Hour of Need

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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Arena Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Gladiator Legal
Highlander Legal
Historic Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pioneer Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Hour of Need

Instant

Strive — Hour of Need costs more to cast for each target beyond the first.

Exile any number of target creatures. For each creature exiled this way, its controller puts a 4/4 blue Sphinx creature token with flying onto the battlefield.

Rhadamanthus on I need some clarity... strive, …

1 year ago

Just to make sure we're on the same page: yes, Hinata, Dawn-Crowned works great with Strive spells as long as they have a generic component in the cost. It can't reduce the cost of Kiora's Dismissal or Blinding Flare, but will work fine with something like Hour of Need, Phalanx Formation, etc.

Necrosis24 on Help with Oko trickery

2 years ago

I think yall listed the majority of them the only other ones that come to mind are:

  1. Day of the Dragons
  2. Hour of Need
  3. Brine Hag
  4. Polymorph
  5. Blessed Reincarnation

Skinken on The New Angry Birds

5 years ago

How does Hour of Need compare to True-Name Nemesis?

They fit in the same spot on the curve. True-Name Nemesis is only 3 power compared to 4, but it is a lot more resilient. Like, a LOT.

It's also unblockable over flying. Don't know if it's relevant, but getting chumped by Lingering Souls Spirit Tokens might be a thing.

I'm guessing the price tag is the main reason we don't play it, but if not for the price would it be better?

madcatsowega on The New Angry Birds

5 years ago

I also wanted to comment on the choice for Hour of Need. Essentially the card is a 4/4 flyer with flash for 3 mana and the additional cost of exiling a creature. Way back in the day Sea Drake was a thing in Legacy because of its aggressive cost. Since then they have printed a few other 4/4 flyers (IE, Illusory Angel) but this one is the best IMHO. Hour of Need accelerates Angy Bird's clock (which was something it originally struggled with in older builds) and allows for some combat trickery. The ability to play it on the opponent's turn means you're often forcing the opponent to lose one of their attacking creatures as well. Instant speed also means we can hold mana open to cast other cards based on the opponent's turn. And because Angry Birds generates so much card advantage and also a lot of expendable creatures, the cost of exiling a creature is typically pretty minimal--especially since Hour of Need is only a 2x of.

The fact that Hour of Need can actually generate 2x 4/4 flyers at instant speed in the late game and can double as really bad removal in really dire situations is just gravy. In my experience Hour of Need has been the card that has changed the tides of an otherwise losing game.

That said, I think a great argument can also be made for Spell Queller in the 3-drop slot. The great thing about Angry Birds are that we have several viable cards in the 2-drop and 3-drop slots to build the deck to the player's tastes and meta.

Since Sky Hussar is not typically a card I cast (but mainly make use of its forecast ability for card advantage, I felt that 3x was the right amount over 4x. Again, it could be a matter of taste but it really is a card I want to see in game but not in multiples. On the other hand, Judge's Familiar is a fantastic card that deserves to be a 4-of IMHO because of its excellent value. Having 4 of it and 3 Mother of Runes pretty much ensures we have a strong turn one play.

Skinken on The New Angry Birds

5 years ago

Are there any real reasons not to run Detention Sphere over Oblivion Ring?

Also I'm curious about the idea behind Hour of Need.

And lastly, what made you make the change from 3x Sky Hussar to 4x, and as a result going down to 3x Judge's Familiar?

I'm asking all this because I'm trying to build an angry birds list myself, and thus am looking for any additional advise I can get (your primer was an amazing help though :))

Silverdrake on Block this!

5 years ago

Nothing quite like spice with a price limit hah.

Hm, Kozilek's Predator doesn't seem to do much for you here. It's too expensive to be effective ramp and too small to be an effective beater. I'd say you're better off swapping those out for another beater that pairs well with unblockable. Sagu Mauler has the advantage of having hexproof so he can't be picked off as easily, and Hunted Troll has the advantage of being absolutely massive for the mana cost. You could also swap out some of the Yasova Dragonclaws for some of these.
Similarly, Augury Owl is too small to be a beater and doesn't ramp you at all. I'd say you're better off playing either some removal or more unblockable enablers in its place. Personally I'd swap them out for another two Aqueous Form, but you could also try Distortion Strike, Vapor Snag, or Disperse. The former two help your gameplan, the latter two help you stay alive to pull your gameplan off.
Smiliarly again, Call the Scions is too expensive to be an effective ramp spell, and the dorks are too small to make effective beaters. I say you're better off swapping them out for two more Llanowar Elves as a much more effective ramp spell. If you're afraid of sweepers or just prefer traditional ramp, you could opt instead for the OG Rampant Growth or even Harrow if you're feeling extra spicy (notice that harrow puts the lands into play untapped- you basically pay one mana to ramp on that turn!)
Civilized Scholar  Flip is... well, it's something. I'm not trying to tell you what to do or anything, but why play this? I suppose it does help filter through your deck and does make a scary beater if you can make it unblockable, but it dies to literally everything. Electrolyze, blocked by a lingering souls token, pyroclasm, even night of souls betrayal. I'd say if you're going to play something with one toughness it would be better off being a mana dork. Alternatively you could swap this for another unblockable spell or some removal.
Hour of Need doesn't play into your main strategy pretty much at all but I do think the concept of turning a few mana dorks into 4/4 fliers is hilarious. I assume you really like this card, leave it in if it's fun. It could be replaced with something else to make the deck more competitive but sometimes you just have to stick to your memes.

That's all I can think of while sticking close to the $10 budget. If your budget goes up let me know, I've got a few more ideas

ClockworkSwordfish on Descent of the Dragons and …

5 years ago

It absolutely works! Battlefield Thaumaturge was printed to synergize with some of the multi-target spells from Theros, such as Hour of Need or Glimpse the Sun God. Descent of the Dragons works the same way.

I even designed a deck around it some years ago! Group Discount

Force_of_Willb on Unesh Sphinx tribal

6 years ago

Arbiter of the Ideal - Untaps cheats things into play (hits 70% of the deck)

Sandstone Oracle - ETB draw cards

Sphinx of Magosi - Activated ability draw cards

Hour of Need - Terrible card but a Flavor win - Maybe you have difficulty dealing with indestructible creatures??
Sphinx-Bone Wand - Flavor Win

Adaptive Automaton/Brass Herald/Metallic Mimic - Sphinx "Lords"

Belbe's Portal - cheat Sphinx's into play - good against other control decks

Sphinx of Jwar Isle - combos well with Conundrum Sphinx

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