Exactly. This card can replace Condescend in my UW Tron build. I already run fetches so adding a red source or two won't be a big deal. This could easily cause 10 or more damage by itself. Total game winner.
I like it when I think of it not as a counter spell that does damage but as a burn spell with weird targeting requirements that sometimes counters a spell. I like that it also gets around Leyline of Sanctity, so I would be at least open to trying it in the sideboard of a burn deck in Modern. Proooobably not good enough, but at least there's the surprise value!
Definitely will be playing this as a 2 of at least in standard, and might be playable in Modern in UWR (it really is just a counter-burn deck at heart).
Modern? Really? It costs 3 mana for this to just be a Force Spike+1 damage and at 4 mana it is worse than Crytptic.
Hard conditional counter that deals damage and isn't UU to cast. This has potential
No it doesn't. It is just an inefficient card that becomes strong a little too late.
UWR control plays cryptic command, celestial collanade, ect. For collabade 6 lands are needed. So for 6 mana this gives you a counter, and deals 4 damage to your opponent.
I could totally see this as a 1 of or a 2 of in UWR control decks.
And at less than 6 mana it is terrible. Keep in mind that WUR doesn't play Condescend (though I think it should), which can also effectively counter 2-drops and has an effect that is more useful than this until you get to 6 mana.
Terrible card in constructed, but scary in Limited because it's an X-to-the-dome burn spell with an upside.
Undermine was playable (but not great) at 3 mana. At 5 - /vomit (and that's not mentioning that it's a soft counter).
This might have been fringe playable if it was X+1 in both the tax and the damage.
Agreed. At X+1 I would play this card in Blue Moon in Modern instead of Mana Leak. I already play Condescend there and it is pulling its weight. I also need more pressure. But this not being able to counter a turn 2 Goyf kills it for me.
Spellshock UR
Instant Uncommon
Counter target spell unless its controller pays 2. Spellshock deals 2 damage to that player.
Won't be happening any time soon. But seriously, why is this rare, why is this so expensive, and why won't Wizards make good counterspells?
for the same reason they wont make effective creature kill or land d - people dont like playing against it
^ A thousand times this, wizards has eliminated any alternate way to play the game, no combo, no LD, no good counters, very little good discard, and now decent removal is at a premium and wraths start at five mana. All because entitled little brats complain about losing resources and only want to turn dudes sideways.
The reason they're changing up the game isn't because of people wanting to use creatures, it was because things are boring when an aggro-control matchup was decided by "does he have a wrath in his hand". That's not interesting and frankly it was tiresome to both parties. Highly efficient removal was toned down specifically because when creature removal is so much easier, creatures need to be stronger in order to justify people playing them at all and you end up with Thragtusk and Primeval Titan. Maybe you liked exclusive, shakily balanced metas, but that's not most people.
Also land destruction isn't creative or fun. It's boring. For both parties. "Oh look, I made it so you can't play anything." "Fantuckingfastic." "Now watch as I chip you to death while your hand fills up with things you can't play." "So much fun!"
While I partially agree on land destruction, when the creature removal costs similar amounts to the threats you are better off just playing threats of your own. And that still doesn't explain why good counterspells have been phased out. I get that Snapcaster/Ponder/Delver/Mana Leak was problematic, but Wizards chose to remove the least offensive one while continuing to make super-efficient creatures.
The card is...interesting. It isn't something that you would run a full 4x of, but I can see it being a very useful tool to have 1 or 2 of in a lot of matchups. Standard is for the most part a "tap out every turn" format and this can easily counter something big and get in some damage.
Undermine was a useful card in Standard and this is easier to cast.
Undermine also was a 3 mana hard counter that dealt 3 damage. For this to deal 3 you have to spend 5 mana and even then 1 and 2 drops avoid the counter.
Seriously, this is going in my new Temur ramp deck, and the new uber-clone too! so pump for these wedges!! Two of my favorite wedges, Temur and Abzan, (Temur, Naya, Abzan, then Bant), getting mad support! This set is satisfying all my feels, from my Standard feels to my casual. So excited. And two more to come? Frak yeah!
Remember, Sphinx's Revelation was an absolutely terrible card. Cards with X costs that have a lot of preceding mana are always bad. After all, you had to pay four mana to even get the card to just cycle itself and for six mana, you only get a Concentration. It's pointless to talk about costs greater than 6, because any game will be over by then. And as we all know, a few points of life, up or down, are completely irrelevant. This is why Mind Rot is a much better card than Blightning, because it only requires one color to cast and those few points of damage that can't even hit a creature are irrelevant anyway.
1000x this. This card definitely has a chance to see play, not as a playset, but a supplement as 1x-2x to any counter-suite aiming to win with burn. Time will tell as always.
I agree that it might see Standard play. I simply object to all of the people who are saying that this is Modern-playable.
for the same reason they wont make effective creature kill or land d - people dont like playing against it
^ A thousand times this, wizards has eliminated any alternate way to play the game, no combo, no LD, no good counters, very little good discard, and now decent removal is at a premium and wraths start at five mana. All because entitled little brats complain about losing resources and only want to turn dudes sideways.
The reason they're changing up the game isn't because of people wanting to use creatures, it was because things are boring when an aggro-control matchup was decided by "does he have a wrath in his hand". That's not interesting and frankly it was tiresome to both parties. Highly efficient removal was toned down specifically because when creature removal is so much easier, creatures need to be stronger in order to justify people playing them at all and you end up with Thragtusk and Primeval Titan. Maybe you liked exclusive, shakily balanced metas, but that's not most people.
Also land destruction isn't creative or fun. It's boring. For both parties. "Oh look, I made it so you can't play anything." "Fantuckingfastic." "Now watch as I chip you to death while your hand fills up with things you can't play." "So much fun!"
Indeed it it fun to have multiple stratigies available at one time, resource denile should be a thing. If you don't like it play an answer, like one of those good counterspells that don't exist, or play around it. Instead we have creature creature creature creature,great creature, hope you have your four mana rare removal. Also, you pretty much admitted above that wizards is pandering to aggro, thus people wanting to use creatures, and giving control(and other archetypes) the shaft.
"wizards is pandering to aggro and giving control the shaft."
"giving control the shaft."
"the shaft."
Sphinx's Revelation, hereafter known as The Shaft.
After AN ENTIRE YEAR of an standard enviroment quite dominated by control decks, some of them without other wincons than boring their opponent to death,
which closely followed a year dominated by the existence of Snapcaster Mage + Mana Leak in yet another quite absurd season,
not even that long after the control deck called CawBlade being banned for being stupidly oppresive,
here we go again,
control gets the shaft.
And why is it that Mana Leak is what is removed from the equation here? Caw-Blade and Delver dominate and library manipulation and counterspells are removed from Standard. We still get powerful creatures, despite ones such as Stoneforge Mystic, Delver of Secrets, and Snapcaster Mage causing the problems with Mana Leak in the first place.
I get some people would like combo to be a playable archetype in standard. I do not, since I think thats wwhat modern and legacy are for.
Why is that? Standard has done just fine with playable combo decks in the past (see Splinter Twin, Valakut, Mythic Bant, Pyromancer Acension, Dredge, and several others).
But resource denial? Yes, not letting your opponent do anything sure is fun.
To be fair, not letting your opponent do anything is pretty fun. It is when you are that opponent that it isn't fun.
And I am not talking about counterspells, which have been nerfed in standard enviroments (much like removal) because they forced each and every creature played to be stupidly powerful to justify running it agains a possible kill or counter spell.
I am NOT down with the power creep that happens when every blue deck has the chance to play four mana leaks. That's the reason Titans happen. That's why Thragtusk, Wurmcoil Engine, Restoration Angel exist. When creatures HAVE TO have a spell attached to them to see play, that's ridiculous.
So removal should be forced to 4 mana and counterspells to 3? Should people who don't want to play creatures have to play terrible spells while their opponents play Stormbreath Dragons, Courser of Kruphix, Brimaz, and Eidolons of the Great Revel?
Control isn't as powerful as before, but aggro and midrange aren't, either. So I cannot possibly see the damn problem.
For me, the problem is that aggro and midrange are getting many more tools in Modern than Control. Pod just got Reclamation Sage, Archangel of Thune, and Eidolon of Rhetoric (and Voice of Resurgence a bit earlier). BGx got Courser of Kruphix, Chandra Pyromaster, and Scavenging Ooze. Deadguy Ale got Brimaz. Burn got Eidolon of the Great Revel. Affinity got Ensoul Artifact. Boggles got Unflinching Courage (and earlier Ethereal Armor). Even Delver got Young Pyromancer. In contrast, all the Control decks have gotten in the same time period is Keranos, Sphinx's Revelation, and Supreme Verdict (which is currently being replaced by Wrath of God in most decks to deal with Thrun the Last Troll). Why should Aggro and Midrange consistently get more cards than Control?
This is a great card for a burn deck that needs just that much extra utility out of its burn cards. Do you want a fireball or do you want a fireball stapled to a syncopate? Syncopate's biggest problem is that it's practically irrelevant in the late game. Here, even if your opponent can afford the five extra mana you sank into it, you're still going to get a quarter of their life out of the deal.
It's not going to blow anyone's minds but it definitely fills a niche.
Seriously, this is going in my new Temur ramp deck, and the new uber-clone too! so pump for these wedges!! Two of my favorite wedges, Temur and Abzan, (Temur, Naya, Abzan, then Bant), getting mad support! This set is satisfying all my feels, from my Standard feels to my casual. So excited. And two more to come? Frak yeah!
To me it seems great for a deck that wants to play draw/go all game, especially if you can back it with Jace's Elixir effect. Counters in the early game that you can later recycle into fireballs in the late game are powerful. The real problem with the card is that it's already competing for slots, as a 3 mana (minimum) counter it has both Dissolve and Dissipate to fight with and will of course always struggle with efficient two drops.
Now the challenge is: Does such a deck that can play this exist? UR/x draw/go. So far we have no viable 2 mana removal and no card draw.
I am very fond of this card; while it is not as good as suffocating blast or undermine, it still is very nice in its own right. Should I replace my copies of counterflux in my red/blue deck with this card, or keep counterflux?
Hard conditional counter that deals damage and isn't UU to cast. This has potential
This card is not a "hard counter" (i.e., the original counterspell, undermine, or absorb), it is a "soft counter" (i.e., mana leak or convolute), because it gives the controller of the targeted spell a chance to bypass the counter. It also is not conditional; the definition of a conditional counterspell is one that counters only spells of a certain type (i.e., countersquall), so a counterspell that can counter any type of spell is an unconditional counterspell, making this card an unconditional soft counter.
Private Mod Note
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
This is a great card for a burn deck that needs just that much extra utility out of its burn cards. Do you want a fireball or do you want a fireball stapled to a syncopate? Syncopate's biggest problem is that it's practically irrelevant in the late game. Here, even if your opponent can afford the five extra mana you sank into it, you're still going to get a quarter of their life out of the deal.
It's not going to blow anyone's minds but it definitely fills a niche.
Syncopate can be cast turn two to snipe something critical which is a huge benefit. This isn't a control card if it sees play it will be as protection/burn for something with big mana.
For users asking about the card's lack of a watermark, I shall guess that it is because it could be affiliated with either the Temur or the Jeskai clans, since both of those clans have red and blue among their colors; this is similar to how fiery conclusion was not associated with any particular guild on Ravnica, and how brainbite was associated with both the Esper and Grixis shards of Alara. Simialrly, utter end, despite having Zurgo of the Mardu in its art, could just as easily be associated with the Abzan clan as with the Mardu clan, because both of those clans have black and white among their colors.
I also shall say that I agree that this card would have been better as an uncommon than as a rare, as it is not quite sufficiently powerful to be a rare; in my opinion, rare counterspells should be hard and/or unconditional counters, while common and uncommon counterspells can be soft and/or conditional counters.
I think that's the problem with how people are looking at it. It's a a late game card with occasional early game playability, not an early game card with late game playability. It's not a syncopate with a built in fireball, it's a fireball with a built in syncopate.
For users asking about the card's lack of a watermark, I shall guess that it is because it could be affiliated with either the Temur or the Jeskai clans, since both of those clans have red and blue among their colors; this is similar to how fiery conclusion was not associated with any particular guild on Ravnica, and how brainbite was associated with both the Esper and Grixis shards of Alara. Simialrly, utter end, despite having Zurgo of the Mardu in its art, could just as easily be associated with the Abzan clan as with the Mardu clan, because both of those clans have black and white among their colors.
I also shall say that I agree that this card would have been better as an uncommon than as a rare, as it is not quite sufficiently powerful to be a rare; in my opinion, rare counterspells should be hard and/or unconditional counters, while common and uncommon counterspells can be soft and/or conditional counters.
Alara did not use any watermarks and Ravnica only put watermarks on dual-colored cards.
I see this card having about as much impact on Constructed as the last overcosted counterspell that had a big effect on life totals (Fall of the Gavel) did. Did you need to look up what that card does despite it being Standard legal? That's usually a sign of a bad card.
This argument makes little to no sense. Life gain is not as good as burn, and the X cost is WAY better than cmc 5. This is still a hard counter for 3 that also deals damage if your opponent taps out. Then, in long games or with ramp, you can do game winning damage with this + counter a spell if that's relevant at the time.
Hard conditional counter that deals damage and isn't UU to cast. This has potential
This card is not a "hard counter" (i.e., the original counterspell, undermine, or absorb), it is a "soft counter" (i.e., mana leak or convolute), because it gives the controller of the targeted spell a chance to bypass the counter. It also is not conditional; the definition of a conditional counterspell is one that counters only spells of a certain type (i.e., countersquall), so a counterspell that can counter any type of spell is an unconditional counterspell, making this card an unconditional soft counter.
Or you could say that it's a hard counter because it counters any kind of card, but it's conditional because the opponent must not have too much mana. In other words, this is pointless semantics without a real answer.
Hard conditional counter that deals damage and isn't UU to cast. This has potential
This card is not a "hard counter" (i.e., the original counterspell, undermine, or absorb), it is a "soft counter" (i.e., mana leak or convolute), because it gives the controller of the targeted spell a chance to bypass the counter. It also is not conditional; the definition of a conditional counterspell is one that counters only spells of a certain type (i.e., countersquall), so a counterspell that can counter any type of spell is an unconditional counterspell, making this card an unconditional soft counter.
Or you could say that it's a hard counter because it counters any kind of card, but it's conditional because the opponent must not have too much mana. In other words, this is pointless semantics without a real answer.
You could but only if you're unaware of how the words are used in this context or actively obnoxious. I mean we could pretend any word means anything, man, they're just like letters, dude.
For users asking about the card's lack of a watermark, I shall guess that it is because it could be affiliated with either the Temur or the Jeskai clans, since both of those clans have red and blue among their colors; this is similar to how fiery conclusion was not associated with any particular guild on Ravnica, and how brainbite was associated with both the Esper and Grixis shards of Alara. Simialrly, utter end, despite having Zurgo of the Mardu in its art, could just as easily be associated with the Abzan clan as with the Mardu clan, because both of those clans have black and white among their colors.
I also shall say that I agree that this card would have been better as an uncommon than as a rare, as it is not quite sufficiently powerful to be a rare; in my opinion, rare counterspells should be hard and/or unconditional counters, while common and uncommon counterspells can be soft and/or conditional counters.
Alara did not use any watermarks and Ravnica only put watermarks on dual-colored cards.
I don't know why people are already hating on this card. Standard play? Doubt it, fast fat creatures seem to be the direction standard will always be going towards, however modern play seems reasonable. Plenty of grindy UR delver builds will definitely try it, UWR control could try a few, just to see, Tron as mentioned could certainly try. We all say modern is a turn four format, but all my experience there says otherwise, as control is there in multiple forms and games turn into slow resource trading easily. A X counter AND a burn spell seem to be a very reall late game option, and a huge tempo blowout occasionally. I'm really sick of people saying things aren't viable at first read. Really? Have you tested it? Not every card is going to be Snapcaster, or Sphinxes revelation, or goyf, or cryptic, etc. etc. Stop complaining about stale formats if you dismiss every new card printed. Rant over.
I don't know why people are already hating on this card. Standard play? Doubt it, fast fat creatures seem to be the direction standard will always be going towards, however modern play seems reasonable. Plenty of grindy UR delver builds will definitely try it, UWR control could try a few, just to see, Tron as mentioned could certainly try. We all say modern is a turn four format, but all my experience there says otherwise, as control is there in multiple forms and games turn into slow resource trading easily. A X counter AND a burn spell seem to be a very reall late game option, and a huge tempo blowout occasionally. I'm really sick of people saying things aren't viable at first read. Really? Have you tested it? Not every card is going to be Snapcaster, or Sphinxes revelation, or goyf, or cryptic, etc. etc. Stop complaining about stale formats if you dismiss every new card printed. Rant over.
Tron doesn't usually play blue and red together, Delver doesn't run enough lands for this (seriously, if they can't support Consescend as a counterspell that helps with Delver flips, they can't aupport this), and in WUR it still can't hit 2 drops on the play or 3 drops on the draw until you get ahead on lands. And I think that I have every right to complain since I am not dismissing Anafenza, Sarkhan, Sorin, Sultai Charm, or the fetchlands in Modern.
I see this card having about as much impact on Constructed as the last overcosted counterspell that had a big effect on life totals (Fall of the Gavel) did. Did you need to look up what that card does despite it being Standard legal? That's usually a sign of a bad card.
This argument makes little to no sense. Life gain is not as good as burn, and the X cost is WAY better than cmc 5. This is still a hard counter for 3 that also deals damage if your opponent taps out. Then, in long games or with ramp, you can do game winning damage with this + counter a spell if that's relevant at the time.
Lifegain is better than burn in control strategies. There is a reason Absorb saw significant Standard play and Undermine was fringe.
This is NOT a hard counter. It is a 'counter unless they pay X', with a drawback that X is one less mana than it normally would be on an effect like this (because 'counter unless you pay X' is usually costed at XU, where X is one less than the mana spent on the spell). Those soft counters have historically been on the fringes of Constructed play. Condescend was solid, Syncopate was solid, but they both had big upsides in their environments.
This card costs too much for tempo to consider playing it, and in control the damage is completely irrelevant unless the opponent has a planeswalker.
I'll go on the record now saying that this card:
- Will not see competitive play in any Constructed format
- Will be not just a bulk rare, but a 'groan, I opened THIS piece of garbage AGAIN'. Like Mass Calcify in M15.
- Will see less casual play than other 'weak but cool' cards like Polymorphist's Jest
This is a beautiful piece of design, but it does indeed feel a bit too inefficient to see play. Adding damage to a scaling effect can push it over the top, but this is no Rakdos' Return.
Still, the design here is pretty seamless; I'm willing to say I do like the card quite a bit.
This is a beautiful piece of design, but it does indeed feel a bit too inefficient to see play. Adding damage to a scaling effect can push it over the top, but this is no Rakdos' Return.
Still, the design here is pretty seamless; I'm willing to say I do like the card quite a bit.
I contend this is better than RR, use wise.
The issue Return had compared to The Shaft is when you'll have the Mana to go big. Mindwipe and Revelation both want to go big mid-late game (where you'll have the mana), Return wants to go big early-mid game, when you won't. Occasionally you'll be in a dire spot and have to use this early and only get an extra 2-3 damage from it, but usually you will wait for their late game bomb to try and rescue themselves and burn them to the ground.
My lord this card is so bad.... For all those who were saying it's too early to call this set weak, I have reiterated that just about anyone could smell it since Theros. It's the fetches that will be the one and only draw. It seems they may have found a formula to make that millstone of $$$$$.
Exactly. This card can replace Condescend in my UW Tron build. I already run fetches so adding a red source or two won't be a big deal. This could easily cause 10 or more damage by itself. Total game winner.
........................
Draft my cube! (630 cards)
And at less than 6 mana it is terrible. Keep in mind that WUR doesn't play Condescend (though I think it should), which can also effectively counter 2-drops and has an effect that is more useful than this until you get to 6 mana.
Agreed. At X+1 I would play this card in Blue Moon in Modern instead of Mana Leak. I already play Condescend there and it is pulling its weight. I also need more pressure. But this not being able to counter a turn 2 Goyf kills it for me.
While I partially agree on land destruction, when the creature removal costs similar amounts to the threats you are better off just playing threats of your own. And that still doesn't explain why good counterspells have been phased out. I get that Snapcaster/Ponder/Delver/Mana Leak was problematic, but Wizards chose to remove the least offensive one while continuing to make super-efficient creatures.
I can't believe that there are people here supporting it.
Undermine also was a 3 mana hard counter that dealt 3 damage. For this to deal 3 you have to spend 5 mana and even then 1 and 2 drops avoid the counter.
That actually seems like a fun idea.
I agree that it might see Standard play. I simply object to all of the people who are saying that this is Modern-playable.
And why is it that Mana Leak is what is removed from the equation here? Caw-Blade and Delver dominate and library manipulation and counterspells are removed from Standard. We still get powerful creatures, despite ones such as Stoneforge Mystic, Delver of Secrets, and Snapcaster Mage causing the problems with Mana Leak in the first place.
Why is that? Standard has done just fine with playable combo decks in the past (see Splinter Twin, Valakut, Mythic Bant, Pyromancer Acension, Dredge, and several others).
To be fair, not letting your opponent do anything is pretty fun. It is when you are that opponent that it isn't fun.
So removal should be forced to 4 mana and counterspells to 3? Should people who don't want to play creatures have to play terrible spells while their opponents play Stormbreath Dragons, Courser of Kruphix, Brimaz, and Eidolons of the Great Revel?
For me, the problem is that aggro and midrange are getting many more tools in Modern than Control. Pod just got Reclamation Sage, Archangel of Thune, and Eidolon of Rhetoric (and Voice of Resurgence a bit earlier). BGx got Courser of Kruphix, Chandra Pyromaster, and Scavenging Ooze. Deadguy Ale got Brimaz. Burn got Eidolon of the Great Revel. Affinity got Ensoul Artifact. Boggles got Unflinching Courage (and earlier Ethereal Armor). Even Delver got Young Pyromancer. In contrast, all the Control decks have gotten in the same time period is Keranos, Sphinx's Revelation, and Supreme Verdict (which is currently being replaced by Wrath of God in most decks to deal with Thrun the Last Troll). Why should Aggro and Midrange consistently get more cards than Control?
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
It's not going to blow anyone's minds but it definitely fills a niche.
Dictate of Kruphix as well? Courser, and Prophet of Kruphix? What about a single Kruphix Himself?
Now the challenge is: Does such a deck that can play this exist? UR/x draw/go. So far we have no viable 2 mana removal and no card draw.
This card is not a "hard counter" (i.e., the original counterspell, undermine, or absorb), it is a "soft counter" (i.e., mana leak or convolute), because it gives the controller of the targeted spell a chance to bypass the counter. It also is not conditional; the definition of a conditional counterspell is one that counters only spells of a certain type (i.e., countersquall), so a counterspell that can counter any type of spell is an unconditional counterspell, making this card an unconditional soft counter.
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
Syncopate can be cast turn two to snipe something critical which is a huge benefit. This isn't a control card if it sees play it will be as protection/burn for something with big mana.
I also shall say that I agree that this card would have been better as an uncommon than as a rare, as it is not quite sufficiently powerful to be a rare; in my opinion, rare counterspells should be hard and/or unconditional counters, while common and uncommon counterspells can be soft and/or conditional counters.
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
Alara did not use any watermarks and Ravnica only put watermarks on dual-colored cards.
Maro has said the watermarks are incomplete because of the intro decks:
http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/96577503048/was-it-ever-considered-to-give-everything-in-khans-a#notes
This argument makes little to no sense. Life gain is not as good as burn, and the X cost is WAY better than cmc 5. This is still a hard counter for 3 that also deals damage if your opponent taps out. Then, in long games or with ramp, you can do game winning damage with this + counter a spell if that's relevant at the time.
Or you could say that it's a hard counter because it counters any kind of card, but it's conditional because the opponent must not have too much mana. In other words, this is pointless semantics without a real answer.
You could but only if you're unaware of how the words are used in this context or actively obnoxious. I mean we could pretend any word means anything, man, they're just like letters, dude.
I think you are reading too much into what maro says....
He is talking probably about a few communs and uncommons that the decks havee in common...
Tron doesn't usually play blue and red together, Delver doesn't run enough lands for this (seriously, if they can't support Consescend as a counterspell that helps with Delver flips, they can't aupport this), and in WUR it still can't hit 2 drops on the play or 3 drops on the draw until you get ahead on lands. And I think that I have every right to complain since I am not dismissing Anafenza, Sarkhan, Sorin, Sultai Charm, or the fetchlands in Modern.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
Lifegain is better than burn in control strategies. There is a reason Absorb saw significant Standard play and Undermine was fringe.
This is NOT a hard counter. It is a 'counter unless they pay X', with a drawback that X is one less mana than it normally would be on an effect like this (because 'counter unless you pay X' is usually costed at XU, where X is one less than the mana spent on the spell). Those soft counters have historically been on the fringes of Constructed play. Condescend was solid, Syncopate was solid, but they both had big upsides in their environments.
This card costs too much for tempo to consider playing it, and in control the damage is completely irrelevant unless the opponent has a planeswalker.
I'll go on the record now saying that this card:
- Will not see competitive play in any Constructed format
- Will be not just a bulk rare, but a 'groan, I opened THIS piece of garbage AGAIN'. Like Mass Calcify in M15.
- Will see less casual play than other 'weak but cool' cards like Polymorphist's Jest
Still, the design here is pretty seamless; I'm willing to say I do like the card quite a bit.
The issue Return had compared to The Shaft is when you'll have the Mana to go big. Mindwipe and Revelation both want to go big mid-late game (where you'll have the mana), Return wants to go big early-mid game, when you won't. Occasionally you'll be in a dire spot and have to use this early and only get an extra 2-3 damage from it, but usually you will wait for their late game bomb to try and rescue themselves and burn them to the ground.
I think you need to go learn the difference between hard and conditional.
This card isnt as bad as ppl are making out. Sure it is meta dependent.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
should probaby be an uncommon as it stands.