Brainstorm on a stick isn't good enough for you people?! REALLY?!
And that's not even counting scry/fateseal 1, Unsummon, and its ultimate (which, IMO, is its least appealing feature). It's an amazing utility tool for blue and is looking to overtake Abyssal Persecutor as Worldwake's most sought-after card, and for good reason.
Elysiume
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(10 votes)
Powerful, especially for his cost. A very good blue walker. He has solid abilities, and costed fair. His ultimate will go off incredibly rarely, what with it requiring five uninterrupted turns to build up to it. If it gets there, it's almost always game. His 0 ability is probably his strongest.
As for him having 4 abilities, I'm ambivalent. I'm more curious as to whether they are going to do this just for specific walkers, or if it's the new standard. I'd assume the former, but I don't have any way to know.
wolfv
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(13 votes)
well costed, and relevant in all formats, it is exactly what we have come to expect from planewalkers, and i am glad to see this new jace
Thomasbchillin
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Jace the wallet sculpter? Somebody think up a better name for this cash cow. Worth every penny though =/
DlCK
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(11 votes)
yay! free brainstorms!
so many good combinations available... gilder bairn can help get his final ability off fast
ClowWizardEriol
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(6 votes)
Jace's 0 loyalty cost ability is basically "draw a new card" every turn. That's pretty powerful by itself.
Turn 1 - Use the ability the first time: look at 3 new cards. Put back 2 cards. Turn 2 - Draw your normal card. Use the ability. You already know the top 2 cards in your library, but now you can see the third card which is new. Etc.
Great card, too bad as soon as he's out somebodys going to lightning bolt him.... Amazing abilitys, so amazing that your never going to be able to use them, as soon as you try to activate an ability, BAM! stacked lightning bolt.
TomAlso
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(11 votes)
You put loyalty counters as part of the ability activation cost, so in the situation you just described bolt would not kill him...
Dingo777
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(6 votes)
TomAlso, that would depend on the ability, unsummon or brainstorm would still be kill, only scry/fateseal would last through a bolt
but yeah, awesome card, I got 1, a friend got one, and I am gonna see about getting his
I love blue and as far as I can see, this is awesome but the only decent blue in standard, come on wizards, more awesome blue cards, mill is in black, counter/control is in white, red and green burn and reach blue's fliers, blue wants to come back, just let it, you can make it equal with the rest without making fairies again
counterspell, reprint that in the core set and we will be happy
as it is UB is the mill color, WU is the control
ChampionofSquee
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(6 votes)
i got hit by his ultimate today... i had no cards in hand. Ouch!
HairlessThoctar
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(12 votes)
I seriously doubt this guy is the messiah as so many seem to think.
His most interesting ability (Brainstorm) being a zero makes him somewhat more durable than had it been a minus, but it doesn't make him any less likely to die from critters.
Though the fact that we finally have a blue PW that can defend himself (Unsummon) is quite glorious.
Good. Very good. But not Elspeth good.
Though he might make more of an impact in Extended or Legacy which is more geared towards control and combo anyway.
Also; when are people going to learn, the ultimates should not be why you play any given planeswalker, they're far too unreliable to be win-cons. Even Garruk's and his is ***-easy to get to.
kyrozack
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.9/5.0)(7 votes)
awsome planes walker I give him a 4.5 just because his loyalty counter starts out low otherwise great card
Arglypuff
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(14 votes)
Run a Jace or two, maybe three for consistency, brainstorm to put Kraken Hatchlings and Walls of Denial on top of your library, drop a few Quest for the Ula Temples, and boom! Turn 5 Lorthos! Drop a Lorthos, drop an Inkwell Leviathan, a few Shoal Serpents, maybe a Kraken Hatchling for blockers, and you know what you have? A Standard Quest for the Ula Temple deck! Splash white for a few Journeys and Paths for spot removal, Day of Judgement in case things get itchy, with some nice cancels, lapse of certainty-s. Drum roll please, unbeatable Blue White OCTOPUS control deck!
MTGFreak
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(8 votes)
Today before the Pre-Release, this card is marketed at: $34.95 for the non foil. On the 31st, Jace jumped to $39.95 On 2/1/2010 Jace shot up to $44.95 Jace, The Cash Cow
Mafoo
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(37 votes)
He's up to $59.99 on StarCityGames. He's more like "Jace, the Money Scalper".
Beekhead
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(22 votes)
I do not like this card. The +2 ability sucks, and the -12 is unattainable. Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid stupid.
I really like this card, though I don't want to see him on the other side of the board. I currently have a standard U mill deck thinking of adding W for path to exile it just plays well with Archive Trap but anyway Jace has a home in my deck any of his prints but this one is the best so far.
skew
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I laughed so hard when I read the ultimate. Sure, unattainable, but funny as hell !
Also, "brainstorm on a stick" - way to go DonRoyale.
Besides this, permanent brainstorm could be good enough i guess... But it easier to get rid off him then to dispose of enchantment / artifact, sooo...
Jace, with his +2 pumping ability, could be a good friend with Doubling Season. Altough, compared to mr. Markov, Jace's +2 ain't that good (I actually wanted to say it sucks, but then I realized how annoying it can be to know your opponent is checking all your incoming cards and decideing for you wich to throw away and wich not... and without you even knowing what he did).
Nickkom
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(4 votes)
This is guy is just plain bananas. Being able to brainstorm every turn is INSANELY powerful. You aren't *just* getting two draw two cards every turn for free, you are accessing three extra cards every turn. It's just nuts.
The scrying/fate seal is alright, but its just so tempting to brainstorm every turn. Still, it does prevent your opponent from top decking, and it could help manipulate your own draws.
Pair this guy with fetch lands, and you really get a LOT of control over your library.
In one game, my opponent dropped Baneslayer, and I had nothing useful in my hand. I drew a treasure hunt, dropped halimar depths, saw jace and a land, drew both with TH, dropped jace, brainstormed, picked up an aether tradewinds, bounced Baneslayer, bounced her again the next turn, then essence scattered the turn after.
blindthrall
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(8 votes)
It's a good card but only retards would pay 45+ dollars for it. After the novelty wears off it'll drop back down to a reasonable $20.
no_body
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I just witnessed my friend being hit by the ulti...he was playing against a deck with 4 spreading seas and 4 convincing mirages which mana screwed my friend....jace's first ability prevented him for getting any new lands....and boom. ouch. sucks to be him... overall, this is a good card...very solid, has abilities to prevent it from being bolted to death too early(+2) and an unsummon to prevent some creatures from reaching him...in the right deck, maybe pulling off his ulti is not such an impossible feat
True_Smog
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
I'm really glad that wotc make a good Blue card , but yet of course it should be incredibly expensive mythic rare...
Selez
★☆☆☆☆ (1.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Does a Blue planeswalker following a Red, Black and Green mean Rise of the Eldrazi is gonna have a new White Planeswalker? Cause if not that isn't fair to White.
The price tag on this thing is so high I could see someone killing for it. Someone with their priorities REALLY messed up.
I'm getting really sick of people who base a card's value off how many kill spells in standard can kill it. This card is broken, without doubt the chase rare of the set. Lightning bolt is supposed to BALANCE it. Just play its first ability first and no worries. You should have a Plumeveil, Wall of Denial, or Calcite Snapper to block for you anyway.
So yeah, it can be killed. What can't?
Sorxores
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I'm not a big fan, but this planewalker is probably one of the best. you control half control your opponent draw (he need a certain color of a land, well you can make it even harder for him to get it.
No need to control your opponent draw, then control your own by drawing 3 card and choosing wich one you want to keep.and if you had a useless card in your hand, just send it at the bottom of your library next turn.
your opponent is treathening you with it's baneslayer or abyssal demon, send it back to his hand and force him to recast it/wait for summoning sickness.
If your opponent is dumb enough to leave this jace on the field long enought, make he's library countain only 3-4 card^^
The only thing he need is : use this ability anytime you could play an instant, remove from the game all spell on the stack, send back all creatures your opponent control and all his hand at the bottom of his library. You MOST play an extra ability from this planewalker this turn
Kungfu1
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(9 votes)
This guy is amazing. lets pretend for a second hes got only one ability, his +2. this has two amazing functions in and of itself. you get to sift through your deck ditching land or a Spell Pierce because your up against vamps. OR look at your opponents deck and say bye bye to the nighthawk or any other nasty on top. hell you could just leave card there every turn and know exactly what your opponent. This is all while accomplishing +2 on him. now lets review the mana curve of blue in standard shall we? Turn 1: (U) Ponder Turn 2: (1U) essence scatter Turn 3: Jace #1 draw a card Turn 4: Jace #2 Ponder: Turn 5: Jace #2 puts that land that you left 3 down from top of library last turn on bottom of deck. Jace 1 draws you a fresh card. TIME WARP Rinse and repeat, search your deck for everything you need at an absolutely rediculous rate while being able to damn near lock down your opponent without using ANY MANA WHATSOEVER because of jace #2's unsummon. Your opponents will be spending so much time focusing on them your deck can now do whatever the hell it was made to do. Mmaybe your milling their face with blue mill allies and some umara raptors and rite of replication. perhaps its UR burn. hell might even be UW and use that yummy new worm. The point is you cant go wrong with 3-4 of each jace in a blue deck, mix in ponder and god forbid another 1 or 2 draw cards and you'll be seeing your win condition every game. (not to mention half of those will have won by either jace #1 milling your opponants face OR jace #2 milling your opponants face)
If you cannot see why this guys worth every penny of that 50 dollars your mother is going to be missing out of her wallet then you need to consider quitting, not just the game but probably life too.
I give him a 5/5 only because it is not possible to go higher :P
statiefreez
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(4 votes)
@kungfu1: You do realize that the "Legendary" rule applies to Planeswalkers of the same name, right? Your idea won't work. You can't have 2 Jaces, even if one is Beleren and one is the Mind Sculptor.
So can someone explain to me exactly how his last -12 ability works and what it does?
hail_squishface
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(2 votes)
i really don't understand why people keep blurting free brainstorm. you do have to pay the initial 4 to play him. meaning you are paying 4 to brainstorm. i like the new jace and i like how he actually feels like he is suppose to be in a blue deck but i do think he is a over hyped card and very far from broken. but i do like him and enjoy playing him casually.
Zoah
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
OK, this is likely to be the single best plans-walker out there now.
Admittedly his plus move is not as good as some I have seen, Espeth for instance makes creatures, but it grants some control, has flexibility, and has no downside, unlike the old Jace. This is good for a plus ability.
His 0 ability is not bad at all. More than good enough to have been his minus ability.
His actual minus ability is potentially lethally potent, easily granting the user a fair amount of domination over the field.
And lastly, his "ultimate" move. Unless you have been utterly slaughtered already and your opponent is just toying with you, this will end the game in your favor, barring extraneous circumstances. First, it removes your opponent's entire deck, all but handing you a mill victory, then it disarms them by placing their hand into there new, almost empty, deck. Worst case, they have 7 cards in their deck (barring extraneous circumstances involving increased max hand size) and you have to mill a few cards out of the way using someone else. Best case, they have no hand, you end your turn, the game is over, you win.
Is there really any question: ***** five stars, much better than the last Jace. A fine addition to any blue deck, and a star for any mill deck.
Ribsublover
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
My main thought is about the zero ability. When compared to the old jace that gave you simply net card advantage for -1 (draw one), you get net card advantage of 1 with the ability to gain 2 better situational cards by switching out two less situational cards to your library for 0. Why even play old jace? I have never played with either Jace, but the new one just seems more practical in every regard (except price and cmc).
Jace Beleren (3) +2 each player draw a card -1 target player draws a card - 10 target player puts the top 20 cards of his or her library into his graveyard
Draw a card without gaining card advantage for +2 Draw a card to gain card advantage -1 Mill 20 cards
Jace, the Mind Sculpter (see the card displayed on the page)
gain 1 net card advantage, put your least appropriate card two draws away, another card one away for 0 look at top card of a library and you may put it at the bottom of that library +2 (that least appropriate card still not appropriate from the 0 ability? after your first draw of your turn its on top of your library, send it to the bottom) or (know your opponents draws and keeping them from grabbing a win condition/needed land) turn your opponent's library into only what is in his hand for -12 unsummon for -1 is extra (sorcery speed though)
OD97
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I pulled this guy in my second pack I bought off of World wake. Time to remake my old blue mill/control deck!
phoenixcobra27
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(3 votes)
runed halo anyone?
Joseph_Leito
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
If this ISN'T killed on the first turn you drop it, your opponent is either completely helpless already or just plain stupid. :P
wicked_pick
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I love the art!
PrimeSonic
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(8 votes)
While the ultimate ability could possibly end the game right there, it's probably not going to see a lot of play. The other abilities are just too awesome to pass up. I don't think any blue deck would want to run without this guy.
Cryoghoul
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(9 votes)
I thank this card for reminding why i quit playing.
lz17
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Pulled this in my first booster in a fat pack, just another reason why i love magic.
U/B/W control mill vampire deck, oh zendikar block ilysm.
Fordin
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(3 votes)
@ Selez: White got Elspeth in the Alara block, so atm all colors have 2 walkers iirc, and then theres some multicolored ones
selamaleth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
one word, reroute
lukemonster
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(5 votes)
you're dumb, this doesn't make you win with tunnel vision because nobody only runs one of a card in their deck. so you just spent sixty bucks and ten blue mana for nothing
Ryu_Dragontis
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This jace is awesome. Sure the price tag is high but i got two in my box so i was pleased. Totoally awesome and at home in any blue deck. His abilities are all really awesome. Unsummon, Brainstorm, and that ability to look at the top card. Total control. Sure he can be bolted right off the bat and is legend ruled but still.....
iPotato
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(5 votes)
nasty combo with tunnel vision in EDH so you can forget the ultimate.
@lukemonster read up on EDH format. Only 1 of each card is allowed.
Ezenthar
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
The creature ability is just epic for abilities that activate when a creature enters the battlefield. Sooo useful.
greenandblack
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
i got him in a world wake booster earlier today. then i got Abyssal Persecutor two booster packs later!
xd4
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
just pulled this today, this is what planes walkers should be like, not terribly broken like Bolas, Jace's abilities are good and if your opponent is bad enough to let you set off his ultimate than all i have to say is lol
Th3_Dark_On3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Why the hell is this 50 dollars?
GouldenDraak
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I bought a Worldwake booster box as soon as it went on sale. I pulled an Abyssal Persecutor and Jace. Wow what a nice payday! Sold both and got the rest of my box for free!
Guest752675997
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Jace, the Money Scalper :-D
Cheza
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Where are the typical 'dies to lightning bolt' posts you can always expect, if this would have been a creature???
I can understand that WotC wishes that every deck runs 4x Jace or any other planeswalker. Beside all those fetchlands and duals, this would generate a huge income! $$$...B.I.N.G.O...$$$ - I would do the same, if I want could create such a high value out of paper cards created for teenagers & young adults! If they can afford x-Boxes, iPhones, Nike shoes, etc. they will spend $50 for a card too.
But they made a terrible mistake.... planeswalker can be attacked ... and even worse can be damaged by spells. And that's why they aren't overpowering anything else. That's such a pitty!!! Not all the decks running 4x Elsbeth and 4x Jace... even if no other enchantment, no other artifact has ever created such highly overpowered effects.
And what's even worse than that... have fun with a Broodbraid Elf cascading into a Ball Lightning...
AkaruiRain
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I wonder how many of these things are out there. I haven't played against a single one yet, let alone see one. Maybe this is all just a dream...
bijart_dauth
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(9 votes)
@statiefreez, you can have a jace berlen and one of these at the same time. same as you can have rhys the exiled and rhys the redeemed at the same time. or that you can have cards that are long dead. the legendary role is that there is only one in exestense but that only refers to that time period. mindsculpter is a diferant person as long as magic is concerned
realy? i asked about it to, i would think that it wouldnt, but i was told it did. does that mean that the same is true for legendary creatures in diferant forms?
persecutor
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(4 votes)
overrated, but still good
kilovortex
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(6 votes)
planeswalkers are a very fun addition the game of magic, but in my point of view way over rated. people have been winning magic games and tournaments way before these guys were even developed. like i said, "a very fun addition," but they are basically a direct damage or removal target. a wrong way to gouge customers of their money !!
spicayd
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(11 votes)
Got a Jace yesterday during a draft, alongside a Day of Judgement and Luminarch Ascension and well..yeah I won. :p
Jace was able to win me a game single-handedly..he is THAT good..now since I'm the type of person who doesn't buy single cards at all though..I'm fine with just having one for EDH anyway..but for those who do buy cards, this is definately worth the price put on him.
5/5 from me.
BobTheBuillder
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(7 votes)
too less loyalty. one bolt before he does anything and he is dead
MrDoppleganger
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
One bolt and he's dead? Don't you have a counterspell? He had to be 3 loyalty, just to give people hope...any more and he's an automatic win.
Jace loves to hang out on Grixis...where the Vampire Nocturnus really digs those first two abilities.
NeoSin
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Actually, you cant have both Jaces out. I inquired the same thing about both Chandras, and I was told that its the Name below the picture that counts. Since they both say "Planeswalker - Jace" they both are hit by the legendary rule. That being said, I need two for my Grixis Control deck :*(
It depends Bojart, if your talking in cases like Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Akroma, Angel of Fury, the legendary rule does not apply. The same can be said for Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and Nicol Bolas. In those cases the names do differ (Wrath and Fury, "Planeswalker" as opposed to not.) But in the Jace/Chandra situation, they DO share a name at the subtype, therefore making the legendary rule apply, ya dig?
Gaussgoat
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Yeah... had this played against me in FNM last week and was basically blown away at how effective he is. The ultimate ability, as many planeswalker abilities are, is basically a game over effect.
I think his +2 leveler is a little on the weakside, but for a control deck it is amazing. The -1 unsummon is very nice as well, and the free Brainstorm is pretty sick.
All in all, I have to give it at least a 4.5/5, and that is probably just being picky.
Bastron
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Please reconsidering adding other cards to the reserved list like this one. I would like to see newer cards become collectible, because lets face it not everyone can get a hold of a P9 card and probably wont.
thornraven
★★★☆☆ (4.0/5.0)(15 votes)
@ BobTheBuilder
When you play a permanent, if your opponent doesn't do anything in response, the permanent enters the battlefield. You then have PRIORITY. This means that your opponent can do NOTHING, until you place a spell or ability on the stack. So Jace hits the battlefield and your opponent has to let you use one of his abilities first. Then they can stack. Of course at that point, bolting is pointless, since his loyalty will be at 5, assuming you use his first ability.
115.3b of the Magic Comprehensive Rulebook.
Blue-White Control must run this card in competitive standard! Therefore 5/5. An essential, a classic and contains a vast amount of power. Recipe for success.
Lunarblade
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Today, I saw this at my local shop for $75 dollars. Holy.
TheGodOfWar91
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(11 votes)
I bet my friend yesterday this thing will go to $100 when shards rotates.
I expect to get the money, unfortunately. :(
kittyspit
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(13 votes)
SO TODAY, I HAD TO FACE SOME IDIOT WHO KEPT GOING ON AND ON ABOUT MIND SCULPTOR BEING ALL THAT AND LAUGHING AT HOW I PREFERED BELEREN IN MY DECK. WELL, MY CONTROL DECK SCREWED HIM UP THE - I MILLED HIM THREE TIMES WITH BELEREN AND WHEN HE WAS DESPERATE AND FINALLY PULLED THE MIND SCULPTOR THAT HE PAYED $70 FOR, TO TRY AND GET MY FRIGGIN BELEREN OFF THE FIELD...heeheehee I PUT ANOTHER BELEREN ON THE FIELD. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WON SHORTLY AFTERWARD.
people, i agree that Jace, the Mind Sculptor is an absolute bomb, but srsly, DO NOT underestimate Jace Beleren when he is being properly used and protected. ESPECIALLY if the mind sculptor is being used by a tool who actually bought the damn card for $70. ( i LOL'd so hard when i found out :P)
EchoMage
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
The local shop where I live has it for $15! HAHA all you people that are paying $50-$70!
channelblaze
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I agree with kittyspit, although this card is insane, and probably better than beleran in a void, don't underestimate how strong beleren is. It has potential to win the game on it's own, just like any other 'walker.
NinjaJeff
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(2 votes)
So very versatile. -1 ability my creature, Day of Judgment, put my creature back is one of my favorite plays. 0 ability, put two lands on top, Treasure Hunt is another good one. The card is currently over $80 for an online copy. I know for certain that I wouldn't pay that much money, but the fact that I drafted 4 of them in a mere 8 Zen/Zen/Wwk drafts has me seriously considering forking over the cash for the other money cards in {W}{U}, especially now that Baneslayer Angel will be around for another year.
orangesuitcases
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(2 votes)
How did anyone not give this a 5/5? It's easily the best card in the set... maybe the best in the block... It's amazing.
redcap04
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Probably the most versatile planeswalker helps combo decks, stasis decks, bounce decks. Most of his skills are based on previous mechanics and cards.
{+2} - Fateseal 1 - May seem underwhelming at first but can pretty much get does oblivion rings out of play. {0} - Brainstorm - Everybody loved that card and this planeswalker basically lets you do it every turn like theres not tommorow {-1} - Unsummon - Pretty solid if left untouched you can bounce creatures three times before this guy dies and you spent only 4 mana to do it. {-12} - I think it's a unique ability unless I'm mistaken - Pretty much a game ender if your opponent doesn't have enough stuff in play already cause your hand is basically gone and your library is down to 7 cards at best. Your opponent should probably save up some land cards in hand if it gets to that to buy him some turns to fight back if this goes off.
@Neosin
Just to be clear all planeswalkers as of today are NOT legendary.
204.4d Any permanent with the supertype “legendary” is subject to the state-based action for legendary permanents, also called the “legend rule” (see rule 704.5k).
There is nowhere on the card whatsoever that says this is a legendary permanent. So therefore the legend rule does not interact in anyway with the planeswalkers. But then why do they kill themselves when two planeswalkers with the same subtype come into play?
204.3i Planeswalkers have their own unique set of subtypes; these subtypes are called planeswalker types. The planeswalker types are Ajani, Bolas, Chandra, Elspeth, Garruk, Jace, Liliana, Nissa, Sarkhan, Sorin, and Tezzeret. If two or more planeswalkers that share a planeswalker type are on the battlefield, all are put into their owners’ graveyards. This “planeswalker uniqueness rule” is a state-based action. See rule 704.
Does this have any gameplay effect in any way? In standard, no. In older formats, it does. Mirror Gallery, Yomiji, Who Bars the Way, Empress Galina and other cards that interact with legendary permanents don't interact with Planeswalkers.
Sorin__Markov
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(16 votes)
Open your eyes! You all have fallen deeply... Blue-white control! unbelievable. Mono-Blue used to stand for something! Mono-blue used to be respected as the ONE and ONLY control deck. Blue-white control, Grixis Control, Esper Contol! unbelievable! Please, my fellow players remember and think back, where you actually had to think to win, to be intellectual to win. And if you were one of those people, you played mono-blue control. Mana-advantage, Card-advantage, and a wondrous, unbreakable milling success. Please think back. Know, that a mono-blue mage can shut down everything, it doesn't need help from White!!!! White prevents damage that they're about to take. Blue makes sure that ther IS NO DAMAGE! COUNTER, THEN BLOCK, PUMP JACE, AND KEEP BUILDING TO ONE SINGLE BLOW, A FORCE THAT CAN DESTROY ANY OTHER DECK! My friends, Blue is the forge of knowledge, the last stand of reason! White cares about law and order, yes, but a blue mage knows that to control everything, and have everyone obey something will surely bring disaster. A blue mage travels alone, fights alone, and questions everything in hope for answer. Now, my bretheren, i seek you out and ask you to put down the White part of your deck, add what will stop anything, and seek the knowledge you all crave... Just know this, in the wise words of Jace Beleren... You don't have to have a perfect plan, your oppenent just has to have an imperfect one... Follow the path of ponder my brothers... the path of ponder...
SorianSadaskan
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(2 votes)
This is the favourite of the Azorius (White&Blue deck). Given the ability to control his opponents next card draw, choose what card you want in the top three of your deck, bounce eldrazi/angels/demons back into opponents hand, he pretty much has control the fate of the game himself. He's a 5/5 no doubt.
sancrosact
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(10 votes)
Okay, paying $15 for a magic card is utterly stupid in my opinion. But 70 plus? Idiocy can not even describe it.
PhyrexianLobbiest
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(5 votes)
ALMIGHTY MONO BLUE PLAYS JACE the UNSTOPPABLE MIND SCULPTER on turn 4! Your feeble deck shall never recover from the mind shattering intellectual onslaught!
Mono Red laughs and burns him with Lightning Bolt for R.
getz19
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Wow. He went up to $80 in just a few months. Wow.
Gezus82
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
can someone explain to me how I'm supposed to play this guy. I'v gotten a couple of these and a couple sarkhan vols and I'v found that sarkhan has won me the game more, has gained me more advantage and has just been all around more useful. yet he's at $5 when jace is at $80.
Why is he so good? what am I supposed to do with him?
OutlawD1
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(33 votes)
"You want to put your kids through college? Too f'ing bad...all your moneys belong to us" --Jace Beleren, Wizards Sales Rep
themlsna
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
I understand how awesome this card is. I really do. I lose to him all the time. I'm not being bitter, but cards like this KILL casual play. Tournament play has been dead since Urza's block, in my opinion, but $80 cards that are this powerful are really destroying the game that I love so much.
MDStrawHat
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(8 votes)
"I hope no one thinks that it's actually just as simple as bolting Jace the second he hits the table. That doesn't actually work; he should be at 5 loyalty before opponents get an opportunity to damage him."
@Cryonic how so? the ability works at sorcery speed the bolt's an instant.
WotC as your greatest fan and someone who has enjoyed the game about 11 years now please print a card in your next set that costs two colourless is a common instant and reads target player sacrifices a permanent which cost $70+ if it would go to the graveyard exile it. You may give the owner a light slap for buying a magic card that could have fed 200 third world citizen's for a year.
Jahpocalypse
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(5 votes)
lol at people that think they can just bolt a planeswalker the second they hit the table. priority people PRIORITY. look it up. on another note, they made this card too good. 4 abilities is what pushes this over the top imo.
Asinine-Ultimatum
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(7 votes)
Broken. Hate it. I traded mine away for cards that are more fun for myself and my opponents.
samildanach32
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(2 votes)
When i first got this card i was crazy about his brainstorm ability. Now i love the final ability! he gets you ahead, then wins the game for you. Thanks, Jace!
Lunaar
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
mythic rares...good idea or mtg killers? obviously, people spending $320 for a 4-of is good for mtg. but printing ridiculously powerful cards that, by themselves, are win conditions? it's definitely a murky area. i'm hesitant to use the term 'slippery slope', but it definitely feels like mtg is heading in a bad direction. the fact that they are making tons of money off mythic rares is not lost on me. that's is, again, obviously very good for everybody that loves this game.
this guy (along with a few other mythic rares) are "heavily frowned upon" at our local play group. we play to have fun, not roflstomp everybody with $80 cards.
Lestat13
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(9 votes)
Oh the tears, so delicious, the clearly better Mindsculptor has a lower rating than Jace Beleren simply because of the critical levels of mad.
l20059
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(9 votes)
The players who defend Jace's +2 ability and having priority are right up to a certain point. You do have priority, but once you activate has ability it is put on a stack. It does not happen automaticly. If you choice to do nothing after that you have to pass priority to him, because he has every right to respond to you activating that ability and putting it on the stack. If he lighting bolts Jace. His lighting bolt will kill Jace before his ability ever has a chance to resolve in the stack. That is of course if no other spells are put in the stack to save him. So all anyone has to do to kill him is wait to respond to his activating ability, because at some point priority has to be passed to you to respond or just wait during combat phase or any part of their turn when sorceries can't be played. Since his abilities can only be played when they can play sorceries (Main phases). Also since his abilities are played as a sorcery. Its good to know later in the game that sorceries can't be played once a stack has been started. So they can't use his ability to respond to something and try to save him with his abilities. His and all I believe all Planeswalkers abilities can only be played when the stack is empty.
Cryonic
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(46 votes)
It's not as simple as bolting Jace the second he enters the battlefield. Here's why: The ability may work at sorcery speed, but the active player has priority, and putting 2 counters on jace IS A COST that must be paid to activate it, therefore, Jace is at 5 loyalty when the effect goes on the stack, after which you get to respond with bolt.
I don't want to have to explain priority, but If you cast Jace, and your opponent doesn't counter, the spell resolves, and because it's your turn, you get Priority again. Your opponent is not allowed to cast lightning bolt right now. When you take an action, you must pass priority to them before the effect(s) resolve. Jace's ability acts as a sorcery, but adding 2 loyalty counters is the cost that is paid to activate it. You put 2 counters on him, then the ability is activated, then you may pass priority to your opponent if you are done casting/activating abilities. Now they can cast Lightning bolt, but it will not kill Jace, because he's already at 5 loyalty.
if you don't believe me, look it up, ignoramuses. Priority and stack functionality are extremely important to the game.
phantom.lance
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
which card in recent times has risen to $80 in just a few short months? price tag like this goes back to Alpha; during Urza's Saga and its neighboring blocks, cards of recent set would go up to $20 max (even mox diamond). and lands like Gaea's Cradle were $15 a piece. that said, Jace's free brainstorms do justify its mega stardom, but it would be nice if the price gets cut after... a few years, like morphling.
ProbablyNotMark
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(9 votes)
The worst part about obviously broken cards like this are that they cost the same to make (printing and drawing on some specialized cardboard) as your average Raging Goblin. But, according to findmagiccards.com...
Jace, the Mind Sculptor: $78.08
Raging Goblin: $0.08
If it's profitable to make a card to make a card for 8 cents, it would be much more profitable to make one that costs $78 more! So Wizards is making all these crazy cards that everybody will buy, for the same production cost as Mr. Common over there.
Sure, I've bought some expensive cards online. I gave my older brother $50 for some slips of cardboard. But one card costing more than the money I get for Christmas is a problem.
If, by chance, there is a person in the Wizards economic division reading this comment, let me say one thing: Great business strategy, but it's going to *** people like me off.
Thank you for reading my five-pararaph rant.
boneclub
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
This guy is seeing play in mother*** LEGACY people. This was probably one of the biggest mistakes since Skullclamp.
Rootbeers27
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(4 votes)
This card is the jack of all plainswalkers, i use it in my control deck and three are perfect. He is fantastic with gideon jura.
starr2010
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
how do u use jace effect... like wat does plus 2 or -12 mean?
Notoriety
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This was my first-ever mythic rare, back when I had just started getting back into MTG. While I don't like the idea of mythics in general, I was thrilled to find this in my booster.
PoisonHats
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I got this in one of my first worldwake packs when i learned to play the game (sorta) , and thought he was just some useless leveler like the ones in eldrazi so i never put him in any decks but still was curious how the heck you get him to 12 so i left him near my computer never to look at him again untill recently when i got the m11 Jace and remembered i had this guy, now im $80 richer and have a JTMS killer on my hands.
Tokosan
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
finally caved in and bought a set of these... ugh. and to think, my car could totally be sitting on dubs if not for this little piece of cardboard.
mrbgddy
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Maybe the most versatile planeswalker with 4 above average abilities that compliment his color very well. Opened 2 worldwake boosters and ripped him. I thought " i guess this is kinda cool" ...and then I played him....wow! big pop ability is devastating if you can get there, and protecting him playing blue should be easier than most others. Jace the Nightmare-Maker!!
Demonic_Angel13
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(5 votes)
I pulled this guy at a draft, but since I got him halfway through drafting a Green Black deck, he was useless. After the draft I bought a booster and got a pleasant surprise: another Jace, The Mind Sculptor! I got over a hundred dollars worth of cards from a fifteen dollar tournament.
TheChurchIsHere
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Anyone else notice that the new mechanic "proliferate" will be able to add loyalty counters? With the right amount of mana and some decent untapping skills, you could theoretically use his -12 ability the same turn you drop him.
Sixty3Zero
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Wow, I truly didn't know that Jace had another form. This form looks extremely brutal nevertheless, and not really worth the 80-90 bucks he costs. I mean, you'd have better luck pulling two of these of out of the Worldwake packs you could buy with that much.
fanofmagic
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
it's $75, but €75 as well :(
Beastlygreen
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I'll admit it's a great card. My favorite red spell will kill it though. Can anyone guess with it is? No? ...... If you can't figure it out, you must be REALLY new. Lightning bolt is a quick Jace-stop. If you can keep it alive long enough to use it's ability, then I applaud you! you probably won that game!
SleetFox
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
It's terrible how when cards are both extremely powerful and rare people rate them down because they're upset they didn't open any or can't afford to buy the single. The rating reflects how powerful the card is, not how happy it makes you. This should have a rating extremely close to five. It's one of the best cards ever.
Weary_PSI
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(148 votes)
If this card were any more powerful it would get up and play the rest of the match for you while you go get a soda.
LordAlvon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Who in their right minds is rating this less than 5/5?
This card is so good, it never ceases to blow my mind.
Yeah, i've got one. One...i'd like another...
MTGGameHero
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This card isn't great because of it's game ending ultimate but because of its sheer versatility. All 3 abilities are good and you can decide what to use based on any situation.
fate seal - keep opponent screwed for mana, they aren't gonna see another land for awhile. Or after you wipe the board with stuff like day of judgement or all is dust, it will maintain your card advantage by not giving him the card he/she wants
brainstorm- creates card advantage while not losing any loyalty counters
unsummon- bounce that annoying creature, such as when they bring big creature using polymorph, or their baneslayer angel won't see the light of the day unless they have 10 mana open and can bring 2 of them in a turn. bounce one of their 2 knight exemplars that's making all knights indestructible. and for some reason your creature has bunch of minus counter or opponents has positive counter then you can unsummon them and reset
It's not easy to bring down Jace cuz he gets +2 every turn if he wants and if they spend time taking down jace, you should be able to use that and gain advantage in the meantime since you'll be playing control deck with him.
meundies
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Just pulled one today out of 5 packs i got at the local comic shop. They were all out of M11 so i decided what the hell, it was sweet. Still selling Worldwake for $4 a booster when most people are asking $5+.
dacow
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(9 votes)
Really wizards? Enough with the frikin chase cards, they ruin the game especially for standard...not so much for the older formats. There was no frikin reason for jace in wwk. It was the black sheep of the set...just a sheep on roids. Theres no reason for them to print a card that completly outclasses 200 other cards. Make a balanced set not a retarted card to sell a set. The mythics that are being printed are fast moving from their intended purpose and fail to fairly advance the game. Now they're a very good source to push a product that was otherwise very mediocre...WWK and most ROE mythics.
Now, that the rant is over
I feel that this card is extremly overrated. Very good but not worth its price tag...as with most money standard cards nowadays. I've played against it in legacy, extended, and tons in standard and he has never lived up to the hype... for the most part i tend to leave the boy alone and focus on the more immediate threats at hand or just whack it all at once because players are generally dumb enough to put all their eggs in the basket to save him.
This card dosent really have the end game that i like in planeswalkers like garruk, bolas, etc. but all the utilities it has is what sets it apart.,
simicfan
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(7 votes)
I think a more suitable name would be, Jace the Money Maker
TDL
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Ah, this card. To be honest, I found the rest of the Worldwake set a little lackluster, except for the manlands, of course. It pains me as a predominantly blue/white player that I would need at least three or four of these to make my deck truly competitive in Type II right now. Such is life, I suppose. The really sad thing is that I totally fall for Wizards' manipulation all the time. I'm one of those stupid people who *do* go out and binge on 6+ boosters at a time, thinking that this time, I'll surely get one of the ridiculously expensive mythic rares that they print to drive sales. Well done, Wizards, well done. Remember that it doesn't matter how much we complain, just so long as we keep buying.
nineyears
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
i have six of them ssshhh
LarsBM
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(18 votes)
Hate to play against this guy, luckily he is too expensive for most people..
allmighty_abacus
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(11 votes)
Well gee WotC. I liked magic when you actually had to think.
You know what? I'm rating this half a star. Because people throw this in a deck and think they are some sort of deck-building genius. This is a game-breaking card, and I really don't want to see further cards like it. It's not that I don't have the money to buy individual cards- I custom build decks that cost anywhere from $40 to $60 quite often. My issue is that this card has such a major impact on gameplay. He is basically an entire separate deck by himself. The card draw ability is massive, even if you don't get any loyalty counters. Hell, what with proliferate you probably won't need to use planeswalkers +X abilities anymore anyway. But you can still fateseal 1 an opponent after tutored for something anyway just to *** them off.
And then the ultimate. Dear god, what is that? I'll tell you. It's an unstoppanle win condition. At least with the other planeswalkers, you can recover from them. You might be in a very tough spot, but they don't guarantee your demise on activation.
By the time you activate it, your opponent isn't going to have any cards in their hand. Even if they do, it won't be more than 3 or possibly 4. And their entire library is exiled. You can't possibly recover from that. At least black would have a chance at reanimating if your library went to your GY.
No more superpowers I say. And seriously rethink the impact mythic rarity has had on the game.
jarzium
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
come on! a good blue control player wouldn't cast jace without leaving any spare mana for a counter!
Radagast
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(5 votes)
I'm just glad so much has been done to prevent Mythics from being absurd money makers. (Looks at this card, Walletslayer, the Titans, every Planeswalker, etc.) Oh, wait - never mind!
EvilCleavage
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(6 votes)
You mean, Jace the Money Raper?
v85rawdeal
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Gotta say, people I play with said I was foolish to buy a playset of these for $120, in addition to the other playset I already had... But guess who they go to when they need him for the PTQ or GP deck... I took a gamble and it paid off for me. I would baulk at paying the prices they go for now...
TheBibleofJace
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(8 votes)
As a young boy, jace was drafted into the cabal pits. He was a natural at combat, using only a ceremonial knife. He quickly arose to the top of the gladiators and won his freedom. Years later, that knife would be found by a wandering swordsman. His name was Toshiro Umezawa. His Jitte is legend,.
Spags
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(14 votes)
Strictly worse than Storm Crow.
Troutz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
There's not much left to say about Jace 2 that hasn't already been said, he's going to be remembered as one of the best cards ever printed. He has proved how powerful the Brainstorm effect is, that at 4 cmc and sorcery speed it's still an incredibly powerful effect.
I can lather praise on this card all day, but in the same breath I'll say I can't wait until he rotates out. It's frustrating that you can't build competitive control decks without this guy being a 4-of in it.
gnilleps
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(6 votes)
Say what you will about Daddy Jace, but it's a joke to rate him anything below 5 stars.
BorosLegionnaire
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You know, the reason this guy is so good is because he has 4 abilitys. This makes his so versitile that he can go in any matchupp and be an all star.
@non1337 I agree exactly. There is no other permanent that gives you a free brainstorm every turn for four mana. If they had printed an artifact in Shards of Alara that was {2}{u}{u} and let you draw a card every turn, people would be all over it. The power of planeswalkers is a bit too much, in my opinion, and this one especially. But then they also gave him a comparatively useless +2 ability almost expressly for the purpose of mass loyalty pumping, and unlike Gideon's +2, has no real drawback. This enables you to mass boomerang against aggro, and win with inevitability against control (nevermind free Brainstorms).
It's terrible that they are printing an unbeatable mythic for every archetype that every player must own a set of to be really able to compete, which together will cost at least $100.
Sironos
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I donøt like this, forcing kids to pay 70$X4 is cruel. These mega expensive, mana-undercosted mythics are ruining the game. (Seriously, 4CMC Oo, just wrong).
I play vamps, and I'm glad that nocturnus rotated out,as he had the same money making mana-undercosted overpowered element.
There is only 1 thing I like about this card: to see my oponent play it, and look at the hex mage in my hand, oh the joy of killing a 70$ card for a card that costs below 1$.
Just hope they never reprint this again, it is an insult to all magic players, both those playing against him, and those who spend 280$ to get a playset.
Yoduh
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(5 votes)
I've been playing magic since the early 90's back when Black Lotus was like $10.
This card is the sole reason I quit playing magic.
Wizards why did you sell this game to the makes of Yu Gi Oh, and Duel Decks?
Wizards you suck now. Just like Blizzard. Damn sell outs.
Wraique
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Also, y'know. Proxies. For casual at least.
Anyone can run any deck they want with some deck protectors and a pen. Gets old though. We were soon back to 'Random Cards Tri-Colour Planechase Mindswap' decks :)
Bursama
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(8 votes)
Should read: +2: Scry or Fateseal 1 0: Brainstorm -1: Unsummon -12: Destroy target player. He or she can't be regenerated. Then hit his/her face on the table and let her mind be crushed... :D
EnV
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Mono red is rarely seen in high level tournaments, 5k, 10k, State, U.S., WORLD......WTF. I was a proud red and black player and spent bucketloads on red and black supplies, and they make Jace the Mindfucker and Leyline of Sanctity
I don't think red and black exist anymore, just BUG and WU all the time.
CosmicJuice
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
After Worlds 2010 the card has risen to £70 :'( I pray today I get at least one in the 30+ WW boosters.
HPS
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(5 votes)
LoL! Too many people are afraid of this card. Though it's my favorite planeswalker and one of my best deck has Jace as the centerpiece; I don't mind facing-off against this card.
Red instants would do short work of this card; and the same goes for super fast Saproling or Elvish decks. Black Sorceries and White Enchantments are good counters for Blue. There are Vampires and Paladins that are great in subduing planeswalkers. Heck, Jace-based decks are even prone to human army decks equipped with lots of artifacts.
Yeah, the card's abilities are powerful. UW decks with Jace as the centerpiece are becoming the trend on tournaments. Never mind the last; it's the first, second, and third skills that would hurt the most, but it's not really invincible. In Extended and Standard format, there are too many counters for Jace the powerful.
mtear
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(7 votes)
So stupidly over-hyped. You know why he's not broken? Because Tezzeret is better. TEZZERET wins tournaments all by himself. TEZZERET grabs your Time Vault and takes infinite turns for you.
If Jace is the "most broken card you've ever seen" then you are simply ignorant. You know what I want a spell to do for me if I'm going to pay four mana for it? I want it to let me to be able to play all the cards in my graveyard this turn. Wait --- That only costs 3. Or I want that four mana spell to let me draw 3 cards with no drawbacks. Wait, that costs 1. I'd even take just a regular Brainstorm over him. Why pay 4 mana for a Brainstorm when I can just pay 1? Because I can do it EVERY TURN?
You know what's wrong with that "Every turn" mentality? That Tendrils only takes 1 turn to kill you. That Dredge will smash your face in before your Jace knows what buttr@ped him. That DECKS THAT WIN IN THE FIRST FEW TURNS DON'T CARE WHAT YOU CAN DO EVERY TURN. Take that Bitterblossom. You deserve that hate too. Cause you and Jace can go be over-hyped little ninny cards together for Standard players to drop undeserved money on.
GG!
NecroticNobody
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
I pair Liliana Vess with this Jace for some U/B poison fun. I Liliana-tutor for whatever I need at the time, then draw it with Mr. Mind Sculptor. Yea, sure I could use the original Jace for this purpose, and also save a few bucks, but I tend to pump Liliana to tutor more than three times, thus needing a Planeswalker that can draw my cards more than three times, and also I sometimes Proliferate each Planeswalker so that they go ultimate together. And boy is taking each creature from your opponent's graveyard, and exiling their library, all in one turn, sure fun. I don't support the $70-$80 price tag this guy carries around like a lead anchor, but sometimes I see why it has the price tag.
Magnor_Criol
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(10 votes)
You know, you're right, mtear. This card is overhyped and rather useless and inferior to Tezzy in every way.
That's why absolutely zero top decks (those who got 13 points or better) in the 2010 Worlds Extended tournament ran Tezzy, while, by my quick count on the Wizards site, 13 ran Mind Sculptor. At the September Pro Tour - Amsterdam Extended event, 12 of the top decks ran Mind Sculptor and none ran Tezzy. Even in Legacy - the only remotely recent one I could find was a MTGO Legacy event in August 2010. Of those, 8 ran Mind Sculptor. Exactly 0 ran Tezzy again. In fact, even if you look at the Pro Tour - San Diego, when BOTH Tezzy and Mind Sculptor were in Standard...if you look at the deck listings for everyone who got up to 17 points - I'm talking the alphabetical, multiple-page listings of decks - do you know how many Tezzeret decks you'll find? 8. How many decks have Mind Sculptor? 81. That's not a typo. And 14 of the decks in that Top 8 had Mind Sculptor; zero had Tezzy.
Clearly, there's a long history of top players choosing Tezzeret over Mind Sculptor because Tezzy's so superior.
Oh. Wait.
(I do agree he's over-hyped in general. But it's because it's a STRONG CARD.)
Fategus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
if you ever get this card i think its real value is the bragging rights over your friends :D
Hovercraft
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
This, Counterbalance, Brainstorm (yeah, more brainstorm, ahem), Sensei's Divining Top, fetch lands , countermagic , Mishra's Factory , Standstill... you don't actually need many creatures.. but you'd probably want Phyrexian Dreadnought and Stifle, you know.. if your jace is not winning for you enough. If they actually manage to stick a creature after counterspelling or getting by the Counterbalance... lol.. just bounce it. while youre waiting around completely controlling your opponents game, go ahead and add 2 counters to it at a shot, and screw up all his topdecks while youre at it. then afterwards, once he has no cards in hand, exile his whole library, then he'll be left with 0 cards, and lose. And if you dont manage to add counters to Jace 6 times, then just attack with a couple dreadnoughts. I'll tell you what this card reminds me of... Kjeldoran Outpost circa '96.. fun times.. NOT 5 stars for being one of the most broken cards they have ever designed in it's environment of other cards that do just what it does but by playing this you do double-duty. but its not fun. and it didnt create a new deck archetype, just resurrected one of the most hated decks ever.
Meet... JACE POST.. welcome back... or... COUNTER JACE, if you prefer. I hope this goes away some time. I really, really do. FYI if this was a creature, it wouldn't be broken. A rules update removing the planeswalker card type would be a good idea. Biggest problem with this card is that you have to attack into it or use burn spells (that target the player) to deal with it. And its blue. What?
WOTC, WHY?
you should be making cards that are fun. This is not fun. I dont care how 'great' ppl say this card is. WOTC has alienated me as a consumer because I dont want to play against it.
WOTC lost money printing this card (for me).
-This card- has ended my appreciation for the game. I simply do not play anymore. Ive bought some stuff online for MTGO if only because I have more variety that I wont see it all the time. but ive seen it so frequently that i wont enter events where i know it will be played. for now on i would rather do other things. i played against decks like this one when I was a kid. I left the game for good for over 10yrs because of decks that cards like this created. will i come back? pft. WOTC has weighed two options they chose to design a broken card that makes the game less fun in favor of designing a broken card a few people will spend a lot of money on. smart decision
Uarebiganfat
★☆☆☆☆ (1.4/5.0)(4 votes)
THIS IS THE WORST CARD IN STANDERED NEXT TO Valakut, the molten pinnacle I DONT KNOW WHY IT'S SO EXPENSIVE
Frozenwings
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(4 votes)
I just don't understand people, especially you Hovercraft, anymore. That's true , jace TMS is so powerful, i'm agreed with that. But this isn't the first time of abused mythic, you know. Where were all of you people who hates blue, when baneslayer angel was printed? Or elspeth, knight errand? Where were you when lightning bolt was back and then everyone was looking creatures which have 3 or lower toughness, as a "bolt bait"? Even Nissa didn't shine due to existence of lightning bolt. Green has incredible creature advantage with Vengevine or land advantage with Primeval Titan now, too. But all of these colours hates blue as always. And telling always the same thing "Blue doesn't let us resolve a spell and this is not fun!1" This is how blue battles, and you can't blame blue because of it's traits which are deceit, manipulation, counterspell or versatility.On the other hand, if you look precisely, blue has a lot of disadvantages such as weaker creatures, temporary removing permanents (bounce), or weakness against enchantments, artifacts or big creatures on battlefield.
Maraxas-of-Keld
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(4 votes)
I will not be getting back into standard. BS angel was the first, now there are two cards reaching prices that I would expect to be getting original dual lands (from Revised) for! So I think I will. I'll be getting some Legacy staples if you need me, Jace.
Okay so last week i got 2 boosters and a deck well in the boosters i got both jace planes walkers!!
flare1122
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(4 votes)
Opponent: I play jace the mind sculptor. You: Crap. Opponent: You wanna just scoop now? You: No I'm a big boy I can handle humiliation. Opponent: Ok if you say so *evil laugh* Several turns later. Opponent: Ok next turn I'm popping jace. You: I play confinscate. Opponent: WHAT!? You: *chuckle* You: Still have time to scoop if you want. Opponent: .....
Now I say thats a perfect ending to a jace match lol.
d-101
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(6 votes)
This card is an investment, monetarily speaking of course, but also in game; for four mana, you get a card that can flip your opponent's threats to the bottom of their deck (or get rid of your useless cards when they aren't needed), Brainstorm at no cost to either your mana pool or Jace, bounce a powerful creature (such as a leveler, which will destroy any counters on it), and end the game given enough time. Run him with proliferate to rocket him to his ultimate ability even faster. It's sickening that this card costs as much as it does, but that's simple economics. At any rate, a card is judged on its merits, not its cost; it breaks the game for blue in some ways. Build around it and see. It is not essential to win, but it certainly helps. 5/5
tcollins
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(8 votes)
Time to put a dollar value on Powercreep in Magic!
luckily i had a volition reins when my opponent put this into play he started crying
ChaosFire
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Yes, Jace.
I've come a long way, from fearing and hating this card to loving it. In the end, he's a good card, but not so good that he really breaks anything...there's just too many ways to deal with him.
But at any rate, prediction that you heard here first: Once Jace, the Mind Sculptor rotates out of extended (yeah, it's a while away), that $100 price tag will drop to about $30 after 6 months.
Why? Because absolutely 0 planeswalkers have been shown to be legacy good (at least staying around long enough to be considered part of the format, there's always the occasional Tezz of course). And Jace is no different.
TheDanish
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Phyrexian Revoker will become a mandatory sideboard in every format that has Jace. Incoming Jace price-drop.
Demonic_Math_Tutor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The most over costed card. The most overcosted card currently in standard. THe most overcosted card i have ever seen. THe most overcosted card that could possibly exist. And i have 2 of them.
non1337
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This card is incredibly broken. I don't know what WotC was smoking when they play test this.
Even if it only has the 0 loyalty ability, it is still broken. Hell, it would still broken if that only reads: :Draw a card
Even if the opponent kills it the turn it dropped, a card is still drawn, card advantage is always guaranteed. If the opponent don't managed to do it, the card advantage gained would have been impossible to recover.
Did an artifact, enchantment, or creature costed CMC and lets you draw a card the turn it comes to play and every other your turn without any payment? NO.
It is just extremely ridiculous to have printed a card like this. I'd agree this card should cost at least to play for its functions, and even so it is still a viable kill card.
In response to those who said there are so many cards that can deal with this: This card is actually the counter to your spell if you think about it. All I have to do is to drop this and get a card from my library. Unless your counter net more cards or same but cost less compared to this spell, it is not a counter since you lose out on cards and lost a useful spell. If there is a spell that can deal 3 damage and draw a card cost cmc that will only break even (not a hard counter) but even that does not exist (the closest thing being Ember Shot has cmc). The only hard counter against this card is counterspell abilities only, you realize how broken is that?
Even if the enemy play this card with no blockers, and you attack it, it still equates to a fog or healing salve with draw a card that cost . That doesn't even sound wasteful at its worst. There is no secrets about this card being too good to completely ruin a game, nothing this cheap should yell "kill me now or you lose" that draw a card when it is successfully played.
MasterOfEtherium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
To Bad He Cant Exile Your Opponents Library LOL
ROBRAM89
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"Shake." That's all I have to say.
stringsbatman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
terrible card is terrible? Who would actually play this?
Faralay
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
I will be ripping one of these in front of fifty or so players at Saturday's prerelease for MBS. If you see it happen and saw this comment, let me know.
But yeah, 5/5, no question about it. Brainstorm on a stick was worth 4CMC.
Ragamander
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(17 votes)
Jace, the Wallet Sculptor
MrBarrelRoll
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(7 votes)
More like Jace the FASHION Sculptor!
I mean would you just look at the robe!
--Nate--
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(3 votes)
The only reason someone wouldn't give this 5/5 is out of hatred from losing to him.
ParaDox420
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This guy is too ridiculous and I want one. Dross Scorpion, Throne of Geth and some garbage artifacts to throw away, makes pumping him up to 12 in the same turn possible.
GracefulInferno
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(37 votes)
Suddenly, everyone's leftover copies of Jace Beleren have had their text altered to read:
My normal strategy of "If you can't beat them, join them" doesn't work because the card costs $400 for a playset. I'm a newish player and wasn't around when Worldwake came out, so I basically can't win constructed because in my area because all the current players are playing with top 8 decks built around him. I prefer to build my own decks but they're just not in the same class as the top 8 yet.
oj48
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Fake and Gay. @ Concerned_Bystander. Agreed.
AvatarOfHOE
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(7 votes)
The fact that this card has 19 pages of comments and counting says something... What is says exactly, who knows? Also, this means that my comment will probably be lost in a sea of both praise and hate for Jace.
Anyways, I'd like to make the observation that the game of magic has not really caught up to planewalkers. In the game, there exists the reality that any card can be dealt with. However, I think this is only moderately true of planewalkers. There are cards that destroy (sometimes exile) target creature, enchantment, artifact, land or even simply target permanent. However, to my knowledge there is no card that reads "exile target planeswalker." And, I would argue there really should be. Again, inserting an entirely new type into the game after 18 years is not without some undesirable consequences.
Also, as some others have mentioned: DO NOT consider yourself a brilliant magic player because you can zap your opponents library with JTMS. Wizards has really dumbed the game down quite a bit in some respects. And I hope new players don't think that they're smart for discovering the little Jace/Jace's erasure combo or the synergy that Liliana and Liliana's vess have. I mean C'MON.
.Blaze.
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
This was one of the first rares I ever pulled. Back then I had no idea how god he really was, but even then I knew my first deck should use blue.
The free Brainstorm every turn makes this a killer card. Everything else is just gravy.
Crysis
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This card REALLY should be rated higher, look at other cards that have been played through all formats and there rated higher, end Jace Beleren is rated higher, and i think we can all agree this one is better.
@SolidSoldier Elspeth also sees a decent amount of legacy play.
@AvatarOfHOE It reallys isnt flavorful to have something say "destroy target planeswalker", so you wont ever see anything like that, planeswalker wont be written on any card text, the only way to have removal for planeswalkers is to have "destroy/exile target nonland permanent" which we've seen before and im confidant they will print again, they probably just want to give awhile with a format where planeswalkers are more dominant.
ridiculousricky
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Everybody's saying "oh, look at him, mill your whole deck", but forgetting that he needs to take next to no damage for five turns! if you can take no damage for that long anyway, you should already have won.
Kamidii
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(9 votes)
I HATE YOU, YOU OVERPOWERED PIECE OF *******************************************************************!!! DOWNGRADE THIS MISTAKE OF A CARD!
AppleButter
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This card is a beast but his only isue is he cant win by himself as if u look at sorin markove he is just so much beater i mean 85-110$ for a good card or 10$ for a god.think wich is beater.
This whole "I HAVE PRIORITY!" BS sounds exactly as stupid as Obi-Wan screaming "I HAVE THE HIGH GROUND!" at Anakin at the end of RotS.
mflanaga
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Hey have ya'll heard? This card was in the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP winning deck for 2010! Can you believe that? I guess the guy had to substitute Storm Crow with SOMETHING in standard. =/
Tezz
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(5 votes)
echo mage is now rated higher that this guy...
im rating it 0.5/5 too because it is a stupid card. it should have never been printed.
darkhissatsu
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Jace, control, proliferate . . . what more could you ask for? End the game already!
Garfunculus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You can guess why I have the urge to find a way to put this in the same deck as my Emrakul and try to get them both out at once with Platinum Angel. It's totally unnecessary, but just think of the reaction it would get.
RPJesuzz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
too many butthurt people are rating this card low because they don't have one. its a game winning card and can make any deck a control deck when hes splashed in. 5/5 no questions asked
Velrath
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This card is soooo broken as it patches up all of blues problems. Heck I would say unless your pulling some combo to win turn 1-3 he belongs in almost every deck with blue ever made. So sick of people winning with him as their crutch.
DysprosiumJudas
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Worldwake: An exercise in overpowered cards.
dragonking987
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
why would you deck this when you can deck this when you could deck storm crow? Well I guess storm crow is not is standard.
Nighthawk42
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(3 votes)
When a common like Lightning Bolt is 4x autoinclude for any deck playing the color that's to be expected. 6 of the top 8 at Standard Worlds 2010 played blue and all played 4x Preordain...no problem there.
All 6 also played roughly $400 each of JTMS. Translated to FNM that makes this a pay to win game, which is no fun for people who would like to be competitive at ~$100 a deck or less. Given most games cost roughly $50 each for the entire game, $100 a deck seems a reasonable (or even high) amount to spend to be competitive.
If the 0 cost ability were a -2 cost ability and the casting cost 3UU, this card would still be strong, but closer to balance and more closely resembling a bigger Jace Beleren.
Irecane
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(8 votes)
If they keep this in M12, I'll pre-order crates of booster boxes.
Belz_
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Weird. Everybody says the card is overpowered and yet it only has a 4.2...
Ace8792
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Cards like this make me glad my play group dosn't allow cards newer than the Ravinca Block.
BuffJittePLZ
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Who would not use the first ability against a red deck?
1. Drop Jace.
2. Use his first ability to boost his loyalty as you still have priority to play abilities.
3. Opponent cannot kill him outright.
kajillion
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(5 votes)
Can't wait til this rotates out.
Annoyilator
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
A bunch of people have been debating whether Bolt would kill Jace on arrival or not. In particular folks have generally been interpretting it along these lines:
"If you cast Jace, and your opponent doesn't counter, the spell resolves, and because it's your turn, you get Priority again. Your opponent is not allowed to cast lightning bolt right now. When you take an action, you must pass priority to them before the effect(s) resolve. Jace's ability acts as a sorcery, but adding 2 loyalty counters is the cost that is paid to activate it. You put 2 counters on him, then the ability is activated, then you may pass priority to your opponent if you are done casting/activating abilities. Now they can cast Lightning bolt, but it will not kill Jace, because he's already at 5 loyalty."
My question is this: Even if the cost to pay for the ability acts as an instant, isn't that susceptible to an instant response? I liken it to something I've been doing for a long time playing with my friends. (If I've been mistaken all this time, please let me know.)
My opponent begins to play a spell. I don't like it, so I use my Icy Manipulator to tap one of the lands he/she needs to cast that spell. Now, we haven't been treating it as though the spell itself was countered. So the spell goes back in his/her hand. In addition, only the land I tapped is tapped and not any other lands he/she was in the process of tapping as he/she was casting that spell.
By the same token, if I had some instant that would destroy or return to his/her hand that indispensable land, I would use it in the same way to remove the land he/she needed to cast the spell, leaving the other lands he/she was in the process of tapping untapped and leaving the spell in his/her hand.
The flip side of this (as we've been playing it), is that if I declare my intent to use my Icy Manipulator (or destroy/return land to hand instant) against my opponent's land before my opponent declares an intent to tap that land, my opponent can then tap that land as an instant, obtaining the mana from that land before my Icy Manipulator/instant resolves, leaving the land tapped and the Icy Manipulator tapped and my opponent with mana from that land in his mana pool.
Based on that theory, if you cast Jace, the Mind Sculptor and it resolves without being countered, if you declare an intent to activate that ability by adding 2 loyalty counters shouldn't I be able to respond to your effort to activate his ability with an instant? In short, shouldn't Jace, the Mind Sculptor be locked down upon arrival if your opponent has a card like Bolt sitting in his/her hand? The very first time you try to utilize any of those abilities during the turn in which he is summoned, Bolt kills him. If you refrain from activating those abilities during your turn, when your turn is over, your opponent is free to cast Bolt because you can't activate any of those abilities during your opponent's turn. In short, while it's not quite as simple and straightforward as I guess some have argued, it seems to me that an opponent with Bolt in hand when Jace, the Mind Sculptor is summoned kills that Planeswalker no later than the beginning of that opponent's next turn if not sooner and does so without permitting that Planeswalker to activate a single ability.
Am I right?
redmagic123
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(5 votes)
i bought 6 packs of ww and 1 pack of m11 and i got frost titan , jace and a novablast worm. talk about luck! this is coolest card tho
Revelation666
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(5 votes)
I mainboard Vampire Hexmage just because of this guy. If you don't answer it, you lose, plain and simple. It's unfortunate cards like this come out sometimes that just butcher the game, reminds me of when I quit for a few years because of the Mirrodin block. This whole mythic rare thing is horrible for the game in my opinion.
Leshrac_Nightwalker
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(8 votes)
@Annoyilator: The manner you and your friends have been playing is not in line with the "official rules", specifically regarding priority.
If it's your opponent's first main phase, he's got priority. He can declare that he wants to cast a Spiritmonger, say, and tap all five of his lands to pay its cost. Once the cost has been paid, the spell is "cast", and he gets priority again. If he passes priority, now you've got an opportunity to use your Icy Manipulator, but at this point the cost is paid - it's way too late for you to try tapping his land to prevent him from casting the spell. In my made-up situation, the only way you're keeping him from casting it is if you tap one of his lands at the end of his upkeep, anticipating that he was gonna do something bad with 5 untapped lands if you let him.
The flipside of this, though, you're playing 100% correctly. If you manage to get priority, you can pay and tap your Icy Manipulator to try to tap your opponent's land. Once you've paid your costs (paying and the Icy), you get priority back, and if you've got no other responses then your opponent gets priority. Now if he wants, he can declare casting an instant and can tap the land you're targeting to help pay the cost of that instant. Once you get back around to your Icy Manipulator, it will resolve, tapping an already-tapped land (effectively doing nothing).
So, to take this to its logical conclusion and your question regarding Jace, here's how that would play out, with you sitting with a Lightning Bolt in your hand:
>Opponent has priority. He declares that he's casting Jace. Opponent pays the requisite cost () and Jace is "cast".
>Opponent has priority. He passes to you.
>You have priority. At this point, you can't Bolt Jace because he's not in play, so you pass. Both players have passed, so Jace resolves and enters the battlefield. Your opponent is the active player, so now that Jace has resolved, he gets priority again.
>Opponent has priority. He declares that he's using Jace's first ability. Opponent chooses his target (a player), pays the requisite cost (putting two loyalty counters on Jace), and ability is activated.
>Opponent has priority. He passes to you.
>You have priority. At this point, you can declare that you're casting Lightning Bolt, if you want, intending to burn the stupid planeswalker, but you're too late to kill him. The cost of his ability has already been paid, so he's sitting smugly with 5 loyalty counters on him.
land_comment
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(7 votes)
Okay, guys! It's a good card! It may be pretty good, but come ON! Get over it! You don't have to downrate something just because it's GOOD. Not to be rude or anything, but it had to be said.
By the way, I'm saying this and I HAVE one.
CAN"T FIGHT THE WORLDWAKE POWER!!!!!!!
Nayban
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
lol got mine today, Plan on running him with Throne of Geth's and Artifact pumps to use -12 the turn he comes out. XD
JackP
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(7 votes)
Soo i was thinkin this card is like dec. at best.... like it draws 3 but why is that good... it puts 2 back???? it's like... wow i'll draw a card that draws cards that draw cards than put two cards that draw cards back on top? this card is bad. I dont understand it
Hoonster
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@Annoyilator
The mana cost is a 'COST' of the spell. Cost is already paid when the spell is cast. It is too late to activate Icy Manipulator to tap opponent's land. (even though, it is not enforced anymore, technically we have to tap our lands to produce mana, and than cast the spell.) Similarly, tapping the land is also COST of the land's ability. It has to be paid in order to produce mana. You cannot activate ability or cast spell in response to paying the cost. For example, if I am casting reckless abandon, the additional cost 'sacrifice a creature' have to be paid when I cast it. Opponent cannot respond by destroying the creature that I am paying for reckless abandon, since it is already in the graveyard.
Mill_Master
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(6 votes)
For those that think that Jace is bad, he is a card that when combined with the appropriate cards is beastly. For those who say that he makes competitive magic no fun, remember, you're playing competitive magic not a social game of go fish. I have a deck that uses only 2 copies of this combined with a few creatures and is heavy on board and creature control and they work amazing together and never loses.
Spideredd
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
I hate this card.
So many blue decks use him as their sole win condition it's unreal.
How he hasn't been banned is beyond me.
If blue players get upset because they've lost their win condition, well, that's too bad.
This card stops the game being fun, almost single-handedly. That should be one factor that decides which cards are banned.
If wizards do as I hear and reprint this guy, I'll quit all forms of compettitive play and start only buying singles so wizards stops getting my money, unless they reprint Pithing Needle in the same set.
EDIT:
Mill_Master has proven my point for me.
Do you play the deck, or let it play itself while you get a beer?
Silvantor
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Ban this card.
Its too powerful and it doesnt have any PRO (I mean this card is for lames)
And why other planeswalkers dont have LAME versions like jace?
Ban this card at all cost. When you exile your library you can go *** and leave the sucker who used it, to end game. I think its too powerful and its only JACE version. Other planeswalkers dont have this version and many people can be annoyed by this. I dont know why Wizards create this card. Only chance to win game when oponnent has Jace, the Mind Sculptor is to destroy jace. Just you must have card with flying, Intimidate, Fear or something and kill him.
CJMarshall
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(4 votes)
This card, to me, encapsulates all that is blue. It's controlling--allowing one to influence top-deck draws for one's self and one's opponent. The -1 unsummon can also be a game changer, whether it be used on one's opponent's fattie on the field or cleansing your creatures of -1/-1 counters if need be.
The -12 gives one another win condition: 'nuff said.
Yes, this is the best card in standard as of writing. Yes, this card is overpowered. No, it is not broken. No, it should not be banned.
My two cents.
penguinmage25
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
THIS CARD IS AWESOME
proanciey
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(3 votes)
First option bring lighter to FNM when kid plays jace burn it! Leave the game, I promise that will be the last time that kid pay 100 dollars to buy a card.
Second option burn this card with Lava Axe, or go with Chandra Nalaar and hit it for five she does have 6 counters.
yeah go with option 2
SeiberTross
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(21 votes)
Thought about going to FNM last week.
Called ahead, and found out they were doing constructed instead of draft.
Thoughts of facing down a super-Jace deck run through my head. Instead of going to FNM, meeting new players, proliferating the popularity of the constructed game, & supporting local business, I call up friends to play around the kitchen table that don't feel the need to spend $800+ dollars to play a game.
I wonder how many other players do that?
On a side note, after reading the first comments on this card, it's amazing how much opinion has changed over time.
isidore94
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
i hate that card and planeswalkers. cheats xPl...
Feralsymphony
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I have only one thing to say about this card: F*ck you Jace, f*ck you.
Breaker_Ki
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ thornraven
I only started playing a few months ago so I may be wrong, but even if Jace's controller has priority when he comes into play, doesn't activating his +2 place ability place it on the stack, so if I chain with bolt, bolt will resolve before the +2 is applied. So shouldn't' state based effects clear Jace from the field? Sure, destroying an abilities source doesn't counter it, it'll just activate once Jace is in the graveyard, but he's still dead.
ICEFANG13
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ Breaker_Ki
No, the reason being, if you use his effect +2, its part of a cost to add two counters (the : is very key, if it is before then it is a cost (you must do X to use its effect), if it is after it the effect). You can work around the effect of spells or abilities, for example, if you have a card that could, say, shuffle his library, you may choose to put your ability on the stack and happen first. I'll try and make it clear in this little text box
Player A (who has Jace) plays Jace He has priority now, he may choose to activate one of the abilities (almost all players would right now) He either chooses +2, 0, or -1, he says, -1 Now he pays the cost (which is removing one counter) and then the ability goes on the stack, you can't retaliate against cost payments, it's done, when he says -1, that includes payments. (Consider this, when a player plays Shock they pay the mana at the same time they play the spell this is the same thing, you can't stop him from playing the spell or paying the mana, its either both or neither. The effect goes on the stack, you may now play a instant or most instant effects (effects are instant unless otherwise stated)
Lets say you have an Ember Hauler out, and that is the target of the -1 effect. You may pay one and sacrafice to do 2 damage to Jace and kill him. He can't say, kill it with Doom Blade first, you have paid the cost and your Ember Hauler, its no longer there.
I hope this answered your question well enough
Heeltoeclutch
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I actually got to use his last ability a few days ago in a casual 2-headed Giant game :)))) so ridiculous. I never thought I'd get to. Long live Mill. :D I still can't believe how much this card is worth.
Polychromatic
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(18 votes)
I don't care much for this card either, but there's absolutely no reason this should not be 5/5. Jace IS Blue Control.
It irritates me when people downrate a card just because they don't like it. So stop doing it. The star system isn't a scale for how much you like the card: it's supposed to TELL PEOPLE HOW GOOD YOU THOUGHT THIS CARD WAS.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor is the best planeswalker ever printed, and will with any luck BE the best planeswalker ever printed, ever. SO RATE IT THAT WAY.
You might not like it (I don't- this was an obvious design mistake), you might hate it, but SERIOUSLY- this is the best damn card in the 2010-2011 Standard Season. SO RATE IT THAT WAY.
volkethefireman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Jace is the reason I don't play competitively. I can't wait for Zendikar Block to rotate out. Other than that, great card.
Redeemer707
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So if anyone believes that this card is not as "spectacular" as many make it out to be, you just haven't noticed what color set he's in. When you're playing blue, and you have multiple turn taking cards at your disposal, Lighthouse Chronologist and Time Warp, for standard, he starts to build up VERY quickly. He also (like ANY planeswalker) makes for a great distraction from your life total, or another planeswalker. People will be so defiant on killing him, that they will allow other planeswalkers, such as Venser, the Sojourner to build up to their maximum. Turn taking cards, proliferate, and cards like Gilder Bairn make planeswalkers (especially this one) absurd to deal with... and I love it!
tubbyllarva69
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Yep, I think just about everybody has a love/hate relationship with this card. You love it if you can afford to play it. It's funny how a single card can make the game not fun anymore for so many people.
I blame Wizards really. I'm not sure if the problem is any specific card, or the whole idea of 'mythic rarity' in the first place. I can understand wanting to create cards that are desirable, but making the most powerful cards also the most rare makes the game quite elitist.
I feel that if these more powerful cards were more widely available to everyone, not only would it make the game more fun, it would be more challenging because more people would have the ability to create truly competitive decks.
Still have to give this card 5/5 though, there is no denying it's utter awesomeness, even if I do totally freaking hate it.
BlackAlbino
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
much better than i originally thought, very annoying, and more importantly, boring, to play against. Turn 1: Opponent: " island, pass turn " Me: " , pithing needle, jace the mind sculptor " Opponent: " how'd you know? "
i usually say ALOT of things aren't broken. i've said it about force of will, tarmogoyf, and this. i take back what i said here, this is broken. tons of card advantage. tons of options. very playable casting cost. provides various control AND can end the game by itself if left alone. ( albeit getting jaced' is rare )
as a tetanek said on tarmogoyf's comments: Ok, I can accept that wizards from time to time makes this kind of overpowered cards, every serious player will have to buy/trade, only because the artwork is as horrible as the format, thus the price is inversely proportional to the originality of the player.
Wizards, i gotta admit, ya done screwed up here.
Kryptnyt
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(15 votes)
He's not 100 dollars so people don't buy him. He's 100 dollars because people do buy him. He is commonly thrust into every standard deck you will see, ever, from people who want to win and have no budget. You will see him ALL THE TIME if you play in standard. It's not "oh hey there's the guy that splurged on jaces," its, "Oh, hey, that guy didn't buy jaces." In other words, until he rotates, standard is not worth the money if you play to win. If you think you can make a profit after you spend 400 dollars on a playset of one card, its probably because you expect to resale them later. Jace is, in all ways, the Skullclamp they didnt ban, with one exeption; Skullclamp was traded and sold for 50 cents. Its actually a huge difference to how it affects the metagame. The only reason he isn't banned right now is because they want to believe he is an icon. They want superheroes in Magic, and they want Jace to be one of them. But for many of us he will always be an anti-hero, because we are too stubborn and poor to buy him, but we see thousands of different people on MTGO will buy playsets of him just to play in the multiplayer room. Lol.
Studoku
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I still can't see how, during the design process, nobody said "Hang on, this card is obviously broken".
I'm still going with the theory that Wizards printed a broken card on purpose to shift the crapheap that is Worldwake. Hopefully they've learned their lesson.
BolasBrigade
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I find that Jace, the Mind Sculptor was a very, very good card that was, is, and will be well worth the price. I think he was built for Zendikar-Alara rotation, as Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker can easily get rid of him. A multitude of good cards are excellent at dealing with Jace, such as Pestilence Demon, Fireball and Cancel so why bash him when he's easily dealt with with cheap tricks?
mlanier131
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(10 votes)
All the NPH hate did nothing. It remains the best answer to jace is another jace.
TheSwarm
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(3 votes)
My friend Dave and me were walkin around my local card shop and he saw this card, pulls out his wallet, asks the shopkeep how much it costed, and immediately put his wallet back in his pocket. Good times.
Broken.
With Jace, oh my gosh. if you need to gain control, Brainstorm. If you need to maintain control, unsummon and fateseal. Just.. Ridiculous.
Enemy_Tricolor
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(9 votes)
Despise and Duress. Because I don't like watching my opponent spend every turn wondering whether he's going to draw a bunch of cards or deny me anything good off the top of my deck.
JonnyUtah
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
After reading through these pages, I find it disturbing how so many players do not understand how priority works.
"I'll tap for a spell" "Sure I'll Icy Manipulator your land so you can't do it"
LOL.
"I play Jace" "SURE BOLT IT LOL GG"
Risenguy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Lightning Surge, Threshold. Nuff said.
Proply_Rating_Cards
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Okay, Why the hell is Jace rated lower than Hellkite Overlord? Hellkite Overlord is a terrible card, he starts with his CMC, 8? Oh, wait I forgot to note that his Mana cost is colour intensive. He might be strong, though the trouble of paying 8 colour intensive mana, for something that wi ll get reptetively blocked by BSA is not worth it...Jace on the other hand can be placed in almost any blue deck keeping a great turn 4 packing abilities that actually scare players. If you think I'm talking about his -12 than you're wrong, his other 3 abilities are good enough on their own. Jace controls the field and is played in every format except sometimes Vintage. Compared to something that isn't played in any format except for a small group of 12 vyear old kids that just pulled their first mythic.
Jace is 5/5 no exceptions /end
TPmanW
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Pretty clearly he's one of the most powerful cards ever printed and yet he's rated near the bottom of the planeswalker pile by gatherer users. This should tell you something about this guy. Wizards should take note. Edit- never mind the Jace hate must be subsiding, his rating's back up.
luca_barelli
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(14 votes)
Yeah. People have been hate-rating this guy en mass. the correct rating for this card is 5/5
MisterAction
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(5 votes)
I'm on the casual side of the spectrum. I've never seen this gentleman in play and I hope I never do.
I understand exactly why this card is amazing. The problem is... it's kinda dumb. Card advantage and draw control are extremely useful, but they're boring abilities. A good card is one that makes you say "What an awesome ability!" This makes you say "I could use this to win more games."
Progenitus is a good card. "Protection from everything" is an ability that makes you do a double-take, gives you a moment of impending terror when it hits the battlefield. Jace isn't interesting at all, and a dumb way to blow several hundred dollars if you're anyone but the most hardcore tournament players.
Even if you gave me 4 of these for free, I wouldn't use them because my friends would stop playing with me. I won't even put my Sol Rings in my decks because they're not a satisfying way to win.
So yeah, I don't care how good he is, as far as I'm concerned he's useless. 1/5
rillaan
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(5 votes)
This card is the reason why i stoped playing magic. Right now you run a jace deck pr you lose. Why this card has not been banned yet baffles me.
Zacklar
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(13 votes)
"*trollface* Problem, players?" -Wizards of the Coast
TattooedMessiah
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
This with Gideon and Elspeth in my deck owns most of the time, i pretty much cast the 3 walkers then Armageddon to win
jfre81
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(6 votes)
In Soviet Russia, mind sculpts you.
shavr
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(9 votes)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! $100 card eh?!?! Everybody wanting to be a competitive player got a playset eh? Taste ban status JTMS! God bless Wizards for ridding Magic of crutches!
ThisisSakon
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(6 votes)
The ban hammer strikes again!!!
Now where can I pick up a cheap copy?
Kyzar
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(12 votes)
b-b-b-BANNED!!!
SloanMcgee
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(18 votes)
It's banned in standard starting July 1st! http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/148
Wanderer25
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(12 votes)
Ding Dong! The witch is dead!
I'm actually tempted to play standard now...
raadface
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
banned, even though i think Stoneforge Mystic was the real villain here but still- ppl hate on jace because, hes literally just too good
lorendorky
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(3 votes)
I think Restrictions for both of them would have been enough :/ and I don't like either card.
mauro6006
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Is he going to be reprinted in M12?
MuffinMafia
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(60 votes)
No pun intended, but Jace's fate has been sealed.
Falgorn
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Of course he won't be reprinted, for he just received.... http://krapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/BanHammer.gif
Ironsharp
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(62 votes)
Good night, sweet prince; and flights of Squadron Hawks sing thee to thy rest.
WateryMind
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(14 votes)
"Hey guys, watch this! *owns standard*" - Jace the Mind Sculptor "Hey Jace, watch this! *BANNED*" - WoTC, Every player not playing any form of Blue.
Limn42
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(8 votes)
"Wizards of the Coast": Effective July 1, 2011, this card must be played regardless of mana cost.
Destroy target Caw-Blade. Owner of the deck puts no less than 1,000 Tears of Rage tokens onto the battlefield. These tokens are 0/0 creatures that can't be the targets of spells or abilities and deal infinite damage to said Caw-Blade player with each drip.
Flavor text: *trollface.jpg* u mad, players?
osrik
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(9 votes)
"Attention players who are dumb enough to pay $100 for a card in standard. BOOM GOES THE BAN-HAMMER. Thank you, that is all" - Wizards of the Coast representative
LandKraken
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(6 votes)
And for you, my son, many a kingdom lay dormant in await of your swift and sagacious conquest, just not standard.
MirranforLife
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(7 votes)
I can't believe it took them THIS long to ban him. Stoneforge only really became insane with the additon of the Swords and Batterskull, but JTMC has been stupidly OP for too long
CJM2
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(6 votes)
BAN HAMMER
ZestuXIII
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(4 votes)
Justice: Served.
MechaKraken
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(7 votes)
Even though he's banned, I don't see Jace declining very easily in price for a long time. He's THAT powerful...
jumpenrun
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(7 votes)
Finally you got banned, its about time...Didn't Wizards ever thought or saw that most deck in standard before Scar of Mirrodin set is using JMS, and most players using him are winning the tourneys, in that sense they should had banned it long before.
Rikiaz
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(5 votes)
I laugh at everyone who spent $400+ dollars on a playset of him. =)
This is what needs to happen to every overpowered card, only sooner then it did to Jace and Stoneforge.
NocteMundi
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(24 votes)
Since he's lost his job, he's been spotted recently working the Millstone like the good ol' days.
Zenzei
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(21 votes)
Jace, the Mind Sculptor: In the end too good for his own good.
SgtSwaggr
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Have yall seen the new Jace, Memory Adept? Here's what it does:
CMC: 3UU
Loyalty: 4
+1: Draw a card, then target player mills a card
+0: Target player mills 10 cards
-7: Any number of target players draw 20 cards
UberMasterBeef.
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
Banned.Cause it was too broken to fix.
The3rdEmpire
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Bye-bye Jace. Good riddance too.
SirMalkin
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(7 votes)
Enjoy your B&, Jace.
Diachronos
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(5 votes)
I find it funny that they just banned this version of Jace for being too powerful and dominating tournament play...
Only to give him a THIRD version that essentially lets you cast Glimpse the Unthinkable every turn.
Yeah, no way Jace 3.0 is going to have the same problems as Jace 2.0... /sarcasm
OmegaSerris
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I don't see them putting 4 abilities on a PW again for a long time. And Jace 3.0 is not going to have his issue, no way. The new one needs back up.
Sure you can mill 10 a turn with no downside, but you also have to factor in that it will take at least 5 turns to mill a 60 deck that way, that's a turn 10 win. You need to have other milling cards. This Jace, his ultimate WINS. They have 2 cards in hand (which would be about average for the time it goes off)? Boom zero cards, 2 turn clock.
L0RDJUV1N1L3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
How do you use this card?
Arachobia
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(5 votes)
Uh... For the people who are missing the point, the reason this was banned was not because of his ultimate. It was because of his 0 cost brainstorm and, far worse, his 1 cost unsummon, the later of which was making people refuse to play anything big because their opponent would just bounce it the next turn.
A3Kitsune
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I considered putting my one and only Mind Sculptor into one of my Commander decks. I decided against it, but it's a mighty tempting idea. I put in a Jace Beleren, so the deck isn't compleatly without delicious Jacey card-advantage.
NuckChorris
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(6 votes)
Jerk
marwinshieldscale
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I wil admit jace was a good, good in a broken way, but I don't play blue and I am not happy he got banned but because of this card I am racist agenst all jace cards
CaptainNinJoe
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(10 votes)
When you take a deck that required careful assembly, shrewd trading, and lots of play-testing to a tournament and you lose quickly to a very money-intensive deck that included four each of Jace, Gideon Jura, and Stoneforge Mystic, you have full right to feel screwed over. I am just so happy to see the demise of Caw-Blade; Standard was lacking any sense of creativity. "You play Caw-Blade, or you lose."
PwNaGe712
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(4 votes)
man, i remember the day my friend pulled this card out of a pack. i almost killed him. do you know why? HE PULLED A REGULAR AND HOLOGRAPHIC OUT OF THE SAME *** PACK. rediculous. at least i got too hold him
GengilOrbios
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnYhG_ekoH8
Mitch_360
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(4 votes)
My favorite card of all time, and the poster boy for all planeswalkers. 5/5
BradofEarth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I can get him for $60
HippoxxDragon
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(6 votes)
I MISS YOU
AjaniHouse
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(8 votes)
This was the card that was holding Caw-Blade back, right?
God_Of_The_Smurfs
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
4.2? Are you people stupid? This got banned from standard for a REASON. A free brainstorm every turn. No problem what-so-ever, right?
since most people probably couldn't understand hollindayz, i'm going to put my two cents in two cents in as to why this card is quite overrated. first off, no card will ever, ever, ever win a game on it's own. here's some of the great cards i've come up against and what i played against it. Doomgape ; Go For the Throat Baneslayer Angel ; Dark Banishing Wrath of God ; Debtor's Knell Jace TMS ; Faith's Fetters no card can ever win by itself. if jace doesn't have creatures or counters to protect him from attacks he's helpless. he has 5 loyalty by your opponent's next turn, more often than not, so all i have to do is do five damage. that's nothing for by green power deck or my red burn deck. easy pickings. i've never lost a game to TMS, but i have lost to Hedron Crab, a much cheaper, still legal, much better card. if his first ability was +1, he would be terrible. his only ability that is a game changer is the last one, and without counter adding effects (usually green cards) you can use his ultimate 6 TURNS after you play him. minimum. since blue doesn't have mana ramp, as that's turn 9, which is terrible. any damage i do to him lasts forever by reducing loyalty counters, so you have to regain lost ground just to get him back to a state of just being played.
angelheartvial
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Why is this card still popping up when I look for blue Standard? Is there something someone's not telling me?
UNHINGEDMAN
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Banned in modern at the moment, along with ancestral vision, bitterblossom, mental misstep and NOT Aether vial. I'llstick with legacy.
Marsh-D-Teach
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Someone's obviously happy about his ban..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Xb0vwZrTM
Arachibutyrophobia
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(12 votes)
I wish that they made this guy more expensive (maybe five mana? six?) or something so he wouldn't be banned. he's such a cool planeswalker. it's a real shame that they made him just a wee-bit too overpowered.
HollinDayze69lolll
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(8 votes)
DOOD errybdoy thinks dis card is so qood but yu kno what, it actually isnt. i hav 4 but i never use em cuz deyre so bad. let hollin'dayze explain <3:
first of all, rite off da bat, dere iz no way anybody gonna let it get all da way to 12. wat do yuu plan on doing? dubblin season? more like, u need TWOOOO of da dubblin seasons 2 make dis come in2 play wit 12 coutners, but at dat point u mite as well just play a token deck, or perlifrate LOL. nd u kno errybody cud just use o--ring on dis. which dey would. one time i wuz playinq against my boo, hershey, (luvv ya baby!!! pureto rico wuz grate) and he pulled a jax bleren mind scoltpler nd i just attacked it wit my liqhtnin bolt, which rite of da bat won me da qame!!!!!! bcuz he was actually only at 3. so i didnt actualy attic jax. i atticked him.. so just qoez 2 show u dat even if u hav a jax, if u at 3 lyf u still cant win. now, wat if u had mah qurl, Anqel of Mercy. she is da best. she cud get u 3 life, den u would be at 6, nd therefore u would win. unless u play sometin stupoid liek, o i dont kno maybe golbin artilliary nd use it twice. not sayinq dats a bad card. i <3 it.
seeya yo ! adiozzz
Chaka-K-Rock
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(3 votes)
always a 5 in my book
Paleopaladin
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(7 votes)
@polychromatic - well said. I said the exact same thing about peoples' ratings of Baneslayer Angel.
EDIT: How in Karona's name is he still $50-$70? Extended is going away, so are there THAT many people out there playing Legacy? I just really, really want one (or four!).
Salient
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Secret fact of the day: Jace is Prodigal Pyromancer's little bro. (Same frown, same fire in the eyes, same atmosphere of badassery.)
JFM2796
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Crap I was going to sell mine just a couple days before he was banned. Should have been banned long before then though. As far as the "dumbing the game down" argument goes, he does require some intelligence to play effectively, unlike Baneslayer Angel where you only need to know how to turn the card sideways.
DacenOctavio
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(8 votes)
Banned in Modern? My friends, look at the PT Philly results. Is a {2UU} fast enough to edge you out against Goryo's Vengeance, 12post, and Splinter Twin? Maybe. Is it fast enough to edge you out against Blazing Shoal powered Mono Blue Infect? I believe Jace just wet himself.
ConsoleCleric
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(15 votes)
He's capable of giving you Brainstorm, an excellent spell in of itself, each and every single turn in a format where Brainstorm wasn't even printed.
4 Mana for a permanent that mimics Brainstorm for you each and every single turn is already amazing. However, this guy can also break top-decking, bounces creatures and is capable of..well...outright hosing your opponent's library.
It sounds a little too much, doesn't it?
scarecrowk
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Jace made me very angry when week after week when I tried to pick up some worldwake boosters, my local card shops kept telling me that they were out of stock... ... ... I am still angry at his ugly face. I WANT ME SOME WORLDWAKE BOOSTERS!!!
That and the fact that before the ban, everyone I played against at FNM always had a playset of this guy. And there I was with a deck that cost less than a single Jace. (Won a couple matches... But still.)
I don't hate Jace personally... I just hate that he ruined Worldwake for me. -_-
Haxor395
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(5 votes)
combos with the new Labratory assistant... Just exile you OWN library, draw your hand, win...
Sk8er_Boi_1999
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(6 votes)
The worst planeswalker IMO. Low starting loyaty and mediocre ability's. I'd rather play Chandra Ablaze or Ajani Goldmane. They actually can affect the board state
Gcrudaplaneswalker
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(7 votes)
Well well well. You really think I'd spend 80 bucks on u even if ur banned? Well actually that sounds like a good idea..... GET OUT OF MY FREAKING HEAD!!!
divine_exodus
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(6 votes)
You can say it's broken, you can say it should never have been printed, but you can't change the fact that it was the most used card in standard before zendikar block rotated out.
roguepariah
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
And soon to be banned in Extended as well. JB's got a pretty good streak going. At this rate I'll be able to afford a single copy sometime in the next 4 or 5 years.
mattblack04
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(6 votes)
+2 - Screw your combo... 0 - Now here's my combo -1 - pick one: toss back opponent's fatty, or take back your fatty, or reuse any creature card that has enter battlefield effects -12 - Why are you only playing against me with 3 cards in your library? Are you new?
Just to point one thing out... JTMS's 0 ability is not just a free Brainstorm, but it's better! Brainstorm adds 3 cards to your hand and puts 2 on the top of your library; plus your hand loses a card: the played Brainstorm itself. No card advantage: you gain 3 cards and lose 3. With Jace you don't play any card, so you get 3 cards and lose 2. ONE CARD ADVANTAGE! FOR FREE!
scorpiolegend
★☆☆☆☆ (1.9/5.0)(5 votes)
This thing was only broken in Standard, where card selection is tight and limited. In Legacy, however, this guy is at a perfect power level.
brunsbr103
★☆☆☆☆ (1.9/5.0)(7 votes)
This is, in my opinion, my favorite planeswalker
I was so happy to open him in a booster pack, and he fits nicely into a mill/reanimation deck that I've had sitting around for a while.
Because the deck that he is in tries to control what my opponents draw through such cards as Lantern of insight and cards that mill small amounts through triggers, such as Catheric Adept, I find myself using his first ability until I can trigger the last one for the win.
If I already know what is on the top of my opponent's library, he gives me one more way to get rid of anything good or he gives me a free brainstorm. I tend to forget about his third ability, but it is a respectable one that for some reason kind of reminds me of mark of eviction.
What's not to like? 5/5
EDIT:wait I wrote that?! I'm sorry I wrote that before the whole thing got out of hand (I did get one at the prerelease back then, but I traded it)
friendtoall17
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(7 votes)
My favorite Jace moment so far is the following scenario:
I used his -1 for two turns in a row against an opponent's wurmcoil engine. Since they only had 6-7 mana at the time, it was essentially like they did nothing for two turns except remove two loyalty counters from Jace in a very roundabout way.
After the game was over, I asked my opponent, "Why did you keep on playing your wurmcoil engine if you knew it was just gonna be bounced again?"
Response: "It's so hard for me to think when there's Jace in my face!"
tantallum99
★☆☆☆☆ (1.3/5.0)(3 votes)
@Sironos: "forcing kids to pay $70 x 4"??? no one is forcing anyone to buy this card. If you are a casual player you do not need $70 cards to have fun or make a deck.
PS I also find it hilarious that it is the most expensive planeswalker ever, and its community rating is 18/20 among all planeswalkers at the time of this writing. The only two rated lower are Nissa and Sarkhan the Mad
@polychromatic, Paleopaladin: Is a card with a CMC of 0, split second, you win the game, you can have any number of CARD NAME in your library a 5/5 card? It's technically the "best" card, since it instantly wins you the game.
But that would be completely stupid and would turn the game into a coin toss or dice roll to see who goes first and then wins.
That card would deserve 0/5 because it would be a completely and utterly stupid and broken card.
JungaThunda
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Pff!! http://imgur.com/3ORhs is sooo much better than this! And ALL the other Jaces! This Jace owns!
But to be honest... Jace, The mind sculptor is a MUST in my blue/white deck! :)
D34D2R1T35
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
If anyone is curious why JTMS still costs like $50 to $70 I have one word for you COMMANDER.
hunteroffire9
★☆☆☆☆ (1.4/5.0)(5 votes)
I am the only 1 who noticed its -12 is a 1 hit win
Travis44
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Jace, the Mind Sculptor: Because nothing says "originality" quite like playing the same deck and combos as all of your friends
FaltonOV
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Just traded the a VERY iffy foil Sorin, Lord of Innistrad for a FtV:R Isochron Scepter, Spellskite, and one of these guys. Jace was already my favorite planeswalker. This, though... it just made my blue/white EDH that much better.
anytwofactors
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(8 votes)
Funny, the name on this card says Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
I always thought it was Jace, the AUEAUAUEAEUARRGH.
Totema
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Than +2 ability looks hilarious. Completely censor everything that comes to your opponent's hand. Then hit with the ultimate and watch in hilarity as their last turns involve drawing lands and other dead drops. But what really breaks this for me is his -1. He gets all this awesome stuff, and he can defend himself? Holy crap, what a walker indeed!
Enelysios
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(6 votes)
You know what my worst memory of this guy is? Running into him in a limited match. I still have no idea why they printed him, if he could somehow counter spells he would be doing the job of just about every notable blue card on his own. He is on the cheaper side for planeswalkers. Why? He has a neutral ability that gains you card advantage. Why? His plus is not +1, but +2. Why? His last ability is closer to "you win" than any other planeswalker. It honestly feels like they just wanted to one-up every other planeswalker out there.
I understand how skullclamp happened. I suppose I understand Trinisphere slipping through. But what were they thinking here? How can anyone look at this card and not apply the strictest scrutiny before letting it through? This was slated as a mythic, they know added complexity is a balancing challenge, and he is the first four ability planeswalker. Every single red flag should have gone up when they saw this guy.
Endomarru
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(45 votes)
You know something's wrong when less than half of the card is art.
Dennoire
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I exiled an opponents library today....
*Mr Burns voice* Excellent...
BastianQoU
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I know that this comment is likely going to be lost in the flood that are on this page, but can his 0 ability get any better? Avacyn Restored's Miracle mechanic, guaranteed to go off.. -sighs- I'm glad this card is never seeing standard again.
Daijin26
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(14 votes)
@TimmyForever:
If you don't understand the power of Jace's 0 loyalty ability, then you don't get why Brainstorm was a powerful card as well. It's not 0 for one card, it's 0 for 3 NEW CARDS FROM YOUR DECK, 3 cards you didn't have in your hand. You get to be 3 turns ahead of your opponent draw-wise. Putting two cards on top of your deck is a very small setback and please keep in mind you the two cards you put on top don't have to be the ones you drew.
Card advantage isn't just the number of cards in your hand over your opponent, it's much more than that.
I'm no fan of Jace, but I will defend Brainstorm and any ability on a card that gives you Brainstorm's effect.
Also, saying a card is weak because there are other cards that can get rid of it is also stupid of you. In this game, all cards can be gotten rid of by other cards, that's how this game works. With your logic, that means all cards are weak because they can be countered by counterspells and all creatures are weak because of cards like Wrath of God or Damnation that can kill them. Not to mention all permanents sucks because there are other cards that can remove permanents. Oh wait, having a hand is weak too because there is discard...
Yeah, I think I proved how silly your point is on that note.
Timmy...no one called you racist...
Volafortis
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Favorite walker ever.
I know I'm in the minority, but I like when WotC prints crazy stupid broken cards like this. Not because of the format warping it causes, but because it shows that Wizards is still willing to push boundaries. However, it does seem like the power creep is getting out of hand. Mainly because they're printing a lot of card that would be format warping and crazy on their own if they were printed 5 or so years ago, and making them so mundane and everywhere that they're 50 cent junk rares.
Now I know a lot of people have complained about this guy running a muck in standard back when he was legal. And I know his abilities where just too good. My big problem with him isn't how powerful he is but rather how many abilities he has. By having 4 abilities he has taken away some flavor away from future blue planeswalkers. We have already seen that his -1 ability would have been better suited for Venser then Jace. In fact, the ability to unsummon creatures is not flavorful of what jace is at all. And Jace will always have a haunting presence on the development team for future planeswalkers. No one wants to make this mistake again.
SlickDragon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Strongest card on mtgo without a doubt, and probably better than the power 9 in paper magic. Nonetheless it should not have been banned, and for that matter no standard cards should ever get banned since Wizards is robbing us of our hard earned money. Happy i still have foils of Jace Tms that have only gone up in value, even with the banning. He solidifies and epitomizes Blue being the strongest color in magic with out question, as it should be and will be eternally.
ziggefranz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(4 votes)
my friend has one of these guys. yanno what's hilarious? letting him build up to the last ability, and then either stealing it with Confiscate or letting him deck himself by using Willbender's ability to change the target of the ability when he plays it.
Also, for everyone who is complaining about this - or ANY planeswalker - Pithing Needle? 1 cost card that totally makes planeswalkers USELESS? not like blue is getting rid of that artifact anytime soon.
=)
first ability is awesome, but, really, just because you're being denied some cards doesn't mean you're being denied ALL cards. heck, luck says that you have just as much chance to draw something useful after you've been fatesealed as you do before. heck, if you're playing blue, too, it's fun to use Scry/ponder/etc to make your opponent worry about using the fateseal. "did he put his best card here, on top? or is that fateseal bait? uh..."
brainstorm on demand is pretty ridiculous, too.
oh, and I have WON after having his -12 played against me. a few times. I'm not convinced at all that this ability is 'insta-win'. first, you can get counters off the card rather easily over six turns, yanno? flying, unblockable, shadow, intimidate, SOMETHING.
second, if you can't, you sure as hell should be keeping AWESOME cards in your hand for the inevitable library vanishing act.
Recino
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(11 votes)
I think that this proves that WotC doesn't like cheaters. Jace sideboarded his abilities got three different ones then, when no one was looking, he sliped in a fourth one.
Let this be a lesson to you, new and old players alike : only sideboard in as much as you take out, otherwise you might be banned from tournaments.
Some really mean guy traded a six year old this for a Denizon of the Deep. Umm... about 70 dollar advantage?
KokoshoForPresident
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
At a glance, he looks kind of like he's throwing cards between his hands, which actually seems quite fitting. He's got lots of card advantage and everyone he plays against quits at magic and gives him their deck.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor: a planeswalker so broken that his second ability itself is restricted in Vintage.
axlx08
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Best, but broken, really awesome, but broken card ever. If this card reprints, we all die.
gman92
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Ugh, my problem with Jace is that no other planeswalkers have been printed with 4 abilities since this guy. I think we need Ajani, Garruk, Liliana, and Chandra to feel the 4 ability love too, but instead we get cards that are good, but not even close to the power we have here. Ajani Vengeant; Yeah, he's okay. But is he Jace? No. Garruk, Primal Hunter; Nice. protects himself with a + ability. Not Jace, and 5 CMC. Liliana of the Veil; Effective card. Shot way up in value. Still not Jace. Chandra Ablaze; Wins rather effectively. Takes too long to do it, and at 6 CMC? No...just no.
This card is like a swiss army knife. A horribly broken, overpowered swiss army knife.
Tunklebunkle
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
This is why Worldwake Boxes are worth $130...
Burn_Yo_Momma
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(5 votes)
Along with Stupid Dagger and Spinning Top of Lulz this should be rated lower than Wood Elemental. Makes you think R&D folks are a bunch of 9yo's trolling us all.
j_mindfingerpainter
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
@ TimmyForever: I don't know if you are just some kind of uber-troll or your comments are complete jokes or you're trying to make people mad, but that last one seems to be what's happening.
Take a look at your own comment. -One billion to win the game?
An alternate win condition. That card must suck.
Almost all the things you mentioned that can kill him FAIL if you simply COUNTER THEM. Also, most of those require targeting. Spellskite. Yeah, Jace is overrated by some people, but it's also rated ~ 4 because haters like you hate extremely broken cards.
Name another planeswalker with 4 abilities. Nope, you only have one. Hating cards. His +2 can screw Miracle decks. You can say they're not competitive but try saying that to Alexander Hayne. His 0 gets you a card that could've taken 3 turns to draw, and puts the other cards in the order you want. His -1 deals with a creature UNTIL YOU COUNTER IT WHEN IT'S RECAST. -12 is not -One billion. Every turn you're getting 2 or more loyalty counters depending on the number of proliferate stuff you have.
The absolute power on this card is a huge mistake and that you won't even acknowledge that is ridiculous.
Wurmcaller
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
This card should never get reprinted. It was terribly designed, allowing too much power on one card. Jace the Mind Sculptor is a self-contained blue deck.
Allowing a single card to continually scry, brainstorm, and unsummon? Who thought that wasn't broken? You can move around your library or your opponent's library every turn or remove all creature threats in your way one at a time, without costing mana! AND it has an ultimate that pretty much wins you the game if you get it off.
Don't look for another JTMS, because this card was a mistake. They misjudged the competitive section of Magic and didn't think that four of these in a deck would be THAT bad. R&D probably won't ever create another walker with four abilities because they're so afraid of their mistake here.
@ParallaxtheRevan- FTV is not equal to a reprint. It's just an old infamous card that still is not legal in anywhere it wasn't before, but pretty and collectible. And the FTV this year was the final one Wizards is doing. Demonic Tutor is nowhere on the power level of JTMS. The cards they put in EDH/Commander products are still only one of anything, and honestly Sol Ring is one of the few really powerful cards they put in there. To put Jace in there is a hilarious assumption that will never happen. And if it does, I'll give up this game because the developers would be out of their minds.
immelmann
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(5 votes)
WOTC's big mistake
I actually stopped playing for about a year after this was running rampant in FNMs. Either you spend $300 and run a playset of these, or you go in disadvantaged against 78129179812 other caw-blade decks and hope you get lucky. It was extremely off-putting and made the metagame very boring.
@bogmire
WHY didn't you stop the trade? I would honestly tell the kid he's being scammed.
EKraj
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Over rated. Is a good piece, but you will never get to the finale. He will be killed, and you will LOSE THE GAME.
PushyCarrot
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I guess that $100 price memory is coming back b/c JTMS just hit $80 on SCG.......
Excellent card in the right deck, over rated in others
Maybe judge foil reprint but doubtfull anything else
wholelottalove
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Yeah, this card is just broken. If I ever see it in play on MTGO, I just quit.
Emperorerror
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(5 votes)
Why would anyone not rate this 5/5?
CineqPl
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
+2 - Pretty nice... 0 - Dang! That's good! -1 - It can be useful, but let's check the ultimatum -12 - Holy sh**.
psychichobo
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I never realised how powerful he was until I properly read the rules. In multiplayer I just vaguely recall him turning up and either being countered or getting something of unusual proportions trampling him into the dirt before he could wreak havoc.
He is seriously scary, but he loses a lot of punch when there's more than one player who refuses to let him rear his OP head.
EyeballFrog
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The power of Jace cards seems to have a direct relationship with how awesome the art is. And let's face it, Jace has never looked better than he does on this card.
ASkylitShips
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Honestly, I come back to this page after a while; and still think that this is the best card printed in the last ten years. It's so versatile, it's so strong, and it's just a lot of fun. I think Jace added an insane amount to Vintage and Legacy. He'd be a Modern All Star if he wasn't banned there, obviously, and all around I fan-boy'd the heck outta this card in Standard.
supafly13
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
It really discredits a person as well as their lack of knowledge of/about this game when they rate this less than a 4. Even if you're not a fan of this card, it should be obvious that it is among the strongest and most versatile of cards ever printed...and certainly in the past ten years. Smh
shotoku64
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Dies to dreadbore, but it would probably get countered anyways
Goatllama
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guy....... well actually, I just don't like Jace as a character. Seems pretty pretentious. Other than that, this is an extremely good card.
Necropotencia
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I'm pretty sure this guy has been hate-rated. If not, He would likely be at or over 4.5 stars.
For all these abilities on the cards that have them the cheapest possible combination is 2UUUU or 6 CMC. JTMS does it all for the insanely low price of 2UU and can do it every single turn!
AkaRed3223
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I just purchased 2 worldwake boosters (not 2 boxes, but 2 single boosters) here in Brazil, for R$ 12,00 each (pretty much 5 dollars) and guess what? this little guy showed himself up, you gotta get out of your wallet a bunch of R$ 200,00 for one of these... good business huh?
TheKazu
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(8 votes)
How is this not 5/5. Seriously, its not even one of the top 3 rated planeswalkers. Hell, this thing should be on the first page of highest rated cards on gatherer.
bolttotheface
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just a 4 mana enchantment that gives a +1 brainstorm each turn would be uber powerful.
Continue
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(24 votes)
People hate this guy. Plain and simple. If he were rated fairly, he would be at 4.9. Seriously, he's just that good. As it is, he's at 4.05 because so many people hate his guts.
Keiya
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You see that blue aura shuffling between his hands? That's your money, vanishing before your eyes as the price you paid to acquire this card.
hashtagyolo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card just goes to show that the true measure of a card's power isn't its rating, but actually how many people voted on it.
NoIHavent
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I actually had the fortune of selling my soul to a card shop fr one of these a while back. Just one. It cost me 5 other planeswalkers. Anyway. It was totally worth it. I knew, objectively, that this card was amazing, but playing with it felt... Powerful. Your opponent is mana screwed? Fateseal away any lands you see. At any other time, you're drawing at least 2 cards a turn, never mind the fact that you can filter to your liking. But the thing that really puts this over the top, as with any magic card, is the fact that it gives you options, and lots of them. Options are the most important thing in the game, fundamentally. If you have an answer for any situation you did yourself in, you'll be hard pressed to lose. Also, at worst, like, absolute worst, you can see this as a one-sided howling mine for a few turns. For 4. Which I would definitely play.
rollinsclone
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
First of all, I agree, this card should never have been printed. It's one of the most powerful cards in the game, right up there with the Power 9. It's completely insane and I don't know what R&D was thinking.
Still, I have to give it 5/5. It is the single most powerful control card in the game and that has to be respected. He gains you tempo when you're behind and messes with your opponent's when you're ahead. What more could any player want? Besides friends I mean, because you're not likely to have many after you drop this.
Masters_Edition
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Now that people have cooled off about this card Wizards should reset its rating so it can be rated fairly.
rike889
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
This card is perfect in both flavor and gameplay. He is literally sculpting your future thoughts. You have an out coming up? No you don't. Brainstorm for free every turn. Dig deep, get that card draw, reset those miracles, save that island for something good. Facing down that tinkered out Blightseel, maybe an Emrakul? Wheredego? And that last ability? You win the game.
People, this card is better than celestial colonade, it should be the top card in the set. There is something wrong with you if you rate this below a 5.
sniper_ix
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
What is more interesting about this card its price swings.
Pre-ban/Standard= $100+
Post-ban= $50 at it's lowest
Post-ban now= $100 again
The only formats its useable in is legacy and vintage. It would get laughed out of vintage. And legacy has dark confidant as it's #1 draw engine. How this guy is gaining momentum in the secondary market is beyond me.
MasterofEtheriurn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Two best Jaces are once again the highest rated Jaces.
@ sniper_ix: Jace gets played in both Vintage and Legacy.
Xineombine
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I hate blue in this game entirely, that said, I still gave this card the 5/5 it deserves...
bowlofgumbo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Haha, I just looked back and realized that I was one of those guys who rage-rated him a 0.5 star when he broke standard a couple years ago. Can't blame my past self, but, I felt compelled to update the rating to the 5 stars it deserves. They just don't make planeswalkers like they used to....
ParallaxtheRevan
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Snapcaster Mage and Delver of Secrets are going to make the new fourth Jace, Architect of Thought a lot better than he looks, and he looks ok, just not 'super great'.
But this guy, I do think will get a reprint, because Wizards knows he's super desirable. Maze of Ith got back in the Vault. Demonic Tutor is in Duel Decks.
Some really famous over powered cards have special versions not playable in Modern but good for blinging out EDH or Legacy/Vintage decks. So I do hold out the chance that in a special pre-boxed product, Jace the Mind Sculptor will get reprinted. But even then, the Worldwake ones will probably still be worth $50+. Maybe the lowest they could knock it down is $40 if the reprint was in something with a print run larger than the average Duel Decks. So if you are looking on ebay for Cheap Jaces, try to get them between 40-55, and don't pay more than 65 because it is possible to find better than that.
EDIT: ummm TCGPlayer.com's CHEAPEST Jace, the Mind Sculptors are pushing $100 right now, and they are in Heavily Played condition o.O Thank goodness the dealers do not seem to be jerk enough to charge that much difference between Heavily Played and Near Mint. Well, I'm not going to look at Star City's numbers, bc they probably do -_- TCG is the Progressive.com of MTG, if you aren't shopping there, you aren't doing it right unless they are out of inventory and you NEED something. BUT.
Look, even though this guy was printed SO RECENTLY, he is INELIGIBLE for Modern Masters. It can't be ignored any longer.
THIS CARD. JACE, THE MIND SCULPTOR, should be the card voted to Power 10. Time Vault? Library of Alexandria? Bazaar of Baghdad? famous cards to be sure, but there are some things Jace has in common with the Power those cards do not:
#1: Dumb Where Everywhere. Time Vault and Bazaar of Baghdad are restricted to a Johnny play style and a Melvin playstyle, respectively. Black Lotus, Mox Sapphire, Mox Pearl, Mox Ruby, Mox Jet, Mox Emerald, Ancestral Recall, and Time Walk are each undoubtedly "include in decks with blue sources, or even just call Mox Sapphire your Blue Sources" cards. Whatever your strategy is, pretty much UNLESS you are trying to go so offbeat to make a deck that PROVES the Power are not Perfect Fits everywhere, the Power 9 are cards that fetch such high demand because 99% of decks are better with them.
#2: Library of Alexandria? Why not this one? Because, compare Library of Alexandria's price to Bazaar of Baghdad's or Candelabra of Tawnos- these cards' price don't seem to have changed very much over time. Their useability hasn't changed much over time. Their ubiquity, their playedness....they'll always have homes, and creep steadily more and more up, but BY comparison...LOTS of cards that old are competing in the $100-$150-$200 price range. Pretty much nothing besides Power demands higher than $300 though (exempting special printings). If Library of Alexandria were TRULY as good a candidate for Power 10th ness as Jace, the Mind Sculptor, it would be approx. $500 from the Rarity spiking things ADDED to the Powerness of it.
#3: Jace the Mind Sculptor can get banned in Legacy and --maybe-- --EVEN-- EDH or CUBE tomorrow, and he is just good enough to be worth taking to Vintage. His price would plummet to around $50 again, maybe. It would, given time, rise again, and again, again, and before we'd yet had "From the Vault: Planeswalkers" he would be back in the $100 zone or higher.
#4: Even if he gets Reprinted, even a DUEL DECKs Reprinted which tends to scalp a card's value, the reprint is likely to be worth $30. No, wait, we're talking a foil Jace? $50 easily despite huge supply. The original would not be effected positively or negatively by a reprint anymore than a Ban would.
At this point, Jace the Mind Sculptor is such a Known Quantity of Fame and Fortune, that no Reprints OR Bannings can actually do much of anything to his price anymore longterm, at least the Worldwake Version. He is definitely a Piece of MTG History like no other card that's been printed since the FTV: Dragons version of Nicol Bolas. How many other Magic Cards do you know that have songs like this about them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnYhG_ekoH8
There are only 10 cards that will make you, the Player, feel Rich, Powerful, Historical, Mighty, and Blinged out like you just bought a Ferrari or Porsche NO. MATTER. WHAT. If you are a Magic Player, other Mythic Rares and Judge Foils might catch your interest, your "Gotta Catch Em All" itch might want to be scratched by acquiring them, BUT the cards you will actually be proud to show your Grandkids if you have them?
The Power 9, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor. The other Vintage Staples are only specifically appealing to Vintage Players; the other Magic Rarities to the Bling EDH crowd....THESE 10, however, will be symbols of what those players THINK they have.....to *Everyone*.
DarthParallax
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
(It's not nearly as good a rap song, as Jace is a card.....:3 x) But you can't deny the lyrics are pretty much 100% Truth.) Because let's be honest people: This is the comment that should be the highest rated on Gatherer for Jace:
Lyrics By Patrick Chapin (correct me if I'm wrong)
Jace, the Mind Sculptor walked through the door My life's better than ever before Its not just that I'm winning a ton Its not just that Blue's back number one Its not just that I'm having more fun Than when I was having more fun than legally done Jace changed my life in all the best ways Five thousand friends and a massive pay raise
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All, Ja-Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All, Jace, the Mind Sculptor Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All, Ja-Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Invented Jace in San Diego Blue/White control was what we play, yo Pro Tour San Juan won by Paulo Once MJ broke Jace in block, yo Tom Martroll and Jace got busy Top-Eighted a Legacy GP Did Owen and Jace win the Vintage sixty? Yes, Very Easily
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All Jace, the Mind Sculptor Jace Helped Wrapter, USA Man MJ's Top Eight In Amsterdam All Guillaume Finals, they understand One-X and Standard Mono-Jace Plan Pro Tour Paris Magic Weekend indeed Helped Player of the Year Brad Nelson succeed My fourth Top-Eight cause of Tezzeret? Please Proves Jace is a Team Player with ease!
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I found Jace a year ago, see Or should I say that Jace found me? I've never lived life so successfully, Within a week met the woman of my dreams Tried to tell everybody alive--Buy Jace while he's still twenty-five! Fateseal, Brainstorm, Unsummon guys: Ultimate they never survive! I've been putting protective cases, on hundreds since they had Jace-faces Four abilities cover all bases, Truth is every card game has Aces Jace, the Mind Sculptor- single-handedly Responsible for the Resurgency Of the American Magic Scene Jace, the Mind Sculptor, you complete me
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All, Ja-Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All Jace, the Mind Sculptor Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All, Ja-Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All Jace, the Mind sculptor, Better than All Jace, the Mind Sculptor The Mind Sculptor The Mind Sculptor
azure_drake222222
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
37 pages! Probably the most ever!
Habreno
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(5 votes)
*faces opponent using Jace* *opponent uses -12 ability*
Okay.
*shuffles his one-card hand into his library*
My turn?
*Draws his one card* *plays Laboratory Maniac*
Pass.
Opponent: ****
Probably only way that can backfire?
Jack-o-Crow
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
@Habreno
Except they could just use Jace's -1 right after to return maniac and STILL win.
Anyways about this card. I like to rate cards on gatherer a bit more on their playability. I like to break it down into parts of how well they were designed, how subjectively fun they are to play, and how they affected the environment. Culminating the overall results for the score.
Playability: 5/5 Okay, if you were just rating the card on usability. Jace is a no brainer 5/5. I'm not going too deep since it's been said to death. Just look at the fact that he is highly played in EVERY format that he's legal in. This includes vintage, VINTAGE. The format with the cards that are worth 15k? He sees play in there and wins games.
Fun: 2/5 What I mean by fun is how fun I subjectively feel the card is to play both with and against. How interested I am about putting it in other decks to see how it interacts or for what unique ways it can work along with its design. Jace is a bit bittersweet here.
Playing against a Jace is a pain. Being helplessly locked out of the game by a single card, only being able to wait while that same card builds to a game-winning finish is not the greatest feeling.
On the flipside, playing with Jace is somewhat fun for me. Merely for the fact that he is power. Using him makes me feel powerful. Like I'm in total control of the game. Controlling my opponent's fate while defying my own. Though it tends to leave a bad taste in my mouth when I'm done.
And as for deck building...Well he's not particularly interesting. Just good. It's a card that makes your deck better for simply being itself, but doesn't do anything extremely interesting.
Environment: 0/5 And this is where the card takes a nosedive for me. Jace was format warpingly good, in a very very bad way. Back in his day, standard suddenly became a $400 format. It was play caw-blade with Jace or lose. Every deck was running with and/or against him. He stagnated both standard and modern horribly and was banned for it.
Does that mean it's a good card? Probably. Does that mean it's a well designed card? Hell no.
So I'm giving Jace a 3/5. Because he's bad? Goodness no. It's just that he should not have been printed and his impact on the game hasn't been entirely positive. Gatherer ratings are more than about usability, they're about public opinion of a card. And I would think how Jace affects environments and playgroups are viable parts of opinion.
Silverhawk100
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
He Combos with Islands.
Ligerman30
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
@sniper_ix Jace is played in pretty much every blue Commander, Legacy, and Vintage deck. Just because he got banned out of standard and modern doesn't mean he doesn't still see play. Turn 1 jace off of Black Lotus and and land is no joke in vintage. Even a turn 2 jace off of Sol Ring and it's ilk are the nuts.
This card is easily the best 4 drop ever printed with or without mana acceleration. Whether or not this was a design error, I strongly believe that you cannot argue it's power level in all formats it's legal in. Anyone who debates this card's power is either butthurt or extremely ignorant. This is one of the best cards ever printed. Just goes to show the sheer power creep of zendikar block. I don't like how cards like these tend to push aggro out of standard though. Aggro is way more fun then control mirror matches. :(
5/5
StudentOfEtherium
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(4 votes)
The Definition Of Broken
LadiesMan117
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Best Planeswalker ever printed. He does work in blue white miracles in legacy. His 0 brainstorm ability is what puts him over the top
Baal_Planeswalker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Habreno
Then your opponent uses Jace's -1 ability on the maniac and passes.
Nagoragama
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I'm sure it's not a 5/5 because of all the hate-raters. It deserves nothing less than a 5/5, unless you're rating it from a game design/balance perspective, in which cause it is quite poorly balanced.
TheDarkLight
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Out of all the current 'from the vault' series. Exiled didnt feature a preview card. They should of guessed printing this guy would of got banned so they could of added him!
Edit: From the vault twenty has to have this card!
Pick15
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Strictly better than all.
yousquiddinme
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card was a good idea.
/sarcasm.
FourEx
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
HUNDRED DOLLA BILLZ YALL no for real this jace is strictly better than all other blue planeswalkers. yes, it's broken, but so is yawgmoth's will, and everyone agrees that card is good
myownworst
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Seriously this is one of the best cards ever. I feel better about myself in my daily life just knowing I have him in my deck.
I bought one in August for $70, and now he's almost doubled in price. Wow.
Jace_the_Mind_Fcuker
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Ahh, my namesake. So wonderfully broken. He never should have seen print, but he did and the rest is history. A 5/5 in terms of playability, of course, but... so many people hate him. His current 4.1/5 average is pretty much justified.
Lordgold333
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
-Kanye West- "Yo, Yo, Yo, I'm happy for you and all Jace, but I gotta say, Storm Crow is, and will always be, the most broken card in history. Ever."
admiraldanish
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Other than Alpha, Beta and Summer Magic, the foil version of this card is at the time of writing the most valuable card ever printed. Yes, more than Black Lotus. And it was printed less than our years ago.
That's utter insanity. And I'm sure that sooner or later, Wizards is going to do something about this.
battleofwits
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Now is up to 160$ non foil
Aquillion
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Ratings on Gatherer are not just about power; they're how much people like or dislike the card, too. Isochron Scepter ranks so highly not just because it's so powerful, but because it's so much fun.
Jace is powerful, but not really fun. There's no clever combo with him, nor does he generally lead to interesting, memorable games -- I mean, it's fun to win, I guess, but even using him rapidly becomes boring, since he sucks all the randomness out of the game once he comes out, too.
He was a bad card that should never have seen print. Not because he's overpowered, but because he's overpowered in such a boring way. He doesn't deserve more than a 4.0. Sure he wins games; so does kicking over the table.
ojchahine6
★★★☆☆ (4.0/5.0)(10 votes)
I could pay for tuition for a semester of college OR I could buy a playset of this card. Hmmm...
EGarrett01
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think whoever designed this card didn't realize how INCREDIBLY powerful Brainstorm is when it doesn't cost a card out of your hand. Jayemdae Tome costs 4 to cast and 4 per turn to draw you one extra card, Jace gives you a BETTER effect then drawing an extra card every turn for 0. The bouncing of creatures, fatesealing and ability to win the game all by his damn self if he feels like it are just ridiculous gravy.
MagicCritic
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Going to be truthful here, even if I can't afford this card. ;(, it is VERY overpowered. Without the ult, it is still an incredibly powerful and versatile planeswalker. So broken. Jason, I think you were high when you made him.
Jace Beleren - 2.5/5 Jace, Memory Adept - 4/5 Jace, the Mind Sculptor - 5.5/5
Westertin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The one thing I can't take is exiling
snickerpuss
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's all the cash you spend that gives him all that power.
JunkHarvester
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
@Paolino; actually Jace is a card that you cast just like Brainstorm is. If you activate it twice then you're netting an extra card. If you activate it once, you just spent 4 mana for the same effect. Granted, you do technically gain 3+ life depending on which creature attacked Jace after you "brainstormed".
Now, if they bolt him instead of attack w/ creature, then you're gaining card advantage again, but that's an entirely different story.
Lifegainwithbite
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
If you get him out, you have probably won the game. Even if they then kill it, you've just gained an insane amount of card advantage.
It completely destroyed standard. Every deck at the pro tours ran 4 and it was something you had to have to play competitively. Everyone ran blue.
By the way, it appears to be a common misconception that you can bolt Jace as soon as he comes out and kill him. Your opponent would have the chance before you bolted him to activate an ability and if they activated the +2, the bolt would not kill Jace. The opponent has priority as soon as Jace enters the battlefield and you can only respond to the ability being used.
@thewrathofshane: You complain on loads of comments about how expensive cards are then you call for Urza block and other cards to be banned and don't care about the money that people have already spent on them. It's just the worst kind of hypocrisy. Of course Wizards doesn't want to ban cards - they don't want people to get upset. I support the banning of this card but I certainly don't support banning in general.
JSSarfin
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(4 votes)
Blergh. Mothership has just sent down some of the new rules they're putting in for M14. It doesn't look pretty.
Big news: Planeswalkers and legends now have little to no inherant drawbacks, because now the legend rule only works if you have two on your side of the field. It will be completely legitimate for you to have a JTMS and your opponent to have a JTMS - on the battlefield, at the same time. No more little Jace turn three to stop a Mindsculptor from being played turn four. Also, because of this Clone cards are now an excessively lot weaker - you can't Clone, say, Thrun or Uril and kill them, you just get two of them on the battlefield. Hexproof generals in EDH now only have one weakness - boardwipes (And maybe edicts, but I doubt they'd ever not have other creatures out anyway) - and now Thrun is unkillable by everything except Mutilate and Wrath of God.
Also note, if you play two of the same planeswalker one after another, you can still activate their abilities. I can still +1 Jace here before he dies if I 'replace' him with another Jace, then I can +1 that Jace too. Blergh, think about that with Liliana of the Veil.
Also, judging from what they've done with rule-change timing in the past, this probably means that the next block, Theros, will either be legend-heavy or 'walker-heavy. Oh boy.
SyntheticDreamer
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
This plus the M14 rules. I hereby rename the Legacy format to "Jace Race 3000!"
ekann123
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Recino
Actually, with the new sideboard rules you CAN sideboard in more than you sideboard out.
So, now Jace is legal and fair.
Wait... WHAT?? ;)
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Jace the Mind-F*cker is more like it.
Ferlord
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Not to be THAT GUY, but I think Jace is the most rated card on the Gatherer (1036 votes, June 4th 2013). That's competing against Chimney Imp (613 votes), Storm Crow (824 votes) and Black Lotus (1031 votes).
YES, The Mind Sculptor is just slightly more popular than THE broken card. A card that had a 17-year lead in becoming more popular.
Chronos_Mysty
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The new Planeswalkers changes will absolutely break this:
1. If there was ever a chance to shut down your opponent's Jace with your own, it's gone now. No more Sun Titan stopping Jace. 2. Chain +2s for one turn, if their top card provced to be very dangerous and you have an inkling that their next one is dangerous too.
If a card is/was played in all of Standard, Legacy, and Vintage, and Modern (if appropriate), I think there might be an inherent problem with the card. As such, I can't rate this card highly.
Cyber_Squirrel
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Cryonic: Interestingly, though, if Jace's controller has a Cloudstone Curio or any player has Eye of Singularity (there may be some other cards where this is true), it becomes possible to bolt him before he can activate his +2.
SubstantiaNigra
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
One of the most game-ending cards ever designed. Completely broken, defining formats to the point where whoever resolved Jace first would win. Because, as soon as he drops, it's GAME OVER.
TheWrathofShane
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(5 votes)
I gave it a .5/5 for balancing and development. Poorly designed card that warped the shit of the format it was in. Is it powerful? You bet! But does that make it well designed? No.
Rating on power is retarded because it encourages wizards to keep printing broken mistakes.
bfellow
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(6 votes)
I gave it a 5/5 for power. Well designed card that warped the shit of the format it was in. Is it powerful? You bet! But does that make it awesome? Yes.
Rating on design is retarded because it encourages wizards not to print better cards.
LordOfTheUniverseMCS
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Fun Story: I was at Scout camp, and another kid had a Jace. HE BROUGHT IT TO CAMP. UNPROXIED. (you can guess where this is going)
Anyway, he left his deck behind in my campsite with the Jace in it. I found it and (after much mental anguish) i gave the deck back. (The Jace was the only remotely good card)
You are in good company.
Mirrordin_Pure
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(10 votes)
MY GOD, IT'S COMING BACK IT WAS ONLY MATTER OF TIME
Tivoko
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
He's a whole generation of Magic player's version of Power, only he can be reprinted.
mpitcock
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(3 votes)
It's coming back!!!! This card alone will make FTV:20 at least $750, maybe even $1000.
talcumpowder0046
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ohohoho... WotC will make a fortune off of FTV 20.
SilentOppressor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So... why was the -1 necessary?
Bob111634
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
dies to storm crow
Laguz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
First card since mirrodin block that was so laughably powerful that it wasn't fun to play or play against. Go die in a hole somewhere Jace, and take that terrible return to ravnica storyline with you because wow, that sucked. I'd have rather read twilight.
atemu1234
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@timmyforever what do you want in a card? no one worships blue. It's actually not that overrated. Granted, not a lot play it due to its price, but 0 for that one card is drawing three cards and putting back cards you aren't losing. That +1 ability makes you able to send a potentially game-ending move of your opponent's to the bottom of their library. His -1 allows you to send a transformed or dark-ritualed card back to their hand, where it will have to be played again and they have to start over, even if it doesn't get discarded by duress or something. Finally, his -13 makes you capable of ruining an opponent's deck. They're holding out for a card that will let them win? Nope, they can't do that. And if they have no hand, well, you end your turn and they lose, unless they have a Laboratory Maniac out. Also, is it your sworn duty to rate every good card in Magic 0.5/5? It seems to me like your idea of a real card is a Jack of Spades. @timmyforever's more recent edit involving Yawgmoth's will: The troll reveals himself. I've seen your comment on Yawgmoth's Will, and your comment on Bog Hoodlums. Also, you mentioned using a Elvish Piper + Emrakul combo? Failure. Your combo is just what every noob in magic ever thought about it. Also, your "not racist" comment directly contradicts your comment on Yawgmoth's will.
Anyway, I feel kind of gifted to have played against Jace. Granted, 2/3 of the times I lost, and the other 1 I'd sideboarded in Hex Parasite, but this guy is the sum of what magic should never become: broken. They've managed to at least try to keep the game balanced, which is more than many others have done. Like I have said before, I rarely spend more than $5 on a card, but I don't hold it against those that do.
@wrathofshane No, it doesn't. By your logic, progress (essentially mild power creep) should stop. But it shouldn't. If it stops, people get bored. If they get bored, they stop playing. Granted, this is broken, but hate-rating doesn't help anyone.
RecurringMemories
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
4.5/5 - Why not 5? Because I'll never be able to afford it (or justify the cost if I could afford it, lol). This card is amazing. I really wish i had been playing before it was a $!%)+ card.
TheWrathofShane - "Rating on power is retarded because it encourages wizards to keep printing broken mistakes."; It is not retarded (I find that offensive); we rate it high because we WANT more broken cards like this (*** moron). Some of us (the non dip ***) enjoy/respect broken cards. It's not MY job to make sure you have fun playing the game. That's YOUR *** job! If you have such a problem with this game, then quit (the rest of us would be thankful). *end rant*
bfellow - Cheers. Some one else who gets it.
xcoldironyx
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Don't get me wrong, this guy is powerful, but in all honesty who would even let this guy reach the point where he could use his ultimate sorcery spell. I mean its as simple as targeting him with an exile target permanent spell or ability and he's caput, moot, etc. I've taken this guy down more times than not, well at least in casual play. I don't play competitively so I can't say anything about that, but he's not so scary during casual play.
Mindbend
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(11 votes)
My mate has a great combo with this card , he plays 2 islands then some any 2 lands , then this. Its amzing he is like the Sam Black of our playgroup always coming up with the crazy combos.
Kadaver666
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I love Jace. As control spammer he's one of my favorite in manipulating ones deck. That being said, I think Jace is somewhat balanced. His +2 is, as has been said previously , great for manipulating your opponents next 2 draws, his 0 is great at manipulating your draws, his -1 is hardly relevant unless something pops that could potentially hurt you and his -12 is reasonably priced to rarely, if ever, actually go off. You'd have to build a deck solely around getting his ultimate off to have a chance of doing that. That and your opponent would have to have no way of dealing with him.
@Kadaver666 ummm WRONG lol not to be rude, but this is not a fairly costed pw. And if you play control, I would expect you to know that his ultimate is not hard to pull off. not to be rude or anything, but I have ult with him more than most other walkers, even though he is such a lightning rod.
Not in multiplayer though mind you! thats a whole other story
Nivean_Dauphin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's a bad card, irrespective of power level, because it's so badly designed. The abilities have less than no synergy with each other. I traded mine away because it was just such an awful, ugly card.
MizziumSculptor444
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(7 votes)
You know what the funniest part about this card is?
Even if he didn't have 4 abilities, he'd be just as overpowered. Any combination of 3 of Jace's powers would be enough to dominate each and every game he sees. He just has that little extra boost to push him over the edge. Like a high-end race car with a jet engine jammed into the back.
docjarvisd09
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is just too awesome. Do you want to Fateseal 1? Yeah, Jace'll let you do that. Do you want to Brainstorm? Yeah, he'll let you do that too. Do you want to Unsummon? Of course, just say the word, Jace is on it. Do you want to win the game by either forcing a scoop or making your opponent want to commit sepaku? Then yes, you crazy, psychotic monster, Jace will do that too, because, you know, you paid four mana for him, why WOULDN'T he?
Pongdok
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Regular folks: Dumb. I don't want a few counterspells and an escaped cosplay reject to play my card game for me, thanks. Flush this turd. Sell it to the frothy-mouthed cretins willing to shell out a week's worth of their mcdonalds earnings for it, and build a real deck. Ouch. Feel the burn, Jace.
Regular Pro-tour guys: Get a job, and stop spending your parents' money on cards.
McDonalds Pro-tour guys: Want to buy a Jace?
Edit: Wow... I trolled the hell out of this one, didn't I? I don't actually disrespect you guys. You have an awesome hobby that encourages high-level literacy, strategy and critical thought. I just really hate-hate-hate* boring cards that make it so that Vorthos and Timmy players can't have a good time too. It can even ruin it for a Johnny with a bum hand. (Other Spikes...? Not sure I care if people running this use it on other Spikes...) None of that's what Magic is about.
(*Note: This is a new triple-verb that applies only to Jace: TMS, and Phyrexian Obliterator)
Lazrbeams
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
This card is amazing and deserves nothing less than a 5/5, everything else is a hate rate from people who get butthurt over control magic. Do I agree with the fact that it makes the game more expensive? No, I hate it. But he's amazing regardless, and not as OP as everyone makes him out to be. Yes, he can win you the game, I've done it and had it done to me, but you have to understand that if you get into a "jace soft lock" (getting fatesealed ensuring no good topdecks, getting your creatures bounced and countered until he eventually exiles your library) you were already in a pretty bad board position. If you play him when you aren't in control, he dies, quickly. What makes him so great is that if he lives 2+ turns and you're behind, you can actually get into a better board position because of massive card advantage, which allows you to get into a position to say... Play another jace. He is a bit too powerful, due to this versatility. But you have to appreciate how beautifully synergistic his abilities are. It's amazing. Control is a part of magic, powerful cards are a part of magic. If you don't like these cards, play a different format, a different game, or with like minded friends. If you're playing competitively you have no right to whine. I really hate people who scream "stop playing solitaire @^%|!" Or say that it's control players who ruin this game. Its a part of magic, it's the equilibrium of combo, control, aggro, and midrange that makes a format fun. Stop trying to play competitive magic if you can't handle cards like these, especially if you're gonna be rude about it. People like that ruin the game. /endrant
BaconOfUnrest
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
strictly worse than storm crow according to the community rating, 4.296
I have no idea how anyone could look at Jace and think he's bad.
There's a reason this Jace goes for so much.
You get to Fateseal your opponent, EVERY TURN. On the off chance they had a threat in your hand you didn't get a chance to Fateseal away, you can bounce it, or, for literally no drawback, dig for an answer for it. Played properly, this is one of the top five blue cards ever printed.
OlvynChuru
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Is it just me, or does Worldwake Jace have more comments than any printing of any other card? I guess so.
Ah JtMS *dictionary wanted to correct this to Jams... dafaq*, the most broken PW ever, I really wish you were cheaper so more people could get their hands on you.
I've usually used him as a blue enchantment that brainstorms once a turn, but that isn't the only thing he does, he unsummons things, fouls up opposing brainstorms, and even wins outright *only did this twice, hilarious both times*, the point is, he probably is the best walker we will ever have.
I would put him on the same power-level as some of the P9 Stuff, sure hes not at instant speed, but one card that draws you so many cards *granted you put some back* for 4 mana is absolutely bonkers
5/5 Stars
Edit: Ya know, despite him being story-line Mono-blue, it kinda feels like he should have been UB
Drewskithelegend
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Somehow, despite being a poor scrub who entered the game during scars block, I managed to obtain one. For the most part this was to increase my cred at the EDH table, I didn't understand the power of this card. I get it now, it's the first 4 mana "you win the game in 3 turns" planeswalker ever printed. That's just EDH, he's actually much more powerful in other formats.
mdakw576
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wizards has a tendency to balance/price their planeswalkers on cards they already printed. Garruk wildspeaker's -1 is a 2 mana card (watchwolf sorta) for a 4 mana PW. Ajani vengeant's -2 is a 2 mana card for a 4 mana PW. Taking PW's printed after mind sculptor, Tamiyo's -2 is a 3 mana card for a 5 mana PW. Chandra firebrand's -2 is a 2 mana card for a 4 mana PW. Memory adept's 0 is a 2 mana card for a 5 mana PW. Gideon's -2 is a 3 mana card for a 5 mana PW. Their + abilities are typically effects that you would not spend a card on, but since they're repeatable you can get incremental advantage out of them. Obviously, the higher mana the PW costs, the better you can make the minus ability. Of course, some of the first PW's were not priced properly and thus are terrible because wizards was still testing out this new card type (Chandra ablaze is clearly an abomination, PW's like liliana vess can't protect themselves and thus rarely see play despite theoretically being priced properly, etc). And some abilities are too oppressive if they are not minus abilities no matter what (for example, if tms was increased to 5 mana, but his unsummon became 0, that would be a problem as if you are ahead on the board you will easily win the game by unsummoning every turn for free). Overall seems like a good idea anyway, right?
Therefore, Mind sculptor should be fine in theory. 0 and -1 abilities that are both based off of 1-mana cards on a 4 mana PW. While most 4-mana walkers would have a minus ability equal to ~2 mana, if we give him two abilities both prices at 1-mana it should be fine, right?
What wizards didn't realize is that brainstorm is actually NOT properly balanced at 1 mana. They should've treated brainstorm as a 2 mana card, and thus put his brainstorm ability as either a -1 or -2, or increase his mana cost to 5. even then this would be pushing it, as jace still has 3 relevant abilities (as opposed to every other walker having only 2, as ultimates are not particularly useful).
Comments (423)
Brainstorm on a stick isn't good enough for you people?! REALLY?!
And that's not even counting scry/fateseal 1, Unsummon, and its ultimate (which, IMO, is its least appealing feature). It's an amazing utility tool for blue and is looking to overtake Abyssal Persecutor as Worldwake's most sought-after card, and for good reason.
As for him having 4 abilities, I'm ambivalent. I'm more curious as to whether they are going to do this just for specific walkers, or if it's the new standard. I'd assume the former, but I don't have any way to know.
so many good combinations available... gilder bairn can help get his final ability off fast
Turn 1 - Use the ability the first time: look at 3 new cards. Put back 2 cards.
Turn 2 - Draw your normal card. Use the ability. You already know the top 2 cards in your library, but now you can see the third card which is new.
Etc.
but yeah, awesome card, I got 1, a friend got one, and I am gonna see about getting his
I love blue and as far as I can see, this is awesome but the only decent blue in standard, come on wizards, more awesome blue cards, mill is in black, counter/control is in white, red and green burn and reach blue's fliers, blue wants to come back, just let it, you can make it equal with the rest without making fairies again
counterspell, reprint that in the core set and we will be happy
as it is UB is the mill color, WU is the control
His most interesting ability (Brainstorm) being a zero makes him somewhat more durable than had it been a minus, but it doesn't make him any less likely to die from critters.
Though the fact that we finally have a blue PW that can defend himself (Unsummon) is quite glorious.
Good.
Very good.
But not Elspeth good.
Though he might make more of an impact in Extended or Legacy which is more geared towards control and combo anyway.
Also; when are people going to learn, the ultimates should not be why you play any given planeswalker, they're far too unreliable to be win-cons.
Even Garruk's and his is ***-easy to get to.
On the 31st, Jace jumped to $39.95
On 2/1/2010 Jace shot up to $44.95
Jace, The Cash Cow
Stupid.
Stupid stupid stupid stupid.
I give it a .5 only because I can't give it a 0.
Also, "brainstorm on a stick" - way to go DonRoyale.
Besides this, permanent brainstorm could be good enough i guess... But it easier to get rid off him then to dispose of enchantment / artifact, sooo...
Jace, with his +2 pumping ability, could be a good friend with Doubling Season. Altough, compared to mr. Markov, Jace's +2 ain't that good (I actually wanted to say it sucks, but then I realized how annoying it can be to know your opponent is checking all your incoming cards and decideing for you wich to throw away and wich not... and without you even knowing what he did).
The scrying/fate seal is alright, but its just so tempting to brainstorm every turn. Still, it does prevent your opponent from top decking, and it could help manipulate your own draws.
Pair this guy with fetch lands, and you really get a LOT of control over your library.
In one game, my opponent dropped Baneslayer, and I had nothing useful in my hand. I drew a treasure hunt, dropped halimar depths, saw jace and a land, drew both with TH, dropped jace, brainstormed, picked up an aether tradewinds, bounced Baneslayer, bounced her again the next turn, then essence scattered the turn after.
overall, this is a good card...very solid, has abilities to prevent it from being bolted to death too early(+2) and an unsummon to prevent some creatures from reaching him...in the right deck, maybe pulling off his ulti is not such an impossible feat
The price tag on this thing is so high I could see someone killing for it. Someone with their priorities REALLY messed up.
I'm getting really sick of people who base a card's value off how many kill spells in standard can kill it. This card is broken, without doubt the chase rare of the set. Lightning bolt is supposed to BALANCE it. Just play its first ability first and no worries. You should have a Plumeveil, Wall of Denial, or Calcite Snapper to block for you anyway.
So yeah, it can be killed. What can't?
No need to control your opponent draw, then control your own by drawing 3 card and choosing wich one you want to keep.and if you had a useless card in your hand, just send it at the bottom of your library next turn.
your opponent is treathening you with it's baneslayer or abyssal demon, send it back to his hand and force him to recast it/wait for summoning sickness.
If your opponent is dumb enough to leave this jace on the field long enought, make he's library countain only 3-4 card^^
The only thing he need is : use this ability anytime you could play an instant, remove from the game all spell on the stack, send back all creatures your opponent control and all his hand at the bottom of his library. You MOST play an extra ability from this planewalker this turn
now lets review the mana curve of blue in standard shall we?
Turn 1: (U) Ponder
Turn 2: (1U) essence scatter
Turn 3: Jace #1 draw a card
Turn 4: Jace #2 Ponder:
Turn 5: Jace #2 puts that land that you left 3 down from top of library last turn on bottom of deck. Jace 1 draws you a fresh card. TIME WARP
Rinse and repeat, search your deck for everything you need at an absolutely rediculous rate while being able to damn near lock down your opponent without using ANY MANA WHATSOEVER because of jace #2's unsummon. Your opponents will be spending so much time focusing on them your deck can now do whatever the hell it was made to do.
Mmaybe your milling their face with blue mill allies and some umara raptors and rite of replication. perhaps its UR burn. hell might even be UW and use that yummy new worm.
The point is you cant go wrong with 3-4 of each jace in a blue deck, mix in ponder and god forbid another 1 or 2 draw cards and you'll be seeing your win condition every game.
(not to mention half of those will have won by either jace #1 milling your opponants face OR jace #2 milling your opponants face)
If you cannot see why this guys worth every penny of that 50 dollars your mother is going to be missing out of her wallet then you need to consider quitting, not just the game but probably life too.
I give him a 5/5 only because it is not possible to go higher :P
Amazing card. Brainstorm is SO much better than Ponder.
Admittedly his plus move is not as good as some I have seen, Espeth for instance makes creatures, but it grants some control, has flexibility, and has no downside, unlike the old Jace. This is good for a plus ability.
His 0 ability is not bad at all. More than good enough to have been his minus ability.
His actual minus ability is potentially lethally potent, easily granting the user a fair amount of domination over the field.
And lastly, his "ultimate" move. Unless you have been utterly slaughtered already and your opponent is just toying with you, this will end the game in your favor, barring extraneous circumstances. First, it removes your opponent's entire deck, all but handing you a mill victory, then it disarms them by placing their hand into there new, almost empty, deck. Worst case, they have 7 cards in their deck (barring extraneous circumstances involving increased max hand size) and you have to mill a few cards out of the way using someone else. Best case, they have no hand, you end your turn, the game is over, you win.
Is there really any question: *****
five stars, much better than the last Jace.
A fine addition to any blue deck, and a star for any mill deck.
Jace Beleren (3)
+2 each player draw a card
-1 target player draws a card
- 10 target player puts the top 20 cards of his or her library into his graveyard
Draw a card without gaining card advantage for +2
Draw a card to gain card advantage -1
Mill 20 cards
Jace, the Mind Sculpter (see the card displayed on the page)
gain 1 net card advantage, put your least appropriate card two draws away, another card one away for 0
look at top card of a library and you may put it at the bottom of that library +2
(that least appropriate card still not appropriate from the 0 ability? after your first draw of your turn its on top of your library, send it to the bottom)
or
(know your opponents draws and keeping them from grabbing a win condition/needed land)
turn your opponent's library into only what is in his hand for -12
unsummon for -1 is extra (sorcery speed though)
U/B/W control mill vampire deck, oh zendikar block ilysm.
@lukemonster read up on EDH format. Only 1 of each card is allowed.
I can understand that WotC wishes that every deck runs 4x Jace or any other planeswalker. Beside all those fetchlands and duals, this would generate a huge income! $$$...B.I.N.G.O...$$$ - I would do the same, if I want could create such a high value out of paper cards created for teenagers & young adults! If they can afford x-Boxes, iPhones, Nike shoes, etc. they will spend $50 for a card too.
But they made a terrible mistake.... planeswalker can be attacked ... and even worse can be damaged by spells. And that's why they aren't overpowering anything else. That's such a pitty!!! Not all the decks running 4x Elsbeth and 4x Jace... even if no other enchantment, no other artifact has ever created such highly overpowered effects.
And what's even worse than that... have fun with a Broodbraid Elf cascading into a Ball Lightning...
realy? i asked about it to, i would think that it wouldnt, but i was told it did. does that mean that the same is true for legendary creatures in diferant forms?
Jace was able to win me a game single-handedly..he is THAT good..now since I'm the type of person who doesn't buy single cards at all though..I'm fine with just having one for EDH anyway..but for those who do buy cards, this is definately worth the price put on him.
5/5 from me.
Jace loves to hang out on Grixis...where the Vampire Nocturnus really digs those first two abilities.
It depends Bojart, if your talking in cases like Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Akroma, Angel of Fury, the legendary rule does not apply. The same can be said for Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and Nicol Bolas. In those cases the names do differ (Wrath and Fury, "Planeswalker" as opposed to not.) But in the Jace/Chandra situation, they DO share a name at the subtype, therefore making the legendary rule apply, ya dig?
I think his +2 leveler is a little on the weakside, but for a control deck it is amazing. The -1 unsummon is very nice as well, and the free Brainstorm is pretty sick.
All in all, I have to give it at least a 4.5/5, and that is probably just being picky.
When you play a permanent, if your opponent doesn't do anything in response, the permanent enters the battlefield. You then have PRIORITY. This means that your opponent can do NOTHING, until you place a spell or ability on the stack. So Jace hits the battlefield and your opponent has to let you use one of his abilities first. Then they can stack. Of course at that point, bolting is pointless, since his loyalty will be at 5, assuming you use his first ability.
115.3b of the Magic Comprehensive Rulebook.
Blue-White Control must run this card in competitive standard! Therefore 5/5. An essential, a classic and contains a vast amount of power. Recipe for success.
I expect to get the money, unfortunately. :(
people, i agree that Jace, the Mind Sculptor is an absolute bomb, but srsly, DO NOT underestimate Jace Beleren when he is being properly used and protected. ESPECIALLY if the mind sculptor is being used by a tool who actually bought the damn card for $70. ( i LOL'd so hard when i found out :P)
{+2} - Fateseal 1 - May seem underwhelming at first but can pretty much get does oblivion rings out of play.
{0} - Brainstorm - Everybody loved that card and this planeswalker basically lets you do it every turn like theres not tommorow
{-1} - Unsummon - Pretty solid if left untouched you can bounce creatures three times before this guy dies and you spent only 4 mana to do it.
{-12} - I think it's a unique ability unless I'm mistaken - Pretty much a game ender if your opponent doesn't have enough stuff in play already cause your hand is basically gone and your library is down to 7 cards at best. Your opponent should probably save up some land cards in hand if it gets to that to buy him some turns to fight back if this goes off.
@Neosin
Just to be clear all planeswalkers as of today are NOT legendary.
204.4d Any permanent with the supertype “legendary” is subject to the state-based action for legendary permanents, also called the “legend rule” (see rule 704.5k).
There is nowhere on the card whatsoever that says this is a legendary permanent. So therefore the legend rule does not interact in anyway with the planeswalkers. But then why do they kill themselves when two planeswalkers with the same subtype come into play?
204.3i Planeswalkers have their own unique set of subtypes; these subtypes are called planeswalker types. The planeswalker types are Ajani, Bolas, Chandra, Elspeth, Garruk, Jace, Liliana, Nissa, Sarkhan, Sorin, and Tezzeret.
If two or more planeswalkers that share a planeswalker type are on the battlefield, all are put into their owners’ graveyards. This “planeswalker uniqueness rule” is a state-based action. See rule 704.
Does this have any gameplay effect in any way? In standard, no. In older formats, it does. Mirror Gallery, Yomiji, Who Bars the Way, Empress Galina and other cards that interact with legendary permanents don't interact with Planeswalkers.
Mono Red laughs and burns him with Lightning Bolt for R.
Why is he so good? what am I supposed to do with him?
@Cryonic how so? the ability works at sorcery speed the bolt's an instant.
WotC as your greatest fan and someone who has enjoyed the game about 11 years now please print a card in your next set that costs two colourless is a common instant and reads target player sacrifices a permanent which cost $70+ if it would go to the graveyard exile it. You may give the owner a light slap for buying a magic card that could have fed 200 third world citizen's for a year.
this guy (along with a few other mythic rares) are "heavily frowned upon" at our local play group. we play to have fun, not roflstomp everybody with $80 cards.
The ability may work at sorcery speed, but the active player has priority, and putting 2 counters on jace IS A COST that must be paid to activate it, therefore, Jace is at 5 loyalty when the effect goes on the stack, after which you get to respond with bolt.
I don't want to have to explain priority, but If you cast Jace, and your opponent doesn't counter, the spell resolves, and because it's your turn, you get Priority again. Your opponent is not allowed to cast lightning bolt right now. When you take an action, you must pass priority to them before the effect(s) resolve. Jace's ability acts as a sorcery, but adding 2 loyalty counters is the cost that is paid to activate it. You put 2 counters on him, then the ability is activated, then you may pass priority to your opponent if you are done casting/activating abilities. Now they can cast Lightning bolt, but it will not kill Jace, because he's already at 5 loyalty.
if you don't believe me, look it up, ignoramuses. Priority and stack functionality are extremely important to the game.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor: $78.08
Raging Goblin: $0.08
If it's profitable to make a card to make a card for 8 cents, it would be much more profitable to make one that costs $78 more! So Wizards is making all these crazy cards that everybody will buy, for the same production cost as Mr. Common over there.
Sure, I've bought some expensive cards online. I gave my older brother $50 for some slips of cardboard. But one card costing more than the money I get for Christmas is a problem.
If, by chance, there is a person in the Wizards economic division reading this comment, let me say one thing: Great business strategy, but it's going to *** people like me off.
Thank you for reading my five-pararaph rant.
If this card were any more powerful it would get up and play the rest of the match for you while you go get a soda.
This card is so good, it never ceases to blow my mind.
Yeah, i've got one. One...i'd like another...
fate seal - keep opponent screwed for mana, they aren't gonna see another land for awhile. Or after you wipe the board with stuff like day of judgement or all is dust, it will maintain your card advantage by not giving him the card he/she wants
brainstorm- creates card advantage while not losing any loyalty counters
unsummon- bounce that annoying creature, such as when they bring big creature using polymorph, or their baneslayer angel won't see the light of the day unless they have 10 mana open and can bring 2 of them in a turn. bounce one of their 2 knight exemplars that's making all knights indestructible. and for some reason your creature has bunch of minus counter or opponents has positive counter then you can unsummon them and reset
It's not easy to bring down Jace cuz he gets +2 every turn if he wants and if they spend time taking down jace, you should be able to use that and gain advantage in the meantime since you'll be playing control deck with him.
Now, that the rant is over
I feel that this card is extremly overrated. Very good but not worth its price tag...as with most money standard cards nowadays. I've played against it in legacy, extended, and tons in standard and he has never lived up to the hype... for the most part i tend to leave the boy alone and focus on the more immediate threats at hand or just whack it all at once because players are generally dumb enough to put all their eggs in the basket to save him.
This card dosent really have the end game that i like in planeswalkers like garruk, bolas, etc. but all the utilities it has is what sets it apart.,
The really sad thing is that I totally fall for Wizards' manipulation all the time. I'm one of those stupid people who *do* go out and binge on 6+ boosters at a time, thinking that this time, I'll surely get one of the ridiculously expensive mythic rares that they print to drive sales.
Well done, Wizards, well done. Remember that it doesn't matter how much we complain, just so long as we keep buying.
You know what? I'm rating this half a star. Because people throw this in a deck and think they are some sort of deck-building genius. This is a game-breaking card, and I really don't want to see further cards like it. It's not that I don't have the money to buy individual cards- I custom build decks that cost anywhere from $40 to $60 quite often. My issue is that this card has such a major impact on gameplay. He is basically an entire separate deck by himself. The card draw ability is massive, even if you don't get any loyalty counters. Hell, what with proliferate you probably won't need to use planeswalkers +X abilities anymore anyway. But you can still fateseal 1 an opponent after tutored for something anyway just to *** them off.
And then the ultimate. Dear god, what is that? I'll tell you. It's an unstoppanle win condition. At least with the other planeswalkers, you can recover from them. You might be in a very tough spot, but they don't guarantee your demise on activation.
By the time you activate it, your opponent isn't going to have any cards in their hand. Even if they do, it won't be more than 3 or possibly 4. And their entire library is exiled. You can't possibly recover from that. At least black would have a chance at reanimating if your library went to your GY.
No more superpowers I say. And seriously rethink the impact mythic rarity has had on the game.
I can lather praise on this card all day, but in the same breath I'll say I can't wait until he rotates out. It's frustrating that you can't build competitive control decks without this guy being a 4-of in it.
It's terrible that they are printing an unbeatable mythic for every archetype that every player must own a set of to be really able to compete, which together will cost at least $100.
I play vamps, and I'm glad that nocturnus rotated out,as he had the same money making mana-undercosted overpowered element.
There is only 1 thing I like about this card: to see my oponent play it, and look at the hex mage in my hand, oh the joy of killing a 70$ card for a card that costs below 1$.
Just hope they never reprint this again, it is an insult to all magic players, both those playing against him, and those who spend 280$ to get a playset.
This card is the sole reason I quit playing magic.
Wizards why did you sell this game to the makes of Yu Gi Oh, and Duel Decks?
Wizards you suck now. Just like Blizzard. Damn sell outs.
Anyone can run any deck they want with some deck protectors and a pen. Gets old though. We were soon back to 'Random Cards Tri-Colour Planechase Mindswap' decks :)
+2: Scry or Fateseal 1
0: Brainstorm
-1: Unsummon
-12: Destroy target player. He or she can't be regenerated. Then hit his/her face on the table and let her mind be crushed...
:D
I don't think red and black exist anymore, just BUG and WU all the time.
I pray today I get at least one in the 30+ WW boosters.
Red instants would do short work of this card; and the same goes for super fast Saproling or Elvish decks. Black Sorceries and White Enchantments are good counters for Blue. There are Vampires and Paladins that are great in subduing planeswalkers. Heck, Jace-based decks are even prone to human army decks equipped with lots of artifacts.
Yeah, the card's abilities are powerful. UW decks with Jace as the centerpiece are becoming the trend on tournaments. Never mind the last; it's the first, second, and third skills that would hurt the most, but it's not really invincible. In Extended and Standard format, there are too many counters for Jace the powerful.
If Jace is the "most broken card you've ever seen" then you are simply ignorant. You know what I want a spell to do for me if I'm going to pay four mana for it? I want it to let me to be able to play all the cards in my graveyard this turn. Wait --- That only costs 3.
Or I want that four mana spell to let me draw 3 cards with no drawbacks. Wait, that costs 1.
I'd even take just a regular Brainstorm over him. Why pay 4 mana for a Brainstorm when I can just pay 1? Because I can do it EVERY TURN?
You know what's wrong with that "Every turn" mentality? That Tendrils only takes 1 turn to kill you. That Dredge will smash your face in before your Jace knows what buttr@ped him. That DECKS THAT WIN IN THE FIRST FEW TURNS DON'T CARE WHAT YOU CAN DO EVERY TURN.
Take that Bitterblossom. You deserve that hate too. Cause you and Jace can go be over-hyped little ninny cards together for Standard players to drop undeserved money on.
GG!
That's why absolutely zero top decks (those who got 13 points or better) in the 2010 Worlds Extended tournament ran Tezzy, while, by my quick count on the Wizards site, 13 ran Mind Sculptor.
At the September Pro Tour - Amsterdam Extended event, 12 of the top decks ran Mind Sculptor and none ran Tezzy.
Even in Legacy - the only remotely recent one I could find was a MTGO Legacy event in August 2010. Of those, 8 ran Mind Sculptor. Exactly 0 ran Tezzy again.
In fact, even if you look at the Pro Tour - San Diego, when BOTH Tezzy and Mind Sculptor were in Standard...if you look at the deck listings for everyone who got up to 17 points - I'm talking the alphabetical, multiple-page listings of decks - do you know how many Tezzeret decks you'll find? 8. How many decks have Mind Sculptor? 81. That's not a typo. And 14 of the decks in that Top 8 had Mind Sculptor; zero had Tezzy.
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Events.aspx?x=mtg/daily/eventcoverage/decklists
Clearly, there's a long history of top players choosing Tezzeret over Mind Sculptor because Tezzy's so superior.
Oh. Wait.
(I do agree he's over-hyped in general. But it's because it's a STRONG CARD.)
If they actually manage to stick a creature after counterspelling or getting by the Counterbalance... lol.. just bounce it. while youre waiting around completely controlling your opponents game, go ahead and add 2 counters to it at a shot, and screw up all his topdecks while youre at it. then afterwards, once he has no cards in hand, exile his whole library, then he'll be left with 0 cards, and lose.
And if you dont manage to add counters to Jace 6 times, then just attack with a couple dreadnoughts. I'll tell you what this card reminds me of...
Kjeldoran Outpost circa '96.. fun times.. NOT
5 stars for being one of the most broken cards they have ever designed in it's environment of other cards that do just what it does but by playing this you do double-duty. but its not fun. and it didnt create a new deck archetype, just resurrected one of the most hated decks ever.
Meet... JACE POST.. welcome back...
or... COUNTER JACE, if you prefer.
I hope this goes away some time. I really, really do.
FYI if this was a creature, it wouldn't be broken. A rules update removing the planeswalker card type would be a good idea. Biggest problem with this card is that you have to attack into it or use burn spells (that target the player) to deal with it. And its blue. What?
WOTC,
WHY?
you should be making cards that are fun. This is not fun. I dont care how 'great' ppl say this card is. WOTC has alienated me as a consumer because I dont want to play against it.
WOTC lost money printing this card (for me).
-This card- has ended my appreciation for the game. I simply do not play anymore. Ive bought some stuff online for MTGO if only because I have more variety that I wont see it all the time. but ive seen it so frequently that i wont enter events where i know it will be played. for now on i would rather do other things. i played against decks like this one when I was a kid. I left the game for good for over 10yrs because of decks that cards like this created. will i come back? pft. WOTC has weighed two options they chose to design a broken card that makes the game less fun in favor of designing a broken card a few people will spend a lot of money on. smart decision
EDIT:
FFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Now he IS a legacy staple!
You: Crap.
Opponent: You wanna just scoop now?
You: No I'm a big boy I can handle humiliation.
Opponent: Ok if you say so *evil laugh*
Several turns later.
Opponent: Ok next turn I'm popping jace.
You: I play confinscate.
Opponent: WHAT!?
You: *chuckle*
You: Still have time to scoop if you want.
Opponent: .....
Now I say thats a perfect ending to a jace match lol.
It's sickening that this card costs as much as it does, but that's simple economics. At any rate, a card is judged on its merits, not its cost; it breaks the game for blue in some ways. Build around it and see. It is not essential to win, but it certainly helps. 5/5
Jace, The Mind Sculptor ($90)- Brainstorm ability ($0.90) - Unsummon ($0.01) - Powercreep = Precognition ($0.30)
Rearranging our Equation and solving for $$$ yields:
Powercreep = $88.79
Training Grounds Loves Gilder Bairn
Viridian Joiner loves +1/+1 Counters
And...
Experiment Kraj loves all 3 and has a thing for Jace =O
he started crying
I've come a long way, from fearing and hating this card to loving it. In the end, he's a good card, but not so good that he really breaks anything...there's just too many ways to deal with him.
But at any rate, prediction that you heard here first: Once Jace, the Mind Sculptor rotates out of extended (yeah, it's a while away), that $100 price tag will drop to about $30 after 6 months.
Why? Because absolutely 0 planeswalkers have been shown to be legacy good (at least staying around long enough to be considered part of the format, there's always the occasional Tezz of course). And Jace is no different.
Even if it only has the 0 loyalty ability, it is still broken. Hell, it would still broken if that only reads: :Draw a card
Even if the opponent kills it the turn it dropped, a card is still drawn, card advantage is always guaranteed. If the opponent don't managed to do it, the card advantage gained would have been impossible to recover.
Did an artifact, enchantment, or creature costed CMC
It is just extremely ridiculous to have printed a card like this. I'd agree this card should cost at least
In response to those who said there are so many cards that can deal with this: This card is actually the counter to your spell if you think about it. All I have to do is to drop this and get a card from my library. Unless your counter net more cards or same but cost less compared to this spell, it is not a counter since you lose out on cards and lost a useful spell. If there is a spell that can deal 3 damage and draw a card cost cmc
Even if the enemy play this card with no blockers, and you attack it, it still equates to a fog or healing salve with draw a card that cost
But yeah, 5/5, no question about it. Brainstorm on a stick was worth 4CMC.
I mean would you just look at the robe!
1UU
Sorcery
Destroy target Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
Anyways, I'd like to make the observation that the game of magic has not really caught up to planewalkers. In the game, there exists the reality that any card can be dealt with. However, I think this is only moderately true of planewalkers. There are cards that destroy (sometimes exile) target creature, enchantment, artifact, land or even simply target permanent. However, to my knowledge there is no card that reads "exile target planeswalker." And, I would argue there really should be. Again, inserting an entirely new type into the game after 18 years is not without some undesirable consequences.
Also, as some others have mentioned: DO NOT consider yourself a brilliant magic player because you can zap your opponents library with JTMS. Wizards has really dumbed the game down quite a bit in some respects. And I hope new players don't think that they're smart for discovering the little Jace/Jace's erasure combo or the synergy that Liliana and Liliana's vess have. I mean C'MON.
The free Brainstorm every turn makes this a killer card. Everything else is just gravy.
@SolidSoldier Elspeth also sees a decent amount of legacy play.
@AvatarOfHOE It reallys isnt flavorful to have something say "destroy target planeswalker", so you wont ever see anything like that, planeswalker wont be written on any card text, the only way to have removal for planeswalkers is to have "destroy/exile target nonland permanent" which we've seen before and im confidant they will print again, they probably just want to give awhile with a format where planeswalkers are more dominant.
im rating it 0.5/5 too because it is a stupid card. it should have never been printed.
All 6 also played roughly $400 each of JTMS. Translated to FNM that makes this a pay to win game, which is no fun for people who would like to be competitive at ~$100 a deck or less. Given most games cost roughly $50 each for the entire game, $100 a deck seems a reasonable (or even high) amount to spend to be competitive.
If the 0 cost ability were a -2 cost ability and the casting cost 3UU, this card would still be strong, but closer to balance and more closely resembling a bigger Jace Beleren.
1. Drop Jace.
2. Use his first ability to boost his loyalty as you still have priority to play abilities.
3. Opponent cannot kill him outright.
"If you cast Jace, and your opponent doesn't counter, the spell resolves, and because it's your turn, you get Priority again. Your opponent is not allowed to cast lightning bolt right now. When you take an action, you must pass priority to them before the effect(s) resolve. Jace's ability acts as a sorcery, but adding 2 loyalty counters is the cost that is paid to activate it. You put 2 counters on him, then the ability is activated, then you may pass priority to your opponent if you are done casting/activating abilities. Now they can cast Lightning bolt, but it will not kill Jace, because he's already at 5 loyalty."
My question is this: Even if the cost to pay for the ability acts as an instant, isn't that susceptible to an instant response? I liken it to something I've been doing for a long time playing with my friends. (If I've been mistaken all this time, please let me know.)
My opponent begins to play a spell. I don't like it, so I use my Icy Manipulator to tap one of the lands he/she needs to cast that spell. Now, we haven't been treating it as though the spell itself was countered. So the spell goes back in his/her hand. In addition, only the land I tapped is tapped and not any other lands he/she was in the process of tapping as he/she was casting that spell.
By the same token, if I had some instant that would destroy or return to his/her hand that indispensable land, I would use it in the same way to remove the land he/she needed to cast the spell, leaving the other lands he/she was in the process of tapping untapped and leaving the spell in his/her hand.
The flip side of this (as we've been playing it), is that if I declare my intent to use my Icy Manipulator (or destroy/return land to hand instant) against my opponent's land before my opponent declares an intent to tap that land, my opponent can then tap that land as an instant, obtaining the mana from that land before my Icy Manipulator/instant resolves, leaving the land tapped and the Icy Manipulator tapped and my opponent with mana from that land in his mana pool.
Based on that theory, if you cast Jace, the Mind Sculptor and it resolves without being countered, if you declare an intent to activate that ability by adding 2 loyalty counters shouldn't I be able to respond to your effort to activate his ability with an instant? In short, shouldn't Jace, the Mind Sculptor be locked down upon arrival if your opponent has a card like Bolt sitting in his/her hand? The very first time you try to utilize any of those abilities during the turn in which he is summoned, Bolt kills him. If you refrain from activating those abilities during your turn, when your turn is over, your opponent is free to cast Bolt because you can't activate any of those abilities during your opponent's turn. In short, while it's not quite as simple and straightforward as I guess some have argued, it seems to me that an opponent with Bolt in hand when Jace, the Mind Sculptor is summoned kills that Planeswalker no later than the beginning of that opponent's next turn if not sooner and does so without permitting that Planeswalker to activate a single ability.
Am I right?
If it's your opponent's first main phase, he's got priority. He can declare that he wants to cast a Spiritmonger, say, and tap all five of his lands to pay its cost. Once the cost has been paid, the spell is "cast", and he gets priority again. If he passes priority, now you've got an opportunity to use your Icy Manipulator, but at this point the cost is paid - it's way too late for you to try tapping his land to prevent him from casting the spell. In my made-up situation, the only way you're keeping him from casting it is if you tap one of his lands at the end of his upkeep, anticipating that he was gonna do something bad with 5 untapped lands if you let him.
The flipside of this, though, you're playing 100% correctly. If you manage to get priority, you can pay and tap your Icy Manipulator to try to tap your opponent's land. Once you've paid your costs (paying
So, to take this to its logical conclusion and your question regarding Jace, here's how that would play out, with you sitting with a Lightning Bolt in your hand:
>Opponent has priority. He declares that he's casting Jace. Opponent pays the requisite cost (
>Opponent has priority. He passes to you.
>You have priority. At this point, you can't Bolt Jace because he's not in play, so you pass. Both players have passed, so Jace resolves and enters the battlefield. Your opponent is the active player, so now that Jace has resolved, he gets priority again.
>Opponent has priority. He declares that he's using Jace's first ability. Opponent chooses his target (a player), pays the requisite cost (putting two loyalty counters on Jace), and ability is activated.
>Opponent has priority. He passes to you.
>You have priority. At this point, you can declare that you're casting Lightning Bolt, if you want, intending to burn the stupid planeswalker, but you're too late to kill him. The cost of his ability has already been paid, so he's sitting smugly with 5 loyalty counters on him.
By the way, I'm saying this and I HAVE one.
CAN"T FIGHT THE WORLDWAKE POWER!!!!!!!
The mana cost is a 'COST' of the spell. Cost is already paid when the spell is cast. It is too late to activate Icy Manipulator to tap opponent's land. (even though, it is not enforced anymore, technically we have to tap our lands to produce mana, and than cast the spell.)
Similarly, tapping the land is also COST of the land's ability. It has to be paid in order to produce mana. You cannot activate ability or cast spell in response to paying the cost.
For example, if I am casting reckless abandon, the additional cost 'sacrifice a creature' have to be paid when I cast it. Opponent cannot respond by destroying the creature that I am paying for reckless abandon, since it is already in the graveyard.
So many blue decks use him as their sole win condition it's unreal.
How he hasn't been banned is beyond me.
If blue players get upset because they've lost their win condition, well, that's too bad.
This card stops the game being fun, almost single-handedly. That should be one factor that decides which cards are banned.
If wizards do as I hear and reprint this guy, I'll quit all forms of compettitive play and start only buying singles so wizards stops getting my money, unless they reprint Pithing Needle in the same set.
EDIT:
Mill_Master has proven my point for me.
Do you play the deck, or let it play itself while you get a beer?
Its too powerful and it doesnt have any PRO (I mean this card is for lames)
And why other planeswalkers dont have LAME versions like jace?
Ban this card at all cost. When you exile your library you can go *** and leave the sucker who used it, to end game. I think its too powerful and its only JACE version. Other planeswalkers dont have this version and many people can be annoyed by this. I dont know why Wizards create this card. Only chance to win game when oponnent has Jace, the Mind Sculptor is to destroy jace. Just you must have card with flying, Intimidate, Fear or something and kill him.
The -12 gives one another win condition: 'nuff said.
Yes, this is the best card in standard as of writing. Yes, this card is overpowered. No, it is not broken. No, it should not be banned.
My two cents.
Second option burn this card with Lava Axe, or go with Chandra Nalaar and hit it for five she does have 6 counters.
yeah go with option 2
Called ahead, and found out they were doing constructed instead of draft.
Thoughts of facing down a super-Jace deck run through my head. Instead of going to FNM, meeting new players, proliferating the popularity of the constructed game, & supporting local business, I call up friends to play around the kitchen table that don't feel the need to spend $800+ dollars to play a game.
I wonder how many other players do that?
On a side note, after reading the first comments on this card, it's amazing how much opinion has changed over time.
I only started playing a few months ago so I may be wrong, but even if Jace's controller has priority when he comes into play, doesn't activating his +2 place ability place it on the stack, so if I chain with bolt, bolt will resolve before the +2 is applied. So shouldn't' state based effects clear Jace from the field? Sure, destroying an abilities source doesn't counter it, it'll just activate once Jace is in the graveyard, but he's still dead.
No, the reason being, if you use his effect +2, its part of a cost to add two counters (the : is very key, if it is before then it is a cost (you must do X to use its effect), if it is after it the effect). You can work around the effect of spells or abilities, for example, if you have a card that could, say, shuffle his library, you may choose to put your ability on the stack and happen first. I'll try and make it clear in this little text box
Player A (who has Jace) plays Jace
He has priority now, he may choose to activate one of the abilities (almost all players would right now)
He either chooses +2, 0, or -1, he says, -1
Now he pays the cost (which is removing one counter) and then the ability goes on the stack, you can't retaliate against cost payments, it's done, when he says -1, that includes payments.
(Consider this, when a player plays Shock they pay the mana at the same time they play the spell this is the same thing, you can't stop him from playing the spell or paying the mana, its either both or neither.
The effect goes on the stack, you may now play a instant or most instant effects (effects are instant unless otherwise stated)
Lets say you have an Ember Hauler out, and that is the target of the -1 effect. You may pay one and sacrafice to do 2 damage to Jace and kill him. He can't say, kill it with Doom Blade first, you have paid the cost and your Ember Hauler, its no longer there.
I hope this answered your question well enough
It irritates me when people downrate a card just because they don't like it. So stop doing it. The star system isn't a scale for how much you like the card: it's supposed to TELL PEOPLE HOW GOOD YOU THOUGHT THIS CARD WAS.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor is the best planeswalker ever printed, and will with any luck BE the best planeswalker ever printed, ever. SO RATE IT THAT WAY.
You might not like it (I don't- this was an obvious design mistake), you might hate it, but SERIOUSLY- this is the best damn card in the 2010-2011 Standard Season. SO RATE IT THAT WAY.
I blame Wizards really. I'm not sure if the problem is any specific card, or the whole idea of 'mythic rarity' in the first place. I can understand wanting to create cards that are desirable, but making the most powerful cards also the most rare makes the game quite elitist.
I feel that if these more powerful cards were more widely available to everyone, not only would it make the game more fun, it would be more challenging because more people would have the ability to create truly competitive decks.
Still have to give this card 5/5 though, there is no denying it's utter awesomeness, even if I do totally freaking hate it.
Turn 1:
Opponent: " island, pass turn "
Me: " , pithing needle, jace the mind sculptor "
Opponent: " how'd you know? "
i usually say ALOT of things aren't broken. i've said it about force of will, tarmogoyf, and this. i take back what i said here, this is broken.
tons of card advantage.
tons of options.
very playable casting cost.
provides various control AND can end the game by itself if left alone. ( albeit getting jaced' is rare )
as a tetanek said on tarmogoyf's comments:
Ok, I can accept that wizards from time to time makes this kind of overpowered cards, every serious player will have to buy/trade, only because the artwork is as horrible as the format, thus the price is inversely proportional to the originality of the player.
Wizards, i gotta admit, ya done screwed up here.
He is commonly thrust into every standard deck you will see, ever, from people who want to win and have no budget. You will see him ALL THE TIME if you play in standard. It's not "oh hey there's the guy that splurged on jaces," its, "Oh, hey, that guy didn't buy jaces."
In other words, until he rotates, standard is not worth the money if you play to win. If you think you can make a profit after you spend 400 dollars on a playset of one card, its probably because you expect to resale them later. Jace is, in all ways, the Skullclamp they didnt ban, with one exeption; Skullclamp was traded and sold for 50 cents. Its actually a huge difference to how it affects the metagame.
The only reason he isn't banned right now is because they want to believe he is an icon. They want superheroes in Magic, and they want Jace to be one of them. But for many of us he will always be an anti-hero, because we are too stubborn and poor to buy him, but we see thousands of different people on MTGO will buy playsets of him just to play in the multiplayer room. Lol.
I'm still going with the theory that Wizards printed a broken card on purpose to shift the crapheap that is Worldwake. Hopefully they've learned their lesson.
Broken.
With Jace, oh my gosh. if you need to gain control, Brainstorm. If you need to maintain control, unsummon and fateseal. Just.. Ridiculous.
"I'll tap for a spell"
"Sure I'll Icy Manipulator your land so you can't do it"
LOL.
"I play Jace"
"SURE BOLT IT LOL GG"
Jace is 5/5 no exceptions /end
Edit- never mind the Jace hate must be subsiding, his rating's back up.
I understand exactly why this card is amazing. The problem is... it's kinda dumb. Card advantage and draw control are extremely useful, but they're boring abilities. A good card is one that makes you say "What an awesome ability!" This makes you say "I could use this to win more games."
Progenitus is a good card. "Protection from everything" is an ability that makes you do a double-take, gives you a moment of impending terror when it hits the battlefield. Jace isn't interesting at all, and a dumb way to blow several hundred dollars if you're anyone but the most hardcore tournament players.
Even if you gave me 4 of these for free, I wouldn't use them because my friends would stop playing with me. I won't even put my Sol Rings in my decks because they're not a satisfying way to win.
So yeah, I don't care how good he is, as far as I'm concerned he's useless. 1/5
Now where can I pick up a cheap copy?
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/148
I'm actually tempted to play standard now...
but still- ppl hate on jace because, hes literally just too good
http://krapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/BanHammer.gif
"Hey Jace, watch this! *BANNED*" - WoTC, Every player not playing any form of Blue.
Destroy target Caw-Blade. Owner of the deck puts no less than 1,000 Tears of Rage tokens onto the battlefield. These tokens are 0/0 creatures that can't be the targets of spells or abilities and deal infinite damage to said Caw-Blade player with each drip.
Flavor text: *trollface.jpg* u mad, players?
This is what needs to happen to every overpowered card, only sooner then it did to Jace and Stoneforge.
CMC: 3UU
Loyalty: 4
+1: Draw a card, then target player mills a card
+0: Target player mills 10 cards
-7: Any number of target players draw 20 cards
Only to give him a THIRD version that essentially lets you cast Glimpse the Unthinkable every turn.
Yeah, no way Jace 3.0 is going to have the same problems as Jace 2.0... /sarcasm
Sure you can mill 10 a turn with no downside, but you also have to factor in that it will take at least 5 turns to mill a 60 deck that way, that's a turn 10 win. You need to have other milling cards. This Jace, his ultimate WINS. They have 2 cards in hand (which would be about average for the time it goes off)? Boom zero cards, 2 turn clock.
first off, no card will ever, ever, ever win a game on it's own. here's some of the great cards i've come up against and what i played against it.
Doomgape ; Go For the Throat
Baneslayer Angel ; Dark Banishing
Wrath of God ; Debtor's Knell
Jace TMS ; Faith's Fetters
no card can ever win by itself. if jace doesn't have creatures or counters to protect him from attacks he's helpless. he has 5 loyalty by your opponent's next turn, more often than not, so all i have to do is do five damage. that's nothing for by green power deck or my red burn deck. easy pickings.
i've never lost a game to TMS, but i have lost to Hedron Crab, a much cheaper, still legal, much better card.
if his first ability was +1, he would be terrible. his only ability that is a game changer is the last one, and without counter adding effects (usually green cards) you can use his ultimate 6 TURNS after you play him. minimum. since blue doesn't have mana ramp, as that's turn 9, which is terrible.
any damage i do to him lasts forever by reducing loyalty counters, so you have to regain lost ground just to get him back to a state of just being played.
first of all, rite off da bat, dere iz no way anybody gonna let it get all da way to 12. wat do yuu plan on doing? dubblin season? more like, u need TWOOOO of da dubblin seasons 2 make dis come in2 play wit 12 coutners, but at dat point u mite as well just play a token deck, or perlifrate LOL. nd u kno errybody cud just use o--ring on dis. which dey would. one time i wuz playinq against my boo, hershey, (luvv ya baby!!! pureto rico wuz grate) and he pulled a jax bleren mind scoltpler nd i just attacked it wit my liqhtnin bolt, which rite of da bat won me da qame!!!!!! bcuz he was actually only at 3. so i didnt actualy attic jax. i atticked him.. so just qoez 2 show u dat even if u hav a jax, if u at 3 lyf u still cant win. now, wat if u had mah qurl, Anqel of Mercy. she is da best. she cud get u 3 life, den u would be at 6, nd therefore u would win. unless u play sometin stupoid liek, o i dont kno maybe golbin artilliary nd use it twice. not sayinq dats a bad card. i <3 it.
seeya yo ! adiozzz
EDIT: How in Karona's name is he still $50-$70? Extended is going away, so are there THAT many people out there playing Legacy? I just really, really want one (or four!).
As far as the "dumbing the game down" argument goes, he does require some intelligence to play effectively, unlike Baneslayer Angel where you only need to know how to turn the card sideways.
4 Mana for a permanent that mimics Brainstorm for you each and every single turn is already amazing. However, this guy can also break top-decking, bounces creatures and is capable of..well...outright hosing your opponent's library.
It sounds a little too much, doesn't it?
That and the fact that before the ban, everyone I played against at FNM always had a playset of this guy. And there I was with a deck that cost less than a single Jace. (Won a couple matches... But still.)
I don't hate Jace personally... I just hate that he ruined Worldwake for me. -_-
0 - Now here's my combo
-1 - pick one: toss back opponent's fatty, or take back your fatty, or reuse any creature card that has enter battlefield effects
-12 - Why are you only playing against me with 3 cards in your library? Are you new?
0 ability: Brainstorm.
-1 ability: Unsummon.
-12: BANNED FROM EXISTENCE.
+2 = Preordain
0 = Unsummon
-2 = Fateseal 2
-12 = Same ability.
Still powerful, but fatesealing can't be spammed to ruin its opponent's draws...
...
Holy SHIT am I tired...
JTMS's 0 ability is not just a free Brainstorm, but it's better! Brainstorm adds 3 cards to your hand and puts 2 on the top of your library; plus your hand loses a card: the played Brainstorm itself. No card advantage: you gain 3 cards and lose 3. With Jace you don't play any card, so you get 3 cards and lose 2. ONE CARD ADVANTAGE! FOR FREE!
I was so happy to open him in a booster pack, and he fits nicely into a mill/reanimation deck that I've had sitting around for a while.
Because the deck that he is in tries to control what my opponents draw through such cards as Lantern of insight and cards that mill small amounts through triggers, such as Catheric Adept, I find myself using his first ability until I can trigger the last one for the win.
If I already know what is on the top of my opponent's library, he gives me one more way to get rid of anything good or he gives me a free brainstorm. I tend to forget about his third ability, but it is a respectable one that for some reason kind of reminds me of mark of eviction.
What's not to like? 5/5
EDIT:wait I wrote that?! I'm sorry I wrote that before the whole thing got out of hand (I did get one at the prerelease back then, but I traded it)
I used his -1 for two turns in a row against an opponent's wurmcoil engine. Since they only had 6-7 mana at the time, it was essentially like they did nothing for two turns except remove two loyalty counters from Jace in a very roundabout way.
After the game was over, I asked my opponent, "Why did you keep on playing your wurmcoil engine if you knew it was just gonna be bounced again?"
Response: "It's so hard for me to think when there's Jace in my face!"
PS I also find it hilarious that it is the most expensive planeswalker ever, and its community rating is 18/20 among all planeswalkers at the time of this writing. The only two rated lower are Nissa and Sarkhan the Mad
Discards to Despise.
But that would be completely stupid and would turn the game into a coin toss or dice roll to see who goes first and then wins.
That card would deserve 0/5 because it would be a completely and utterly stupid and broken card.
But to be honest... Jace, The mind sculptor is a MUST in my blue/white deck! :)
I always thought it was Jace, the AUEAUAUEAEUARRGH.
I understand how skullclamp happened. I suppose I understand Trinisphere slipping through. But what were they thinking here? How can anyone look at this card and not apply the strictest scrutiny before letting it through? This was slated as a mythic, they know added complexity is a balancing challenge, and he is the first four ability planeswalker. Every single red flag should have gone up when they saw this guy.
*Mr Burns voice* Excellent...
If you don't understand the power of Jace's 0 loyalty ability, then you don't get why Brainstorm was a powerful card as well. It's not 0 for one card, it's 0 for 3 NEW CARDS FROM YOUR DECK, 3 cards you didn't have in your hand. You get to be 3 turns ahead of your opponent draw-wise. Putting two cards on top of your deck is a very small setback and please keep in mind you the two cards you put on top don't have to be the ones you drew.
Card advantage isn't just the number of cards in your hand over your opponent, it's much more than that.
I'm no fan of Jace, but I will defend Brainstorm and any ability on a card that gives you Brainstorm's effect.
Also, saying a card is weak because there are other cards that can get rid of it is also stupid of you. In this game, all cards can be gotten rid of by other cards, that's how this game works. With your logic, that means all cards are weak because they can be countered by counterspells and all creatures are weak because of cards like Wrath of God or Damnation that can kill them. Not to mention all permanents sucks because there are other cards that can remove permanents. Oh wait, having a hand is weak too because there is discard...
Yeah, I think I proved how silly your point is on that note.
Timmy...no one called you racist...
I know I'm in the minority, but I like when WotC prints crazy stupid broken cards like this. Not because of the format warping it causes, but because it shows that Wizards is still willing to push boundaries. However, it does seem like the power creep is getting out of hand. Mainly because they're printing a lot of card that would be format warping and crazy on their own if they were printed 5 or so years ago, and making them so mundane and everywhere that they're 50 cent junk rares.
0: Brainstorm
-1: Unsummon
-12: Omg
Hes Broken
Also, for everyone who is complaining about this - or ANY planeswalker - Pithing Needle? 1 cost card that totally makes planeswalkers USELESS? not like blue is getting rid of that artifact anytime soon.
=)
first ability is awesome, but, really, just because you're being denied some cards doesn't mean you're being denied ALL cards. heck, luck says that you have just as much chance to draw something useful after you've been fatesealed as you do before. heck, if you're playing blue, too, it's fun to use Scry/ponder/etc to make your opponent worry about using the fateseal. "did he put his best card here, on top? or is that fateseal bait? uh..."
brainstorm on demand is pretty ridiculous, too.
oh, and I have WON after having his -12 played against me. a few times. I'm not convinced at all that this ability is 'insta-win'. first, you can get counters off the card rather easily over six turns, yanno? flying, unblockable, shadow, intimidate, SOMETHING.
second, if you can't, you sure as hell should be keeping AWESOME cards in your hand for the inevitable library vanishing act.
Let this be a lesson to you, new and old players alike : only sideboard in as much as you take out, otherwise you might be banned from tournaments.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor: a planeswalker so broken that his second ability itself is restricted in Vintage.
Ajani Vengeant; Yeah, he's okay. But is he Jace? No.
Garruk, Primal Hunter; Nice. protects himself with a + ability. Not Jace, and 5 CMC.
Liliana of the Veil; Effective card. Shot way up in value. Still not Jace.
Chandra Ablaze; Wins rather effectively. Takes too long to do it, and at 6 CMC? No...just no.
And also, @j_mindfingerpainter: *Coughs* Misthollow Griffin
A horribly broken, overpowered swiss army knife.
Makes you think R&D folks are a bunch of 9yo's trolling us all.
Take a look at your own comment. -One billion to win the game?
An alternate win condition. That card must suck.
Almost all the things you mentioned that can kill him FAIL if you simply COUNTER THEM. Also, most of those require targeting. Spellskite. Yeah, Jace is overrated by some people, but it's also rated ~ 4 because haters like you hate extremely broken cards.
Name another planeswalker with 4 abilities. Nope, you only have one. Hating cards. His +2 can screw Miracle decks. You can say they're not competitive but try saying that to Alexander Hayne. His 0 gets you a card that could've taken 3 turns to draw, and puts the other cards in the order you want. His -1 deals with a creature UNTIL YOU COUNTER IT WHEN IT'S RECAST. -12 is not -One billion. Every turn you're getting 2 or more loyalty counters depending on the number of proliferate stuff you have.
The absolute power on this card is a huge mistake and that you won't even acknowledge that is ridiculous.
Allowing a single card to continually scry, brainstorm, and unsummon? Who thought that wasn't broken? You can move around your library or your opponent's library every turn or remove all creature threats in your way one at a time, without costing mana! AND it has an ultimate that pretty much wins you the game if you get it off.
Don't look for another JTMS, because this card was a mistake. They misjudged the competitive section of Magic and didn't think that four of these in a deck would be THAT bad. R&D probably won't ever create another walker with four abilities because they're so afraid of their mistake here.
@ParallaxtheRevan- FTV is not equal to a reprint. It's just an old infamous card that still is not legal in anywhere it wasn't before, but pretty and collectible. And the FTV this year was the final one Wizards is doing. Demonic Tutor is nowhere on the power level of JTMS. The cards they put in EDH/Commander products are still only one of anything, and honestly Sol Ring is one of the few really powerful cards they put in there. To put Jace in there is a hilarious assumption that will never happen. And if it does, I'll give up this game because the developers would be out of their minds.
I actually stopped playing for about a year after this was running rampant in FNMs. Either you spend $300 and run a playset of these, or you go in disadvantaged against 78129179812 other caw-blade decks and hope you get lucky. It was extremely off-putting and made the metagame very boring.
@bogmire
WHY didn't you stop the trade? I would honestly tell the kid he's being scammed.
Excellent card in the right deck, over rated in others
Maybe judge foil reprint but doubtfull anything else
0 - Dang! That's good!
-1 - It can be useful, but let's check the ultimatum
-12 - Holy sh**.
He is seriously scary, but he loses a lot of punch when there's more than one player who refuses to let him rear his OP head.
0 = Brainstorm
-1 = Unsummon
-12 = Paradigm Shift (for your opponent/you)
For all these abilities on the cards that have them the cheapest possible combination is 2UUUU or 6 CMC. JTMS does it all for the insanely low price of 2UU and can do it every single turn!
Still, I have to give it 5/5. It is the single most powerful control card in the game and that has to be respected. He gains you tempo when you're behind and messes with your opponent's when you're ahead. What more could any player want? Besides friends I mean, because you're not likely to have many after you drop this.
He is literally sculpting your future thoughts. You have an out coming up? No you don't.
Brainstorm for free every turn. Dig deep, get that card draw, reset those miracles, save that island for something good.
Facing down that tinkered out Blightseel, maybe an Emrakul? Wheredego?
And that last ability? You win the game.
People, this card is better than celestial colonade, it should be the top card in the set. There is something wrong with you if you rate this below a 5.
Pre-ban/Standard= $100+
Post-ban= $50 at it's lowest
Post-ban now= $100 again
The only formats its useable in is legacy and vintage. It would get laughed out of vintage. And legacy has dark confidant as it's #1 draw engine. How this guy is gaining momentum in the secondary market is beyond me.
@ sniper_ix: Jace gets played in both Vintage and Legacy.
But this guy, I do think will get a reprint, because Wizards knows he's super desirable.
Maze of Ith got back in the Vault.
Demonic Tutor is in Duel Decks.
Some really famous over powered cards have special versions not playable in Modern but good for blinging out EDH or Legacy/Vintage decks. So I do hold out the chance that in a special pre-boxed product, Jace the Mind Sculptor will get reprinted. But even then, the Worldwake ones will probably still be worth $50+. Maybe the lowest they could knock it down is $40 if the reprint was in something with a print run larger than the average Duel Decks. So if you are looking on ebay for Cheap Jaces, try to get them between 40-55, and don't pay more than 65 because it is possible to find better than that.
EDIT: ummm TCGPlayer.com's CHEAPEST Jace, the Mind Sculptors are pushing $100 right now, and they are in Heavily Played condition o.O Thank goodness the dealers do not seem to be jerk enough to charge that much difference between Heavily Played and Near Mint. Well, I'm not going to look at Star City's numbers, bc they probably do -_- TCG is the Progressive.com of MTG, if you aren't shopping there, you aren't doing it right unless they are out of inventory and you NEED something. BUT.
Look, even though this guy was printed SO RECENTLY, he is INELIGIBLE for Modern Masters. It can't be ignored any longer.
THIS CARD. JACE, THE MIND SCULPTOR, should be the card voted to Power 10. Time Vault? Library of Alexandria? Bazaar of Baghdad? famous cards to be sure, but there are some things Jace has in common with the Power those cards do not:
#1: Dumb Where Everywhere. Time Vault and Bazaar of Baghdad are restricted to a Johnny play style and a Melvin playstyle, respectively. Black Lotus, Mox Sapphire, Mox Pearl, Mox Ruby, Mox Jet, Mox Emerald, Ancestral Recall, and Time Walk are each undoubtedly "include in decks with blue sources, or even just call Mox Sapphire your Blue Sources" cards. Whatever your strategy is, pretty much UNLESS you are trying to go so offbeat to make a deck that PROVES the Power are not Perfect Fits everywhere, the Power 9 are cards that fetch such high demand because 99% of decks are better with them.
#2: Library of Alexandria? Why not this one? Because, compare Library of Alexandria's price to Bazaar of Baghdad's or Candelabra of Tawnos- these cards' price don't seem to have changed very much over time. Their useability hasn't changed much over time. Their ubiquity, their playedness....they'll always have homes, and creep steadily more and more up, but BY comparison...LOTS of cards that old are competing in the $100-$150-$200 price range. Pretty much nothing besides Power demands higher than $300 though (exempting special printings). If Library of Alexandria were TRULY as good a candidate for Power 10th ness as Jace, the Mind Sculptor, it would be approx. $500 from the Rarity spiking things ADDED to the Powerness of it.
#3: Jace the Mind Sculptor can get banned in Legacy and --maybe-- --EVEN-- EDH or CUBE tomorrow, and he is just good enough to be worth taking to Vintage. His price would plummet to around $50 again, maybe. It would, given time, rise again, and again, again, and before we'd yet had "From the Vault: Planeswalkers" he would be back in the $100 zone or higher.
#4: Even if he gets Reprinted, even a DUEL DECKs Reprinted which tends to scalp a card's value, the reprint is likely to be worth $30. No, wait, we're talking a foil Jace? $50 easily despite huge supply.
The original would not be effected positively or negatively by a reprint anymore than a Ban would.
At this point, Jace the Mind Sculptor is such a Known Quantity of Fame and Fortune, that no Reprints OR Bannings can actually do much of anything to his price anymore longterm, at least the Worldwake Version. He is definitely a Piece of MTG History like no other card that's been printed since the FTV: Dragons version of Nicol Bolas. How many other Magic Cards do you know that have songs like this about them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnYhG_ekoH8
There are only 10 cards that will make you, the Player, feel Rich, Powerful, Historical, Mighty, and Blinged out like you just bought a Ferrari or Porsche NO. MATTER. WHAT. If you are a Magic Player, other Mythic Rares and Judge Foils might catch your interest, your "Gotta Catch Em All" itch might want to be scratched by acquiring them, BUT the cards you will actually be proud to show your Grandkids if you have them?
The Power 9, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor. The other Vintage Staples are only specifically appealing to Vintage Players; the other Magic Rarities to the Bling EDH crowd....THESE 10, however, will be symbols of what those players THINK they have.....to *Everyone*.
Lyrics By Patrick Chapin (correct me if I'm wrong)
Jace, the Mind Sculptor walked through the door
My life's better than ever before
Its not just that I'm winning a ton
Its not just that Blue's back number one
Its not just that I'm having more fun
Than when I was having more fun than legally done
Jace changed my life in all the best ways
Five thousand friends and a massive pay raise
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All, Ja-Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All,
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All, Ja-Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Invented Jace in San Diego
Blue/White control was what we play, yo
Pro Tour San Juan won by Paulo
Once MJ broke Jace in block, yo
Tom Martroll and Jace got busy
Top-Eighted a Legacy GP
Did Owen and Jace win the Vintage sixty?
Yes, Very Easily
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Jace Helped Wrapter, USA Man
MJ's Top Eight In Amsterdam
All Guillaume Finals, they understand
One-X and Standard Mono-Jace Plan
Pro Tour Paris Magic Weekend indeed
Helped Player of the Year Brad Nelson succeed
My fourth Top-Eight cause of Tezzeret? Please
Proves Jace is a Team Player with ease!
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All, Ja-Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All,
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All, Ja-Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
I found Jace a year ago, see Or should I say that Jace found me?
I've never lived life so successfully, Within a week met the woman of my dreams
Tried to tell everybody alive--Buy Jace while he's still twenty-five!
Fateseal, Brainstorm, Unsummon guys: Ultimate they never survive!
I've been putting protective cases, on hundreds since they had Jace-faces
Four abilities cover all bases, Truth is every card game has Aces
Jace, the Mind Sculptor- single-handedly
Responsible for the Resurgency Of the American Magic Scene
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, you complete me
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All, Ja-Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All, Ja-Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Better than All
Jace, the Mind sculptor, Better than All
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
The Mind Sculptor
The Mind Sculptor
*opponent uses -12 ability*
Okay.
*shuffles his one-card hand into his library*
My turn?
*Draws his one card*
*plays Laboratory Maniac*
Pass.
Opponent: ****
Probably only way that can backfire?
Except they could just use Jace's -1 right after to return maniac and STILL win.
Anyways about this card. I like to rate cards on gatherer a bit more on their playability. I like to break it down into parts of how well they were designed, how subjectively fun they are to play, and how they affected the environment. Culminating the overall results for the score.
Playability: 5/5
Okay, if you were just rating the card on usability. Jace is a no brainer 5/5. I'm not going too deep since it's been said to death. Just look at the fact that he is highly played in EVERY format that he's legal in. This includes vintage, VINTAGE. The format with the cards that are worth 15k? He sees play in there and wins games.
Fun: 2/5
What I mean by fun is how fun I subjectively feel the card is to play both with and against. How interested I am about putting it in other decks to see how it interacts or for what unique ways it can work along with its design. Jace is a bit bittersweet here.
Playing against a Jace is a pain. Being helplessly locked out of the game by a single card, only being able to wait while that same card builds to a game-winning finish is not the greatest feeling.
On the flipside, playing with Jace is somewhat fun for me. Merely for the fact that he is power. Using him makes me feel powerful. Like I'm in total control of the game. Controlling my opponent's fate while defying my own. Though it tends to leave a bad taste in my mouth when I'm done.
And as for deck building...Well he's not particularly interesting. Just good. It's a card that makes your deck better for simply being itself, but doesn't do anything extremely interesting.
Environment: 0/5
And this is where the card takes a nosedive for me. Jace was format warpingly good, in a very very bad way. Back in his day, standard suddenly became a $400 format. It was play caw-blade with Jace or lose. Every deck was running with and/or against him. He stagnated both standard and modern horribly and was banned for it.
Does that mean it's a good card? Probably. Does that mean it's a well designed card? Hell no.
So I'm giving Jace a 3/5. Because he's bad? Goodness no. It's just that he should not have been printed and his impact on the game hasn't been entirely positive. Gatherer ratings are more than about usability, they're about public opinion of a card. And I would think how Jace affects environments and playgroups are viable parts of opinion.
This card is easily the best 4 drop ever printed with or without mana acceleration. Whether or not this was a design error, I strongly believe that you cannot argue it's power level in all formats it's legal in. Anyone who debates this card's power is either butthurt or extremely ignorant. This is one of the best cards ever printed. Just goes to show the sheer power creep of zendikar block. I don't like how cards like these tend to push aggro out of standard though. Aggro is way more fun then control mirror matches. :(
5/5
Then your opponent uses Jace's -1 ability on the maniac and passes.
Edit: From the vault twenty has to have this card!
/sarcasm.
I bought one in August for $70, and now he's almost doubled in price. Wow.
That's utter insanity. And I'm sure that sooner or later, Wizards is going to do something about this.
Jace is powerful, but not really fun. There's no clever combo with him, nor does he generally lead to interesting, memorable games -- I mean, it's fun to win, I guess, but even using him rapidly becomes boring, since he sucks all the randomness out of the game once he comes out, too.
He was a bad card that should never have seen print. Not because he's overpowered, but because he's overpowered in such a boring way. He doesn't deserve more than a 4.0. Sure he wins games; so does kicking over the table.
Jace Beleren - 2.5/5
Jace, Memory Adept - 4/5
Jace, the Mind Sculptor - 5.5/5
Now, if they bolt him instead of attack w/ creature, then you're gaining card advantage again, but that's an entirely different story.
It completely destroyed standard. Every deck at the pro tours ran 4 and it was something you had to have to play competitively. Everyone ran blue.
By the way, it appears to be a common misconception that you can bolt Jace as soon as he comes out and kill him. Your opponent would have the chance before you bolted him to activate an ability and if they activated the +2, the bolt would not kill Jace. The opponent has priority as soon as Jace enters the battlefield and you can only respond to the ability being used.
@thewrathofshane: You complain on loads of comments about how expensive cards are then you call for Urza block and other cards to be banned and don't care about the money that people have already spent on them. It's just the worst kind of hypocrisy. Of course Wizards doesn't want to ban cards - they don't want people to get upset. I support the banning of this card but I certainly don't support banning in general.
http://wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/248e
Big news: Planeswalkers and legends now have little to no inherant drawbacks, because now the legend rule only works if you have two on your side of the field. It will be completely legitimate for you to have a JTMS and your opponent to have a JTMS - on the battlefield, at the same time. No more little Jace turn three to stop a Mindsculptor from being played turn four. Also, because of this Clone cards are now an excessively lot weaker - you can't Clone, say, Thrun or Uril and kill them, you just get two of them on the battlefield. Hexproof generals in EDH now only have one weakness - boardwipes (And maybe edicts, but I doubt they'd ever not have other creatures out anyway) - and now Thrun is unkillable by everything except Mutilate and Wrath of God.
Also note, if you play two of the same planeswalker one after another, you can still activate their abilities. I can still +1 Jace here before he dies if I 'replace' him with another Jace, then I can +1 that Jace too. Blergh, think about that with Liliana of the Veil.
Also, judging from what they've done with rule-change timing in the past, this probably means that the next block, Theros, will either be legend-heavy or 'walker-heavy. Oh boy.
Actually, with the new sideboard rules you CAN sideboard in more than you sideboard out.
So, now Jace is legal and fair.
Wait... WHAT?? ;)
That's competing against Chimney Imp (613 votes), Storm Crow (824 votes) and Black Lotus (1031 votes).
YES, The Mind Sculptor is just slightly more popular than THE broken card. A card that had a 17-year lead in becoming more popular.
1. If there was ever a chance to shut down your opponent's Jace with your own, it's gone now. No more Sun Titan stopping Jace.
2. Chain +2s for one turn, if their top card provced to be very dangerous and you have an inkling that their next one is dangerous too.
If a card is/was played in all of Standard, Legacy, and Vintage, and Modern (if appropriate), I think there might be an inherent problem with the card. As such, I can't rate this card highly.
Rating on power is retarded because it encourages wizards to keep printing broken mistakes.
Rating on design is retarded because it encourages wizards not to print better cards.
I was at Scout camp, and another kid had a Jace. HE BROUGHT IT TO CAMP. UNPROXIED. (you can guess where this is going)
Anyway, he left his deck behind in my campsite with the Jace in it. I found it and (after much mental anguish) i gave the deck back. (The Jace was the only remotely good card)
You are in good company.
IT WAS ONLY MATTER OF TIME
This card alone will make FTV:20 at least $750, maybe even $1000.
@timmyforever's more recent edit involving Yawgmoth's will: The troll reveals himself. I've seen your comment on Yawgmoth's Will, and your comment on Bog Hoodlums. Also, you mentioned using a Elvish Piper + Emrakul combo? Failure. Your combo is just what every noob in magic ever thought about it. Also, your "not racist" comment directly contradicts your comment on Yawgmoth's will.
Anyway, I feel kind of gifted to have played against Jace. Granted, 2/3 of the times I lost, and the other 1 I'd sideboarded in Hex Parasite, but this guy is the sum of what magic should never become: broken. They've managed to at least try to keep the game balanced, which is more than many others have done. Like I have said before, I rarely spend more than $5 on a card, but I don't hold it against those that do.
@wrathofshane No, it doesn't. By your logic, progress (essentially mild power creep) should stop. But it shouldn't. If it stops, people get bored. If they get bored, they stop playing. Granted, this is broken, but hate-rating doesn't help anyone.
This card is amazing. I really wish i had been playing before it was a $!%)+ card.
TheWrathofShane - "Rating on power is retarded because it encourages wizards to keep printing broken mistakes."; It is not retarded (I find that offensive); we rate it high because we WANT more broken cards like this (*** moron). Some of us (the non dip ***) enjoy/respect broken cards. It's not MY job to make sure you have fun playing the game. That's YOUR *** job! If you have such a problem with this game, then quit (the rest of us would be thankful). *end rant*
bfellow - Cheers. Some one else who gets it.
Not in multiplayer though mind you! thats a whole other story
Even if he didn't have 4 abilities, he'd be just as overpowered. Any combination of 3 of Jace's powers would be enough to dominate each and every game he sees. He just has that little extra boost to push him over the edge. Like a high-end race car with a jet engine jammed into the back.
Regular Pro-tour guys: Get a job, and stop spending your parents' money on cards.
McDonalds Pro-tour guys: Want to buy a Jace?
Edit:
Wow... I trolled the hell out of this one, didn't I? I don't actually disrespect you guys. You have an awesome hobby that encourages high-level literacy, strategy and critical thought. I just really hate-hate-hate* boring cards that make it so that Vorthos and Timmy players can't have a good time too. It can even ruin it for a Johnny with a bum hand. (Other Spikes...? Not sure I care if people running this use it on other Spikes...) None of that's what Magic is about.
(*Note: This is a new triple-verb that applies only to Jace: TMS, and Phyrexian Obliterator)
/endrant
There's a reason this Jace goes for so much.
You get to Fateseal your opponent, EVERY TURN. On the off chance they had a threat in your hand you didn't get a chance to Fateseal away, you can bounce it, or, for literally no drawback, dig for an answer for it. Played properly, this is one of the top five blue cards ever printed.
I've usually used him as a blue enchantment that brainstorms once a turn, but that isn't the only thing he does, he unsummons things, fouls up opposing brainstorms, and even wins outright *only did this twice, hilarious both times*, the point is, he probably is the best walker we will ever have.
I would put him on the same power-level as some of the P9 Stuff, sure hes not at instant speed, but one card that draws you so many cards *granted you put some back* for 4 mana is absolutely bonkers
5/5 Stars
Edit: Ya know, despite him being story-line Mono-blue, it kinda feels like he should have been UB
Obviously, the higher mana the PW costs, the better you can make the minus ability. Of course, some of the first PW's were not priced properly and thus are terrible because wizards was still testing out this new card type (Chandra ablaze is clearly an abomination, PW's like liliana vess can't protect themselves and thus rarely see play despite theoretically being priced properly, etc). And some abilities are too oppressive if they are not minus abilities no matter what (for example, if tms was increased to 5 mana, but his unsummon became 0, that would be a problem as if you are ahead on the board you will easily win the game by unsummoning every turn for free). Overall seems like a good idea anyway, right?
Therefore, Mind sculptor should be fine in theory. 0 and -1 abilities that are both based off of 1-mana cards on a 4 mana PW. While most 4-mana walkers would have a minus ability equal to ~2 mana, if we give him two abilities both prices at 1-mana it should be fine, right?
What wizards didn't realize is that brainstorm is actually NOT properly balanced at 1 mana. They should've treated brainstorm as a 2 mana card, and thus put his brainstorm ability as either a -1 or -2, or increase his mana cost to 5. even then this would be pushing it, as jace still has 3 relevant abilities (as opposed to every other walker having only 2, as ultimates are not particularly useful).