This post happens to be a bit of a landmark for the SSMB: it’s #150! That’s a lot of content for a few guys writing in their spare time! Thanks to Kenta and Larry for the content they’ve helped me provide and for our readers who enjoy the posts and stories we tell.
And as this is a bit of a landmark, I have decided to upgrade the blog a bit!
Remember that http://www.chadium.com will take you to the Super Secret Magic Blog? This is still true: although I’m just moving the blog onto my own hosted webspace, and the entire domain address will be slightly different.
It had Pacifism, lightning bolt, Mind Control, Day of Judgment, and 10 other mediocre/bad cards. Bolt is great, but it’s not a blowout like DoJ or Mind Control can be. In M10, I’d have taken Mind Control over Planar Cleansing any day. In my local meta-game, I played against people in 3 consecutive rounds who ran either Solemn Offering, Naturalize, or War-Priest main. Is Mind Control still as good as it was in M10 limited? I’m not sure. It’s still great, but I feel like it’s a bit more balanced than it used to be because there are other relevant reasons to play artifact/enchantment removal main.
If you break it down, DoJ is best in a control-oriented tempo-stalling deck that has some late-game bombs it can drop after clearing the board. Pyroclasm + a few Lightning Bolts, or Doom Blade + Stabbing Pains would accompany this build well. Then you just need some of the better finishers. If you pick DoJ pack one, your odds of getting a great finisher creature are best if you go with green, which has plenty of good uncommon bodies, but red has a few as well. Black is a bit light except for Rotting Legion, which oftentimes is just fine if your removal packs a punch.
Mind Control is best in a similar deck, but this time it is maximized when you can steal your opponent’s best creature. However, it is also good in an aggressive deck, such as blue/white fliers, where you can steal the blocker they play in an attempt to stop the bleeding. This deck is viable in limited – and much easier to build, oftentimes, than a good control deck. Either way, you’re taking a bit of a gamble.
So, because DoJ is still worth about $5 and has absolute potential to deal with big, bomby targets, I chose it. Of course in round one, I play against a guy with Magma Phoenix in his maindeck, and he wins game 1 off of it recurring and burning me. I had Fireball to deal with his Ancient Hellkite the turn after I wrathed. I even had Brittle Effigy to deal with Phoenix, were I to draw it…But would Mind Control have been better in this case? At best, it forces him to burn his own Phoenix and recur it. Not really that great for me if my opponent has other threats on board.
In the top 8, I ended up losing to a Frost Titan because he had Cancel to counter my DoJ – and I’m pretty sure a 7 Mana Mind Control to target it would not have resolved either. Even my Brittle Effigy stayed tapped down, as I didn’t have the 6 mana to activate it the turn I played it. I guess, sometimes, you just can’t win? Are Titans simply better than traditional bombs? I really think so..
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