Sorin is taking Liliana's card destruction prowess, but Liliana makes this card cool because you can discard that last card and trigger Quest ect.
Deco_y
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
That is some bitchin' flavor text.
TheSwarm
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Play it in Esper/U/B control in the side. Control Mirrors are yours.
don_miguel
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(2 votes)
@Hairless Thoctar: i tottally agree you. this card is bad. if it just was uncommon. but what a waste of rare slot! at five mana your opponent barely should have 2 or 3 cards in hand. you pay 3BB!!!!! and at his next turn he draws a card, having 2 total in hand. he keeps his titan and draws a land. the only-very-marginal use i see is playing it on yourself for some kind of shenanigans like living dead or something.
blindthrall
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Useless, as is any discard that costs more than 3.
A0602
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Disappointing. Where's the love for discard?
PeabodyET
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(11 votes)
Monomania! Do doo do do do.
"Mon-nom-min-na"! Do do do do.
Monomania! Do doo di do doo di do doo di do do do-do dooo!
MrBarrelRoll
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Mind Sludge did the same better, since 99% of the time you reach 5 mana, they're going to have far less than 5 cards in hand.
Tanaka348
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
I kind of like the effect except that you can't really cost it at a point whether it will be worthwhile without being broken.
Lash_of_Dragonbreath
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
In most situations I'd rather just have Mind Rot instead. This isn't likely to do much turn 6 onwards... Now many cards can a player have by then? 3, at most, fewer if you're playing discard? Why would I pay 5 for a sell that may end up being less effective than mind rot, which costs 3?
Gelzo
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
I'd love to see this resolve after someone draws half their deck in EDH.
Tommy9898
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(5 votes)
By the time you have the mana to cast it, they already have just one card left. If they don't then you can bet one of those cards is a counter spell.
Gabriel422
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Actually, this effect is on par with Persecute in my opinion. And Persecute was an obscene card.
Mono black will always have Mind Sludge, but all the Orzhovs and Golgaris could still use this card.
statiefreez
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I really want to go "Swamp, Dark Ritual, Dark Ritual, Monomania!" on turn 1.
A3Kitsune
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Discard that is only worth using in a non-discard deck. Interesting.
NeoKoda
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great against a deck I have, but the deck is bad, so...eh.
Mata_Hari
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I know what I cling to when all hope is lost. OH YEAH
Mode
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One of those cards that might sound pretty awesome to new players but in fact aren't really that good.
Also the flavor text seems out of place. "All hope is lost"? Actually, there is one last spark of hope right on the opponent's hand. Unless Sorin was being rhetorical and means that this last thought in the opponent's mind clings to desperation - but who would want a card in his deck that causes him desperation?
tcollins
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY! MONOMANIA! ONE NIGHT ONLY!....reminds me of a commercial for something involving motorcycles.
Apparently vermin cling to the best card in their hand, according to the flavour text..
TherealphatMatt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Got two of these at the prerelease. That kind of ... blew. Getting Sorin Markov and a Primordial Hydra eased the pain, of course ... but two lost games later, this newbie MTG player had been starting at a useless Monomania a lot.
Biggles
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Maybe if they cost this as BBBB it'd be alright.
Sleazebag
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Bad in constructed. Completely obliterates your opponents in limited. Played it T4 (I started) in my very first match, opponent discards 6 cards. Then I doom blade his bomb (the card he kept). GG. Second round, make him discard 5, but I eventually lose since I only had 6 swamps, not one forest. (B/G) I survived for around 6-7 turns longer than I should have thanks to monomania though. Third round, diabolic tutor turn 4, monomania turn 5. I win.
Same went for the second match, 2-0 (one thanks to monomania). Over 5 games, I used it 4 times, and it discarded 21 cards.
It was a dead draw against aggro decks.. so I just sided it out against those. Ended up 9th, could have gone top 8 but I failed epicly one game and gave away the victory. My deck was good and probably would have won most of the games monomania got for me, but damn it made me win hard.
http404error
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just for kicks, I targeted myself with it. The card I kept? Yawgmoth's Will.
Eved
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Dark Ritual. I feel that people are forgetting that black has the 2nd best colored mana acceleration in the game.
Anyone who has run 4x Dark Ritual knows how much fun it is to play cards like this on turn one.
The_Trendkill
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card really shines in multiplayer games more so than in regular duels. There's always that one player who tries to hide in the corner and stay out of the way, sitting on nothing but lands and maybe one or two mediocre creatures, waiting to pull off an inconceivable combo that ruins everyone. That player is precisely who you want to target with this.
In most other scenarios, I would rather have Mind Rot or Mind Sludge. This card is really only effective in duels if you resolve it much earlier than turn 5 (say perhaps turn 2 or 3 with nuts acceleration) or when you resolve it very late in a stalemated game.
That being said, in M12 limited, which is where I would be most likely to main-deck this card, a well-placed Mind Rot or Smallpox is usually enough to ruin your opponent's game plan. This is not only overkill, but ineffective if not timed correctly.
Overall, meh. I would rather have seen Wit's End in this rare slot.
ArchAngel8
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Monomania, is another card that had a nice effect but is set back by its cost. if this does come out on turn 5, your opponent won't have but 3 cards in their hand anyway, and mind sludge would still be better for this anyway.
However, I can see some application of this card as a sideboard against another control deck that has Consecrated Sphinx running in it. If you are running control as well (you kinda of are if you are using this), then it might help you get the edge.
I guess you can argue that you could mana ramp into this spell, and that would be cool. Lets say you are playing Green/Black and you have black in just for control so you know what you Greens are up against. Mana ramping into this could help get it out on turn 4 or if you are amazing 3, but that is a fairy tail to be honest.
If you like this card here is what you need to due, use surgical extraction instead. You will put about the same number of cards in the grave than you would with this on turn five. And more importantly, it will be all the same thing.
Turn one inquisition, pick out Squadron hawk, activate surgical extraction. And shake hands because you probably just won.
Momomania get a 2.5 out of 5 (I play standard, and therefor base my reviews on standard)
Ladnarud
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I want to like this, but it just costs too much. Cool idea, cool flavor, cool effect... should've been 1-2 less mana.
Two Dark Rituals on turn 1 or 2, sure... but other than that, it doesn't seem like a very feasible choice for discarding. Under normal circumstances, your opponent will most likely have played most of his/her cards in hand by turn 5. Maybe when used with Sign in Bloods?
Meh.
2/5
Arachibutyrophobia
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
this card is best used on yourself so you can cast a zombify or a living death
this card is probably underrated
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
THis is very easy to pull off on t3 with some ramp. If it gets through you have a sick card atvantage. All you noobs have no vision and have no idea how fast a 5 drop can be played if you build your deck right.
I got it. Against control late game, play a large Blue Sun's Zenith at the end of their to make them draw a bunch of cards. Then, play this on your turn and leave them with one card in their hand. Keep a Negate in case they try to counter. You just wiped their card advantage and you still have your Blue Sun's Zenith in your deck.
Captain_StarFleet
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
What I fail to understand is why people so quickly discredit this card.
Yes, it is expensive. Yes, you more than likely can't get it out until late game.
So what?
If you're running a U/B draw and discard deck, then this is perfect. It could even end the game.
Think about it, if you make your opponent draw 5 or 6 cards in one turn and then use this, end of game. (if you are running Liliana's Caress or Megrim )
I personally have a U/B deck that runs this. It has won many games.
This card, (like almost all others) is best used in combo with other cards. Simply looking at the card and saying it sucks, without actually going over the possible implications, is completely counterproductive. And that goes for any card.
What many fail to realize is that some cards are not "swiss army knives". Some cards do one thing, and that's it. This is one of those cards. It makes players discard, plain and simple.
LordRandomness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Cast it on yourself with a decently full hand from black draw.
"Wow, you're discarding all those awesome creatures? What card did you keep?" "Twilight's Call." "..."
Wahsayah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Really helps you to have your opponent discard their hand when your not running Mono Black. Sure it costs five mana total but the 3 of it is colorless. Since it shuts your opponent down of their opportunities with a larger hand, I use it with great success. Was able to get this spell out against a mono-white deck. This card single handedly deprived him of several life gaining/enchantment cards. It'll be in my deck for a long time to come yet based on how nice this is. :)
Geaxis
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Sweetest discard art I've seen.... Besides perhaps Cabal Therapy
Mike-C
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Question: "What do vermin cling to when all hope is lost?" Answer: -Sorin Markov. Hahaha love how the answer IS the asker.
shotoku64
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This deserves to be an instant. This card would see much more play and I don't think it would be OP
Raubhautz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Love the card, even if it costs 5. Against many decks, it is valuable at the endgame. I REALLY like the flavor text, especially the version in the MTG- Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 where the flavor text adds to Sorin's comment, "What do vermin cling to when all hope is lost? Let's find out."
steinburger1109
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Very powerful, but on turn five many deck types won't have that many cards left in their hand. 2.5/5
I don't know anyone who builds enough mana ramp to play this early enough into a control deck. Not to mention its been my experience that most games stall at certain mana amounts. Usually 3 or 4 and then you get that magical fifth to take it to the next level but 5 mana is too slow in most cases for this card to function well on its own. It really needs to be built around but I don't know that its powerful enough in and off itself to build a deck around where similar themed deck would probably just be better excluding it.
It was a 2v2 game. Looking back, I kinda feel guilty for ragequitting and leaving my partner. My emotions got the better of me, but I shall never forget the name Monomania.
ParallaxtheRevan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
It's different. Merely being different makes me want to exploit that difference somehow. Tell me anyone, is there some way that you might actually want to target yourself with this? I know about One With Nothing. What if you wanted to dump a bunch of cards in your graveyard but keep one in particular?
This does seem to be sounding quite like a Yu-Gi-Oh! combo, not a MAGIC one, but anyway I loved that show. :)
Joey Wheeler would rock this card and win a World Championship with it somehow doing something all you Kaibas with your 'real decks' would facepalm at and ask how the hell he got that far with such a shit deck.....xD
I drew one normal and one foil out of the same booster. I found the next one, containing Gideon Jura, quite better.
chiknstu
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"I really want to go "Swamp, Dark Ritual, Dark Ritual, Monomania!" on turn 1." statiefreez
I've been hit by this in a 3 way... I literally did nothing the rest of the game... :(
JundleFever
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I only really play edh, so I'm a bit biased, but I think this card deserves wayyyyy better. With all the card draws and ramp cards stuffed into nearly everyone's deck it's easy to get this out T2 or T3. it's also very easy to wait until someone with a reliquary tower or something just pulled a ton. I gave this 5/5 due to the looks on my friends faces when this card comes down, also, some sweet flavor text and art.
JohnNopants
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have a new appreciation for this card since I double Dark Ritual'ed then drop this guy. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but it was beautiful.
Comments (54)
I mean I haven't gotten to play it yet, but in the abstract this seems worse than Persecute, Three Tragedies, Fugue or Mind Sludge, unless they're hoarding cards behind a Reliquary Tower.
the only-very-marginal use i see is playing it on yourself for some kind of shenanigans like living dead or something.
"Mon-nom-min-na"! Do do do do.
Monomania! Do doo di do doo di do doo di do do do-do dooo!
Mono black will always have Mind Sludge, but all the Orzhovs and Golgaris could still use this card.
Also the flavor text seems out of place. "All hope is lost"?
Actually, there is one last spark of hope right on the opponent's hand.
Unless Sorin was being rhetorical and means that this last thought in the opponent's mind clings to desperation - but who would want a card in his deck that causes him desperation?
Apparently vermin cling to the best card in their hand, according to the flavour text..
Second round, make him discard 5, but I eventually lose since I only had 6 swamps, not one forest. (B/G)
I survived for around 6-7 turns longer than I should have thanks to monomania though.
Third round, diabolic tutor turn 4, monomania turn 5. I win.
Same went for the second match, 2-0 (one thanks to monomania). Over 5 games, I used it 4 times, and it discarded 21 cards.
It was a dead draw against aggro decks.. so I just sided it out against those.
Ended up 9th, could have gone top 8 but I failed epicly one game and gave away the victory. My deck was good and probably would have won most of the games monomania got for me, but damn it made me win hard.
Anyone who has run 4x Dark Ritual knows how much fun it is to play cards like this on turn one.
In most other scenarios, I would rather have Mind Rot or Mind Sludge. This card is really only effective in duels if you resolve it much earlier than turn 5 (say perhaps turn 2 or 3 with nuts acceleration) or when you resolve it very late in a stalemated game.
That being said, in M12 limited, which is where I would be most likely to main-deck this card, a well-placed Mind Rot or Smallpox is usually enough to ruin your opponent's game plan. This is not only overkill, but ineffective if not timed correctly.
Overall, meh. I would rather have seen Wit's End in this rare slot.
However, I can see some application of this card as a sideboard against another control deck that has Consecrated Sphinx running in it. If you are running control as well (you kinda of are if you are using this), then it might help you get the edge.
I guess you can argue that you could mana ramp into this spell, and that would be cool. Lets say you are playing Green/Black and you have black in just for control so you know what you Greens are up against. Mana ramping into this could help get it out on turn 4 or if you are amazing 3, but that is a fairy tail to be honest.
If you like this card here is what you need to due, use surgical extraction instead. You will put about the same number of cards in the grave than you would with this on turn five. And more importantly, it will be all the same thing.
Turn one inquisition, pick out Squadron hawk, activate surgical extraction. And shake hands because you probably just won.
Momomania get a 2.5 out of 5
(I play standard, and therefor base my reviews on standard)
Two Dark Rituals on turn 1 or 2, sure... but other than that, it doesn't seem like a very feasible choice for discarding. Under normal circumstances, your opponent will most likely have played most of his/her cards in hand by turn 5. Maybe when used with Sign in Bloods?
Meh.
2/5
this card is probably underrated
Use it with Mine, Mine, Mine!
Yes, it is expensive. Yes, you more than likely can't get it out until late game.
So what?
If you're running a U/B draw and discard deck, then this is perfect. It could even end the game.
Think about it, if you make your opponent draw 5 or 6 cards in one turn and then use this, end of game. (if you are running Liliana's Caress or Megrim )
I personally have a U/B deck that runs this. It has won many games.
This card, (like almost all others) is best used in combo with other cards. Simply looking at the card and saying it sucks, without actually going over the possible implications, is completely counterproductive. And that goes for any card.
What many fail to realize is that some cards are not "swiss army knives". Some cards do one thing, and that's it. This is one of those cards. It makes players discard, plain and simple.
"Wow, you're discarding all those awesome creatures? What card did you keep?"
"Twilight's Call."
"..."
Answer: -Sorin Markov.
Hahaha love how the answer IS the asker.
Personally I agree with most other in that I'd rather have Mind Sludge or Mind Rot in the same position. Maybe follow this up with Surgical Extraction.
I don't know anyone who builds enough mana ramp to play this early enough into a control deck. Not to mention its been my experience that most games stall at certain mana amounts. Usually 3 or 4 and then you get that magical fifth to take it to the next level but 5 mana is too slow in most cases for this card to function well on its own. It really needs to be built around but I don't know that its powerful enough in and off itself to build a deck around where similar themed deck would probably just be better excluding it.
Him: Swamp, Sol Ring.
*I play my land on my turn*
Him: Swamp, Dark Ritual, Monomania.
Me: "Daaaang! That's intense... I can handle this though. I've got hit with worse."
Him: Haunting Echoes
Me: FUUUUUUU
It was a 2v2 game. Looking back, I kinda feel guilty for ragequitting and leaving my partner. My emotions got the better of me, but I shall never forget the name Monomania.
LIVING DEATH?!
This does seem to be sounding quite like a Yu-Gi-Oh! combo, not a MAGIC one, but anyway I loved that show. :)
Joey Wheeler would rock this card and win a World Championship with it somehow doing something all you Kaibas with your 'real decks' would facepalm at and ask how the hell he got that far with such a shit deck.....xD
Or, you could just play a discard outlet-type card like Putrid Imp, Wild Mongrel, Faithless Looting, Careful Study, Thirst for Knowledge, Merfolk Looter, Compulsion, or Trained Pronghorn. These are all easier to cast, harder to counter, and don't require you pitch your whole darn hand.
I see no purpose to play it, other than to give your opponent an advantage...
That being said, Resurrection/Unearth/Madness/Flashback is viable with it.
Player 2: "Discard four Loxodon Smiters"
Player 1:"..."
statiefreez
I've been hit by this in a 3 way... I literally did nothing the rest of the game... :(