Vernadi Shieldmate
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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
Historic Brawl Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pauper Legal
Pauper Duel Commander Legal
Pauper EDH Legal
Pioneer Legal
Planar Constructed Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Vernadi Shieldmate

Creature — Human Soldier

Vigilance

Kazierts on Which is More Important: Total …

5 months ago

The answer is pretty simple, it always depends on context. Magic is a very complex game and situations matter a lot. A lot of examples you gave already mentions different contexts and cannot be judged the same way as other examples.

Of the cards with activated abilities you mentioned, only Spectral Sailor and Faerie Mastermind are any good because they are useful aside from their card draw ability. A lot of times you don't even need to activate them since that's just tge cherry on top. Unless you have a very specific combo with Mystic Archaeologist, it's a horrible card because the only thing you can with it is pay a lot of mana to draw only 2 cards. For 5 mana, Mulldrifter is miles better. However, maybe you're making a weird Wizard EDH with Zirda as a companion and Mystic Archaeologist happens to fit perfectly.

Even the example with Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers and Vernadi Shieldmate is relative. The Cavaliers is an Elf Knight while the Shieldmate is a Human soldier, which means, as more "efficient" as one is over the other, some decks might completely one of them.

Usually, cheaper cards are better, but synergies, strategies and redundancy also influence card choice. Is Searing Spear better than Shock? Maybe, but maybe some people prefer to have only burn spells in their deck. Maybe there's a format where Lightning Bolt doesn't exist and both Shock and Searing Spear (or Lightning Strike since it's the more modern version) go in the same deck.

Very few things are so black and white in MTG.

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 Archivefoil 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 Lotusfoil 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.

Omniscience_is_life on What would you change (if …

4 years ago

I would love to have an aura that reads: you may begin the game by enchanting a nonlegendary creature you control outside of the game. That creature is your commander. When ~ becomes attached to a creature, shuffle your commander into your library, and it ceases to be your commander. Equip- Pay 10 life (idk what seems fair).

Having a card like this would make playing nonlegendary creatures as your commander a difficult decision, as starting at a far lower lifetotal than your opponents can be a deciding factor in the game. But being able to run random commons as your commander would be so wacky and fun! Imagine sitting down and your opponent says “hey, I’m playing a Vernadi Shieldmate deck”. That’d be a trip

CaliburnAO on Rienne Recursion

5 years ago

Good start to a deck. Rienne looks like an interesting build, and the built-in recursion is pretty powerful. If I might suggest a few cards that work really well with her; Dauntless Escort , Saffi Eriksdotter and Qasali Pridemage are all cards that self-sacrifice with powerful effects that Rienne, Angel of Rebirth lets you re-use. These cards will help to make your board more sticky and keep Rienne around to keep chugging out that value.

Theres a ton of other multicolored creatures that have reusable effects when they enter, like Duergar Hedge-Mage , Knight of Autumn and Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves . If token making is something you're interested in, then Conclave Cavalier and Trostani's Summoner can do a decent job. If you want some good aggressive finisher cards, theres Gahiji, Honored One and Knight of New Alara who can pump your board pretty nicely, as well as the liege cycle from Lorwyn.

Rienne also likes Sacrifice outlets, so Evolutionary Leap , Brion Stoutarm and some of the card-draw spells like Life's Legacy can generate some serious value.

Since the deck is three color, getting the right mana on time might be a bit of a problem. You could do with swapping some of the basics out for some tri-color lands, like Command Tower and Jungle Shrine , and using cheap fetches like Evolving Wilds , Terramorphic Expanse and Krosan Verge can help you get the lands you need as you need them. Replacing cards like Safewright Quest with things like Farseek , Kodama's Reach and Skyshroud Claim are also going to help, as you can never have enough mana in an EDH game, as we all know.

Your deck is also pretty light on removal, stuff like Swords to Plowshares , Sylvan Reclamation , Return to Dust , Generous Gift and Beast Within can get rid of troublesome creatures or permanents that threaten you or stop you winning with creatures. While they aren't flashy, sometimes you just need to get rid of that Rest in Peace before it does too much damage.

Thats my take on just some of the cards I figure could improve the deck, but I'm no expert. Play around with it and see what you like. If you find yourself struggling to cut cards, here's a list of what I feel are the weakest links in your deck, in no particular order; Chandra, Fire Artisan - You have access to better card draw and the burn shouldn't be super relevant most games. Dryad Militant , Vernadi Shieldmate , Skyknight Vanguard , Boros Swiftblade and Sunhome Guildmage all seem fairly low impact. Fatal Frenzy seems odd as your creatures aren't super large, and your commander isn't going to easily win by Commander Damage. War's Toll and Mana Web seem like filler slots, but maybe these help against your local meta?

Hopefully some of this helps, I look forward to seeing how the deck develops in the future.

jessedictor on Phelddagrif Group Hug

6 years ago

I'm assuming you:

Route 1) Stength Draw with Worse Creature Tempo

Cut cards that are good tempo plays but otherwise don't help you win by drawing cards. The idea is that you draw into Approach of the Second Sun , cast it, and then trigger your draw abilities to be able to cast it again very quickly. I assume this deck isn't trying to be super competitive. I added a little recursion for toolbox, while still being group hug.

Cut

Add

Side Note: I really don't like Sunscorch Regent but I get why he's in the deck as part of a wincon. I just feel Toothy, Imaginary Friend and Pir, Imaginative Rascal are very similar and provide much more to the deck in an obvious way, but they cost $8 as a pair so I didn't want to formally recommend them.

Have Simic Ascendancy , cast Toothy, Imaginary Friend and Pir, Imaginative Rascal , draw 5 cards with in game triggers which puts 10 on toothy which puts 20 on Simic Ascendancy .

ForceGaia on Selesnya Proliferate

6 years ago

Well I'm brewing my version now, I'll let you know when I'm done. But the thing I'm intending on doing is making good use of the cheap hybrid weenies (Like Vernadi Shieldmate or Rubble Slinger as quick multicolour spells or even just Huatli's Raptor while using Huatli, Radiant Champion for draw and Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter as a mana boost to allow me to swarm the field quick with my non-convoke spells

FLATSO99 on Abzan deck Test #1

6 years ago

Hello there, my first advice would be to cut your down so it's closer to sixty cards and so you can add some more lands as you need more than 16 in a deck with this many cards. Here are some possible cuts you could make, Archers' Parapet, Centaur Healer, Reassembling Skeleton, Vampire Neonate, Vernadi Shieldmate, Moment of Craving, March from the Tomb, Providence, and Pack's Favor are all possible cuts at first glance. Hope this is helpful and happy tapping:)