Pointed Discussion

a better version of kor cartographer?

Reminds me more of Silverglade Elemental than of Sakura-Tribe Elder or Kor Cartographer. Although the latter one resembles something in between this giant and the elemental.

Seriously, how many years we must wait for reprinting of Sakura-Tribe Elder ?

This card is a design failure. It's too expensive to provide mana acceleration when it's actually relevant (as in, first three turns of the game) and not beefy enough to be worth the wait. Put more simply, REPRINT GOD DAMN SAKURA-TRIBE ELDER ALREADY. And if you even think about colorshifting him to white there will be blood.

This card is a godsend in RoE limited. That's really the only way to rate cards from this set: how good are they for the Limited environment? Ondu Giant fits perfectly. It's got a chubby body to block the weenies while simultaneously accelerates your mana- when you're trying to cast spells of cmc 8+ this is exactly what you need.

This card is not bad at all. Mana Accel does matter most in the first 3 turn turns, but you're discounting many facts:

Most decks that splash green have 1-2CMC ramping options. Therefore, playing this guy on turn 3 is not only good defensively due to his toughness, but acts as additional ramp.

Further, he is a bomb in Valakut Ramp. Valakut wants to ramp all game long. This guy's got the magical number for p/t. He blocks Thrinax and Bloodbraid. He kills BBE and spares Thrinax. That's awesome! He kills most early game critters, and he's completely expendable once he hits the field. Valakut likes expendables.

Either way you slice it. This is a solid card. As with many cards, he fits in some deck archetypes, and not in others. Do we NEED a Sakura Tribe Elder? No. Would it be nice? Sure. But comparing anything to that is like saying that every creature besides Tarogoyf sucks. It's just not true. This card is good. Far from design failure.

This guy is a lil pricy for what you get, But fits in great for RoE. I pulled 2 in prerelease and he made a big difference in the slower RoE environment.

stop overlooking him. he is not a substitute of the snake or rampant growth, but a partner. you can cast him in turn 3 and have 6 lands on turn 4, plus a 2/4 body that may stop mid-size threats like bloodbraid elf

this is a really good card. sure it's a little pricy but over all I like it more than wood elves, 1 manna for a decent board presence is nothing to look down on. It's also funny with splinter twin

So... It's a Quirion Trailblazer with double P/T? Not bad.

Awesome in pauper standard. He fixes mana, triggers landfall, and laughs at lightning bolt.

I like him as a turn 3 play in ramp decks. First turn Llanowar Elves, turn two Sylvan Ranger (or even Borderland Ranger), turn 3 this.

A very underrated card. It compares well to Kozilek's Predator.

"Hey there little buddy. Let me go grab a mountain for you."

Rampant Growth is {1}{G}, so you pay {2} for a 2/4 body. That's a pretty good deal, on the whole: instead of accelerating fast into everything, it gives you the time you need to get your mana going up.

It's nice to see a simple, utilitarian card that gets the respect it deserves.

He's useful in my weenie wolf tribal. Send him out for a forest in preparation of Howl of the Night Pack, use as a typical blocker, then sac him later for Feed the Pack

Probably won't dominate tournaments, but it makes Johnny smile.

Outclassed by solemn simulacrum.