[m13] Ajani, Caller of the Pride

[brianpk80]

It helps address one of the main concerns for creature decks post-sideboard, the X/2 mass removals.  This card has a competitive casting cost and is versatile in creature builds.  It's never a bad time to send a bear flying over a Snapcaster and into a Jace.  Certain famous creatures benefit in more pronounced ways than others: Cold-Eyed Selkie, Infect & Persist Creatures, the Batterskull Germ, Arcbound Ravager, Ninja.  And then there are some fringe creatures have ridiculous interactions like Thrummingbird and Shocker.  It's a 3-CC Planeswalker that gets around the card disadvantage of Fire/Ice, Massacre, & Pyroclasm, then quickly becomes lethal, and has a lot of undiscovered synergy and combination potential.  Very respectable.    

[Guli]

This will probably see play. At least some people will try it. Those counters are relevant when you have already a Thalia out there (or any creature). I was waiting for a 3 mana planeswalker for a while now to be able to play it with Gaddock for example, or just in general, 3cc cards are playable in beatdown with moxes, noble and so on.

This wasn't really what I expected, but it is still a good card I believe. It is clearly focussed on clock and mabye evasion. Could be nice with Selkie :p

[Saya]

Matchup Vault control VS Fish is inducted as Jace with blockers(confidant,snapcaster) VS Creatures.Ajani helps Fish perfectly-
+1:Being toughness 3.Now they can defeat Bob/SCM unilaterally and avoid from the nightmare of massacre.(NOTE:one can use this ability to increase loyal point even if he does't control any creatures)
-3:Ability flying is very important,which attacks to jace directly,as delver has already proved.Selkie or Trygon with doublestrike drives in an absurd advantage.
-8:Ajani ultimate ability - but i don't think that is a great ability.1 massacre or pyroclasm will ruin you.Just activating +1,-3 is enough to win.

[Blue Lotus]

What. A. Card.

I don't know if this will see significant play in vintage but my god will this be the toast of standard.

[msg67183]

Anyone else catch the wording of his first ability. Hmmmm.....

[Bill Copes]

Anyone else catch the wording of his first ability. Hmmmm.....

Probably so it can +1 without any dudes in play.  Otherwise, definitely reads oddly.

[TheWhiteDragon]

Anyone else catch the wording of his first ability. Hmmmm.....

Probably so it can +1 without any dudes in play.  Otherwise, definitely reads oddly.

Ding ding!  That's exactly why.

[nedleeds]

This will probably see play. At least some people will try it. Those counters are relevant when you have already a Thalia out there (or any creature).

If you have Thalia out you can't cast him very reliably. Which is his biggest problem. Thalia is the best bear to pair with mana disruption. She's probably the best bear period right now. So getting to 2WW and landing this guy for the whopping benefit of .... 3/2 Thalia is underwhelming. Maybe the mono-white decks have room for this but when you dip into green and/or black and/or blue there's just way better stuff. Mikeus is better than this (waits for bottles to be thrown).

[Tha Gunslinga]

Is this card really playable at all?  I mean, the first ability isn't that great, the second one isn't that great, and the third one, while good, takes a long time to charge up, AND dies to Engineered Explosives and Echoing Truth.  I would think Elspeth would be a lot stronger, frankly.

[vaughnbros]

I think if your going to play a planeswalker to add to your clock speed this is it.

Hes only 3 mana and his first two abilities have immediate impact on your aggro plan.
He also starts at 4 loyalty which means he doesn't really need a whole lot of protection.

+1 is extremely solid you can always use it with no drawback and it buffs your 2 power creatures to trade with lodestone and even your hierarchs can become formidable by being buffed by this once or twice.
-3 This can be absolutely insane with exalted on pretty much anything, and on goyf or trygon in general.  A huge hit will ensue with this.
-8 He a proper ultimate can easily end a game

He obviously is legendary so there is that knock on him.  If I were to run a noble fish or a GW deck though I'd definitely be throwing at least 1 of these in there though.  Even with a Thalia out he is still pretty solid even at 4 mana imo.

[MaximumCDawg]

Is this card really playable at all?  I mean, the first ability isn't that great, the second one isn't that great, and the third one, while good, takes a long time to charge up, AND dies to Engineered Explosives and Echoing Truth.  I would think Elspeth would be a lot stronger, frankly.

He's easily the most aggo-friendly planeswalker printed to date.  He's clearly very good and the best friend of dumb beaters everywhere.

For Vintage I think this guy is so-so, but that's only because dumb beaters are so-so.  Elspeth doesn't give the option of pump or alpha right away like Ajani does, so its not really doing the same thing.  Echoing Truth isnt even a good answer, because his loyalty starts out so darn high all you're doing is delaying his ult when you do that.  For me, he actually compares more directly with Mikeaus, the Lunarch.  The both come down at 3cc and start pumping your armies.  Mikeaus is probably better if you've already rolled out a few creatures, and combos with Scryb Ranger.  Ajani is better generally, since he can fly over a goyf for the win or a selkie for big draw, and if he sits around long enough he vomits cats.  So many cats.

[Wagner]

Echoing Truth isnt even a good answer, because his loyalty starts out so darn high all you're doing is delaying his ult when you do that. 

Echoing Truth is meant to kill all the tokens he creates when going ultimate, not to bounce the planeswalker.

[MaximumCDawg]

I dont think Ajani's ultimate is really the biggest threat.  I suppose his ultimate can be answered, if thats what you mean, but I'm more worried about the duders he's pumping in the meatime.

[gkraigher]

this card is very very good.  I don't know if it is good enough to be played in vintage, but it is good enough for legacy.  

3 mana for a planeswalker with 4 loyalty is very good.  Its +1 ability is good and doesn't need anything else in play to add counters, which makes it better.  The counters add up to the second ability of the card, which can be lethal.  You can activate its second ability the turn it comes into play and your opponent will still have to waste resources to destroy it.  

all that being said, it doesn't eliminate any threats on the board.   It can put your opponent on a slightly faster clock.  Maybe a 1 of in white based creature decks.  

His ultimate ability is irrelevant in vintage.