Linvala, The Preserver

Jazzpha

So I posted a thread on General Tazri a while back that got some nice discussion going, so since the patch notes have revealed that Linvala is coming up as a Mythic to be purchased, I figured we might as well start theory-crafting around her now.

So we have a 8/8 with Flying and Defender for 17 mana, with regenerate 4 that heals you for 10 life. And if the opponent's board is full, you get an 8/8 angel which is the same token type as Sigil of the Empty Throne, so they would stack (for those of you who run that card; I find it a bit slow for QB myself).

I think the card is a bit slow and impractical for Ally Gideon, as he has no trouble putting creatures on the board, and is more interested in triggering rally effects than necessarily just dropping big creatures and going ham.

Which leaves OG Gideon and Ajani.

I think this card would be a terror in either of those decks, even if you have a full board and don't want to summon the backup band angels, or if the summon just doesn't trigger. The regenerate means it needs to die in one turn, so burn doesn't work without another source of damage, leaving hard removal as the only real out. Give Linvala Enshrounding Mist to stop that and you're golden. That also works as a practically guaranteed full board wipe of your opponent's creatures, and you don't have to give up Linvala to do it.

Of the two PWs, Ajani would be more likely to accommodate Linvala well due to his insane mana gains, although OG Gideon running some gem conversion supports wouldn't be too shabby either. This makes her dying to hard removal, if she does, less painful than it might otherwise be. Running Linvala in a deck with Serene Steward and some lifegain effects would also be pretty dirty, as it would push Linvala further and further out of kill range.

All in all, assuming they price her at $30-$35 (Higher than Tazri, probably lower than Kozilek, Game Winner), I think she might actually be worth it. I see her as a sort of White Tyrant of Valakut-- a solid, hard-to-kill body with nice catch-up potential that synergizes well with White's cards in order to stay alive for a long time and win you back tempo, and thus ultimately the game.

The fact that Ajani could put her on the field in an average of three matches also doesn't hurt in the slightest.

And looking towards the future, assuming Shadows over Innistrad gives us Sorin Markov as a PW, we might very well be seeing an uptick in Lifelink synergies with all the vampires running around-- and coupling Linvala with that, in addition to Black's suite of cheap hard removal to improve her odds of sticking on the board, would be devastating.

Thoughts from you guys and gals?

khurram

Jazzpha wrote:

So I posted a thread on General Tazri a while back that got some nice discussion going, so since the patch notes have revealed that Linvala is coming up as a Mythic to be purchased, I figured we might as well start theory-crafting around her now.

So we have a 8/8 with Flying and Defender for 17 mana, with regenerate 4 that heals you for 10 life. And if the opponent's board is full, you get an 8/8 angel which is the same token type as Sigil of the Empty Throne, so they would stack (for those of you who run that card; I find it a bit slow for QB myself).

I think the card is a bit slow and impractical for Ally Gideon, as he has no trouble putting creatures on the board, and is more interested in triggering rally effects than necessarily just dropping big creatures and going ham.

Which leaves OG Gideon and Ajani.

I think this card would be a terror in either of those decks, even if you have a full board and don't want to summon the backup band angels, or if the summon just doesn't trigger. The regenerate means it needs to die in one turn, so burn doesn't work without another source of damage, leaving hard removal as the only real out. Give Linvala Enshrounding Mist to stop that and you're golden. That also works as a practically guaranteed full board wipe of your opponent's creatures, and you don't have to give up Linvala to do it.

Of the two PWs, Ajani would be more likely to accommodate Linvala well due to his insane mana gains, although OG Gideon running some gem conversion supports wouldn't be too shabby either. This makes her dying to hard removal, if she does, less painful than it might otherwise be. Running Linvala in a deck with Serene Steward and some lifegain effects would also be pretty dirty, as it would push Linvala further and further out of kill range.

All in all, assuming they price her at $30-$35 (Higher than Tazri, probably lower than Kozilek, Game Winner), I think she might actually be worth it. I see her as a sort of White Tyrant of Valakut-- a solid, hard-to-kill body with nice catch-up potential that synergizes well with White's cards in order to stay alive for a long time and win you back tempo, and thus ultimately the game.

The fact that Ajani could put her on the field in an average of three matches also doesn't hurt in the slightest.

And looking towards the future, assuming Shadows over Innistrad gives us Sorin Markov as a PW, we might very well be seeing an uptick in Lifelink synergies with all the vampires running around-- and coupling Linvala with that, in addition to Black's suite of cheap hard removal to improve her odds of sticking on the board, would be devastating.

Thoughts from you guys and gals?

My initial thought was... too bad the angels would get reinforced instead of Linvala if you use mirrorpool.

She can die to exquisite firecraft on second turn if you are able to cast it 2 turns in a row.

The thing is if she enters with your opponent having full board. She will die even with regenerate. Leaving the 8/8 token but possibly wiping the board in process (there are creatures with 8+ health). And thats the point i guess. Kind of like a very toned down and tame version of crush of tentacles.

That being said. I agree that she is still quite powerful. I absolutely want her for Gideon battle forged and the upcoming Sorin.

Jazzpha

True on her weakness to something like Red's higher-tier burn spells, but remember that it also doesn't take much to have an Enshrouding Mist charged up and saved in your hand to cast on the same turn you drop Linvala. It's a strategy I use all the time with minions that need to stay alive for their first turn to get full value but also draw damage to themselves, like Resolute Blademaster in Ally Gideon. And RB costs the same amount of mana as Linvala, to boot.

It also helps that the AI will burn removal even on a creature which is immune, allowing you to potentially bait the opponent into wasting burn/removal on an immune target.

I also agree with you on Mirrorpool, but in that case I would just refuse to summon the tokens in exchange for dropping Linvala as a 16/16 with Regenerate 4. Seems like a worthwhile trade-off.