Blue
Last week we looked at everything White, starting us off with perhaps the least important color. I want to thank everyone for their kind support for my initial foray, and I hope to keep the momentum rolling with this chapter. Today, our attention shifts to the most famous color in the format by a long shot. To contrast the two, the White edition referenced and strategized over 90 Classic/Legacy-relevant cards. Would you believe that Blue would more than triple that!? Everyone knew it was the best, but dang, maybe Bennie of SCG fame does have reason for his perennial gripes. Blue has an outstanding selection of spells in archetypes of Control and Combo, in draw and disruption, with 2-for-1 attrition spell option aplenty, and multiple 1-card daggers to boot. Even Aggro has its share of undercosted evasive fatties. It's the complete package, and I hope you enjoy its exploration as much as I have.
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Brainstorm – MED2, Ice Age, Promo. This card is just about as synonymous with a basic Island as you can get in the format. It replaces itself, fixes your next two draws, saves critical cards in response to discard, shuffles back cards into the library like Progenitus, puts three permanent counters on Lorescale Coatl, counters spells in conjunction with Counterbalance, fixes your two-card combo with Lim-Dul's Vault, and much more – all at instant speed and at the unbeatable cost of one Blue mana. The cheapest versions run four for a ticket so it's a good idea to collect this staple. |
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Counterbalance – Coldsnap; uncommon. There are some cards you don't run less than four of in a deck (unless perhaps as a tutor target) and this is one of them. People take its redundancy in multiples as an excuse to run three copies only, and they either don't find it, or it is handled without backup. This is the backbone of all Legacy-based Blue Control lists. I've probably beaten it more times than anyone else, but only because I make Aggro decks out of total abject fear of this card, sneaking in as many ways to access Krosan Grip, Engineered Explosives, and Vexing Shusher as possible into my lists. Combined with Sensei's Divining Top, this duo can lock up games like nothing else in the format. Get your set for around three tickets. |
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Daze – Jace vs. Chandra; common. This goes straight into Merfolk and any combo deck with access to islands as they seek to counteract the opponent's disruption. If you want to play competitive Blue decks, it's hard to imagine not having access. Supposedly common, the ten tix per copy it will run you is enough to make your head spin. Still, if you can wait a couple of years, it'll have a normal online set release where copies will sell for pennies. |
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Flash – Mirage; rare. I consider this the main competition, with Tinker, for the honor of "best card in the format". If you're new to eternal formats, the wording on this card got changed back to its original text, which allowed a combo with Protean Hulk for any number of degenerate kills, winning sometimes on your opponent's upkeep before either of you has even drawn a card. It got a much deserved emergency banning in Legacy and is rightly restricted in Classic. It's still a powerhouse – just go to classicquarter.com/decks to find some powerful lists. Quickly find yours for around four tickets. |
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Force of Will – MED1; rare. Called the "glue that holds the format together," this free-spell serves as the number one check against broken combo decks. One can never assume that just because a player taps out that they have no relevant response to your action. The sad news for the format is that its most critical card costs over fifty tickets each (the good news is that it used to be over seventy). It's certainly a barrier for entering the format, but not an insurmountable one. Would you rather outlay all your money in the FoW basket, or spread the gravy across multiple decks, as in dual lands or key role players? On principal, I would go with duals, but many people are predicting a large influx of Legacy players from paper Magic as the formats synch up meaning you'll lose a lot on Force if you act later rather than sooner. Tough call. |
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Intuition – Tempest; rare. This has two critical advantages over the comparable Gifts Ungiven, namely: 1) one mana cheaper, and 2) can get any unrestricted card for sure (fetch three copies of the same card) whereas Gifts requires four distinct card names. This is great in any number of decks but two cards that stand above the rest in association are Demigod of Revenge and Life from the Loam. At the very worst, this is a three-mana, instant speed Demonic Tutor; at best (more likely), it's putting 2-3 different cards from your deck exactly where you want them. At only seven tix each, consider this a steal; grab them before they rise. |
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Mana Drain – MED3; rare. The marquee card of its set, it is impossible to construct an optimal Blue control deck without this piece. Yes, it's Counterspell, but the mana it generates allows the offense to accelerate earlier and with more backup. Mana Drain or money drain? At around 75 tickets, don't empty the wallet for the playset unless you like controlling archetypes. |
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Mystical Tutor – FtV: Exiled, Mirage; uncommon. Best friend of Combo decks with access to Blue. It's a staple for Flash, Ad Nauseam, Natural Order, Orim's Chant, and Brain Freeze combos and can also dig up Tinker. Somehow, this has remained unrestricted, providing five or more copies of the format's best bombs. Needless to say, probe the message boards for your playset, even at four tickets apiece – it's well worth it. |
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Pact of Negation – Future sight; rare. It's humorous to think there are counterspells out there better than Force of Will, but as far as Combo decks like Ad Nauseam Storm or Flash are concerned, it's not even a contest. The best combo decks, admittedly, usually find room for both, especially considering that this can pitch. You can start with 2-3 copies, but you will often want all four which will run around thirteen tix. |
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Ponder – An efficient deck manipulation tool, this has already met the Vintage restricted list. It usually plays second fiddle to Brainstorm in Classic, but that’s good enough to see play. It often competes against Duress and/or Thoughtseize for deck space with the age-old question of disruption vs. abetting your own game plan. Given the high power level of Classic, I usually favor Duress effects, but it may depend on how much I have to respect my Blue spell count for Force of Will purposes. At a nickel each, you should obviously consider a playset. |
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Standstill – Odyssey; uncommon. Obviously a great card, but I think it gets more mileage than it deserves. The principal two combos are with Aether Vial or manlands like Mishra's Factory, which allow creatures to come into play unmolested to the point that the opponent is forced to give you the three cards, exacerbating his situation. The problems? Unlike other draw spells, it's a dead card in catch-up mode. Combo decks have strong potential to simply build up and overwhelm the Standstill player when they do go off. Aggro decks can simply draw-go for awhile, cast an instant during the opponent's end-of-turn step, forcing the Standstill player to discard the extra cards he just drew. It's a staple of Merfolk decks and sees play in Fish and Blue Control decks of several varieties. They run three tickets each, but are probably still worth it as most players play against it badly. |
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Stifle – Scourge; rare. Counter target triggered or activated ability – the whole format is a long string of triggered and activated abilities – and this is the all-purpose tool to handle everything. A brief litany: counter target Fetchland search, counter otherwise lethal storm card, counter Pernicious Deed, counter Lion's Eye Diamond (after they've discarded their hand, buy a turn vs. Belcher or Grindstone combo. You get the picture. A good disruption deck, for example, Merfolk, will always run 2-3 of these in the 75 to good effect. They're five tickets each at present and not coming down. You never need these, but they're oh-so-good. |
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Tinker – FtV: Exiled; rare. Oh, how do I break thee? Let me count the ways. This card is just stupid: not only is it a respectable tutor, it totally ignores the rule that we have to pay mana costs in Magic for the cards we put into play. When you start talking free Inkwell Leviathan or Darksteel Colossus, it gets ridiculous. It also gets Helm of Obedience when Leyline of the Void is in play for an instant win. Debatably the best card in the format, fix up your binder with one (it's restricted) for just four tix. |
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Trinket Mage – Fifth Dawn; common. I have a love/hate relationship with this tutor – as in, obviously, I love it when I get to play with it and hate it when my opponents do; it's just that good. It slides into any deck in Blue, fetching half of a Counterbalance lock with Sensei's Divining Top, or Phyrexian Dreadnought for some sick beats, or Engineered Explosives to throw back Zoo, not to mention great metagame hosers like Pithing Needle or Chalice of the Void. Zoo has to waste a burn spell on it too. Heck, I've even played it in Zoo for a couple of top 8 appearances. What's not to like about this card?! Definitely grab a set for two tickets; the format is getting a little fast for it, but once Legacy gets off the ground, it'll be a prime threat once again. |
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Ancestral Vision – Jace vs. Chandra, Time Spiral; rare. The game's most powerful card on a four-turn layaway plan is still good enough for Classic. Some Control decks are interested, and it has made some appearances in Flash against Control, but it really shines in the Dream Halls deck where it functions as an equivalent to its absentee older brother. Probably not a bad investment at two tickets each, but I wouldn't pay much more either. |
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Body Double – Planar Chaos; rare. Nothing much exciting here except that some Flash decks use it as a singleton in a kill mechanism involving Reveillark. Flash decks playing it safe run two copies, in case they accidentally draw one. Get your pair for a ticket.
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Brain Freeze – Scourge; uncommon. This is a fun way to punish the overaggressive Storm decks; simply use their own Storm count against them, especially when used with Cunning Wish. Word of warning though: it has to be used in response to a draw spell or action, for example, in the Elf mirror, when they cast a late creature with a Glimpse of Nature in effect. It is also used as the main win condition for High Tide and Sensei, Sensei decks. Some GAT decks, especially in Vintage, look to this card as an alternate win condition. A set will run around ten tickets, but I'd try to get at least one copy in the short term for tutoring purposes.
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Breakthrough – Torment; uncommon. Just a fabulous addition to the Dredge deck, and I opine that anything less than all four copies denotes a deficient list. For one mana, it draws four cards which in reality means, Dredge for about 20, fueling the broken turn, then it discards the hand putting Bridge from Below or Cabal Therapy or similar cards exactly where you prefer them. Knock up a set of four for a couple of tix.
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Careful Study – Odyssey; common. This is a Reanimator deck's best friend. Mostly seen in Legacy Dredge decks due to its dominance, it possibly makes a higher percentage of Dragon or Madness decks, though those are obviously mostly antiques at this point. Will Classic Bazaar of Baghdad-fueled Dredge decks still run this? The early returns indicate that yes, redundancy is still good since that is an integral action for the deck's success. You should be able to acquire a playset for 1.5 tickets.
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Chain of Vapor – Onslaught; uncommon. What a gem – for one mana you get to take out whatever poopy permanent that was preventing you from winning the game. Dredge decks want this to take out Leyline of the Void, for example. An even better case is a player with a combo in play like Painter's Servant and Grindstone, but can't go off because of an opposing Pithing Needle. He then casts Chain, vaporizing the Needle, and then in response to his opponent's Chain copy, plays Grindstone's effect. Bottom line – best bounce spell ever printed for this format. You will probably play 2-3, but a set runs under a ticket regardless.
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Cunning Wish – Promo, Judgment; rare. Certainly in results, this Wish has met with some rough times. The M10 rules changes basically banished it from the Flash decks where it used to be a means to get back the namesake card against opponents competent enough to exile it (note, they've said they may go back to the previous functionality on the Wishes). It also played a strong role in Blue-base Control decks, but they seem to be moving on. I wonder if it can't be used in Elves of all places: several versions play Brain Freeze anyways and it may give additional access to Krosan Grip. The High Tide deck which hasn't made its presence felt online yet, also regularly employs a Wish-board. At a mere two tickets each, it really makes sense to be picking these up slowly but surely.
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Cursecatcher – Shadowmoor; uncommon. The first of several Merfolk deck staples listed here at this level, it's actually in my mind the most tenuous as both second-stringers Tidal Warrior and Rootwater Diver don't need much help to take some maindeck reps. Regardless, Cursecatcher can fatefully delay combo decks and add extra value to late-game Dazes. From there, its value is more-or-less proportionate to the number of Lords in play. The set will run you about a half ticket.
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Echoing Truth – Darksteel; common. In general, I'm more of a Chain of Vapor man myself, though this has a little more application versus Dredge's Zombie tokens. This card just sees a metric ton of play in anything that taps Islands. I'd appreciate it if the forum denizens with more experience with the card can comment as to the general guidelines on how to prefer one bounce spell over another, all things being equal. Get your four copies for a ticket.
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Gush – Jace vs. Chandra; common. Inspiration isn't even playable in Standard usually and this even costs {1} extra, what's more, but its alternate casting cost delivers the goods. The Gro decks always run a playset of these where they especially shine after an opponent's Wasteland activation. If you were going to miss your land drop anyway, this, in effect, only bounces one land, and you get an extra mana from replaying it as well! Cough up the fifteen tix for the set of these if you're at all interested in Aggro-Control.
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Hurkyl’s Recall – 10th Edition; rare. With the recent additions of Inkwell Leviathan (via Tinker), the upsurge of artifact mana due to Strip Mine and Wasteland, and the increase in Painter Stone and Tezzeret decks, this card will soon become a format all-star, all the more so in Cunning Wish decks. It can easily set the opponent back several turns, and though a gamble, may be maindeck worthy. Your friend’s Affinity deck give you problems? Nope. Remember to procure 1-2 copies at just a half-ticket each.
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Hydroblast – MED1; common. What's not to like about this card? It defeats red decks with brutal efficiency. Admittedly, it will compete for sideboard space with Chill for that honor, but in general, I prefer this since you know what you're getting no matter what stage of the game it may be. You shouldn't wait until the heat of the moment to chalk up your playset, which shouldn't run more than two tix.
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Inkwell Leviathan – Conflux; rare. Frankenstein's monster for Dr. Tinker. Unless you've been under a rock for the last month, you've seen this card inserted randomly into tons of lists since his mere presence lurking somewhere in the library is a 3-turn unstoppable clock against most decks. Not a bad Plan B for a 2-card, 3-mana combo that only requires one of the cards in hand. Get two copies (sometimes you'll play a backup) for around a quarter.
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Lord of Atlantis – 7th Edition, Timeshifted; rare. Uhh, what's there to say about this guy? Even the beginner readily understands he makes your other Merfolk better and he works really well in conjunction with Aether Vial – play four. I guess one word of caution would be to remind other players about opposing Mutavaults that people have been sneaking into lists precisely to piggyback the Lord's ability. A set will run five tickets, and considering the deck's success, is a great investment.
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Meditate – Tempest; rare. To tell the truth, the only surprising aspect about this card is that it hasn't been abused more. "Draw four" – good enough for Uno, and good enough for Magic. That whole line about skipping your next turn is probably not a sufficient drawback in any case, but the fact that most decks playing this won't even have a next turn makes this ridiculous. In Legacy, it is a High Tide deck staple given that deck's abundant mana. In Vintage, it has seen some play in Mana Drain Combo/Control decks usually with Mystic Remora, but I wonder if Classic doesn't have even better options. Other potential partners in crime are Necropotence, Dream Halls, Mind's Desire, and Flash.
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Merrow Reejerey – Lorwyn; uncommon. [CTRL + Z], like Lord of Atlantis, play four. Athos, is there anything else to be said about this card?
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Mind's Desire – Scourge; rare. Banned in Legacy, restricted in Vintage, Classic has unfettered access to all four copies of this monster. This is a really cool aspect for aspiring deckbuilders looking to leave a name for themselves. It's basically a given to start off with three in the main, and one in the Burning Wish board, but which tutors and accelerants and anti-anti-Storm removal cards you wish to employ from there makes for interesting choices. Non-dedicated Desire decks like Ad Nauseam and Belcher have also toyed with the card as well. At the absurdly low price of 3.5 tickets each, now is the time to buy.
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Narcomoeba – Future Sight; uncommon. I've always been in admiration at how well tailored a card can be for a deck. It's Dredge fodder for three key spells: Dread Return, Bridge from Below, and Cabal Therapy. I even had an embarrassing loss in a Combo mirror where I somehow took twenty from mononuclear beatdown. J The set will run around a half-ticket.
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Silvergill Adept – Lorwyn; uncommon. Yet another Merfolk staple x4. Basically you get at least a 3/2 beater for two mana that replaces itself. Those kinds of stats drive attrition decks bonkers. He might be a good candidate to side out vs. combo decks or decks sporting multiple Engineered Plagues, depending on how many relevant cards you can bring in.
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Sower of Temptation – Lorwyn; rare. This is a great Aggro-Control card against Aggro and the mirror, and good enough against Control as well. Its weakness against Combo might relegate it to the sideboard, and its casting cost to 2-3 copies max, but when it does come online, it packs a punch. It needs a solid mana base to ensure it doesn't sit in your hand, so this works better in Bant, Baseruption, or Merfolk, as opposed to Fish which are generally stingier with the mana. The prices are dropping on this, and now is the time to pick it up before Extended picks back up.
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Spell Snare – Dissension; uncommon. A card I like a lot, nevertheless my intuition tells me this card's stock is falling for the current Classic. Decks are speeding up, looking more like Vintage than Legacy. Tinker can blow games out of the water at any moment, and you would hate your lone counterspell in your hand not be able to deal with it. The recent addition of Mana Drain is assuredly crowding it out further as well. Spell Snare was always a percentages card anyways; and instead of three copies per deck, it might be down to one with 2-3 in the board to meet that traditional spread out aggro metagame.
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Spellstutter Sprite – Lorwyn; common. One of my favorite cards in the game, this is Spell Snare for one-mana spells, though sometimes you can ride it for two (hello, Mutavault!). It hits for evasive damage to sneak in a Ninja, it's leftover fodder for Mistbind Clique, and perhaps most importantly, it can pick up an Umezawa's Jitte. The synergies start to enter Counterbalance potential when you mix in Riptide Laboratory. It goes straight in Faeries, Fish, Ninjas, Wizards, Merfolk – an Aggro-Control player's dream.
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Thoughtcast – Mirrodin; common. Turning one mana into an extra card is pretty insane. If only the Affinity mana base were so easy... Those decks always run four; it'll cost you a ticket.
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Threads of Disloyalty – Betrayers of Kamigawa; rare. Control Magic is simply one of the cruelest cards ever printed, and this saves a mana on the original. Aggro decks can't usually afford to fall prey to 2-for-1s like Threads due to the card loss and the tempo loss. Though not reusable, it's miles faster than Vedalken Shackles. Basically, it gets Tarmogoyf and that's the bottom line. Question for Thresh players: if this were in your sideboard, would you bring this in against a deck with four Goyfs and no other creatures? If so, how many? Let us know in the comments. Three copies is probably optimal, and that purchase will run around five tickets.
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Arcane Laboratory – 7th Edition; uncommon. Many of the formats’ best decks employ multiple spells per turn, even very early. It nixes Stifle/Nought, quashes Storm strategies, and retards Elves. Fish decks and other decks employing tutors with even minimal access to Blue will want a singleton copy in their sideboards for tutor purposes. This is more durable than Ethersworn Canonist and usually better than its White analogue, Rule of Law, since it is pitchable to Force of Will. My diagnosis would be to pick up a single copy for under a quarter, with more to come later if those types of decks utterly dominate. |
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Cephalid Sage – Torment; uncommon. Even though his stats look reject-pile worthy, this is a minor bomb in the Dredge deck, making people's lists more often than not. If you can return this via Dread Return it allows you to transfer the rest of your library to the graveyard and win on the spot most of the time (not so much if your Flame-Kin Zealot was one of your bottom three cards perhaps. Whatever, it sets up the win next turn with a bunch of Zombie tokens. I'd get two copies for a quarter. |
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Chill – Tempest; uncommon. This is more of an all-in approach to beating Red decks. Since I'm not sure that amount of dedication is necessary, I usually prefer the more consistent Hydroblast for that slot. Chill kind of sucks if you're on the draw without acceleration. It also makes for a decently miserable seventh turn topdeck. Hydroblast always saves 3-4 damage no matter when it is drawn; Chill only buys time. Chill is for decks with acceleration or tutors (double Chill is, admittedly, pretty unforgiving) and don't plan on sticking around for awhile. Having a good Wasteland plan is helpful here, as well. At a quarter each, appropriate the set. |
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Deep Analysis – Torment; common. Four-for-one card advantage is pretty sexy. What usually happens is that it gets dumped in the yard somehow for free Dredge and becomes a two-for-none instead. If fits into so many decks like Dredge, Dragon, Madness, Control decks, etc. It's pretty deadly in the Control mirror, without a doubt. At around a half-ticket each, I would look to start with two at first, and then get the others as needed. |
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Disrupt – Weatherlight, Invasion; common. This is probably better in Classic than it will be in Legacy: the more powerful sorceries we get, the better Disrupt gets. The neat thing about this card is that unlike Daze/Force Spike, you can ride your own Brainstorm, for example, for two mana to cycle it should it be obsolete. That's not ideal, but making flexible decks pays off. I think of it as more of an all-or-nothing card however – either the metagame is such that you expect to get value out if it (if so, run four copies) or you don't (run zero as it's too risky). A set will run you a buck fifty. |
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Divert – Odyssey; rare. This card's stock has been climbing recently as a decent antidote for Combo decks looking for a flexible sideboard card. Against Pox it can redirect Thoughtseize or Hymn to Tourach or Vindicate. Against Burn it counters a 3-4 damage spell which is what Hydroblast would have done anyway. It can piggyback draw spells and I've switched targets on an artifact destruction spell with it as well. Yes, it loses steam in the long games, but Combo decks don't plan to be there. A set will likely cost you 5-6 tickets and might be rising. |
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Dream Halls – Stronghold; rare. The ultimate evaluation of this combo-enabler is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say, that it has vast potential and actual recorded Classic top 8 showings. The main idea is to quickly accelerate into this card and then play as many obscene, backbreaking cards for free as possible like Conflux, Cruel Ultimatum, Progenitus, and perhaps Time Stretch. At four tix each this card is a strong investment since it's unlikely to fall in value and has more than an outside shot at quadrupling in price if a solid list can one day be found. |
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Fact or Fiction – Theme Deck, Jace vs. Chandra, Invasion; uncommon. Once an all-star of all formats, earning multiple in-depth articles solely for its discussion, the numbers can't be denied: FoF is losing its appeal. Nowadays, it makes a guest appearance in Team America or Mono-Blue Control decks, but those decks themselves are uncommon. As a practical point, beginners might do better with this card than similar card advantage options like Jace Beleren which might see one tap out at the wrong time, Gifts Ungiven which requires a lot of play skill and strategic decision-making, or Thirst for Knowledge which requires more precise deckbuilding skills. At ten tickets for a set, you can start off by purchasing one or two and determining for yourself if it's still good or not; I recommend the JvC version for some cool art. |
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High Tide – MED1; rare. Perhaps you remember Mana Flare back when Magic was still in diapers, or its more modern equivalent, Heartbeat of Spring. This is the same effect, but trades in permanency for a two-mana reduction. That makes it Classic-worthy. It really gets abused with the free spells from Urza's block released throughout next year. Given that, it only makes sense to speculate on a whole playset of these (or much more) for under a mere ticket. |
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Jace Beleren – M10, Jace vs. Chandra, Lorwyn; mythic. Making regular appearances these days in the U/W Control deck, this Planeswalker is a self-contained, hard-to-remove card advantage machine. Sure, it needs time, but such a deck is designed to give it plenty. Snag one, maybe two, for your collection if you like Control decks, even if it runs upwards of five tix each. |
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Master of Etherium – Shards of Alara; rare. This has been a popular pickup for Affinity in an already crowded list. He's huge, he makes your other guys huge, and he only costs 3. Debatably the best lord ever printed. Pick up 4 for around six tickets, but design constraints may reduce him to 2-3 copies. |
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Mind Harness – Mirage; uncommon. I've played a lot of Zoo decks in my time, and I've always been impressed by this gem usually played out of the sideboards of U/G Control decks like Thresh (the Black ones usually opt for Engineered Plague instead). For about a month this summer, Zoo was the number one performing deck (and probably the most prevalent as well). While Thresh generally needs to stall on even terms until its power cards come online, this dagger actually generates tempo and card advantage for the low price of one mana. You can assemble a set for under a quarter. |
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Opt – Invasion; common. See also Peek, below. This functions as a cycler for one mana with all the benefits cycling entails. It's stapled to deck manipulation which is a great ability. It's no Brainstorm, but even at the next best thing is well-deserving of deck space in any number of decks, like GAT, Thresh, and High Tide. As far as commons go, it's a bit expensive, but a set still runs only around .75 and is still good value. |
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Parasitic Strix – Conflux; common. Basically, the best gift the Aluren deck ever received, the buck stops with this bird. With Aluren out, it pairs with Cavern Harpy for an infinite life and infinite damage combo (ok, loss of life). All that remains is assembling the pieces. It's common, so grab four. |
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Predict – This has been a near-staple of Legacy Thresh decks. For two mana, at instant speed, three cards go into your graveyard, and it replaces itself. If you've previously cast Brainstorm or have a Sensei's Divining Top in play, you've just won a free card. The fact that it serves as a 2-mana Dismiss to an opponent's Vampiric Tutor or a Dismiss plus a second free card against their Enlightened Tutor or Mystical Tutor is pure gravy. I suspect these can clog up the hand so you're probably only looking to play, on average, two of them in the deck, but at a nickel apiece, might as well grab the set. |
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Propaganda – Tempest; uncommon. Blue Control decks will get some mileage out of this since they have the counterspell backup to ensure it sticks against Dredge decks (and they would otherwise be quite vulnerable to Dredge), and redundant copies can be pitched easily enough to Force of Will. It's solid against other Aggro decks too like Goblins or Merfolk, or even the Sliver kill of the Flash deck. I'm a big fan of spells that turn off huge swaths of cards, and this is as close to Moat as Blue gets. I'd advertise for at least three copies for around two tix. |
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Reset – MED3; rare. Like High Tide, this is a staple of the Solidarity deck, keeping the mana plentiful and building up a Storm count for an eventual lethal Brain Freeze. You could probably score that playset for three tickets. |
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River Kelpie – Shadowmoor; rare. The debate rages on the best maindeck Dread Return targets in Dredge. One Flame-Kin Zealot is a given, but after that? Another Zealot? This? Sadistic Hypnotist? Cephalid Sage? Angel of Despair? I've got an open mind on the subject, but Kelpie is not my gut choice. That debate is probably good for a new classicquarter.com forums thread. Anyways, your singleton will cost you a dime. |
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Thirst for Knowledge – Promo, Mirrodin; uncommon. Blue Control decks, especially Tezzeret, always will consider this highly efficient draw spell, being a critical mana cheaper than Fact or Fiction, often trading itself and a dead card for three new cards at three mana and instant speed. A set will only run you two tickets so go retrieve one now. |
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Vendilion Clique – Morningtide; rare. The format is speeding up a little too much for him now, but once we get Legacy, it'll be right back at home in midrange decks like Baseruption, Bant, and Thresh. It's three power evasion for three mana which also takes away your best card – works for me. Don't set a stop for your opponent's draw step until you are ready, otherwise you are sending a needless tell. The card still runs around four tix each; the rotation will hopefully half that. Get a set in a couple of weeks, and sell off 1-2 copies during Extended season. |
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Wake Thrasher – Eventide; rare. Despite becoming 100% better with the M10 rules changes regarding mana burn, his portfolio among Merfolk aficionados has declined. This can be attributed to Merfolk Sovereign in the continuing war on Engineered Plague, but I suspect he has also ceded some spots to more disruption, like an extra Stifle or Spell Snare in a world where combo is picking up. At five tickets each, you have an another consideration to wait. |
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Winged Sliver – Tempest; common. One of the lesser Slivers due to its redundancy in multiples (so consider only running three copies), it's a staple nonetheless. Indeed, those multiples make for good Force of Will fodder. Weaker against control decks, they can help the army eat up chunks of life quickly against opposing creature strategies however. The set won't even run a half-ticket. |
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Wipe Away – Time Spiral; uncommon. If you're going to do a job, might as well make do it right. There's probably been more than one combo deck, which could have gone off if it hadn't been for that one permanent, that tried to remove it with Chain of Vapor or Echoing Truth, only to see it countered, and proceed to lose the game with a whimper. No ifs, no buts with this card. Slower Control decks may appreciate this card as well if they weren't planning to bounce things early anyways and expect mana not to be a problem later in the game; all the more so if they have to recover from a Counterbalance mirror. A nickel apiece, but you probably only need two copies max. |
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Cold-Eyed Selkie – See upcoming article on Multicolored cards. |
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Counterspell – 7th Edition, Jace vs. Chandra, MED2, Tempest; common. Even a little experience with the format will help the novice to quickly evaluate this iconic card. As nasty as this would be in Standard, meeting backbreaking 4+ casting-cost spells for the meager payment of {U}{U}, Classic doesn't work that way. Even assuming the spell can be countered at all, Classic can put out must-counter spells at one mana or play multiple key spells a turn. That makes CS only situationally good, which doesn't cut it for Classic-based Control. Sure, hedge bet 1-2 copies perhaps for likely value, but playing the whole set is too optimistic in that it will always be the right card at the right time. Also, clearly don't forget that Mana Drain is just strictly better, albeit far more expensive on the wallet. I love the JvC edition here: at .75 each, the gorgeous artwork is worth the extra quarter. |
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Cryptic Command – Promo, Lorwyn; rare. This has received little attention in Classic, but is not an irregular role player in Legacy decks. It's a natural fit in High Tide decks, serving multiple roles at once and usually paying for itself. Mono-Blue Control decks should certainly consider 1-2 copies at the top of the curve to fix whatever needs fixing given an unpredictable field. Wait until the upcoming rotation for the price to fall, but then arrest those two copies for hopefully less then eight tickets. |
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Diminishing Returns – MED1; rare. This card costs one Blue mana more than Timetwister, a card banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage. There's no doubting its power as a reset button, especially if you had been able to unload your original hand on the cheap, but it needs to find a deck home. So far, Belcher Storm is the only deck that has really embraced it, but, even then, only as a Burning Wish singleton in the sideboard. It may not work out, but I'd really like to see this card explored more fully. At a mere half-ticket, definitely don't shortchange your collection. |
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Etherium Sculptor – Shards of Alara; common. Even though I'm like the only person to ever take this card to a top 8 placing, this is my article so I can give it the two stars if I want to. J I used it as the principal engine of an Affinity deck where it turns a lot of spells into freebies. If you can dump this on turn 1 via Mana Crypt, you can often empty your entire hand, and perhaps draw some extra cards to boot. I paired it with the Painter's Servant/Grindstone combo which reduced the combo from 6 mana to 4 mana, enabling some nice surprises. Another interesting inherent combo is Sensei, Sensei where this functions identically to Helm of Awakening. It's also Blue which is useful for Force of Will builds. Get your set for around a half-ticket. |
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Extract – Odyssey; rare. I was using this in a recent tournament as sideboard bullet to combat the Flash deck. One round I get that matchup, and as things went, I Thoughtseize him on turn one, don't see Flash, and turn 2, I use Vampiric Tutor during my upkeep for Extract and cast it – no Flash in his library – he had miraculously topdecked that card on his turn and eventually beat me. Normally, however, this is a fine way to beat one of the format's most powerful decks, and will get more powerful the more broken the format becomes. Take out one for a ticket. |
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Flash of Insight – Judgment; uncommon. This card is found in most of the Legacy High Tide lists as well as in several Vintage Oath decks, for reasons which I admit to not fully grasping (feel free to chime in the forums!). Sure, it's a reusable tutor, but not one that works a hundred percent. At four cents each though, collect a set, even though 1-2 copies are all that is usually played. |
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Force Spike – 7th Edition, MED3, Promo; common. Though largely replaced by Daze these days, some people, especially in Merfolk decks, have tried out a set of each. To my mind you risk the opponent playing around and thus stranding the cards, but in conjunction with (potentially Vialed in) Cursecatchers, the extra payments really do start to add up. Feel free to experiment as its price is negligible. |
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Gifts Ungiven – FtV: Exiled, Champions of Kamigawa; rare. At four mana, this tutor-slash-card-drawer is kept largely in check, though being restricted in Vintage should remind us of its potential. It has my vote for being the most skill-intensive card in the game, forcing critical decisions in deckbuilding, sideboarding, board tactics, and strategic planning. Since it might take an expert to harness its vast power, beginners may want to check out other options. It shows up every once in awhile as a nice Control deck tutor, especially if it can abuse its so-called drawback by dumping cards into the graveyard that are actually more valuable there than in the hand. Even in this role, Intuition is likely better a lot of the time. You probably will want a maximum of two copies in your decks, which will run around four tickets. |
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Kira, Great Glass-Spinner – Betrayers of Kamigawa; rare. This is a decent option as a singleton for Blue Aggro-Control decks like Merfolk, Bant, and Fish, basically turning itself into a 2-for-1, dealing evasive damage, and protecting more powerful spells like Tarmogoyf. With an active Aether Vial, it can even serve as a counterspell in a lucky circumstance. I tend to favor cards like Sower of Temptation slightly more, but it doesn't hurt to have so many great options. It seems a little overpriced at 1.75 each, if the budget is a concern. |
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Leyline of Singularity – Guildpact; rare. It's no Leyline of the Void, but the ubiquitous Dredge decks are going to have an awful hard time fighting Leylines #5-8 out of the board entering play for zero mana. The fact that it does a number of various Elf deck plans (Squirrel Nest, Wirewood Hivemaster) is pure gravy. You can get the whole set for around a buck fifty, a safe investment whose stock is rising. |
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Llawan, Cephalid Empress – Torment; rare. Several Merfolk lists, should they decide to specialize for the mirror, usually go for Seasinger. However, I don't see how that remotely compares to Mrs. Llawan which just ends the game. Blue decks with creatures are basically entirely Blue, or have untargetable creatures like Progenitus or Inkwell Leviathan. In both cases, the Empress wins by a mile. It should be a Classic rule that the first player to play this against Athos has to quote his reaction on the cq.com forums. Any deck that can for/cheat her into play should consider her. Rein in one to two copies at around a half-ticket each. |
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Man-o'-War – Theme Deck, Jace vs. Chandra, Visions; common. Know what's cool? Jellyfish in Spanish is 'Medusa', and there's no denying the resemblance. Oh, you're here for Magic theory? This is a perfect fit for the Aluren deck, which makes this a free-spell and can be nicely tutored for with Imperial Recruiter and bounced by Cavern Harpy for second helpings. Though not a critical piece anywhere else, it's far from subpar. Nose around for a set that will run you about one ticket. |
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Merfolk Sovereign – M10; rare. For a card that was belittled for power reasons, it already has 26 appearances in placing lists in Classic and Legacy. It's another tool to fight Engineered Plague and it can sneak in the final damage vs. non-Island decks (though Tidal Warrior serves a similar role for less mana). I'm not sure how crucial that role is, but it's hard to argue away its successes. Probably analogous to the 23rd card in your limited deck, so imbibe no more than a pair for now at around a half-ticket total. |
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Mistbind Clique – Lorwyn; rare. Legacy only, obviously, but this is a card I can get behind as a singleton (maybe two copies) for the burgeoning Faerie deck. It trumps a removal spell, taps out the opponent, and beats for four with evasion – that's a lot of upside for the four-mana cost which a good attrition deck can normally ensure. At thirty-five cents a copy, I'd try to snag a couple. |
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Mulldrifter – Theme Deck, Jace vs. Chandra, Lorwyn; common. This made a couple of top 8s already in a cute Living Death deck. As a creature who simply needed to enter play, it was the right guy for the job. It also sees occasional play in the Legacy deck Faerie Stompy, which should be considered when we split formats. Chase down a set if you can for around a quarter; excellent for your pauper collection. |
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Mystic Remora – MED1; uncommon. One of the cheapest ways to win the control mirror, the single blue mana can ensure lots of land drops and lots of card draw in general. Warning: don't run this card without Force of Will backup. Control decks certainly have other options, but at less than a nickel apiece, you should lock up that playset. |
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Raven Familiar – Theme Deck; uncommon. Almost universally adopted in the Aluren combo deck, it is played there for free and searches the library. If you have access to Cavern Harpy, you can basically draw your entire deck with this guy. If you’re unwilling to splurge for the whole Theme Deck set at $20 and can’t find one elsewhere, you might try the almost-as-good Court Hussar in that slot. |
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Repeal – Guildpact; common. The attrition deck's bounce spell, something you might like for the aggro-control mirror. It's not that these decks need the removal per se, as much as they are fighting for tempo without relinquishing card advantage. Blue-Control, Thresh, Fish, etc. should all look towards testing this option over Echoing Truth. Given the latter's appeal versus Dredge decks, now is probably not the time, but that could change with the metagame. The more options we get online, the faster the games become, the more Repeal gains in value. In two years, this could easily be the go-to option for all these decks. |
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Rushing River – Planeshift; common. This card sees a ton of play, but I don't like my bounce spells to cost me extra mana and extra lands (especially if this spell gets countered). In general, I'd rather have Repeal almost all the time. This is probably too slow to deal with combo decks, and against creature decks, I'd rather run other options. If you swear by this card, please drop a note in the forums to help me see what angle I'm missing. It's cost is negligible, so grab a playset. |
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Scion of Oona – Lorwyn; rare. As with Mistbind Clique above, this will be a role player after the Legacy split. It's a faux-counterspell and evasive Lord rolled up in one. Even at three mana, these are good stats. With Lorwyn prices tanking, try to grab a set now for under three tickets. |
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Somber Hoverguard – Mirrodin; common. Most Affinity adherents would probably consider the Hoverguard to be a fine threat, but there just isn't enough space to run it given all the other powerful threats. Out of the dozens of flavors of Affinity, however, two approaches clearly want the Hoverguard: one is Erayo Affinity which tries to activate (Erayo, Soratami Adept) as quickly as possible, and the other needs enough Blue spells to justify Force of Will's inclusion. And hey, another card that gets past the Moat has to carry extra consideration these days. Cheap common – get four. |
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Swans of Bryn Argoll – See upcoming article on Multicolored cards. |
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Sygg, River Cutthroat – See upcoming article on Multicolored cards. |
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Teferi's Response – Invasion; rare. This card reads: "Destroy target Wasteland/Strip Mine. Draw two cards." 3-for-1 is a lot of card advantage but a lot of top players consider this a trap card – it's hard to say. For one thing, sideboard space is tight, and this is too narrow for maindeck use, even given our Wasteland environment. For another, you have to keep two mana up at all times, and other cards sideboard slots can also readily lead to card advantage without being dependent upon the opponent's draws. The most I can recommend is one copy, to keep the opponent honest and guessing, but extras could be worth exploring. That singleton will run you a half-ticket. |
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Tidal Warrior – Stronghold; common. Classic Merfolk adherents tend to favor Cursecatcher in this spot, and rightly so, given the amount of Combo in the field. They need not be mutually exclusive however, and this could easily function as the 5th or 6th copy of that card. Some Legacy pilots value it even more than Cursecatcher. It does two things well: it provides mana disruption and it "turns on" the islandwalk aspect of Lord of Atlantis, even against non-Island decks (a similar role to Merfolk Sovereign). In a pinch, it might turn the player's own Mutavault into an Island for critical access to Blue mana. Pick up a set for around a quarter. |
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Tidespout Tyrant – Dissension; rare. To be honest, I've never seen this played, even though he has an impressive history in Vintage Oath decks as the Control version's finisher. He seems kind of like Magic's version of Shaq – big imposing dude who swats away your offense and comes rambling down for a haymaker dunk in your face. Also like Shaq, he seems to be nearing the end of his career. Here are his Vintage top 8 performances by year according to deckcheck.net: 2006 – 1, 2007 – 30, 2008 – 49, 2009 – 5. Well, LeBron is coming online in December; I'm agog to know how the Big Aristotle performs in his shadow. |
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Tolarian Winds – 7th Edition; common. This card will still make lists in the Legacy versions of Dredge as Bazaar of Baghdad is banned and Lion's Eye Diamond is not universally accepted as an enabler, especially considering that the latter costs a truckload of tickets each. This one is a common, so seek out the set. |
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Trickbind – Time Spiral; rare. There will be instances when you lose a game because a critical Stifle was countered, but these should be far outweighed by the times when the cheaper Stifle would have been far better. Here's when to favor Trickbind – when it's a sideboard only card, when its raison d'être is mostly to beat Storm decks, and those Storm decks are not featuring any counterspells. That's pretty random – stick with the original, though having 1-2 of these at around .35 won't hurt. |
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Vision Charm – Visions; common. This often gets played as the 5th and 6th copies of Stifle in Legacy decks featuring Phyrexian Dreadnought, allowing his Dreadness to phase out and effectively cheat his way into play. Unlike Legacy, Classic has access to Illusionary Mask which is probably a better option as both it and the Nought can be fetched by Trinket Mage. Still, pick up two copies for a dime. |
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Volrath's Shapeshifter – Stronghold; rare. Nothing doing here at the moment, but this combo piece will soon be reunited in wedded bliss with the Exodus rare, Survival of the Fittest. Survival not only finds the Shapeshifter, but allows an attacking Shapeshifter to adopt the characteristics of whatever card is on top of the graveyard, be it Phyrexian Dreadnought or even (Phage, the Untouchable). I'm wary about that convoluted combo until I see it more in action, but there's definite potential. In the meantime, google "Full English Breakfast" for more details. These guys run a ticket each, I'd try to acquire at least a singleton, but 1-2 copies more won't be amiss. |
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Wonder – Judgment; uncommon. A neat card for the Aggro mirror; it has seen its historical success in UG Madness and Tog, but recently in Bant as well, especially in Legacy where decks have used Survival of the Fittest from Exodus to dump it quite nicely in the graveyard. A singleton will hit a half-ticket, but that's all you need, and you should get some good play out of it eventually. |
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Ambassador Laquatus – 10th Edition, Torment; rare. Secure one of these for a dime as it is a mana sink kill condition for a deck which can make infinite blue mana. Dragon Combo uses him as a singleton, and it’s only a matter of time before another deck comes knocking. |
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Annul – Mirrodin; common. In my mind, there's not enough upside in saving one mana over the hard counters to justify the risks. Wait until Affinity is the #1 deck in Legacy or something… |
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Aquamoeba – Torment; common. Not much to see here – a lesser-played role player in the rare (read: underpowered) UG Madness deck. It facilitates the Madness mechanic and attacks for 3 (sometimes) as a 2-drop. There are other options of comparable level so this doesn't always make the cut. Still, a cheap common, so get the set. |
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Azorius Guildmage – See upcoming article on Multicolored cards. |
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Capsize – Tempest; common. Mono-Blue Control as a deck choice obviously has some legitimacy, but will have difficulties handling permanents. Unsummon is limited to creatures; both it and Boomerang and are 1-shot effects. Repeal replaces itself and Rushing River may douse two permanents but the problem still has the potential to resurface a turn later. Capsize, as clumsy as it is, is at least a permanent, if expensive, option to deal with a problem card. I don't trust its mana commitments, but at least, unlike the other options, it has that potential (especially if your deck has an infinite mana sink).
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Cephalid Illusionist – Part of an 'infinite' life combo deck that doesn't work online since we don't have loop macros. You could spend twenty cents now, banking on the outside chance we get it one day, and that this would still be a worthy option. Yeah, I think not too. |
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Circular Logic – Torment; uncommon. A debatably good counter for the debatably bad U/G Madness decks. They're overpriced at close to a ticket each based on past glory. Pass that hype, unless you love trying to resuscitate the dodo. |
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Commandeer – Coldsnap; rare. Back in its Standard career, it made a living by snacking on otherwise unanswerable hell-bent Demonfires. Nothing much has changed; think of it as a Force of Will with a forced but very situational upgrade – your second discarded card lets you put that card in to play under your control instead of in the opponent's graveyard. That's good tempo, but the downside is that you must be more heavily into Blue, and, of course, the card you counter may not be synergistic with your strategic plan. Its stock will rise as we get more powerful cards in the format. In Vintage, this has teamed up with Mystic Remora to provide fuel for its alternate casting cost. To tell the truth, given its scarcity of product, to get it under a ticket each is kind of a steal; take two. |
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Dovescape – See upcoming article on Multicolored cards. |
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Erayo, Soratami Ascendant – Saviors of Kamigawa; rare. I'm really surprised this hasn't caught on more. Turning it on is not that hard to do and its effect is incredible against regular attrition decks. It's like a Moat for spells, with Force of Will to pick up the pieces. Granted, its six-ticket price tag is enough to scare away deckbuilders who risk throwing away their hard-earned cash on an unproven proposition, but I would like to lay the gauntlet down on the community to give this guy a lift. |
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Esperzoa – Conflux; rare. Sea Drake stats, but the question remains how to best abuse his "drawback". Nothing comes to mind (any suggestions, guys?) so you're reduced to merely paying a minor upkeep by bouncing a 0-1 casting-cost artifact each turn. Something will likely be printed someday to elevate this to regular role player; until then you might consider grabbing a set now since it'll run under a quarter. |
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Fabricate – M10, Mirrodin; uncommon. I have to think this is worse than either Tinker or Intuition about 99.5% of the time, and most Blue combo decks can easily splash for the Black tutors as well. Still, it's cheaper on the wallet (a nickel each), and sometimes a deck wants as many tutors as possible in color. Usually pass. |
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Future Sight – Judgment; rare. In the Sensei, Sensei deck, it combos with Sensei's Divining Top and a cost-reducer like Helm of Awakening to draw your entire library. I don't consider this a critical piece however since two Tops, the Helm, and a Brain Freeze is all that's required. It's also an option for Control decks, albeit an expensive one. It's cheap enough to get a singleton and be content with that. |
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Ideas Unbound – Saviors of Kamigawa; common. Basically decks that want this would prefer the cheaper Careful Study or are Combo decks that should prefer Meditate. Do those decks want redundant copies of those spells? I don't know. You can get a set for a half-ticket if you want to find out. |
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Intruder Alarm – 8th Edition; Stronghold; rare. This has potential in two aspects. First, it can act as 5th and maybe 6th copies of Earthcraft, the white-hot engine of the Elf deck. In Legacy, this is even more crucial since Earthcraft is, in fact, banned. In Elves, more or less infinite mana more or less equates with drawing the entire library that turn, resulting in the W. The second consideration is the combo it can make with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker – mix in any non-Legendary creature and you have infinite hasted copies of that creature. How often have people been checking that combo with each new set that enters the pool? This is enough evidence to warrant gathering a whole set for around four tickets. |
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Mana Short – 7th Edition; rare. If there were a way to recur this, it might aide a mana denial strategy in Legacy. As it is, you can get the much superior Cryptic Command albeit for one Blue mana more, but perhaps they can be played alongside each other as well. Under a ticket each, but probably not worth it. |
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Meloku the Clouded Mirror – Champions of Kamigawa; rare. I would prefer this over Morphling in a Mono-Blue Control deck. Both are slow enough on the offensive end, at least to the point where a slow Control deck won't notice the difference, but Meloku brings a ton of unparalleled defense to the table and usually profitably trades with any removal directed her way. Still, it's just one star, as there are other options, too. If you're not familiar with her, you should try a singleton for less than a half-ticket to get a feel for her potential. |
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Merchant Scroll – 8th Edition; uncommon. In Classic, this card can pick up one of the best combo pieces the game has to offer in Flash. However, most decks already employ multiple other tutors and sometimes multiples of those tutors, and Flash is banned in Legacy. The card is far back in line, and it would somehow take a forced mono-colored approach or a more effective Cunning Wish and/or Brain Freeze result for this to see play. Only get the set since at five cents each, there is no good reason not to. |
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Morphling – Promo; rare. Traditionally, a go-to powerhouse for Mono-Blue Control decks, its current stock portfolio value is up for debate in the dawning Legacy format (Classic has clearly moved on). First question: why mono-Blue? Next: why not Merfolk or incremental advantage cards like Sower of Temptation or the traditional Stifle/Nought combo? Finally, can it enter the battlefield unless you have five mana plus backup? Things have changed, and it's time to skip this, right? |
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Muddle the Mixture – Ravnica; common. An uncounterable tutor for your broken 2-casting cost spells that doubles as a Counterspell? It's narrow, but I hope you admit that it drips potential. What does it grab? Umezawa's Jitte, Painter's Servant, Null Rod, Counterbalance, Tarmogoyf, Isochron Scepter and Oath of Druids to name a few powerful options. That's just my two cents (and Traders' low price!). |
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Ninja of the Deep Hours – Betrayers of Kamigawa; common. This is actually the centerpiece of a Ninja decklist that has made sporadic showings in Legacy with even Higure, the Still Wind at the top of the curve, but I'm not buying. It also gets play in some Fish lists, usually ones that want to disrupt with counterspells over the creatures themselves. Again, I'm not buying, but maybe one day if we land a Fish-style creature with a great enters-the-battlefield effect, I'll listen, since this would allow a replay. A set is under a ticket, but you could probably safely pass here. |
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Old Man of the Sea – MED3; rare. I'll wait for you to clean up that dandruff pile you made from all that head-scratching you did just now. Ready? The potential to remember here is for us to have a Classic environment so powerfully based on sorceries and artifacts that creatures, and more-importantly, creature removal is a thing of the past. This can jump in from the board as your lone creature against the odd creature deck of the opponent to really throw a monkey-wrench in their plans. Classic is not that environment yet, if it ever will be, but like always, keep it in mind. Man up and get four copies for the ticket if you got the spare change. |
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Oona, Queen of the Fae – See upcoming article on Multicolored cards. |
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Patron Wizard – Odyssey; rare. This was one of my favorite cards from Tribal days, but it's generally less powerful than it seems. Each Wizard in play equals a pre-announced Force Spike, so there is no element of surprise, and the mages can't attack very profitably either unless you're willing to weaken the anti-spell defense. They have to survive removal and they need backup. Maybe if something like Seedborn Muse were printed with the Wizard subtype, there might be something to work with here. Not worth the 6+ ticket price tag. |
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Peek – 10th Edition, Odyssey; common. Brainstorm aside, is paying one Blue mana at instant speed to reduce your deck by four cards worth it? You obviously don't want to throw away mana for nothing, but you get a slight increase in consistency (mathematicians- how much?), you get a +1 on the storm count if that's important for the deck, and you get the advantage of whatever effect is stapled on to the card, in this case, knowledge of the opponent's hand. It's a fine balance that deserves more math than I can offer you, but regardless, some High Tide decks play this to supplement the generally superior Opt. Look in bot freebie piles for your playset. |
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Personal Tutor – MED2; uncommon. I remain skeptical about the quality of sorcery-speed, reveal-your-intentions tutors like this or Merchant Scroll, and this one gives you card disadvantage to boot. The only point for this card, at present, is to get Tinker or Balance and too many things can go wrong to justify this card, as strong as those options are. Perhaps in the future, when more broken cards come along… |
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Polymorph – 9th, M10, Mirage; rare. Sure it’s really bad, but anything that can dump Progenitus into play from your library is worth a double glance – it has already made its top 8 premier doing exactly that. At a dime apiece, you can jankify your collection for a couple. |
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Psionic Blast – Timeshifted; purple. Fish decks needing some reach will want to investigate this, all the more so if it seems that it's sufficient creature control to replace Path to Exile. I've played Fish a lot, and I'm not buying, but it's at least theoretically possible that this could be good, and certainly others have played it in that slot. Around a half-ticket each, you could conceivable use up to four, but prioritize this pretty low, in this world of Tombstalkers and Tarmogoyfs. |
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Quicken – Guildpact; rare. I happen to think pretty highly of this mostly forgotten card. For starters, it cycles itself at instant speed for one with all the great benefits that entails, but its ability can be very useful as well. You can cast Tendrils of Agony to steal any kind of Storm mirror, or during the end step of a big Necropotence turn. It saves mana during your main phase for draw, tutor, or win spells if you want to posture a Mana Drain and wait until the coast is clear. Playing something like Braingeyser at instant speed is cool. It's a quarter; of course it's a low priority but two copies should be ample. |
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Remand – Promo, Ravnica; uncommon. Not an integral part of the High Tide deck, but its role is not obsolete there, building up a spell count for little mana and replacing itself. As always it still has the potential to serve as an instant-speed Time Walk, and is fine for a fledgling Classic player on a shoestring budget. Cut corners if you're a control player for a set for around 2 tickets. |
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Sea Drake – MED2; rare. Summoning a 4/3 with evasion for three mana merits discussion, especially when its so-called drawback could be a potential positive. Yet, nowadays, Tarmogoyf is considered a 'Blue' creature, so his cause has become a tough sell. Classic is moving beyond even evasive beatdown, and even if not, Faerie Stompy wants faeries and Fish decks want disruption. So, even though I prefer him at present to his main cheap-flier competition, Serendib Efreet and Esperzoa, I don't know where his home is yet. Maybe he will be a star at exploiting the new Landfall mechanic – time will tell. At a ticket each, punch out a playset when you can, especially if you like nostalgia. |
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Serum Visions – Fifth Dawn; common. Offensively, this is better than Opt or Peek for all but the High Tide decks (which clearly need instant type spells instead). But not that much better, and I think decks get so much more value from leaving an Island untapped even if they have no better option than to use a library manipulation spell, Ponder excepted. You should probably stick to those other options.
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Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir – Time Spiral; rare. Teferi has my vote for coolest Blue card ever printed, despite killing me over and over again from the Teachings Control decks in that era of Standard. Its five mana cost is a lot for even Legacy to not look askance at, but I suppose it's as deadly as ever in the Control mirror. It has teamed up with the famous Isochron Scepter/Orim's Chant combo to basically seal the deal against all hopes of comeback. If High Tide decks ever becomes a factor, I suppose it would be a decent metagame choice due to Reset. Mono-Blue Control decks that like to diversify their few threats could do worse than him at only fifty cents each. |
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Telemin Performance – Conflux; rare. This is a laugh-out-loud card for those who are misfortunate enough to lose to it. It will come out of the sideboard more and more as decks evolve towards Vintage. What it needs is some good acceleration and some tutors, a prescription for Storm decks like Ad Nauseam, or especially those with Burning Wish like Belcher Storm or Mind's Desire. You only need a singleton, and your Storm deck can access it for under a half-ticket. |
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Time Stretch – 10th Edition, Odyssey; rare. If you can find a way to play this for free like with Dream Halls or some kind of Djinn of Wishes variant, perhaps from some future set, it should be hard to lose. I'd try to pick one up for fifty cents, even though it should be a low priority. |
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Trade Routes – 8th, 9th Edition; rare. This is always a potential engine piece and has seen some play with decks featuring High Tide. Worth a dime, acquire one if possible. |
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Twincast – 10th Edition, M10, Saviors of Kamigawa; rare. This card is just itching to become an elite meta-player, but needs the metagame to pick up some more powerful options first. No, sir, that Tendrils kills you (etc.). Not a high priority, but fork out the ticket for a pair when you can. |
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Voidmage Prodigy – Onslaught, Timeshifted; rare. Certainly an annoying option for Fish decks, especially if they're not trying to cheat too much on the mana. Watch out if we ever get a reasonable Wizard token producer! You should probably play 1-2 copies (if any) at close to a quarter each. |
Honorable Mentions
27 Comments
The sign-off somehow got chopped at the end. We'll take a stroll down the dark side next time, but this is getting to be very tiring, so it may be longer than a week. I hope something was useful in here for you. Ben Bentrup (a.k.a. Bazaar of Baghdad)
I tried to put that in bob, and I could not make it happen.
nice stuff again. quick note on gifts ungiven
tho while we lack welder and yawgs will it is used sometimes as a double entomb effect in vintage to ensure only 2 cards you want are binned [by selecting only 2].
lion's eye cannot be stifled it will not use stack .why was serendib so low he is a staple in fae stompy?
Very nice article, BoB. Still, it disgusts me how many powerful cards blue really has when you see the complete list.
Most excellent primer again. Thanks Bob! I am slowly picking up singles here and there to be more competitive in classic-lite (aka 100cs).
5 point burn at the rating.
All is in the title, and i believe i cant imagine the work behind this article as blue has an impressive useful cards count. Big up BoB for this awesome work. Staple article def.
only 1 comment : i think Impulse could be mentioned as it is a decent blue digging tutor with suffle effet.
once again, ty for that incredibly long list !
Here's my new entry for Impulse, one-star:
Impulse – Visions; common. No doubt this card's best days are long gone, it still remains to see what role, if any, this card has to offer. Though inconclusive, I lean towards 'none'. If you're playing a combo deck, a turn-2 Brainstorm sees 5.7% of your deck, while this sees 7.7% instead – a relatively small upgrade compared to a 50% spike in cost. On the other hand, if you're playing a consistent, Control deck – why not Ponder? If you really want to leave Islands untapped at all times, something like Peek makes more sense (besides Brainstorm, obviously). At 3 tickets for the set, this isn't really something I can recommend.
I just wanted to do you the favor of RRRRR.
Yikes - can't believe I forgot Impulse! Seriously, very glad you are there to help me out folks - will add to the master article. That looks like a valuable insight into Gifts as well, will edit. The LED comment is just embarrassing since I've used that card a ton and should know better. Ok, guys, keep the comments coming.
This is so freakin' awesome. I am ecstatic that you are taking the time and effort to put together such a comprehensive eternal format primer.
now ive seen a lot of mention of a sensei,sensei deck... am i right in assuming this is the one where you play and replay tops for free only to storm into something major? If so, this could be made on a fairly cheap budget im assuming?
You're right about the deck idea (2x Sensei's Divining Top + Helm of Awakening + Brain Freeze).
Sensei Sensei is reasonably cheap as far as Classic decks go (especially if you run a mono blue version... except for 4x Force of Will.
Back in Februray, I put Painter/Stone in an affinity shell powered by Etherium Sculptor for two top 8s. I soon realized Etherium Sculptor functions identically to Helm of Awakening. Here is my Sensei, Sensei Affinity starter list that I threw together back then (except it had 4 Demonic Consultations which I reduced to 1). I think it needs a lot of work, but it strikes me as pretty original.
4 Seat of the Synod, 4 Vault of Whispers, 4 Glimmervoid, 4 Ancient Tomb
1 Mana Crypt, 4 Springleaf Drum
1 Demonic Consultation, 1 Demonic Tutor, 1 Vampiric Tutor
4 Thoughtcast
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Arcbound Worker, 4 Frogmite, 4 Etherium Sculptor, 4 Arcbound Ravager
2 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
4 Skullclamp
4 Sensei's Divining Top
2 Brain Freeze
Sideboard
4 Cabal Therapy
3 Duress
4 Engineered Plague
1 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
2 Chain of Vapor
1 Extirpate
wow, and with no force of will i can actually afford it albeit over the course of a couple weeks im sure.
I am seriously impressed Ben this is a great resource. Good job something to be proud of.
It has made me re-evaluate my collection :_)
Might want to consider the following fringe blue cards: Memory Lapse, Flash Freeze,Recall.
But Tezzeret needs a mention! - This should no overshadow the take home message that this is an awesome article and I appreciate the value and the amount of work you have done here.
Brilliant Job
Hammer
He did mention Tezzeret 2 times. Just not as a card ^^
mea culpa, guys - will add to the master article - thanks for the catch! Here's the entry:
Tezzeret the Seeker – Shards of Alara; mythic. One cannot stress enough how important it is for a Control deck to be able to tap out for a threat at 5-mana, get immediate return on the investment, and threaten to win the game in just a couple of turns. Compare this to Morphling which likely needs several turns to win and is a sitting duck if you tap out to play it. Unsurprisingly, then, this is the backbone of an artifact-based Control deck. Whether it's better or worse than the two other major Blue control decks is beyond the scope of this article, but untapping mana sources when it enters play, or the fact that it tutors for gas at this stage offers incredible advantages. We're talking probably two copies at a steep 17-ticket price tag (mythic), but that's mostly chump change on the Control deck radar.
Flash of Insight was used the RFG important spells in your GY (like high tide and meditate) so that you could cunning wish for them back...though you cant do that anymore.
Also, Remand is very necessary x4 for High Tide to work properly, you cast Brain Freeze and Remand it back to your hand with the storm trigger on the stack...then you Brain Freeze Again. Its a good way to win, even when you cant cast 15+ spells this turn.
Nice insight, I updated the entry and bumped it to 2 stars. This is a deck that I haven't played, but even though I don't think it will be Tier 1 any time soon (even after a format split), it's the one I most want to see as a result of my research as it looks like a blast to play.
ben,,.
u da man. gj sir, again.
Ideas Unbound has uses for Storm decks that use blue. In that case, it's much better than Careful Study, and one mana cheaper than Meditate for one less card.
Now, the question is who would want to run a blue storm deck in classic in the first place.
maybe its me but is mental note no longer used in dredge decks? or is it just not quality enough for classic? then i could have missed it..but i skimmed through again...
Heh - Mental Note was basically my first edit after compiling the list. It was an honorable mention, but that was 37 cards long (one more than a nice even 36), and out it went, since it is underpowered. Dredge is, indeed, the only deck that would want it, but Dredge has better options, especially in Classic.
thanks for that, i was remembering the base lists from dredge's beginning and was always wondering if had held around..guess not
Well Done my friend, kudos to hard work for our reading pleasure. These articles will be must haves for a very very very long time. Again, well done!
these are so great, love em, keep em coming!! don't wear down now!