- Pinball_Lizard
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Member for 14 years, 11 months, and 5 days
Last active Mon, Jun, 26 2017 15:06:31
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Feb 4, 2014Pinball_Lizard posted a message on Launch Giveaway!Cunning Sparkmage, especially in conjunction with his favorite toy, Basilisk Collar. I used this combo in one of my first competitive standard decks (Boss Naya), and I’ve been plaguing my friends’ kitchen tables with him ever since. Even without the equipment, Sparky is arguably the best pinger. At worst he’s a virtual 1/1 haste unblockable that can attack creatures without taking damage back. At best he eats mana dorks and assorted utility creatures, finishes other creatures' combats, and keeps swords off of spirit tokens. Not to mention, I’m also a bearded red mage.Posted in: Announcements
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I agree with this and would like to add that those two groups aren't mutually exclusive. One argument is based on mechanics/playability and the other is more of a flavor/semantics issue. I can think a command isn't pushed enough and think it's too much like a charm. If they made them cost more and gave them stronger effects for the cost, they could potentially meet both criteria, but they didn't think that was a good idea.
I often play cards I don't like and vice versa. It just goes to show how hard it is to design a cards that fits players' expectations/desires AND is competitively costed for the effect.
As much as I like these Commands, I do agree that the cheap ones feel almost too much like charms. I was kinda hoping they'd all have 4cmc when Ojutai's Command was introduced, and I'm not convinced that wouldn't have given them a more solid identity.
How could I forget about Bogles!? Plus countering a bolt and taking out an Eidolon makes this even more appealing against burn than I realized.
Mode 1: "Counter" target Lightning Bolt/other burn spell.
Mode 2: Target player sacrifices Splinter Twin.
Modes 3/4: Break open a Tarmogoyf/Siege Rhino/Tasigur stalemate.
That's how I read the card, anyway.
I apologize if I incorrectly attributed your reasoning. Without presenting your reasoning, I don't think it's unreasonable to imply from what you posted that you thought it should literally cost half of a card that presents it as an option. Your new argument is much more thorough. (Although I don't agree that Negate is unconditional. It requires a timing restriction and does nothing against a resolved walker if drawn after the fact.)
Ultimately, I think we're agreeing but quibbling over minutiae, so I'm going to give it a rest. If anything we've proven they probably have no need to ever print removal that only targets planewalkers, so this is a fool's errand.
Back on topic: Silumgar's Command is a fairly-costed card no matter how you parse out the effects.
I LOVE this card. It's everything a card like this should be. Fairly costed. Useful. Flexible. Even vaguely reminiscent of an old favorite of mine, Blightning. (yes, I know it's not fair to compare to blightning in terms of playing the card, but the effects at least evoke the nostalgia of the card for me, and that's a plus).
However, none of the above means it will "definitely" see play in Modern (I won't pretend to speak for Standard, and anything that can kill a morph is super playable in limited). I agree with some sentiments that it should be tested as a 1-of main due to potential 2-for-1s, but this is not a sideboard card. In modern you don't want to bring in 3-mana artifact hate, even if you get a generic effect of your choice tacked on. In matches where you need to destroy artifacts, doing so at an efficient rate is paramount.
I think this card shines most when you really want a Disentomb effect because this lets you run one that can still generate advantage in boardstates where a disentomb would just sit useless in your hand. As someone pointed out earlier, this is often better than drawing a card because you can plan for what you get back, and if you plan well, it's usually worth more than a card. And the interaction with Snapcaster Mage is pretty sweet, but time will tell if it's too clunky or not.
I plan on jamming this in many kitchen table and FNM decks. I doubt it'll show up at many modern GPs or PTQs.
tl;dr Good card doesn't always mean competitive card, and just because I'm saying it's not competitive enough in my competitive format of choice doesn't mean I don't LOVE this card. Because I do. I want 2 playsets.
I'm not actually saying that. No. I'm saying none of those are very good sideboard cards.
Damage is very nearly artifact removal against most of affinity's creatures and there is better artifact hate available. Only one mode on this card is really sideboard material - its other modes aren't really that powerful against popular archetypes. Smash to Smithereens does a solid impression of the command for less. This card will likely see minimal play in competitive modern sideboards.
Also, this card does nothing against enchantments? And I have counters. And I can generally play around most commonly played enchantments.
Yeah, but I could just keep running Electrolyze main and use that sideboard slot for something else. Affinity and Infect really aren't bad matchups for me.
I kinda want to try it in my Grixis deck, but Electrolyze already basically does what this card does in those matchups, all while never being dead and occasionally being a 3-for-1.
They're alternative effects, not added effects. "Destroy target planeswalker" would only cost exactly half of Hero's Downfall or Dreadbore if you got both effects. By your logic, "Destroy all non-dragon creatures" should cost 2.5 mana because of Crux of Fate or "Target player discards a card" should only cost 1/3 of a single mana because of Funeral Charm. The bump in rarity from Murder to Hero's Downfall (or the drop in speed from Terminate to Dreadbore) is the cost you pay for FLEXIBILITY, for having the option to choose, not the entire value of the effect.
For the effect of A and B, you pay A + B
For the effect of A or B, you pay the greater value of A or B (sometimes with a flexibility tax of up to 1 mana, but usually resulting in timing restrictions or more color-intensive costs)
Since this effect hasn't existed by itself before, all we can say is that destroying a planeswalker can cost 2 mana and should probably cost no more than 3, but since it's an incredibly powerful but incredibly narrow effect, evaluating it's cost by simple division is extremely unlikely to be accurate.
Just to be clear, I'm not saying your result is necessarily wrong. I think printing "Destroy target planeswalker" is probably safe at 1B. But you can't evaluate an effect by saying "I can pay X for A or B, so A is worth half of X." If I can choose to spend $7 on either a sub sandwich or a movie ticket, that doesn't mean I should be able to see Chappie for $3.50
That was my bad. Thought you were Saandro. My point wasn't that it was a thrilling story, just that it establishes that she has at least as many emotions and motivations as Zurgo.