Hostage Taker

Creature — Human Pirate

When Hostage Taker enters the battlefield, exile target artifact or creature until Hostage Taker leaves the battlefield. You may cast that card for as long as it remains exiled, and you may spend mana as though it were mana of any type to cast that spell.

Discussion (51)

ahobrien on Tassigur Havin' a Blastigur

1 month ago

Running 12 creatures while everyone else is running ~24 doesn't make Living Death look statistically appealing, right? If I pivot this to a dedicated reanimator deck with a Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur include or somethin I would definitely go the Living Death mass-reanimation / Exhume route. Animate Dead is more in-line with this decklist I would think.

I just know I'd play a Living Death into a Hostage Taker or something lol. I have mixed feelings about this one

carpecanum on Piratas OH!

1 month ago

Open Into Wonder maybe? Warkite Marauder , Hostage Taker and Cloud Pirates for sure.

Coastal Piracy for flavor. Bedlam for fun.

Grip of Phyresis at the right moment can steal Swiftfoot Boots or some other annoying artifact right before you choose what permanent to steal.

SideBae on Subjective Reality Modded

1 month ago

Couple suggestions:

You're running too many lands. Running forty-two is generally only appropriate in Azusa, Lost but Seeking -style landfall decks; I suggest running thirty-five at MOST, and ideally around thirty-three.

The way you can get away with thirty-three lands is with mana rocks. I'm a fan of your Azorius Signet and similar, but there are other rocks you should consider. Mana Crypt and Mox Diamond are the gold-standard, though those are approximately a million dollars these days. More affordable options include: Talisman of Progress , Talisman of Hierarchy , Talisman of Dominance , Coldsteel Heart , Fellwar Stone and the soon-to-release Arcane Signet . Note that all the suggestions I gave were two-mana mana-rocks, as these are vastly superior to three-mana mana-rocks. One reason for this is that if you choose to run Ancient Tomb or similar, you can land them turn one. Depending on your meta and how long your games tend to go, Gilded Lotus might be worth running.

Your mana base can use some tuning, too. City of Brass and Mana Confluence are generally good in three-color decks, and Reflecting Pool or Forbidden Orchard are also very good. Shock lands like Watery Grave , Godless Shrine and Hallowed Fountain are also good. Caves of Koilos , Underground River and Adarkar Wastes are all good too.

You have some good Xerox pieces; you're running Ponder and Portent , and that's good. You could probably use some more shuffle effects to go with your Brainstorm . Ideally, you should run Zendikar and Onslaught fetches -- however, these are also expensive AF. Slow fetches like Bad River and Flood Plain are way more affordable, and can also fetch things like a Watery Grave if you choose to run them. These will allow you to avoid getting stuck with two cards you don't want on top of your library. Preordain is an excellent Xerox-piece/cantrip to consider.

Mass card-draw is good in EDH. I highly recommend Windfall , and it's especially good with your Narset, Parter of Veils . Fact or Fiction , Painful Truths , Thirst for Knowledge and Jace's Archivist are also good. Mystic Remora , in an inexperienced meta, can easily be several Ancestral Recall s. Night's Whisper and Phyrexian Arena are good.

Tutors are great. Demonic Tutor , Vampiric Tutor and Enlightened Tutor are the gold-standard, and as such they're really expensive. Other options include your already-in-there Scheming Symmetry , Diabolic Tutor , Lim-Dul's Vault , Mystical Tutor and Dark Petition .

Swords to Plowshares is a GREAT card; it's one of the only one-for-ones I advise 98% of the time in EDH; Despark is another. Grasp of Fate is another form of spot-removal. Cyclonic Rift , Wrath of God , Supreme Verdict and Toxic Deluge are all good boardwipes to consider. If, later in your deck building, you end up with fewer creatures and your meta is filled with X/1s, Night of Souls' Betrayal can be a powerhouse. Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust are other two-for-ones to consider.

Counter magic is real powerful. Counterspell , Swan Song , Spell Snare , Spell Pierce , Dovin's Veto , Countersquall , Negate , Archmage's Charm and Disallow are good.

Depending on your meta, you can use some Legacy Miracles pieces. Aminatou is synergistic with Counterbalance , and if you run Sensei's Divining Top you can use the pair to control the game without spending card-advantage. Ashiok, Dream Render is great in EDH as a Stax piece, as shutting down other players' tutors and exiling graveyards is one of the most annoying things you can do in EDH. Hostage Taker is good as removal, and it can also get you some threats.

Gilded Drake is $70-ish, but each time you flicker it you get a new creature. Cheaper, flickering Sower of Temptation gets you to steal a different creature each time. Flickering Solemn Simulacrum allows you to ramp real fast. Cloudblazer , Ravenous Chupacabra , Duplicant , Wall of Omens and Baleful Strix too. Wall of Omens has the added bonus of working real nice with Words of Wind , if you choose to run it.

No Mercy is a good way to discourage attacks; so are Ghostly Prison and Propaganda .

Good luck!

Skullblade248 on YarHarFidllyDee, I steal ur Planeswalker Abilities

1 month ago

Again, I don't mean to ruin your fun, but as this website is designed to help improve decks...

First, I assume it's just a midrange Pirate tribal deck. I don't really see any Revel in Riches shenanigans or anything. There is a little bit of artifact interaction, and I think that's something that could be built upon.

Deadeye Plunderers is a ridiculous card that can end games fast if you can build up a bunch of artifacts. But, it's a liability if you don't have any on the board. A 3/3 for 5 is too slow by itself. I think that two copies sounds fair, and with two copies, you'll most assuredly have a smile on your face when you topdeck it. Going with the Artifact subtheme, I would say 2 Fell Flagship wouldn't hurt.

Captain Lannery Storm is a really nice way to power up Deadeye Plunderers . Even if you don't have one, she ramps you up a turn or two, which if we want to run Nicky B and Moo, we're going to need. Three copies is plenty, as she's powerful, but still legendary.

Dire Fleet Captain works really well in any Pirate deck. I run four in mine, but mine is super aggressive. I think that with a longer game , less copies are necessary. I would also say that Dire Fleet Neckbreaker is a great way to close out games, but for a more casual and fun game, two is plenty. March of the Drowned will also be pretty helpful later in the game. 2x. If you want even more Pirates to go with the treasure you're amassing, perhaps 3 Fathom Fleet Captain .

Now, this shocks me. You run two Planeswalkers from planeswalker decks, but fail to use their fetch cards. Especially as they're perfect in casual games. I would say 2 of both Angrath's Fury and Visage of Bolas . And of course, keep all of the Planeswalkers the same, number and all. I would also say that Angrath, the Flame-Chained is on flavor. Why just take their loyalty abilities when you can help yourself to everything they have? Maybe 1 Admiral Beckett Brass too.

We should put in more Treasure, so 3 Sailor of Means and 2 Wily Goblin . Slap them in with the power of FlexTape! (not sponsored). Removal is lacking, so I would say 3x Unlicensed Disintegration. Trust me, it's worth it.

And we're left with 2 more slots. More instant and sorcery spells would make this a control deck. Hostage Taker is great in casual games, but it costs a pretty penny. I think that 1 copy of Revel in Riches wouldn't hurt, as we have a bunch of treasure token makers. To help you win with Treasure tokens so you can throw them in the air as depicted in the art, then Storm the Vault  ^Flip is our best bet.

2x March of the Drowned 3x Dire Fleet Captain 3x Fathom Fleet Captain 2x Wily Goblin 3x Captain Lannery Storm 2x Fell Flagship 3x Sailor of Means 3x Unlicensed Disintegration 1x Admiral Beckett Brass 2x Dire Fleet Neckbreaker 1x Storm the Vault  ^Flip 2x Visage of Bolas 2x Angrath's Fury 2x Deadeye Plunderers 1x Revel in Riches 1x Angrath, the Flame-Chained 1x Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God 1x Angrath, Minotaur Pirate 1x Nicol Bolas, The Deciever

Do whatever with the mana base, I guess. Maybe Artifact Lands. I left out Fathom Fleet Boarder as it literally kills you for no reason. Rona isn't a Pirate and is a liability, and Dreamcaller Siren is neat, but niche. Sideboard material. I believe the list I spent the last hour on is budget, but I hope it gives you some inspiration and perhaps a few new tricks to try with your friends.

Just remember this rule of thumb with Pirates: Anything they can do, you can do better.

xaarvaxus on Reading the terrain... but twice

1 month ago

No space for Hostage Taker ? Seems like this would create some nice swings in board states.

Looks like you could use more green sources as that is far and away your most prominent color.

Archman44 on Yarok, time to trigger!

1 month ago

I'm messing around with a Yarok deck too right now, and out of the cards you've got under maybe right now, 4 that I have in mine that I think work well are Solemn Simulacrum , Mulldrifter , Hostage Taker , and Avenger of Zendikar . I'd also probably take out Gigantoplasm , just because it's etb effect wouldn't get a double use with Yarok's ability (at least, i'm pretty sure it wouldn't, I could be wrong)

LordF42 on Sultai ETBs

2 months ago

Thanks, forgot about the threat value of Yarok, will fix that and add one more copy.

Ravenous Chupacabra , Hostage Taker , Cavalier of Night are actually nice cards.. will try them out, but the Plaguecrafter I think is not good in a Yarok deck since it might force you to sac 2 creatures and at times you will only have a yarok on the field so it will feel pretty bad to draw it.

ChrisHansonBiomancin on Sultai ETBs

2 months ago

Nice deck man, +1. I've been working on a Yarok deck as well (Yarok's Toolbox). Mine is a little different as there are cards like Prime Speaker Vannifar and Finale of Devastation along with a bunch of 1-ofs so I can tutor the right ETB trigger for the situation.

One thing I might recommend would be to add some removal-creatures to your lineup like Ravenous Chupacabra , Hostage Taker , Cavalier of Night , and/or Plaguecrafter . Alongside Yarok, you can really devastate someone's board with these kinds of cards. A similar one that would probably be more of a sideboard card here is Plague Mare , which can be a one-sided wipe against weenies or tokens, especially with Yarok making it -2/-2. You also might want to run another copy of Yarok or 2 even tho he's legendary, since he will probably be a big removal target.