Has WotC Been Doing a Good Job of Giving White Card Advantage and Mana Acceleration?
General forum
Posted on Dec. 18, 2023, 6:05 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
In the past, some players were complaining about how white had the least emphasis on card advantage and mana acceleration of all the colors, so WotC has recently printed a number of cards that address those issues, with some prominent examples being Archaeomancer's Map, Smothering Tithe, Boreas Charger, and Esper Sentinel, so I would like to ask the members of this forum how they feel about those cards.
Do you believe that WotC has done a good job of providing white with both card advantage and mana acceleration, while still remaining true to white's philosophy and not undermining that color's purposeful weaknesses? What does everyone else say about this subject?
wallisface says... #3
Keep in mind on Marks blogotog he directly said that Smothering Tithe ”I’ll call it a strong bend that we shouldn’t have made”, so I don’t think that should be part of the discussion.
My impression was only that Wotc were pushing to allow white additional card draw, not mana ramp - i’m not sure where you got the idea ramp was also being added to the colour, if you could link something that indicates this that’d be great.
It’s also worth noting that the only people clamouring for white to have card draw were the commander community, which I have no real interest in. I have been happy that this card draw hasn’t seeped into other formats where it’s not needed. From what little i’ve heard of the commander community white has also been given numerous buffs for that format, and has a much better position now.
December 18, 2023 7:38 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #4
wallisface, I am very glad that Smothering Tithe exists, as I have it in several of my decks, and I listed three cards above that provide white with mana acceleration, and jethstriker mentioned one, as well.
Also, may I ask why you are not interested in commander/EDH?
December 18, 2023 8:12 p.m.
wallisface says... #5
DemonDragonJ i am aware Wotc make occasional mana ramp cards - but I have not heard them make any statement of providing white with more mana ramp (only card draw), which is why I was asking for a link… otherwise it’s all hearsay.
Commander just doesn’t remotely interest me. I’m in favour of competitive, interactive formats, which Commander doesn’t provide. Everyone’s free to pursue the formats they like most, but that one is by-far my least-enjoyed format.
December 18, 2023 8:25 p.m.
A (kind of) quick explanation:
Commander tends to encourage and support large creatures, fast combos, and accumulating resources (life totals, board presence, cards in hand, mana) to survive and defeat three opponents at once. 's strengths are rapid massed attacks and technical combat, defensive structure, and restricting opponents' options. Its long-term weaknesses include smaller than average creatures and reduced ability to generate resources quickly. This made it very poorly suited for EDH (now know as Commander). It was seen as a fairly viable support color for slower control decks, but unable to support a deck on its own and generally "unfun," with effects like Rule of Law, Armageddon, and Ghostly Prison only serving to stall and draw out the game. could set up a lock, but not provide many threats of its own to actually end a match. This meant that -centric decks were slow themselves and made everybody else slower, shutting down a match without providing closure.
Commander's increasing popularity and the strong advantages that , , and had over and in that format meant that these colors were often seen as weak and underpowered, even when presenting powerful options in Standard, Modern, and other formats more suited to their strengths. WotC responded by experimenting with ways to increase the viability of and in Commander without making them too strong in other formats.
I think they've done a reasonably good job overall, although the Legacy initiative decks probably represent a misstep, along with Smothering Tithe. Standard, Modern, and Pioneer have not seen an influx of cards drawing multiple cards each turn, while -centric decks are increasingly viable in Commander, although still need support at the highest tiers. Commander has always been a casual, highly variable format above all, where personal expression is encouraged as much as any mechanical balance. Still, the process is still very much in its experimental phases, and trial and error is the most cost- and production-efficient method of expanding 's (and every other color's) area of expertise.
Imagine if the fan-made format catered to 's and 's strengths. In this hypothetical, instead of trying to use all their old weird cards, the creators simply wanted to play as many different games as possible. Call it Rapidfire format. Life points start at 15, and the decks are singleton 45-card piles that use the colors of their commanders. Here, and are powerful, while and would need a lot of help--mill might be acceptable, but that's it. This little thought experiment is just trying to show that the apparent weakness of is simply residue of a single popular format that reduces its strengths and amplify its shortcomings.
This post was a lot shorter and less rambly when I started writing, I swear.
December 19, 2023 12:54 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #7
wallisface, both of those explanations make sense, to me.
December 21, 2023 9:08 p.m.
Grubbernaut says... #8
wallisface cEDH is both more interactive and more competitive than it's ever been. It's practically defined by efficient interaction, anymore.
December 25, 2023 1:57 a.m.
wallisface says... #9
Grubbernaut that's probably true, but that's probably also true of all formats, as Wotc have been pushing for increased interaction hard over the last few years. This doesn't mean that it's as interactive as other formats like Pioneer or Modern. Commander just doesn't appeal to me. But that's ok - we're all allowed to like different things
December 25, 2023 3:36 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #10
legendofa, that was a very thorough and detailed explanation, so I thank you, very much, for it.
jethstriker says... #2
I think some players are misled by the belief that the only true form of card advantage are by direct card drawing. Cards like Wrath of God, Balance, Armageddon, and Land Tax can create card advantage if rightfully used or abused. And they all exist almost right from the beginning of the game. You just have to widen your perspective that card advantage comes in different forms, not just card drawing.
December 18, 2023 7:28 p.m.