wallisface I don't believe I stated that the card was powerful. As far as <1% on EDHrec, I have played plenty of cards that help me on my way to winning in less overt ways & they probably show up in a low % decks as well.

Again, I don't really play Temple Bell, nor do I play traditional "hugs". But, I have seen specialist players be pretty effective at that playstyle. As far as: not EVER doing enough in the 99 I say "Never say Never" in a game with this much choice, variety, strategy, & personal preference. Your playstyle is not everyone elses' playstyle, even if it is the majority playstyle.

Temple Bell is fine depending on your personal strategy as a player. If you build a lot of versatility & durability into your decks then a small amount of "benefit for all" is fine. Basically, in a 4-player (+) game, if you know you barely ever are the archenemy role & giving everyone potential "solutions" is just fine because what are they really "solving" on your side of the board? this is fine. I play so many group slug - "death by 1,000 cuts" decks, the commanders are rarely the main show, & I rarely have any one lynchpin to be "solved". I often play a lower single-target removal volume & more wipes & mass-durability cards because the more midrange the game & the more parity & "solutions" everyone has, the more single-target removal starts to become too "small fry" when every other player is the next big threat.

Now, if none of that describes your playstyle & you play more commander-centric deck & you don't tend to use your opponents as resources.. then I'd say to use a more me-centered card.

I play a ton of Descent into Avernus & regularly kick butt with it because I have years of deckbuilding & playstyle directed at building for durability & a mindfulness that I am not the only priority at the table. Players will have to address each other if they are constantly dropping the next big bomb. Of course this can be a little dependent on an opponent making a rational decision from their point of view, which can be tricky.

Not that I am saying one strategy is better than the other, just that I don't like when people say "hug" cards are outright bad. That being said, I don't play a lot of true "hug" either.

More signs of Gruul getting some enchantress love if anyone else caught the enchantment-cascade wolf

That is a really difficult search for sure. It requires some time period relativity thinking: are there any roaring 20's stories where you're lead to believe your characters are still in the industrializing West for e.g.' ??

I know this comes up in some dystopian, or "start anew" themes, where they just don't blatantly inform you that the theme is "start anew".

I know the Shannara Chronicles & Adventure Time had this going on... There must be predecessors, but I can't think of any

Sometimes I have some gooberish comments, inviting debate.. But, I think blobfish Jace if a very unifying concept.

Jace should have been a blobfish

wallisface I pretty much only buy singles now too.. I have been only getting my little cost-controlled assets for so long that I didn't realize how out-of-hand pack prices had gotten. My goodness, I am out of touch :) It makes me a little sad to realize my playgroup will probably never expand at this price point... I can't think of any reason someone new would want to start such an expensive hobby, especially when my playgroup have plenty of other fun times to be had spending much less.

I think I erped up a little something when I read "coolest cards" in that collector pack description in the 1st paragraph. Cringy.

I would love for The Wanderer to be a hummingbird

Weasel or stote would've worked for Jace as well. Or some less on-the-nose things would be best. But I think they want cohesive types... Which is weird for fox then

I think it would be more of a statement to make a beautiful graceful character manifest as a rat or something to manifest that personality

Fable style squirrels are known to be somewhat miserly and individualistic. With all their acorn burying and unbarying. There is a good bit of to the greedy fable personality

I have a Naya enchantress deck that will be very happy to make its' many 4+cmc enchantments into swingin pieces. While replacing Ohran frostfang

IMO, having 4 player playtested a bunch of Atraxa (I playtest her as an opponent alot because she is such a common commander), I find the falconer to be a bit situational, maybe a little bit of a groan when I have the falconer. Falconer feels a bit between "win-more" to underwhelming for having built an army with +1/+1 counters, also considering the commander is often part of that army & doesn't really need double flying. I think the perk to 4-color +1/+1 counters is usually having a bunch of creatures become cumulatively better when powered up with counters... So flying on an already jacked creature usually feels a bit underwhelming to me. On the other hand, characteristics like: card draw, or more counter supplying are going to be handy at most points during a game.

All that to clarify why I think my suggestion above isn't that far out of left field.

for the same CMC, Breena, the Demagogue gives you card draw & an easy +2/+2 (or +4/+4 draw 2) if 2 opponents have more life than another & you have 2 attackers. +4/+4 is ridiculous on Atraxa. That is only including your own potential attacks. I keep trying to sell Breena as a powerhouse on her own, but also in the "99" in many decks, especially counter decks. My own build with her is based around proliferate.

I think it was a good design choice for the colors as well to make the effect: "During your turn". It seems like should be fairly crappy when it comes to defensive play, at least when you have some pretty aggressive abilities like this.

Bello, Bard of the Brambles Has the look of something different for for once. The power level is pretty amped up on that one as well. That will be a GOOD option for a commander for an aggressive enchantress shell outside of the usual Selesnya faire. Beyond that, he works in some other archetype shells too.

This dude has an aggressive CMC to boot.

I've been on the better side of it a few times with Marisi. Particularly when I am doing Boros things. It is an interesting balancing act. Sometimes, if I haven't been able to goad the whole table I can successfully calculate the first trigger (+1/0) & catch other players off guard with the snow bally nature of it. Then I swing around with the final crackback for the finisher :) Of course, it is a nightmare if your opponents are keen to consistently running lifelink attackers.

Crescendo of War? Because it is comical

Future design space is not player-behavior driven however. I put the "sweatiness" comment in as a tongue and cheek afterthought comment. But, there would be some major design space implications to more cards specifying "face down" exile. Spontenaety and more unknowns can certainly be introduced in a game that can often get too stale with too many known values. Consider if future cards play a random card out of face down piles for target opponent, it has a little fun factor to not know what is in an exile pile that you choose.