Nephalia Moondrakes

Creature — Drake

Flying

When Nephalia Moondrakes enters the battlefield, target creature gains flying until end of turn.

{4}{U}{U}, Exile Nephalia Moondrakes from your graveyard: Creatures you control gain flying until end of turn.

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
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (16)

burferking on Moon art cards for Princess …

4 years ago

Still, I'll add all the remaining ones with Moon in their names and art: Benediction of Moons Bound by Moonsilver Call of the Full Moon Moon Sprite Moon-Eating Dog Moonlace Moonlight Geist Moonlit Wake Moonmist Moonsilver Spear Moonveil Dragon Myr Moonvessel Nephalia Moondrakes Pale Moon Stillmoon Cavalier Touch of Moonglove Vampire of the Dire Moon Wheel of Sun and Moon

Moon, only on the Transformed side: Moonscarred Werewolf Moonrise Intruder

Debatable (is a Moon depicted or not?): Patron of the Moon Moonbow Illusionist Moonglove Changeling

Did I forget any?

Uchiha9001X on 'The Popsicle' Mono Blue Tempo

4 years ago

you have to many 2-ofs and 1-ofs. pick the best spells and run 4 to drastically improve consistency. Nephalia Moondrakes costs far too much mana.

RazortoothMtg on None

5 years ago

Also, for Keyword ordering, things that are relevant in all zones go on line 1 (Devoid), then keywords relevant while in your hand (Flash), then cast triggers on the next line, then battlefield abilities (deathtouch, haste), then graveyard based abilities (like on Nephalia Moondrakes). Make sure not to put things like Flash, Devoid, and First Strike on the same line as eachother.

World Breaker is a good reference for this.

Argy on

6 years ago

Start with 24 lands and adjust up or down from there.

I would remove:

1x Angler Drake
1x Naga Oracle
2x Nephalia Moondrakes
2x Padeem, Consul of Innovation
1x Salvage Scuttler
1x Shimmerscale Drake
1x Wind Drake
1x Nimble Innovator
1x Reduce / Rubble
1x Cartouche of Knowledge
1x Trial of Knowledge
1x Edifice of Authority
1x Hazoret's Monument
1x Kefnet's Monument
1x Luxa River Shrine
1x Sequestered Stash

The Artifacts you have are great in Limited, but not so good in Standard.

See how many cards that leaves you with, do some playtests against decks in my Amonkhet folder, and tag me once you've got some results on how this plays.

TheRedGoat on Pattern Recognition #31 - NWO

6 years ago

You know this actually explains why Nephalia Moondrakes makes sense at rare. Having been in the game since just before Theros, so I had never considered the fact that the card would seem really complex to someone who has never played before.

I mean, I still hate that it is a card that, after it is understood to be bad outside of a vacuum, just takes up space. However I at least understand what its true purpose is.

TheRedGoat on Pattern Recognition #26 - Rarity

6 years ago

Truthfully, if I had no other rare at all in a Shadows draft, yes I would probably put it in the deck IF I was playing something with blue in it. But to look even at the other cards available in the 2 sets, the effect itself is practically useless.

Spirit tribal would never need the ability. If you're running Izzet then you're slinging much cheaper to cast spells to win and shouldn't be spending that kind of mana on one spell. Simic and Dimir strategies within the set would likely use this spell only as fuel for other spells since it has use in the grave, but even then you still have the cost problem versus using that mana for other spells. And this is definitely not the spell to splash blue for within the Innistrad block. It is outclassed by most if not all of its competitors, hence why I dislike the card.

I mean, I'm even willing to throw Reap Intellect into a game of commander if I felt my meta needed that level of targeted hand hate, but Nephalia Moondrakes just cannot compete with anything.

Anyway, this is all a subject for a thread unto itself. "junk Rares" are bad, but until Wizard's design team stops making them we'll still have to deal with them every once in a while.

ibstudent2200 on Pattern Recognition #26 - Rarity

6 years ago

TheRedGoat I played almost no Shadows over Innistrad limited, but Nephalia Moondrakes looks like a Limited bomb to me. Sure, it sucks in Constructed, but that isn't why the card was printed. Compare it to the "Soul of" creatures in M15, and Moondrakes' effect is appropriately costed ( is apparently worth a 3/3).

Also, I suspect that the ETB originally gave all creatures you control flying, but was nerfed during development because it was too powerful in Limited.

TheRedGoat on Pattern Recognition #26 - Rarity

6 years ago

I'm admittedly not wanting to see more of Nephalia Moondrakes, or similarly over-rarified cards (is that the right phrasing?) in my packs, but to me I would rather see the card's abilities/stats be more appropriate to its rarity. Like Since the moondrakes are rare give them a cheaper activation cost or something?

I guess my beef is with the idea of "junk rares and mythics". If something is going to end up being a dollar minimum price-wise just because of its rarity, then I'd rather the card not be totally unplayable outside of super casual games. But I doubt I'm the first or last to have this problem so I guess I just move on?

Not sure if this is the right thread for my argument at this point.