Sets Hour of Devastation Thread
- Thread starter Golvin
- Start date
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
That was my first thought as well, but all modes are serious setbacks. Giving your opponent full control over the choice is always so bad though. It's hard to evaluate... I mean, it's obviously rubbish at low values, as saccing a random dork, discarding a land and losing 3 life isn't too big of a deal as a result of your opponent casting a five mana spell. What about X = 5 though? At that point you have 7 mana, so presumably your opponent has developed their board nicely. What are they still holding? Lands maybe? So they can safely discard one or two cards, can they lose six life? Probably? So they have to sacrifice one or two nonland permanents and are not otherwise heavily impaired? Not too great a return on investments either. So at what point does this become nasty? After a wrath effect? At X > 8? It feels a bit like a win more card, or alternatively, a win insurance card. Sealing the deal when your opponent is already down. The art is awesome though, and the choice is probably going to be tough on your opponent (how much life can I afford to pay to keep my tangible resources?), so maybe it's simply cool enough to be played, even if it's not top tier in practice?
I've never resolved a Profane Command and lost, so I'll take a shittier version of it for a spin pretty happily. It looks like it'll be best as win insurance or to break a stall, which is really where you want X spells to operate imho. Of course, it could certainly just be "bad", but I'm willing to give it a spin; in an environment that's more midrangey, an X of 5+ should be very doable, at which point it's a many-for-one that can be valuable in a format light on traditional wrath effects.
Opponent decides which to lose.
You decide how many times he has to make that decision.
Card is not good though..but all cards don't have to be to find a home.
yea idk i cant really construct a situation in my head where it would be great where it isnt just like a win-more but like this is sort of why i asked everyone
you know like punisher cards dont have to be inherently bad
in a certain light fact or fiction or gifts ungiven or even sac effects are punisher cards we just dont think of them that way because theyre like, actually good lol
you know like punisher cards dont have to be inherently bad
in a certain light fact or fiction or gifts ungiven or even sac effects are punisher cards we just dont think of them that way because theyre like, actually good lol
The difference is in who gets to make the final decision. Fact or Fiction is good because you get to pick the best of the two piles. Steam Augury is worse because the opponent gets to choose from the piles you make, so you'll never get the card you need the most.
Oh hey, I didn't know Mitch McConnell was getting a vanity card!Need moar sweet cards?
My guess (and I might eat my words in a few weeks, but oh well) is that Torment of Hailfire is bad. I, too, like the uncommon Torment better, though it's probably not great either.
I'm pretty excited at Rhonas's Last Stand, that might become a green stompy cornerstone. Nimble Obstructionist intrigues me, this is the sort of card that looks very difficult to evaluate.
I'm liking the design of Amonkhet block. After the mess that BFZ was, we've had a streak of three sweet blocks.
I'm pretty excited at Rhonas's Last Stand, that might become a green stompy cornerstone. Nimble Obstructionist intrigues me, this is the sort of card that looks very difficult to evaluate.
I'm liking the design of Amonkhet block. After the mess that BFZ was, we've had a streak of three sweet blocks.
I actually believe BFZ block would have felt great if:
1. The Eldrazi hadn't invaded the one plane players soooooo didn't want ruined; the exploration/quest/traps plane.
2. If devoid wasn't necessary to write on the card as a keyword and the Eldrazi could simply be color-requirering colorless creatures with frames to depict their colors instead of a keyword.
1. The Eldrazi hadn't invaded the one plane players soooooo didn't want ruined; the exploration/quest/traps plane.
2. If devoid wasn't necessary to write on the card as a keyword and the Eldrazi could simply be color-requirering colorless creatures with frames to depict their colors instead of a keyword.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
I don't care if Torment of Hailfire is any good, there's hundreds of cards that aren't in my cube that are good.
It's dumb. Why would you bother?
It's dumb. Why would you bother?
Laz
Developer
Or just the way Eldrazi were always handled up until that time?
Devoid was just a way of doing tribal without doing tribal. If Wizards wanted tribal Eldrazi versus tribal Allies, why dance around it?
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Oh boy! There's enough sweet cards for sure in this set o_O
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I guess that curse is the best target for Bitterheart Witch ever?
Champion of Wits is hailed as the epitome of lackluster eternalize cards, and I'm like: "What. A 2/1 that filters your hand is bad now because the backside is expensive?" Never mind that you get that backside for free on a highly playable body and the fact that the etb effect on that backside rides you straight to a villa in value town.
I guess I can see in the context of constructed, but even there.... Regardless, in cube like on curve after Anafenza, Kin-tree Spirit is an Oath of Jace, and Careful Study is already a great baseline. Dumping to the grave is usually more useful than putting a card away.
The ceiling is absurdly high, and a 2-for-0 from the Grave with a 4/4 body is... plenty good.
Imagine with Master Biomancer...
The ceiling is absurdly high, and a 2-for-0 from the Grave with a 4/4 body is... plenty good.
Imagine with Master Biomancer...
Dom Harvey
Contributor
Champion is also the first ETB looter that isn't embarrassing or conditional AFAICT
Trigger on the stack Become Immense 
A 2/1 for 2U is so useless, and there are going to be a number of games where you either don't reach 7 or a 4/4 for 5UU isn't something you're going to be interested in. I'm really not that excited by this dude.
And it's definitely conditional, if you have zero cards in hand this card does nothing except self mill 2 which is not bad but in a probably above 50% of games where that ends up being your line it will do nothing for you. Is that relevant most of the time? No, but it's definitely something you need to consider.
It's a worse Sea Gate Oracle (better body, choosing 1 of top 2 generally better than Careful Study) which in some probably small percentage of games will be eternalized. I like Sea Gate Oracle and still run it, but it's not a great card and neither is this guy.
And it's definitely conditional, if you have zero cards in hand this card does nothing except self mill 2 which is not bad but in a probably above 50% of games where that ends up being your line it will do nothing for you. Is that relevant most of the time? No, but it's definitely something you need to consider.
It's a worse Sea Gate Oracle (better body, choosing 1 of top 2 generally better than Careful Study) which in some probably small percentage of games will be eternalized. I like Sea Gate Oracle and still run it, but it's not a great card and neither is this guy.