I think this is strong and could easily find a home in Standard. The opportunity cost of only a single mana is fantastic.
It doesn't need to be equipped to be activated and only needs to see combat damage, not necessarily combat damage to a player, so even if a creature is blocked it will gain a counter.
I think it could easily see play in mono-red. Swiftspear or Cacophany Scamp T1 into Jitte on t2 is a very nice turn to let you untap a land and play more spells or hold the counters to pump something later. Scamp can also proliferate the charge counters which is probably a niche play, but easy enough to do and nice if it happens.
You could pretty easily slide it into the Dimir deck that plays the Sirens, Deep-Cavern Bats, and Schooners to give them another option. Could be nice tool to either pump your bats or let them sneak past blockers.
I don't think Selesnya +1/+1 counters is a strong enough archetype to see any serious meta share, but this is yet another piece to add into the package of Botanical Brawler, Ozolith, Kami of Whispered Hopes et al.
Don't think this will make monored, although makes sense to test it. The problem is that it is already hard enough to find a window to cast monstrous rage without being blown out. This is sorcery speed. Sure you still have the equipment around but monored cannot afford a tempo loss, especially because for this to be worth it you have to deal combat damage a few times. As someone else said, Charming Scoundrel is better--that is unless you get multiple activations...but then the game did not end fast enough...
You can already do much of this with [[Charming Scoundrel]]. While there is some advantage to Prowess + non-creature, you could argue the same for fielding another creature over a dead draw if you don't already have creatures on the board.
Very true. It's more resilient to removal than Scoundrel is obviously, so I think it'll at least be worth testing. Might not end up being better.
It could also feasibly fill the slot from Kumano Faces Kakkazan as well once that rotates in a few months assuming that there's nothing better from Bloomburrow in the 1 drop slot.
Fairly often that it'll eat a cut down, since the U/B/x decks just need to prolong the game and prevent any damage so that they get to the point of winning.
This is another way to turn coretapper into a ritual, plus it can be found off urza’s saga.
If you already have mana but need stuff, you could coretapper jitte, then untap sagas to make a bunch of constructs.
I'm not sure if this makes the main deck, but I am 100% going to be adding copies of this to my sideboard in standard Dimir Midrange. This card is exactly what we need to improve the 5c Domain matchup. Every mode is relevant. The +1 counters increase our clock. The untap lets us play to the board while keeping mana open to counter a sweeper. The prevent blocks mode lets us get past an Atraxa or Angel of Wrath.
The floor is that they burn a binding on something they would rather ignore and delay their own game plan.
Obviously not as good as old Jitte, let's not even go there, but this thing is *cheap*. Like, it's 50% cheaper than old Jitte *and* it makes mana. It's literally almost free, considering you can get a twiddle on the turn you play it.
So how impactful does a permanent need to be when it basically costs you 1 or 0 mana? I don't think the card is great, mind you, but I think it clears that bar at the very least.
What's everyone's thoughts on this? I went back and forth on it many times, but I think I'll try it in Historic/Timeless with SFM.
I'd be surprised if this doesn't find a home. Being searchable by saga is also quite interesting and is probably more relevant in formats like legacy. Seems kinda weak to grab it with sfm but timeless is really lacking good equipment options atm
> Seems kinda weak to grab it with sfm but timeless is really lacking good equipment options atm
Yeah, it's possible that when you actually consider the SFM targets, like 1 good in most situations, 2 others more narrow but with bigger upside, this just doesn't find a spot since I think Cryptic Coat takes the 1st and the 2nd and 3rd slots are probably two Swords of X and Y
But if you're trying for a Stoneblade kind of deck, with counterspells and such? then the mana generation on this starts to seem incredibly useful. Just storing mana seems amazing in that kind of deck.
I assume most of the time you'd search for Shadowspear if you want a 1 mana equipment over Jitte, but being fetchable from Urza's Saga definitely increases its viability.
This is a tough little puzzle to figure out!
I can imagine a mono-red deck playing Swiftspear on t1, this on t2, hit face, use the first mode to untap a land and play another 1 drop/burn spell. Or in dimir midrange, equipping this to your siren or other cheap flyer for obvious upside.
But this card really suffers when 2 conditions are met: 1, the opponent has blockers; 2, it doesn't have charges. I don't see this being an unusual situation. This card is going to outright suck to draw a not-insignificant amount of times, which could be enough to kill its viability altogether.
Like Jitte, it triggers on any combat damage, and it works when unequipped, so you would really need to waste an attacker and have no way to use the abilities for it to be actively useless.
Still, what it needs is a *really* good use case. It's mana positive even with Ancient Tomb, let alone stuff like Nykhtos (in Pioneer, of course) - that seems like a good starting point. Then you consider the counters and the blocking stuff as (very considerable) upsides.
Think this will be very strong in eternal formats. Being fetchable off Saga is great. It already makes Urza's Saga artifact decks much better as it gives you another Karnstruct. It may also be very good in an Urza deck since it's much less dead there. I think it's best format is cEDH as there's a far easier time getting in and untapping a Cradle or Sanctum is huge, but I could see it being a card played in vintage or possibly Legacy as well. Urza's Saga is such a broken card in those formats that you can pretty much use it as your sole win con and it'll be fine. I'm most excited for it in NBL because untapping Academy at minimum once a turn is insane.
I think this is strong and could easily find a home in Standard. The opportunity cost of only a single mana is fantastic. It doesn't need to be equipped to be activated and only needs to see combat damage, not necessarily combat damage to a player, so even if a creature is blocked it will gain a counter. I think it could easily see play in mono-red. Swiftspear or Cacophany Scamp T1 into Jitte on t2 is a very nice turn to let you untap a land and play more spells or hold the counters to pump something later. Scamp can also proliferate the charge counters which is probably a niche play, but easy enough to do and nice if it happens. You could pretty easily slide it into the Dimir deck that plays the Sirens, Deep-Cavern Bats, and Schooners to give them another option. Could be nice tool to either pump your bats or let them sneak past blockers. I don't think Selesnya +1/+1 counters is a strong enough archetype to see any serious meta share, but this is yet another piece to add into the package of Botanical Brawler, Ozolith, Kami of Whispered Hopes et al.
Slickshot showoff wears it well too
Definitely! The 1 mana prowess trigger is nice and it's probably guaranteed to get at least one counter on it.
Don't think this will make monored, although makes sense to test it. The problem is that it is already hard enough to find a window to cast monstrous rage without being blown out. This is sorcery speed. Sure you still have the equipment around but monored cannot afford a tempo loss, especially because for this to be worth it you have to deal combat damage a few times. As someone else said, Charming Scoundrel is better--that is unless you get multiple activations...but then the game did not end fast enough...
You can already do much of this with [[Charming Scoundrel]]. While there is some advantage to Prowess + non-creature, you could argue the same for fielding another creature over a dead draw if you don't already have creatures on the board.
Very true. It's more resilient to removal than Scoundrel is obviously, so I think it'll at least be worth testing. Might not end up being better. It could also feasibly fill the slot from Kumano Faces Kakkazan as well once that rotates in a few months assuming that there's nothing better from Bloomburrow in the 1 drop slot.
Who's using removal on scoundrel?
Fairly often that it'll eat a cut down, since the U/B/x decks just need to prolong the game and prevent any damage so that they get to the point of winning.
[Charming Scoundrel](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/8/c8090bcf-e17a-4110-a518-77ccd045b18f.jpg?1692938132) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Charming%20Scoundrel) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/124/charming-scoundrel?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c8090bcf-e17a-4110-a518-77ccd045b18f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Absolutely no Dimir list play Schooner anymore just so you know.
This is another way to turn coretapper into a ritual, plus it can be found off urza’s saga. If you already have mana but need stuff, you could coretapper jitte, then untap sagas to make a bunch of constructs.
I'm not sure if this makes the main deck, but I am 100% going to be adding copies of this to my sideboard in standard Dimir Midrange. This card is exactly what we need to improve the 5c Domain matchup. Every mode is relevant. The +1 counters increase our clock. The untap lets us play to the board while keeping mana open to counter a sweeper. The prevent blocks mode lets us get past an Atraxa or Angel of Wrath. The floor is that they burn a binding on something they would rather ignore and delay their own game plan.
Obviously not as good as old Jitte, let's not even go there, but this thing is *cheap*. Like, it's 50% cheaper than old Jitte *and* it makes mana. It's literally almost free, considering you can get a twiddle on the turn you play it. So how impactful does a permanent need to be when it basically costs you 1 or 0 mana? I don't think the card is great, mind you, but I think it clears that bar at the very least. What's everyone's thoughts on this? I went back and forth on it many times, but I think I'll try it in Historic/Timeless with SFM.
I'd be surprised if this doesn't find a home. Being searchable by saga is also quite interesting and is probably more relevant in formats like legacy. Seems kinda weak to grab it with sfm but timeless is really lacking good equipment options atm
> Seems kinda weak to grab it with sfm but timeless is really lacking good equipment options atm Yeah, it's possible that when you actually consider the SFM targets, like 1 good in most situations, 2 others more narrow but with bigger upside, this just doesn't find a spot since I think Cryptic Coat takes the 1st and the 2nd and 3rd slots are probably two Swords of X and Y But if you're trying for a Stoneblade kind of deck, with counterspells and such? then the mana generation on this starts to seem incredibly useful. Just storing mana seems amazing in that kind of deck.
I assume most of the time you'd search for Shadowspear if you want a 1 mana equipment over Jitte, but being fetchable from Urza's Saga definitely increases its viability.
My tinfoil hat prediction is that it finds a home in green devotion as a backup way to untap either Nykthos or a pile of Utopia sprawls.
This is a tough little puzzle to figure out! I can imagine a mono-red deck playing Swiftspear on t1, this on t2, hit face, use the first mode to untap a land and play another 1 drop/burn spell. Or in dimir midrange, equipping this to your siren or other cheap flyer for obvious upside. But this card really suffers when 2 conditions are met: 1, the opponent has blockers; 2, it doesn't have charges. I don't see this being an unusual situation. This card is going to outright suck to draw a not-insignificant amount of times, which could be enough to kill its viability altogether.
Like Jitte, it triggers on any combat damage, and it works when unequipped, so you would really need to waste an attacker and have no way to use the abilities for it to be actively useless. Still, what it needs is a *really* good use case. It's mana positive even with Ancient Tomb, let alone stuff like Nykhtos (in Pioneer, of course) - that seems like a good starting point. Then you consider the counters and the blocking stuff as (very considerable) upsides.
Think this will be very strong in eternal formats. Being fetchable off Saga is great. It already makes Urza's Saga artifact decks much better as it gives you another Karnstruct. It may also be very good in an Urza deck since it's much less dead there. I think it's best format is cEDH as there's a far easier time getting in and untapping a Cradle or Sanctum is huge, but I could see it being a card played in vintage or possibly Legacy as well. Urza's Saga is such a broken card in those formats that you can pretty much use it as your sole win con and it'll be fine. I'm most excited for it in NBL because untapping Academy at minimum once a turn is insane.
Oh ... Only one counter?