Discussing the cards playability in standard is one thing, talking about modern and legacy especially is jumping the gun quite a bit..this is unplayable in legacy and even in modern you can't spend turn four casting a spell that does nothing right away
I'm aware that it's a straight upgrade over Cure, but so is Drown in the match-up where it matters (against Aggro).
I just consider the blow-out potential of Drown stronger than the slighty bigger range of targets Blight has (and yes, I'm aware that Blight costs less mana and is instant, however, Drown also lets you scry).
One single Drown can destroy entire board states while one single Blight will only be a 1 for 1 most of the time, a very relevant, strong 1 for 1, but a 1 for 1 regardless. As I said, time will tell.
Drown is really good in certain matchups, and terrible in others, like the mirror, control or against monsters. Which makes it a good 3-of in the board.
I think you're not evaluating Blight correctly. You should look at it as a spot removal spell that can be CA in some situations. Its less narrow than Pharika's Cure, and will force opponents to reevaluate how they play their creatures, or whether they want to attack with two or more mutavaults.
Overrated for Legacy/Vintage. Underrated for Standard. You're all forgetting 3/1 is actually good in type 2 whereas in 1.5 the body isn't to relevant.
The 3 power is pretty relevant in that format, its not just a good effect, its a body that can put them on a clock as well. Its a must counter/kill for Delver decks, they can't afford to have all their cantrips suddenly turn into dead draws. This is a staple for white fair decks.
Enlightened Tutor is a bit difficult to run main. The reason for that is everything you want to target with E-Tutor are narrow sideboard cards that only good in specific matchups. Say against Show and Tell, its a dead draw if you don't have humility or Oblivion Ring in the main as well.
I expect to see a lot of G/W aggro now that they get their scrylands
Drown won't help much vs them
I never found I needed a sweeper against G/W, bringing in Lifebane Zombie and Doom Blade was always enough. They don't have BtE enabling them, so they are slower than red based aggro. This card is perfect for stopping BtE Shenanigans.
Huh? You board it out against RDW, you take Obzedat and Dspheres from Esper midrange and against WB weenie you take Xathrids or Spear if they have it. It's not rocket science.
If they have none of that, you're paying 2 life for 1 mana cheap Vindicate that can't hit lands.
Except games don't always work that way. The thing about thoughtseize is that its impossible to predict the best card to take, because its entirely dependant on what's going on in the game (Your hand/Board state vs Their hand/Board state). The choices in Standard are not terribly complicated, thus making thoughtseize easier to use. And no, what you listed are not always the best choice. If your splashing for Abrupt Decay, why would you take D-Sphere? If you had Devour Flesh in hand, Obzedat probably isn't something you need to take either. The point is, you can't just say "these choices are always correct"
This thread can be wrapped up by this: Thoughtseize takes some thought, but its also limited by standard being an easier format.
Thoughtseize in modern and older formats, ye I can see how it can be hard to pick the correct card as these decks have way more redundancy and synergies. In standard? Don't make me laugh. You could probably teach a 5 year old to pick the right card.
Quite a few people make the wrong call with Thoughtseize. Sometimes the right call is very obvious, sometimes it's not, and when its not, you need to be able to rely on your intuition of the game. You did state about Lemmings not knowing what to take, so that kinda contradicts the point about Thoughtsieze picks being easy in standard.
You are correct that in older formats, picking the wrong card can cost you the game, and the right pick is not very obvious most of the time (Imagine thoughtseizing a player and having them reveal a TNN, Stoneforge Mystic, Brainstorm, Daze, STP, two lands)
Last time I checked, downgrading your deck made it harder for you to win. And, if by "Build your deck with one of the most powerful cards in the format in mind?" you mean, "Buy an expensive, "pro" card with your hard earned cash, to combat Thoughtseize, just so they can Thoughtseize that very card out of your starting hand, before you even get a chance to use it," then yes, I concur. As for the loss of 2 life, it's not like Black has any chance of gaining life. It's not like they have access to cards like Whip of Erebos, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Corrupt, and lifelink creatures. The loss of 2 life is irrelevant for Black, using life as a resource is what Black does best, considering they can pull life gain out of their @ss in a variety of ways, and have the best removal in the format to stunt your aggro approach before it even gets started. Mind you, they've probably taken out your burn spell or Ash Zealot to completely stop your game plan before you even get to play your first card. I, for one, am more nervous than a man with a comb-over, standing in the middle of a tornado, when someone plays Thoughtseize, but if you're so happy for them to lose 2 life, and not being able to play your gun card, then be my guest.
I don't get why price is a factor here. When you're talking about competitive decks, it doesn't matter if Thoughtseize is 20 dollars or 20 cents - you would make sure you had it regardless.
It is true that the 2 life doesn't matter if you yank a Fanatic of Mogis or something, I never board it out against aggro.
Because ripping a card out of your opponent's hand before they get to play their first land drop, takes "skill." If i'm to play Stormbreath Dragon, I have to take into account how the game's developed so far.
Does he/she have a counter?
Does he/she have removal?
Has he/she spent all his removal on my earlier creatures?
What's the probability he/she just top decked more removal?
Is he/she tapped out?
Should I play another card?
Should I bluff a counter?
What's the board state like?
It takes infinitely more skill to assess the game state and play a 5 drop, then have the luxury of not only looking at the opponent's hand, but denying him/her the privilege of playing that card, without fear of being countered.
Go look up the word "skill" in a dictionary, and then apologise for wasting my time.
That's your opinion, and your opinion is wrong.
If your implying that thoughtseize takes no skill, you are flat-out wrong. If it took no skill, than everyone would always make the correct call when using it, and I can tell you for sure that I see people take the wrong card all the time. That's just in standard. Taking the wrong card in Legacy/Modern can cost you the game.
It doesn't take that much skill to drop a creature. All those questions you asked can be summed up like this: Do they have an answer, and if I hold onto my threats am I giving them more opportunities to win?
It sounds like you just don't know how to play around Thoughtseize. Its a strong card, but fair.
That's true to some extent, but in other ways false. Legacy and Modern utilize several mechanics that don't see the light of day in Standard. Deathrite Shaman and Abrupt Decay are perfect examples.
I'm not sure if DRS is even playable in standard, given that there's no easy way to feed him. In Legacy he's a major threat, a must-kill creature in some circumstances. "X is the best DRS deck" was considered a valid reason to play deck X.
Abrupt Decay isn't so good in Standard, where permanents of CMCs great than 3 abound. It isn't the deck-demolishing monster that it is in Legacy. Lots of folks used to play Miracles until AD hit.
When it comes down to it, most of the cards we now know and love were in Standard. There isn't anything wrong with having a powerful card, here and there, in Standard. I don't think Wizards is averse to that.
I guess thoughtseize being reprinted is proof of this, its powerful, yet not ruining the format.
I'm not sure why CawBlade is so overrated here, it's really slow deck and can be disrupted easily. Affinity even without Skullclamp is a force - t3 win is common.
If we go back in time there were some really fast (and suicidal) decks powered by Dark Ritual and Necropotence that were playing also tons of land destruction.
It doesn't matter how powerful the deck is, it matters what the cards around it are like. Caw-blade was many times more powerful than anything around it, so that's all people played. It wasn't easy to disrupt, and had access to cards that are now legacy format staples. Even when Jace and Stoneforge were banned it was still a deck, so I don't know how you figure it was overrated.
Drown is really good in certain matchups, and terrible in others, like the mirror, control or against monsters. Which makes it a good 3-of in the board.
I think you're not evaluating Blight correctly. You should look at it as a spot removal spell that can be CA in some situations. Its less narrow than Pharika's Cure, and will force opponents to reevaluate how they play their creatures, or whether they want to attack with two or more mutavaults.
The 3 power is pretty relevant in that format, its not just a good effect, its a body that can put them on a clock as well. Its a must counter/kill for Delver decks, they can't afford to have all their cantrips suddenly turn into dead draws. This is a staple for white fair decks.
I never found I needed a sweeper against G/W, bringing in Lifebane Zombie and Doom Blade was always enough. They don't have BtE enabling them, so they are slower than red based aggro. This card is perfect for stopping BtE Shenanigans.
Except games don't always work that way. The thing about thoughtseize is that its impossible to predict the best card to take, because its entirely dependant on what's going on in the game (Your hand/Board state vs Their hand/Board state). The choices in Standard are not terribly complicated, thus making thoughtseize easier to use. And no, what you listed are not always the best choice. If your splashing for Abrupt Decay, why would you take D-Sphere? If you had Devour Flesh in hand, Obzedat probably isn't something you need to take either. The point is, you can't just say "these choices are always correct"
This thread can be wrapped up by this: Thoughtseize takes some thought, but its also limited by standard being an easier format.
Quite a few people make the wrong call with Thoughtseize. Sometimes the right call is very obvious, sometimes it's not, and when its not, you need to be able to rely on your intuition of the game. You did state about Lemmings not knowing what to take, so that kinda contradicts the point about Thoughtsieze picks being easy in standard.
You are correct that in older formats, picking the wrong card can cost you the game, and the right pick is not very obvious most of the time (Imagine thoughtseizing a player and having them reveal a TNN, Stoneforge Mystic, Brainstorm, Daze, STP, two lands)
I don't get why price is a factor here. When you're talking about competitive decks, it doesn't matter if Thoughtseize is 20 dollars or 20 cents - you would make sure you had it regardless.
It is true that the 2 life doesn't matter if you yank a Fanatic of Mogis or something, I never board it out against aggro.
If your implying that thoughtseize takes no skill, you are flat-out wrong. If it took no skill, than everyone would always make the correct call when using it, and I can tell you for sure that I see people take the wrong card all the time. That's just in standard. Taking the wrong card in Legacy/Modern can cost you the game.
It doesn't take that much skill to drop a creature. All those questions you asked can be summed up like this: Do they have an answer, and if I hold onto my threats am I giving them more opportunities to win?
It sounds like you just don't know how to play around Thoughtseize. Its a strong card, but fair.
I guess thoughtseize being reprinted is proof of this, its powerful, yet not ruining the format.
It doesn't matter how powerful the deck is, it matters what the cards around it are like. Caw-blade was many times more powerful than anything around it, so that's all people played. It wasn't easy to disrupt, and had access to cards that are now legacy format staples. Even when Jace and Stoneforge were banned it was still a deck, so I don't know how you figure it was overrated.