There will even be games where you won’t get it down on turn 3. But that’s not quite what the articles are doing. Any of the delve options suffers from the fact that both Remand and Cryptic Command see heavy play. Weaker in decks that need to apply pressure early, but a great closer. That brings us to the third reason to play Mandrills, which is something not even Tas can boast: Trample. Although there are plenty of Modern decks that don’t run the guy in green, if you want to play something like Abzan or Jund, then Goyf feels like a non-negotiable. Set: Modern Masters Type: Creature Lhurgoyf Rarity: Mythic Cost: null Tarmogoyf's power is equal to the number of card types among cards in all graveyards and its toughness is equal to that number plus 1. I’m going to define “competitive” as any deck that is classified as Tier 1 or Tier 2 in Top Decks. Apologies for the mixup! Like Tas, it’s an easy turn 3 play with 1 or even 2 mana open, and a possible turn 2 play in the right matchup. Just run more Tas. Sorry about that: this article was one of our earlier ones when we were experimenting with multiple pages. These are listed roughly in order of how good a Goyf impression they do. Leatherback Baloth: If you are heavy in green, Baloth gives you the 4/5 Goyf body without any drawbacks and at just one more mana. Minor nitpicking, but dryad militant only exiles a spell that kills her if that spell is a burn or -x/-x spell, as she dies to SBE after the spell has finished resolving. $0.07, As low as:
Similarly, the value of getting to counter + bounce a Tasigur is often better than the standard mode (counter+draw). Another oft mentioned goyf substitute is Vinelasher Kudzu, although it shares Gurmag Angler’s problem of needing a fetch heavy mana base. On the surface, she looks like an innocuous beater that dies to every removal in the format and doesn’t directly affect the board state. We could also include decks that have 1 point, but Tier 1 and 2 account for enough of the metagame (73%) that this should be sufficient. All of this is to show you don’t need Goyf to enjoy Modern. Checklist Card - (CH1) Shadows over Innistrad, Checklist Card - (CH2) Shadows over Innistrad. Burn? $41.99, As low as:
Oh I certainly agree, there are a lot of alternative decks that do not run Goyf at all, but saying that there are better alternatives in green seems… not to be repetitive, but it seems disingenuous. It’s a viable 1-2 inclusion in numerous control decks and even some more midrangey ones, depending on the number of graveyard-reliant decks they need to worry about. If you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em. 12/7/2018: Tarmogoyf counts card types, not cards. Whoa there, down to 1-2 Goyfs! $0.02, As low as:
Once you add the ability to the mix, Tas becomes a real all star. I’ll also list their lowest NM price from TCGplayer’s card store. When the moderately played version of a card is running for $165 with shipping included, you know you are either playing Legacy or you are talking about Tarmogoyf. Or even if you aren’t serious, make an investment and get those now. Because the card is so cheap, there are lots of decks that can use this. Before we start trying to figure out ways not to use the $170+ beatstick, let’s ask this: just how common is Goyf in the format? Add to that the value gained from stopping a Souls flashback, and Ooze becomes much more attractive. Your average turn 2-3 Goyf is about a 4/5, and Ooze needs 3 more mana invested to even be able to block or attack profitably into enemy Goyfs. Don’t forget the synergy between Ooze and Tas if you are trying to get more selection in your recursion. Wow. Given the (very) limited dated here, how do we know that the decks running Goyf are pulling the wins for their archetypes, while the Goyfless Wonders are skewing the data with their losses? In fact, without fetchlands, the delve replacements for Goyf aren’t nearly as viable. A weird budgetary tension with Angler, not to mention Tas and the upcoming Mandrills, is that it works best with the not-so-budget fetchlands. Tas is even better at times, such as when you play him for just one mana, or when the graveyards are volatile. If your options are “play that card or play what kills that card because playing any other option makes you lose”, it’s a warped format. 56% are doing something else.