I'm glad to see this reprinted, but Exquisite Blood is *so* much better with Oloro it's ridiculous. I guess that's why they used this instead.
DarthParallax
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Ehn- Wrong!
a reading of Oloro's card shows he clearly wants to gain life, and that this card will trigger much more often than Exquisite Blood. Though they are similar, since his lore clearly says he's after immortality, he prefers to Control a game slowly as his lifetotal builds, not close it out with a combo as soon as he enters. . .
I see the possibility to throw it in for an 'oops' I win combo that can be very strongly supported and protected by the Colors, but Oloro is a Giant, not a Vampire. I would pull what you suggest in Jeleva's deck sure, but not his.
EDH multiplayer is supposed to be a bit more family friendly than the hard-core "I'm Here To Win" French 1v1 variant. In 'Competitive EDH', I suppose Exquisite Blood is preferred, but EDH has a clear intention for the format, and it's "Combos are more fun when they're last thing someone does after we derp around playing REAL back-and-forth Magic for at least 5 hours and people are kind of tired or want to shuffle up different decks."
It's not that it's an anti-combo format, it just doesn't want combos that end the game on turn 6. (Turn 1 Sol Ring, Turn 2 or 3 search for your card, Turn 4 cast your general, then play the combo with a Counterspell in hand.)
I could however see someone make the combo more difficult for themselves by going with Exquisite Blood in the deck, but only allowing themselves to use it if they can do it without relying on direct interaction with Oloro himself- like Vizkopa Guildmage.
SeriouslyFacetious
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Parallax, my friend! That is the most highly accurate descr!ption of EDH I've seen on Gatherer lol...
Of course in my first ever EDH game (after getting back into magic after 15 years) player one drops a Windswept Heath to fetch a Bayou... And I'm thinking to myself "Huh! $200 land play first turn... I thought this was a friendly game!"
Comments (7)
but Exquisite Blood is *so* much better with Oloro it's ridiculous.
I guess that's why they used this instead.
a reading of Oloro's card shows he clearly wants to gain life, and that this card will trigger much more often than Exquisite Blood. Though they are similar, since his lore clearly says he's after immortality, he prefers to Control a game slowly as his lifetotal builds, not close it out with a combo as soon as he enters. . .
I see the possibility to throw it in for an 'oops' I win combo that can be very strongly supported and protected by the Colors, but Oloro is a Giant, not a Vampire. I would pull what you suggest in Jeleva's deck sure, but not his.
EDH multiplayer is supposed to be a bit more family friendly than the hard-core "I'm Here To Win" French 1v1 variant. In 'Competitive EDH', I suppose Exquisite Blood is preferred, but EDH has a clear intention for the format, and it's "Combos are more fun when they're last thing someone does after we derp around playing REAL back-and-forth Magic for at least 5 hours and people are kind of tired or want to shuffle up different decks."
It's not that it's an anti-combo format, it just doesn't want combos that end the game on turn 6. (Turn 1 Sol Ring, Turn 2 or 3 search for your card, Turn 4 cast your general, then play the combo with a Counterspell in hand.)
I could however see someone make the combo more difficult for themselves by going with Exquisite Blood in the deck, but only allowing themselves to use it if they can do it without relying on direct interaction with Oloro himself- like Vizkopa Guildmage.
Of course in my first ever EDH game (after getting back into magic after 15 years) player one drops a Windswept Heath to fetch a Bayou... And I'm thinking to myself "Huh! $200 land play first turn... I thought this was a friendly game!"
That could easily be a game-ending effect.