Pointed Discussion

Very, very powerful card!!

One of my favorites. Absolutely brutal card - removing all cards is just beautiful,

Best specter!

only good until they have no cards in hand.

It has only one problem. You can't play it in the first turn using Dark Ritual, like Hypnotic Specter does.

Slower than Hypnotic, but much, much more powerful if it hits.

Disgustingly awesome card. Beats combo decks like no other.

This is the perfect creature for an MBC. its a cranial extraction / thoughtseize every turn! i give this card the award "the-wickedly-sick-cards-that-should-never-have-been-printed-but-thank-you-wizard-for-doing-so-anyway." this deserves 20/20 hahaha
oh yeah... "only good until thay have no cards in hand" of course they'll always have cards in their hands... this is what you do...MWAHAHAH first turn put down a swamp dark ritual then rancid earth, or any 3 to cast land Destroyer, second turn put down another swamp then hit them with a sinkhole, third turn put down another swamp or better yet put down a stripmine and then cast whatever wicked black spells you have up your sleeves... extirpate..duress...smallpox...thoughtsieze...hymn to tourach... 4th turn.. if by any chance you have another dark ritual.. you play that then play this specter... this is if you play second.. but if you play first that's a whole new game MWAHAHHHA anyway.. have fun guys!! ^ ^

amazing card...ive gotten it out early and dismantled my opponent....i only have one....a flier that causes discarding a card and all like it.....insane!...decks lacking fliers are in deep....doo doo

This can easily dismantle a Relentless Rats deck, and can also serve as a powerful attacker in any discard deck.
Now if they would only make a Specter lord...

WOW, this is better than the hypnotic, unbelivable.

What's a shimian?

Now that is a specter!

The speed difference between a 3-CMC and 4-CMC spell is huge. Firstly, a 3-CMC spell fits perfectly in first-turn Dark Ritual for black decks or second turn green spell after first-turn llanowar elves. Mana ramping is most efficient in the first two turns, and therefore the gap between the level of your vs. your opponent's spells is the most significant. Increasing the cost by one mana means delaying one whole turn until it can be played - in which case most competitive decks would have evolved the board positions by then.
As such, some of the best 4-CMC cards are able to offer much better effects than their 3-CMC counterparts. Shimian Specter is an excellent example of the benefits gained at the price of tempo.

Because of its lack of speed, this card can't ever be a game-breaker or carry a strategy on its back as Hypnotic Specter could, but definitely a solid supporting member.

Ummm.. WOW. I haven't, thankfully, been on the receiving end of this guy previously. What a powerhouse of an ability.

Would pair extremely well with any kind of prison/shutdown deck that slowed someone down, or filled their hand with draws.

5/5

@zk3 there is a fair amount of 2nd turn mana excell such as the signets, everflowing challice, mindstone, etc... that help this guy out. sure he's not saddled on a turn 1 dark ritual but he can be powerful

he really shines in UB where you increase your draw by letting your opponent draw, a la Jace, he can come out early enough to completely disrupt your opponents strategies, when playing control or combo decks, though he falls flat against agro, and specifically any red deck

Great card - only downside is that he doesn't cause discard per se, so you don't get the synergy with Liliana's Caress that you do with other specters.

Flying Lobotomy.

This card might as well be (I DON'T mean this as an insult to it):

- Funny Discard Spell
Sorcery

Target opponent reveals a removal or creature-damaging spell from his hand, pays its mana cost, and discards it.
_____________

I DON'T mean that as an insult. Part of the value of a great creature is that it makes your opponent blow his wad on his removal spells. Saying that this creature SCREAMS for removal is praise, not criticism! 4.5/5!

Wow, what a great black rare!
Just the right level of 'answer me or lose' for a rare creature, but insidious and scary rather than a powerhouse, which makes it feel so deliciously

best one.... besties... man.... never been a better use for the invisibility cloak. and DacenOctavio, i'd rather have a lying flobotomy than a flying lobotomy...

Would have been much better if it was a Simian Specter.

Control players will do almost anything to kill this 2/2. I love it to death