The card got significantly more relevant with the printing of Expertises such as Kari Zev's Expertise. Now you can reliably cheat out things like Beck // Call and Breaking // Entering early on without having to draw EXACTLY Card A and EXACTLY Card B in your first ~10 cards. Note that because of how Fuse works you get to cast both halves which is clearly absurd when you're paying ~3 mana to put four 1/1 fliers into play and draw 4 cards and/or cheat a Griselbrand onto the battlefield. Also note that Breaking // Entering doesn't say "until end of turn" or whatever and so yes, you do get to keep whatever you cheat into play. Turn 2-3 Kari Zev's Expertise on B/E can easily become a 3 mana Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur which is clearly bonkers. Oh, and yes, all of this works with Brain in a Jar at X=2 as well. That is, you can cast it for "2" in order to Fuse either of those spells for the same effect.
I wasn't aware f the expertise angle. That does help a lot. I was thinking of Goblin Dark-Dwellers as well, though you wouldn't get to fuse. So, red for sure. I get access to Faithless Looting and can consider Boom // Bust.
Brain always seemed to me like a card that needed some X-spells in the list somewhere...
I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say here but just so we're all clear Brain in a Jar is essentially worthless at casting a card like Earthquake or Exsanguinate. It doesn't work how you want it to work, it just casts them at X=0 at 1 and 2 counters respectively.
I wasn't aware f the expertise angle. That does help a lot. I was thinking of Goblin Dark-Dwellers as well, though you wouldn't get to fuse. So, red for sure. I get access to Faithless Looting and can consider Boom // Bust.
I came here to post about the rule update as well, lol.
This new rule change might nerf some stuff like the expertise example above, but it opens up a new avenue to use the split cards going the other direction with big CMC costs. Cards like Combustible Gearhulk and Augury Adept now deal more damage or heal for more with split cards.
This new rule change might nerf some stuff like the expertise example above, but it opens up a new avenue to use the split cards going the other direction with big CMC costs.
Not really. I get what you're saying but the reality is that any new "abuse" is unlikely to anything other than "fun synergy." There's nothing inherently wrong with that or anything but it would dishonest to suggest that we could replace what we're losing with equally viable strategies. As it sits my Kari Zev's Expertise deck can jam a turn 2 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur with reasonable consistency and no amount of additional Combustible Gearhulk damage is going to magically shore up the old balance sheet once that goes away. The net result is that we're going to lose some relatively powerful combo decks and have very little to show for it. For better or for worse these kinds of decisions are out of my hands but every now and then Magic kills off a mechanics like "damage on the stack" that I really enjoy playing with and it makes me sad. Most of them I couldn't care less about but "damage on the stack" is something that I really wish Wizards would bring back and I hate to see these kinds of mechanics slowly being phased-out over time.
Not really. I get what you're saying but the reality is that any new "abuse" is unlikely to anything other than "fun synergy." There's nothing inherently wrong with that or anything but it would dishonest to suggest that we could replace what we're losing with equally viable strategies. As it sits my Kari Zev's Expertise deck can jam a turn 2 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur with reasonable consistency and no amount of additional Combustible Gearhulk damage is going to magically shore up the old balance sheet once that goes away. The net result is that we're going to lose some relatively powerful combo decks and have very little to show for it.
I wasn't suggestion it was going to be an equally good or abusable replacement. I was merely trying to suggest that there might be some benefits to split cards having a higher CMC. With all the doom and gloom posts I've seen so far, I was just trying to point out a potential silver lining, lol.
I wasn't suggestion it was going to be an equally good or abusable replacement. I was merely trying to suggest that there might be some benefits to split cards having a higher CMC. With all the doom and gloom posts I've seen so far, I was just trying to point out a potential silver lining, lol.
I know, but at the same time I'd be shocked if this change yielded any significant benefits to existing/future archetypes.
I wasn't aware f the expertise angle. That does help a lot. I was thinking of Goblin Dark-Dwellers as well, though you wouldn't get to fuse. So, red for sure. I get access to Faithless Looting and can consider Boom // Bust.
I'd like to say, "Like a baby." But, this makes me sad. I hadn't even gotten to abuse it yet. Lame.
Oh, and now I have to update my Sunforger and Isochron Scepter decks. I hate when Wizards kills my super janky decks for no real reason. The "abuse" of these cards wasn't format breaking and the "intricacies" of how split cards CMC worked is unlikely to come up for un-invested players.
The "abuse" of these cards wasn't format breaking and the "intricacies" of how split cards CMC worked is unlikely to come up for un-invested players.
This is what bugs me. Even for new players, they'll see the interaction once, have it explained to them, and then they'll know forever. And the exact same thing is going to happen with the new rules change. Don't tell me no one is going to get confused when their Inquisition of Kozilek can't grab a Breaking // Entering or something similar. No matter what the rule on split card CMCs happens to be, new players will need it explained to them anyway. So why not err on the side of fun interactions?
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Nice! I didn't know about that little interaction.
Brain always seemed to me like a card that needed some X-spells in the list somewhere...
I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say here but just so we're all clear Brain in a Jar is essentially worthless at casting a card like Earthquake or Exsanguinate. It doesn't work how you want it to work, it just casts them at X=0 at 1 and 2 counters respectively.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Your blatant abuse of the rules has permanently killed split cards for the rest of us. How do you even sleep at night you freaking monster?
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Ha! I came here to post that too.
I don't mind this so much, Counterbalance with these split cards was monstrous.
This new rule change might nerf some stuff like the expertise example above, but it opens up a new avenue to use the split cards going the other direction with big CMC costs. Cards like Combustible Gearhulk and Augury Adept now deal more damage or heal for more with split cards.
Not really. I get what you're saying but the reality is that any new "abuse" is unlikely to anything other than "fun synergy." There's nothing inherently wrong with that or anything but it would dishonest to suggest that we could replace what we're losing with equally viable strategies. As it sits my Kari Zev's Expertise deck can jam a turn 2 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur with reasonable consistency and no amount of additional Combustible Gearhulk damage is going to magically shore up the old balance sheet once that goes away. The net result is that we're going to lose some relatively powerful combo decks and have very little to show for it. For better or for worse these kinds of decisions are out of my hands but every now and then Magic kills off a mechanics like "damage on the stack" that I really enjoy playing with and it makes me sad. Most of them I couldn't care less about but "damage on the stack" is something that I really wish Wizards would bring back and I hate to see these kinds of mechanics slowly being phased-out over time.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I wasn't suggestion it was going to be an equally good or abusable replacement. I was merely trying to suggest that there might be some benefits to split cards having a higher CMC. With all the doom and gloom posts I've seen so far, I was just trying to point out a potential silver lining, lol.
I know, but at the same time I'd be shocked if this change yielded any significant benefits to existing/future archetypes.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I'd like to say, "Like a baby." But, this makes me sad. I hadn't even gotten to abuse it yet. Lame.
Oh, and now I have to update my Sunforger and Isochron Scepter decks. I hate when Wizards kills my super janky decks for no real reason. The "abuse" of these cards wasn't format breaking and the "intricacies" of how split cards CMC worked is unlikely to come up for un-invested players.
This is what bugs me. Even for new players, they'll see the interaction once, have it explained to them, and then they'll know forever. And the exact same thing is going to happen with the new rules change. Don't tell me no one is going to get confused when their Inquisition of Kozilek can't grab a Breaking // Entering or something similar. No matter what the rule on split card CMCs happens to be, new players will need it explained to them anyway. So why not err on the side of fun interactions?