Hangarback Walker

Gigas Breaker

Mythic

25 mana

8/8 artifact creature

When you match 3 make a 1/1 flying thopter

When it dies make 8 1/1 flying thopters


Anybody else got to play with this?

Unknown

Its pretty good, and can win games as your only creature, but it takes a while to get out.

Stacks of thopters are vulnerable to bounce.

Tentatively I'd say the best deck for him is either Chandra or Gideon, because gideon can make the thopters block, and chandra can clear small enemies for you until you can get it out.

Each time a thopter appears, it triggers "comes into play" effects, so Angel's tomb will buff the stack with +3/+3 every single time a new one appears. This is pretty sweet. Flameshadow conjuring also makes them invincible.

Blahahah

Its not bad, but thats making the assumption it lives longer than one turn.
25 mana is a hefty investment, and once its out most characters have means to eliminate it.
If you aren't already dead by then, their board might be too big for you to keep it running.
If it costed like 7 mana less, then maybe. Otherwise, it looks average.

Gigas Breaker

While it is true that if it gets killed right after you play it is pretty rough, just one turn where you get to make matches at least softens the blow. If it isn't dealt with right away though and you get a few turns it's steamrolling the opponent.

My problem is I only have a Nissa deck because I keep opening Nissa cards. I always tend to move this card down in favor of cheaper creatures just so I can start pounding away with nissa's gift much sooner.

Does blue have counter spells? I don't even know.

void

Blahahah wrote:

Its not bad, but thats making the assumption it lives longer than one turn.
25 mana is a hefty investment, and once its out most characters have means to eliminate it.
If you aren't already dead by then, their board might be too big for you to keep it running.
If it costed like 7 mana less, then maybe. Otherwise, it looks average.

It's a classic win-more card for late game since that's the only situation where you could comfortably develop something that big. I don't think the Walker should cost less though, if anything cards in this game should cost more so that pushing out the most cost-efficient minions worth 10 mana or less wouldn't be such a dominant strategy.

Unknown

I used it and its actually pretty bad.

It does mostly win more, and if you get it in your opening hand you know you have a "win condition" given that you don't die before it comes out...

The main problem is you're dumping 25 mana into something with no defensive ability. So during that time you're getting dunked on.

Removal is not a problem - certain storyline missions aside, I have yet to play anyone in pvp that plays strong removal. So that is not a concern.

Bottom line for this card though, is that this game is all about creature control, not simply rolling over your opponent with big creatures.

Thus while I've tried it in all my decks, I've removed it from all of them, not because by itself it isn't technically a good card, but because I almost always want to play something else instead. And by the time I have the board control I want and the mana to spare, I've already won the game.

EDIT: if instead, it was a 4/4 with the same ability that cost 12-15 mana, I would play this in every single deck.

Blahahah

I mean it works great in Lilianna because you can recycle it with raise dead after one play, thats the only time I see it being used and being something other than a "whip the **** out" card to pad your advantage.

Gigas Breaker

I forgot about its ability when it dies! Even if they kill it you end up with an 8/8 flier. When the Flesh bag marauder used it's edict ability in story mode it would leave him empty and me with thopters.

Unknown

Honestly It is my perfect finisher in a jace deck. My jace was lvl 14 when I beat every single story mission (and most quick battles) with him and a general mana denial deck. The deck runs hangarback as a finisher and the 9 mana thing for walling. In general, they dont cast anything, what does cast gets removed nigh instantly, and my spare mana goes into hangarback as a free finisher.

Blahahah

Gigas Breaker wrote:

I forgot about its ability when it dies! Even if they kill it you end up with an 8/8 flier. When the Flesh bag marauder used it's edict ability in story mode it would leave him empty and me with thopters.

Normally fantastic, falls short when it comes to two things:

Treason and bounce.
Too expensive to maintain against Jayce.
Can't remember if treason works on it, but if so thats another glaring weakness.

Unknown

They are attacker type so yes Treason works on it.

However AI/pvp doesn't usually play treason. It is a fairly "safe" card but it is painfully slow - by the time you reach 25 mana invested usually the fight has already been decided.

Blahahah

pandabear wrote:

They are attacker type so yes Treason works on it.

However AI/pvp doesn't usually play treason. It is a fairly "safe" card but it is painfully slow - by the time you reach 25 mana invested usually the fight has already been decided.

Well I'm saying it being used against you moreso than for you.

Gigas Breaker

Haha if only it was 2 out 3 and you could sideboard it in against black.

Unknown

Noob here, but i like it next to pia and kirin nalaar.. sure expensive but very good

Unknown

Actually, I've found great use for this creature in a Liliana deck. You can force discard it with corrupt and then return it with Dark Petition (9 mana - Return the last destroyed creature to the battlefield) or Necrotic Summons (6 mana - Return the last creature you and your opponent had that was destroyed to the battlefield) and of course her 3rd skill Raise Dead. This obviously means a bit of foresight and consideration when using Necrotic Summons, but between these 3 abilities, keeping it on the board isn't really an issue.

raidan

Trilli wrote:

Actually, I've found great use for this creature in a Liliana deck. You can force discard it with corrupt and then return it with Dark Petition (9 mana - Return the last destroyed creature to the battlefield) or Necrotic Summons (6 mana - Return the last creature you and your opponent had that was destroyed to the battlefield) and of course her 3rd skill Raise Dead. This obviously means a bit of foresight and consideration when using Necrotic Summons, but between these 3 abilities, keeping it on the board isn't really an issue.

Thanks for the suggestion! I have put it in my Liliana deck.