Hmm... I can only compare it to mind twist. I think they'd have done better to just take out the "at random" than increase its color specific cost. This isn't nearly as deadly.
God_of_Destruction
★☆☆☆☆ (1.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Hello Megrim...
Chromatone
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Wasn't Mind Twist banned for being to powerful? With no Mox or Lotus behind it and 1 more cost I guess its not. Discard at random is at least 50% better than opponents choice. Maybe with some green behind it for mana speed, this can be a nasty top deck but also a late game dead draw. It may just need the right deck to be devastating.
Sucros
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(7 votes)
The extra black makes this worse than mind twist, but it's the removal of fast mana for black that makes the difference between the power that was mind twist and this card. However, this card is a bafflingly overlooked sideboard option against control decks, especially in standard with counterspells being rather weak. Play it against a five color control player. They'll make the same pose as in the art, promise.
Dimastator
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(5 votes)
Balanced but still prefer mind TWIST!
OmniMarconi67
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
You'd never play Mind Twist until late game anyway unless you had the appropriate mana boost, and if Mind Shatter were in your hand instead it'd still be just as debilitating. Mind Twist is the best in discard, but all things considered this is just as good in the current Standard and Extended formats.
Statix
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(5 votes)
This is a great card. Even with just five lands in play, making your opponent discard 3 at random in the midgame usually ends up being pretty painful. Most of the time when I put this in, it turns the tide in my favor immediately.
Gezus82
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(8 votes)
of course mind twist is better, don't complain about this card, its just more balanced. comparing it to mind twist is like comparing time warp to time walk, tho it wasn't quite as nerfed.
JWolps
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
Really cool artwork. I'm a sucker for crows.
coyotemoon722
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
This card is ridiculous in Standard.
EnV
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Prefer Mind Twist? Mind Twist is only for casual play, its not even legal in type 1 tournaments!
VoidedNote
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
I love this card, it's very powerful. I mind shattered somebody for their hand with two megrims out for a total of 20 life. The only shame is most decks don't have many cards in their hands when you get the mana to do good damage.
EnV, what the deuce are you talking about? Mind Twist isn't even restricted in type I.
Stay relevant, guys. This may be good for budget peeps, but Mind Twist is the way to go when you're playing something other than Standard.
God_Of_The_Smurfs
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Mind sludge is definitely better. I mean, paying less than 5 mana for this wouldn't be worth it, and even then they'd only discard 3 cards. With mind sludge, you have to pay more, but you get the same effect, and more cards.
auriscope
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@Sucros: Will crows come out of his head too?
dberry02
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Getting hit with this out of the blue hurts so much. 4.5/5
So this is where that Murder of Crows is getting its ideas from.
Radagast
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Hilarious how Mind Twist was once so broken that it was restricted, than banned for a while, and certainly removed from print, probably to never return. Years pass, and then they go out and almost reprint it... and nobody really cares. Sure, it costs one more, but with mana ramp, you can still wreck a guy's hand without much effort.
One of very few examples in the game where a once powerful spell (not creature) is now considered "decent" vs. "OMG, broken!"
hamberglar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Mind Twist wasn't broken because it is intrinsically an amazing card. It was broken because Black Lotus and Dark Ritual existed.
When you pull the cards a single turn into the future and remove the other half of the brokenness, you get a solid but stable card.
Cabal Ritual is another example of a solid card that came out of that. It's not as broken as dark ritual on turn 1 or 2, but in the late game it's a heavy game swinger. Just. Like. This.
Mind twist and dark ritual own the first couple of turns, while the middle game belongs to cabal ritual and mind shatter.
Singe
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Reminds me of Itachi's Ravens and the fact he can mess with anyone's mind.
MRK1
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
That extra black makes me sick.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm considering using this in {G}{B}. {G} has the ramp needed to cast this and make it reliable in multi-color. Hitting for 3 cards on Turn 3 is quite possible without a lot of catering. Deathrite shaman would be ideal, but mana-elves are enough. It takes no deck catering and it requires no card disadvantage. You simply put it in benefit from Green's inherent excess mana and blow their hand up while playing reliable cards. This is highly worth considering.
Original Post: decent but unfortunately that 1 mana makes it far worse than it's predecessor.
The reasons why this is much worse: -Can't be splashed well. A second mana makes it significantly more difficult for other colors to cast -Discard is about tempo as much as it is about control; mostly because discard is only useful early on. This requires your opponent to still have cards during T4-T5, which if you're running discard, they won't be.
Mind twist's accessible mana cost allow for t2,t3, or t4 uses and was a replacement for other discard spells, to a degree, even over Hymn.
@Rad No one would still in their right mind call Mind Twist even just "strong." Even against most of blue's best draw, it has one of the best mana-per-card-advantage ratios in the game; and it screws people quickly, and it's color light. This fails to meet all of those reqs and thus is rated much lower. It's still alright, but {B} {B} <<<<<<< {B}, and not understanding that is to not understand the tempo of eternal formats.
Comments (30)
Stay relevant, guys. This may be good for budget peeps, but Mind Twist is the way to go when you're playing something other than Standard.
My Top 5 Punch-Your-Friend-in-the-Face Card List:
#1. Haunting Echoes
#2. Extirpate
#3. Mind Shatter
#4. Blightning
#5. Sadistic Sacrament
One of very few examples in the game where a once powerful spell (not creature) is now considered "decent" vs. "OMG, broken!"
When you pull the cards a single turn into the future and remove the other half of the brokenness, you get a solid but stable card.
Cabal Ritual is another example of a solid card that came out of that. It's not as broken as dark ritual on turn 1 or 2, but in the late game it's a heavy game swinger. Just. Like. This.
Mind twist and dark ritual own the first couple of turns, while the middle game belongs to cabal ritual and mind shatter.
Original Post:
decent but unfortunately that 1 mana makes it far worse than it's predecessor.
The reasons why this is much worse:
-Can't be splashed well. A second mana makes it significantly more difficult for other colors to cast
-Discard is about tempo as much as it is about control; mostly because discard is only useful early on. This requires your opponent to still have cards during T4-T5, which if you're running discard, they won't be.
Mind twist's accessible mana cost allow for t2,t3, or t4 uses and was a replacement for other discard spells, to a degree, even over Hymn.
@Rad
No one would still in their right mind call Mind Twist even just "strong." Even against most of blue's best draw, it has one of the best mana-per-card-advantage ratios in the game; and it screws people quickly, and it's color light. This fails to meet all of those reqs and thus is rated much lower. It's still alright, but {B} {B} <<<<<<< {B}, and not understanding that is to not understand the tempo of eternal formats.
I'm so funny.