I was playing a three player multiplayer game, piloting my budget Anafenza hatebears list including this, vs. Rhys the Redeemed tokens and Queen Marchesa. I had managed to keep the token player off of my back through Windborn Muse, had Kotophed out. The token player was steadily building his board, where I was seriously considering dropping Anafenza into play following a Languish to circumvent getting a bunch of triggers on my plate. The token player had already dropped an Hour of Reckoning, which I had survived through the Ready half of Ready // Willing. On his turn the Marchesa player drops End Hostilities, which looks to cost me more than half my life thanks to Kothophed and the token player... and then the token player casts Second Harvest in response.
Well in this case it is given that an opponent with a sac outlet can kill you if you can't get rid of Kothophed fast enough.
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My Commander decks:
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.
I always feel better knowing old Kotho-Fred is lurking somewhere in my mono-BToshiro Umezawa deck. It has also been relevant twice now that if I Tainted Strike both Kothophed and Toshiro (through Toshiro's recursion) then that's exactly 10 infect damage.
He's also in my Toshiro deck; we kill stuff, and draw cards. Seems legit.
I only run him in decks where I can circumvent his downside with instant speed removal or sac outlets. He reminds me of Dralnu, Lich Lord in that regard, being a card with an extremely powerful effect, but requiring that you be able to "answer" your own card if ***** hits the fan.
Not someone I would want as my commander, but definitely can fit in the 99 for a lot of decks. Makes Hex even more of a sixy beast. Makes kill spells even more valuable. Good body for the cost. He's alright. Not quite the terrifying big bad that people thought Koth would be, but he's solid.
Can't help but feel there's better 2-mana-black-spells to be found.
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My Commander decks:
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.
Required in a dedicated Sorin theme deck (who is the commander there? Tariel, Reckoner of Souls for an angel stand-in who fits all the vampire tribal colors?), but otherwise I just can't see it happening.
The best that I can say is, it's strictly better than Vicious Hunger.
Of course, it's only worthwhile at all in a limited environment, and there were a lot more important creatures with toughness < 2 in 8th edition/Nemesis than in 12th edition. Sooo...
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
I always find it odd how bad so many of these small black "damage plus life gain" cards are. I mean, it's rather a black thing to do, yet Boros does it way better.
Funny thing, I used this card for a bit in my Ezuri, Claw of Progress list which ran all available manlands possible, along with its blue counterpart. It actually did pretty decently there.
Also obligatory I REQUIRE HEALING comment.
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My Commander decks:
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.
I used to use the blue one in my Jalira, Master Polymorphist list as it gets me cheap access to fodder for her ability while dodging said ability if it's still in my library, though I found I had more than enough of that type of card and I think this is one I cut. This one though, I have trouble seeing any significant uses outside of a manland theme deck.
Probably in the top 10 of worst cards we've had in here so far.
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My Commander decks:
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.
I like net counters. But this is just terrible. For the same mana cost, you could be running Control Magic.
Clicked on the thread because I had never heard of this card and thought ya'll had switched to French or something. That...is sure a card. Even in Pauper, you can run Claustrophobia or Dehydration or Narcolepsy and really Control Magic is pretty affordable nowadays. 0/10.
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Sufferer of EDHD
Commander - Currently Playing: RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G) RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B) WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
X Hope of Ghirapur Swordpile W Ghosty Blinky Anafenza U Nezahal- Big, Blue and HERE! B Gonti Can Afford It R Etali, Primal 'Whatjusthappened?' G Polukranos Wants More Mana WU The Exalted Vizier Temmet WB Home, Athreos WR Basandra, Recursive Aggression WG Karametra, Momma of Lands UB Wrexial Eats Your Brains UR Arjun, the Mad Flame UG The Fable of Prime Speaker BR Hellbent, Malfegor Style BG Jarad, Death is Served RG Running Thromok WUB Varina and ALL the Zombies WUBYennett, the Odd Pain-Train WUR Zedruu the Furyhearted WUG Arcades' Strategy, Shmategy, Sausage and Spam WBR A Case of Mathas' Persistent F*ckery WBRLicia's League of Legendary Lifegain Layabouts WBG The Karador Advantage PackageWRG Gahiji Rattlesnake Collection UBR Jeleva... does... things UBG Damia's Just Deserts URG Yasova's Has More Power Than Sense BRG Wasitora, Bad Kitty WUBRBreya, Eggs, Breya'd Eggs WUBG Tymna and Kydele, Extended Borrowing WURG Kynaios and Tiro, Landfall Impersonations WBRG Saskia Pet Card EnchantressUBRG Yidris of the Chi-Ting Corporation WUBRG Tazri's Amazing Allies
Glad to see my entry set getting some attention, even if it had mostly terri-bad cards.
Unless you're running a proliferate deck to keep a creature tapped down, I don't see Merseine being that great. It's not useless, particularly if you're dealing with triggered abilities from a creature's swing, but as was mentioned, there's better cards to run. At best, this just stalls for a better answer.
It's too bad. If Merseine's last line of text read that you pay the enchanted creature's CMC to remove a net counter and untap that creature, it could have been an interesting combo card.
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice + Merseine. If its put on a very large creature, like say a Blightsteel Colossus, your opponent needs to pay 24 each turn to effectively remove one counter since Atraxa keeps piling on the net counters. If its too costly, your opponent may end up timewalking themselves in the process because of having to pay the mana cost 3 or more times. If your opponent doesn't pay the cost, its basically Dehydration.
Well in this case it is given that an opponent with a sac outlet can kill you if you can't get rid of Kothophed fast enough.
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.
http://www.commandercast.com/category/articles/generally-speaking
Follow me on Twitter: @generalspeak
Can't help but feel there's better 2-mana-black-spells to be found.
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.
Of course, it's only worthwhile at all in a limited environment, and there were a lot more important creatures with toughness < 2 in 8th edition/Nemesis than in 12th edition. Sooo...
- Rabid Wombat
see also:
Pharika's Cure
Douse in Gloom
Last Kiss
Geth's Verdict is only stopped by two cards in the whole game. Grasp of Darkness hits creatures with toughness up to 4, and it even hits ones with indestructible or regen or the Inviolability ability. Tribal decks have Pack's Disdain. Aristocrats has Tragic Slip. Black devotion has Scent of Nightshade. Kiku's Shadow is even an option, since most creatures have square stats.
On phasing:
Geth's Verdict is stopped by a second creature. I love Edicts, but they are not always good.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Funny thing, I used this card for a bit in my Ezuri, Claw of Progress list which ran all available manlands possible, along with its blue counterpart. It actually did pretty decently there.
Also obligatory I REQUIRE HEALING comment.
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.
Probably in the top 10 of worst cards we've had in here so far.
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.
Clicked on the thread because I had never heard of this card and thought ya'll had switched to French or something. That...is sure a card. Even in Pauper, you can run Claustrophobia or Dehydration or Narcolepsy and really Control Magic is pretty affordable nowadays. 0/10.
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
I dunno, Atraxa going strictly sea-themed?
Unless you're running a proliferate deck to keep a creature tapped down, I don't see Merseine being that great. It's not useless, particularly if you're dealing with triggered abilities from a creature's swing, but as was mentioned, there's better cards to run. At best, this just stalls for a better answer.
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers