Surprised I havent seen a thread for this yet, it seems like a pretty solid counterspell to me. I haven't crunched the numbers but this probably hits at least 3/4 of the creatures in my cube, which is more than I expected, and I imagine most games will have a target where this trades mana positively. Thoughts?
I definitely have my eye on this one. This currently hits 128 / 190 creatures, 67.3% is pretty good for a single mana. I like how this compliments Control Magic / Treacery effects as this deals with the creatures that aren't worth stealing while Control Magic / Treachery are prime targets for what this can't hit.
This is definitely interesting. For me it hits 174/252 creatures, or 69.0% (nice). Absolutely worth considering as a 1-mana spell, and hits a surprising number of higher-mana spells as well! Solitude, Hornet Queen, and Hangarback/Walking Ballista seem especially spicy.
Ooh, sweet card! It's sorta the counterspell version of Disfigure. Another one with a generic name likely to see a reprint with MtG art.
I have tended to find Remove Soul and Negate to be kinda narrow. This is narrower, but holding up one mana is a much different ball-game than holding up two.
I also like that it's a hard counter. You don't see too much of that at one mana.
Playing Hornet Queen into your opponent countering it with this card is probably an instant rage quit. The mana advantage gained is massive and might be enough to straight up win the game if the counter itself wasn't already enough.
Plus, there are some interesting and unique targets, like countering Grist.
The clear downside is that this card really sucks when drawn late, and is either traded for whatever weak creature the opponent draws, or just straight up withers away in your hand. How often will that happen?
I'm going to guess this falls short, but I'm not confident about it.
I'm basing this off of my experience with remove soul, which was nearly unplayable when I tested it.
Being 1 mana vs 2 is a world of difference, but the same core problem remains. Most of the best spells in cube were non-creature spells and it missed so many key targets.
This adding an additional restriction makes it even more narrow than remove soul.
I think the mana efficiency makes this much better than remove soul overall, but not enough to break into my ultra tight blue section.
I think you'll be forced to hold up mana in the early game in spots you might not want to, and then ultimately miss a key threat the opponent plays a bit too often.
I try to think of it as a fatal push that misses threats already on the battlefield, but can deny a few targets ETB effects to compensate (IE eternal witness).
I've played this a lot since it was spoiled. I underestimated it.
I see it as blue's cut down (slightly better) , which is a cheap effect that blue really wants.
You often trade up 1-3 pips in mana , which more than makes up for it being dead occasionally.
It's great in decks that are slower/reactive as they have other answers for problems this doesn't solve, and can make up for the tempo lost for drawing cards with the mana effeciency of this card.
It has been great for me. The targets it hits is surprisingly broad and it usually has relevant targets into the mid/late game. Scolding hits a lot of the ETB value creatures including some spicy hits like Solitude, as well as most of the usual agro creatures. This hits some important cube creatures all the way up to 5+ mana, and its a hard counter so it stays live into the late game.
Having some variety in the 1 mana counter department helps a lot in terms of keep your opponent guessing. I have blown my opponent out because they were playing round Force Spike instead of Scolding, or vice-versa.
Its obvious to say, but, being 1 mana instead of 2 makes a world of difference when it comes to keeping mana open, or even bluffing a counter.
Easily my favorite counter from the past while, and I have tried most.
Surprised I havent seen a thread for this yet, it seems like a pretty solid counterspell to me. I haven't crunched the numbers but this probably hits at least 3/4 of the creatures in my cube, which is more than I expected, and I imagine most games will have a target where this trades mana positively. Thoughts?
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I have tended to find Remove Soul and Negate to be kinda narrow. This is narrower, but holding up one mana is a much different ball-game than holding up two.
I also like that it's a hard counter. You don't see too much of that at one mana.
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Plus, there are some interesting and unique targets, like countering Grist.
The clear downside is that this card really sucks when drawn late, and is either traded for whatever weak creature the opponent draws, or just straight up withers away in your hand. How often will that happen?
I'm basing this off of my experience with remove soul, which was nearly unplayable when I tested it.
Being 1 mana vs 2 is a world of difference, but the same core problem remains. Most of the best spells in cube were non-creature spells and it missed so many key targets.
This adding an additional restriction makes it even more narrow than remove soul.
I think the mana efficiency makes this much better than remove soul overall, but not enough to break into my ultra tight blue section.
I think you'll be forced to hold up mana in the early game in spots you might not want to, and then ultimately miss a key threat the opponent plays a bit too often.
I try to think of it as a fatal push that misses threats already on the battlefield, but can deny a few targets ETB effects to compensate (IE eternal witness).
Last Updated 02/07/24
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I see it as blue's cut down (slightly better) , which is a cheap effect that blue really wants.
You often trade up 1-3 pips in mana , which more than makes up for it being dead occasionally.
It's great in decks that are slower/reactive as they have other answers for problems this doesn't solve, and can make up for the tempo lost for drawing cards with the mana effeciency of this card.
Last Updated 02/07/24
Streaming Standard/Cube on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/heisenb3rg96
Strategy Twitter https://www.twitter.com/heisenb3rg
Having some variety in the 1 mana counter department helps a lot in terms of keep your opponent guessing. I have blown my opponent out because they were playing round Force Spike instead of Scolding, or vice-versa.
Its obvious to say, but, being 1 mana instead of 2 makes a world of difference when it comes to keeping mana open, or even bluffing a counter.
Easily my favorite counter from the past while, and I have tried most.