Rakdos Rakdos Charm exiles graveyards, and they put the hurt on faster than Golgari can defend it, much less set up.
Aside from a few gems, Golgari got shafted this set.
Continue
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(7 votes)
Strictly better than Cancel. Then again, a lot of things are. Still, 5/5.
TheWrathofShane
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(4 votes)
Strong and balanced card.
StyxTBeuford
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
The only reason I could see anyone using Cancel over this is to use things in the opponent's graveyard, with sorceries like Spelltwine. Cancel wouldn't be so bad if it was just 2 instead of 1. In most situations however, Dissipate is a straight upgrade to Cancel.
endersblade
★☆☆☆☆ (1.4/5.0)(5 votes)
This isn't 'strictly better' than cancel, I really wish you people would stop using that.
It's situational. The most obvious would be if you're playing a deck that runs on your opponent's graveyard, you wouldn't want his spells to get exiled, as you then wouldn't get any use from them.
Strictly better would be Counterspell vs Cancel. They do the same exact thing, only CS is cheaper. This has the same CMC as Cancel, and serves a specific purpose, just like Hinder.
KasaiAisu
★☆☆☆☆ (1.4/5.0)(5 votes)
@endersblade
Counterspell isn't 'strictly better' than Cancel, I really with you people would stop saying that.
It's situational. The most obvious would be if you're playing a deck that works around transmute and other CMC 3 cards, you'd want to be able to tutor for this with your Drift of Phantasms.
Floorsweeper
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'll never understand why people are scared of Eldrazi when cards like this exist.
Lifegainwithbite
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@Kasaiaisu: That scenario is ridiculously convoluted. In 99.9% of situations, Counterspell will be better than Cancel. Just because once in a thousand games in a certain deck, Cancel might be a little better does not make it any better than Counterspell.
strider24seven
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@ifegainwithbite Yes, Counterspell is better than Cancel 99.9% of the time. However, it is not strictly better... sometimes having a higher CMC is beneficial, as in the case of transmute cards, counterbalance, spellbound dragon, and so on.
Seriously, people, learn what the words "strictly better" means. See Shock vs Lightning Bolt. where the only time that you would want shock over LB is if your opponent plays Meddling Mage and names Lightning bolt. Same with Greatsword vs Vulshok Battlegear
atemu1234
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
@kasaiaisu Yes, counterspell is strictly better than cancel. People who disagree need to get off of gatherer. That is the poster-child for strictly better. Kind of like shock v lightning bolt. Strictly better refers to a card that fulfills one (or both) of the following parameters. A) It does the same thing for less mana. (this is situation 1. Counterspell v. Cancel.) B) It does the same thing +something that is considered good in almost all situations, not taking into account an opponent's actions. (IE, cantrip. No, just because you may have no cards in your library does not make cantrip a bad thing overall) Examples that look like it but aren't: Vapor Snag v. Unsummon. Why it looks like it: Oh hey, my opponent loses one life if I return his creature! Why it isn't: Your opponent's creatures are only one use for a card like unsummon. You can return your own creature to cast it again and reap the benefits of, say, a enter the battlefield ability.
Kamishini
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
At people arguing over Counterspell not being strictly better, everything you're throwing out is entirely situational. That wouldn't hold up in a court case, and you know it.
If you want to argue that though, then i say Isochron Scepter. In that situation, again, Counterspell is ALWAYS better. Not maybe, not sometimes, ALWAYS!
Voila! If you seriously continue to try your argument, though, I for sure will know you are trolls a that point.
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
How to define ''strictly'' better?
I think it should be: "If in 100% of Tier 1 Decks, and 90% of logical Casual Decks, you'd rather have a particular card for the same basic use over a particular other card, then it's strictly better".
Force of Will is strictly better than both Counterspell and Cancel and TO HELL with your corner cases where you're trying to exploit interesting "features". That's Johnny-Thinking. Johnny-Thinking DOES have its place in Magic, but "Strictly Better" is as SPIKE as it gets. Johnny and Spike are SOMETIMES friends but this is The Line:
"Will it make me win Better? Yes? It's strictly better.
No? Then what will make me win Better?"-- Spike
"Well you can build all kinds of decks that all do different kinds of things and they'd each want different types of specialized tools?"-- Johnny
"Listen you. I want to execute a Plan of some kind sure, but the Best Plans are simple. If more than three things need to go right for you, your plan sucks because banking on the opponent being stupid and letting you do what you want is dumb. I want the one-liner rules text cards, please, except when they make my spells faster and more inevitable, or give me cold hard math dominance, over resources. Luck is a resource which is why I play Fetch Lands. Where victory chances are continuously more and more conditional for my opponent until they don't have any REAL odds of winning. I want to have My Plan, I want Disrupt their Plan, and I want to do it Fast, by Surprise if I can or with Brute Force if I have to. The CONDITIONS under which your cards are better at 'Adding up to your Own Plan' create an Unwieldy Weapon that would never be useable in an actual combat situation. Johnny, what you make up for in Abnormally Large and Creative Brains (RAVENCLAW!), you lack in Intent to KILL." --Spike (SLYTHERIN!)
^This is a very EXTREME portrait of Spike, a Spike who for the purposes of argument refuses to use any other mindset BUT Spike. To ACHIEVE the Kill you Intend, you usually need to consult Timmy on good P/T mana ratios and Vorthos is invaluable in psych-reading your opponents: "Learn how they think. If you can tell what makes sense to them, I can tell you how to surprise them. I can tell you what their Flavor is and teach you how to be Unflavorful to them." (Spike-Vorthos is a Jerk XD)
Johnny-Vorthos can ALWAYS invent a new Weird Idea and try something Impertinently Clever....but Spike doesn't care and that doesn't change whether a card is Strictly Better or Not UNTIL you've scored a Real Kill with it. There. That's basically it. Strictly Better cards, are Cards that Achieve Kills or work in cohesion with other cards to Create a Kill. Kills are judged by their size, picking on someone's Axelrod Gunnarson Commander Deck isn't that big a Kill, taking out the other 7 in a Standard (or any format) GP Top 8 is a Big Kill.
Citz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hey strider24seven, if you seriously think that meddling mage is a valid argument for saying shock is better than lightning bolt, next you'll be telling me that Pillarfield Ox is better than Baneslayer Angel. Or how Haze Frog is better than Kalonian Hydra.
nunyaJs
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Almost always better than cancel. Like 99.999% of the time. Who cares I run with counter spell, Foil, and FoW.
syntheticbiology232
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The only way this would ever be a bad replacement to cancel is if your using someway to use the graveyard of your opponent such as Lazav Dimir Mastermind
Comments (16)
Selesnya
Bigger more efficient creatures than the swarm can handle, as well as access to Rest in Peace.
Azorius
Also have access to Rest in Peace, but also get Detention Sphere, and the mother of board wipes, Supreme Verdict.
Izzet
Annihilating Fire, this, as well as Mizzium Mortars for a boardwipe.
Rakdos
Rakdos Charm exiles graveyards, and they put the hurt on faster than Golgari can defend it, much less set up.
Aside from a few gems, Golgari got shafted this set.
It's situational. The most obvious would be if you're playing a deck that runs on your opponent's graveyard, you wouldn't want his spells to get exiled, as you then wouldn't get any use from them.
Strictly better would be Counterspell vs Cancel. They do the same exact thing, only CS is
Counterspell isn't 'strictly better' than Cancel, I really with you people would stop saying that.
It's situational. The most obvious would be if you're playing a deck that works around transmute and other CMC 3 cards, you'd want to be able to tutor for this with your Drift of Phantasms.
Yes, Counterspell is better than Cancel 99.9% of the time. However, it is not strictly better... sometimes having a higher CMC is beneficial, as in the case of transmute cards, counterbalance, spellbound dragon, and so on.
Seriously, people, learn what the words "strictly better" means. See Shock vs Lightning Bolt. where the only time that you would want shock over LB is if your opponent plays Meddling Mage and names Lightning bolt. Same with Greatsword vs Vulshok Battlegear
Strictly better refers to a card that fulfills one (or both) of the following parameters.
A) It does the same thing for less mana. (this is situation 1. Counterspell v. Cancel.)
B) It does the same thing +something that is considered good in almost all situations, not taking into account an opponent's actions. (IE, cantrip. No, just because you may have no cards in your library does not make cantrip a bad thing overall)
Examples that look like it but aren't:
Vapor Snag v. Unsummon.
Why it looks like it: Oh hey, my opponent loses one life if I return his creature!
Why it isn't: Your opponent's creatures are only one use for a card like unsummon. You can return your own creature to cast it again and reap the benefits of, say, a enter the battlefield ability.
If you want to argue that though, then i say Isochron Scepter. In that situation, again, Counterspell is ALWAYS better. Not maybe, not sometimes, ALWAYS!
Voila! If you seriously continue to try your argument, though, I for sure will know you are trolls a that point.
I think it should be: "If in 100% of Tier 1 Decks, and 90% of logical Casual Decks, you'd rather have a particular card for the same basic use over a particular other card, then it's strictly better".
Force of Will is strictly better than both Counterspell and Cancel and TO HELL with your corner cases where you're trying to exploit interesting "features". That's Johnny-Thinking. Johnny-Thinking DOES have its place in Magic, but "Strictly Better" is as SPIKE as it gets. Johnny and Spike are SOMETIMES friends but this is The Line:
"Will it make me win Better? Yes? It's strictly better.
No? Then what will make me win Better?"-- Spike
"Well you can build all kinds of decks that all do different kinds of things and they'd each want different types of specialized tools?"-- Johnny
"Listen you. I want to execute a Plan of some kind sure, but the Best Plans are simple. If more than three things need to go right for you, your plan sucks because banking on the opponent being stupid and letting you do what you want is dumb. I want the one-liner rules text cards, please, except when they make my spells faster and more inevitable, or give me cold hard math dominance, over resources. Luck is a resource which is why I play Fetch Lands. Where victory chances are continuously more and more conditional for my opponent until they don't have any REAL odds of winning. I want to have My Plan, I want Disrupt their Plan, and I want to do it Fast, by Surprise if I can or with Brute Force if I have to. The CONDITIONS under which your cards are better at 'Adding up to your Own Plan' create an Unwieldy Weapon that would never be useable in an actual combat situation. Johnny, what you make up for in Abnormally Large and Creative Brains (RAVENCLAW!), you lack in Intent to KILL." --Spike (SLYTHERIN!)
^This is a very EXTREME portrait of Spike, a Spike who for the purposes of argument refuses to use any other mindset BUT Spike. To ACHIEVE the Kill you Intend, you usually need to consult Timmy on good P/T mana ratios and Vorthos is invaluable in psych-reading your opponents: "Learn how they think. If you can tell what makes sense to them, I can tell you how to surprise them. I can tell you what their Flavor is and teach you how to be Unflavorful to them." (Spike-Vorthos is a Jerk XD)
Johnny-Vorthos can ALWAYS invent a new Weird Idea and try something Impertinently Clever....but Spike doesn't care and that doesn't change whether a card is Strictly Better or Not UNTIL you've scored a Real Kill with it. There. That's basically it. Strictly Better cards, are Cards that Achieve Kills or work in cohesion with other cards to Create a Kill. Kills are judged by their size, picking on someone's Axelrod Gunnarson Commander Deck isn't that big a Kill, taking out the other 7 in a Standard (or any format) GP Top 8 is a Big Kill.