[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Mystifying Maze

[folding_music]

feels like a card for some sort of co-operative auto-play format which doesn't exist. \o/ I kinda like it

[PrimevalCommander]

Good in 2HG commander where you can guarantee you get the wheel if you want it. An instant wheel for 4 is certainly playable if you have the right set up to ensure it happens.

[DirkGently]

Dirk enjoys winning, not losing.

Not even just that, but also that it's so difficult to game an advantage from that I'd find it infuriating to even attempt to build around. You're trying to get better value than your opponents from two completely different symmetrical modes, otherwise they'll just vote for the mode that benefits them more. And then the wheel is optional too, just in case you thought you could gang up for force mr. 20-card-hand to mulligan.

I suspect the vast majority of people putting this in their deck are thinking "this looks fun!" and that's about as deep as their strategic consideration goes.

So yeah, I can't really put myself in that head space, any more than I can imagine what it's like to be a parakeet.

[Lifeless]

This reads to me as too chaotic to play seriously, and all the chaos decks are UR max so it doesn't even have a home there in my estimate. I do like wheels to mess up everyone's plans, but getting control of the modes in a standard EDH game is a pain.

[Ruiner]

I'm not inherently opposed to choices/voting type cards, I like quite a few of them. Generally I have to be cool with whatever the outcome may be though.

I think the only home for this would be something Iike Tasigur, the Golden Fang where you are loading up your grave to get stuff back in hand already and probably wouldn't cast this unless you wouldn't mind a new hand. I don't know that it's particularly good but I could see it being playable in that situation.

In most cases I'd probably want Windfall or a dedicated hand refill. Convincing others to give the Simic deck a new hand when you want it is probably going to take some real work.

[Moxnix]

Yea i think this is a card you play as a precon power wheel where the goal isn't to game it or value but let it be silly and fun. the wheel you play in your lotr deck when you care more about quoting characters in the right voice as you play than the outcome of the game.

[onering]

This card is fun because the more you think about it, the worse it gets. The may on the wheel really kills it because it takes away any chance to use the wheel as a way to disrupt or punish people. Not that there was much of a chance of that anyway, because if you were going to abuse the wheel people would just vote for the regrowth. And then it self exiles, because heaven forbid you get this %$#% card back to cast again!

Then you can find situations where you set it up so that you'll get the vote you want, like you quickly play out your hand so you have a couple of good things to grab from the yard yet would also draw like 5-6 from the wheel so you're good either way, but then you remember it's symmetrical and everyone benefits. That's usually true for wheels, but at least that's reliable. It's never true for regrowth effects that are worth running, which means that even if you get back two good things you're spending a card to get back two while giving your opponents SIX between them in a 4 player game.

This is a pure mindless group hug card, and I don't think I can look at it any other way. Obviously, if I had this in my hand somehow, because someone slipped it into my deck as a prank maybe, I could find situations where this would be good, like maybe I have a couple of counterspells in the yard and 6 mana available and someone just cast something crazy, everyone else will vote for the regrowth effect so I can counter their game winning combo or whatever, but the times where this actually does something productive are still worse than other options while being corner cases.

It's actually impressive how trash they made this card, and fumbled an important moment in the story. Also, the art kind of sucks, way too cartoony and doesn't capture the vibe of Tolkien elves, especially not the Noldor.

[ISBPathfinder]

I don't like giving my opponents say in what my cards do and I don't like when it might help them. Choosing which mode to help them with..... I will very likely never play this card.

[Hermes_]

For me, trying to imagine being the sort of person who would run this card is roughly equivalent to imagining being a parakeet.

That sounds more fun than this card...just flying aorund,hanging out with your friends....unless you aren't a wild one.

[TheGildedGoose]

Imagine not asking the bird about its existence as a bird.

[MAGUSZANIN]

I don't know, I think Dirk was playing a lot of small flying critters last night for someone who can't imagine himself as a parakeet.

Words and gameplay just don't match up here, that's all I'm saying!

[Mookie]

I think the only home for this would be something Iike Tasigur, the Golden Fang where you are loading up your grave to get stuff back in hand already and probably wouldn't cast this unless you wouldn't mind a new hand. I don't know that it's particularly good but I could see it being playable in that situation.

Haaaard pass. If I'm running a control deck, the last things I want to do are to let my opponents recur their threats or refill their hand.

That said, I think it does have some merits in 1v1 formats where you can guarantee the wheel mode. Draw-7s are pretty good if you can dump your hand faster than your opponents, and instant speed means you can make use of the new cards before your opponents can.

I do find it interesting that a number of recent wheels have been optional - Wheel of Misfortune, Snort, and Step Between Worlds are in a similar bucket. I suppose the prevalence of draw punishers like Hullbreacher / Leovold, Emissary of Trest / Sheoldred, the Apocalypse / Orcish Bowmasters have made forced wheels too powerful. I don't really mind the change though - I think the fun part of wheels is getting to see a new hand, while the 'force opponents to draw a new hand' part is less important to their identity.

[yeti1069]

Tuesday, September 8th 2026; Sail into the West

I thoroughly disliked every Will of the Council card...and everything revolving around that mechanic in the precon. It was by far the worst precon I've opened and tried playing with.

I have 0 interest in giving everyone at the table a double Regrowth, and see little value in giving an optional full wheel. I'm already not a big fan of wheels when they have a shot at disrupting an opponent's strategy, because they too often are just handing gas to the rest of the table. The discard and draw an equal number at least don't immediately restock the player that dumped their whole hand to ramp like crazy. This cannot mess with anyone's hand if they don't want it to. No thanks. No way.

[3drinks]

Wednesday, September 8th 2026; Thrumming Stone

[Ruiner]

Obviously a pretty niche card.

I had this in my Haytham Kenway Templar Knight deck for a bit. The Templar Knights being able to tutor up Thrumming Stone is definitely appealing.

In practice, I wasn't a huge fan. Resolving the long turn where a third of your deck dumps out onto the board takes a while and then if you don't have a mass haste enabler you just pass and hope your board is still there on the next turn. In white/blue the options for mass haste are pretty limited and I dropped it after a while.

Its definitely playable but a bit tedious to resolve at times. In a deck of these "unlimited quantity" cards, I think Thrumming Stone is probably most viable if you can combo it with haste or some sort of Impact Tremors effect where you get immediate value.

[Moxnix]

Does the one thing kind of boring dont really like those decks so much.

[yeti1069]

I haven't played with Thrumming Stone since Coldsnap limited, but we've gotten several more cards that have the "any number" text. In general, I think most of these cards are boring, make for rather dull, same-y decks, and are exacerbated by Thrumming Stone.

I've been on the receiving end of Thrumming Stone w/ Dragon's Approach a couple of times, and that is pretty boring. In one of those games, the deck wasn't even mono- and they hadn't cast an Approach before Stone, so we didn't know what to expect. They played 2 rituals, I think--one dropped Stone, and the other a Dragon's Approach, and the game was over.

[MAGUSZANIN]

Thrumming Stone is obviously insane in any Relentless Rats text deck. There are several of those now, with at least one in every color. This card is very strong there..... and pretty much impossible to play anywhere else in commander due to the singleton rule.

[Lifeless]

I guess I'll give it partial credit for not being a deterministic combo card, but that's about the only nice thing I can say here. You're never playing this to do something fun or cool.

[3drinks]

I played against this last week outta a Taborax shadowborn apostles deck. No haste needed there, was surprised it actually did the thing. I think the price on thrumming stone is far too suspect given the relatively niche playability of it. That's not $20 of play in a piece of cardboard, that's a scarcity tax wearing a trenchcoat.

[ISBPathfinder]

Thrumming Stone..... if I am being honest the card is probably a trap but its fun and amusing so its fine.... Lets do some calculations just for fun assuming 99 card decks with the unlimited copies runnable cards.

20 copies: 60% chance of 1+ copies
25 copies: 69% chance of 1+ copies
30 copies: 77% chance of 1+ copies
35 copies: 83% chance of 1+ copies
40 copies: 87% chance of 1+ copies

Now, its true you could flip 2-4 copies early and then you sustain but my experience with Thrumming Stone is that the first hit or two is where you make or break on this math. Once you double or tripple flip you are probably good to go but the first few are the problems. On top of this you are looking at a five drop card that you then need to follow up with your 1-3 cmc creature and you are looking at a lot of mana to attempt to execute this. Also this card might talk you into increasing your count based on this card (a single card in the 99) to attempt to windmill big value to play.

All of this said, I have and do play this card on occasion. Its fun but far from optimal. Even if you get it to work there is a decent likelihood someone just walks in behind you with a wrath and you won't be able to play anymore as you pulled your deck into play. Like I said, this card is kind of a trap but one that is fun to execute. Its probably not optimal to run but I also don't bemoan anyone doing it because well.... its fun.

[Hermes_]

Thrumming Stone is obviously insane in any Relentless Rats

my first commander deck

Thrumming Stone..... if I am being honest the card is probably a trap but its fun and amusing so its fine.... Lets do some calculations just for fun assuming 99 card decks with the unlimited copies runnable cards.

20 copies: 60% chance of 1+ copies
25 copies: 69% chance of 1+ copies
30 copies: 77% chance of 1+ copies
35 copies: 83% chance of 1+ copies
40 copies: 87% chance of 1+ copies

Now, its true you could flip 2-4 copies early and then you sustain but my experience with Thrumming Stone is that the first hit or two is where you make or break on this math. Once you double or tripple flip you are probably good to go but the first few are the problems. On top of this you are looking at a five drop card that you then need to follow up with your 1-3 cmc creature and you are looking at a lot of mana to attempt to execute this. Also this card might talk you into increasing your count based on this card (a single card in the 99) to attempt to windmill big value to play.

All of this said, I have and do play this card on occasion. Its fun but far from optimal. Even if you get it to work there is a decent likelihood someone just walks in behind you with a wrath and you won't be able to play anymore as you pulled your deck into play. Like I said, this card is kind of a trap but one that is fun to execute. Its probably not optimal to run but I also don't bemoan anyone doing it because well.... its fun.

It caused a core memory, when I first hit the chain and got all of my rats out to kill the table,it's also funny when you whiff with it. There was also the core memory of me swinging at everyone again and then the actual Fog happened or the player who put Leyline of Singularity in their deck just to counter mine

[3drinks]

I should try this with Bruvec Persistent Partioners tbh. That.....might actually be a thing 😂😛

[ISBPathfinder]

I should try this with Bruvec Persistent Partioners tbh. That.....might actually be a thing 😂😛

It does have the upside that Persistent Petitioners can be used immediately to do something where as most of the unlimited copies creatures lack immediate effect. It could be decent.

[3drinks]

I should try this with Bruvec Persistent Partioners tbh. That.....might actually be a thing 😂😛

It does have the upside that Persistent Petitioners can be used immediately to do something where as most of the unlimited copies creatures lack immediate effect. It could be decent.

Bruvac the Grandiloquent

But then you've spent $58 on two cards in your meme deck and suddenly the joke gets old fast. And you can't beat 'drazi titans.