3/29/2023 0 Comments Mtg cardsmith filetype not allowedSometimes, the solution is to hide those effects inside of that cards that are doing other jobs! Spot Removal Unlike the other mana rocks, Mind Stone can be sacrificed to draw a card, making it one of the only rocks that can also create a token with our commander, and at instant speed, no less! This is not to be overlooked if you find yourself having difficulty locating card draw spells. Less than half of Locust decks play it, but I think that's too low. Mind Stone is an underrated mana rock that provides another great boost. It doesn’t provide colored mana and costs about five times as much money as the Signet, which likely accounts for why it's played less often. The “no maximum hand size” clause is important when our commander wants to draw lots of cards, and we want to keep them all. Thought Vessel, by contrast, has a synergy score of 25% on EDHREC, which signals to us that it's a little bit more unique to our Locust friend than to other Izzet commanders. Synergy scores on EDHREC are a form of uniqueness calculation (80% of The Locust God decks play Izzet Signet, and 75% of all other Izzet decks also play Izzet Signet, so the difference = 5%). On The Locust God 's EDHREC page, you'll see that Izzet Signet has a low synergy score (5%) but that doesn't mean it's a bad card here. Izzet Signet filters mana from any source, even a colorless land, and helps to make sure you have both colors needed to cast your spells. This is especially true in the era of rapid power creep, and even more pertinent when your commander costs six mana and is a lightning rod for removal.įor each job, I'd like to highlight a low-synergy-score card, a high-synergy-score card, and an underrated card for this commander, to add more context to the qualitative data and see how each one magnifies the abilities, accentuates the strengths, and mitigates the weaknesses of our commander.Īll of these cards cost two mana, ramp by one, and provide some additional value. Most decks need ramp to play high-impact spells at a time when they are still relevant. The Locust God is a special commander, so let’s find the right tools for these jobs! Ramp To investigate (not the mechanic, although it would draw us cards!), we’ll look into how Locust God can do the jobs a deck needs to do, but in its own way, unique from how other blue and red decks function. Drawing cards is wonderful, but how can you get your cards to do more work for you? Also, the deck has a tendency to draw a lot of air and not be able to deal with what’s happening on the board, especially if the deck isn’t balanced. People have seen the swarm, lost to it, and learned not to let it do its thing. By now, The Locust God is a well-known commander, and one that comes with a certain amount of baggage. As you draw cards, it creates a swarm of tokens to overwhelm your enemies. The Locust God is a commander that's hungry for cards. For a deck to be powerful and consistent, each card needs to do a job, and these cards do WORK!įor our inaugural article, we're taking a look at a big bad buggy boy. My intention is to differentiate between high- and low-synergy cards, describe in what ways the cards work with the commander, and explain why high synergy is such a good thing. Similarly, cooking shows on television often say ingredients "go" together, but don't go into how, why, in what way, or why that's a good thing. What makes a card good? What’s the difference between popularity and synergy? What even is that synergy thing anyways? Doesn’t Cyclonic Rift just go into any blue deck, based on power alone? The commander breakdowns on EDHREC can be helpful resources for newer deckbuilders, but can also be overwhelming and confusing. Magic is a complicated game in every facet of the term. I refer to the cards and effects that decks need to operate consistently as “jobs”. Combo taught me to evaluate the individual roles of cards and the ratios of effects to get the pieces to work together. Combat was complicated, so I learned to build combo decks to avoid that. When I first learned how to play Magic: the Gathering, I could not figure out how combat worked for the life of me. I'm also a current teacher, college professor, streamer, community leader, and content creator. Hi there! I’m Jeremy Rowe, AKA J Ro, the Unsummoned Skull, a former Judge, Tournament Organizer, and Pro Tour competitor. ( The Locust God | Art by Lius Lasahido) Working 9 to 5
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