@Superllama12 : Heh, nice comparison. And yeah, I also think this card is good, not a lot of one-drops become potentially big enough to become serious threats for your opponents...not at common at least (except for the quoted Delver of Secrets of course). - And yes, as a lot of Evolve cards, this is ideal "on the curve", but not good afterwards. But hey, simic has some ways to distribute counters. Plus, it's not as if this particular flaw is only present in creatures with Evolve...
CORRBentOrgy
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(7 votes)
He's a perfect one-drop, but that's what worries me; image drawing a 0/1 on turn five. Ouch. I realize Simic can easily build him up with all the 1+/+1 counter engines it has, but Evolve looks like a double-edged sword to me.
Still better than poor Cipher though.
SyntheticDreamer
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(4 votes)
I don't think this will be quite as heavily played as Delver of Secrets is, but this is quite a nice one-drop, and almost EVERYTHING makes it bigger. I like it. Of course, if you get it in late game, you're screwed, so it's not all fun and games here.
RiftenBlack
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Probably the best 1-drop in the whole set. Get's 4.5 / 5 from me.
This card is so stupid good. He's gonna get wicked big wicked fast.
raptorman333
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
evolve is a triggered ability. it seems that it triggers when a creature comes into play. does it check the power and toughness of the new creature on resolution or immediately?
for instance: i want to play a weaker creature but i want to get a +1/+1 counter from evolve so i play the creature evolve goes on the stack i respond with a pump card to the new weaker creature it makes it stronger than the creature with evolve evolve resolves with a +1/+1 counter
correct or wrong?
Purplerooster
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Hold down the B button to stop this from evolving.
Ryjhan
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@raptorman: that's wrong. the evolve trigger wont go on the stack unless the creature entering the battlefield has sufficient power. pumping it after it hits the field will have no effect.
Weisse
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
No, it's not even close to Delver.
rollinsclone
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
New Delver? No. Still a ridiculous first turn play? Oh yeah.
OrangeAir
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
T1: Island, Cloudfin Raptor T2: Forest, Young Wolf Evolve triggers resolves, and Cloudfin Raptor is 1/2. Rapid Hybridization targeting Young Wolf. Undying trigger resolves, then evolve off the 2/2 wolf, and Cloudfin is 2/3. Evolve then resolves for 3/3 token. Attack on turn two with your 3/4 flier.
TtothaOtothadoubleD
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Liking this Evolve ability. Creatures that enter the battlefield with X amount of +1/+1 counters? Sounds like a key that breaks the lock.
Majinkajisan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
With a Zephyr Spirit, it becomes a Mahamoti Djinn! I love how Wizards tried to make the most useless card in Ravnica feel relevant.
lorendorky
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My ears are ringing just looking at the art of this thing "SCREEEEEEEEH!!!"
Amazing creature! Hell, Id play it in any remotely agressive blue deck. At worst its a storm crow for cheaper
GearLeader
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hummm so let me get this straight, if you play a regular 1/1 token, this becomes a 1/2
And then put a 2/2, you now have a 2/3 flyer
I like it.
_Wicker_
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Did great at the prerelease, I got him to 4/5 several times. Even if he comes in late game you can bioshift onto him from some utility creature like Fathom Mage to keep things moving.
Cards like this are obviously amazing on the curve in your opening hand and not good to actually draw. Cards like fathom mage and zegana can draw enough cards to mollify the late-game draw of this though. Simic hardly ever has to top-deck as a result, so the nightmare of topping this late-game I'm not really concerned about.
1cc evolve is crazy.
OrgasmandTea
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
I love that you can actually work out a mathematical formula for how your creatures evolve.
wpken
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I still love this card ALOT even though I just had my view on evolve crushed last night. Actually re-reading the effect I can see how I was wrong. I was thinking if either the power OR the toughness was higher than either it's power or toughness it would evolve. Example: Cloudfin Raptor, I play one and then I play another, because his toughness is higher than his power I would then trigger evolve. I am sad to find out that I was wrong, this is much fairer than my interpretation of the effect. Far less powerful than I had envisioned it but it still gets an A+ in my book to power up the more you fill out your curve.
Oatbran
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"mommy, mommy, I want a bird," says the sister. "but mommy, I want a kite," says the brother. "honey, we don't have the money for both." Says the husband to his wife. "I guess we'll just have to get a cloudfin raptor." Says the mother. "yay!" And everyone's happy.
LordOfTheFlies87
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(6 votes)
This evolves into Storm Crow. Pokemon style.
TzarChasm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Everyone knows this is typically your best one-drop in Simic, but what a lot of people apparently miss about him is that even late-game he's at least viable if you're utilizing Master Biomancer correctly. Even if your Biomancer has no counters on him, this thing is still a 2/3 flyer for U, which is not strictly worse than Insectile Aberration.
Cyanide17
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Some sort of combo with power conduit and golem foundry? Someone out there make it work, I've got to change the baby.
Halaphax
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Am I the only one who is really bugged that the five guilds in Gatecrash didn't have hybrid mana one-drop creatures?
DacenOctavio
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
@ CORRBentOrgy:
. . . Aren't most 1-drops shitty when you topdeck them on turn 5?
@ Halaphax - now that you mentioned it, yeah that's quite peculiar. i wonder if they were reserved in dragon's maze. also selsnya and golgari dont have their own X spells yet.
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Very awesome one-drop. Guaranteed to become Storm Crow very fast for less the mana, and then keeps growing.
Vogie
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Flavor Text suggestion:
Darwin would have never made it in Ravnica
LordRandomness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The reason this isn't comparable to Delver is that the two cards go in completely different decks. This becomes like Delver once you cast two creatures (one with 2+ power or 3+ toughness) which most decks running delver will practically never do. It does fulfill a similar role in different control styles though (note that Augur of Bolas and other control creatures can easily pump up this bird while helping you keep control), so it's worth considering for the sort of role Delver performs in decks more focused on instants/sorceries.
@TzarChasm and don't forget Ooze Flux im alway happy to draw this with an Ooze Flux on the battlefield, this a very nice simic one drop...
blurrymadness
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Oona's Prowler gives you a 1/2 flying discard engine starting T2. That would make this is by far the most efficient discard creature/engine in the game. Sprinkle in proliferate and Fluxmage
Oddly enough, good in unleash decks.
Taudisban
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think that one mana this card deserves a lot of recognition in that if your opponent uses removal on it, you will always be breaking even on cards and mana or doing them better. But, let's look at the curve.
Turn 1: 0/1 This is fine. On turn one, if the format isn't degenerate, putting a growing threat on the board is rarely outclassed.
Turn 2: 1/2 (2/3 in special cases) At this point, Cloudfin will most likely hit for one evasive damage.If your deck evolves 90% of the time by this point, this is probably on par with a 2 power one drop, though still hard to evaluate.
Turn 3: 2/3, maybe 3/4 This is where it gets iffy for me. If your evolve is consistent, flying is evasive enough to make most of that damage go through but you have chosen not to interact with your opponent. Laying down a 2 power one drop turn one and interacting with your opponent is probably stronger at this point unless you can hit at least 2/3 and interact with your opponent by this turn. 2/3 flyer passes the vanilla test for turn three and combining that with board presence plus disruption presents a really strong early game.
The thing is, every turn after turn 1 that you drop Cloudfin, it will be basically be worse than something that has natural attack power.
jerkoid
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Nice one-drop if you have an aggressive blue deck, especially a midrange one.
MrBrightsideX11
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This thing has won me games. Probably the best common in this set, in my opinion. This + Vorel is very fun. 5/5
DmitryM
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
comparable to Delver of Secrets.
kwjohnstone
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just realized that this guy + KIORA's emblem = WIN...
Made a fierce BG deck with ordeals and fliers, so good, <3
Lurac
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Taudisban You talk about this card as if it were a leveler. (turn 2, pay 2 mana, it becomes 1/2, turn three, level up again, it becomes 2/3) If that was the case, then this would be a really bad card, while in reality, you are laying down new creatures each turn, as your 1-drop grows. Turn 2 Shambleshark, Raptor evolves, Turn 3 Vorel, both evolve. Suddenly your 1-drop became a 2/3 flier, and you have a 3/2 blocker and the ability to double your flier's power every turn.
Next turn you drop some high toughness 1- or 2-mana creature (Kraken Hatchling, anyone?), then tap vorel, and your Raptor has become a 6/7 and must be removed ASAP.
I don't think evolve is an overpowered mechanic or anything, but your comparison to a 2/3 vanilla for 3 does not give it justice.
Comments (45)
-
And yes, as a lot of Evolve cards, this is ideal "on the curve", but not good afterwards. But hey, simic has some ways to distribute counters. Plus, it's not as if this particular flaw is only present in creatures with Evolve...
Still better than poor Cipher though.
for instance:
i want to play a weaker creature
but i want to get a +1/+1 counter from evolve
so i play the creature
evolve goes on the stack
i respond with a pump card to the new weaker creature
it makes it stronger than the creature with evolve
evolve resolves with a +1/+1 counter
correct or wrong?
T2: Forest, Young Wolf
Evolve triggers resolves, and Cloudfin Raptor is 1/2.
Rapid Hybridization targeting Young Wolf.
Undying trigger resolves, then evolve off the 2/2 wolf, and Cloudfin is 2/3. Evolve then resolves for 3/3 token. Attack on turn two with your 3/4 flier.
I love how Wizards tried to make the most useless card in Ravnica feel relevant.
How about this for a cute sequence of plays:
Turn one: Steam Vents untapped, Cloudfin Raptor
Turn two: Mountain, Burning-Tree Emissary, Lightning Mauler bonded to Emissary and swing for six on turn 2.
And then put a 2/2, you now have a 2/3 flyer
I like it.
Turn one this.
Turn two Storm Crow.
You now have 2 Storm Crows turn two.
WOTC... what have you done?
1cc evolve is crazy.
"but mommy, I want a kite," says the brother.
"honey, we don't have the money for both." Says the husband to his wife.
"I guess we'll just have to get a cloudfin raptor." Says the mother.
"yay!" And everyone's happy.
Pokemon style.
. . . Aren't most 1-drops shitty when you topdeck them on turn 5?
Huh. Geist of Saint Traft evolves this 3 times.
Darwin would have never made it in Ravnica
Oddly enough, good in unleash decks.
Turn 1: 0/1 This is fine. On turn one, if the format isn't degenerate, putting a growing threat on the board is rarely outclassed.
Turn 2: 1/2 (2/3 in special cases) At this point, Cloudfin will most likely hit for one evasive damage.If your deck evolves 90% of the time by this point, this is probably on par with a 2 power one drop, though still hard to evaluate.
Turn 3: 2/3, maybe 3/4 This is where it gets iffy for me. If your evolve is consistent, flying is evasive enough to make most of that damage go through but you have chosen not to interact with your opponent. Laying down a 2 power one drop turn one and interacting with your opponent is probably stronger at this point unless you can hit at least 2/3 and interact with your opponent by this turn. 2/3 flyer passes the vanilla test for turn three and combining that with board presence plus disruption presents a really strong early game.
The thing is, every turn after turn 1 that you drop Cloudfin, it will be basically be worse than something that has natural attack power.
Made a fierce BG deck with ordeals and fliers, so good, <3
You talk about this card as if it were a leveler. (turn 2, pay 2 mana, it becomes 1/2, turn three, level up again, it becomes 2/3)
If that was the case, then this would be a really bad card, while in reality, you are laying down new creatures each turn, as your 1-drop grows. Turn 2 Shambleshark, Raptor evolves, Turn 3 Vorel, both evolve.
Suddenly your 1-drop became a 2/3 flier, and you have a 3/2 blocker and the ability to double your flier's power every turn.
Next turn you drop some high toughness 1- or 2-mana creature (Kraken Hatchling, anyone?), then tap vorel, and your Raptor has become a 6/7 and must be removed ASAP.
I don't think evolve is an overpowered mechanic or anything, but your comparison to a 2/3 vanilla for 3 does not give it justice.