Underused Cards in EDH

onering
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Post by onering » 4 years ago

Soul Exchange has competition from just too many better cards. Victimize costs 1 Mana more, gets twice as many creatures back, and doesn't exile so you can later get back the critter you sacrificed, making it actually good in decks like Meren that aren't just trying to reanimate something huge asap. Meanwhile, between reanimate, animate dead variants, exhume, etc, you have plenty of similarly costed to the battlefield reanimation spells that aren't conditional on already having a creature in play (allowing you to loot then reanimate turn 2), some of which can grab stuff out of your opponents yards. You have to be particularly deep in these effects to hit soul Exchange, or particularly budget. It's right outside the line of "do I really need another one of these effects?"

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Post by KMA_Again » 4 years ago

I liked Soul Exchange in a "steal" deck with Dragonlord Silumgar, where I could exile something stolen and bring something back for value sort of like City of Shadows. There's not much stealing in the command zone to make that reliable, though.

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Post by Kelzam » 4 years ago

I pulled Soul Exchange from an old box a long time ago and it never ends up making the cut over other options. The big problem with it is that unless I have a Creature token, I don't want to exile something to use it. If reanimation is a strategy in my deck, I don't want to have to exile something that I can get back later :p
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CommanderMaster999
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Post by CommanderMaster999 » 4 years ago

darrenhabib wrote:
4 years ago
Soul Exchange (190 decks) - This can't be correct!? From 150,000 decks only 190 have it..what? A 2 mana reanimation card is amazing. Victimize is in 15517 decks and this is almost as relevant.
Yea on top of that you can just sac a token so the exile flaw is removed

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CommanderMaster999
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Post by CommanderMaster999 » 4 years ago

These two do the exact same thing.

Head games (408 decks) and Jester's mask (112 decks)

How...l. Just how are both these so low you can sabatage a player so badly it would cause them to concede just like that

The mask is slightly better since it can go in any deck and you can recur it with artifact recursion as. Matter of fact Emry, Lurker of the Loch is a new one that came out that can recur it

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lyonhaert
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Post by lyonhaert » 4 years ago

CommanderMaster999 wrote:
4 years ago
Head games (408 decks) and Jester's mask (112 decks)

How...l. Just how are both these so low you can sabatage a player so badly it would cause them to concede just like that
I don't think these should be considered tools of blatant sabotage, at least not primarily - I think they're more flexible than that. Even if it's all lands or all their high-CMC cards and they can't cast them yet, them having a hand is not as good of a sabotage as making them discard their entire hand. But to me these two seem to function better at putting at least some good cards into that new hand that you want that player to use or that you want to steal somehow. Tutoring a player's entire hand is bound to change the course of the game. Head Games is one of my pet cards in Chainer because of this fascinating effect.

But I can see how a combo player who lost the hand they were sculpting could decide to concede, which is also pretty handy.
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darrenhabib
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Post by darrenhabib » 4 years ago

Rain of Daggers (31 decks) - Removing an opponents creatures and not your own is pretty grand in a casual setting. Only $4 for a Portal card seems like a good future investment to me. Clearly underplayed and undervalued.

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pokken
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Post by pokken » 4 years ago

darrenhabib wrote:
4 years ago
Rain of Daggers (31 decks) - Removing an opponents creatures and not your own is pretty grand in a casual setting. Only $4 for a Portal card seems like a good future investment to me. Clearly underplayed and undervalued.
This is probably pretty good with Vilis, Broker of Blood eh.

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Sinis
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Post by Sinis » 4 years ago

Ricochet Trap (366 decks) - This seems underplayed to me. It, at the very least, will stop most counterspells. It can also blow out someone who plays extra turns that target, or wants to stroke of genius for cards. It's even useful against non-blue.

Hallowed Moonlight (424 decks) - In competition with Containment Priest, Hallowed Moonlight will stop Living Death while Priest will not, and can handle some forms of token vomit that Priest cannot. At worst, it cantrips. On its best day, you can imprint it on an Isochron Scepter to keep everyone (else) honest.

Culling Dais (1200 decks -- 0% of 294856 decks) - Culling Dais is a highly decent sac outlet. It costs a bit more than High Market both in terms of mana and opportunity cost, but gives a much higher return when you cash out. If 1 life from High Market doesn't matter much, losing out on that life for a greater payout later seems just fine. As long as you have a single mana to activate it, you can use it in response to non-Krosan Grip removal.

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Post by Morganelefay » 4 years ago

Soldevi Adnate - It's in 998 out of 151368 decks...the HELL? The insane chains of play you can pull off with this one are amazing, especially combined with all the other death/sacrifice triggers Black tends to love anyway. Everyone's sleeping on this one, as far as I'm concerned.

Its cousin Priest of Yawgmoth is also underplayed, but is also far less versatile as the Adnate.
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darrenhabib
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Post by darrenhabib » 4 years ago

Sinis wrote:
4 years ago
Ricochet Trap (366 decks) - This seems underplayed to me. It, at the very least, will stop most counterspells. It can also blow out someone who plays extra turns that target, or wants to stroke of genius for cards. It's even useful against non-blue.

Hallowed Moonlight (424 decks) - In competition with Containment Priest, Hallowed Moonlight will stop Living Death while Priest will not, and can handle some forms of token vomit that Priest cannot. At worst, it cantrips. On its best day, you can imprint it on an Isochron Scepter to keep everyone (else) honest.

Culling Dais (1200 decks -- 0% of 294856 decks) - Culling Dais is a highly decent sac outlet. It costs a bit more than High Market both in terms of mana and opportunity cost, but gives a much higher return when you cash out. If 1 life from High Market doesn't matter much, losing out on that life for a greater payout later seems just fine. As long as you have a single mana to activate it, you can use it in response to non-Krosan Grip removal.
Hallowed Moonlight also stops Avenger of Zendikar type token creatures as well. But the once off ability does mean that it's considered a second tier Containment Priest. I'd find this card hard to play as I'd always be unsure to just fire it off as a cantrip when it doesn't have targets, or to be patient and hold onto it?

Ricochet Trap is probably least understood that it can counter almost every counterspell.
It's a r "counter target counterspell". But of course can be used to send a Swords to Plowshares or Beast Within off in another direction for the full 4 mana.
I get obsessed with trying to stop blue decks in non-blue colored decks. Ricochet Trap is one that I've included in a few decks, but honestly under-performs a bit.

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Sinis
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Post by Sinis » 4 years ago

darrenhabib wrote:
4 years ago
Ricochet Trap is probably least understood that it can counter almost every counterspell.
It's a "counter target counterspell". But of course can be used to send a Swords to Plowshares or Beast Within off in another direction for the full 4 mana.
I get obsessed with trying to stop blue decks in non-blue colored decks. Ricochet Trap is one that I've included in a few decks, but honestly under-performs a bit.
Frequently, I superfluously overload Counterflux and people ask why, and I say Ricochet Trap.

For me, it's not so much wanting to hose blue as it is wanting to be able to force through something in spite of someone's counter. Also, it does stuff with non-blue, just for 3R.

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darrenhabib
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Post by darrenhabib » 4 years ago

Patrician's Scorn (99 decks) - There are always some problematic enchantments floating about and this both instant speed and free to cast.

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hyalopterouslemur
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Post by hyalopterouslemur » 4 years ago

Renowned Weaver (136 decks) When you sacrifice her, a creature died, and another creature entered, and it was an enchantment, and Doubling Season and friends double it. And she even passes the Sun Titan and Reveillark tests. That's frankly criminal just for the sheer number of triggers you can pull off.
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Sinis
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Post by Sinis » 4 years ago

Tombstone Stairwell (341 decks) - This card is niche, but nuts in popular archetypes like Aristocrats or decks interested in the Dredge mechanic. It should be, IMO, at least comparable to Kessig Cagebreakers (2105 decks) in terms of decks its in, but is not. I looked this up because I had a 14-body graveyard last night and I played this. With Ayara, First of Locthwain on the table.

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darrenhabib
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Post by darrenhabib » 4 years ago

Sinis wrote:
4 years ago
Tombstone Stairwell (341 decks) - This card is niche, but nuts in popular archetypes like Aristocrats or decks interested in the Dredge mechanic. It should be, IMO, at least comparable to Kessig Cagebreakers (2105 decks) in terms of decks its in, but is not. I looked this up because I had a 14-body graveyard last night and I played this. With Ayara, First of Locthwain on the table.
The dynamics on this card are quite far reaching actually. As long as you have a build to accommodate.
A) You can guarantee that you always have ground blockers, so great defensive card.
B) Then it creates pressure on opponents as they are going to attack whoever has the least amount of creatures in graveyard.
C) Then it has the things you mentioned with tokens for Aristocrat effects.

It sort of has the feeling of being a Fumiko the Lowblood and Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs combined during opponents turns.

The cumulative upkeep means that you are going to need to get maximum value when you play it, so it does become a late game card realistically.

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Sinis
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Post by Sinis » 4 years ago

darrenhabib wrote:
4 years ago
The cumulative upkeep means that you are going to need to get maximum value when you play it, so it does become a late game card realistically.
Realistically, if you have a significant yard, the 1B cumulative upkeep is probably not all that hindering. I wouldn't play this for like, two zombies just to punch people for 4. I had 9 lands out when I cast it last night (my yard was stocked by a massive Decree of Pain and a cleanup step).

It's also worth noting that the Tombspawn tokens are 'destroyed' at beginning of the end step (and they can't be regenerated), but that means if you had something that gave them indestructible like Eldrazi Monument or Avacyn, Angel of Hope, they would accumulate upkeep over upkeep.

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Post by WolfWhoWanders » 4 years ago

Stairwell has done massive amounts of work in some of my decks. It becomes brutal with an edict effect out. Anyone mention Hall of gemstone yet? Also particularly good in the right situation
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Post by Serenade » 4 years ago

Seems amazing with the uncommon Ashiok!
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Sojourner Dusk
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Post by Sojourner Dusk » 4 years ago

I'm old, so there are cards I've slotted into decks that many players have never even heard of.

Uktabi Wildcats (44 decks): Since it's outside the Modern cardpool and never made much of a splash, the cats - whose best home is in mono-Green - are oft overlooked.
Waiting in the Weeds (97 decks): A companion card to the Wildcats, this card is most famous for having to be changed last minute due to the art showing cats instead of just eyes in the bushes. It was supposed to make squirrel tokens.
Invoke Prejudice (146 decks): Yes, I'm that kind of Blue player sometimes. Great for shutting out other Generals from the game.
In the Eye of Chaos (94 decks): Yes, you can play Blue with very few non-permanent cards. This actually fits quite well in Alela decks.
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Sinis
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Post by Sinis » 4 years ago

Sojourner Dusk wrote:
4 years ago
Invoke Prejudice (146 decks): Yes, I'm that kind of Blue player sometimes. Great for shutting out other Generals from the game.
In the Eye of Chaos (94 decks): Yes, you can play Blue with very few non-permanent cards. This actually fits quite well in Alela decks.
I would venture that these aren't played because of price.

That said, you don't have to be playing mono-blue for Invoke Prejudice to work. If you don't have any creatures or only have artifact creatures, it'll even work against blue players.

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Sojourner Dusk
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Post by Sojourner Dusk » 4 years ago

Sinis wrote:
4 years ago
Sojourner Dusk wrote:
4 years ago
Invoke Prejudice (146 decks): Yes, I'm that kind of Blue player sometimes. Great for shutting out other Generals from the game.
In the Eye of Chaos (94 decks): Yes, you can play Blue with very few non-permanent cards. This actually fits quite well in Alela decks.
I would venture that these aren't played because of price.

That said, you don't have to be playing mono-blue for Invoke Prejudice to work. If you don't have any creatures or only have artifact creatures, it'll even work against blue players.
The copies of these cards I have are A) in Italian, and B) were picked up over a decade ago, long before EDH's popularity started driving up card prices.

IP only hits opponents. I can play as many creatures as I want without concern. ItEoC is global (I miss World Enchantments), so you can hose yourself with it. I tend to limit IP to two color decks, at most, due to the strict casting cost.
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Sinis
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Post by Sinis » 4 years ago

Sojourner Dusk wrote:
4 years ago
IP only hits opponents. I can play as many creatures as I want without concern.
Oh I know. I have an English copy of Invoke Prejudice I bought around Theros' spoiler season.

I meant that if you have no blue creatures, other blue players will have trouble playing creatures too (on account of their blue creatures not matching the colour of any of your creatures). Invoke Prejudice functions the best in creatureless decks.

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Post by WolfWhoWanders » 4 years ago

I've used invoke prejudice in the only ever super friends deck I've made... Skeleton ship! It's honestly rather degenerate, as most super friends decks seem to be to me (honestly not a fan of walkers really, but a friend challenged me to build a super friends deck). Really takes the brutal enchantment thing to the max too. Dismiss into dream, spreading plague, tainted aether, etc to make sure minimal creatures are around to interfere with your painfully slow crawl to ultimating something stupid. I do have this thing for creature minimal decks but this one has none. Ok I should go to bed...
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Post by Rumpy5897 » 4 years ago

Righteous Aura (413 decks)

This thing started life in my Daxos the Returned as a crack stuffer pulled out of a bulk box at an LGS. Cheap enchantment that kinda does something? In it goes. Soon proved itself to be quite versatile, dissuading voltrons, nondescript fat and even acting as an occasional fireball shield. Classic attack-tax pillow fort suffers against tall things, so this is a nice complement to that functionality. Still somehow survived in the list to this day, which is saying something. Will probably be less good without alternate mana sinks around, but still nowhere near 400-deck tier bad.
 
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