[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Consecrated Sphinx

[TheAmericanSpirit]

I love the flavor text! It reminds me of one particularly hellbent algebra 2 teacher from high school. Jk, Ms. Wimberley was/is a nice lady. But her class was nowhere to be %$#% around, real talk.

[Sinis]

I love the flavor text! It reminds me of one particularly hellbent algebra 2 teacher from high school. Jk, Ms. Wimberley was/is a nice lady. But her class was nowhere to be %$#% around, real talk.

Ms. Wimberley sounds serious.

[Sinis]

Edit: Wrong thread, somehow.

[umtiger]

Since WotC has already tacitly acknowledged that life references to a specific number react poorly in formats outside the 20-life-60-card formats for which they were designed (see Angel of Destiny, Anya, Merciless Angel, Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim, etc.); I think we are passed due for the functional errata to make these things match the new, current template.

A Magister sphinx (or Sorin) that set "half starting life" would be much better than the annoying, troll version we have now. I can only be thankful that I don't see it multiple times/week (as was common 5+ years ago).

PS: Poison should also be "half starting life" - for the same reasons.

That isn't functional errata. That is power-level errata. Old cards shouldn't match new cards because they're different cards.

I understand why players complain and use the "interact poorly with the format" argument for Magister Sphinx/Sorin. But it's a really weak mentality. Even back then, setting someone to 10 life wasn't backbreaking at 7 cmc. It didn't invalidate or troll games like Sway of the Stars. It honestly just made the game faster and pushed pace.

Nowadays, 7 cmc is Cyclonic Rift. So are we still complaining about Magister Sphinx? I haven't seen anyone use it in a long time. Hey, Sharuum + Magister is 10 power.

If someone is going to argue that poison should double, where do they stand on Lightning Bolt? Things don't scale 2x or 0.5x just because starting life is 40.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

I love the flavor text! It reminds me of one particularly hellbent algebra 2 teacher from high school. Jk, Ms. Wimberley was/is a nice lady. But her class was nowhere to be %$#% around, real talk.

Ms. Wimberley sounds serious.

Algebra is serious business, and she clearly did not show up every day to spend half her class time maintaining/restoring order. You listened, or you died. She fought tirelessly in an unwinnable uphill battle against underfunded public school stupidity, and did it with sprezzatura. And for her efforts, the benighted worlds are slightly less thick with ignorance.

Edit:phrasing and redundant language

[Treamayne]

If someone is going to argue that poison should double, where do they stand on Lightning Bolt? Things don't scale 2x or 0.5x just because starting life is 40.

Correct - things like Lightning Bolt don't scale. However, back during the Alliances release, MaRo stated in an article in the Duelist (WotC's former magazine) that 10 was chosen as the set point for poison counters specifically because it was 1/2 the starting life total of 20. So, why can't CR 704.5c be updated appropriately? Now, 2HG gets a special rule to keep poison at 1/2 starting life total, but EDH gets shafted because the RC and WotC both point at each other effectively saying "you should fix it."

CR 704.5c

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704.5c If a player has ten or more poison counters, that player loses the game. Ignore this rule in Two-Headed Giant games; see rule 704.6b instead.
704.6b In a Two-Headed Giant game, if a team has fifteen or more poison counters, that team loses the game.

That isn't functional errata. That is power-level errata. Old cards shouldn't match new cards because they're different cards.

It is very much Functional Errata. By definition, if it functions the same both before and after, the errata is functional (e.g. "comes into play" and "enter the battlefield"). MS and company were designed for 20 life formats. The choice of "10 life" was based on the decision of being 1/2 the starting 20 life in those formats. The "one-half starting life" template had not been developed and put to use yet. Changing it from the former to the latter keeps it functionally identical in the formats it was designed for; while also fixing the card for the formats that do *not* start at 20 life.

It's certainly far closer to "functional errata" than the myriad change(s) made to things like Island of Wak-Wak, Oubliette, etc. over the years.

Comparison with other 7 mana cards (older or newer) is rather off-base as an argument, since (IME) those that play the sphinx rarely, if ever hard cast her. It's not about "games need to end eventually, and this helps;" it's "hah, cheat in Magister turn 2" <rofl><pubstomp> "oh, you were serious when you said this table was for a casual game?"

[Serenade]

Recently my buddy used it as a finisher in Alela, Artful Provocateur. Still great. He doesn't do anything broken with it.

Fair-ish since it only impacts one player at a time. I wish it was a cast trigger.

[umtiger]

If someone is going to argue that poison should double, where do they stand on Lightning Bolt? Things don't scale 2x or 0.5x just because starting life is 40.

Correct - things like Lightning Bolt don't scale. However, back during the Alliances release, MaRo stated in an article in the Duelist (WotC's former magazine) that 10 was chosen as the set point for poison counters specifically because it was 1/2 the starting life total of 20. So, why can't CR 704.5c be updated appropriately? Now, 2HG gets a special rule to keep poison at 1/2 starting life total, but EDH gets shafted because the RC and WotC both point at each other effectively saying "you should fix it."

CR 704.5c

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704.5c If a player has ten or more poison counters, that player loses the game. Ignore this rule in Two-Headed Giant games; see rule 704.6b instead.
704.6b In a Two-Headed Giant game, if a team has fifteen or more poison counters, that team loses the game.

That isn't functional errata. That is power-level errata. Old cards shouldn't match new cards because they're different cards.

It is very much Functional Errata. By definition, if it functions the same both before and after, the errata is functional (e.g. "comes into play" and "enter the battlefield"). MS and company were designed for 20 life formats. The choice of "10 life" was based on the decision of being 1/2 the starting 20 life in those formats. The "one-half starting life" template had not been developed and put to use yet. Changing it from the former to the latter keeps it functionally identical in the formats it was designed for; while also fixing the card for the formats that do *not* start at 20 life.

It's certainly far closer to "functional errata" than the myriad change(s) made to things like Island of Wak-Wak, Oubliette, etc. over the years.

Comparison with other 7 mana cards (older or newer) is rather off-base as an argument, since (IME) those that play the sphinx rarely, if ever hard cast her. It's not about "games need to end eventually, and this helps;" it's "hah, cheat in Magister turn 2" <rofl><pubstomp> "oh, you were serious when you said this table was for a casual game?"

tbh, no one is cheating Magister Sphinx into play either. There have always been more worthwhile things to do. Currently, the game would have to be rather low power for anyone to be pubstomping with Sphinx. So that argument is bad also?

I'm fine with cards functioning mostly as they are. If you're concerned with scaling everything (poison, etc) cards that involve payment of life would be hit too. Same with player only direct damage. It goes on.

Edh isn't getting the shaft because of Magister Sphinx lacking power level errata or poison being 10. It actually goes to show that the people running edh have done a good job and know better than not.

[3drinks]

Monday, October 11th, 2021; Manabarbs|leb

[Serenade]

Did this guy about a year ago. I only see this card backfiring on me.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

At a certain point in the game, this thing shuts down mana like karn + lattice. Feels really nice to play control with one of these on board too, the real Liberty Mutual experience. Proactive strategies have to commit their life upfront, whereas you only pay for what you need.

[pokken]

Man I loved manabarbs. I had a deck back in the day themed around mana using x-spells, mana doublers, and manabarbs to punish people for doing mana stuff while I Fireball Disintegrate and Spell Blast and Power Sink their stuff with as much mana as I want. It was horrible but it captured my 13 year old imagination

[Lifeless]

File under O for Omnath insurance. See also Storm Cauldron.

[Ruiner]

Big fan of using this in my Gisela, Blade of Goldnight deck along with other damage increasers. People should be punished for having the audacity to tap their lands for mana.

[Sinis]

Monday, October 11th, 2021; Manabarbs

I loathe this card and will (irrationally) attack the person playing it so they have to tap mana to do stuff.

[Crazy Monkey]

I'm also a big fan of Manabarbs in Gisela and Torbran, Thane of Red Fell aggro/burn decks. In most games, even when immediately removed, its damage output starts at moderate to game ending.

Years ago when the high-power decks of my metagame were Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and Patron of the Orochi, Manabarbs landing turn 2 in that matchup was backbreaking.

[onering]

Mana barbs is crazy good.

The whole conversation about scaling to the 40 life starting total makes me think it would be interesting to test a variant where EVERYTHING is scaled. Poison is 20 counters, Sorin/Sphinx set someone's total to 20, Serra Ascendant wants to see 50 life, lightning bolt does 6 to the face and 3 otherwise. Life payments are doubled, shocks deal 4 to their controller, you pay 2 life to fetches and painlanss. Mana Barbs does 2 each time. Purph does 4. Red would be Bah-roken. Could be fun.

[materpillar]

Mana barbs is crazy good.

The whole conversation about scaling to the 40 life starting total makes me think it would be interesting to test a variant where EVERYTHING is scaled. Poison is 20 counters, Sorin/Sphinx set someone's total to 20, Serra Ascendant wants to see 50 life, lightning bolt does 6 to the face and 3 otherwise. Life payments are doubled, shocks deal 4 to their controller, you pay 2 life to fetches and painlanss. Mana Barbs does 2 each time. Purph does 4. Red would be Bah-roken. Could be fun.

Just have everyone start at 20 life?

Manabarbs feels like a really fair way to punish linear, proactive strategies. Never really played with or against this but I wouldn't be miffed to see it hit the field.

[Mookie]

Manabarbs is a pretty brutal effect for any deck looking to put pressure on its opponents' life totals (and its own) - if you can get people low enough, they are effectively locked out of playing spells. At its best in decks that can make it asymmetric, like Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and Torbran, Thane of Red Fell, as others have already noted. Outside those decks... not sure where else it would make sense. I suppose you can make it a bit more asymmetric by just running a bunch of nonland mana sources, such as mana rocks, or a bunch of mana doublers so your lands are more valuable than your opponents'.

....playing Manabarbs symmetrically seems like a poor idea - I don't think I would run it without some way to abuse it. That said, not an effect I'm a big fan of in general (I like casting big spells), so not something I would expect to run in my own decks.

[Hermes_]

I thought there was a combo with Power Surge there wasn't at least I couldn't find one.

[Lifeless]

I thought there was a combo with Power Surge there wasn't at least I couldn't find one.

When mana burn was a thing this meant everyone took 1 damage per land they had in play, tapped or untapped, per round.

[hyalopterouslemur]

I thought there was a combo with Power Surge there wasn't at least I couldn't find one.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't? (I prefer Citadel of Pain to Power Surge on "at least it does something" grounds. It sideways hoses blue.)

If you have a lot of taxes or a lot of mana rocks/dorks, that's another way to make it asymmetric. Or just lifelink d00dz. Or just give yourself absorb 1

[onering]

Mana Barbs doesn't need asymmetry, that just makes it even better. When you're already pumping out damage faster than anyone else you care less about your life total than everyone else.

[materpillar]

Nesting Grounds and a lifelink counter would be insane too!

[3drinks]

Tuesday, October 12th, 2021; Plargg, Dean of Chaos // Augusta, Dean of Order