Brimaz, king of Oreskos

[gkraigher]

This guy doesn't seem good to me in Legacy or Modern, but I think it is OK in a white based creature deck for Vintage **IF** the metagame continues to shift towards creature based decks.

Pros:
It survives lightning bolt
It creates tokens (at a similar rate to young pyromancer in RUG)
It can attack and block, and creates a small advantage each time

Negatives:  
It costs 3 mana and the double white contains the card to heavy white based decks
It only does 3 damage (which is the same thing that can be said about true name nemesis)

The closest comparison to this card is true name nemesis, which is vintage playable.  The null rod based white deck gets a lot stronger and this card gives that deck a way to win against the other creature based decks--like merfolk and RUG delver.  

I also think it is card #2 in a cycle of 3 CC creatures for each color, the same way Tarmogoyf, Snapcaster Mage, Young Pyromancer, Dark Confidant, and Stoneforge Mystic can be considered a cycle.  

[Saya]

>It only does 3 damage (which is the same thing that can be said about true name nemesis)

No worry.This guy conspricts 1/1 token whenever attacking.

[KrauserKrauser]

He's actually a pretty speedy kill condition.

He's a 4 turn clock (4,5,6,7) vs. a 7 turn clock with TNN.

Sure, he doesn't pitch to FoW, but he's pushed pretty darn hard.

Too bad he's not a human, he'd get along might fine with Linvala.

[msg67183]

He's actually a pretty speedy kill condition.

He's a 4 turn clock (4,5,6,7) vs. a 7 turn clock with TNN.

Sure, he doesn't pitch to FoW, but he's pushed pretty darn hard.

Too bad he's not a human, he'd get along might fine with Linvala.

It IS  Soldier, so it pals with Thalia, which could be relevant.

[vaughnbros]

This draws comparisons to...



For 1 more mana Hero deals 18 damage in 2 attacks if unmolested as well as buffing your already existing creatures, making it a significantly faster clock.  That 1 mana may make the difference though in playability, just thought it was note worthy to bring up that this is not a new mechanic.

[brianpk80]

The card is efficiently priced and probably the best in the set, which unfortunately doesn't say much. 

[KrauserKrauser]

Hero is more aggressive, but Brimaz works well on defense as well.

Might not be relevant all of the time, but it is a point in its favor.

[lplaat]

This draws comparisons to...



For 1 more mana Hero deals 18 damage in 2 attacks if unmolested as well as buffing your already existing creatures, making it a significantly faster clock.  That 1 mana may make the difference though in playability, just thought it was note worthy to bring up that this is not a new mechanic.

I don't get that. 3 +2 +2 =7 damage per attack. Times two = 14 damage; not 18?!

cheers,
lplaat

[KrauserKrauser]

You're forgetting the 2 soldiers that were made on the first attack.

[Protoaddict]

This guy has real potential in a mono white stax list, I posted something to that effect in the deck section earlier. The mono white Thalia list has a lot of cats in it already and soldier is another common race for the dudes to share, so playing him off cavern is highly plausible.

Being that he is a legend and purely a finisher and not a disruption card, I don't think you would ever want to play more than one in a list because you certainly never want to draw more than one, and he is the top of the curve for your deck. When he does come down the game should be all but over.

Also while the comparison to Bladehold is apt I think this guy more than edges her out. Monowhite is a deck that is running 1strip/4wastelands and sometimes x Ghost Quarters, so it wants its late game land drops for those, not to play a 4 drop. It also starts attacking a full turn eariler and you will probably have put up some attrition damage by that point anyways. If you play him on turn 3 and goldfish your attacks with just him and his recruits you do 4 Damage on turn 4, 5on5, 6on6. When you consider that you probably have arbiter or Thalia behind him its well more than 20.

[Ten-Ten]

This guy seemed cool when I first saw it, except It only gets Worse not better the more Vintage leans torwards creature based decks. Has no evasion. The tokens are forced to block or attack when they first enter the battlefield. Doesnt provide disruption. In a mono white deck full of mana denial, you should not need this guy to finish off your opponent. Why not just play Jotun Grunt? Comes down sooner and may help out with some gy hate against decks with crucible, yawgmoths will, and dredge. Just sayin'

[lplaat]

You're forgetting the 2 soldiers that were made on the first attack.

Damn, I'm stupid.

cheers,
lplaat

[Protoaddict]

This guy seemed cool when I first saw it, except It only gets Worse not better the more Vintage leans torwards creature based decks. Has no evasion. The tokens are forced to block or attack when they first enter the battlefield. Doesnt provide disruption. In a mono white deck full of mana denial, you should not need this guy to finish off your opponent. Why not just play Jotun Grunt? Comes down sooner and may help out with some gy hate against decks with crucible, yawgmoths will, and dredge. Just sayin'

Grunt has a bunch of weak points this guy does not share. Mono white is typically running main board rest in peace so that removed grunt right there. Grunt can also be spell snared.

The thing with mono white is you may have a board full of guys but they are guys you can't trade off in combat or your opponent gets an avenue to come back with. Have i beater like this is the same reason decks run Tarmogoyf even though it does not play control or disruption at all, its a finisher that can win the game on its own and is bigger than everything else for cheap. That's exactly what this guy is in a different way for a different deck.

[Guli]

They want us to move toward 'Soldiers' instead of Humans. Basically any deck with 4x Thalia and additional 'slow down the game cards' can be viable.

[Ten-Ten]

This guy seemed cool when I first saw it, except It only gets Worse not better the more Vintage leans torwards creature based decks. Has no evasion. The tokens are forced to block or attack when they first enter the battlefield. Doesnt provide disruption. In a mono white deck full of mana denial, you should not need this guy to finish off your opponent. Why not just play Jotun Grunt? Comes down sooner and may help out with some gy hate against decks with crucible, yawgmoths will, and dredge. Just sayin'

Grunt has a bunch of weak points this guy does not share. Mono white is typically running main board rest in peace so that removed grunt right there. Grunt can also be spell snared.

The thing with mono white is you may have a board full of guys but they are guys you can't trade off in combat or your opponent gets an avenue to come back with. Have i beater like this is the same reason decks run Tarmogoyf even though it does not play control or disruption at all, its a finisher that can win the game on its own and is bigger than everything else for cheap. That's exactly what this guy is in a different way for a different deck.

Good points, still though. I like this guy, I just dont see running more than two, maybe in place of two Porcelain Legionaire I have in my white trash list. Dunno yet.

[Demagoguery]

The difference between this guy and Hero is that he comes down a turn earlier, and not only can he block while making guys but the guy he makes on the attack can block, which can be relevant more often than you think, such as an attacking Ichorid that can take this guy down with the help of a Dark Blast. Hero on the other hand is purely offensive, so if it can't attack, it's just a 3/4 for 4.

This guy is also super cute with something like Opposition, which might not be that bad now considering how most decks either win with creatures or sorcery speed stuff.

[Purple Hat]

This guy seemed cool when I first saw it, except It only gets Worse not better the more Vintage leans torwards creature based decks. Has no evasion. The tokens are forced to block or attack when they first enter the battlefield. Doesnt provide disruption. In a mono white deck full of mana denial, you should not need this guy to finish off your opponent. Why not just play Jotun Grunt? Comes down sooner and may help out with some gy hate against decks with crucible, yawgmoths will, and dredge. Just sayin'

Grunt has a bunch of weak points this guy does not share. Mono white is typically running main board rest in peace so that removed grunt right there. Grunt can also be spell snared.

The thing with mono white is you may have a board full of guys but they are guys you can't trade off in combat or your opponent gets an avenue to come back with. Have i beater like this is the same reason decks run Tarmogoyf even though it does not play control or disruption at all, its a finisher that can win the game on its own and is bigger than everything else for cheap. That's exactly what this guy is in a different way for a different deck.

Good points, still though. I like this guy, I just dont see running more than two, maybe in place of two Porcelain Legionaire I have in my white trash list. Dunno yet.

You wouldn't find a way to play both?  I feel like I'd rather cast legionaire on 1-2 paying 2 life and this guy on 2-3 if I was trying to curve out.

[Guli]

I think the right line of reasoning is to play turn 1 Thalia naming Soldiers and turn 2 Brimaz.

[Demagoguery]

Don't forget, you can also go Soldier on your first Cavern, and then Cat on the second one, and still cast your Thalia and Pridemage as uncounterable dudes, this is not the case for other cards such as Hero if your only coloured source is the second Cavern for when one of those spells happen. Plus, if you're running Waste/Strip, 3 CC is actually a lot more relevant.

Edit: Also shares a type with Leonin Arbiter and Relic Warder.

[MaximumCDawg]

I'm not convinced a three-drop that does nothing but Aggro Moar is good in Vintage.  This dude comes down turn 2 or 3 in a white deck, too slow against Shops, and from there he has to expose himself to the red zone to produce value.  Other than Tarmogoyf (2cc) and Delver (1cc), isn't it a good rule of thumb that a creature must do something other than bash to justify a slot in Vintage aggro?

I'm reminded of Markov Blademaster.  That gal was a 3 drop who ends the game in similar fashion if allowed to run unchecked (1st attack, 3 damage; second attack. 7 damage; third attack, 11 damage), which was potentially fast enough, but found zero play.

[Guli]

I'm not convinced a three-drop that does nothing but Aggro Moar is good in Vintage.  This dude comes down turn 2 or 3 in a white deck, too slow against Shops, and from there he has to expose himself to the red zone to produce value.  Other than Tarmogoyf (2cc) and Delver (1cc), isn't it a good rule of thumb that a creature must do something other than bash to justify a slot in Vintage aggro?

I'm reminded of Markov Blademaster.  That gal was a 3 drop who ends the game in similar fashion if allowed to run unchecked (1st attack, 3 damage; second attack. 7 damage; third attack, 11 damage), which was potentially fast enough, but found zero play.

Can't fill all your slots with bears with a disprutive effect. And besides, I think Brimaz can be very disruptive against certain decks. Usually you always want 1 or 2 of these 'game breakers' in your deck in case you aren't facing Workshop or Combo. The creatures that keep you alive against combo/control and shops are the ones that come down turn 1. These are Noble, Thalia, Pridemage, Dark Confidant, ... and so on.... And you back them up with things like Chalice, Misstep, Stp, Decay, ... You should be able to cover for the tier match ups and still have some left over slots. Brimaz fills in nicely there (as the role he will play) and is as cheap as they come (3cc). It doesn't need to be cheaper to be good, it is not an early game card. He will be out of Bolt range and will generate value. He can also be bounced with Karakas, in case you need that.

[sylverfyre]

This draws comparisons to...



For 1 more mana Hero deals 18 damage in 2 attacks if unmolested as well as buffing your already existing creatures, making it a significantly faster clock.  That 1 mana may make the difference though in playability, just thought it was note worthy to bring up that this is not a new mechanic.

A three turn clock at 4 mana is surprisingly quite different from a 4 turn clock at 3 mana.  (I do understand one needs 3 more damage from elsewhere to shave a turn off the clock.)