Pretty neat with Hold the Gates, both for the toughness boost for it's snacks and the ability to attack and eat at the same time.
Posted By:
IncoherentEssay
(2/13/2014 4:34:54 AM)
this thing is going to be the bomb in my Kresh deck. Screw all you spikes who have no imagination. :)~
Posted By:
moonmist103
(2/16/2014 10:15:13 AM)
Here is how I believe how people should use this card, don't kill your creature to it UNLESS they are trying to use a skill spell on it; therefore they wasted a kill spell and you have a stronger creature. Also here is the secret standard card for him burst of strength
Posted By:
raginglittepycho
(2/18/2014 8:05:11 PM)
This is not a bad card. It's fantastic anti-removal. Keep him as a blocker, If someone tries to kill off something you have, eat it instead. Kiora's follower can untap him if you MUST have that, but usually thats not the case. And even though nobody but me seems to be running Bioshift, I have a lovely little corpsejack menace-Tribute Deck that people can't seem to lockdown any threats in, other than corpsejack.
Just because of this guy and bioshift. Nobody wants to blow removal on him if there's a corpsejack/kalonian/Nessian ravager/or any other immediate threat on the field. He's just tactical removal prevention.... My opinions
Posted By:
Gumdrop_Prince
(2/20/2014 9:12:38 AM)
@ pyromosh
While I agree that the tap cost is less than desirable, you're thinking about this guy in the wrong way.
Don't sac on your turn, sac at the end of your opponent's turn so you're not leaving yourself open.
Yes he has a big "Shock me" sign on him, but he's only 3 mana. Next turn you can play Kiora and they've already used up their shock on your hydra.
Late game, he's an excellent shield for your fatties. Either they waste a Doom Blade on this guy, they try to kill your fatty and you just sac it in response, or they use two kill-spells. This means you get to keep your P/T on the field, or they have to use double the kill-spells. I think that's excellent efficiency for 3cmc splashable.
Yes he may be somewhat slow, but there are loads of standard and even in-block cards that help get the ball rolling on him. Yes Kalonian Hydra is faster when it hits the table, but Kalonian Hydra is Mythic, and costs 2 more. Stric... (see all)
Posted By:
Grakling
(2/21/2014 3:14:20 PM)
@pyromosh: Scourge of Skola Vale is a way to discourage removal and turn toughness into attacking power, not a straight aggro creature. (And the best-case scenario probably involves Corpsejack Menace.)
As Grakling mentioned, always wait until your opponent's end step or respond to removal. He could work in a Phenax mill deck as a backup plan.
@Achvile: Yes, another fun thing to do with Phyrexian Dreadnought! When it enters the battlefield, choose to sacrifice the Dreadnought (this is not a cost, so it will happen when the ability resolves), and in response sacrifice it to the Scourge.
Posted By:
JimmyNoobPlayer
(2/25/2014 2:44:59 PM)
Huh, interesting. Copying my comment over from M12's Primordial Hydra, I said this back in the day:
"Have to wonder where they'll go from here if they continue this Hydra trend.
Hypothetical Hydra
CMC: XG
P/T: 0/0
Hypothetical Hydra enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it.
1, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Hypothetical Hydra: Put a 1/1 green Head creature token onto the battlefield.
Sacrifice a creature: Put X +1/+1 counters on Hypothetical Hydra."
I was off on the idea of X-ponential growth, though it seems the "Hydra eats something to grow" idea wound up coming true. I'm sure it's just coincidence, but it's nice to see little moments of "Ooh, I think like the devs do!" sometimes.
Posted By:
Nucleon
(2/28/2014 11:03:05 AM)
*Pokes head in* AHEM! Instill Energy. You are welcome.
Posted By:
Magnachronus
(3/10/2014 6:14:55 PM)
@pyromosh Judging a card based on its propensity to get removed is a bad way to judge a card. There are some great uses for this card, but trying to get it out and sac a high toughness creature to it ASAP isn't one of them. This works well in a Golgari deck or in a Simic deck that's boosting creatures with counters and cards that can untap like Kiora's Follower. Just because it doesn't fit an aggro/ramp deck doesn't make it awful.
I feel like that's the downfall with the way people think about Magic today. This card doesn't win on turn 3 and it takes more than 1 turn to become an absolute power house, awful card!
With all that said, I was disappointed that this has to tap to sac a creature, but I also understand the need. It would be nicer if you could pay 1G and sac a creature so you could still attack the turn you sac.
Also: Death's Presence, Vastwood Hydra, Worldspine Wurm
Posted By:
mattbl
(3/16/2014 9:55:14 AM)
In any creature-heavy deck this guy is a champ. Play him early, then play a big guy like deadbridge goliath next turn. When your opponent wastes a spell to kill the goliath, Scourge scarfs it down instead. Now Scourge is a big ol' 7/7 trampler for 3 cmc that your opponent has to waste another kill spell on.
Posted By:
Rmorty
(3/16/2014 12:09:01 PM)