But then you would be running 8 Swords to Plowshares effects. That's pretty terrible.
The question is if it's more terrible to run more copies or to pay +1U.
I love SCM, but he's a 2-3 guy.
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A voice for Timmy.
Commander R Ashling, the Pilgrim Mono Red Wildfire Control GBW Karador, Ghost Chieftain Abzan Dredge Rock WBR Tariel, Reckoner of Souls Mardu Aggro-Reanimator Midrange
I think SCM is much more like Lotus Cobra than SFM. It is a card requiring other cards to properly make it function and certain of those cards to truly make him shine. The SCM offers virtual card advantage while lotus cobra offered virtual mana advantage similiar to a ritual. SCM is not good without spells to recur and we can all imagine him sitting dead in our hand unless we just want to flash him out to save a lethal attack, the same way lotus cobra just sat there unless we had fetches to fully utilize him. Both cards are reasonable attackers but are not considered to be our mainline of attacking. Anyways just my opinion of this card for standard. Although he just seems like the nuts in the eternal formats.
Legacy
turn one MM your play
turn 2 flash him out MM your turn 2 play
Playing some UW possibly esper color vial deck seems good with SFM, SCM, and Bob all on 2.
Will you guys please stop feeding the trolls? The people who don understand this card are the same people who don't understand why fetchlands are good, these are the same people who have to read cryptic command 6 times to understand they just took it with no lube.
The card is amazing, the card is currently overpriced, this situation is 99% identical to lotus cobra, except lotus cobra was mythic, that gave a little more warrant for his initial price tag.
Assuming you are paying 2 life, Noxious Revival doesn't actually give them any longer to react than Snapcaster Mage does, because you are probably playing it during your upkeep.
The real problem is that it eats your entire draw step. And doesn't give you a 2/1, but that's secondary, because if it didn't eat your draw step and just put the card directly into your hand, it would be bonkers. For zero mana, one can't really expect to have a creature thrown in.
That's exactly the issue, Revival is slower and isn't the same. Snapcaster allows you to react to the spell as it happens or after it happens, Revival lets your react to it after it happens or if you want to try to anticipate what will happen you can attempt to proactively respond to it.
The ability to recur a spell at instant speed as opposed to sorcery speed is a major difference. It's essentially the difference between Condemn and Swords to Plowshares, the fact that one requires an attacking creature is the major problem... A similar statement could be made about Steelshaper's Gift and Stoneforge Mystic, similar but vastly different.
No, it actually does nothing. It doesn't produce a 2/1 and it doesn't give you an effect. Nothing.
Wrong, it is a 2/1 that doesn't give you an effect if and only if you are playing it wrong, in which case stop running it and why did you waste the money/cards on it. It should never be a 2/1 without an effect. Why don't you try play testing it in a deck like u/b control and see how often you'd like one of the removals, counterspells, or even discards that are in your graveyard which you are no longer holding a comparable spell to. If you aren't running a deck that utilizes a lot of different types of spells then don't run it and replace it for redundancy. What he does is give you options you didn't have before, he has good early and late game value, and that 2/1 body is more useful if you play him on turn 3. Are we arguing whether or not a reverse tool box is useful? 3 mana for a 2/1 thoughtseize against combo, yes please. 3 mana for a 2/1 spell snare, thats 2 goyf's down, or whatever other 2 cmc you want to counter, including an opposing SCM/counterspell. So many people view him as only usable turn 4 and later, if you are running gitaxian probe you can use him effectively on turn 2, thats relevant for some combo.
Wrong, it is a 2/1 that doesn't give you an effect if and only if you are playing it wrong, in which case stop running it and why did you waste the money/cards on it. It should never be a 2/1 without an effect. Why don't you try play testing it in a deck like u/b control and see how often you'd like one of the removals, counterspells, or even discards that are in your graveyard which you are no longer holding a comparable spell to. If you aren't running a deck that utilizes a lot of different types of spells then don't run it and replace it for redundancy. What he does is give you options you didn't have before, he has good early and late game value, and that 2/1 body is more useful if you play him on turn 3. Are we arguing whether or not a reverse tool box is useful? 3 mana for a 2/1 thoughtseize against combo, yes please. 3 mana for a 2/1 spell snare, thats 2 goyf's down, or whatever other 2 cmc you want to counter, including an opposing SCM/counterspell. So many people view him as only usable turn 4 and later, if you are running gitaxian probe you can use him effectively on turn 2, thats relevant for some combo.
He was being sarcastic in response to a previous poster I think..
Forgive me if this has been gone over already, but I think this will create some opportunity for interesting decisions for the control player in the early game. Is it correct to flash in the mage to trade with you opponent's attacker, or is it better to wait in hopes of getting a second mana leak later?
Forgive me if this has been gone over already, but I think this will create some opportunity for interesting decisions for the control player in the early game. Is it correct to flash in the mage to trade with you opponent's attacker, or is it better to wait in hopes of getting a second mana leak later?
There is a lot of factors that go into account, so there is no rule set in stone. Snapcaster mage produces opportunity when you have it in hand, but its use depends on what you have in your graveyard and your hand. Do you have a more specific scenario in mind? The question seems a bit vague.
There is a lot of factors that go into account, so there is no rule set in stone. Snapcaster mage produces opportunity when you have it in hand, but its use depends on what you have in your graveyard and your hand. Do you have a more specific scenario in mind? The question seems a bit vague.
I agree. It greatly depends on what you already have, and on who you are playing against.
Assuming it's turn 2, there is nothing in your graveyard, and you're playing against Red, then you should probably flash it in to block (you need to trade cards for life), unless you have a Mana Leak in hand, in which case you might want to hold that up and trade your Mage next turn. Or, if you have a Doom Blade, then you should obviously use that rather than the Mage, unless you think that you are not going to make it to turn 4.
If there is a Ponder in your graveyard, then you might get more value saving the Mage until next turn, but then your opponent will get in some damage and get another chance to burn your Mage.
If you're playing against Tempered Steel, you should probably block and trade, because you won't get a chance to do that later if they drop TS and again you need to trade cards for life. On the other hand, if you have a Doom Blade in your hand, the decision gets quite interesting.
If you're playing against something involving Birthing Pod, the decision depends mostly on whether or not you think they can resolve the Pod. If they can, then you need to get rid of the creatures. If not, then you can take the hit and get value.
Wow, its somewhat painful to read this thread.
Ok, suppose you are playing U/B control. Some people here say "Id rather have another counterspell or another removal than this guy". Take a look at these situations: In all of these you have a doom blade and a Mana Leak in the Gy
a) Your opponent casts a threatening creature (say Hero of Bladehold with 7 mana available) . You NEED the doomblade. You topdecked Mana Leak last turn
b) Your opponent casts a powerful game ending spell (Sorin's Vengeace, The 13 Zombiw token one). You NEED that Mana Leak. You topdecked Doom Blade last turn.
c) You topdeck Snapcaster Mage and are ready for most of what your opponent does and get a chump blocker/attacker/ sword bearer in play.
Of course this is just one situation but the point is he provides a CHOICE. Late game and with good deckbuilding you have a multiple array of tools in a 2/1 body.
I wouldnt use him as a 4 of since he shines late game but as a 2 or 3 of in any deck with 8+ good spells. Versatility wins games you know. Cryptic Command is used more than half of the time for the Counter/Draw but it certainly makes it better to have the option to fog or bounce as well
SCM is an amazing card, but I don't see the reason why people are trying to change the consistency and mana base of currently strong archtypes just to fit him in. RDW is becoming URDW, Tempered Steel decks are becoming Tempered Snap (or insert any other 'cool' name here)...the list goes on
Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but it's not a card for every deck. It's like how people are finding excuses to put the Mythic Blades in even creature-lite decks
After preordering 3 at $12 ea, I kinda wanted a 4th one, but after some thought, he's definitely not something you want 4-of for the upcoming standard environment unless your deck is solely based on instants or sorceries (maybe U/R counterburn?) or possibly a deck that can pitch instants/sorceries into the graveyard. While I slightly agree with the eternal witness and cryptic command analogies, I'm starting to see him more as a "spell clone".
If you look at something like Phantasmal Image, for example, it doesn't do much unless there is a creature in play. For that fact, it remains in your hand until you can get value out of it. When it does come into play, you're likely cloning something relevant to make it powerful such as acidic slime, a titan, or other mulldrifter-esque cards.
Snapcaster mage is similar in the sense that it doesn't usually come out unless you have the necessary spells to choose from in your graveyard. While not having "clone syndrome" when it comes to creating board presence, it has the syndrome in the scenario that there is nothing useful for the situation in your graveyard. Its worse case scenario is chump blocking, and next to that is a pseudo removal spell if it trades with a creature.
The amount of snapcaster mages ran in a deck should be proportionate to the deck's reliance on it or the worse case scenario will present itself more often. Clogging your hand with mages can be devastating when you don't have the right spells in your graveyard. As of right now, I think U/R counterburn is the only deck capable of running the full playset as its average spell CMC <= 2. U/W control, as an example, would try to recur variable CMC spells ranging from ponder to day of judgment, making the reliance factor a lot lower.
Anyone saying that SCM sucks or isn't a 4 of in most blue decks is either trolling, or can't afford a playset.
2/1 Instant speed blue creature for two mana is playable enough in most standard-playable control shells WITHOUT the ability to give something flashback. Look at it like a removal spell. Declare attackers, flash in, trade with a guy. That basically doom blade in blue for the early game where control has trouble. Can-trip on top of that? Yes please. 2 Doom blades? Yes please. That's just the tip of the iceberg.
SCM is the real deal. Amazing in standard, and thats where he shines the least.
Anyone saying that SCM sucks or isn't a 4 of in most blue decks is either trolling, or can't afford a playset.
2/1 Instant speed blue creature for two mana is playable enough in most standard-playable control shells WITHOUT the ability to give something flashback. Look at it like a removal spell. Declare attackers, flash in, trade with a guy. That basically doom blade in blue for the early game where control has trouble. Can-trip on top of that? Yes please. 2 Doom blades? Yes please. That's just the tip of the iceberg.
SCM is the real deal. Amazing in standard, and thats where he shines the least.
However, most experienced aggro players will purposely allow you to do that so that their spell in post combat main phase is less likely to get countered. They've purposely forced you into tapping some mana to use up a resource that would otherwise gain value if it granted flashback to a spell resource in the graveyard.
The only time you would throw a snapcaster mage in front of an x/2 is if your life is relatively low and you have no other ways to manipulate the stream of incoming damage via creatures. Otherwise, taking damage from something snapcaster can trade with is completely irrelevant. In the slot of extra snapcaster mages, you could instead use a disruption spell of some sort to help feed your graveyard some resources for the mages that pop up by late game.
There is really no point in blocking most x/2s that early in the game. Flashing him in to block and trade is an option, but it is not optimal and it's a waste of his full potential. You wouldn't even use a removal spell on it unless it was a utility creature of some sort. Even then, utility creatures don't usually attack. Spells like day of judgment, disperse, and dismember are supposed to handle early creatures to help control the damage flow, not flash 2/1s. As a result, it feeds your graveyard to enable Snapcaster Mage's flashback ability.
It's great that people are making predictions for this card for the upcoming meta, but name calling isn't the most effective way to debate, ijs. We'll see what happens when we get there. All we can rely on is solid testing after release. For now, it's just logical conjecture from what we know about the course of a game.
Anyone saying that SCM sucks or isn't a 4 of in most blue decks is either trolling, or can't afford a playset.
2/1 Instant speed blue creature for two mana is playable enough in most standard-playable control shells WITHOUT the ability to give something flashback. Look at it like a removal spell. Declare attackers, flash in, trade with a guy. That basically doom blade in blue for the early game where control has trouble. Can-trip on top of that? Yes please. 2 Doom blades? Yes please. That's just the tip of the iceberg.
SCM is the real deal. Amazing in standard, and thats where he shines the least.
Um... Doesn't a creature have to be on the battlefield before attackers have been declared to be able to be used as a blocker for that turn? Flashing in Snapcaster doesn't work that way. (Unless I'm completely wrong).
Um... Doesn't a creature have to be on the battlefield before attackers have been declared to be able to be used as a blocker for that turn? Flashing in Snapcaster doesn't work that way. (Unless I'm completely wrong).
Ruling check? haha
A creature can block no matter how short a time it has been on the battlefield, as long as it is on the battlefield when blockers are declared at the beginning of the Declare Blockers step.
It wasn't meant to be personal. I didnt notice that you had posted a few minutes before I did.
I did the same thing, preordered 3 at 13. I wish I woulda got my full set, and im not looking forward to having to crack a box or purchase one for 25 dollars.
Everything you said about the aggro player attacking hoping to trade for your 2/1 could apply, yes. But, I don't mind having them play around a card I may or may not have as early as turn two. It also gives the card in your graveyard flashback until EoT, which means I can target a removal spell and gain a bunch of tempo by them not being able to play that creature mainphase two out of fear of it being dismembered or whatever.
There are plenty of creatures I would be willing to throw Tiago under the bus too, especially against decks that dont have a lot of ways to re-coup losses like if a R/G werewolf deck pops up. Ill throw my SCM at Puresteel Paladin all day... or Etched Champion, Geist of Saint traft, lord of the unreal, mentor of the meek. I dont care if I dont get anything back from the graveyard, im trading with those creatures, and if they dont attack out of fear of me wanting to trade Tiago, thats even more of a testament to his strength.
Um... Doesn't a creature have to be on the battlefield before attackers have been declared to be able to be used as a blocker for that turn? Flashing in Snapcaster doesn't work that way. (Unless I'm completely wrong).
Ruling check? haha
Visually the relevant parts of combat phase for this scenario (put simply) is as follows:
1) players have priority to play spells/abilities
2) attackers are declared
3) players have priority to play spells/abilities <-- flash in snapcaster here
4) blockers are declared
5) players have priority to play spells/abilities
It wasn't meant to be personal. I didnt notice that you had posted a few minutes before I did.
I did the same thing, preordered 3 at 13. I wish I woulda got my full set, and im not looking forward to having to crack a box or purchase one for 25 dollars.
My apologies. It's hard to rely on real-time with forum posting sometimes (and tone through text, for that matter) lol. I hear ya on the playset desire thing, though. I still want my playset just in case I was wrong in my predictions. Snapcaster mage is one of those cards you can't overlook.
It also gives the card in your graveyard flashback until EoT, which means I can target a removal spell and gain a bunch of tempo by them not being able to play that creature mainphase two out of fear of it being dismembered or whatever.
We were talking about the case of there being no relevant cards in the graveyard, but yes, I love that interaction not requiring the mage to stick around for the effect.
There are plenty of creatures I would be willing to throw Tiago under the bus too, especially against decks that dont have a lot of ways to re-coup losses like if a R/G werewolf deck pops up. Ill throw my SCM at Puresteel Paladin all day... or Etched Champion, Geist of Saint traft, lord of the unreal, mentor of the meek. I dont care if I dont get anything back from the graveyard, im trading with those creatures, and if they dont attack out of fear of me wanting to trade Tiago, thats even more of a testament to his strength.
I acknowledged this scenario as as well. It's great to have that option against relevant attacking creatures. I was more or less arguing that you don't throw it in front of something like a Goblin Fireslinger, for example. If the opportunity presented itself, I would throw a mage in front of a "naked" puresteel and other similar creatures (no dirty pun intended...) regardless of what was in my graveyard. That being said, this is one of the strongest arguments that support running a full playset. One counterargument, however, is that a removal spell would have done the same job. Again, that is only IF the mage slot was replaced by a removal spell.
Aggro decks are always going to attack. You can't infer from their attack that they are trying to bait you to play something.
In most situations, you have to decide whether blocking or not blocking (and therefore holding up the mana) saves you more damage. Card advantage is rarely the most pressing issue against an aggro deck. If you can survive, you're going to get more cards than they do as a matter of course.
I don't know if this was already said and I'm a bit lazy the read the all thing, but basically for modern, I would simply say that SCM is good because playing 8 lightning bolts in you deck is kinda strong.
Be that as it may, that's no reason to necro a 6 year old thread.
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The question is if it's more terrible to run more copies or to pay +1U.
I love SCM, but he's a 2-3 guy.
Commander
R Ashling, the Pilgrim Mono Red Wildfire Control
GBW Karador, Ghost Chieftain Abzan Dredge Rock
WBR Tariel, Reckoner of Souls Mardu Aggro-Reanimator Midrange
Legacy
turn one MM your play
turn 2 flash him out MM your turn 2 play
Playing some UW possibly esper color vial deck seems good with SFM, SCM, and Bob all on 2.
The card is amazing, the card is currently overpriced, this situation is 99% identical to lotus cobra, except lotus cobra was mythic, that gave a little more warrant for his initial price tag.
That's exactly the issue, Revival is slower and isn't the same. Snapcaster allows you to react to the spell as it happens or after it happens, Revival lets your react to it after it happens or if you want to try to anticipate what will happen you can attempt to proactively respond to it.
The ability to recur a spell at instant speed as opposed to sorcery speed is a major difference. It's essentially the difference between Condemn and Swords to Plowshares, the fact that one requires an attacking creature is the major problem... A similar statement could be made about Steelshaper's Gift and Stoneforge Mystic, similar but vastly different.
Wrong, it is a 2/1 that doesn't give you an effect if and only if you are playing it wrong, in which case stop running it and why did you waste the money/cards on it. It should never be a 2/1 without an effect. Why don't you try play testing it in a deck like u/b control and see how often you'd like one of the removals, counterspells, or even discards that are in your graveyard which you are no longer holding a comparable spell to. If you aren't running a deck that utilizes a lot of different types of spells then don't run it and replace it for redundancy. What he does is give you options you didn't have before, he has good early and late game value, and that 2/1 body is more useful if you play him on turn 3. Are we arguing whether or not a reverse tool box is useful? 3 mana for a 2/1 thoughtseize against combo, yes please. 3 mana for a 2/1 spell snare, thats 2 goyf's down, or whatever other 2 cmc you want to counter, including an opposing SCM/counterspell. So many people view him as only usable turn 4 and later, if you are running gitaxian probe you can use him effectively on turn 2, thats relevant for some combo.
He was being sarcastic in response to a previous poster I think..
MTG Rules Advisor
Standard
UW UW Control
B MBC (developing)
Legacy
WUG Bant
Oops. In any case, the previous reply to your noxious revival comment was off-track.
There is a lot of factors that go into account, so there is no rule set in stone. Snapcaster mage produces opportunity when you have it in hand, but its use depends on what you have in your graveyard and your hand. Do you have a more specific scenario in mind? The question seems a bit vague.
MTG Rules Advisor
Standard
UW UW Control
B MBC (developing)
Legacy
WUG Bant
Assuming it's turn 2, there is nothing in your graveyard, and you're playing against Red, then you should probably flash it in to block (you need to trade cards for life), unless you have a Mana Leak in hand, in which case you might want to hold that up and trade your Mage next turn. Or, if you have a Doom Blade, then you should obviously use that rather than the Mage, unless you think that you are not going to make it to turn 4.
If there is a Ponder in your graveyard, then you might get more value saving the Mage until next turn, but then your opponent will get in some damage and get another chance to burn your Mage.
If you're playing against Tempered Steel, you should probably block and trade, because you won't get a chance to do that later if they drop TS and again you need to trade cards for life. On the other hand, if you have a Doom Blade in your hand, the decision gets quite interesting.
If you're playing against something involving Birthing Pod, the decision depends mostly on whether or not you think they can resolve the Pod. If they can, then you need to get rid of the creatures. If not, then you can take the hit and get value.
Ok, suppose you are playing U/B control. Some people here say "Id rather have another counterspell or another removal than this guy". Take a look at these situations: In all of these you have a doom blade and a Mana Leak in the Gy
a) Your opponent casts a threatening creature (say Hero of Bladehold with 7 mana available) . You NEED the doomblade. You topdecked Mana Leak last turn
b) Your opponent casts a powerful game ending spell (Sorin's Vengeace, The 13 Zombiw token one). You NEED that Mana Leak. You topdecked Doom Blade last turn.
c) You topdeck Snapcaster Mage and are ready for most of what your opponent does and get a chump blocker/attacker/ sword bearer in play.
Of course this is just one situation but the point is he provides a CHOICE. Late game and with good deckbuilding you have a multiple array of tools in a 2/1 body.
I wouldnt use him as a 4 of since he shines late game but as a 2 or 3 of in any deck with 8+ good spells. Versatility wins games you know. Cryptic Command is used more than half of the time for the Counter/Draw but it certainly makes it better to have the option to fog or bounce as well
Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but it's not a card for every deck. It's like how people are finding excuses to put the Mythic Blades in even creature-lite decks
If you look at something like Phantasmal Image, for example, it doesn't do much unless there is a creature in play. For that fact, it remains in your hand until you can get value out of it. When it does come into play, you're likely cloning something relevant to make it powerful such as acidic slime, a titan, or other mulldrifter-esque cards.
Snapcaster mage is similar in the sense that it doesn't usually come out unless you have the necessary spells to choose from in your graveyard. While not having "clone syndrome" when it comes to creating board presence, it has the syndrome in the scenario that there is nothing useful for the situation in your graveyard. Its worse case scenario is chump blocking, and next to that is a pseudo removal spell if it trades with a creature.
The amount of snapcaster mages ran in a deck should be proportionate to the deck's reliance on it or the worse case scenario will present itself more often. Clogging your hand with mages can be devastating when you don't have the right spells in your graveyard. As of right now, I think U/R counterburn is the only deck capable of running the full playset as its average spell CMC <= 2. U/W control, as an example, would try to recur variable CMC spells ranging from ponder to day of judgment, making the reliance factor a lot lower.
MTG Rules Advisor
Standard
UW UW Control
B MBC (developing)
Legacy
WUG Bant
2/1 Instant speed blue creature for two mana is playable enough in most standard-playable control shells WITHOUT the ability to give something flashback. Look at it like a removal spell. Declare attackers, flash in, trade with a guy. That basically doom blade in blue for the early game where control has trouble. Can-trip on top of that? Yes please. 2 Doom blades? Yes please. That's just the tip of the iceberg.
SCM is the real deal. Amazing in standard, and thats where he shines the least.
However, most experienced aggro players will purposely allow you to do that so that their spell in post combat main phase is less likely to get countered. They've purposely forced you into tapping some mana to use up a resource that would otherwise gain value if it granted flashback to a spell resource in the graveyard.
The only time you would throw a snapcaster mage in front of an x/2 is if your life is relatively low and you have no other ways to manipulate the stream of incoming damage via creatures. Otherwise, taking damage from something snapcaster can trade with is completely irrelevant. In the slot of extra snapcaster mages, you could instead use a disruption spell of some sort to help feed your graveyard some resources for the mages that pop up by late game.
There is really no point in blocking most x/2s that early in the game. Flashing him in to block and trade is an option, but it is not optimal and it's a waste of his full potential. You wouldn't even use a removal spell on it unless it was a utility creature of some sort. Even then, utility creatures don't usually attack. Spells like day of judgment, disperse, and dismember are supposed to handle early creatures to help control the damage flow, not flash 2/1s. As a result, it feeds your graveyard to enable Snapcaster Mage's flashback ability.
It's great that people are making predictions for this card for the upcoming meta, but name calling isn't the most effective way to debate, ijs. We'll see what happens when we get there. All we can rely on is solid testing after release. For now, it's just logical conjecture from what we know about the course of a game.
MTG Rules Advisor
Standard
UW UW Control
B MBC (developing)
Legacy
WUG Bant
Um... Doesn't a creature have to be on the battlefield before attackers have been declared to be able to be used as a blocker for that turn? Flashing in Snapcaster doesn't work that way. (Unless I'm completely wrong).
Ruling check? haha
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/trading-post/details/2820-tradesies
I did the same thing, preordered 3 at 13. I wish I woulda got my full set, and im not looking forward to having to crack a box or purchase one for 25 dollars.
Everything you said about the aggro player attacking hoping to trade for your 2/1 could apply, yes. But, I don't mind having them play around a card I may or may not have as early as turn two. It also gives the card in your graveyard flashback until EoT, which means I can target a removal spell and gain a bunch of tempo by them not being able to play that creature mainphase two out of fear of it being dismembered or whatever.
There are plenty of creatures I would be willing to throw Tiago under the bus too, especially against decks that dont have a lot of ways to re-coup losses like if a R/G werewolf deck pops up. Ill throw my SCM at Puresteel Paladin all day... or Etched Champion, Geist of Saint traft, lord of the unreal, mentor of the meek. I dont care if I dont get anything back from the graveyard, im trading with those creatures, and if they dont attack out of fear of me wanting to trade Tiago, thats even more of a testament to his strength.
Visually the relevant parts of combat phase for this scenario (put simply) is as follows:
____________________
My apologies. It's hard to rely on real-time with forum posting sometimes (and tone through text, for that matter) lol. I hear ya on the playset desire thing, though. I still want my playset just in case I was wrong in my predictions. Snapcaster mage is one of those cards you can't overlook.
We were talking about the case of there being no relevant cards in the graveyard, but yes, I love that interaction not requiring the mage to stick around for the effect.
I acknowledged this scenario as as well. It's great to have that option against relevant attacking creatures. I was more or less arguing that you don't throw it in front of something like a Goblin Fireslinger, for example. If the opportunity presented itself, I would throw a mage in front of a "naked" puresteel and other similar creatures (no dirty pun intended...) regardless of what was in my graveyard. That being said, this is one of the strongest arguments that support running a full playset. One counterargument, however, is that a removal spell would have done the same job. Again, that is only IF the mage slot was replaced by a removal spell.
MTG Rules Advisor
Standard
UW UW Control
B MBC (developing)
Legacy
WUG Bant
In most situations, you have to decide whether blocking or not blocking (and therefore holding up the mana) saves you more damage. Card advantage is rarely the most pressing issue against an aggro deck. If you can survive, you're going to get more cards than they do as a matter of course.
Legendary
Junk
Naya Burn
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8-Whack
Fish (ON)
Dude. 6 year necro.
Be that as it may, that's no reason to necro a 6 year old thread.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.