[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[TheGildedGoose]

Something to note is that in 5e, the Instruments of the Bards are broken beyond belief. While only equippable by bards (my favorite class, natch) they give them the ability to cast the following spells once per day: Fly, Invisibility, Levitate, and Protection from Evil and Good in addition to the unique spells granted by a particular instrument. My bard currently rocks a Fochlucan bandore, which also gives him access to Entangle, Faerie Fire, Shillelagh, and Speak with Animals. Oh, that not enough for you? Because the instruments also impose disadvantage (roll 2d20, take the lower result) on saving throws that cause a target to become charmed if the instrument is used as a somatic or material component. I think there's only 2-3 spells that applies to, but the key one is Hypnotic Pattern, a sort of mass charm 3rd level spell that is arguably pound-for-pound the most powerful spell in the game.

Did I mention that some of the instruments are of uncommon rarity? So you could be rocking that thing extremely early in your barding career? Gross.

Anyway, the Magic version pales in comparison. It's cool, though. Maybe it should've been an uncommon.

[void_nothing]

The most important member of the backing band plays the jug

[Mookie]

Instrument of the Bards reads as pretty weak to me. It's possible that I am undervaluing it, but... the mana value restriction means that it is a pretty poor topdeck. It could be okay if you play it early, but I don't see myself wanting to fetch a 1-drop or 2-drop in the lategame that often, and it takes a long time to fetch more impactful creatures. You can certainly build a cheap creature toolbox to take advantage of it - Spore Frog and Caustic Caterpillar come to mind - but most of my decks don't have that many cheap creatures.

....still, if the stars align, I could see it being good. One mana to deploy is a bargain, and four mana to activate, while a bit expensive, is also a pretty aggressive rate for a repeatable tutor. Green does have a lot of other (free) card advantage engines though.

Combos with Aether Vial?

[Sinis]

It's an abysmal topdeck later in the game unless you're searching for combo pieces, and then it's pretty meh, costing 5 mana for the first tutor.

However, it seems acceptable in simic+ draw-go piles, because it's something you can just kind of do, and then have treasure? I don't think it's impossibly awful, but I don't think it's good, either. On par with something like Vivien's Arkbow.

[hyalopterouslemur]

So, this is sort of like Yisan, the Wanderer Bard, right? I imagine a Hex Parasite (and maybe some proliferate cards) help you use it to its full potential.

[Sinis]

So, this is sort of like Yisan, the Wanderer Bard, right? I imagine a Hex Parasite (and maybe some proliferate cards) help you use it to its full potential.

It's not like Yisan because it puts it in your hand.

[3drinks]

Friday, June 10th, 2022; Fervent Mastery

I want this card to be good. But I can so tell it is never where you want to be...and in no way do you ever pay the alt cost.

[onering]

I imagine it could be pretty sick if you fetch an intuition package, because the chances of you discarding all three are low unless you have only one or two cards in hand. Meanwhile, the alt cost is actually very good in certain circumstances. In a meta where everyone always has a full grip it sucks, but if you have anybody that regularly gets caught with only 1 or two cards in hand it's well worth it.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

I dunno, I think triple gamble is wicked sick. Even more sick with a loam plan now that I think about it. The alt cost is basically flavor text.

[folding_music]

has to be good in the Wild Research deck, whoever plays that. Gavi, Nest Warden?? you're already filling the yard with instants for unclear goals, now you have a turbo-charged Gamble to concentrate the process. although I am pretty sure I would never play this card )))

[hyalopterouslemur]

I mean, it's triple Gamble, so if you're doing graveyard things, you can use it. But don't try to use it in monored.

[Sinis]

Honestly, I think all the Mastery cards from Strixhaven were poor. I was kind of okay with Verdant Mastery because I could donate a forest to the player most behind for free Submerges, but I found the others to be just... not a good deal, and often costed near what the effect without a favour would be, or the effect was not strong enough to justify the discount.

Fervent Mastery in particular gets the sideeye from me. That's a lot of mana to pay to gamble x3 (and I'm not really sure multi-gamble is good, especially at 5 mana).

[brainface]

Feels like it'd still have a (jank) use in monored. Recoup and two other things, three cards with flashback/unearth, increasing vengeance, etc. anger!

[TheGildedGoose]

Honestly, I think all the Mastery cards from Strixhaven were poor. I was kind of okay with Verdant Mastery because I could donate a forest to the player most behind for free Submerges, but I found the others to be just... not a good deal, and often costed near what the effect without a favour would be, or the effect was not strong enough to justify the discount.

Fervent Mastery in particular gets the sideeye from me. That's a lot of mana to pay to gamble x3 (and I'm not really sure multi-gamble is good, especially at 5 mana).

Baleful Mastery and Devastating Mastery are both excellent in my opinion, particularly the black one. 4mv exile of two types of relevant permanents isn't a terrible rate for the removal to begin with, and the alt cost if you need it is super reasonable since you can just give a card to the least threatening player.

The red one? Not so much. Triple Gamble it is not.

[DirkGently]

Why are people hating on the alt cost? There are a lot of situations where it's neutral or even advantageous, even without the discount. Same for all the masteries, which is what makes them good, especially white and black. Blue and green one are kinda vanilla but still okay.

Red can be tricky to find the right spot for - if you go for a loam setup or similar, you have to be prepared for it to wreck your existing hand. If you go for a triple tutor you can't be relying on any particular piece sticking, and you want a big hand. Seems best for something like Sedris, the Traitor King where hand or grave are both fine.

[Sinis]

Baleful Mastery and Devastating Mastery are both excellent in my opinion, particularly the black one. 4mv exile of two types of relevant permanents isn't a terrible rate for the removal to begin with, and the alt cost if you need it is super reasonable since you can just give a card to the least threatening player.

The red one? Not so much. Triple Gamble it is not.

I'll admit Baleful is on the edge of okay. I can see the use case, and exile is good.

The white one, however, I don't think so. The discount is probably not worth it, the hardcast is too far a commitment to white, and really there are plenty of white wipes that will have asymmetric results like Austere Command, or Farewell. Hour of Devastation, at the very least, is probably better.

Why are people hating on the alt cost? There are a lot of situations where it's neutral or even advantageous, even without the discount.

I think different people's groups politic differently, and obligated freebies do not buy you much in some groups (c.f. the discussion months and months ago about Secret Rendezvous). The reduced costs won't buy you much, especially once you've established that you want to play something like Ingenious Mastery for the alt cost (and as a result are obligated to pay someone) instead of hardcasting it as bootleg Stroke. In fact, that very thing has happened at my group's tables.

[DirkGently]

@Sinis

Hour of Revelation (assuming that's what you meant) is probably the most efficient wipe in the whole format, so that's not exactly a damning comparison.

Saying "the hardcast is too far a commitment to white" in a vacuum is kind of silly. If you're mono-white why would it be a problem? For that matter, 4/6 isn't an awful ratio for a 2-color deck with decent fixing either, especially since you're probably not trying to fire it off ASAP. And of course, having that alternate mode gives it a lot of flexibility if you low-roll your fixing, no matter how many colors you're playing. Honestly I'd probably rather have mastery over hour in a deck with 3+ colors and medium fixing because you always have the option to fire it off on 2 white whereas hour doesn't give you that flexibility.

It's not about trying to get political favors or broker deals, though of course that can potentially happen (Someone casts baleful mastery and says "if I let you draw the card instead of your opponent, you don't attack me next turn?" that seems like a pretty decent deal to me). More that, if you're behind (which, if you're casting a board wipe, you probably are), giving another "opponent" resources will result in those resources being directed against your common enemy. Of course that does depend to some extent what sort of meta you're in - in the "everyone plays solitaire combo" meta giving enemies resources probably won't be to your advantage very often, but then I doubt they put their combo pieces into play to get bounced with Devastating Mastery and it's probably not the end of the world that they get back a couple mana rocks or whatever.

[Sinis]

@Sinis

Hour of Revelation (assuming that's what you meant) is probably the most efficient wipe in the whole format, so that's not exactly a damning comparison.

Revelation was the one I meant, thanks, and fair point.

Saying "the hardcast is too far a commitment to white" in a vacuum is kind of silly. If you're mono-white why would it be a problem?

We're not playing mono-white. We don't do that anymore!

For that matter, 4/6 isn't an awful ratio for a 2-color deck with decent fixing either, especially since you're probably not trying to fire it off ASAP. And of course, having that alternate mode gives it a lot of flexibility if you low-roll your fixing, no matter how many colors you're playing. Honestly I'd probably rather have mastery over hour in a deck with 3+ colors and medium fixing because you always have the option to fire it off on 2 white whereas hour doesn't give you that flexibility.

I feel like I wouldn't play either in a 3+ colour deck. If fixing is a concern, I would just play Cleansing Nova or something less demanding that would get the job done without giving an opponent an out.

It's not about trying to get political favors or broker deals, though of course that can potentially happen (Someone casts baleful mastery and says "if I let you draw the card instead of your opponent, you don't attack me next turn?" that seems like a pretty decent deal to me). More that, if you're behind (which, if you're casting a board wipe, you probably are), giving another "opponent" resources will result in those resources being directed against your common enemy. Of course that does depend to some extent what sort of meta you're in - in the "everyone plays solitaire combo" meta giving enemies resources probably won't be to your advantage very often, but then I doubt they put their combo pieces into play to get bounced with Devastating Mastery and it's probably not the end of the world that they get back a couple mana rocks or whatever.

No no no. I'm not getting into a rabbit hole that requires way more context than can reasonably be supplied. I'm only saying that resources you supply others can be turned against you.

[DirkGently]

@Sinis

I love mono-white. Anyone who can't win with mono-white is just bad at the game. No apologies. And devastating mastery is pretty much peak white tbh. It's the card equivalent of WKUK - the whitest card u know.

Cleansing nova is a fine card but it can't give a full clear, nor can it kill planeswalkers. I'm not saying one is better than another, it just depends on what you want from your deck. If you're planning to fall behind and want a complete catch-up, Cleansing Nova isn't going to do that for you. As far as fixing, I happily play hour and mastery in griff and the colors are fine, but I do have a pretty optimal manabase.

"No no no" yes yes yes. Sorry, just because you might fail to fully utilize the strength of a card doesn't mean those strengths don't exist. Can those resources be turned against you? Sure, if you play it badly. Devastating Mastery gives you the most control of any mastery (bar green, I suppose) because you know exactly which cards can be put into your opponent's hand. Baleful Mastery risks drawing them into a combo piece, or a hate piece that's especially effective against your deck, or whatever, but DM is restricted to what's on board, so if you choose an opponent with cards that are a problem for you, that's your own fault.

With all the other masteries, you might want to use them while ahead, which could mean being forced to give enemy resources that will likely be used against you. Whereas Devastating, being a wipe, is presumably being used primarily in situations where you're behind and thus unlikely to be the target of those enemy resources. It's also the most likely time when you want assistance from another player to bring down a common threat, and giving them resources enables that. Could those resources be used against you? Sure, it's possible, but every game involves risks. Played well, the resources you give your opponent should almost always have a better chance of being used to your benefit rather than detriment, which makes it a net advantage, even if it's not guaranteed to pan out in your favor every game.

Warning issued for Trolling - benjameenbear

[Sinis]

@Sinis

I love mono-white. Anyone who can't win with mono-white is just bad at the game. No apologies. And devastating mastery is pretty much peak white tbh. It's the card equivalent of WKUK - the whitest card u know.

Cleansing nova is a fine card but it can't give a full clear, nor can it kill planeswalkers. I'm not saying one is better than another, it just depends on what you want from your deck. If you're planning to fall behind and want a complete catch-up, Cleansing Nova isn't going to do that for you. As far as fixing, I happily play hour and mastery in griff and the colors are fine, but I do have a pretty optimal manabase.

"No no no" yes yes yes. Sorry, just because you might fail to fully utilize the strength of a card doesn't mean those strengths don't exist. Can those resources be turned against you? Sure, if you play it badly. Devastating Mastery gives you the most control of any mastery (bar green, I suppose) because you know exactly which cards can be put into your opponent's hand. Baleful Mastery risks drawing them into a combo piece, or a hate piece that's especially effective against your deck, or whatever, but DM is restricted to what's on board, so if you choose an opponent with cards that are a problem for you, that's your own fault.

With all the other masteries, you might want to use them while ahead, which could mean being forced to give enemy resources that will likely be used against you. Whereas Devastating, being a wipe, is presumably being used primarily in situations where you're behind and thus unlikely to be the target of those enemy resources. It's also the most likely time when you want assistance from another player to bring down a common threat, and giving them resources enables that. Could those resources be used against you? Sure, it's possible, but every game involves risks. Played well, the resources you give your opponent should almost always have a better chance of being used to your benefit rather than detriment, which makes it a net advantage, even if it's not guaranteed to pan out in your favor every game.

tl;dr you're bad at the game for disagreeing with me

Ok, I'm bad at Magic. Now what?

[DirkGently]

@Sinis Self-report? I never said that you were bad at the game.

But taking you at your word, I guess either consider broadening your horizons or avoid cards with a high skill cap. Not everyone wants to minmax commander and that's fine.

[Sinis]

@Sinis Self-report? I never said that you were bad at the game.

I do not claim to be good at Magic. But, here we go.

"I love mono-white. Anyone who can't win with mono-white is just bad at the game. "

I'm glad the tables you play at are soft enough that mono-white can have a reasonable chance of winning. Maybe skill isn't the only factor here?

"Can those resources be turned against you? Sure, if you play it badly. "[/quote]

I'm very glad you can play cards that just gift your opponent resources and still come out ahead.

But taking you at your word, I guess either consider broadening your horizons or avoid cards with a high skill cap.

There are a lot of factors in whether a card is playable or not. I realize your environments must permit the reasonable usage of 'high skill cap' cards, but not every environment does. What I post reflects what my environment is like.

---

It's difficult for me to say this, but you're becoming rather insufferable. Every single one of your posts is, self-important, combative, and skirt around being insulting. You're legitimately making it difficult for me to want to come and participate on these forums. Could you tone it down a bit?

[DirkGently]

@Sinis

I can't speak much to true cEDH tables, but there are certainly some strong mono-white decks. Oswald Fiddlebender, Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice, Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle, and Heliod, Sun-Crowned come to mind. Are those top-tier? I doubt it, but unless you're playing top-tier cEDH then I don't see why that would be a problem. There are strategies and commanders in mono-white that are difficult to compete with, but that's hardly the entire color.

I think I've explained pretty thoroughly why the circumstances of casting DM for the alt cost aren't just randomly giving away resources like you're 2000s Oprah. Even without bringing any explicit dealmaking into the picture.

The last paragraph makes no sense. You seem to be equating high skill cap cards with bad cards, when those two metrics have no relation, if not an inverse relation. This feels like another self-report to me. If you personally find high skill cap cards difficult to play, then you don't have to play them, but I wouldn't consider that an objective analysis of the card's effectiveness.

I don't have "an environment", I've played all over. Never found anywhere that I couldn't compete with mono-white, or that didn't "permit usage of high skill cap cards", whatever that means.

[Serenade]

Gamble being -1 on card advantage always bugged me. When we get a red legend that lets you ignore "at random" text, I'll think about this card some more.

[DirkGently]

Gamble being -1 on card advantage always bugged me.

Well, so is Vampiric Tutor. Gamble is probably the best mono-red card tbh.

Obviously this card is nowhere near as good as gamble, though.