There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
1. Adapt (Simic)
Rule 701.42a - "Adapt N" means "If this permanent has no +1/+1 counters on it, put N +1/+1 counters on it."
Rule 702.134a - Afterlife is a triggered ability. "Afterlife N" means "When this permanent is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, create N 1/1 white and black Spirit creature tokens with flying."
702.135a - Riot is a static ability. "Riot" means "You may have this permanent enter the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it. If you don't, it gains haste."
Rule 702.136a - Spectacle is a static ability that functions on the stack. "Spectacle [cost]" means "You may pay [cost] rather than pay this spell's mana cost if an opponent lost life this turn."
1. Spectacle (Rakdos) The problem of not getting enough enablers doesn't really carry over to Constructed where you can build the perfect mix directly into your deck. Standard decks are also much more streamlined for the role they want to play. Hyperaggressive decks, for example can usually count on being able to do early damage and apply pressure while slower midrange and control decks franctically try to stabilize. The discounted alternate costs are a welcome asset when you're able to consistently meet the condition. 2. Riot (Gruul) Riot allows creature decks to customize their game plan for whatever matchup they're playing. Haste is a great way to punish control decks that tap out for a planeswalker or a sweeper spell like Kaya's Wrath, while also increasing the clock against non-interactive combo and ramp decks that take time to set up. In other aggressive creature matchups, larger creatures that are able to block effectively become the order of the day. 3. Afterlife (Orzhov) Afterlife is a good ability in Standard, gumming up the board against small creature decks and presenting resilient threats against control decks that basically have to kill everything in order to stabilize. Where it falls short, however, is against decks that would rather ignore your creatures while they enact their own more powerful game plan. 4. Addendum (Azorius) Giving extra information and tapping out on your turn is probably even more costly in Constructed than Limited, as opponents will look for openings to resolve key game-changing spells. This is especially true in Azorius decks which likely rely on permission spells like Absorb to manage opposing threats. 5. Adapt (Simic) With Standard decks packing as much removal as they want access to, the last thing you want to do is sink a bunch of extra mana into a creature that can be taken out by a single, much cheaper spell. Creature decks need a very good reason to expose themselves to that kind of tempo loss.