Wow, way to continue printing bad counters, Wizards.
I guess it's good against decks with very specific mana curves?
MrPink343
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Um, 7.5/5 stars for the art alone. I can't tell if he's in pain or having the time of his life. It's...mesmerizing.
Layton
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(3 votes)
yes,we are going to made some goob blue cards...
bah wizards,jace sucks in all senses,and now,this!?
True_Mumin
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Is this a friggin' joke?
Jaruten
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The funniest thing about the card is not the arms, but that it's uncommon. On second thought though, it might be uncommon so that people don't draft them that often since, because of it's sheer uselessness even in Limited. I still got 2 f them in the prerelease! Damn :(
lorendorky
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
The art looks way more like blue/red izzet effects should be happening.
True_Smog
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
My heart is bleeding , an inverted Mana Leak...arghhhh....and its uncommon, God help us.
Eggroll
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
lol @ the cards art. Also, meh counterspell is meh.
Nickkom
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
this doesn't work very well. Though I *did* draw like three cards off of it. Didn't actually counter the spell though.
Dingo777
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(3 votes)
why wizards, why, we have 5 new ways to kill the creature when it hits, but not a single decent way to stop it from hitting
WHERE HAS BLUE'S POWER GONE
used to be you got hated for playing blue control, now you get laughed at for trying to play any counter spells
on a side note, the art is awesome, such a waste for a card no one will play except as a joke
Demonic_Angel13
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I don't know if anyone noticed, but this card is a Spell Pierce without the Non-Creature part and with an overpriced kicker effect that had great potential. This card is a waste of space and the only marginaly good part is the art.
Tommy9898
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
C-O-N-T-O-R-T-I-O-N
Contortion
Graphec
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
May not be that bad if you have a Green Blue deck with Bird of Paradise and Llanowar Elves as 1 drops and this card on turn 2. Easier to cast than Cancel in this sort of deck. If you manage to get the 1 drop out it can come out at the same speed as Counterspell.
gcilley
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Obviously not a card for limited or standard. Try it in EDH though and you'll wind up getting a slightly more expensive Cryptic Command.
Tiggurix
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Meh. This card is certainly not spectacular, but neither is it the herald of the end of blue control. If one are to believe the mass hysteria, that place has already been taken by Cancel.
If you compare it to the aforementioned hard counter it does, in fact, have its uses. You can throw this in a blue/green deck to provide a more mana flexible soft-counter which with the right mana ramp can provide a respectable card advantage.
Anyway, it's certainly better than Spell Snip, at least. And of course, as everyone else has observed, the illustration is hilarious!
Exuberance
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I love the complaint about blue's power being "gone". Because. you know, it's not like Negate, Essence Scatter, Cancel, Spell Pierce, and Dispel, five very strong counters, aren't still in Standard or anything. No sirree.
Oh, and Flashfreeze. I forgot about that sixth awesome counter. But, no, blue is awful now. Sigh. *cough*
jstorrie
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Now that everyone in Standard has an insane amount of mana, this might be awesome?
tcollins
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Would be better if kicker was {1} and increased the soft counter by {1} ...that way it'd still be worse thant Mana Leak when unkicked, but would be more playable..
JaxsonBateman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
For 1 more mana it's far worse than Cryptic Command. Go figure.
Ok, maybe that's unfair, but realistically it's just waaay too expensive. If the kicker had increased the payment required, it might have had potential, especially if the card draw was dependent on that. 5 mana for "counter target spell unless its controller pays 4; draw a card" is only a 2 for 1, when many 5 mana cards give 3 for 1s (like Jace's Ingenuity). Allowing you to pump more mana into it would also allow for a Mana Leak style spell that can still be used to hard counter late game, but requires much more mana to do so.
Alas, lost potential unless they eventually decide to do multikickers again.
Lyoncet
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Fun with Riku for those drawn-out EDH games. Use it when someone taps out for a big {X} effect, and draw like 8 cards.
Won't be many tears shed when it rotates though.
Mr.Wimples
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
"Suddenly, to Fredrik's dismay, his arms inexplicably spasmed mid-spell and became like a turbulent jelly."
DoragonShinzui
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's an...interesting spell. To say the least. ... And the most.
forumbrowser
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The art...oh my god. Poor guy's arms.
"Aaaaabra cada...AHHHH IT HURTS"
Ansem717
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
2U for "Counter Target Spell unless its controller pays {2}" --I'd rather run Mana Leak
3UU for "Counter Target spell unless its controller pays {2}. Draw a card" --I'd rather run Cryptic Command
4UUU for "Counter Target spell unless its controller pays {2}. Draw two cards." --I'd rather run Overwhelming Intellect
Comments (27)
I guess it's good against decks with very specific mana curves?
bah wizards,jace sucks in all senses,and now,this!?
WHERE HAS BLUE'S POWER GONE
used to be you got hated for playing blue control, now you get laughed at for trying to play any counter spells
on a side note, the art is awesome, such a waste for a card no one will play except as a joke
Contortion
If you compare it to the aforementioned hard counter it does, in fact, have its uses. You can throw this in a blue/green deck to provide a more mana flexible soft-counter which with the right mana ramp can provide a respectable card advantage.
Anyway, it's certainly better than Spell Snip, at least. And of course, as everyone else has observed, the illustration is hilarious!
Oh, and Flashfreeze. I forgot about that sixth awesome counter. But, no, blue is awful now. Sigh. *cough*
Ok, maybe that's unfair, but realistically it's just waaay too expensive. If the kicker had increased the payment required, it might have had potential, especially if the card draw was dependent on that. 5 mana for "counter target spell unless its controller pays 4; draw a card" is only a 2 for 1, when many 5 mana cards give 3 for 1s (like Jace's Ingenuity). Allowing you to pump more mana into it would also allow for a Mana Leak style spell that can still be used to hard counter late game, but requires much more mana to do so.
Alas, lost potential unless they eventually decide to do multikickers again.
Won't be many tears shed when it rotates though.
...
And the most.
"Aaaaabra cada...AHHHH IT HURTS"
--I'd rather run Mana Leak
3UU for "Counter Target spell unless its controller pays {2}. Draw a card"
--I'd rather run Cryptic Command
4UUU for "Counter Target spell unless its controller pays {2}. Draw two cards."
--I'd rather run Overwhelming Intellect
This card just isn't good.