Beast Within

Instant

Destroy target permanent. Its controller creates a 3/3 green Beast creature token.

Discussion (49)

Profet93 on Revel Up

1 week ago

SPACEgun

Instants/Lands/Artifacts

Heroic Intervention - Protection

Beast Within - Removal

Bonders' Enclave - Draw

Dread Statuary - Manland to be used as a fuel for a mass draw spell or blocker in a pinch

Turntimber, Serpentine Wood - Creature when you need it, land when you don't

The Great Henge - Draw, lifegain, ramp

Sorcerries

Three Visits > Rampant growth

Green Sun's Zenith - Tutor

Harmonize - Not needed but nice to have, Xenagos decks struggle with card draw and this helps mitigate that weakness.

Eternal Witness - Recursion

Farhaven Elf/Wood Elves - Ramp T4 Xenagos

Kogla, the Titan Ape - Removal, utility with E-Wit and others

Shaman of Forgotten Ways - Ramp + Potential wincon

Elder Gargaroth - Really good, fav 5 drop beater in Xenagos hands down

Mortlocke on In Defense of Jeweled Lotus

3 weeks ago

From my own assessment, the general sentiment surrounding Jeweled Lotus is summarized in the following Cardboard Crack comic:

Excellent comic by the way. But I think it really misses the mark here - when a player gets ahead too early, they become the Archenemy - the player who is assessed as being the biggest threat early on (between turns 1 - 3) in a game and gets focused on by the table. Instead of a game of 1 v 1 v 1 v 1 - it becomes 1 v 3. Speaking from experience, said Archenemy player gets their entire board state dismantled by ALL of their opponents and are usually left with the least amount of resources for the rest of the game - if any.

In reference to the comic, if ALL opponents have no response and concede on turn 1 then I think that's indicative a larger issue within that playgroup: nobody at that table uses any form of interaction in their decks (e.g. Swords to Plowshares, Beast Within (as in T1 Mana Crypt + Forest), Pongify, Lightning Bolt...the list goes on). I would even go on to say that everyone in that group plays like Timmy/Tammy (nothing is wrong with that - but it makes games very narrow and insular - basically no one interacts with another's boardstate). Alternatively, if that was a game of cEDH then that's how the game is supposed to be played - but with less bad feels. Regardless, the point i'm trying to make is that - in an average game of Commander, a table should reasonably be able to react and control a turn 1 or 2 Commander in the vast majority of games (i'm saying 80% - 90% of the time the archenemy gets controlled by the table). In those rare instances when a table is literally locked out - e.g. T1 Urza + Mana Crypt + Winter Orb - then that's simply a done game. Again, combos that powerful are rarely seen in a game.

Now, there are decks I think this card can do well in - decks where the Commander is a really high CMC. Yes, take this as shameless advertising, but i'm considering this card for one of my own decks:

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The Predator of Predators

Commander / EDH Mortlocke

SCORE: 192 | 93 COMMENTS | 20658 VIEWS | IN 78 FOLDERS

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Zacama, Primal Calamity helms this deck, and she is a CMC (Naya) commander. For decks that have those extra THICC commanders with the high CMCs, Jeweled Lotus could make all the difference at any point of the game. In Zacama's case, she is considered a "kill on sight" Commander - a creature that can be highly disruptive to any boardstate at any point of the game." She will get removed, regardless of when she is played. But, for those situations where I need to get her out late game Jeweled Lotus could easily be the difference maker. OR, I could have an explosive start and play Zacama 3 turns earlier.

Ultimately, I think the Magic Community's reaction is far too dramatic thinking that this one card is going to stop a game before it starts. No. It will not. It will simply put a single player in the position of Archenemy early on, or help a player get a Commander back into the game after it has been removed a few times.

Side note - I do agree with the notion that the card is entirely designed to help sell packs. Serving mostly as something exciting for people to pull. I think it's a good idea. Is it worth the $150 - $100 pre-order price? Hell No. It's a decent $20 (non-foil) card in the making that goes in only a handful of commander decks.

Additional side note: For those interested in my Zacama build The Predator of Predators, I plan on swapping Jeweled Lotus in for Talisman of Impulse. Additional Additionally, I will swap in Court of Bounty for Rishkar's Expertise. I really enjoy Monarch, and I think that card is a perfect fit for the deck. Please let me know your thoughts about the deck and uh...feed Zacama your upvotes.

Optimator on Giant's Deck

3 weeks ago

Potential Non-Boros Commanders: Show

If you did want to use a different commander for more colors, here are the ones I would recommend:

Five-Color:

I love the idea of being able to include any Giant that you want. Budget five-color mana bases are easy.

Morophon, the Boundless - probably the best pick? It gives a substantial discount and is technically a Giant itself. The anthem tacked on is just gravy. I have one for trade!

Golos, Tireless Pilgrim - a bit of ramp, plus his ability is just fucking nuts. Absolutely outrageous. Spewing out giants! An outstanding commander through-and-through.

Kenrith, the Returned King - Grants haste, can bring back dead giants, can grow your army, draws cards. He does everything except be a giant himself. Another outstanding general.

Jodah, Archmage Eternal - Most Jodah decks focus on extremely expensive creatures and spells, so his ability might not be too hot for Giant Tribal. He would work though. Outclassed for sure.

Jegantha, the Wellspring - A bit of ramp in the command zone. Outclassed by the rest, but it IS a giant elk...

Naya:

Naya colors get you Green, which will add some very good giants and significantly improve your options for ramp, utility, and card-draw. By like, a ton.

Samut, Voice of Dissent - grants Haste, which is dope. The untapping ability can surprise opponents maybe. Not a giant though.

Mayael the Anima - A pretty excellent choice for Giant Tribal. Her ability would be great for when you run out of cards, which is awesome to have in the command zone. Mayael's Aria is hilarious.

Gahiji, Honored One - Looks like a giant beast, for what it's worth. Boosts your attacks and may even take some heat off of you. A mediocre choice, but not awful.

Marisi, Breaker of the Coil - some good general value. Would make attacking easier due to taking away blockers. Nothing outstanding though.

Atla Palani, Nest Tender - Hatch giants out of eggs!

Other color combinations:

Saskia the Unyielding - Not sure why you'd want to run four colors when you could do all five, but her ability is no joke. Personally I prefer the Blue giants to the Black ones, but Black has some of the best utility and card-draw in the game.

Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder + Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper - want to run most of the giants and have M A X I M U M life-gain? This pair would make for a profoundly distinct Giant Tribal. A truly unique take. Might be lots of fun! You could even try to squeeze in Felidar Sovereign and Test of Endurance for a laugh; certainly not necessary though.

Ruhan of the Fomori - No Green, but he's a giant himself and Blue utility is as good as any. A decent choice, but if you're stepping out of Boros you may as well run Green cards.

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The stand-outs to me are Golos, Tireless Pilgrim - Morophon, the Boundless - Kenrith, the Returned King - Mayael the Anima - Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder + Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper. These are all extremely strong choices.

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Here's some of the fantastic Utility cards that you would gain by stepping into other colors (I'll try to list budget cards):

Rhythm of the Wild - Garruk's Uprising! - Elemental Bond - Colossal Majesty - Beast Within - Temur Ascendancy - Nylea, Keen-Eyed - Nylea, God of the Hunt - Primal Rage - Brawn - Heroic Intervention - Golgari Charm - Wrap in Vigor - Return of the Wildspeaker - Soul's Majesty - Rishkar's Expertise - Sylvan Reclamation - Decimate - Genesis Ultimatum - Eerie Ultimatum - Ruinous Ultimatum - Despark - Descendants' Path - Clever Impersonator - Cyclonic Rift - Call to the Kindred - Swan Song - Greed - Casualties of War

Then there is Green's superior mana ramp. Cultivate - Kodama's Reach - Migration Path - Vastwood Surge - Ranger's Path - Nature's Lore - Rampant Growth - Deathsprout -Traverse the Outlands - Boundless Realms... the list goes on.

As you can see, there's a lot there that Red and White just can't even touch. Green is basically the best color in EDH, especially for big-creature decks. Very much worth considering, even if you're trying to keep the deck casual.

MonkeySit on Transforming creatures into Dragons

3 weeks ago

griffstick wow I think I might genuinely be able to build this deck now haha!

So, funnily enough, I actually had every card you mentioned for the opponents except for Song of the Dryads for budget reasons. I quite like the idea of those Licid cards - like you said, they're super janky fun. but I can also play them as crappy creatures and use them on the dragons later.

I also had Curse of the Swine and other removal of the same nature like Pongify or Beast Within so I think that with the combination of cards I had set aside to disrupt opponents, I'm pretty set in that regard.

Haha Chromium, the Mutable was actually a placeholder for the commander hahhaha! But I think I primarily need U/G and then as a 3rd colour, W/R. I also was thinking that Ramos, Dragon Engine could be a flavourful commander whilst also giving me access to 5 colours. Given the limitations of the jankiness, more colours might be the way to go. Though, limitations breed creativity. So, I would be open to less colours too.

Unlife on Ich-Tekik, Golem Boi

3 weeks ago

Depending on how you want to build the deck, maybe replacing Prava with Rebbec, so your golems have more protection. Conjurer's Closet can blink splicers or your commander, to make more golems. I'd also think about more spells like Krosan Grip, Disenchant, Beast Within etc, since Ich-Tekik doesn't specify you need to destroy your own artifacts.

TotesMcGoats on Opposition Agent needs a preemptive …

4 weeks ago

Yea, you are absolutely overreacting. Is it kinda dumb that it steals your opponent's tutors? Yea. But you'll probably only get 1 off of it when you flash it in. And it could literally get killed in response. Its not as bas as it looks. Opposition Agent is fine. Dumb, but fine. Play counterspells, play removal, pay attention to your opponent's having open mana, or just Rule 0 it with your playgroup if you all hate it.

The ONLY thing I'm ACTUALLY a bit worried about is Maralen of the Mornsong. Maralen I could see getting a ban just so that we can avoid another Leovold situation. Opposition Agent alone isn't "the most disgusting card ever printed", but when you can't draw, can't tutor, you're slowly killing yourself, and your opponent gets to play everyone else's cards, NO ONE is going to want to play against that. Its like if they made a Commander that's intentionally designed to Mindslaver Lock you.

Maralen has never really seen a lot of play in the past because she's basically self-defeating since your opponent gets to tutor first and can simply find whatever piece of removal they want to kill Maralen. Cards like Shadow of Doubt, Leonin Arbiter, Aven Mindcensor, Stranglehold, and Ashiok, Dream Render ALREADY exist, but the difference is that none of them have been playable in a mono black deck with Maralen before.

So the real problem is that Opposition Agent should have been Blue/Black like Notion Thief, or IMO, ABSOLUTELY should have been a WHITE card. One of the few unique parts of White's color pie is hatebears. And Opposition Agent would have been a great piece of card advantage for white, similar to Alms Collector, which isn't nearly as good as it sounds since it doesn't trigger from multiple singular draws, but only if 2 or more are drawn at once from the same effect.

Opposition Agent otherwise has the same problem as Hullbreacher does. Its just going to die to removal immediately. You might get a bit of value from it, but once its out, no one is going to choose to tutor or draw extra cards until its gone. So you get some immediate value from it, and then its basically just another hatebear.

Hullbreacher is NOT Smothering Tithe. Smothering Tithe triggers on EVERY draw and it tricks you with the option of paying for it, even though few people ever want to, much like Rhystic Study. You still get to draw all the cards you want, someone else just gets a little extra benefit for it. It doesn't actually harm you unless you choose to pay for it. That's why its so good, it flies under the radar. Its why people will kill a Platinum Angel or Blazing Archon on sight, but don't really care about that Ghostly Prison even though they're both keeping you from getting attacked. One has an optional work-around, its just inconvenient enough to disuade people from doing it.

IMO, Opposition Agent should have been white, and it should have fit along the same lines as Smothering Tithe. Something like, "Flash, Whenever an opponent searches their library, you may also search your library for a card, unless that opponent pays 2. If you do, put it into your hand and shuffle." This way you're just taxing your opponents' tutors, or profiting off of them yourself.

People have said it before, but Rhystic Study should ABSOLUTELY have been a white card, and this would have been a cool way to do it, much like how Beast Within breaks green's color pie, so it was colorshifted to white in Modern Horizons as Generous Gift.

Omniscience_is_life on The best deck that runs no cedh staples?

4 weeks ago

Nice deck! Can you please explain why are Tolaria, Pendelhaven and Urborg are in here?

Also, I would replace Springleaf Drum with a Rampant Growth, Chromatic Star with a Chromatic Lantern, Lightning Bolt with Beast Within or Chaos Warp... yeah.

DemonDragonJ on Commander Legends Spoilers

1 month ago

At last, there is a card of Nevinyrral, and he is very impressive, as he should be! I like how he has synergy with his own disk, which makes sense.

Juri now has a card, as well, but I wonder why WotC waited until now to give her a card, instead of making Judith and Exava in the previous Ravnica blocks.

Necrotic hex is a flavor fail; it makes each player sacrifice six creatures and then creates six tokens, but it costs 7 mana to cast.

I am glad to see Generous Gift being reprinted in this set, and I hope that this means that WotC will never again reprint Beast Within, since the latter card is a color pie break.

Elvish dreadlord is a very nasty card, and I know that I will not wish to be on the receiving end of its effect, but its name sounds like something from Warcaft.

Llanowar abomination is amazing, and any elf deck that contains the colors black and green will want it, but I do wish that it has been a Lorwyn/Shadowmoor elf, since the dark and creepy atmosphere of the card would work better on that plane.

On that subject, I really would like to see a reprint of Llanowar Dead, since that card has never been reprinted, before.

Araumi is very nice, with how he or she (the name sounds feminine) can grant encore to creatures, which will be best with creatures that have abilities that trigger when they enter the battlefield.