Overused Cards in EDH

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Post by Cow31337Killer » 4 years ago

(This thread is basically a reverse of the other thread I posted on here a while back)

What are some cards you are tired of seeing in EDH? I'm talking about the cards that hit the table and just make you roll your eyes out of sheer instinct. Maybe it's a card you think is overrated and never really lives up to its own hype. Maybe it's a great card that's been stripped of all it's "coolness" factor because everyone and their mother seems to be running it. Or maybe it's a card that just personally enrages you to your core for a reason you can't quite put into words. Either way, this is a thread to talk about those cards!

I'll start with one that might ruffle a few feathers: Cyclonic Rift|RTR

I despise this card. If I had a lighter and enough time I would burn every printing of this card in existence and throw the remains into the trash where they belong. I'm not here to argue whether or not this card is banworthy, cause that's not the point of this thread. I'm just sick of having to sit down against a blue deck knowing that at some point in the game there will be at least one (if I'm lucky) Cyclonic Rift|RTR cast and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. As a green player it infuriates me to no end. Maybe if wizards printed more ways to effectively combat mass bounce OUTSIDE of blue it wouldn't be so bad. But for now, this card can go straight to hell as far as I'm concerned.

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Post by Mimicvat » 4 years ago

At the risk of this turning into a dogpile on rift, I absolutely agree. Its an auto-include for any blue deck. But even in my no-counter U control deck I refuse to run it.

I don't have one card but instead a type of card - generic Extra Turns spells. Theres little downside to just windmill slamming a Time Warp in any blue deck, and outside of blue and a handful of situational red card (Wild Ricochet does not work on all of them!) theres little anyone can do about it.
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Post by TheGildedGoose » 4 years ago

Obligatory turn 1 Sol Ring/Mana Crypt.
Mimicvat wrote:
4 years ago
Theres little downside to just windmill slamming a Time Warp in any blue deck, and outside of blue and a handful of situational red card (Wild Ricochet does not work on all of them!) theres little anyone can do about it.
Time Walks can be Explore when used incorrectly, and there's always Ugin's Nexus if you see a disproportionate number of them in your meta.

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Post by DirkGently » 4 years ago

I'd rather talk about overrated cards than correctly rated but powerful cards.

On that score, since they were recently brought up: tango lands. Are they worth including in 3c outside of budget reasons? I'd argue no. The better your manabase gets, the worse they get, and you've already got 3 superior alternate fetch targets. Even if you lack an Abu, you should still be satisfactorily fixed after you've hit 2, at which point it's probably better to hit basics for protection from nonbasic hate.

And if you are on a budget, the types are most likely meaningless, making them just much worse checklands.
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Post by darrenhabib » 4 years ago

Most overrated cards in order:

1.) Temple of the False God - Literally last game I played the guy played it as his third land and never drew out of it. Just stop it you simpletons.
2.) Reliquary Tower - "It's a trap!!!" - General Ackbar.
3.) Elixir of Immortality - Waste a draw and spend 3 mana to accomplish nothing.
4.) Venser's Journal - Really? Have you read what the card does?
5.) Torment of Hailfire - "But it's won me games!?!" .. yeah when you already are winning with a million mana. Sat in your hand as a dead card for the other 10 games however.
6.) Propaganda, Ghostly Prison - Whenever an opponents plays one of these, i just think "oh my opponents deck sucks, I'm going to win this game".
7.) Acidic Slime - 5 mana disruption is actually really bad. Stop thinking this card is good.

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Post by TheGildedGoose » 4 years ago

darrenhabib wrote:
4 years ago
5.) Torment of Hailfire - "But it's won me games!?!" .. yeah when you already are winning with a million mana. Sat in your hand as a dead card for the other 10 games however.
I find the logic behind this questionable. It's a win condition. Yes, in an ideal setting, your win conditions are also useful beyond just closing games, but by this logic combo pieces like Dramatic Reversal and Flash are bad.

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Post by darrenhabib » 4 years ago

GloriousGoose wrote:
4 years ago
darrenhabib wrote:
4 years ago
5.) Torment of Hailfire - "But it's won me games!?!" .. yeah when you already are winning with a million mana. Sat in your hand as a dead card for the other 10 games however.
I find the logic behind this questionable. It's a win condition. Yes, in an ideal setting, your win conditions are also useful beyond just closing games, but by this logic combo pieces like Dramatic Reversal and Flash are bad.
Dramatic Reversal and Flash cost 2 mana, Torment of Hailfire is only good if you are casting it for 13 mana or round abouts (even then I've seen it fail..Torment of Failfire?).

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Post by TheGildedGoose » 4 years ago

darrenhabib wrote:
4 years ago
GloriousGoose wrote:
4 years ago
darrenhabib wrote:
4 years ago
5.) Torment of Hailfire - "But it's won me games!?!" .. yeah when you already are winning with a million mana. Sat in your hand as a dead card for the other 10 games however.
I find the logic behind this questionable. It's a win condition. Yes, in an ideal setting, your win conditions are also useful beyond just closing games, but by this logic combo pieces like Dramatic Reversal and Flash are bad.
Dramatic Reversal and Flash cost 2 mana, Torment of Hailfire is only good if you are casting it for 13 mana or round abouts (even then I've seen it fail..Torment of Failfire?).
Reversal's mana cost is irrelevant because zero people are casting it without Scepter and Flash is still a dead card without Hulk. Torment is a one card combo in that the only thing you need to make it work is lots of mana, which is already a useful thing outside of Torment. It's mana intensive and doesn't slot into every deck, sure, but that's not the argument you were making.

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Post by darrenhabib » 4 years ago

GloriousGoose wrote:
4 years ago
Reversal's mana cost is irrelevant because zero people are casting it without Scepter and Flash is still a dead card without Hulk. Torment is a one card combo in that the only thing you need to make it work is lots of mana, which is already a useful thing outside of Torment. It's mana intensive and doesn't slot into every deck, sure, but that's not the argument you were making.
I cast Dramatic Reversal a few days ago to generate mana in a storm deck and I cast Flash today using Cavalier of Dawn in my Aminatou deck for great value. Admittedly the Flash is more for Academy Rector or Arena Rector, but it does have other targets. Too be honest I'm not even sure why I'm counter arguing these cards uses compared to Torment of Hailfire..
My main beef with Torment of Hailfire is that you get a lot of options to work around it as well, using your life total, cards in hand and cards on the battlefield to keep yourself in the game even after a potential big one, and are subsequently able to squeeze out the victory regardless. I've been able to win through a lot of them even when I think my opponent thought they had the win. I guess it's my own personal experience playing against the card, that makes me think it's overrated.
So the only time it's a "win condition" is when your opponent can generate 15 mana, and well I feel there are just better cards when you have this much mana to work with. Things that can also be used in early parts of the game as well, so that they don't just sit rotting in your hand.
It definitely not a one card combo, because you need to have the means to generate that sort of mana in the first place.

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Post by ilovesaprolings » 4 years ago

Cow31337Killer wrote:
4 years ago
I'll start with one that might ruffle a few feathers: Cyclonic Rift|RTR. I despise this card.
Less cyclonic rifts more scourge of fleets

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Post by Legend » 4 years ago

Getting back to the title of the thread "overused cards"...

Fetches
Ramp
Accelerators
Dorks
Fixers
Tutors
Snow
Forests
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Post by Dunharrow » 4 years ago

darrenhabib wrote:
4 years ago
Most overrated cards in order:
6.) Propaganda, Ghostly Prison - Whenever an opponents plays one of these, i just think "oh my opponents deck sucks, I'm going to win this game".
7.) Acidic Slime - 5 mana disruption is actually really bad. Stop thinking this card is good.
Propaganda and Ghostly Prison do one thing well - direct aggressive decks towards your opponents for a few turns. They also work very well with things that limit mana, like Winter Orb. I think they are good inclusions for this thread, as they are often over-evaluated and overplayed, but I don't think that playing them means you have a bad deck. They have their spots!

Acidic Slime I really don't think should be in this thread. Most people playing slime have some synergies - flicker, bounce, reanimation. But even without recursion, it is good. It can hit 3 permanent types and gives you a good blocker. This is just straight up versatility. In non cEDH metas, versatility is worth more than mana efficiency. I think Acidic Slime is much better than Reclamation Sage.




As for this thread - Solemn Simulacrum is overused. It is a fine card, and with recursion can be a good source of card advantage.... but it is just mediocre most of the time that I see it.
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Post by Sinis » 4 years ago

ilovesaprolings wrote:
4 years ago
Cow31337Killer wrote:
4 years ago
I'll start with one that might ruffle a few feathers: Cyclonic Rift|RTR. I despise this card.
Less cyclonic rifts more scourge of fleets
Yeah! And then when they recover, you Clone the Scourge of Fleets!!!

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Post by Cow31337Killer » 4 years ago

darrenhabib wrote:
4 years ago

7.) Acidic Slime - 5 mana disruption is actually really bad. Stop thinking this card is good.
Believe it or not I've actually felt the same way for a long time. Green is easily my favorite color in Magic, and for years I've always seen Acidic Slime|M12 touted as an auto include for mono green commander decks. The card is definitely versatile, but honestly I feel like paying 5 for a sorcery speed removal spell and a 2/2 deathtouch body just isn't worth it for me. I don't even play the card in Yeva, Nature's Herald|M13 anymore, which is a commander that actually gets more mileage out of the card by letting you play it at instant speed. Basically, the card just always seems so underwhelming whenever I play it, and I've been a lot happier replacing it with my favorite 5 mana ooze Mitotic Slime|M11 in my mono green EDH deck.

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Post by darrenhabib » 4 years ago

Dunharrow wrote:
4 years ago
darrenhabib wrote:
4 years ago
Most overrated cards in order:
6.) Propaganda, Ghostly Prison - Whenever an opponents plays one of these, i just think "oh my opponents deck sucks, I'm going to win this game".
7.) Acidic Slime - 5 mana disruption is actually really bad. Stop thinking this card is good.
Propaganda and Ghostly Prison do one thing well - direct aggressive decks towards your opponents for a few turns. They also work very well with things that limit mana, like Winter Orb. I think they are good inclusions for this thread, as they are often over-evaluated and overplayed, but I don't think that playing them means you have a bad deck. They have their spots!

Acidic Slime I really don't think should be in this thread. Most people playing slime have some synergies - flicker, bounce, reanimation. But even without recursion, it is good. It can hit 3 permanent types and gives you a good blocker. This is just straight up versatility. In non cEDH metas, versatility is worth more than mana efficiency. I think Acidic Slime is much better than Reclamation Sage.

As for this thread - Solemn Simulacrum is overused. It is a fine card, and with recursion can be a good source of card advantage.... but it is just mediocre most of the time that I see it.
I was going to include SLOW-mn Simulacrum in the list, but wall-e is good in particular decks, but definitely overrated in general.

There is always a home for cards, I do play Propaganda and Ghostly Prison in my Zur the Enchanter lock deck that is more geared for themed play. Being able to tutor them up gives me more incentive.
I'm being overly harsh just to get the point across that you shouldn't just included these cards because they feature as top card on EDHREC or wherever.
I even play Reliquary Tower in my Greven deck, but again it's because it actually suits that deck. I access it's use given the rest of the deck. But it's still one of those cards that has lost people more games than it has won, due to just not understanding the importance of color fixing.
The problems is that too often people just jam a lot of these cards and really they have no business being in their decks.

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Post by pokken » 4 years ago

#1 on my list is 4 mana creature wraths. People play these things constantly even in decks where they don't belong, and in a meta that has left them by the wayside. Removing all creatures for 4 is just not good enough for a card these days with all the value on bodies, plus all the reanimation, plus all the non-creature powerhouses, plus all the indestructible stuff and blink effects and what not.

Everyone has tuned their decks to not really care that much about 4 mana sweepers and people slow play to play around it. A sweeper has to do more.

I legit see people playing Day of Judgment still because someone told them they need sweepers. You can do better. Most decks do not want this effect.

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Post by toctheyounger » 4 years ago

I've become a lot more tolerant over time. Everyone has their foibles, and everyone has their pet cards. There's some that just don't live up to their promises of value though:
Temple of the False God - Just not worth it.
Reliquary Tower - not NEVER worth it, but the proportion of decks that play is higher than the proportion that ought to.

Then there's cards I could just....see less of and be happier.
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...yeah that's about it. If you have a win con, great. If you don't, lots of luck playing solitaire. Otherwise, I once was a lot more triggery about what I don't enjoy playing against. But these days, I'll give most games a shot at a win.
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Post by Dunharrow » 4 years ago

pokken wrote:
4 years ago
#1 on my list is 4 mana creature wraths. People play these things constantly even in decks where they don't belong, and in a meta that has left them by the wayside. Removing all creatures for 4 is just not good enough for a card these days with all the value on bodies, plus all the reanimation, plus all the non-creature powerhouses, plus all the indestructible stuff and blink effects and what not.

Everyone has tuned their decks to not really care that much about 4 mana sweepers and people slow play to play around it. A sweeper has to do more.

I legit see people playing Day of Judgment still because someone told them they need sweepers. You can do better. Most decks do not want this effect.
That is an interesting take. Would you say that playing Austere Command would make more sense, or that wraths just do not have a place most of the time?
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Post by Serpent_Steve » 4 years ago

I suppose a thread like this is very much dependant on your meta so for me I'm going to pick on a few cards (trying to distribute fairly among the colours) that are popular by EDHREC standards although I think they suck for reasons listed below.

1. Felidar Sovereign: I don't like Sovereign. Not because it can close games but because it only really gets used in one archetype (lifegain) it gets telegraphed too easily and turns the game into a round of archenemy before it gets to kick off. I think decks like that don't really want the attention so that the table can be alarmed by something like [/card]Aehterflux Reservoir[/card] when it hits the table.

2. Mulldrifter: I see this as an autoinclude in so may blue decks (I admit using it as well but it's for elemental tribal so I get more mileage out of it) for no real reason other than draw 2 on ETB of which to me 3 mana is a poor investment for such an effect compared to other cards in the format.

3. Diabolic Tutor: I know it's used for budget reasons but there are soo many better tutors out there it's not even funny.

4. Harmonize: I speak as a heavy green user when I say this card sucks so much. Why is it so popular I'll never know but green has much better card draw effects (creatures with Elemental Bond, Shamanic Revelation, Rishkar's Expertise as well as creatures with draw effects (Soul of the Harvest, Garruk's Packleader, Beast Whisperer, Primordial Sage et al) it makes Harmonize as bad as it looks) so use them.

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Post by lyonhaert » 4 years ago

There's sortof a pattern in a good many of the card choices so far as they relate to how time is used during the game.

Fetches/ramp can be an issue because there are more considerate times to do them that doesn't hold up the table. A lot of players do this during their turn or at the end of the previous player's turn (which just ends up being a pre-untap phase for their own turn). There's also a shortcut of looking at the bottom card of the library when fetching/ramping a single land and just using that without seeing any other cards. I should note I've also never seen this shortcut used by anybody in conjunction with library manipulation effects, as I'd probably ask them to shuffle still even though the search was quickened.

Similarly, durdling can be an issue. I really don't see Sensei's Divining Top at all, but I know it's been an enabler for that before. Skullclamp is my pick for this because I've seen (and been guilty of doing) the "attach, it dies, draw two, ponder for a moment, repeat" pattern. I still run it in Chainer but these days I'll just say how many I'm doing at once to draw twice that many cards as a shortcut, because I'm usually refilling my hand or overfilling in order to discard (as opposed to pondering each pair).

Asymmetrical wipes can "pull the rug out from under" the other players and make them feel like their efforts were for naught. I also don't like overloaded Cyclonic Rift.

One of my picks is Big Finish cards like Rite of Replication (kicked, of course). They were overused in a previous group I was in. I turned that into a liability by running a spell copy effect or two for a while.
Dunharrow wrote:
4 years ago
pokken wrote:
4 years ago
#1 on my list is 4 mana creature wraths. People play these things constantly even in decks where they don't belong, and in a meta that has left them by the wayside. Removing all creatures for 4 is just not good enough for a card these days with all the value on bodies, plus all the reanimation, plus all the non-creature powerhouses, plus all the indestructible stuff and blink effects and what not.

Everyone has tuned their decks to not really care that much about 4 mana sweepers and people slow play to play around it. A sweeper has to do more.

I legit see people playing Day of Judgment still because someone told them they need sweepers. You can do better. Most decks do not want this effect.
That is an interesting take. Would you say that playing Austere Command would make more sense, or that wraths just do not have a place most of the time?
My interpretation was that: A. if played on-curve then turn 4 is just too soon for a wipe; B. wipes with some flexibility or additional effect are perhaps more valuable?
Serpent_Steve wrote:
4 years ago
3. Diabolic Tutor: I know it's used for budget reasons but there are soo many better tutors out there it's not even funny.
Better tutors that are budget? If not, then this is juxtaposing two contradictory priorities.

I'd also like to offer a different perspective on the Gx signets, because they are color-fixing and ramp without having to search your library. Unnecessary in a 2-color deck, but I might still run some in a 3-color Gxy deck depending on the actual balance of colors.
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Post by Serpent_Steve » 4 years ago

lyonhaert wrote:
4 years ago
Serpent_Steve wrote:
4 years ago
3. Diabolic Tutor: I know it's used for budget reasons but there are soo many better tutors out there it's not even funny.
Better tutors that are budget? If not, then this is juxtaposing two contradictory priorities.

I'd also like to offer a different perspective on the Gx signets, because they are color-fixing and ramp without having to search your library. Unnecessary in a 2-color deck, but I might still run some in a 3-color Gxy deck depending on the actual balance of colors.
Fair point on the signets I just prefer to add slightly more green and land ramp spells to get the other colours out quickly when it comes to multi-colour decks.

As for tutors others that are just more interesting to me than Diabolic Tutor include Behold the Beyond, Dark Petition, Demonic Collusion, Final Parting. Increasing Ambition, Buried Alive and Ring of Three Wishes in mono all of which mostly tutor up any cards in your deck but with either interesting side effects or utilising the graveyard (which is in 's strong suit) whilst being similar in price to Diabolic.

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Post by pokken » 4 years ago

Dunharrow wrote:
4 years ago
pokken wrote:
4 years ago
#1 on my list is 4 mana creature wraths. People play these things constantly even in decks where they don't belong, and in a meta that has left them by the wayside. Removing all creatures for 4 is just not good enough for a card these days with all the value on bodies, plus all the reanimation, plus all the non-creature powerhouses, plus all the indestructible stuff and blink effects and what not.

Everyone has tuned their decks to not really care that much about 4 mana sweepers and people slow play to play around it. A sweeper has to do more.

I legit see people playing Day of Judgment still because someone told them they need sweepers. You can do better. Most decks do not want this effect.
That is an interesting take. Would you say that playing Austere Command would make more sense, or that wraths just do not have a place most of the time?
You really have to take a complete look at the colors and what the deck is trying to accomplish. At the very least I would almost always run Hour of Revelation over Wrath of God. I've started running Winds of Abandon in my creature heavy decks since I don't want to sweep my own board and I'm usually alphastriking. I also find myself liking Comeuppance effects sometimes.

With cleansing nova and hour of revelation I rarely want to run Austere anymore since it's so mana inefficient.

I'm usually going to run toxic deluge or dead of winter or even Mutilate (in mono black) before damnation but I'll also run living death or decree of pain. Black Sun's Zenith is insanely flexible if you want to neuter a permanent but not let them recast it.

In ephara I run these as my board control elements --
In Aminatou I run In my Golos mono black deck, Grave pact and dictate of erebos serve that role for the most part. I intentionally did not put a sweeper in there, Just plays eldrazi to remove the stuff that might hose edicts, then edicts people out.

In general I think the decks that actually want Wrath of God and Damnation are few and far between. Usually you can think of stuff that's either more efficient or synergizes with your gameplan better. Sure, there are decks where it makes sense, but it's mostly hard control decks or planeswalker decks, or sometimes artifact/enchantment decks (although those often get hosed losing their enchantresses).

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Post by Toshi » 4 years ago

Let's see - by sifting through EDHrec and limiting myself to cards included ~15k times at least:

Temple of the False God (74k) - Reliable in decks that ramp by putting additional lands on the battlefield and just as unnecessary in them. Too many players wish this would be Ancient Tomb 2.0, which it clearly isn't.
Cyclonic Rift (68k) - Yes, it is asymmetrical and instant speed. But unless you fire it up before your turn to win it is a major feel bad and can potentially backfire badly. A well played Austere Command or Tragic Arrogance is usually more terrifying and less annoying.
Commander's Sphere (62k) - Having a good Plan B doesn't make up for a sub-par Plan A.
Solemn Simulacrum (58k) - It's stellar in decks that can abuse it by reanimating, flickering or copying it, it's slow and clunky everywhere else.
Chromatic Lantern (52k) - There are plenty of good mana fixing land cycles to not rely on a 3 drop rock that only ramps you 1. Popping this is an easy 2-for-1 by denying you fixing and mana.
Gilded Lotus (40k) - What's your typical gameplan if waiting for/ramping to 5 mana just to jump to 8 mana is a good play!?
Darksteel Ingot (39k) - This is as outdated and oldschool as it gets. When we had worse or very expensive rocks, this was a decent include, by today's standards it isn't.
Rhystic Study (35k) - I see too many players hoping for this to turn out to be a stellar draw engine instead of an annoying taxing permanent. Against seasoned players players this usually reads "all spells your opponents cast cost more until one hits a disenchanting effect".
Thran Dynamo (31k) - In most decks i know you'd have to sit at minimum 5 mana to reliably find a follow up play on the same turn, due to colored mana needed. Which makes it similarily bad as Gilded Lotus,
Burnished Hart (31k) - A 6 mana Explosive Vegetation is aweful. Even if more decks would be able to abuse it properly - like Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle - that wouldn't justify being played in so many decks.
Explosive Vegetation (26k) - Speaking of which... unless you just started out in the format or have a very casual meta, this isn't fast/good enough.
Wrath of God (25k), Damnation (19k) & Supreme Verdict (18k) - 4 mana symmetrical wraths usually only help at not losing. I'd always spend extra mana - see above mentioned Austere Command & Tragic Arrogance - to pull ahead instead of crippling the whole game.
Return to Dust (25k) - I don't like it cast during my main phases and i don't like it cast outside of them. It may never be a bad play, but in my book it's never an actual good play.
Ghostly Prison (23k) & Propaganda (22k) - Pillow fort is by default an akward approach in a format that isn't really focused on combat damage as much. Plus, there are better ways to keep aggro and voltron decks in check.
Acidic Slime (23k) - 5 mana is too much for this effect and i've heard enough "but it's 2 for 1" chants with the Slime dying as a collateral, before taking anything out, soon afterwards.
Merciless Eviction (22k) - One of the greatest things about playing is the enormous recursion potential. Running this stifles that. And yes, it takes out PWs, but just how many Superfriend decks can one face to make this relevant?
Caged Sun (22k) - Too much mana to only boost lands. Seen enough rounds where people virtually time walked themselves just to have this destroyed before their next turn.
Avenger of Zendikar (22k) - I've seen way too many fair hard casts of this thing that weren't even followed up by a landrop or more, to feel like it's worth its investment.
Harmonize (20k) - Enough to draw more of in by now.
Zendikar Resurgent (20k) - Even worse mana investment than Caged Sun and a bad feeling when disenchanted before untapping with it.
Bounce Lands such as Azorius Chancery - (14-20k)
Nevinyrral's Disk (18k) - Unless you can untap/reuse/abuse this, you should run another board wipe. At least helps with card types outside of color pie considerations.
Terminate (17k) - Doesn't exile, can't hit other card types, regeneration isn't too common. It's not bad by all means, it's just not that good.
Steel Hellkite (16k) - Similarily to Nevinyrral's Disk this ignores color identity as well. On top of that it is really slow oddly specific in what it destroys and disruptable on so many levels.
Oblivion Ring (15k) et al - If you love having that annoying thing return over and over again, run it. Otherwise you propably shouldn't.

Honorable Mention: Diabolic Tutor (31k) - I think people know it isn't great, but it's a reasonable budget include.
Serpent_Steve wrote:
4 years ago
ANY|21150 GREEN|21163 ALIGNED|21157 SIGNETS|49990: Your ramp is lands. Not weak artifacts. /story
This.

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lyonhaert
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Post by lyonhaert » 4 years ago

NoNeedToBragoBoutIt wrote:
4 years ago
Gilded Lotus (40k) - What's your typical gameplan if waiting for/ramping to 5 mana just to jump to 8 mana is a good play!?
Cast Chainer and activate him well before turn 8? :nerd: I'm not actually running it at the moment.
NoNeedToBragoBoutIt wrote:
4 years ago
Bounce Lands such as Azorius Chancery - (14-20k)
I do have a soft spot for these as budget multicolor lands, but with other lands that don't EPT. You keep hitting your land drops, at least.
NoNeedToBragoBoutIt wrote:
4 years ago
Oblivion Ring (15k) et al - If you love having that annoying thing return over and over again, run it. Otherwise you propably shouldn't.
I'm with you on these, though. I've had Grasp of Fate stick around if I took something good from each opponent, but that's kindof the only good use case aside from Detention Sphere taking out a bunch of tokens. I was once piloting Zedruu and had a Breya deck frustrated because of Rest in Peace. They Mindslavered me and D-Sphere was the only thing they could see to do with my hand. That didn't last long before it got bounced and RIP was back. But yes, the primary reason to include these kind of things should be shenanigans, not removal.
Chainer bbb
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Post by Sinis » 4 years ago

NoNeedToBragoBoutIt wrote:
4 years ago
Merciless Eviction (22k) - One of the greatest things about playing is the enormous recursion potential. Running this stifles that. And yes, it takes out PWs, but just how many Superfriend decks can one face to make this relevant?
Now wait just a minute, here!

When you play this, you're probably behind, so worrying about recursion potential probably isn't top priority in the middle of a game. Also, given that you're talking about 'enormous recursion potential', doesn't that mean Merciless Eviction is even better because it stifles your opponent's ability to leverage it? At least when it's in your deck, you can play around it by making strategic blocks or using High Market on priority targets before tabling this.

So, why play it in the first place? It's not usually for creatures. It annihilates: Superfriends. Darksteel Forge shenanigans or Equipment piles, and Enchantress decks. And I do mean annihilates, as in, renders into nothing. Usually, people are a Scrap Mastery, Primevals' Glorious Rebirth/Living Death or Replenish/Retether away from just undoing your good work. Being modal makes it even better; Merciless Eviction usually puts an end to any variety of complete nonsense without much collateral damage, and it does it in a single card.

I can confidently say that the vast majority of W/B/x I ever build, will have Merciless Eviction in it, unless somehow, something better/more flexible/less symmetrical gets printed.

(I write all this with the caveat that my meta is pretty casual, and we mostly try and turn creatures sideways to win.)

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