Has anyone tried this card? In the everlasting search for ways to maintain card advantage in red+white, I often look to mass destruction as a way to limit my opponents, rather than drawing cards with expensive artifacts or cards that require specific conditions (hitting with equipment, playing equipment, playing small creatures, 2-card or 3-card engines). With balancing act, instead of being something like wheel of fortune, you empty everyone's hand instead of refilling them (assuming you are at a low amount of cards in hand). On top of that, decks that put lots of permanents into play will be punished harder (such as ramping players).
Later in the game when your board is starting to whittle away and your hand is always empty, drawing this card can allow you to bring everyone back a whole bunch of turns. Of course they get to keep the permanents they want, but a white or white+red deck can basically handle any permanent type. It also has some multiplayer power where if someone is getting really screwed and you are doing okay, but 1 or 2 other players are just dominating, you can put yourself back into the game. You can also abuse this to just make everyone sacrifice the most permanents possible while you sit happy with a 1/1 soldier token equipped with sword of fire and ice and an elspeth, knight-errant in play.
I remember seeing this card a long time ago and thinking it was basically terrible, but revisiting it, I feel like it has some awesome potential. Let me know how it's been for you and/or what you think of the card.
I play Razia's Purification in my Basandra, Battle Seraph deck, and keep forgetting to try and pick up some of the other balance effects. One of the greatest benefits to these cards is the fact that you can float mana before it resolves, allowing you to at least play your Commander; whereas your opponents will often be stuck with whatever instant speed options they have available. Grand Abolisher is particularly effective in those cases, and can carry equipment as well as most hate-bears. Cataclysm is also worth looking at in this regard, particularly if you tend towards playing a fair number of Planeswalkers in your deck.
I've run it in the past and I can sum up my feelings for it:
"Man, look at all these green players with their lands. I sure wish I had Balancing Act in my hand right now."
"I'm doing pretty good right now. Full grip, good board state. What'll I draw next? Balancing Act? #$*@&!"
Two extremes, and it felt like that's all I ever experienced with it so I cut it. Occasionally I cast it and it was a good play, but as you say they get to choose what permanents they keep. It plays best when you're in a meta full of people who like to vomit onto the field and you tend to play more conservatively.
I'd say give it a play and see how you like it. It's good enough that you shouldn't dismiss the card completely.
I would think that you would want to have a deck that actively looks to keep its own board presence and/or hand size low either by the nature of its strategy or due to the inherent weakness in the colors the deck is employing. The first thing I thought of was a / deck. Mostly because these colors have issues with raw card advantage, but also because red has some of the best sacrifice outlets available to it. If you have something like Greater Gargadon, Magmaw, Shivan Harvest, Goblin Bombardment in play, you can surely make Balancing Act into a game-swinging effect. These cards already play into some of what white is good at as well with Land Tax or Martyr's Bond, so its not that far of a stretch.
I think you might also be able to play the card in a / deck that utilizes a stax-ish strategy.
I play Razia's Purification in my Basandra, Battle Seraph deck, and keep forgetting to try and pick up some of the other balance effects. One of the greatest benefits to these cards is the fact that you can float mana before it resolves, allowing you to at least play your Commander; whereas your opponents will often be stuck with whatever instant speed options they have available. Grand Abolisher is particularly effective in those cases, and can carry equipment as well as most hate-bears. Cataclysm is also worth looking at in this regard, particularly if you tend towards playing a fair number of Planeswalkers in your deck.
Cataclysm actually gets worse the more planeswalkers you play, because you're more likely to want to keep one, reread Cataclysm, and swear.
I play Razia's Purification in my Basandra, Battle Seraph deck, and keep forgetting to try and pick up some of the other balance effects. One of the greatest benefits to these cards is the fact that you can float mana before it resolves, allowing you to at least play your Commander; whereas your opponents will often be stuck with whatever instant speed options they have available. Grand Abolisher is particularly effective in those cases, and can carry equipment as well as most hate-bears. Cataclysm is also worth looking at in this regard, particularly if you tend towards playing a fair number of Planeswalkers in your deck.
Cataclysm actually gets worse the more planeswalkers you play, because you're more likely to want to keep one, reread Cataclysm, and swear.
What? How does this make any sense? Why would you want to keep one pw over all of your pws?
Edit: Derpity derp. I had to reread the card three times to catch what it does. Nice one, Wizards.
I play Razia's Purification in my Basandra, Battle Seraph deck, and keep forgetting to try and pick up some of the other balance effects. One of the greatest benefits to these cards is the fact that you can float mana before it resolves, allowing you to at least play your Commander; whereas your opponents will often be stuck with whatever instant speed options they have available. Grand Abolisher is particularly effective in those cases, and can carry equipment as well as most hate-bears. Cataclysm is also worth looking at in this regard, particularly if you tend towards playing a fair number of Planeswalkers in your deck.
Cataclysm actually gets worse the more planeswalkers you play, because you're more likely to want to keep one, reread Cataclysm, and swear.
Proper reading is an acquired taste
Oh well, play Restore Balance then, even though it takes forever to resolve thus ruining all of it's surprise factor.
I've run it in the past and I can sum up my feelings for it:
"Man, look at all these green players with their lands. I sure wish I had Balancing Act in my hand right now."
"I'm doing pretty good right now. Full grip, good board state. What'll I draw next? Balancing Act? #$*@&!"
Two extremes, and it felt like that's all I ever experienced with it so I cut it. Occasionally I cast it and it was a good play, but as you say they get to choose what permanents they keep. It plays best when you're in a meta full of people who like to vomit onto the field and you tend to play more conservatively.
I'd say give it a play and see how you like it. It's good enough that you shouldn't dismiss the card completely.
I can definitely see this being the case, but if I have a full hand and a decent board state, I am usually in very good shape. I think armageddon can often have the same effect (though it would be the other way around, I guess).
I would think that you would want to have a deck that actively looks to keep its own board presence and/or hand size low either by the nature of its strategy or due to the inherent weakness in the colors the deck is employing. The first thing I thought of was a / deck. Mostly because these colors have issues with raw card advantage, but also because red has some of the best sacrifice outlets available to it. If you have something like Greater Gargadon, Magmaw, Shivan Harvest, Goblin Bombardment in play, you can surely make Balancing Act into a game-swinging effect. These cards already play into some of what white is good at as well with Land Tax or Martyr's Bond, so its not that far of a stretch.
I think you might also be able to play the card in a / deck that utilizes a stax-ish strategy.
I plan to use it in WR
Since there are so few duel commander players here, I am thinking of changing my Tajic deck into a regular EDH deck. With that in mind, I want some spells that can bring the game back to my kind of game (so I am running keldon firebombers as well - need to get a cataclysm but they're impossible to find ). I like these effects because they bring everyone back to a set number (including armageddon) so it doesn't matter how far you are ahead before they hit.
Has anyone tried this card? In the everlasting search for ways to maintain card advantage in red+white, I often look to mass destruction as a way to limit my opponents, rather than drawing cards with expensive artifacts or cards that require specific conditions (hitting with equipment, playing equipment, playing small creatures, 2-card or 3-card engines). With balancing act, instead of being something like wheel of fortune, you empty everyone's hand instead of refilling them (assuming you are at a low amount of cards in hand). On top of that, decks that put lots of permanents into play will be punished harder (such as ramping players).
Later in the game when your board is starting to whittle away and your hand is always empty, drawing this card can allow you to bring everyone back a whole bunch of turns. Of course they get to keep the permanents they want, but a white or white+red deck can basically handle any permanent type. It also has some multiplayer power where if someone is getting really screwed and you are doing okay, but 1 or 2 other players are just dominating, you can put yourself back into the game. You can also abuse this to just make everyone sacrifice the most permanents possible while you sit happy with a 1/1 soldier token equipped with sword of fire and ice and an elspeth, knight-errant in play.
I remember seeing this card a long time ago and thinking it was basically terrible, but revisiting it, I feel like it has some awesome potential. Let me know how it's been for you and/or what you think of the card.
BBB Two Hundred Zombies BBB
Duel Commander
WR Tajic, Wrath of the Manlands RW
BGW Doran Destruction WGB
Commander
GUB Mimeoplasm, Screw Politics BUG
BR Mogis, God of Slaughter RB
RGW Marath, Ramp and Removal WGR
WUBRG Karona, Jank God GRBUW
RRR - Bosh's School of Hard(cover) Knocks
"Man, look at all these green players with their lands. I sure wish I had Balancing Act in my hand right now."
"I'm doing pretty good right now. Full grip, good board state. What'll I draw next? Balancing Act? #$*@&!"
Two extremes, and it felt like that's all I ever experienced with it so I cut it. Occasionally I cast it and it was a good play, but as you say they get to choose what permanents they keep. It plays best when you're in a meta full of people who like to vomit onto the field and you tend to play more conservatively.
I'd say give it a play and see how you like it. It's good enough that you shouldn't dismiss the card completely.
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I think you might also be able to play the card in a / deck that utilizes a stax-ish strategy.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
What? How does this make any sense? Why would you want to keep one pw over all of your pws?
Edit: Derpity derp. I had to reread the card three times to catch what it does. Nice one, Wizards.
Seriph0 on cockatrice
EDH Decks
WBGKaradorWBG
Proper reading is an acquired taste
Oh well, play Restore Balance then, even though it takes forever to resolve thus ruining all of it's surprise factor.
RRR - Bosh's School of Hard(cover) Knocks
I can definitely see this being the case, but if I have a full hand and a decent board state, I am usually in very good shape. I think armageddon can often have the same effect (though it would be the other way around, I guess).
I plan to use it in WR
Since there are so few duel commander players here, I am thinking of changing my Tajic deck into a regular EDH deck. With that in mind, I want some spells that can bring the game back to my kind of game (so I am running keldon firebombers as well - need to get a cataclysm but they're impossible to find ). I like these effects because they bring everyone back to a set number (including armageddon) so it doesn't matter how far you are ahead before they hit.
BBB Two Hundred Zombies BBB
Duel Commander
WR Tajic, Wrath of the Manlands RW
BGW Doran Destruction WGB
Commander
GUB Mimeoplasm, Screw Politics BUG
BR Mogis, God of Slaughter RB
RGW Marath, Ramp and Removal WGR
WUBRG Karona, Jank God GRBUW