Why isn't Rhox used more?
General forum
Posted on Jan. 2, 2014, 11:02 a.m. by kintighd
I know his cmc is 6 but that isn't a huge problem for mono green decks. He can deal his damage to his blocker or the defending player, and he has protection from removal. Is his cmc so high it just makes him average?
Servo_Token says... #3
Modern doesnt really have room for an average 6 mana 5/5. He's unblockable, which is ok, he has regenerate, which is a little worse than ok, and he comes out after the game has finished, which is pretty terrabad.
Most modern games only go to turn 4-6, and a lot of these decks just don't curve up to 6. For 6 mana, would you rather have a 5/5 guy that has no board interaction, or an Obstinate Baloth /and/ a Dark Confidant ? Granted, that's just an example, and I'm not certain that these two things would ever see play in the same deck, but it's just to show how you can do more things for 6 mana that will actually affect the game significantly.
Rhox just isn't powerful enough to see play, as he's too slow and too costly. If he only cost 4, he /might/ see some fringe play.
January 2, 2014 11:29 a.m.
Rhox is too expensive for Modern. For upwards of 6 mana, there are many spells that are on completely different, incomparable power levels. See: Primeval Titan , Wurmcoil Engine , Karn Liberated , Mindslaver , Scapeshift , Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker , etc.
That, and Path to Exile is at the forefront of removal in the format, and it laughs at Regenerate.
Also, there's a big difference between Regenerate and "protection from removal", for a number of reasons (a big one just listed): You need mana open to regenerate. Then, even if you can regenerate, you need to hope you aren't getting hit by something that prevents it, like Putrefy or Terminate (the latter of which is very popular). If you can get past that, though, you still need to realize that Regenerate removes the creature from combat and taps it if it regenerates. If it attacks and gets regenerated, it no longer deals damage.
That, and Green already has a fatty regenerating creature in Modern that's much better: Thrun, the Last Troll . A 4/4 in Modern can be considered a "fatty" simply because a great deal of the creatures are smaller than that (and sit right around 2/2). Now add in Hexproof and the fact that Thrun can't be countered and you've got a tier-1 threat.
January 2, 2014 12:42 p.m.
I'd rather use Pattern of Rebirth or Elvish Piper to cheat a Thorn Elemental into play if that was the kind of creature I wanted to use.
January 2, 2014 11:24 p.m.
Because for 6CMC any titan (Sun Titan ,Grave Titan ,Inferno Titan , Frost Titan , Primeval Titan ) gives more impact on the battlefield than Rhox.
Gidgetimer says... #2
Most of the time trample is better than "may assign its damage as if it weren't blocked" and regeneration will save it from a lot but it isn't the best protection since "may not be regenerated" is a thing (Putrefy , Wrath of God etc.).
January 2, 2014 11:26 a.m.