Lotus Cobra seems to have not found a home in modern with no established decks that use it, and no Top 8 Grand Prix lists running any in their 75. The Cobra was certainly highly controversial when it was first released and when through stages of being regarded bad and good while it was standard.
I have seen little, if any discussion on how the Cobra could be used in Modern. Could it be used in any established archetypes? Could it spawn new archetypes? Is it playable at all in modern?
THIS 100X!!! If you don't agree with this then there is no amount of logic that will ever convince you that good, non-oppressive, combos should be allowed. If you don't agree with it then just don't play this game, and you certainly shouldn't feel entitled to make any comment on ban lists ever.
Lotus cobra needs a "sweet spot" of supremely powerful 4 and 5 drops to be properly used. It's also important to know that most times it will simply get bolted or killed. It would be much more playable if Jace were legal still.
As said, cards like Plow Under, Primal Command, powerful planeswalkers, etc are generally the best use for lotus cobra.
The main problem with cobra is that there generally aren't that many decks that want to playing that high of a curve even with a cobra around. There are powerful enough cards that cost 3 mana that it's not worth it to try to jump to more expensive cards when something like Geist of Saint Traft can get the job done just as well.
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Also, if you're running Cobra, you're running 4 BoP and 4 Noble Hierarch so it just makes you more vulnerable to board wipe. Explore is better for cards that rely heavily on lands yet are also accel.
Also, if you're running Cobra, you're running 4 BoP and 4 Noble Hierarch so it just makes you more vulnerable to board wipe. Explore is better for cards that rely heavily on lands yet are also accel.
Not necessarily. Lots of Lotus cobra decks avoid mana dorks and just play 4x Lotus Cobra and 4x Explore to hit 4-5 mana on turn 3 without losing consistency.
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THIS 100X!!! If you don't agree with this then there is no amount of logic that will ever convince you that good, non-oppressive, combos should be allowed. If you don't agree with it then just don't play this game, and you certainly shouldn't feel entitled to make any comment on ban lists ever.
Lotus cobra needs a "sweet spot" of supremely powerful 4 and 5 drops to be properly used.
Maybe Sigarda? She is tough to kill and is a reasonably fast clock.
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I support WotC's goal of shaping Modern in favor of diversity.
I ran a thought experiment on my blog Modern in a Nuclear Wasteland
of an extreme case of banning 20 more cards to make sure they get everything, then scaling back where appropriate. WotC seems to be on a slowly build up approach. Both ways probably reach similar end points.
The post Gatecrash metagame is proving to be closer to the endpoint than I estimated, so its very possible that few (if any) more cards need to be banned.
THIS 100X!!! If you don't agree with this then there is no amount of logic that will ever convince you that good, non-oppressive, combos should be allowed. If you don't agree with it then just don't play this game, and you certainly shouldn't feel entitled to make any comment on ban lists ever.
Okay...I can't sleep at night still because someone hasn't found a way to make this card good in modern. The extra mana given off by lotus cobra can just be flat out incredible. With a word like 'lotus' in the name, it has got to have some serious capabilities. Though we don't have preordain and ponder in the format, we still have means of setting up some serious turn 3 plays through the blue cards we have. In fact, halimar depths may even be a considerable card in a deck with lotus cobra. There are plenty of really amazing 4 and 5 drops, and there's still even room to do 6 drops such as wurmcoil or any other titan.
I'm still convinced this card could be a 4-of in a really amazing list. As of now, I've been working with cards like bloodbraid elf, titans, even cards less than 4 or 5 like electrolyze, molten rain, etc. Anybody wanna help me brainstorm some good ideas?
I'd be willing to help out. Off the top of my head, Bloodbraid Elf and Vengevine seem like a good place to start, though you may be able to get a Wildfire Titan deck going with it. Things to think about, if you'd like some help I'd love to.
I'd be willing to help out. Off the top of my head, Bloodbraid Elf and Vengevine seem like a good place to start, though you may be able to get a Wildfire Titan deck going with it. Things to think about, if you'd like some help I'd love to.
Well, FaunaVine, any Bloodbraid deck, RGx Wildfire, all seem viable. Maybe Gx Midrange could be a thing with him. Some good five drops to skip to include Kiki-Jiki, Zealous Conscripts, Gideon, Tamiyo, Time Warp, Garruk, Primal Hunter. As for four drops, you could look to, Bloodbraid, Vengevine, Garruk Wildspeaker, Elspeth. 6 or 7 would be Wildfire, Titans, Wurmcoil, Consecrated Sphinx, Kokusho, Temporal Mastery. That's a couple different archetypes I'm sure.
In the spirit of all things janky, Lotus Cobra is really helpful in powering out Primal Surge. Just spill out cards like Craterhoof Behemoth, Blightsteel Colossus, Lightning Greaves, and Eternal Witness.
Depends on what you do with it I suppose, what did you have in mind for it?
Um, cast it? lol j/k
It just prevents a lot of important creatures from being played such as delver, snapcaster, vendillion clique, bob, goblin guide, steppe lynx, bops, noble heirarchs, plus a lot of cards that are critical to the melira combo. Also, just about any creature in affinity. Tokens takes quite a hit from it too.
If JTMS were an option getting him out a turn quicker with this card, like back in Zendikar standard could be pretty powerful. I've used Cobra in my Modern WRR deck for a while and wasn't impressed with it at all and don't miss it now that it's cut like ever.
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By: ol MISAKA lo
Cockatrice: Infallible
Mhjames: mtgsalvation: I DON'T SEE HOW THIS CARD IS GOOD. I KNOW PATRICK CHAPIN USED IT AND WENT 8-0, BUT THAT WAS A SMALL TOURNAMENT. THE CARD IS TOO SLOW. YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THE OPPONENT HAS A SPELL IN THE GRAVEYARD
If you still haven't won with your megazord snakes, ramp into Endless Swarm.
Snake tribal!
Seriously though, I've been a bit underwhelmed by Lotus Cobra whenever I've tested it or watched others test it. I've played FaunaVine, and it's okay there, but still a bit flat.
My take on it is that it's a card with a lot of potential that is just a really awkward fit in most mana curves.
Modern is filled with powerful 2-drops and 3-drops which don't need Lotus Cobra's help, and the decks that run an appreciable amount of 4+ drops have better things to do in the early game than play out 2 mana 2/1's that might help them ramp into their big spells or might die and do nothing. If you want ramp, Rampant Growth, mana stones et. al. are going to be more reliable. If you want acceleration into an aggressive start, Noble Hierarch is usually a better fit.
It's frustratingly close to be crazy good, though, isn't it?
EDIT: I do wonder about using it in U/G with Temporal Mastery. It would really take the sting out of having to hard-cast it, and if the deck has a bit of aggression to it, you could have some really powerful turns.
EDIT 2: am I crazy to think it could also work in a G/R midrange deck with Bloodbraid and Huntmaster? 4- and 5-drops seem to be the best partner with cobra, and those two are powerful (Huntmaster less so in Modern, but in a deck that can power him out early, he's a consideration. And Bloodbraid Elf will keep him flipping back).
EDIT: I do wonder about using it in U/G with Temporal Mastery. It would really take the sting out of having to hard-cast it, and if the deck has a bit of aggression to it, you could have some really powerful turns.
EDIT 2: am I crazy to think it could also work in a G/R midrange deck with Bloodbraid and Huntmaster? 4- and 5-drops seem to be the best partner with cobra, and those two are powerful (Huntmaster less so in Modern, but in a deck that can power him out early, he's a consideration. And Bloodbraid Elf will keep him flipping back).
Tribal snakes seems kind of janky, it's more like this stuff I'm looking for, and yes, it's frustratingly close to being super amazing good. So I'm trying to find a way to make it consistently super amazing good.
I have seen little, if any discussion on how the Cobra could be used in Modern. Could it be used in any established archetypes? Could it spawn new archetypes? Is it playable at all in modern?
Currently playing:
UW Modern Tron WU
UR Modern Storm RU
UW [CARD]Rasputin Dreamweaver
[/CARD] UW
As said, cards like Plow Under, Primal Command, powerful planeswalkers, etc are generally the best use for lotus cobra.
The main problem with cobra is that there generally aren't that many decks that want to playing that high of a curve even with a cobra around. There are powerful enough cards that cost 3 mana that it's not worth it to try to jump to more expensive cards when something like Geist of Saint Traft can get the job done just as well.
Explore is better for cards that rely heavily on lands yet are also accel.
Not necessarily. Lots of Lotus cobra decks avoid mana dorks and just play 4x Lotus Cobra and 4x Explore to hit 4-5 mana on turn 3 without losing consistency.
540 Peasant cube- Gold EditionSomething SpicyMaybe Sigarda? She is tough to kill and is a reasonably fast clock.
I ran a thought experiment on my blog
Modern in a Nuclear Wasteland
of an extreme case of banning 20 more cards to make sure they get everything, then scaling back where appropriate. WotC seems to be on a slowly build up approach. Both ways probably reach similar end points.
The post Gatecrash metagame is proving to be closer to the endpoint than I estimated, so its very possible that few (if any) more cards need to be banned.
I just won the IQ's with Boom//Bust, and i did it with out cobra. Never felt the need for combra, and sorta sided out Boom//Bust every game.
That was the big long post you had in the Zoo forum right?
Yes.
I'm still convinced this card could be a 4-of in a really amazing list. As of now, I've been working with cards like bloodbraid elf, titans, even cards less than 4 or 5 like electrolyze, molten rain, etc. Anybody wanna help me brainstorm some good ideas?
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Just need ideas really.
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Depends on what you do with it I suppose, what did you have in mind for it?
Um, cast it? lol j/k
It just prevents a lot of important creatures from being played such as delver, snapcaster, vendillion clique, bob, goblin guide, steppe lynx, bops, noble heirarchs, plus a lot of cards that are critical to the melira combo. Also, just about any creature in affinity. Tokens takes quite a hit from it too.
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If JTMS were an option getting him out a turn quicker with this card, like back in Zendikar standard could be pretty powerful. I've used Cobra in my Modern WRR deck for a while and wasn't impressed with it at all and don't miss it now that it's cut like ever.
By: ol MISAKA lo
Cockatrice: Infallible
Use Lotus Cobra, Sakura-Tribe Scout, Coiling Oracle and/or Sakura-Tribe Elder to power out Seshiro the Anointed and some Patagia Vipers. If you aren't satisfied with the number of snakes yet, put in Ohran Vipers and maybe a couple Orochi Hatchery and Seed the Land. Maybe some Sosuke's Summons.
If you still haven't won with your megazord snakes, ramp into Endless Swarm.
Snake tribal!
Seriously though, I've been a bit underwhelmed by Lotus Cobra whenever I've tested it or watched others test it. I've played FaunaVine, and it's okay there, but still a bit flat.
My take on it is that it's a card with a lot of potential that is just a really awkward fit in most mana curves.
Modern is filled with powerful 2-drops and 3-drops which don't need Lotus Cobra's help, and the decks that run an appreciable amount of 4+ drops have better things to do in the early game than play out 2 mana 2/1's that might help them ramp into their big spells or might die and do nothing. If you want ramp, Rampant Growth, mana stones et. al. are going to be more reliable. If you want acceleration into an aggressive start, Noble Hierarch is usually a better fit.
It's frustratingly close to be crazy good, though, isn't it?
EDIT: I do wonder about using it in U/G with Temporal Mastery. It would really take the sting out of having to hard-cast it, and if the deck has a bit of aggression to it, you could have some really powerful turns.
EDIT 2: am I crazy to think it could also work in a G/R midrange deck with Bloodbraid and Huntmaster? 4- and 5-drops seem to be the best partner with cobra, and those two are powerful (Huntmaster less so in Modern, but in a deck that can power him out early, he's a consideration. And Bloodbraid Elf will keep him flipping back).
Tribal snakes seems kind of janky, it's more like this stuff I'm looking for, and yes, it's frustratingly close to being super amazing good. So I'm trying to find a way to make it consistently super amazing good.
Modern Junk Primer
Legacy ANT Primer
L1 Judge