Pointed Discussion

A good red beater. Double strike and undying can add up, although a 3/2 would have been even scarier - toughness seems to be a non-issue here.

Could be great on turn 4 dropped with mana made from Koth of The Hammer as a way to protect him and gain serious board presence.

This pup is downright scary!

Essentially a 4/4 on turn 4 that can come back from removal stronger than before.

Undying is a really cool mechanic. Adding double strike in makes it that much more fun.

Wolfir Silverheart and this guy hang are best friends and he really loves Kessig Wolf Run.

Why is this thing not a demon hound?

It was going to have 3 heads in Design, but Development said that would be way OP because then they'd have to give it Persist.

What I really love about Avacyn Restored is how they expanded on the uydying mechanic with more utilitarian creatures. The fact that this has double strike simply makes this more fun. By far one of the best cards I pulled at the prerelease that weekend.

I pulled him in the PR, and equipped him with Angel Armaments. Good times.

It has two heads at first, but then when it undies, it becomes a straight up Cerberus.

Halaphax, its so it doesnt combo with AVR's cards that deal with demons, they are supposed to stay in black

This thing was nightmarish to play against at the prerelease. Made me appreciate the value of Pillar of Flame so much more.

hmm, I saw it flavourfully as two heads, and when it first dies, it constitutes the death of one of its heads leaving the surviving head to go on a vengeful rampage.

This has a certain appeal to me, yet I also dislike it in its own way. It's awesome and appealing. Pretty simple, looks, and probably is, pretty damn powerful. Kind of like this set's Phyrexian Obliterator. No, really. Think about it.

Both of them cost 4, have a heavy colour requirement (Although Phyrexian Obliterator's is double the colour requirement of this one, which makes sense, considering his raw stats and Maro saying on his Tumblr somewhere that it's part of Black's colour pie as the selfish colour to have often heavier colour requirements; "Black begets more black.".) are pretty damn powerful, were printed in the third set of a block, and....

Both of them have something that hoses them, printed right in the same set as them that will probably make the meta much less willing to play them. In their own colour, no less!

In Phyrexian Obliterator's case, it was Dismember, (And partially his somewhat absurd colour requirement.) which made most high-cost creatures with 5 or less toughness (Like Baneslayer Angel, too!) much less playable, while the infamous titans and Consecrated Sphinx continued to see play, despite having converted mana costs of 6, as opposed to 4, and thus usually coming out 2 turns (Maybe 1 with some form of ramp in their deck(s).) earlier.


But back to this guy. In his case, it's Pillar of Flame, which I can even imagine being played in the same deck as him (RDW), just like Obliterator got into some control and/or (mono-black) zombie decks, as did Dismember, IIRC.

I can see Pillar of Flame seeing play. RDW has been wanting more toys, and AVR seems to have given it to them. Magma Spray was well-received often, gets good "reviews". Pillar of Flame is just Magma Spray: The Sorcery, except it can kill players too. And it'll probably be taking out Strangleroot Geist and Geralf's Messenger, too, while it's at it, both highly played cards. (Which, incidentally, would be nice on a Jund deck's curve if Return to Ravnica's additions to the current Standard format manabases allow it.)

It also plays sadly, but interestingly against Inferno Titan, assuming your opponent "Goldfishes" till then: Turn 4. This. Their turn, pass. Turn 5. Swing for 4. Turn 6, swing. Their turn. Titan. Shoot this, it comes back as a 3/3 Double Striker. Turn 7. Trade, both die? Maybe, maybe not. We'll see.

Incidentally, interesting mechanical feel. 2 colourless mana, 2 red mana, 2 heads, 2 strikes (Double strike), 2 lives (Undying), and it starts out as a 2/2. I bet Melvin likes -that-! I know my inner Melvin (side) does!


As for the flavor, it's interesting. When it dies, does one head live and go on a murderous rampage of vengeance like HuntedWumpusMustDie posited? Or does it grow a third head and become a "true" Cerberus?

And speaking of hellish things, why isn't it a Demon Hound or a Devil Hound, rather than an Elemental Hound, or just Elemental Devil and/or Demon Hound? I'm guessing, not enough room on the type-line, but if they were going for Tribal Synergy (Elementals have gotten -way- more support than Devils so far.), that's just mean, Wizards. You bring back Devils, and instead of giving them a cool guy that's the pet of the story's main Demon villain, you give that guy to Elementals instead?!? What are you doing man....?

Then there's his (Is it a he?) previously alluded to (By me, of course.) relationship with Griselbrand. It's not mentioned on the card, but if you read the Daily Magic articles during previews, you'd know that SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS GO HERE: Liliana killed Griselbrand. What does this mean, then? Is this another card that's already dead in the story? Sure, Griselbrand could have multiple "doggies", based on this being not Legendary, but what, did Liliana walk up to Griselbrand, and amidst his attempts to not die, or screw her over, she went:

Liliana: "Yeah, Griselbrand, I'm going to kill you now."
Griselbrand: "I'LL GIVE YOU AAAAAALLLLL THE POWE-Wait, what?"
Liliana: "And your little dog, too."
Griselbrand: "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"



Overall, cool, powerful card, that will probably draw in a lot of players, new ones especially, and appeal to inner Timmies, Melvins and maybe Vorthoses and Spikes, (Maybe not Johnnies, though, sadly.) as a good Rare should. And probably one of my favorite cards of this set, Avacyn Restored, but I just feel like it will suffer the same problem as Phyrexian Obliterator: No matter how much it wants to, the meta just isn't going to let this poor doggie see any "playtime". :(

One thing I've noticed is that card value is slightly different in Drafts than in Standard or EDH.

That being said, this card is one of the most dangerous and powerful creatures in a Draft. I just played a round tonight, and every time it'd come out, groans of agony and despair came from my opposing opponent. It's the same way how both Wolfir's (Silverheart and Avenger) are exceptionally difficult to deal with in such a limited format.

I'd give it 4.5/5 for its drafting ability, because it loses half a point for being instead of just , but it's current 4/5 rating is just. It is essentially a rare, more expensive and less restrictive version of Hearthfire Hobgoblin

Amazing with Stonewright. 4/5.

Also, @Pseudolias: TL;DR: I have way too much time on my hands and write diatribes on rather insignificant cards.

Managed to beat an opponent when I was behind with this card in a draft. He'd swung with everything he had when I only had the Hound out. I blocked one creature and he took me down to 5 life (and the Hound died, then returned). I then drew Wild Defiance, played it. Then played the Rush of Blood that was in my hand on him, making this guy 12/6. My opponent was at 22 life, I swung for 24.

Awesome card in limited, a shame it's not worth more.

Oh, Ashmouth Hound. First you were an awesome two-drop. Then you were Hellrider's mount. And now you have two heads. Please stop changing!

"Liliana: "Yeah, Griselbrand, I'm going to kill you now."
Griselbrand: "I'LL GIVE YOU AAAAAALLLLL THE POWE-Wait, what?"
Liliana: "And your little dog, too."
Griselbrand: "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!""
That little quote made me glad I read Pseudolias' post.

Double strike is often underestimated because creatures look small, a 2/2 for 4 mana, meh. But he's double strike so can deal up to 4 damage. It's hideous. His low toughness isn't such a problem because of the double strike, he can see off most smaller things and you're only rewarded for his death by getting him back even bigger because of the undying. And a 3/3 double strike isn't to be sniffed at.

Someone pointed out how well this would fit into Lorwyn Elementals. No kidding: Soulstoke dumps it into play where it swings hastily, Undying refreshes it when the sacrifice happens, and if you champion it it'll come back without the counter!

Podding into a Wolfir Silverheart with this guy is tasty

I play with this and Incandescent Soulstoke in my Nova Chaser deck, it gets ugly real quick when this bastard hits the board.

Love the combo with rancor, madcap, and/or Wolfir. Attacking for 12 with that alone on turn 5 just feels sooo good.

I play an Esper Control deck and this guy in a Red Deck Wins is terrifying, and difficult as hell for me to deal with. If I can't counter him, he's going to be a serious beater that survives field wipes. I have to spend 6 mana to deal with his ass permanently (Azorius Charm, mill with Nephalia Drownyard). He's a killer.

10/3/2013 7:56:38 AM
Play this brute with everlasting torment and either strata scythe or runechanter's pike in a heavy burn deck

EDIT
How does this work with your opponent's Necroskitter?

Double Edit
Nvm, this explained it: If two or more opponents control a Necroskitter and a creature dies with a -1/-1 counter on it, all of the Necroskitters will trigger, and then the triggers are stacked in turn order. This means that the trigger of the player who is last in turn order will resolve first, so they will get the creature if the want it (it's a "may" ability).

Assuming they do want it, the creature will enter the battlefield under the last player's control, and the other triggers will all resolve and do nothing, since the card they are looking for has moved zones.

~~~It's basically the same thing. Your opponent takes it and the Hound has moved zones.

One of my new favorite things to sling towards people with Incandescent Soulstoke. You throw a 3/3 double striker at them (because of the lord boost from Soulstoke) and then IT COMES BACK as a 4/4 double striker! And all for {1}{R}. This doggie is nuts.

Works great with Vibrating Sphere. You play the hound, you play the sphere, then on your opponents turn, the sphere kills the hound, which comes back with undying. Then on your next turn, you can attack with your 5/3 doublestriker.

This would've seen a lot more Standard play were it not for Hellrider. It is aggressive, on curve, and resistant to removal.