Mantis Rider

Creature — Human Monk

Flying, vigilance, haste

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
Historic Brawl	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (49)

DemonDragonJ on Patriotic Pride

6 days ago

I have replaced Wall of Denial with Mantis Rider, because, while the wall was an excellent creature, the rider is better suited for the theme of this deck, and, with its vigilance, it still shall be an excellent blocker.

SteelSentry on Which is More Important: Total …

5 months ago

Some of those are also relative because sometimes being one bigger than the other is a much bigger deal than just one. I can tell you from Standard that I can remember way more Lightning Strikes being cast than Shocks ever were unless you were in specifically a Prowess-style deck; thrown at a player, 2 and 3 damage is the difference between a playset doing 8 and 12, and 2 toughness and 3 toughness are important breakpoints in creature design for many reasons, the Bolt test being one of them.

Shared Summons is certainly a powerful card, especially in combo decks, but Eladamri's Call letting you find the right creature and casting it the same turn makes it better in most cases than getting two creatures and then dying to some artifact or enchantment you didn't have the mana to remove with Reclamation Sage which means I prefer it in most cases.

Lightning Angel is actually a good example of 3 vs 4. Mantis Rider is good, and also, relevantly, a Human, but it dies to Bolt or a 1/1 plus a Shock, and anything it kills it trades with. In a mirror match, the Angel can block other Angels all day, dodges Bolt, and unless you're playing a cube (Flame Slash and Flametongue Kavu are popular includes) or a format that has playable expensive red removal like Witchstalker Frenzy, a red deck may struggle to kill it 1-for-1.

With the draw spells, this is a very common theory in Yu-Gi-Oh actually, but a card going +1 like Quick Study is very powerful. More cards is always better, as is mana-to-card ratio, but little burst draw or cantrips usually live and die on their efficiency, and Quick Study being the cheapest unconditional way outside power to go card positive makes it incredibly noteworthy. Like the tutor argument, you might prefer card filtering cantrips that leave you neutral because the right card is more important than more cards, but it depends on why you're putting the spell there in the first place.

It's a very interesting topic that is often ignored in Commander due to the nature of the format, but the idea that "1 isn't always 1" is what really makes card analysis for 60 and 40 card formats special to me.

DemonDragonJ on Which is More Important: Total …

5 months ago

I often wonder which is more important for a card: its overall cost or its cost-to-effect ratio (i.e., its mana efficiency); for example, there is no question that Lightning Bolt is superior to both Shock and Searing Spear, but, between the other two cards, I would choose Shock over Searing Spear in the majority of situations, because Shock has a ratio of 2 damage for 1 mana, whereas Searing Spear has a ratio of 1.5 damage for 1 mana.

For a slightly more complicated example, compare Eladamri's Call to Shared Summons; the former card can find a creature for a mere 2 mana, which is very efficient, but it simply replaces one card in its controller's hand with another, whereas the latter card can search for two creatures, which leaves its caster with an additional card in hand, compared to before it is cast, but it is less efficient, costing 2.5 mana per creature found, so it is not as clear which card is superior, there.

Opportunity is literally a double version of Quick Study, as they both have the same ratio of cost to effect, but which is the superior card? Is it really better to spend six mana to draw four cards, as doing that would leave the caster with less mana to cast the spells that they draw? Also, Quick Study is strictly better than is Inspiration, as it costs 1 less mana to cast, but, between Concentrate and Tidings, I am not certain which is superior, since they both allow a player to draw one less card than their mana values.

On the subject of card drawing, in the realm of repeatable card drawing, Arcane Encyclopedia is strictly better than is Jayemdae Tome, as it costs only 3 mana to draw a single card, compared to 4, but Tower of Fortunes can draw four cards for 8 mana, which is a ratio of 2 mana per card, but that ability costs 8 mana, overall, so the question is if it is worth 8 mana to draw four cards.

Continuing that theme, there are numerous creatures (and one enchantment) that allow a player to repeatedly draw cards, such as Azure Mage, Spectral Sailor, Faerie Mastermind, Triskaidekaphile, or Treasure Trove, a ratio of 4 mana for one card, but Mystic Archaeologist can draw 2 two cards for 5 mana, a ratio of 2.5 mana per card, which is definitely far superior, in my mind.

Hedron Archive is literally two Mind Stones put together, and Dreamstone Hedron is literally a triple Mind Stone, so they all have the same cost-to-effect ratio, but I prefer the original Mind Stone, since the existence of Thran Dynamo and Gilded Lotus makes it difficult to justify using the other mana rocks, at least, for me.

To use the example of Skyward Eye Prophets, a 1/1 creature for 2 mana is perfectly acceptable, a 2/2 creature for 4 mana is slightly expensive, but nothing outrageous, but a 3/3 creature for 6 mana is simply too much, although, as a side note, I have a copy of that creature, in one of my decks, because I really like its ability.

For a further example, I would choose Mantis Rider over Lightning Angel in the majority of situations, since it provides a better rate than does the angel, and, similarly, I would choose Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers over Vernadi Shieldmate, since the former creature is more efficient for its cost.

I believe that I have provided a sufficient number of examples, for this discussion, so which trait do you believe is more important: overall mana cost or cost-to-effect ratio/mana efficiency? I certainly am interested to hear your thoughts on this matter.

DemonDragonJ on Patriotic Pride

10 months ago

I have replaced Glory of Warfare and Mantis Rider with Warleader's Call and Arthur, Marigold Knight, which, unfortunately, increased the average converted mana cost of this deck from 3.63 to 3.65, but I feel that that change is worth the additional cost, since the rider was merely a flying beater, whereas Arthur actually has a useful ability for this deck (I simply wish that he had first strike, as he is a knight).

TypicalTimmy on Card creation challenge

1 year ago

Thanks, griffstick! I was on break while I made the card so I didn't have time to use MTG Design.

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Mantis Adept {2}{R}{W}

Creature - Insect Monk (Mantis artwork) (Rare)

Vigilance, reach

Mantis Adept has first strike when blocking or being blocked by creatures with flying.

Ever cautious, the Mantis Adept specializes in long graceful strides and strikes, seeking to disable vital areas of the body in single, swift attacks.

4/3

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Would be a lovely curve topper in Draft, especially on a plane ripe with flyers. Tarkir would be a good home for it, except they don't have insect people so you'd likely want a Human atop of it, a la Mantis Rider. But I rather liked the idea of a Mantis as the Monk herself. Obviously inspired by Kung-Fu Panda.

And that's exactly what the next challenge is. Take another master of the arts from Kung-Fu Panda and make them a creature. You can make them a legendary homage, or just a nice little nod like I did. Either one is fine.

Daveslab2022 on

2 years ago

Mantis Rider is an honorary lightning Angel.

wolfhead on Commander without the Legendary Rule

3 years ago

Drogskol Reaver for sure

Monastery Mentor if they had partner

Mantis Rider for fun.

Orcish Lumberjack for even more fun.

If there's already strict upgrades actually out there then I'll just claim it's for nostalgia's sake,

But also let me know what they are haha

wallisface on The New Most Competitive Modern Deck--Dryads

4 years ago

Omniscience_is_life, some examples of how the 5 modern-playable tribes operate, to give you an idea of what you’re up against:

• Humans have creatures that grow very bog very quickly in both Champion of the Parish and Thalia's Lieutenant . Almost every other human is then actively ruining the opponent ability to play (i.e. Meddling Mage , Kitesail Freebooter , Reflector Mage ), or providing backup damage (i.e. Mantis Rider )

• Spirits function down a similar line to humans, except with everything in the air, and lots more lords. They buff with the likes of Drogskol Captain and Selfless Spirit , and disrupt with the likes of Skyclave Apparition , Spell Queller and Mausoleum Wanderer . They even have built in protection in the form of Rattlechains and Selfless Spirit .

• Goblins are a hyper aggressive deck aiming to win by comboing off, or besting you down. Their combo pieces are Conspicuous Snoop and Boggart Harbinger (putting Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker on top then Sling-Gang Lieutenant to win). They can easily assemble their pieces with the likes of Goblin Matron and Goblin Ringleader . They also have a lot of aggressive go-wide threats to try winning without the combo.

• Merfolk are less interactive than the 3 above decks, and because of that, generally weaker. Almost everything they run is a lord and/or grants islandwalk ( Lord of Atlantis , Master of the Pearl Trident etc), and they aim to simply race the opponent by swinging in with lots of 5/5 unblockable merfolk thanks to the likes of Spreading Seas . They basically aim to race the game, so their interaction is just to mess with their opponent, like Merfolk Trickster , Harbinger of the Tides etc.

• Elves are a straightforward deck. They makes a butt-load of elves, generate waaay too much mana, and then win the game through Ezuri, Renegade Leader , Shaman of the Pack , and Elvish Warmaster .

The above decks can all win their games by turn 4 or 5, most of them giving the opponent constant grief while doing so.

As a further example, Slivers are not a modern-viable tribe, because just throwing creatures down on the board and hoping for the best doesn’t cut it in the modern environment.

I think you need to consider what you’re actually getting out of Dryads, and whether you want this to be a competitive deck, or a casual/meme deck.