Wavebreak Hippocamp

Enchantment Creature — Horse Fish

Whenever you cast your first spell during each opponent's turn, draw a card.

Discussion (35)

Coward_Token on Modern Horizons 2 Spoilers

3 weeks ago

although Moderation feels kinda inferior to Wavebreak Hippocamp

Strike Rich: kinda wish this made two Treasures while costing more to cast (both normally and trough flashback)

Fast // Furious: Heh.

cooknathan on Veyran, Voice of Duality, what …

2 months ago

I'm probably not the only one confused with which triggers Veyran, Voice of Duality works with.

603.1. Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as “[When/Whenever/At] [trigger condition or event], [effect]. [Instructions (if any).]”

1. So cards like Guttersnipe or cards with magecraft clearly work (she triggers her own magecraft), cool, no problem.

2. There seems to be a consensus that cards with prowess and similar ( Stormchaser Mage , Aetherflux Reservoir , Wavebreak Hippocamp ) also work so long as it triggers with an instant or sorcery and not another card type. Ok, so maybe the permanent's trigger condition does not need to say 'instant' or 'sorcery'.

3. What about if something like Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind was triggered with a Brainstorm ? Does the permanent's trigger condition need to say 'cast' too? What 'causes' the triggered ability to trigger? Is it the casting or the drawing? Same question with Baral, Chief of Compliance .

4. What about cards that need an extra cost to trigger Lunar Mystic or Mirari ? Do we (or can we, or can't we) pay the extra cost when Veyran triggers it an additional time?

5. What about cards like Knowledge Pool or Eye of the Storm which also requires the card to exile?

6. What about Primal Wellspring or Pyromancer's Goggles do you get two copies?

7. If Runaway Steam-Kin has two counters and you cast a red instant, does it end up with four counters? Does Aria of Flame or Sphinx-Bone Wand get one or two counters? How about Mizzix of the Izmagnus ?

8. How does Spellweaver Volute work? DO you get two copies of the same instant?

9. I think that covers everything. If anyone has any weird edge cases, this might be a good place to post it. Do any of these cards not work for some reason? Sunbird's Invocation , Jori En, Ruin Diver .

Thanks!

TheVectornaut on Blue/Black Beginner Deck

2 months ago

I think this deck is really well-positioned to become a "draw-go" style control deck that plays instants and flash creatures on others' turns. Pteramander , Augur of Bolas , Brineborn Cutthroat , Threnody Singer , Vodalian Arcanist , Naiad of Hidden Coves , Wavebreak Hippocamp , Murmuring Mystic , and all of your instants (save for the likely too slow 4 mana ones) already fit in such an archetype to at least some extent. The horse fish is particularly insane as a card draw engine, and I'd try to get a playset of it if you can. Stacking them to draw even more cards with Nymris, Oona's Trickster , Baral, Chief of Compliance , Slitherwisp , etc. would also make Ominous Seas more viable, possibly even supplemented by draw payoffs like Chasm Skulker and Nadir Kraken .

Some other options that care about flash might be Cunning Nightbonder , Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir , Leyline of Anticipation , Torrential Gearhulk , and Mystical Teachings .

For more generally good instants, Counterspell , Mana Leak , Countersquall , Frantic Search , AEtherize , Vapor Snag , Rewind , Cryptic Command , Opt , and Brainstorm (if you're playing with the legacy banned list) are options of varying budgets and power levels for a control deck.

The first cards I'd cut would be anything with suspend or that applies keyword ability counters. I think some amount of counter manipulation would be needed to maximize the value from such cards (with Clockspinning , Jhoira's Timebug , Paradox Haze , and Nikara, Lair Scavenger being a few things that come to mind). Then, I'd cull any sorceries or creatures that would take up all your mana on your own turn for minimal impact. Dead Revels , Frost Lynx , Alirios, Enraptured , and so on.

Sorry it took me a while to submit this after seeing the deck get posted earlier this week. Let me know if you have any questions and good luck with your build!

Azeworai on The Gyves of Mendacities

3 months ago

Mcat1999 - No, please. I welcome any commentary, and I am more than fain to describe my deck building. I stopped using the description for strategy analysis in favour of my turgid writing style some while agone.

So, I enjoy building older commanders, but synergizing can be a little difficult. This is especially prominent in the set Legends. From merely perusing all of them, they are not too powerful and lack much in their colour identity. (As examples, Dakkon cares about lands in Esper and Xira Arien forcing card draw in Jund.) With Halfdane , I had to build an Esper deck that abuses power and toughness.

Due to the general not having Red or Green, I am forced to be creative. The thing I went to immediately were creatures that acquired different stat-lines regarding board states, such as Consuming Aberration . A fair number uses the number of cards I have in hand to tell (around sixteen total in the colour combination), thus I have a deck built around drawing cards.

That brought me the goal of having a large hand size; I then needed to get there somehow. I chose for a control deck with a Flash subtheme, using Nymris and Hippocamp as draw engines. If not, I have a lot of card draw, along with tutors to find the card draw.

Flashing things in on the end step before my turn also allows Halfdane to gain their power and toughness immediately. That is the reason for the giant speedy idiots.

Unfortunately, non-Green decks need time to draw cards, so I have wraths and defence to stay my opponents' aggression.

This left me with a controlling, card draw deck with giant Flash creatures . It mainly wins by never relenting on any front and slowing my foes to a point of non-progression, all whilst I assail them with 7/7s. Entreat the Angels is honestly just a backup plan if I draw a Mystical Tutor .

In summation: control the board, ramp into big idiots , fulminate thy who art inimical.

This was overlong, but I hope it explained your query.

Strangelove on All-Form One, One-Form All [Orvar Goodstuff]

5 months ago

+1 Snake_Oil!

Here's my WIP build, Orvar Clones!

Aside from the body and tempo, cards like Merfolk Wayfinder, Augur of Bolas, Triton Fortune Hunter don't seem that useful to me as clone targets. I went for Wavebreak Hippocamp and fat-draw sphinxes like Sandstone Oracle.

Coveted Jewel and Parallel Thoughts are MVP.

Just a reminder, Snap, etc. don't clone lands (you the player chooses them, so they're not spells that "target") ...They're still good tho.

Have you considered Torrential Gearhulk or Scholar of the Lost Trove? I'm avoiding infinites, so flooding these as bodies really appeals to me.

multimedia on Kalamax-imum Overdrive

9 months ago

Hey, good upgrades of the precon. Interesting version with lots of creatures. I've been playing Kalamax on a budget since he was released and I personally prefer less creatures and more instants/sorceries. My version is very different than yours, but I have some suggestions of how you can improve your version.

Cards from the precon to consider adding:

• Kessig Wolf Run
• Harrow
• Primal Empathy
• Simic Growth Chamber
• Izzet Boilerworks
• Gruul Turf

Kessig Wolf Run is one of the better support lands with Kalamax since it can a repeatable source of trample. Getting both Run and Encampment or Settlement with Crop Rotation is nice. Run is a land upgrade for Sapseep Forest. Harrow is one of the better land ramp spells with Kalamax because you sac one land to search for four basic lands of your choice and put them onto the battlefield untapped. Getting the basic lands untapped gives you mana to cast a spell on an opponent's turn and that's really the strength of Kalamax. Harrow is better than Natural Connection.

Primal Empathy is a fine repeatable draw source since Kalamax is going to most likely be the biggest creature on the battlefield and if he isn't then put another counter on him to make him bigger. The three Bounce lands are good budget lands that are upgrades for Guildgates and Life lands (Rugged Highlands).

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Some cards to consider adding:

• Narset's Reversal
• Shared Summons
• Wavebreak Hippocamp
• Cultivator's Caravan
• Sprite Dragon
• Paradise Druid

Narset's Reversal is powerful with Kalamax since it can be a repeatable instant. You can return the original Reversal back to your hand with the copy of Reversal that Kalamax makes and still get a copy of opponent's or your own instant/sorcery you first copied. The repeatable interaction is nice with Guttersnipe and other creatures who ping your opponents. Reversal could replace Volcanic Geyser.

Shared Summons is an instant creature tutor that can get any two different creatures. With Kalamax it can tutor for four different creatures. Summons could replace Whiplash Trap. Wavebreak Hippocamp could replace Lunar Mystic. It's one less mana and the draw is repeatable for no mana cost. Sprite Dragon is a upgrade for Spellgorger Weird. It's one less mana and has evasion flying to take more advantage of having a lot of counters.

Paradise Druid can tap to make any color of mana and can use this mana to cast any card. Paradise is a ramp upgrade for Vodalian Arcanist. Cultivator's Caravan is an upgrade for a three drop mana rock because of crew 3 which is a repeatable way at instant speed tap Kalamax.

Good luck with your deck.

multimedia on Lightning-Butt Strikes Back!

9 months ago

Hey, my advice is choose one of Passage/Grounds/Lighthouse and cut the other two because lots of only colorless land sources can be problematic with Kalamax. Wolf Run/Settlement/Encampment are colorless sources and have much better interaction with Kalamax then other colorless lands.

In my opinion Passage is better than Grounds and Lighthouse, but I'm partial to attacking with Kalamax which Passage helps with. In my version I cut Passage for Reliquary Tower because I have lots more spells that can draw a lot of cards with Kalamax and I would rather keep those cards in hand than discard them. A reason to cut Passage is because you already have Wolf Run and it's an overall better land for repeatable evasion for Kalamax.

I presume you're playing Grounds because you're consistently against opponent graveyard strategies? If not then it could be cut since you don't have other Deserts and other than Encampment it's not worth including other Deserts. Lighthouse also doesn't seem worth it as a repeatable draw source since you can get better draw from many other sources.

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Some changes to consider with cards in the maybeboard:

• Survivors' Encampment > Rugged Highlands or Forest
• Holdout Settlement > Swiftwater Cliffs or Forest
  
  
• Turnabout > Ravenous Gigantotherium
• Sprout Swarm > Djinn Illuminatus
  There's a lot of high CMC creatures here; Gigantotherim and Illuminatus are not as good as the others.
  
  
• Wavebreak Hippocamp > Crackling Drake
  Drake has a difficult colored mana cost to cast having so many Forests.
  
  
• Double Vision > Clash of Titans
  I haven't played with Vision yet, but with your version of Kalamax not sure you need it since you already have Twinning, Intelligence and Melek.
  
  
• Return of the Wildspeaker > Might of Oaks

multimedia on Lightning-Butt Strikes Back!

9 months ago

Hey, nice budget version.

Holdout Settlement and Survivors' Encampment are good budget lands with Kalamax to make any color of mana by tapping him or another creature. Crop Rotation can tutor for one of them/put it onto the battlefield. Springleaf Drum can also tap Kalamax to make mana. Cultivator's Caravan is an upgrade for Ketria Crystal because of crew 3 which is another way to tap Kalamax. Having more ways to tap Kalamax without attacking while also making any color of mana is helpful.

Narset's Reversal is the best fair Fork with Kalamax. It's fair because it can't make a copy instant loop to put infinite +1/+1 counters on Kalamax. The "return to owner's hand" clause prevents this. Instead Reversal is a repeatable Fork since the copy can bounce the original back to your hand. Capsize and Sprout Swarm have buyback and you can take advantage of this with Kalamax. For six and five mana either one gives you twice the value and it returns to your hand to cast again. These cards are nice with Wilderness Reclamation. Saps/Birds/Drakes/Beasts and Kalamax interact with Return of the Wildspeaker.

Izzet/Simic/Gruul Signets or Creativity/Curiosity/Impulse Talismans are upgrades for the Diamonds. All provide more color fixing, ETB untapped, are the same mana cost and are less price. Wavebreak Hippocamp is a great budget card in multiplayer Commander. It's no mana cost repeatable draw when spellslinging with Kalamax.

Good luck with your deck.