Points Announcement: Aetherdrift

Demonic Counsel (+1 to 1)

On release we immediately took an interest in this card due to its obvious similarities to Demonic Tutor. There were some reasons to “wait and see” what the true power level of this card would be, however, its become clear that the delirium is not a particularly onerous requirement for the decks that want this effect. Obviously this card has some limitations timing wise when compared to Demonic Tutor, otherwise it would be straight to 2 points, but it has earned it’s spot as a 1 point tutor.

Nadu, Winged Wisdom (+1 to 2)

Nadu has no clear ‘singular’ reason to earn its point, however, it is slightly over-tuned in enough different areas to earn its second point.
Firstly, on power, while it’s not dominating top 8s or winning tournaments, as players have had more time to find the proper place for Nadu and what supports are required its average results have trended upwards and in Cancon decks with Nadu performed better than average.
Secondly, Nadu is starting to homogenise combo decks, becoming a ‘default’ plan B in walks, flash, reanimator and more.
Thirdly, Nadu creates timing and logistics issues for tournaments. Its not necessarily as much as a Sensei’s Divining Top, however, it is as close to it as possible and additionally has the added complexity of creating game state errors. Ultimately tournaments only need 1 time consuming game to delay it for everyone.
Lastly, its pretty clear that the play experience generated from Nadu has generated far more ire from the player base than your average card.
None of these reasons alone justify a point, however, together its death by a thousand cuts for Nadu and its going to 2.

Abhorrent Oculus (+1 to 1)

Abhorrent Oculus is very similar to Murktide Regent in that it is a large evasive body for its stats, has an easily overcome graveyard cost and is a powerful blocker that can end the game quickly on the offensive. There are obviously some minor differences, Murktide being better at going ‘tall’ while Oculus can go ‘wide,’ but ultimately these cards are too similar in function to be different points.

Force of Will and Expressive Iteration +1

This isn’t exclusively about these two cards but moreover a broader analysis of how Grixis (and other blue tempo/midrange decks) have historically enjoyed a lot of power and while have definitely received their fair share of points, have maintained a consistent presence as a tier 1 deck in the format.

The current strategy of pointing threats has succeeded in creating diversity within the archetype and pointing Lutri and Gush has created interesting deckbuilding choices. Despite this the decks different forms all seem to be drawing a larger collection of pilots than any other macro-type and this runs counter to our vision of a truly diverse metagame.

We are thinking about the other axis whereby blue based midrange/tempo draws power and want to start that discussion with Force of Will and Expressive Iteration. Force of Will allows proactive blue decks to ‘safely’ exert pressure on the board without the typical risk of punishment via counter-play from their opponent Expressive Iteration is as close to 2 mana: Draw 2 cards as you can get, and arguably the selection element makes it better than that. Making blue pilots pay more for these powerful effects is a potential way to shave some power off these decks.

There are drawbacks however, and we want to see where they sit with the community (and indeed think more on them ourselves) before acting. These cards are also a feature in decks like blue-based Control and Prowess which are somewhat suffering in the metagame at present. Although perhaps these decks might inadvertently benefit from less of their opponents having counter back up or efficient 2-for-1’s. Combo decks might also receive a large boost with less Force of Will numbers present, but that may be balanced by a higher cost of playing Force of Will themselves. Give us your ideas, would you pay an additional point for these cards? Are there other candidates that haven’t been talked about yet?