Dominaria-A look at the Warrior Tribe
While technically a 'tribe', the Warriors of Standard are not situated in a way that makes them a truly cohesive group. There is no "Warriors you control' spells or lords that pump up Warrior specific creatures. But what the Warrior tribe does offer is some of the most powerful and supportive creatures in magic. You could look at the 'Warrior' label as secondary to other creature types. In those secondary roles these creatures shine. Merfolk Warriors, Jackal Warriors, Elf Warriors, Human Warriors...these creatures function as Merfolk, Jackal, Elf and Human more than Warriors.
With that in mind and through that lens, we can view the Dominaria Warrior additions as supportive of their secondary clans rather than the Warrior clan.
These additions are:
There are currently 80 Warriors in standard. These include Earthshaker Khenra, Deeproot Elite, Deeproot Warrior and Ahn-Crop Crasher. So how do these new Warriors stack up?
We have to start with the Goblins. Bloodstone Goblin, a 2/2 for two with a bump from any spell that you kick...Goblin Chainwhirler a 3/3 for three that has first strike and deals 1 damage to each opponent when it enters along with each creature and planeswalker they control, and Goblin Warchief, a 2/2 for three that reduces Goblin spells by 1 and gives all Goblins haste.
Bloodstone Goblin...I will put this in the 'let's see what happens' group. While Kicker spells are coming back, there really needs to be a set of specific circumstances that would make this card work. So...let's see what happens.
Goblin Chainwhirler is my third favorite Warrior of the group. It enters the battlefield and promises to cause a lot of damage that is isolated to your opponent's side of the board. Its casting cost is good and it fits into mono-red strategies. This creature will be played in Standard.
Goblin Warchief is a good Goblin lord, but in Standard there needs to be a LOT of Goblins to make it playable. Right now there are 7. The inclusion of this Goblin lord makes me think that there are going to be a significant number of Goblins in the cards that haven't been released. I have a sneaking suspicion that we are in for a significant amount of Goblins from Dominaria (he said hopefully).
My second favorite Warrior, Grunn, the Lonely King. First of all, it's an Ape Warrior. That alone is usually enough to get me to put a card in a deck. But this Ape Warrior can attack for 22 damage if properly kicked. It's cost is appropriate for its position as a win condition. It's in green, so you've got access to all of the ramp in the world. It's pretty close to being my favorite, but I'm a sucker for a good elf.
Grand Warlord Radha WILL BE PUT INTO MY MODERN ELF DECK. Play it and swing in with your army of elves. Use the mana produced to pump your elves with Ezuri. It can work. Since it is RG, of course you can include Bloodbraid Elf in the deck. Can you imagine? Two haste elves with killer abilities...
I have to pause here and reign myself in a bit. I get overexcited when it comes to elves.
The other Warriors on the list have decent abilities...Drudge Sentinel, hard to kill...Garna, the Bloodflame...interesting and VERY situation dependent ability...Shanna, Sisay's Legacy...partially good for dodging abilities, but still requires a full battlefield of creatures to become effective.
All in all, there are some decent creatures in this pile as well as some questionable ones. One thing is for sure...the Warriors will be coming out to play when Dominaria is released.
Your opinions are welcomed.
With that in mind and through that lens, we can view the Dominaria Warrior additions as supportive of their secondary clans rather than the Warrior clan.
These additions are:
We have to start with the Goblins. Bloodstone Goblin, a 2/2 for two with a bump from any spell that you kick...Goblin Chainwhirler a 3/3 for three that has first strike and deals 1 damage to each opponent when it enters along with each creature and planeswalker they control, and Goblin Warchief, a 2/2 for three that reduces Goblin spells by 1 and gives all Goblins haste.
Bloodstone Goblin...I will put this in the 'let's see what happens' group. While Kicker spells are coming back, there really needs to be a set of specific circumstances that would make this card work. So...let's see what happens.
Goblin Chainwhirler is my third favorite Warrior of the group. It enters the battlefield and promises to cause a lot of damage that is isolated to your opponent's side of the board. Its casting cost is good and it fits into mono-red strategies. This creature will be played in Standard.
Goblin Warchief is a good Goblin lord, but in Standard there needs to be a LOT of Goblins to make it playable. Right now there are 7. The inclusion of this Goblin lord makes me think that there are going to be a significant number of Goblins in the cards that haven't been released. I have a sneaking suspicion that we are in for a significant amount of Goblins from Dominaria (he said hopefully).
My second favorite Warrior, Grunn, the Lonely King. First of all, it's an Ape Warrior. That alone is usually enough to get me to put a card in a deck. But this Ape Warrior can attack for 22 damage if properly kicked. It's cost is appropriate for its position as a win condition. It's in green, so you've got access to all of the ramp in the world. It's pretty close to being my favorite, but I'm a sucker for a good elf.
Grand Warlord Radha WILL BE PUT INTO MY MODERN ELF DECK. Play it and swing in with your army of elves. Use the mana produced to pump your elves with Ezuri. It can work. Since it is RG, of course you can include Bloodbraid Elf in the deck. Can you imagine? Two haste elves with killer abilities...
I have to pause here and reign myself in a bit. I get overexcited when it comes to elves.
The other Warriors on the list have decent abilities...Drudge Sentinel, hard to kill...Garna, the Bloodflame...interesting and VERY situation dependent ability...Shanna, Sisay's Legacy...partially good for dodging abilities, but still requires a full battlefield of creatures to become effective.
All in all, there are some decent creatures in this pile as well as some questionable ones. One thing is for sure...the Warriors will be coming out to play when Dominaria is released.
Your opinions are welcomed.
Comments
Post a Comment