I've seen this do some good work in a Baru, Fist of Krosa deck. Overall, it's not a particularly good card, but there are certainly some decent interactions around which will make some decks want it.
Generally worse than Night's Whisper. The BB cost is sometimes awkward early game and I don't think I've ever used this to get the final shock in on someone. Still a solid card that I'm usually happy to play.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
I played both Sign in Blood and Night's Whisper in my mono-B and found them to be okay.
Their CMC is convincing, they replace themselves and that's about it. Not a fan of one time things, if need be i'd propably pick Read the Bones over them for the filtering aspect.
I wouldn't underestimate the value of a body, though. Dusk Legion Zealot et al may look unconvincing, but i've seen them durdle heavily with Liliana, Defiant Necromancer and the likes.
Sign in Blood has bothersome art where you have a fingernail split down the middle to make it emulate a pen. Just imagine those two halves dragging across a typically subtly-bumpy sheet of paper, causing you to bleed forth ink.
Anyways, Sign in Blood and Night's Whisper are right at a nice meeting point of simple cost and simple effect. I want to get +1 CA, but I'm not willing to pay 3 mana, so here you go, 2 life streamlines the card down to a nice point. Better than your typical Divination but worse than something like Thoughtcast.
I feel that cheap draw is something many EDH players overlook - whether black cards like this and Night's Whisper or the good blue cantrips or even some of the newer green versions like Oath of Nissa. They're not big splashy plays, but they smooth out your decks' performance nicely, let you get away with otherwise dubious opening hands and are worth playing at any point in the game - early on, they give you something to do with your mana, late on, you can cast them alongside another spell.
As for this one in particular, the "shock" mode it very rarely more than a gimmick, so Night's Whisper is gonna be better, but it's still well worth running in most mono-black decks, and a good number two colour ones, particularly if you've the fixing to reliably cast it turn two.
There's a tendency in EDH for people to ignore 'small' effects like this. I think they're pretty good, especially if they can interact with the other aspects of your deck.
They do usually cross my mind if I'm building black without blue. "Small draw" certainly has its' place.
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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
Small draw spells may not be big, splashy plays, but they are nonetheless extremely good, moreso than a lot of players realize. Blue Sun's Zenith and Necropotence are great, but sometimes things like Artificer's Epiphany, Sign in Blood or Chart a Course do the job just fine. They are usable in the early game and still useful late in the game.
For all the people talking about the increased flexibility of Sign in Blood over Night's Whisper, two questions. How often have you actually made the corner case plays Sign enables and would you keep a hand with only one black source in a Bx deck (say fetch, island, colorless utility land)? My experience has been that the second scenario is more common than the first. Part of what makes these cards good is that they're useful at any point in the game, so making it more difficult to cast early seems like a negative that outweighs the flexibility.
That said I run both of them as well as Read the Bones a fair amount of the time and this is a more or less academic discussion.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Generally worse than Night's Whisper. The BB cost is sometimes awkward early game and I don't think I've ever used this to get the final shock in on someone. Still a solid card that I'm usually happy to play.
It has potential in a Nekusar deck, since it hits at at least 4. But yeah, it's probably not going to be played as a wincon that much even then.
Then again, I don't consider this to be something I'd play early on. This is mid-game just to replenish my hand slightly.
In general, I would say this is one of those small effects that is often ignored in EDH. Like direct damage, rhystic counters, +X/+X effects, -X/-X effects, you get the drift. Even when they're a cheap cantrip, they're often ignored.
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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've hit it a couple of times. I am almost never concerned about not being able to hit BB, because I don't think I've ever cast this turn 2. If I'm running small ball effects like this, then I'm either mono B (so non-issue), I have a low curve (so I have other things I want to cast and this gets fired off when I start running low on gas), or I'm running a control deck (so this isn't getting fired off until I can still keep Mana up). The value is low but so is the cost. Both are nearly negligible in fact. In mono b I'd run both, in low cost aggro or UB I'd run sign, in other decks NW.
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
For all the people talking about the increased flexibility of Sign in Blood over Night's Whisper, two questions. How often have you actually made the corner case plays Sign enables and would you keep a hand with only one black source in a Bx deck (say fetch, island, colorless utility land)? My experience has been that the second scenario is more common than the first. Part of what makes these cards good is that they're useful at any point in the game, so making it more difficult to cast early seems like a negative that outweighs the flexibility.
That said I run both of them as well as Read the Bones a fair amount of the time and this is a more or less academic discussion.
I play Sign in Blood in Rakdos, Lord of Riots to help me cast Rakdos after a boardwipe. It is a corner case, but that versatility is important. It is also why I play Smash to Smithereens over some other options. I think if you play with Spectacle at all you should consider this.
Did someone say Rakdos, Lord of Riots? I think the walking popping pimple heard you.
Edit: to elaborate, when I had my Rakdos deck with Rakdos at the helm, all my most degenerate starts were on the back of Plague Spitter into Burnt Offering, cast Rakdos with at least 1 mana to spare and a 6 colorless discount.
Card I'd love to see shifted to red for dinosaurs. And given an infect version as well.
What's that supposed to be anyway? Some kind of mutant mole?
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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!
Think he needs an 'accessory'...token decks would cry.
Just hitting for 1 kills 1/1 tokens, FWIW. Grant deathtouch and you're hitting all creatures, even Spreader itself.
Anyway, Thundermare got a Planar Chaos version which is also a vanity card. Both of them are made a lot better withhelp, or you can use any "extra combat step" cards, though I think that's a little too much mana.
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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!
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
The win condition of a real professional.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Their CMC is convincing, they replace themselves and that's about it. Not a fan of one time things, if need be i'd propably pick Read the Bones over them for the filtering aspect.
I wouldn't underestimate the value of a body, though. Dusk Legion Zealot et al may look unconvincing, but i've seen them durdle heavily with Liliana, Defiant Necromancer and the likes.Unless you can point Sign in Blood at an opponent for those last pesky <2 life points...
Anyways, Sign in Blood and Night's Whisper are right at a nice meeting point of simple cost and simple effect. I want to get +1 CA, but I'm not willing to pay 3 mana, so here you go, 2 life streamlines the card down to a nice point. Better than your typical Divination but worse than something like Thoughtcast.
As for this one in particular, the "shock" mode it very rarely more than a gimmick, so Night's Whisper is gonna be better, but it's still well worth running in most mono-black decks, and a good number two colour ones, particularly if you've the fixing to reliably cast it turn two.
There's a tendency in EDH for people to ignore 'small' effects like this. I think they're pretty good, especially if they can interact with the other aspects of your deck.
Legacy - Solidarity - mono U aggro - burn - Imperial Painter - Strawberry Shortcake - Bluuzards - bom
Sign in Blood is a very solid card. That said, I personally prefer Read the Bones, but it's often best to play both (and Night's Whisper).
That said I run both of them as well as Read the Bones a fair amount of the time and this is a more or less academic discussion.
It has potential in a Nekusar deck, since it hits at at least 4. But yeah, it's probably not going to be played as a wincon that much even then.
Then again, I don't consider this to be something I'd play early on. This is mid-game just to replenish my hand slightly.
In general, I would say this is one of those small effects that is often ignored in EDH. Like direct damage, rhystic counters, +X/+X effects, -X/-X effects, you get the drift. Even when they're a cheap cantrip, they're often ignored.
On phasing:
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
I play Sign in Blood in Rakdos, Lord of Riots to help me cast Rakdos after a boardwipe. It is a corner case, but that versatility is important. It is also why I play Smash to Smithereens over some other options. I think if you play with Spectacle at all you should consider this.
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
Did someone say Rakdos, Lord of Riots? I think the walking popping pimple heard you.
Edit: to elaborate, when I had my Rakdos deck with Rakdos at the helm, all my most degenerate starts were on the back of Plague Spitter into Burnt Offering, cast Rakdos with at least 1 mana to spare and a 6 colorless discount.
What's that supposed to be anyway? Some kind of mutant mole?
On phasing:
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)
If they ever make a red version of Masako the Humorless that lets tapped creatures attack, this would be an all-star.
Just hitting for 1 kills 1/1 tokens, FWIW. Grant deathtouch and you're hitting all creatures, even Spreader itself.
Anyway, Thundermare got a Planar Chaos version which is also a vanity card. Both of them are made a lot better with help, or you can use any "extra combat step" cards, though I think that's a little too much mana.
On phasing:
Not to be confused with Jack Fayden, the greatest cop in the multiverse.