Top Underrated Cards in HL

[tonytahiti]

Since we have a topic with the most overrated cards, i thought it is quite interesting what people think are the most underrated cards. Since the cardpool is so huge in HL the chance that some very playable cards are not seeing (much) play is quite high. Some of the cards that i think are strong and should see more play are the following:

Sulfur Elemental: I think this is a very potent creature (not in boros, obviously ), since it carries a decent body, has flash and takes out format staples such as - mindcensor, mother of runes, a small kitchen finks, aven mimeomancer, timely reinforcement tokens, tons of other beaters in boros or white weenie. And it instantly trades with stuff as a 4/4 kotr, a wooly thoctar and more. Its very decent against control too, imagine they drop a jace with force back up turn 4 and brainstorm with it, well sulfur elemental gets that done. VERY good card.

Flame Slash: Flame slash doesnt see much play and i wonder why. Yes it is in red and people are used to being able to shoot somebodys face with red burn. At the same time, creatures get better and better and every deck runs creatures, so a one mana spell, that gets rid of a decent size kotr, tarmogoyf or scavenging ooze is really good. Its kinda the red swords to plowshares. They dont get life..and you dont get to cast it instant speed and get rid of huge monsters (toughness 5+, which there are not many). I love this card.

Faerie Harbinger: Faerie harbinger is a pet card of mine and it has been doing very well ever since i started playing it (a long while ago). You have very capable targets availabe, one for being behind (sower), one for getting an edge (clique), one for finishing them off, remove blocker (pestermite), and one for grindy control mirros (archmage). Plus in this meta, where swords (equipment) are run heavily a 2/2 flash evasion body is very decent. Of course its a little overcosted with 4 mana, but you make sure you put real action on top of your library and most likely have an answer for whatever the board state is.

Well just a few cards, i am sure there is more, maybe you got some suggestions/"pet" cards, too that you wanna share

[W0lf]

I heard Deranged Outcast is totally broken, you should buy a few before the price hits the ceiling

[tonytahiti]

i am sad nobody answered or replied to this unbelievably exciting topic

[Tabris]

Piracy Charm. Discuss!

[MMD]

OK, you asked for it, I deliver  :

Sulfur Elemental: A flash creature always interesting in a world of Planeswalkers. So its P/T to cost is OK and the third ability might find more applications than we think. Just the second ability is not very relevant to me, even if you can certainly construct many situations where split second is game winning. All in all a good card but I think that its non-evasion toughness 2 body makes it not making the cut for many decks.

Flame Slash: Agreed but only for non-fast-aggro decks not playing W or B. Not beeing able to fire to the dome makes it uninteresting for RDW and sorcery speed makes it uninteresting for control decks which could also pay W or B mana. The only deck where I use this card at the moment is UR.

Faerie Harbinger: Not a playable IMO. Sure, flash and flying are great but this creature has not enough board presence for 4 mana. The tutor effect is not more than cute to me because it is very situational. I can imaging that there are also situations where you don´t want the tutor effect at all. But I also have a Faerie Harbinger syndrom by myself: Stonecloaker! This gets cut everytime I show my deck to my friends but I love the card for what is does. Subjective this card is super strong but when I am honest I can also rember situations where I cursed this card. I play it when graveyard matters too much, as the surprise effect is not good enough on its own to put it in a deck as Wizards printed too many good creatures lately.

Piracy Charm: All mode are cute but also all of them are quite situational. There are just too many other options out which are more stable/useful for a certain game plan.

Except the Faerie the cards just miss the right deck. If there is a Ur skies deck I would not wonder to face them.



I have also browsed through some of my decks and wonder why I do not see more from the following cards.

Creatures with excellent P/T to cost ratings, game swinginging and/or board domination effects (no particular order):
Grave Titan
Tombstalker
Hero of Bladehold
Blade Splicer
Sovereigns of Lost Alara
Aven Mimeomancer
Wolfir Silverheart
Reveilark
Emeria Angel
Kiki-Jiki
Thundermaw Hellkite


but also non-creature spells like:

Humility - Have a spells on legs problem?

Firestorm/Gamble - I can accept when people do not play this in non graveyard based strategies but otherwise this is an autoinclude for me. Many people to not splash red because Faitless Looting (and now Izzet Charm) is not worth it...Even this beeing blatantly wrong as Faitless Looting alone is enough to splash R they should also take these two cards into account as they have become so much better with the new flashback cards.

Finally a couple of cards which are played regulary but it seems to me that they are not getting the respect they should get:

Gideon Jura - Like to dominate the creature mirror? I see people play Sorin 2.0 and not Gideon, come on...

Yawgmoth´s Will - I mean this card was banned for years and now I hear people say "this card does nothing". Sure, this card really shines with Dark Ritual effects but it is still not even funny what this card does in my Ramp Decks (4C Scapeshift and Esper Tezz).

Force Spike/Mana Tithe/(Mental Misstep/Spell Snare) - I see a lot of deck lists not playing these soft counters. The ratio these cards actually counter or at least hinder opponents game plan seriously is about 8-9 out of 10 in my experience. In addition to that there are countless situations where opponents either lost because of the unexpected and not seldomly after that: because of the expected   Except Spell Snare they are auto includes in all of my builds.

[GoblinPiledriver]

Land Tax:
This card gives a huge cardadvantage, on the other side your are flooded. But who doesn't dreamed of 6-1 trade.

Steelshaper's Gift:
1 Mana equipment tutor. Gives with the Swords the right needed protection.

Soul Tithe:
A 2 mana permanent removal which only function well on expensive cards. I think this is worth a try.

Parallax Tide:
The blue Parallax Wave. This card attacks very well the mana base, just like Tangle Wire. It works eifficient in heavy blue aggro decks, like U(W)-Skies.

Redirect:
Redirect removal to any legal target for 2 blue mana. 2-1 trade guaranteed.

Rushing River:
Also a blue aggro card, bounces two targets for only 3 mana and a land.

Demonic Consultaion:
10% chance of losing the game, but you have on the 90% the needed card for only one black mana.

Infernal Tutor:
Gives basic lands in the early game, and with Hellbent it's a pure Demonic Tutor.

Nekrataal:
Terror and 2/1 first strike printed on the same card.

Thrashing Wumpus:
In earlier times this 3/3 Pestilence creature was almost common in the format. Now it's played seldom, but it has a huge damage shotout and handles all small creatures.

Blackmail:
This card hits allways, and works best with exactly 3 cards in oppponent hand.

Cry of contribution:
2-1 trade over long time for only one mana. It's best used in Black-Suicide.

Dragonmaster Outcast:
This card works good with Ranger of Eos in a Ramp deck. It produces quick 5/5 flyers which need to be handled soon.

Tunnel Ignus:
This creature is a 2/1 aggresive Bear which slows down fetchlands.

Stranglehold:
opponents can't search library's, so many cards could get blanked. The only probelm is it cost 4 mana.

Ohran Viper:
It defeats small creatures, kills big creatures and would draw cards unhandled. So it's ideal for any situation in a heavy green deck.

Nest Invader:
2 creatures for 2 mana. it could chump block efficiently or ramp the final mana.

Strangleroot Geist:
With 2 green mana this is a pure green aggro creature. But with haste and Undying it's worth the slot in a heavy green aggro - midrange deck.

Scute Mob:
Just like Dragonmaster Outcast, but it works quicker and is a little more fragile.

Thornscape Familiar:
A aggro bear which reduces the cost of white and green spells.

Root Maze:
It slows down lands and even more efficient fetchlands.

Realms Uncharted:
Gifts Ungiven for lands. It guarantess a 2-1 trade.

Noxious Revival:
This card is ideal for combo decks, and even interesting for aggro decks. It brings efficient spells back or stalls the draw skills of the opponent for 1 turn.

Gargoyle Castle:
A 3/4 flying Manland for a deck which could effort the manacost.

Molten-Tail Masticore:
With the ability of shooting 4 damage this Masticore is an ideal aggro finisher.

Zuran Orb:
2 life for a land. This card protect you from being shotout.

Goblin Charbelcher:
4 mana is a high initial cost but for that you can shot easily a high amount of damage in a red deck.

Psychogenic Probe:
2 damage for every time searching library. This brings every fetchland and tutor deck to the red zone.

Bonehoard:
A Lhurgoyf with an Equipment afterlife. Equiping only cost 2 mana and brings easily +3/+3.

Dimir Infiltrator:
Searches removal or Demonic Tutor for every card.

Sedraxis Specter:
A 3/2 flyer which discards the opponents hand with an half Blightning-Unearth.

Undermine:
Counterspell and Bump in the Night combined on one card.

Electrolyze:
An instant Forked Bolt with Cantrip.

Blightning:
Mind Rot and Lava Spike on one card. 2-1 trade with 3 damage.

[coldcrow]

Some of these cards are plainly bad in HL, some miss a deck.

Land Tax: misses a deck, WW and Boros want to play dudes at start and control decks prefer laying lands.

Redirect: situational, UU cost

Nekrataal: only fringe playable in MBC, other decks have/want better/cheaper options (FTK, shredder, maw)

Wumpus: MBC

Blackmail: situational

dragonmaster, scute: vanilla 1/1 early = not good

strangleroot: already heavily played in G/x aggro

root maze: no deck

Bonehoard: bad

[so_not]

Here are some forgotten gems, old school cards and other stuff that I'd like to play but there's no suitable deck at the moment:
Plow Under
Destructive Flow
Decree of Justice
Captain Sisay
Sunforger (tutors for example Absorb, Izzet Charm, Desperate Ravings, Fire/Ice)
Braids, Cabal Minion
Phyrexian Processor
Ghost Council of Orzhova
Artifact Mutation
Yawgmoth's Bargain
Opposition
Desolation Angel

[MMD]

Following cards mentioned are good enough IMO (at least in one of my decks):

Opposition
Strangleroot Geist
Noxious Revival
Blackmail
Flame Slash


Following cards mentioned I would like to play, but do not find a home:

Steelshaper's Gift
Land Tax
Yawgmoth's Bargain

Following cards are always part of my consideration but always get cut in the end:

Ohran Viper
Molten-Tail Masticore
Destructive Flow
Plow Under
Sedraxis Specter
Blightning
Electrolyze
Dimir Infiltrator
Decree of Justice
Artifact Mutation
Sulfur Elemental

There are a lot of other cards which get cut regulary (mostly because of power creep) or miss the right deck. My whole binder is full of these cards and it doesnt make sense to me to list them all.

But there are some cards which are not listed here but are in at least one of my decks (in addition the the other cards I listed above) and do not show up very often:

Hymn to Tourach
Gerards Verdict
Terminus
Entreat the Angels
Baleful Strix
Dust Bowl
Bant Charm
Gaea`s Cradle
Granger Guildmage
Congregation at Dawn
Fiery Justice
Chord of Calling

and the Scapeshift and Tezzerator decks 

[tonytahiti]

flickerwisp. up to this day i thought it could only blink my own permanents, turns out it can flicker everything.

how is that card not a staple.

1. in a deck with lots of instants/flash its worst case a 2 mana 3/1 flyer since you get the land back eot (i dont need to tell you).

2. it kills tokens (takes out his blade splicer token or makes me an additional one when i have it, stops opposing planeswalker from ultimating, it shrinks his ooze, it resets his figure.

3. it can reset my batterskull (flicker equipment) or take out his (flicker token).it resets my planeswalker when its loyalty (after having it used this turn) is lower than its starting loyalty.

4. it kicks an equipment of a creature, which makes him pay another 2 mana (swords) to be in the same position, which is very good value as well.

5. it beats for 3 and has evasion. it removes a blocker. it gives you tons of play and flexibility in a deck with lots of etb triggers.

how is that card not a staple. really, i need to know.

[Tabris]

While this card is a staple in each WW Deck (bc of the reasons you´ve said, flickering a maze/blocker/pw/evasion etc.) its not very good in other decks except for Bantdecks with a heavy blink theme. You need a board to be that card realy good also it has WW in his costs which can be limiting its appearing.

[tonytahiti]

flickering maze? thats rarely useful (maxybe with geist of saitn traft) since it does not have flash (you are thinking of legacy death and taxes deck with aether vial) but if you just wanna untap your creature you can just flicker the creature.

and like i said in many decks its a 2 mana 3/1 flying creature WORST CASE and every other scenario is just upside, so if its "bad" its a 2 mana 3/1 flying creature than cannot be played before turn 3 (obv you need to use the left over mana at istant speed) and best case it makes absolute insane plays or saves me 8 mana for resetting batterskull (3 bounce, 5 play).

your "argumentation" lacks. like alot.

[Tabris]

First of all its rarely a two mana creature. It will be if you have one of your 10-15ish precious instants and can rely on its pseudo "cloud of faerie" effect (Imagine you opponent counter it so even with a counterspell/bounce/dd spell in that scenario you will not get the "two mana cost") And besides your opponent can just response to your flickering land effect and still play a FoF or something else at the end of your turn. Most of the time it will cost you three mana and even then its still a good creature but only in decks which can use the evasion/blink effect not on random piles which can "abuse" the ciptrigger from time to time. Secondly you dont understand the card at all I assume, flickering the opponents maze is not rarely good its a very potent play and often needed in a WW or Boros deck, its not about flickering your own maze. It can remove the last blocking creature/equipment etc. not just your own stuff (why would I want to flicker my stuff when my opponent is just dead to my attack thanks to removing his last defense(maze/creature etc). To have a flying creature with such a flexible ability is great and made this card already a staple in the format but not in decks you are wishing for to be good.

Besides I didnt argue for anything I just said the term " underrated" is not suited for that card bc ppl already use it but only in decks which can rely on its ability and dont need a favorable board situation for it to be a good card. Your lack of knowledge about the meta (not only the current but the past) is just embarrassing

[tonytahiti]

well maybe someone just does not know how to rate non-control cards here

to remove the opponents maze, yeah well thats like removing a blocker but why in the world would that be limited to ww or boros? that does not make any sense. its just another reason for that card to be good.

and true, sometimes its just an evasive flyer, but i feel like it has so many applications, that it is not only playable in ww. it is especially good with etb triggers and you say its best in ww? just because of the mana cost? well your mana base can be built in a 3 color deck, that you can cast this (i can show you how if you want). and the word "embarassing" is...well embarassing.

[GoblinPiledriver]

The main problem is it's 1WW cost. That means the deck playing it should have 66% white mana sources. It's a pure aggro card so it's best in WW, Boros and Naya.

It's perfect with ETB Triggers so like Tabris said it's used in Bant Blink Decks.

The mana cost is the most important fact why this is not a format staple.