against the field, but Crusher is your edge in the ramp mirror. Meta call.

I think the main problem in the late game with this deck is having all your threats answered. Emeria can solve that problem and overpower a control deck. I won't be cutting her until I actually get the chance to see how she performs, but on paper she sounds great to me.

Well, she'll be really great against decks that run no removal.

Or ones that spend it on your first wave of big threats.

Living the dream? Hakeem?

Why you want a card to overpower control decks when you already have plenty of options for that that don't make your mana worse?

I wouldn't be making my mana worse and that's my point. I would be playing White for Planar Outburst and Radiant Flames for 3. And since I'm already playing white, I think a single Shepherd is definitely worth a slot.

Gideon is also worth playing White for.. so is Angelic Edict.

And Tragic Arrogance... funny that black is almost completely ignored in terms of removal when going multicolour. Black definitely needs some love with Gatewatch.