This is one of those win more cards.. but when it works it's a nice way to keep the tide of gameplay in your favor. There will be plenty of times where exiling or rearranging their cards wont do much, besides just removing a card from their library that they weren't going to draw anyways. It also requires that they be shuffling somehow, and while there are cards that do this, you wont get to use it every turn. The closest you can get to doing that is by using thada del, except a thada del and psychic surgery combo doesn't particularly win games when it goes active.. it's just a fun trick.
On the plus side there are a number of ways that your opponent might be shuffling, including fetch lands, certain types of tutors, jace, and others. I just wouldn't want to draw this card on turn 5 hoping that they shuffle enough times to make it count.
I actually think it's a good card, only that I also am big on consistency. I prefer cards that garauntee they will work vs. cards that may work if certain conditions are met. For example, I'd rather have a creature that just plain gains life when played like obstinate baloth, than a creature that gains life when you play a land like gladeheart. Psychic surgery feels the same way, if I could make it happen every turn, it would be one of the more awesome cards in standard. As it is, you need it in the first hand preferably, and then hope they shuffle a lot.
I know I've seen a card that make a player shuffle their library for 1 mana...I think it was a blue enchantment. Who wouldn't want a more efficient, selecting Millstone?
Nothing can happen during the resolution of a spell or ability, other than that spell or ability itself and certain replacement effects. You can't even put other spells or abilities on the stack, and triggered abilities don't get added on the stack.
Things like Ulamog's Vindicate ability don't happen during his resolution; rather, it's a triggered ability on the card that happens when you cast him, and gets put on the stack above him, and entirely separate from him. It resolves and you destroy a permanent, then Ulamog resolves (assuming he isn't countered) and enters the battlefield.
In this case, with an effect like Liliana Vess' tutoring, her whole ability must resolve before this enchantment's ability goes on the stack - thus it cannot resolve until they finish doing all of the ability, including placing the card on top of the library.
So if an opponent activates Vess' tutor, they'll search, shuffle, and put the tutored card on top of the library. Then this enchantment's ability, which was triggered by their shuffling, gets put on to the stack. Unless they do something (like Voidslime to counter the ability or an instant-speed draw spell to draw the card) the ability will resolve and you'll get to potentially exile the card they tutored for.
GoatKnapper
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i like this guy, sure its kinda wierd and not everyone is going to shuffle a lot (or at all in some cases) but when they do you pretty much get to exile something good and control thier next draw, a solid 2 drop IMO...4/5 as a random control card that keeps giving you advantages (just use Praetor's Grasp on someone and reap the advantages)
That is not correct. Liliana's ability finishes resolving before you gain priority and put Psychic Surgery's triggered ability onto the stack. As long as the player doesn't have an instant speed card draw effect (such as is found on all cards with Cycling, cards like Chromatic Sphere, Conjurer's Bauble, Brainstorm, Visions of Beyond, etc), that player can't stop you from exiling the tutored card when Surgery's ability resolves as it is among the top 2 cards of the library.
This looks really, really cool. The current standard format practically revolves around cards that make you shuffle your library; the Zendikar fetchlands, Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse, Birthing Pod, Ponder, Liliana Vess, Green Sun's Zenith, Squadron Hawk, and many others. The problem is that all of those cards, with the exception of Pod and Ponder and Zenith, are rotating out of Standard. The only way to search up lands after Innistrad rotates in is via Mycosynth Lattice or Primeval Titan. Arachnus Spinner doesn't see any play at all, so never mind that. This card is going to go from slightly annoying to nearly useless in the current Standard.
Prepostasaurus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
How does this card work if you have more than one on the battlefield? I can't find a ruling on it...
deadeye1387
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Had a chance to get this card from a store for $0.10, but I don't usually play against people with cards that make you shuffle your deck... and definetly not anyone who uses Liliana Vess.
I want to like it, but it's just so narrow. Not even particularly useful when it does go off. Tantamount to milling for 1.
Gelzo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"F**K YEAH PSYCHIC SURGERY RULES! *pant* That's the name of my band. *pant* Psychic Surgery."
-theme song-
Trygon_Predator
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Art de***ion: Jin-Gitaxias doing his laundry. "Oh Yawgmoth this is taking forever!" This is a great griefer for Commander, where shuffling and top-of-the-deck tutors are everywhere. At worst it'll be annoying; at best, you can exile a crucial combo piece.
SarcasmElemental
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This card is almost a Flaming Lips album
BigPimpin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have this in a deck along with two Void Stalkers.
Good times were had.
Majora_13
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Want to try building a deck out of this, psychogenic probe, cosi's trickster and soldier of fortune, along with any other effects to make an opponent shuffle their library. Not sure how successful i'll be, but the idea is basically to kill your opponent like a burn deck would, while adding in some deck manipulation to control their draws and hopefully buy you the time to land enough damage.
Ferlord
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
... and then just turn Bribery/Acquire into the BIGGEST middle finger ever.
It's as if you just stole from a hobo and proceeded to call the police for taking your money.
shotoku64
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Printed for the format it was printed in (Zendikar standard with fetchlands), outside of that it loses a lot of value. Still great for EDH, as out of 5 other people at least one of them will be searching their deck between your turns
Fluicor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
god this card is so much fun in edh.Even if you are not winning or not gonna win,there is a great pleasure in removing a card per shuffle,and god knows there are players that search their libraries way too much. It turns a lot of tutoring cards into dead draws and a lot of land fetchs into a chance to either kill a potential big threat or give them more dead draws.
Comments (30)
Still nice for disrupting top-of-deck tutors.
Ever get mad when you see a mono-colored deck running fetchlands?
Look no further than Psychic Surgery!!!
It's lean!!!!
mean!!!!
stops Mirage tutors in their tracks!!
And gets that guy who spends a half hour every turn looking for the best option to maybe play another deck!!!
Batteries not included.
Psychogenic Probe sold separately.
On the plus side there are a number of ways that your opponent might be shuffling, including fetch lands, certain types of tutors, jace, and others. I just wouldn't want to draw this card on turn 5 hoping that they shuffle enough times to make it count.
I actually think it's a good card, only that I also am big on consistency. I prefer cards that garauntee they will work vs. cards that may work if certain conditions are met. For example, I'd rather have a creature that just plain gains life when played like obstinate baloth, than a creature that gains life when you play a land like gladeheart. Psychic surgery feels the same way, if I could make it happen every turn, it would be one of the more awesome cards in standard. As it is, you need it in the first hand preferably, and then hope they shuffle a lot.
"Looking for my Letter Bomb."
Nothing can happen during the resolution of a spell or ability, other than that spell or ability itself and certain replacement effects. You can't even put other spells or abilities on the stack, and triggered abilities don't get added on the stack.
Things like Ulamog's Vindicate ability don't happen during his resolution; rather, it's a triggered ability on the card that happens when you cast him, and gets put on the stack above him, and entirely separate from him. It resolves and you destroy a permanent, then Ulamog resolves (assuming he isn't countered) and enters the battlefield.
In this case, with an effect like Liliana Vess' tutoring, her whole ability must resolve before this enchantment's ability goes on the stack - thus it cannot resolve until they finish doing all of the ability, including placing the card on top of the library.
So if an opponent activates Vess' tutor, they'll search, shuffle, and put the tutored card on top of the library. Then this enchantment's ability, which was triggered by their shuffling, gets put on to the stack. Unless they do something (like Voidslime to counter the ability or an instant-speed draw spell to draw the card) the ability will resolve and you'll get to potentially exile the card they tutored for.
besides everyone knows Cosi's Trickster and Boggart Forager need more friends.....
That is not correct. Liliana's ability finishes resolving before you gain priority and put Psychic Surgery's triggered ability onto the stack. As long as the player doesn't have an instant speed card draw effect (such as is found on all cards with Cycling, cards like Chromatic Sphere, Conjurer's Bauble, Brainstorm, Visions of Beyond, etc), that player can't stop you from exiling the tutored card when Surgery's ability resolves as it is among the top 2 cards of the library.
This looks really, really cool. The current standard format practically revolves around cards that make you shuffle your library; the Zendikar fetchlands, Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse, Birthing Pod, Ponder, Liliana Vess, Green Sun's Zenith, Squadron Hawk, and many others. The problem is that all of those cards, with the exception of Pod and Ponder and Zenith, are rotating out of Standard. The only way to search up lands after Innistrad rotates in is via Mycosynth Lattice or Primeval Titan. Arachnus Spinner doesn't see any play at all, so never mind that. This card is going to go from slightly annoying to nearly useless in the current Standard.
-theme song-
This is a great griefer for Commander, where shuffling and top-of-the-deck tutors are everywhere. At worst it'll be annoying; at best, you can exile a crucial combo piece.
Good times were had.
It's as if you just stole from a hobo and proceeded to call the police for taking your money.
It turns a lot of tutoring cards into dead draws and a lot of land fetchs into a chance to either kill a potential big threat or give them more dead draws.