I think this card is clearly better than Evacuation. It remains to be seen how tournament worthy it is (much of which will be determined by blue control being a thing post-rotation, and the meta having aggressive creature decks).
Does Draw-go have FoW, Daze etc, or are you using a Buehler old school Draw-go deck? If the latter, I don't think Draw-go has a chance against new decks. It would probably have a tough time even against a type-2 aggro deck.
Going out on a limb here:
I think Soul Ransom might be playable in type 2 constructed.
They discard 2 and you draw 2 is a very powerful effect. In a sense the two options are effectively redundant which makes it different than cards like Browbeat. That's a subtle but real difference, but what I mean is that either option gives you card advantage.
If you play multiples, the second one will almost always stick.
Bad against decks with low creature counts and/or the ability to refill their hand.
Worth testing.
I agree; particularly with the point that it is bad against decks with low creature counts. Inversely, it is very good against decks with high creature counts (Standard, Modern, Legacy - although it's not strong enough for Legacy as its worse than Control Magic most of the time).
I plan on using it as a 4-of in Standard and possibly Modern. Playing it alongside instant speed removal and sac outlets turns the card into a better Control Magic. (take their best creature, when they pay to have you sacrifice the enchant, sacrifice the creature in response or destroy it - preferably with something not on the board so they don't see it coming, although in the case that you use an on-board sac outlet Soul Ransom turns into Control Magic)
And the low attendence numbers said something had to be done also. Skill intensive Magic just doesnt appeal to the masses.
That may be true, but I disagree that the masses play in tournaments. If you're talking specifically about tournament players, I don't think skill intensive Magic doesn't appeal to them. While Caw-Blade was skill intensive, (yes, even the mirror) I certainly don't think that was why tournament attendance was low at that time. It seems obvious to me that tournament attendance was low because Caw-Blade was incredibly dominant, stifling new decks from arising. You might argue that Jund didn't have the same affect on tournaments, but it was a more accessible deck just in terms of dollars.
Wizards, IMO, didn't have that good of a reason for instantly banning Jace and SFM when they debuted modern. They only did it out of fear and that it wouldn't "look good" to not ban them.
They've certainly been very conservative with the banlist. There are some cards that should have started on it (Dark Depths among others) but I was surprised by the number of cards they started out with on the banlist. Even more surprising is how few cards they have unbanned (0).
This is somewhat where we disagree. A deck and its cards are all relative to its meta. It wasn't that caw-blade was all that strong.(sure it was a good deck don't get me wrong) When A deck is that powerful it is because of 1 absolutely insanely busted card,(think necropotence) or it is because a weak or vulnerable meta game allowed it. remember that control decks were ousted by valakut.(They were lacking even without valakuts help) Valakut was a big part of the meta and so were decks like RUG midrange and other slower decks that beat control decks.(Mostly midrange which is dominant in the absence of both comparable combo and aggro decks)
Regardless of whether or not Caw-Blade was oppressive, Jace2 and Stoneforge Mystic should never have been printed. At first, they were both not completely busted cards only because Jund was around (another oppressive deck). Once Jund rotated out, and they started printing increasingly broken equipment (Sword of Feast and Famine, then Batterskull) Stoneforge became busted in half. I don't think there are many people that can honestly say they think Stoneforge Mystic and Jace2 were okay cards in Standard. Modern however, is another story.
Caw Blade was an oppressive, broken deck, and I don't think anyone would disagree that it is bad for competitive Magic for one deck to dominate on that level for that long of a time.
I'm very pro-control, and I think the issues with Caw Blade were the overpowered cards - not the controlling nature of the deck. (namely, Jace the Mind Sculptor, Stoneforge Mystic, and equipment that should never have been printed)
For those wanting statistics (I can't even believe that I'm sinking down to this level) during the period of time just before Caw-Blade was essentially given the ban hammer, FNM attendance was down to 8 to 12 people on a given night.
Now, we average 20 - 35 per night.
I realize that it's a small sample size but I don't need to see any more than those glaring numbers to know that magic players HATED that era. I hated it and I PLAYED Caw-Blade.
I would rather quit playing magic (been playing for 18 years) than EVER go back to that nightmare.
Is your point that people hate Caw-Blade, or (more related to the topic of this thread) that people hate control? Because I see those as two very different things.
Where, Oh Where did all those statistics come from everyone? You can't just make up generalized statistics out of thin air to prove your point:
"Pleasing the masses means WoTC has to please casual, kitchen table players. (The players who often think control = counter every spell I play.) Those players don't ever play in tournaments, so WoTC pleasing the masses isn't really relevant in a discussion of formats in the context of tournaments."
They don't play in tournaments? Ever? How do you quantify what the "masses" are anyway? Sounds like a bunch of FNM kids to me.
"The vast majority of people who play Magic will never play in a tournament. Also, it's pretty much established that WoTC's profits from Magic are from non-tournament players."
Again, vast majority according to what? Established by whom?
I don't think I need to provide statistics to prove that most Magic players don't play in tournaments, and frankly, I don't care that much. I'm not going to go looking for information for what seems to be to be obvious.
Tourny attendence numbers disagree with that statement. Just saying. Just look at the metas since SCG started doing their tournies. Wotc is watching what people like to play and what people dont like.
The vast majority of people who play Magic will never play in a tournament. Also, it's pretty much established that WoTC's profits from Magic are from non-tournament players.
Remember, Wotc has to please the masses, It seems Slip, you are in the minority of what you like in the game. That doesnt make anyone right or wrong, everyone just likes different things.
Pleasing the masses means WoTC has to please casual, kitchen table players. (The players who often think control = counter every spell I play.) Those players don't ever play in tournaments, so WoTC pleasing the masses isn't really relevant in a discussion of formats in the context of tournaments.
extended wasn't than unpopular.... Sure it wasn't standard, but it had more numbers than legacy.(presumably because of the PT/PTQ/GP support)
No other format is going to be standard, and I thoroughly expect modern to top out at what extended did even with wotc trying to pour support into it. Most people really don't give a damn about future investments, and standard is easier to get cards for, and it also doesn't require high level play typically.
Extended wasn't unpopular solely because of the tournament support for it. Most people only played Extended because of that, not because they liked the format. As for myself, I liked old Extended, although I like the idea of Modern more - just not how it has played out so far with the excessive banlist.
Legacys player pool is limited by the reserve list. Its going to take some time before Modern is played commonly. Wotc or a compnay like SCG needs to start running a Modern circiut like the Legacy one SCG runs. Wotc doesnt support Legacy except for a couple tournies a year. I wouldnt expect Wotc to support Modern enough to make it as big. I dont think SCG will split time between Legacy and Modern and they have already picked their horse. Until Legacy player pool maxes out, Modern will be thought of as Legacys little red headed step brother. (no offense to little red headed step brothers out there)
Modern already has a PTQ season, has multiple GPs coming up this year, and had a Pro Tour (which is more than Legacy has ever had). I think it's clear they are pushing Modern to be one of their flagship formats, and that's more than it needs to be a great investment.
Back when we had 7-year Extended, that was a good investment, even though almost no one wanted to play it. Pros were basically forced to play it because of all of the Extended GPs and Pro Tours. Modern seemingly has the backing of the Pro community, WoTC, and the casual community.
Ill agree to disagree. If you are using Magic cards as an investment tool thats your business. In my opinion its a hobby, not an investment.
As long as Modern and Legacy see heavy play, and continue to grow, the cards in those formats will be valuable. Obviously bannings affect this somewhat, but a very small % of cards are ever considered for bannings, much less actually meet the banhammer.
I actually think some day Modern and Legacy will be played more than Standard, but only time will tell.
Did you play before the mythic rarity? Mana bases were ridiculous before the mythic rarity. I say keep the mythics and just make them EDH and casual staples, not competitive staples.
I started years before Mythics, and card prices were just not that bad. Sure, Ravnica duals were pricey when they were in Standard. I agree with you though, the mythics should be EDH and casual cards.
My favorite Magic card is Thirst for Knowledge. I think Gavin said it best, in Magic, drawing cards is like opening presents. It's so much fun to see what you will open next!
I agree; particularly with the point that it is bad against decks with low creature counts. Inversely, it is very good against decks with high creature counts (Standard, Modern, Legacy - although it's not strong enough for Legacy as its worse than Control Magic most of the time).
I plan on using it as a 4-of in Standard and possibly Modern. Playing it alongside instant speed removal and sac outlets turns the card into a better Control Magic. (take their best creature, when they pay to have you sacrifice the enchant, sacrifice the creature in response or destroy it - preferably with something not on the board so they don't see it coming, although in the case that you use an on-board sac outlet Soul Ransom turns into Control Magic)
That may be true, but I disagree that the masses play in tournaments. If you're talking specifically about tournament players, I don't think skill intensive Magic doesn't appeal to them. While Caw-Blade was skill intensive, (yes, even the mirror) I certainly don't think that was why tournament attendance was low at that time. It seems obvious to me that tournament attendance was low because Caw-Blade was incredibly dominant, stifling new decks from arising. You might argue that Jund didn't have the same affect on tournaments, but it was a more accessible deck just in terms of dollars.
They've certainly been very conservative with the banlist. There are some cards that should have started on it (Dark Depths among others) but I was surprised by the number of cards they started out with on the banlist. Even more surprising is how few cards they have unbanned (0).
Regardless of whether or not Caw-Blade was oppressive, Jace2 and Stoneforge Mystic should never have been printed. At first, they were both not completely busted cards only because Jund was around (another oppressive deck). Once Jund rotated out, and they started printing increasingly broken equipment (Sword of Feast and Famine, then Batterskull) Stoneforge became busted in half. I don't think there are many people that can honestly say they think Stoneforge Mystic and Jace2 were okay cards in Standard. Modern however, is another story.
I'm very pro-control, and I think the issues with Caw Blade were the overpowered cards - not the controlling nature of the deck. (namely, Jace the Mind Sculptor, Stoneforge Mystic, and equipment that should never have been printed)
Is your point that people hate Caw-Blade, or (more related to the topic of this thread) that people hate control? Because I see those as two very different things.
I don't think I need to provide statistics to prove that most Magic players don't play in tournaments, and frankly, I don't care that much. I'm not going to go looking for information for what seems to be to be obvious.
The vast majority of people who play Magic will never play in a tournament. Also, it's pretty much established that WoTC's profits from Magic are from non-tournament players.
Pleasing the masses means WoTC has to please casual, kitchen table players. (The players who often think control = counter every spell I play.) Those players don't ever play in tournaments, so WoTC pleasing the masses isn't really relevant in a discussion of formats in the context of tournaments.
Extended wasn't unpopular solely because of the tournament support for it. Most people only played Extended because of that, not because they liked the format. As for myself, I liked old Extended, although I like the idea of Modern more - just not how it has played out so far with the excessive banlist.
Modern already has a PTQ season, has multiple GPs coming up this year, and had a Pro Tour (which is more than Legacy has ever had). I think it's clear they are pushing Modern to be one of their flagship formats, and that's more than it needs to be a great investment.
Back when we had 7-year Extended, that was a good investment, even though almost no one wanted to play it. Pros were basically forced to play it because of all of the Extended GPs and Pro Tours. Modern seemingly has the backing of the Pro community, WoTC, and the casual community.
As long as Modern and Legacy see heavy play, and continue to grow, the cards in those formats will be valuable. Obviously bannings affect this somewhat, but a very small % of cards are ever considered for bannings, much less actually meet the banhammer.
I actually think some day Modern and Legacy will be played more than Standard, but only time will tell.
I started years before Mythics, and card prices were just not that bad. Sure, Ravnica duals were pricey when they were in Standard. I agree with you though, the mythics should be EDH and casual cards.