Pointed Discussion

Pretty cool, a cheaper version of Icy Manipulator.

This is probably the only scepter that deserved the rare slot, as the other two have really so-so abilities.

Why is this cards actually rare?

This is why Rishadan Port is so expensive :D Does exactly the same, but for 1 colorless, it's a land, doesn't come in play tapped and tap to add 1 ... sweetness!

4x icys with 4 of these + tezz + rings of bright earth = tap 12 permanents
impossible i know, but i'd laugh at the aggro jerk when i tap all his creatures and swing unblocked

Too bad the only thing in my white deck that I would want to keep tapped down is malakir bloodwitch :(

Great flavour text ;)

Not bad at all, a white and better Icy.

Such a good card in EDH decks; keeps other generals tapped.

5/5

For my needs... Icy manipulator is strictly better. It can go in any deck and equally as important it is COLORLESS and can get past protection.

Let's have a look at Tumble Magnet, which is heavily played, then let's take a look at the scepter again. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Tumble Magnet only has three charge counters and needs support (proliferate, or artifact bounce) to keep going beyond three activations. But it also doesn't require one mana to activate so it's even a turn faster. And obviously it can be played outside of white. And it doesn't fizzle against pro-white of course.

But the scepter is very strong all by itself. You don't need to play any support cards for this to be worth your while. Tumble Magnet is just ... meh without any cards that grant charge counters or allow you to bounce the magnet so you can replay it with three fresh counters. Also the scepter can tap any kind of permanent, including lands. It also works great in tandem with Voltaic Key and other untappers. Tumble Magnet depletes ultra fast, while Scepter of Dominance never depletes.

The Scepter shines with stuff like Howling Mine. Also it greatly appreciates turn two acceleration. Turn two Mind Stone into turn three Scepter + activation is really nice. From then on it will tap down the most valuable permanent every turn. It also forces your opponent to over-commit. So he plays another creature or two two be able to attack past your Scepter and whoops, there's the Day of Judgment.

This is a strong card in the right deck. And I don't mean "If this and that and when you combo it with some obscure card and the stars align, then it's good."-good. This is not one of those cases. It's just a really good card that also has very good synergy with the cards that come in it's color. (Like Day of Judgment) It's a house in any white control deck.

4.5/5.

I have to disagree with your assessment of the Scepter, it's not an awful card but Tumble Magnet is quite a bit better than it in general, and even in a mono-white control deck with no support cards it is still slightly better. The three activations can be relevant but is often less relevant than you'd think, compared to the mana cost to activate. Tumble Magnets are a lot more than 'meh' with just 3 activations, as that gives you ample time to find an answer to the threat you're trying to stop, or just kill them outright. The scepter is better for shenanigans like Howling Mine, I admit, but, you know, you jump on Tumble Magnet for being best with support, so it's a bit hypocritical.

Anyways, not a bad card, but it's worse than Tumble Magnet in general and is only really better in certain niche roles. On a competitive 1v1 rating scale, I'd give the Tumble Magnet a 2.5/5 or 3.0/5 and this Scepter a 2.0/5.

Better than Icy because you can tap down enchantments and planeswalkers.

@Kryptnyt: Why would you want to tap a planeswalker? For comedy value?

@Totema: That's probably the joke.

Also, you might want to tap down Gideon Jura.

Awkward moment when you say "Now I'm going to dominate you with my scepter."