Worldwake - Dragonmaster Outcast
January 22, 2010Concerning:
The Champ (aka Coimbra)
Antoine Ruel (the card, not the Pro Tour winner)
… and Dragonmaster Outcast!
Well, if the Champ says so…
So here comes the first of Five’s Worldwake card chatty chatties. And it’s a big one… in a little package. If you want to read — or actually listen to — more Worldwake chats from me (and @top8games, and @sloppystack) give this a listen: Worldwake Preview, Part 5. That is one of several parts of a Podcast that BDM, WillPop, and I ran this week over at Top 8 Magic. Good stuff, as ever.
So what about Dragonmaster Outcast?
Aesthetics:
This card seems pretty good.
As Coimbra says, it is a monster if you go and get it with Ranger of Eos. The question is whether — as a singleton or a redundant threat — it is superior to Scute Mob.
The advantage to Dragonmaster Outcast is that many 5/5 flying creatures over many turns are more powerful than a single, increasingly powerful (but non-evasive) Vampire Hexmage victim-to-be.
The advantage to Scute Mob is that it is a much faster threat. As soon as you hit your mana threshold, Scute Mob can start to battle, whereas there is a full additional turn in between the appearance of your first Dragon and the first attack that you get out of it.
Another possibility is that you just play a whole bunch of these little guys. When initially testing Naya Lightsaber, I often lusted for a second copy of that bullet.
Where Can I See This Fitting In?
Beyond the obvious Naya / Ranger of Eos action, another option would be a regular old one drop in a Red Deck. Is it as offensive as Goblin Guide? Not on the first turn, certainly. However, Red Decks have never needed great — or even very good — creatures to excel. This Mons Goblin Raiders can get some pro-action under its belt, and really pan out later in the game (should it go long). In particular, Dragonmaster Outcast is almost necessarily synergistic in a Red Deck with Valakut in Standard.
Snap Judgment Rating: Role Player - High *
LOVE
MIKE
* Was obv kidding with that Flagship comment on Top 8 
Seems like a great finisher in U/R control. Control the
wobblesthegoose | January 23, 2010Seems like a great finisher in U/R control. Control the board, play this guy and still be able counter the removal.
If this card is necessarily synergistic with Valakramp, would you
chanovin | January 23, 2010If this card is necessarily synergistic with Valakramp, would you say that Scute Mob is as well? Clearly, if a couple turns go by this guy is more difficult to deal with (more removal necessary) but is that enough to differentiate?
Yea it does seem to fit in a control deck.
ibanez | January 24, 2010Yea it does seem to fit in a control deck. I would like to know the modifications you (Mike Flores) would make to your sorin-cruel deck when the full worldwake comes out. The new Jace and treasure hunt seem to fit better than divination
@wobblesthegoose I don't think I would default to playing it in
admin | January 24, 2010@wobblesthegoose
I don’t think I would default to playing it in a control deck. I feel like 1/1 creatures are probably hard to protect. He gets a lot more value as a curve creature, incremental Ranger threat, or post-exhaustion / attrition threat. At least that’s my gut.
@chanovin
I think it is different due specifically to the MOUNTAINS requirement. Scute Mob doesn’t get the automatic nod there whereas this card, along with Valakut, can give straight Red beatdown decks a different, but still somewhat consistent, route.
@ibanez
I think I would play 4 Treasure Hunt and 2 Divination, cutting 2 Into the Roil; I love the new Jace but I see that as sideboard in this particular deck. But testing might prove me wrong!