Cohort

Defending Crabapple Cohort

Why is everyone hating on Crabapple Cohort? Its essentially a 5-mana 5/5. It beats down. It's no Tarmogoyf, but throw a couple into an intro pack and it plays fine. Cards don't need to be super powerful to be fun, they just need to be played with and against cards of a similar power level.

Yeah, stop being mean to Crabapple Cohort.

Cohort Crabapple Cohort Intro Packs Mana Power Level Tarmogoyf

Casual Card Choices

As a casual constructed player, I play with the subset of cards I buy specifically to make the decks I design myself. As does everyone else I know. We play with a wider range of cards than tournament players, but no one I know would play with anything as bad as Crabapple Cohort.

I used to do deck clinics at conventions where I looked at people’s decks and gave them advice how to make it better. It was eye opening. People play with everything. Everything! We even have data on Magic Online (which leans more towards enfranchised players) that shows it’s true.

Casual Play Cohort Constructed Conventions Crabapple Cohort Experienced / Enfranchised Players Eye Magic Online

Card Design Philosophy

Does anyone on the magic team ever feel a bit wasteful when designing cards that are only draft playable? Or less than draft playable like Tin street market. I've always felt bad when everyone throws a bunch of commons in the recycling bin after a draft. Crabapple Cohort is another example. That grumpy tree needs a friend just to brake even with its mana cost. That would make any green creature angry. I guess there's always a place for it in bad card cube.

The vast majority of players can’t differentiate between “draft playable” and “not draft playable”. They play with the cards that they a) own and b) like for whatever reasons they like them.There isn’t a card that doesn’t get played in “casual constructed” (aka “I play with the subset of cards which I own”), the most played “format”. So no, it doesn’t bother us because all those cards *do* get played.

Casual Play Cohort Commons Constructed Crabapple Cohort Creatures Cube Draft Green Limited Mana Tin Street Market

Top Mechanics Rated

After oath came out I remember reading somewhere that cohort is the lowest rated mechanic of all time. What is the highest rated mechanic of all time?

Full-art lands. : )That’s actually a mechanic, Transform.

Art Cohort Lands Mechanics Transform

Cohort vs Megamorph

Is cohort really less popular than megamorph?

It was rated lower.

Cohort

Top Rated Mechanic

If Cohort is currently the lowest rated mechanic of all time, what's the highest?

“Full-art” land. : )

Art Cohort Lands Mechanics

OGW Pre-Release Praise

OGW Pre-release was AMAZING! Found real nifty interactions with Eldrazi Displacer and Cohort was surprisingly better than I first expected it to be, also helped that my deck was 90% allies. Real great job on it! Will be drafting as much of this as I can!!!!

Glad you had fun.

Ally Cohort Eldrazi Eldrazi Displacer Limited

Cohort Mechanic Query

So with Cohort revealed; why can't I synergize with my teammate's Allies as well? Feels strange next to Surge.

You can’t tap other people’s permanents as a cost.

Ally Cohort Permanents Surge Tap / Untap

Cohort Mechanic Analysis

While Rally was always fine since the creature had an effect when it entered the battlefield, Cohort seems just as parasitic as the original Ally mechanic, as it requires you to have at least one other Ally on the battlefield. Would you say, however, that Cohort is NOT parasitic because we already got Allies in the original Zendikar block, so there is a decent amount of them?

Cohort is less parasitic because of original Zendikar.

Ally Cohort Creatures Mechanics Parasitic Rally Zendikar

Team Allies Interaction

I'm sorely disappointed that you can't use your teammates Allies in Cohort. That would have been a huge flavourwin! And balance for casual formats should not be too much of a concern.

The game doesn’t allow up to pay costs with other people’s things.

Ally Casual Play Cohort

Reprint Rationales

Cards like Goblin Cohort are easy to understand why the reprint with different names, but why is there Terramorphic Expanse AND Evolving Wilds?

In that case we wanted larger formats to have access to eight.

Card Printing Cohort Evolving Wilds Goblin Goblin Cohort Reprints Terramorphic Expanse