Loaded question because there are so many factors to consider.
- What kind of combo deck are they
- What match/turn is it
- What else in in your hand
- What does your on board presence / Mana look like
I'm not sure there is a right answer here, just contextual ones.
With Thieving Skydiver to steal moxen and/or serpents and Hullbreacher to stop draw spells, I wonder how needed Null Rod is? Maybe vial does seem like a better choice.
I am not actually a fan of Vial in Vintage because you will be facing opponents who also are play null rods and for the most part Cavern helps you push things through. Vial does a lot better in decks that have 1 drop fish as well, which you do not.
I am of the mindset that you want to draw a lord, but not specifically 2 in every game, so I think cutting a LOA is a reasonable move.
Thieving is ok, but I think there will be matches where you are stealing mana rocks too late to matter. For 3 mana other lists get Dack which is leagues above thieving and in those decks typically easier to cast. I think you may want to consider cutting there for something more universally good.
I would be very interested in if this can put up results as is. I love when a mono color deck can work. Few questions:
- Chalice of the void? Seems like it would do work in the sideboard as another tool to hate on fast mana.
- You have mostly 2 drops but very few ways to ramp into them (lotus, petal, mox) Should you consider curse catcher?
- Daze seems middling when you have no 1 drops and are not playing a vial plan. Considering your draw engines look light as well I think that slot may be better served as a draw spell or even Gitixian Probe or ponder.
Guys, the nifty thing about new printings is that they often give new life to old printings. Wheel was a format staple for years along with windfall and twister, it seems to me that this card plus narset are a pretty good start towards breathing new life in to them if anything was ever going to.
@vaughnbros said in [CMR] Hullbreacher:
Sure, but I was talking about cards that are actually played.
Are you contending that Wheel of Fortune does not see play, and also that a card that is no yet in circulation does?
@john-cox said in [CMR] Hullbreacher:
Timetwister or Wheel of Misfortune are the best draw sevens to use this against I think.
Any resolved draw 7 is going to be a blowout with this in the same way it works with Narset. I would contend maybe even worse since you have mana to spend afterwards
@vaughnbros said in [CMR] Hullbreacher:
The biggest blowout is to flash it in response to a Dack Fayden activation, and they discard 2, you get a treasure, and then a creature to attack Fayden.
Do you feel like that is a bigger blowout than slamming this in response to a wheel of fortune which will leave you with 7 cards, them with 0, and you with 7 free mana you can spend whenever you like? Cause I don't.
@vaughnbros said in [CMR] Hullbreacher:
Your opponent can kill this immediately though without you being able to recoup value, unlike Narset.
The presence of Flash on the card makes it substantially easier to get rewarded for playing it and adds the extra utility of being able to block and and trade with some other stuff which is marginal but real. Narset was never a surprise so people would not play cards into it, this is. Totally different dynamic. It is far more comparable to Notion thief save for the mana investment which is why the Narset comparison keeps coming up.
Since Narset is a 1 of now, I don't think her being better or worse is really relevant to the power level of this card since we know people were playing more than 1 when they could and they would again if given the option.
This and the black one that punishes tutors are directly designed for Commander where they are still powerful but since you get targeted by 3 players for playing it, it is far less of a slam dunk play. Since WOTC does not care about formats that require the reserve list like vintage, I think it is safe to assume they just thought they would restrict it.
@ilpeggiore said in [CMR] Hullbreacher:
If you can counter ancestral/brainstorm or the like, you play it for free. This is so strong that could push more ppl toward decks that do not draw as much as blue does.
and no, it can't be white. but it could have been red or black or bicolor with those abilities.
I disagree that this could not be in White. Smothering Tithe is in white and it plays in the same ballpark. Likely would not have been a Merfolk then but small price to pay. Hell this could have been an colorless eldrazi and made 0/1s as well at it would probably be better all around.
Being that the card is in blue though, I think it provides a strange tension since if you are playing blue you very much want to be playing draw spells anyway and counters to protect them, so I do not imagine draw spells going away in any real number. You may have seen this if this card was in a color that does not have to make that choice like white or green.