Card/Deck [SCD] Opposition

[Jason Waddell]

How good is this card? It's obviously cool and synergistic, and cubers have lauded it since the beginning of time, but, I don't know if I see it. It's won a couple games, sure. I don't know if it's ever been in a 3 - 0 deck in my cube. It's one of those classic "great build-arounds", but I rarely want it in my decks. I certainly wouldn't P1P1 it.

Is my group way off on this card? Is it really as cool as people claim it to be? Or in a world of high-power cards is 2UU just too much for this type of effect?

 

[Chris Taylor]

In my experience this turns a tokens deck from a beatdown deck into a monster.
The fact that it can tap lands is not to be overlooked.
I'd figure the mana is good enough in your cube for UU2 not to be a problem, maybe this in a white tokens deck splashing green?

 

[tomchaps]

I've locked down boards with my weenies and tokens with this card in everything but UR. It's best in a token build (which I support heavily), but it also works very well in a UG build with lots of mana elves. You power out your midrange/five-drop, and either tap their blockers or their land. I had a UB aggro deck with lots of 1-drop zombies and Duskmantle Seer, and they didn't have any mana in their main phase after turn four for the rest of the (short) game.

I've taken to playing it in every blue deck with an average or above average number of creatures, and it has ranged from a servicable Icy Manipulator to a gamebreaking unfair card. Tap their equipped creature! Tap their dual land! Tap their blockers!

Sure, it needs a dedicated creature-heavy deck (that hates the UU, typically) to be totally bonkers. But unlike many build-around cards, it is pretty damned good when it isn't at it's best.

 

[Lucre]

what a cool fun and exciting card to play with and against!

I think cards like this would be more fun if every spell was a split spell so corner case cards like this would have more accessible answers to them.

 

[Geothrix]

Idunno I think it is pretty good. UG opposition is a solid lockdown deck. I played a simic deck recently with this and upheaval basically being my two wincons. Opposition is almost a sure victory with deranged hermit and several other token producers. If I get opposition early, I am looking to go UG since it plays so well with elves, but if that is not open, other colors can work with it too, probably white being the next best. I'd love to try it in a UB deck with Bitterblossom.

 

[Lucre]

Bitterblossom x Grave Titan x Opposition x Sink Hole x Small Pox

Hahhaha

It also feels like Nantuko Husk, Gravecrawler and Opposition might win you the game most of the time.

 

[Jason Waddell]

Yeah, I want to like the card. I like the design.

No, the mana cost isn't an issue, but it's probably just my configuration. I don't promote tokens, and don't have a lot of the "army in a can" cards. Maybe I'll reconfigure someday. Stuff like Deranged Hermit and Cloudgoat Ranger used to be like permafogs against aggro.

 

[tomchaps]

what a cool fun and exciting card to play with and against!

I think cards like this would be more fun if every spell was a split spell so corner case cards like this would have more accessible answers to them.

Facing down an Opposition is incredibly painful. Cool? Maybe. Fun? Nope. At first I presumed you were joking...

Also, have you seen the Split Card Cube? I have a copy, and you can justify running all sorts of bonkers narrow uncubable cards in it, as long as their stapled to a... um, cube staple.

 

[CML]

Absolutely insane. Oppressive. Way too good. Tapping down lands is far too much.

Do try Glare of Subdual though, better developed

 

[Lucre]

Facing down an Opposition is incredibly painful. Cool? Maybe. Fun? Nope. At first I presumed you were joking...

Also, have you seen the Split Card Cube? I have a copy, and you can justify running all sorts of bonkers narrow uncubable cards in it, as long as their stapled to a... um, cube staple.

My feelings about things tend to be sorta complex and negotiated. I can understand how it might be misleading on a forum post but I am simultaneously sarcastic and genuine in that post. That card is something I really miss in some formats. There's a lot of times where I love terrible back breaking game warping cards like that, but you need to have proper answers. I Think people who can build an oppo deck deserve a couple wins from when they can shut you out after establishing an advantage. I think there is lots of that sort of effect in a lot of cubes and it's the sorta thing many people miss vs today's no geddon, no stone rain, no counter spell sorta world.

I get that it's lame but so are a million other powerful cards. I guess I just prefer grueling shutouts to swinging bombs and think of them in a similar way.

 

[VibeBox]

opposition is one of the most unique cards ever printed, and is way up there on the power scale.
in a properly built deck this enchantment basically changes how the game works from the moment it's played. since you probably have a bunch of spirit tokens, or mana dorks your opponent now effectively only gets to play instants and only in their upkeep. you are also likely safe from most threats and can get around to killing them at your leisure with little chance for them to block.

i find it hard to call it oppressive though, as it can still be combated with a simple disenchant. (i kinda wanna write an article about the importance of disenchants)

i think it's a fun "build around me" card on par with Tinker that i will never hesitate to slam down p1p1 (assuming i want to play the deck), and is a high priority splash for creature based green decks or tokens decks.

 

[Jason Waddell]

Part of the problem I have with the card is that the "lots of small bodies" deck is pretty weak when it doesn't draw the Opposition (at least over here). Not much redundancy there, at least at singleton. But again, maybe these are just my own environmental problems, as I don't currently promote a lot of the conditions that would improve the success of Opposition decks.

 

[Dom Harvey]

No weaker than they are without Swords/Wargear or whatever else you're planning to do with them, IMO.

 

[VibeBox]

tokens support is an important piece imo, so i'm sure it's not at it's best in your cube.
it's undoubtedly a card that wishes there were more academy rectors to be had though

 

[Kranny]

I've had a soft spot for Opposition ever since it was in Standard. It's both powerful and fun to build around. It can feel a lot like playing against Armageddon, so I definitely wouldn't recommend it if your group isn't into these kinds of cards. Like others have touched on in this thread, you need to have a very specific deck to really open up its full potential. My favorite application is as a curve topper in U/W tempo.

 

[CML]

I dunno Kranny, Armageddon is a 4-mana sorcery that can be tough to set up in the right environment (it has a lot of the awkwardness problems that other LD does, though of course it's really powerful). It's harder for me to imagine an environment where Opposition is funsies.

Glare of Subdual was by consensus the best card in my Cube, so I took it out, and that one let them cast spells ...

Tangentially how do you guys feel about token support? I like to include pretty much all the token-making powerhouses (SGC, cloudgoat) and spread em across the color wheel, but for that same reason I'm not big on explicit support like intangible virtue. most anthems are so damn clunky

 

[Jason Waddell]

I think tokens can be interesting, but obviously things that put a lot of bodies on the board affect your aggro dynamic.

I could see Intangible Virtue as a narrow archetype anchor in the right environment. I'll likely test it in my Eldrazi cube. But on the whole I think you're better off with things like Mirror Entity as token support.

 

[Eric Chan]

Glare of Subdual was by consensus the best card in my Cube

Huh. Is this true? I wasn't playing during Ravnica-era, so this card never even popped up on my radar whenever I thought about Selesnya cards. Do you need a lot of token support for it to be good?

Now I really wanna try it out.

 

[VibeBox]

tbh i think glare is a huge downgrade from opposition. not really the same card at all and if it's really the most powerful card around then midrange is probably too good in the format.

 

[CML]

nah, i've had issues supporting midrange before. theres a nice tension between all the broadest archetypes right now, i think.

right, it's a huge downgrade, as opposition certainly isn't a fun card + huge downgrade could potentially be one

edit: if we're talking game-ruining enchantments i definitely hate recurring nightmare more though. so there's that!

 

[FlowerSunRain]

Opposition can certainly feel pretty oppressive and game ruining, but to make it work you need dudes (plural) and have to keep an enchantment on the table. It seems fair, in that soulcrushing sort of way.

Recurring Nightmare just needs a dude (singular) and the enchantment usually can't be removed. It just feels wrong.

 

[Jason Waddell]

One time I put together a 3 - 0 Rec-Sur deck with Thragtusk and just felt like a terrible human being. There was not really anything my opponents could do about it. Recurring Nightmare is no longer in my cube.

 

[CML]

For me it was fail to pay the echo on Bone Shredder, attack with Finks, nightmare, sac finks, persist, gain two, get a flyer, kill your guy. i felt like a bad designer and then took it out of my deck as a penalty for blowing it and due to a desire to make the games fun

let's play the "name a non-interactive, unbeatable enchantment that pisses me off even more than the last one" game. i'll start: NO MERCY

 

[VibeBox]

recurring nightmare is like a poster boy for "why you should ban for power level"
it's seriously oppressive when combined with such potent cards as [everything from solemn simulacrum on up]