With everything else getting slowed down for the next little while, Lightning Bolt nerfed to Shock, Giant Growth nerfed to Titanic Growth, going from Duress to Distress isn't that bad and probably got the best result of the re-balance. Gives casual discard decks a nice curve:
Love the new Gulliver's Travels themed art. Very nicely drawn, good shadows.
Gelzo
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(14 votes)
Ha ha, I've got nothing but lands!
;_;
GoblinNaysayer93
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(9 votes)
I love the flavor text.
TheSwarm
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(7 votes)
I really really don't like the thought of paying two mana. The thing is with duress and inquisition is they could be played turn one. turn one inquisition into turn two mana leak is a ridiculously powerful play for the control player, But you don't get that versatility with this card. The fact that you can take any card is nice, though. I think the proper discard split come october is prob ably some sort of 3/4X Despise, 1X distress. I haven't played with this card at all yet, so I could very well be wrong. This topdecked is sure a hell of a lot better than some discard spells, though.
Enemy_Tricolor
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(7 votes)
Beautiful design. I'll gladly pay the extra in order to grab anything nonland out of an opponent's hand. Great artwork, and I always like black cards with a sense of humor.
This is a completely acceptable tradeoff for Duress.
BastianQoU
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Dear lord, I love this card's art and flavor.. and 2cmc to force a discard of nearly anything. I like.
ObsceneMartyr
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I always thought Mire's toll was the best one yet, but this one is great. Anytime I can choose what goes, you're going to have a bad day.
Seems almost like the flavor text is making fun of the art.
tcollins
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Fantastic artwork, can get rid of combo pieces and removes allowed you to know what removal your opponent has in hand and play accordingly around it. I find it interesting that unlike Duress this card has "target player" meaning that if you really need to discard something (for whatever reason, lets say discarding an Emrakul, The Aeons Torn to shuffle your graveyard into your library against a mill deck) you could...that being said you'd probably have to be pretty desperate since it would essentially be a 2-for-1 against yourself, and you'd reveal your own hand to your opponent.
Good card, creepy art, wondrous flavour text.
ZestuXIII
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I miss Thoughtsieze. So much. I suppose this isn't bad for Standard, though, better than Duress and Despise, except you aren't going to get a peak at their hand turn 1 without Gitaxian Probe. As far as Targeted Hand Destruction goes, I'd give it 5/5 for versatility. But its expense is 3/5, for color weight and CMC. Going middle-ground here, 4/5.
SorianSadaskan
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(5 votes)
Distress fits the card name PERFECTLY.
Imagine your sister, your mother, OR your girlfriend just want to pick up the most unwanted subject you want hear, or to DO.
Mind you, if you've been shop-gazing with your mother or girlfriend for too long, only to found out a little man crawling out of your head, THAT's when you know you need to see a doctor.
Not only does this provide a broader card choice, but I think most have over looked flexibility this provides with player choice; Duress and Despise only target opponents. You can target yourself with this! Granted that this isn't always useful but it adds a nice ripple to the current discard-spell roster. Especially in today's meta.
DacenOctavio
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Discard is not really playable in standard at the moment (barring Liliana of the Veil). Slow, inefficient compared to Castigate and Tidehollow Sculler, and almost certainly requiring a commitment to Mono Black, this card has been printed past its usefulness.
I'd much rather play Liliana's Specter because it's going to either bait a counter, eat two cards including a removal spell, or chip them down and advance my clock while slowing them down. Not to mention the recursion potential with Sun Titan, Reveillark, and a Zombify or Unearth effect.
If I'm playing 2 cmc discard, it better do a lot more than put one card into a graveyard. I understand this is a common, but Duress was perfectly fine in its place. For now, the best 1 mana hand reveal option in Standard looks to be Gitaxian Probe if that's what you're really after.
This card's effect can be made to target you, even when you don't want it to. If that happens, you have to discard a card - even when you don't want to.
On the other hand: yes, if you want to get a card from your hand to your graveyard, this card can help with that.
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I just want them to settle on Duress or Distress, and not move back and forth too much. We aren't likely to get Lightning Bolt printed frequently, but you see this in the Counterspells enough: They print a lot of 1- and 2- cost cards that are close to each other in OK-ness and then give a few different Counterspells the chance to be good now and again. Deprive will be in a Core Set eventually I'm sure. Mana Leak 's been in a number of times.
This -won't- be like Incinerate vs. Lightning Bolt vs. Shock I think- I think we are plain stuck with Shock for a good long while as 'the Red Unsummon' (one-mana creature answering thingy). I just want Wizards to actually stick solidly with Duress and Distress for a while, instead of make up new Discard spells or give us a worse Distress to annoy us with.
Watching these Core Set commons change over time is actually very Interesting, if sometimes Irritating to see what they saddle us with. :P
I think Duress, Rancor, and Lightning Bolt are all viewed as being at similar fairnesses by WOTC though. Which is a bit of a shame for Duress, but probably correct to limit the other two. Duress is fine to have every year. They're just not gonna do that.
Comments (25)
T1: Swamp, Despise
T2: Swamp, Distress
T3: Swamp, Mind Rot
Wonderful art too. 4/5
;_;
This is a completely acceptable tradeoff for Duress.
Good card, creepy art, wondrous flavour text.
I suppose this isn't bad for Standard, though, better than Duress and Despise, except you aren't going to get a peak at their hand turn 1 without Gitaxian Probe.
As far as Targeted Hand Destruction goes, I'd give it 5/5 for versatility. But its expense is 3/5, for color weight and CMC. Going middle-ground here, 4/5.
Imagine your sister, your mother, OR your girlfriend just want to pick up the most unwanted subject you want hear, or to DO.
Mind you, if you've been shop-gazing with your mother or girlfriend for too long, only to found out a little man crawling out of your head, THAT's when you know you need to see a doctor.
I'd much rather play Liliana's Specter because it's going to either bait a counter, eat two cards including a removal spell, or chip them down and advance my clock while slowing them down. Not to mention the recursion potential with Sun Titan, Reveillark, and a Zombify or Unearth effect.
If I'm playing 2 cmc discard, it better do a lot more than put one card into a graveyard. I understand this is a common, but Duress was perfectly fine in its place. For now, the best 1 mana hand reveal option in Standard looks to be Gitaxian Probe if that's what you're really after.
Can this be the fabled power anto-creep?
On the other hand: yes, if you want to get a card from your hand to your graveyard, this card can help with that.
This -won't- be like Incinerate vs. Lightning Bolt vs. Shock I think- I think we are plain stuck with Shock for a good long while as 'the Red Unsummon' (one-mana creature answering thingy). I just want Wizards to actually stick solidly with Duress and Distress for a while, instead of make up new Discard spells or give us a worse Distress to annoy us with.
Watching these Core Set commons change over time is actually very Interesting, if sometimes Irritating to see what they saddle us with. :P
I think Duress, Rancor, and Lightning Bolt are all viewed as being at similar fairnesses by WOTC though. Which is a bit of a shame for Duress, but probably correct to limit the other two. Duress is fine to have every year. They're just not gonna do that.
4.5/5