Leovold, Emissary of TrestWhen things like this actually make it to physical release, I can't help but think WotC doesn't even bother considering the rammifications of cards in EDH. To be fair this card might end up being heavily self-moderated because I can't imagine ANYONE who would actually want to sit down with someone playing a general this oppressive.
Some Points:
1. Leovold has he advantage of being in the best color wedge in EDH. Tutors, card draw, permission, spot removal (for creatures and most other permanent types), board wipes, BUG has literally everything an oppressive control deck needs.
2. His ability not only stops you from being able to draw extra cards, but also turns Windfall, Dark Deal, and Whispering Madness into "Everyone discards their hands, you draw a lot, they draw one, at best, unless you also have Mikokoro or Temple Bell and used it beforehand". In addition Teferi's Puzzlebox flat out locks you out of a hand FOREVER.
3. Even if the person playing the deck isn't using the above cards, Leovold is a 3 mana card you never lose access to with a 6-8 mana praetor level effect. Not only can you never draw extra cards unless you can do it at instant speed, but if you even think of targeting Leovold or his toys you're going to be doing so at a net loss because he gets free draws, a lot of which are probably counterspells to 2 for 1 you with.
4. Every "draw extra on your draw step" effect in the game becomes one sided. While this is less oppressive than above, Howling Mine and Dictate of Kruphix add up fast and will end up burying you in card advantage.
Leovold is possibly one of the most powerful generals in the format, and is just incredibly oppressive and not fun to have at a table. As I said earlier a card like this may end up policing itself, but it's hard to deny the fact that Leovold is INSANE! The last general I can think of as strong as this being released was Narset, and Narset takes a lot more work to rush out and break the game with.
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Maluko wrote:
We need a clear set of objective rules so that everybody always knows what to expect, and how to prepare for it. As of now, I think I spend more time arguing with players about the format than I do playing fun and interactive games of Commander. And last time I read, this was not the format's purpose.
QFT