(Cataclysmic Gearhulk is really good, but the fact that your opponent gets to pick and you have to sacrifice your own board as well keeps from being as degenerate as it could be.)
I could even agree that Cataclysmic Gearhulk is arguably better overall in the majority of some circumstances, at least in Standard, especially with Eldrazi Displacer around, but Torrential Gearhulk just has more potential overall by virtue of its design. It is not probably that much that is terribly exciting to recur in Standard, especially with the dragonlord Command spells leaving, but getting into Modern and even just staying in color you get access to most of the nastier counterspells like, say, Commandeer:
Being the only Gearhulk to have Flash also is not exactly insignificant.
Now that you mention it, though, it is a slightly bullshit that the white Gearhulk is one mana cheaper than all the other ones, especially since it somewhat mars the cycle.
I would be very surprised if Torrential Gearhulk ever sees any play in modern. 6 mana is huge for modern, and blue gearhulk is way too conditional to worth the effort.
My Hulk rating would be:
Black Hulk: Pure, unconditional value. It will certainly see play
White Hulk - sweeper attached to a body is awesome, butthe fact that your opponent can keep his best creature is a big downside. Still, depending how the format will shape out, will see play (at least in SB like Tragic arrogance)
Red Hulk: solid creature, but you need to build a certain deck around it, to include big spells while also remaining fairly aggresive. Great potential
Blue Hulk: has potential but higly conditional. A lot of work for a debatable outcome. Seems like a win more to me
Green Hulk: wonāt see play unless thereās a deck that really wants counters. Sigh, green gets shafted this timeā¦
Mulldrifter costs 5 for the actual creature and was a beast in itās Standard run. Sure you can Evoke it but it has no 2 life. It will compete with Avacyn but she can also wipe your board and Selfless Spirit can protect vs. boardwipes anyway. I think theyāll fit different decks.
I could see this card fitting alongside Spell Queller, Reflector Mage and Eldrazi Displacer. Youād probably run Selfless Spirit and maybe Rattlechains in some number. Other than that Iād be looking at counterspells and Stasis Snare probably. Displacer = ridiculous draw but also works well alongside Reflector Mage.
I think the W hulk is the best. Tragic arrogance has been fringe playable/sideboard as long as itās been around iircā¦so a big body attached to it seems solid.
Really liking the Boros aggro stuff they are pushing so far. Two one drops that both get boosted just by having artifacts, could go along with some of the mono-w human shellā¦
Lol still nothing that really stands out to me for UR Thermo.
Iām thinking Orzhov Midrange still. I want to see the card that will really decide it for me though. Maybe the Grave titan substitute will be enough but I donāt know
So we have a white spell that is instant speed and says destroy a creature. Sometimes I wonder if Wizards forgets what certain colors do. Like I could understand if it can only be activated in retaliation to something like an attack or block. But this is definitely a black card effect all day.
Also, we have weak instant speed burn card. Why not just reprint shock, that would be sweet.
(Huh. I did not think of Eternal Scourge when I saw that card, but, yeah, that could be quite obnoxious, especially since there is still not sign of any graveyard hate.)
Also, I had thought that all of the spoilers for today were already revealed by noon, but then I see BullDancerās post and am forced to roll my eyes twice for two very different reasons. Sigh. Oh well. At least the fancy camel is spared from strictly better Smite the Monstrous.
I also am not sure how I feel about the Planeswalker revealed today, though I am vaguely amused that people over at Mythic Spoiler are bitching that he is āboringā when being āboringā is literally Azoriousās thing:
Not sure why you quoted all that, but all I am going to argue at present is that we will see. I also concede the also-obvious in that Torrential Gearhulk has a bunch of competition in Snapcaster Mage.
Still, even if Torrential Gearhulk is not the best Gearhulk now, it is the one with the most potential for growth, sort of like how Sun Titan and Primeval Titan always become slightly more powerful with every new set released. Actually, as far as Gearhulks go, it is literally the only one with any growth potential in that regard, which is why I may well be overrating it.
People have been paying 4 mana to get a 2/1 and reuse a remand/mana leak/whatever since Innistrad dropped, I simply donāt see why they wouldnāt pay 2 more and do the same with but get a 6/6 and maybe even cryptic command instead.
And yeah, pre-ordering a playset of scrapheap scrounger come payday, itās still good even if you never get to combo with Scourge.
I like Dovin because heās basically a cantrip. At worst heāll just replace himself while giving you two life. If they canāt remove him heās good card advantage. I see how heās a bit boring and drawing cards / gaining life on itās own doesnāt win games so it wont excite a lot of players. I think heāll see some play though.
Why does every second new planeswalker have a āup to 1 target creature gets -X/-Y until your next turnā as their first ability nowadays? I mean, itās a genuinely useful ability, but still, itās fucking everywhere. D:
some quick math: murder costs 3 mana, so you are paying 3 mana for a 5/4 menace body, which is simply gross. And you are also gaining lifeā¦
As for the blue hulk vs snapcaster, first hulk cannot casts sorceries, which reduces a lot the potential targets. Second, paying 6 mana instead 3 or 4 is a big difference.
Murder is instant so not a direct comparison and 6 mana means later than turn 6 usually so you need to assess the rest of your deck and how fast they can win or put the game out of reach. Remember the set is still full of cards like Ulamog, TKS etc.
Itās still very good though. Iām thinking of running 4 in a kind of stally Orzhov Midrange
On Blue Hulk itās a much bigger threat as a creature than Snapcaster. I can easily see it snapping back a 4-5 mana Cancel with an upside in response to something as well
Thereās almost enough for a Nd aggro deck and enough for a RGb aggro deck. So far two drops are clogged and one drops are premium. RW seems to have the best removal.
