Dies to Removal

Man, these previews are pretty cool.
I'm not sure AEtherling is going to warrant any of the hype its introductory article had for it, but it's a cool-ish card that does dodge Wrath and is unblockable sometimes.

The draw-3 is sweet but is 6 mana for Sift, so it's probably not a real boy in Constructed... but it's so cool!

Armadillo Cloak is back and I don't actually care if you cannot put it in a deck because Armadillo Cloak is back and that's all that really matters.

Oh shit new Morphling

I don't even know if Morphling is good anymore... especially at 6cc. I mean, you're not going to want to just drop this guy on the table without a open to protect it - and I expect more out of my 7 drops than just big, unblockable, and hard to kill.

Rancor and Armadillo Cloak in Standard, huh? That's something.

So, Burst of Strength, Ivy Lane Denizen, Evolve, Unleash, Scavenge, Grave Betrayal,Lotleth Troll,Rubblebelt raiders, Master Biomancer,Forced Adaptation ,Prime Speaker Zegana and Necropolis Regent for the Gorgon to interact with.

Hrm That's not a whole bunch to get passed to you during draft.

8x armadillo cloak is too good. expect it to overrun modern and vintage

8x armadillo cloak is too good. expect it to overrun modern and vintage

YOU TRYING TO MAKE FUN OF ARMADILLO CLOAK PUNK? I'LL MESS YOU UP!

no but srsly Armadillo Cloak is one of the all time most casual favorite cards IIRC(?) and also I was a babby just starting to play in FNMs during Invasion and building really bad budget Fires decks using commons from Invasion draft and 6th edition and Prophecy that looked maybe similar to the cards I thought I saw other people playing in their decks (I had Kavu Chameleon and at least 2 Fires of Yavimaya, so I had to be playing the right deck), so seeing a flavor-reprint of Armadillo Cloak, especially at a time when people
are actually playing Enchantments, is a pretty cool thing.

Does this replace Gift of the Orzhova in Bant Auras?

8x armadillo cloak is too good. expect it to overrun modern and vintage

YOU TRYING TO MAKE FUN OF ARMADILLO CLOAK PUNK? I'LL MESS YOU UP!

no but srsly Armadillo Cloak is one of the all time most casual favorite cards IIRC(?) and also I was a babby just starting to play in FNMs during Invasion and building really bad budget Fires decks using commons from Invasion draft and 6th edition and Prophecy that looked maybe similar to the cards I thought I saw other people playing in their decks (I had Kavu
Chameleon and at least 2 Fires of Yavimaya, so I had to be playing the right deck), so seeing a flavor-reprint of Armadillo Cloak, especially at a time when people are actually playing Enchantments, is a pretty cool thing.

Does this replace Gift of the Orzhova in Bant Auras?

Cloak is a whole other level above Gift.

I raise it as a question because trample is huge, but already granted through Rancor, and most ground creatures right now are flipping huge (Rampager, Thragtusk, Behemoth, Prime Speaker, Ravager of the Fells), meaning the only way you're fighting through them is with first strike via Ethereal Armor or Silverblade Paladin. It's something worth noting before immediately setting all of your Gift of the Orzhova on fire in celebration of the new Armadillo Cloak.

Well, +2/+2 is obviously better than +1/+1, but it actually more than twice as good.

Not only does an additional +1/+1 make the creature more aggressive and harder to kill (important since it's now a walking 2-for-1) it actually makes Lifelink better, too, because you're also gaining 1 additional life.

Trample is roughly as effective of an evasive ability as flying (except you can't be chumped by common cards like Lingering Souls) so that's a wash, but WG has the best creatures in the game to put something like this on so it that's a point for new Cloak.

Basically:

+2/+2 >>>>>>>> +1/+1
Cloak Lifelink > Gift Lifelink
Trample roughly = Flying
GW > W/B

Dat Armadillo Cloak. <3

I'm pretty pumped.

We're talking about a deck where Wraths and, in the case of Geist of Saint Traft, blocking are the only effective ways to kill the more aggressive creatures at the core of the deck, though, so the issue of 2-for-1 is less relevant except in the case of blocking -- where 4/4s for 4, 5/3s on turn 4, and 6/6s + 6 cards on turn 5 are the baselines for ground creature combat.

Gift doesn't help against Restoration Angel, which new-Cloak does, but then Gift helps against all of these other creatures referenced above.

Saying "Trample approximates to flying" ignores some of the major weakness of not having a flying Geist of Saint Traft or losing your pairing mid-combat with Silverblade Paladin.

That said, double white SUCKS in a three-color deck that really wants an aggressive start, as is only getting +1/+1 out of your 3-mana card. I have also watched many streamers playing Bant Auras and complaining how miserable
Gift is but how necessary the things it provides are sometimes. Not sure if that critical "thing" is flying or the lifelink, but in the case of the latter, Cloak is so way super good.

I suspect you're right, but it's very important to keep in mind the rest of the meta before replacing a card that approximates but doesn't actually replace the effect of another card, especially since creatures have all taken a turn for the "is able to kill a cloaked Geist." This also may just signify that now is not the time for Bant Auras in Standard.

Blast of Genius is interesting. Seems like it was specifically designed for draft but I might play around with it if I do decide to build Junk Walkers; throwing a Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker at your opponent's face ftw would probably feel quite satisfying.

Blast of Genius is interesting. Seems like it was specifically designed for draft but I might play around with it if I do decide to build Junk Walkers; throwing a Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker at your opponent's face ftw would probably feel quite satisfying.

I feel like that's more true if you're literally throwing the card at their face.