Selecting 8th: Prayers and Paladins

[Purple_jester]

The card choices are between Noble Purpose, a 5 cost enchantment which gives all your creatures Spirit Link, and Orim's Prayer, a 3-cost enchantment which renders attacks by squirrels useless. While Noble Purpose has a more powerful effect, I think the Prayer is more playable and fits with more themes. What do you guys think? I'm personally stumped on this one, because I really don't care which way THIS vote goes.

The more difficult choice for me is the artwork choice of the two black Paladins. Carl Critchlow's artwork is great, and the two paladins look like true partners. However, I think that Kev Walker's artwork is better than all the others. Problem is, if I pick his artwork, I end up with Paolo Parente's garbage. I wish we could pick them individually.

A sideline to this is the fact that the two paladins are back in 8th as rares... Augh.

 

[Azreal the Soulmaster]

On the enchantments, I really have no opinion. but the paladins, I'd definetly pick Carl Critchlow's art. Not only are the skeletal paladins more in league with the death theme of black, but both pieces of artwork are well done. Like you said PJ, Kev Walker's eastern paladin is quite good, but what was Paolo Parente on when he painted that?

 

[Notepad]

Wasn't Orim's Prayer part of an abusive combo deck back in the day? I'm voting for Noble Purpose, because it seems like a much more fun card. I'd rather be getting a Spirit Link effect from my creature army than protecting myself from Squirrels or making some abusive combo.

As for the paladins...Phyrexians all the way!

 

[Thallid Ice Cream Man]

... the other part of that combo being Humility, which not a single person would consider not a bad idea in retrospect.

I think I'll vote for the Prayer.

About the Paladins: Maybe we should vote for the art more likely to get censored, so that they'll think of more interesting cards to put in 8th...

 

[Notepad]

Maybe we should vote for the art more likely to get censored

Hmm, good idea.

I'll have to vote for "{X}Other" and then pencil in the concept "Giant naked amazon warriors with a third boob for a head and penises for legs. They are flipping off the viewer and shouting obscenties which are put in as quote bubbles. (those Phyrexians, they take using spare body parts to the extreme ya know!)"

Yes, that will certainly get censored. Please! Everyone who votes do what I said in the above block! Save the game!

...this just way work.

 

[Thallid Ice Cream Man]

They should commissions Robert Bliss to whip something up .

 

[Istanbul]

Mr. Critchlow's art is da bizness. My vote is with him.

My vote is for Orim's Prayer...not because it's so good, but because Noble Purpose is BAH-ROKEN in Limited formats. "I just gave my entire army Spirit Link, permanently. Would you like to concede now?"

 

[Spiderman]

I think Noble Prayer is more "versatile" (can't think of the right word) than Orim's Prayer. The latter just seems so narrow. The former might be "broken" in limited but that's what Druid Lycrist is for, right? (I always get them....)

You didn't provide any info on the Paladins so I have no idea.

 

[rkoelsch]

I want things that I would actually use. Noble purpose just doesn't do enough for the mana you put into it. Orim's Prayer is at least a SB card against horde decks.

 

[EricBess]

Normally, I'm all about limited. I think Noble Purpose might be a bit too powerful in limited, but I've played it in limited before. It's very tough to get around, but limited is more about creature control anyway, so once you establish that, the fact that they have 20 life or 100 life, they're still going to die eventually. What Noble Purpose does is buy them time to pull something out of their hat.

Yeah, it's a lot more powerful than some other cards that do that, but I wouldn't call it broken. In fact Orim's Prayer often has more staying power if you draw your enchantment before you establish board control.

Regardless, how often do you draft the base set? Yeah, we've all been doing it quite a bit online recently, but realistically, the base set is about constructed and I agree with rkoelsch. I want cards that are useful without being overpowering. My votes is for the Prayer.

 

[Mikeymike]

I'm voting for the Prayer as it actually has some usability potential in constructed - the card is balanced and affordable, an actual playable white uncommon. Noble Purpose is too expensive for tourney play (I believe without seeing a decklist that tries to break it) and I've always pictured it as much more of a casual card. As a casual card it doesn't need to be Type 2 in order for most people to play with it.

The more difficult choice for me is the artwork choice of the two black Paladins. Carl Critchlow's artwork is great, and the two paladins look like true partners. However, I think that Kev Walker's artwork is better than all the others. Problem is, if I pick his artwork, I end up with Paolo Parente's garbage. I wish we could pick them individually.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I'm a diehard Kev Walker fan, but Parente's art is weak in this one. Plus while I do feel Walker's art might be technically the best of the bunch, Critchlow's beasts not only match each other better but I feel they are better representations of sinister Black paladins.

 

[NorrYtt]

There really isn't much of a choice here. Carl Crithlow wins for Paladins and Orim's Prayer wins for white.

I have my 2 Noble Purposes. I don't need more. I'm fresh out of Orim's Prayers though...

 

[Elrond]

I voted for Prayer and Critchlow's art.

I agree with PJ on the Walker art being the best though, but you have to deal with what's handed to you, and since I really dislike Parente's I had to go against that one.

The reason I voted Prayer is because, as most everybody else has said, I think that it has a better shot at being playable than the Purpose does, plus I like Orim.

 

[Notepad]

Seeing the finished product, the paladins look hella awesome. I'm glad the 7E art lost out, because it would have totally looked like YGO if they were in 8E.

As for the enchantment, its fun to have it around, especially in slower, fattie creature decks. BOOYA!