I predicted they would make a card named "Sick Burn" in this set, but they missed their shot.
General [FRA] Reality Fracture
- Thread starter shamizy
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I predicted they would make a card named "Sick Burn" in this set, but they missed their shot.
I was legitimately impressed with this card during sealed prerelease last night. Obviously it is great in an opening hand and eh otherwise, but filtering your draws for ~4-7 turns is really *really* good in slower environments.
If you have a way to recur baubles then it can repeatedly chip away at your opponents life while bolstering your own.
I had a GW deck with 3 Inspired Tethermage and a couple of the Way enchantments so I was trying to empower Jace as much as I could. I found the play patterns of it extremely engaging, and at least one game the surveiling got me out of a flood and another one I definitely lost partially to me using the Jace wrong. (I -3'd to draw a land while flooding and killed my Jace with no pressure from my opponent. Surveiling 3 times over three turns had a higher potential in hindsight)
Choosing when to activate Jace (and consequentally, when not to activate) felt very skill testing. At this stage I am honestly mostly bummed that there is little opportunity for any extra cards with this mechanic, because I did really have a good time with it. It reminded me a bit of how energy worked (was supposed to work lol) in OG Kaladesh, only more interactive on both sides of the table.
Choosing when to activate Jace (and consequentally, when not to activate) felt very skill testing. At this stage I am honestly mostly bummed that there is little opportunity for any extra cards with this mechanic, because I did really have a good time with it. It reminded me a bit of how energy worked (was supposed to work lol) in OG Kaladesh, only more interactive on both sides of the table.
It plays out even better than I expected. I think @Tavahka covered it well: it feels very skill-testing, fair, and satisfying. It gets even more interesting with things like Way of the Pyromancer's +1 ability and I imagine there's some fun things to do with it in Cube like proliferate.
I made this image and it got a lot of feedback on Twitter and multiple Reddits, and I do really think it was helpful for me to think of it:
Surveil is just...really good. Like the LR guys have said, if a scry is worth half a card, a surveil is worth like 2/3 of a card, especially in graveyard-centric environments (like this limited set...or my Cube!)
I'm only running 4 cards with it now (see below) but I'd be eager to figure out more.
Legitimately loved it. Jace Tokens made tracking a breeze. My promo was Repurposed Enforcer and the card was really good. Off topic but Guiding Hydra felt great to play as well.
I'm on the fence about stuff like No Admittance, but Empower Jace 1 was a lot stronger than I thought it would be. Holding Surveils for future turns felt both strong and pretty safe, even with mediocre defense options on board. If smaller cubes go deep with instances of the mechanic, the repeated filtering is great. Juggling Jaces was valuetown.
Low Loyalty Jace Tokens are interesting. They are super good filtering that can build into potential draws, but committing removal or even combat damage felt so low reward that most decks I played left them alone entirely.
A card that piqued my interest:
I played against it a few times and the card was powerful. Seems like a legitimately good Tempo cantrip even in stronger cubes with large multicolor sections. Draw + Surveil next turn (or Surveil 1 spread over 4 turns) is a good floor. With a creature on board you can buff it --> pressure with combat --> still have an active defender playing bodyguard for your Jace Token.
I also really liked Twinned Vision, the Discard cost on the Flashback never felt like an issue in any games I played, and I do think that 'Empower Jace' was a major reason why. Both of these cantrips would've be incredible with Geist of Saint Thalia.
I'm on the fence about stuff like No Admittance, but Empower Jace 1 was a lot stronger than I thought it would be. Holding Surveils for future turns felt both strong and pretty safe, even with mediocre defense options on board. If smaller cubes go deep with instances of the mechanic, the repeated filtering is great. Juggling Jaces was valuetown.
Low Loyalty Jace Tokens are interesting. They are super good filtering that can build into potential draws, but committing removal or even combat damage felt so low reward that most decks I played left them alone entirely.
A card that piqued my interest:
I played against it a few times and the card was powerful. Seems like a legitimately good Tempo cantrip even in stronger cubes with large multicolor sections. Draw + Surveil next turn (or Surveil 1 spread over 4 turns) is a good floor. With a creature on board you can buff it --> pressure with combat --> still have an active defender playing bodyguard for your Jace Token.
I also really liked Twinned Vision, the Discard cost on the Flashback never felt like an issue in any games I played, and I do think that 'Empower Jace' was a major reason why. Both of these cantrips would've be incredible with Geist of Saint Thalia.
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I saw that and I think I Discorded it to Onder. Didn't realize it was you. Hell of a Mind Stone. The text box is really nice.It plays out even better than I expected. I think @Tavahka covered it well: it feels very skill-testing, fair, and satisfying. It gets even more interesting with things like Way of the Pyromancer's +1 ability and I imagine there's some fun things to do with it in Cube like proliferate.
I made this image and it got a lot of feedback on Twitter and multiple Reddits, and I do really think it was helpful for me to think of it:
View attachment 11549
Surveil is just...really good. Like the LR guys have said, if a scry is worth half a card, a surveil is worth like 2/3 of a card, especially in graveyard-centric environments (like this limited set...or my Cube!)
I'm only running 4 cards with it now (see below) but I'd be eager to figure out more.
I think there's a good 10ish decent looking Empower cards. I suspected the mechanic was very useful. One surveil can crucially smooth out an early game land.
I've been back and forth on walkers for years and this might make me do it. There's a decent bit of nongreen walker ramp as well as Way of the Pyro to expand my ramp options.