Hatred vs. Howl From Beyond
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Aug. 7, 2020, 9:17 a.m. by EleshNornsFs
I was doing some deck building and hit a snag, deciding between Hatred or Howl from Beyond. I settled on the latter, simply due to the cost and the fact that I had one on hand, but I have some questions. Which do you think is better? If price wasn't relevant, what would you pick? If you think Hatred is better, is it better enough to fork over the $12 to $14 for it? And of course, why do you think so?
EleshNornsFs says... #3
GhostChieftain You make an excellent case for Hatred but something I forgot to mention in the original post was whether or not it makes a difference when Infect gets involved. 20 mana is difficult, but 10 mana is a lot more doable.
August 7, 2020 9:43 a.m.
King_marchesa says... #4
Hatred is still better in my opinion mainly because you are spending less mana, but you might want to add both. But Howl from Beyond is an awesome budget version of Hatred.
August 7, 2020 9:55 a.m.
GhostChieftain says... #5
Sure it is doable at 10, but you could have 5 extra mana to use on 1 or 2 more spells that turn if you use hatred. You could use the extra mana for a Praetor's Grasp getting a 2 cmc counterspell to protect your hatred or just use your own Imp's Mischief. 11 mana you can cast Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon give it haste and cast hatred in the same turn. More spells=more better. Earlier cast for the win is also better. Hatred is hands down the better card in edh. The only real question left imo is if it is more worth it for you to get hatred or save for something like Ad Nauseam, Dark Confidant,Demonic Tutor, or fetchlands if you don't have those yet.
August 7, 2020 9:57 a.m.
EleshNornsFs says... #6
That brings me to yet another question (sorry, I have many.) Dark Confidant versus Phyrexian Arena. In cEDH, it makes sense because it is a lot faster, but outside of that, it doesn't seem as good. You trade one black mana for the vulnerability of being a creature and the potential for quite a bit more damage (again, not as relevant in cEDH due to lower costs). The only downside I see on the arena is the word "draw," which is only problematic against Nekusar, the Mindrazer decks.
(Moment of Self-Awareness: Dear God I probably sound like a noob timmy.)
August 7, 2020 10:21 a.m.
GhostChieftain says... #7
All good, asking questions is the way you learn and get better at anything. You have a great point though, It is true that arena is better than confidant in less competitive metas. If you are packing 15 6+cmc cards, naus and confidant will hurt a lot.
August 7, 2020 10:51 a.m.
depends on the commander which i would pick
but in most cases i would choose Unspeakable Symbol over ether one
as for Dark Confidant versus Phyrexian Arena
my answer is both
Nekusar, the Mindrazer maybe a problem and it is a popular commander
i would still run both and just not cast them if someone is running nekusar
August 7, 2020 3:38 p.m.
King_marchesa says... #10
My favorite budget replacement for Dark Confidant is Dark Tutelage for one extra Mana you get the same effect but at 39$ less than Dark Confidant plus it can't be removed as easily.
GhostChieftain says... #2
Hatred becomes an instakill at any mana total(5 or above) as long as you have life. Say your commander gets through, you just pay a bunch of life and knock someone out. It can also be used on someone elses creature for 20 ish life and kill someone. To do that much with howl requires so much more mana that it is just unreasonable most of the time. I would say it is better enough to get if you already have the other staple cards for your deck because hatred is not used in most decks. Prioritize spending your money on the things you will use in many decks down the road and you will end up saving a fair bit of money.
August 7, 2020 9:34 a.m.