This guy is awesome because he's sorta the perfect expression of "Combo", given general form.
Red, Blue, and Green are the best colors for a FAIR Combo general as they have the silliest, wierdest bombs (no, Black Tutors ARE too much, people have a point- Blue stuff is good enough anyway), and the idea of Cascading into Cascade, and then doing it again, is just.....nutters-butters :3
Throw Knowledge Pool down for laughs, and see if people scoop :D
First of all, I can't tell if you're arguing for EDH or not, because the Wanderer plays very differently depending on which format you're using him in. If in EDH, shardless agent and violent outburst are terrible anyway, and time walk is banned in any format you might be playing this guy. You're right to say no to X spells, but your logic falters when you nix switcharoo, chain reaction, and counterspells. Realize that cascade triggers and casts the spells while Wanderer is on the stack, so chain reaction won't hit him, and switcharoo won't forcibly trade him. Also realize that you have the option to cast the spell you cascade into, so counterspells or a chain reaction that would put you in a bad position can just go to the bottom of your deck. Personally, I play daring apprentice as it's a counterspell that I can effectively cascade into and then save for later. Then you talk about not playing small creatures, but if small creatures provide you enough value, I'm happy to play them. I aggressively play birds of paradise, oracle of mul daya, and the aforementioned daring apprentice (just to name a few) because they provide plenty of value, whether i cast them or cascade into them. Late game, if i cascade into ramp spells, it's easy enough to use that extra mana to cast the bigger spells (such as the new primordials) that are inevitably laying around in my hand. Ferlord, I think you understand this card on paper, but you really do need to play with him to understand his power (and knowing the rules such as how cascade works wouldn't hurt either).
Jibz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Faced this guy as general of an EDH deck today, so annoying... You kinda wanna get rid of that 7/5 that gives everything haste, but if you do, he'll get 2 more cascades the next time he plays it > <
ExzcellionGamma
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Oh my darn cards... here it goes again:
"Then do it again."
Lifegainwithbite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Those four words at the end of the reminder text make me laugh for some reason.
Being an elemental is really nice on this guy. Incandecent Soulstoke can drop him for two mana, and while he'll die at turn's end, the two cards he cascades into will be there to stay. Plus, if you grab a Horde of Notions, he can pull the Wanderer back for more fun!
PlaneSlayer96
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This is possible, although very, very improbable, in EDH:
Worth a mention: Render Silent completely shuts him down. When you cast him, the two cascades pop on to the stack. If your opponent casts Render Silent in response, targeting Maelstrom Wanderer, it goes off before the two cascades do. Then, when you hit the cascades, you can't cast them because Render Silent prevents you from casting spells.
Counterspells aren't great with this guy, but having at least a couple isn't a bad idea to keep the above from happening. I'd recommend Pact of Negation or another one that doesn't require mana, or as Colossus_of_Darkstee mentioned, Daring Apprentice is great if he's on the field before you cast this guy.
Enelysios
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A few observations and tips from playing him in EDH: 1.) He doesn't care about strategy. Seriously, add him to any RUG strategy and he will pull his weight as a general. His big advantage is 2 free spells. Very few decks don't enjoy that. 2.) He is the hardest general I have used to counteract. Cascade twice and he has haste. If he is countered, you still get card advantage and if all people have are sorcery speed answers he gets a huge strike in too. TheBossHammer is right, Render Silent does shut him down, and other Rule of Law effects hurt too, but compared to most other legends, he is foolproof. 3.) Skip costers; use equipment, not auras; consider trading countermagic for burn, destruction and bounce. Bounce especially works well not only if cast off of him, but to be used on him when an opponent tries to kill him, or just when you want to recast him. 4.) Early mana acceleration is key. They get him out earlier and let you have the rest of your spells be a bit bigger, offering bigger cascades. You 'risk' cascading into them, but in EDH even accelerating from 8 lands to 9 is good. You'll probably have to recast him from command at some point. 5.) You may pay kicker costs and buyback costs of spells you cascade into. 6.) Strionic Resonator.
Ferlord
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I edited this comment. Thanks for the help, Colossus. I'll keep it up so people know what you're talking about (and know that I'm not that very good at Magic :S)
One thing that some people I know don't understand about this is that you shouldn't be playing small spells.
1-cost spells should be down-right out (excluding Tutors), and anything below 3 should be limited. This is just in case you get a Shardless Agent/Violent Outburst: If you only have 1 spell that costs less than 3 (let's say a Time Walk), you're pretty much playing a "Search your library for target spell with CMC 2 or less and play it", not considering the 2/2 creature or the +1/+0.
Things that have in their cosst should not be considered: Earthquake, all of the Sun's Zenith's, Protean Hydra... anything you'd play in a Rosheen Meanderer deck. What if you Cascade into it? That's a useless Cascade.
Don't try to play spells that may backfire. Things like Chain Reaction could completely destroy your entire field. Switcheroo may force you to give up Wanderer. Spells that counter aren't a good idea.
Comments (16)
This guy is awesome because he's sorta the perfect expression of "Combo", given general form.
Red, Blue, and Green are the best colors for a FAIR Combo general as they have the silliest, wierdest bombs (no, Black Tutors ARE too much, people have a point- Blue stuff is good enough anyway), and the idea of Cascading into Cascade, and then doing it again, is just.....nutters-butters :3
Throw Knowledge Pool down for laughs, and see if people scoop :D
Cascading into Hellkite Charger is pretty sweet to.
pew pew
First of all, I can't tell if you're arguing for EDH or not, because the Wanderer plays very differently depending on which format you're using him in. If in EDH, shardless agent and violent outburst are terrible anyway, and time walk is banned in any format you might be playing this guy. You're right to say no to X spells, but your logic falters when you nix switcharoo, chain reaction, and counterspells. Realize that cascade triggers and casts the spells while Wanderer is on the stack, so chain reaction won't hit him, and switcharoo won't forcibly trade him. Also realize that you have the option to cast the spell you cascade into, so counterspells or a chain reaction that would put you in a bad position can just go to the bottom of your deck. Personally, I play daring apprentice as it's a counterspell that I can effectively cascade into and then save for later. Then you talk about not playing small creatures, but if small creatures provide you enough value, I'm happy to play them. I aggressively play birds of paradise, oracle of mul daya, and the aforementioned daring apprentice (just to name a few) because they provide plenty of value, whether i cast them or cascade into them. Late game, if i cascade into ramp spells, it's easy enough to use that extra mana to cast the bigger spells (such as the new primordials) that are inevitably laying around in my hand. Ferlord, I think you understand this card on paper, but you really do need to play with him to understand his power (and knowing the rules such as how cascade works wouldn't hurt either).
"Then do it again."
Turn 1: Island, Sol Ring
Turn 2: Forest, Oracle of Mul Daya, Mountain
Turn 3: Any land, Temple of the False God, Maelstrom Wanderer, cascade into Boundless Realms and Avenger of Zendikar, grab 5 lands, Invigorate for the alternate cost and attack for exactly 43 and the kill.
Counterspells aren't great with this guy, but having at least a couple isn't a bad idea to keep the above from happening. I'd recommend Pact of Negation or another one that doesn't require mana, or as Colossus_of_Darkstee mentioned, Daring Apprentice is great if he's on the field before you cast this guy.
1.) He doesn't care about strategy. Seriously, add him to any RUG strategy and he will pull his weight as a general. His big advantage is 2 free spells. Very few decks don't enjoy that.
2.) He is the hardest general I have used to counteract. Cascade twice and he has haste. If he is countered, you still get card advantage and if all people have are sorcery speed answers he gets a huge strike in too. TheBossHammer is right, Render Silent does shut him down, and other Rule of Law effects hurt too, but compared to most other legends, he is foolproof.
3.) Skip
4.) Early mana acceleration is key. They get him out earlier and let you have the rest of your spells be a bit bigger, offering bigger cascades. You 'risk' cascading into them, but in EDH even accelerating from 8 lands to 9 is good. You'll probably have to recast him from command at some point.
5.) You may pay kicker costs and buyback costs of spells you cascade into.
6.) Strionic Resonator.
One thing that some people I know don't understand about this is that you shouldn't be playing small spells.
1-cost spells should be down-right out (excluding Tutors), and anything below 3 should be limited. This is just in case you get a Shardless Agent/Violent Outburst: If you only have 1 spell that costs less than 3 (let's say a Time Walk), you're pretty much playing a "Search your library for target spell with CMC 2 or less and play it", not considering the 2/2 creature or the +1/+0.
Things that have
Don't try to play spells that may backfire. Things like Chain Reaction could completely destroy your entire field. Switcheroo may force you to give up Wanderer. Spells that counter aren't a good idea.