Pointed Discussion

Isn't this good? It's a great effect for its cost and it replaces itself...

Why is its score so low?

being a sorcery isn't helping

Very fun card to cast right before a finisher.

awsome if thehy dont counter it play your finisher if they do then you know they have another counter (other wise why counter this it would be a waste) and you jsut dont play your finisher. plus it replaces itself

considering that this is sorcery speed (meaning you can't cast it in response to anything) you could easily use silence orim's chant or autumn's veil as an almost always better alternative.

You're normally using this to secure a game winning spell, so the extra card doesn't mean anything.

@PolskiSuzeren:

Overmaster is red. Your three sugestions are all in colors other then red. It's not just about which one is 'better', but which one/s you can play with your deck's colors.

This card VERY powerful in decks that can win with one card.

Ignoring the first ability, this is one of red's cheapest card drawing spells. R for 1 card isn't bad by itself.

The only bad thing about this card is that it was printed as one of a pair of very narrow rares (the other one being Insist). One uncommon Guttural Response is wonderful; but if you need two rares in a small set doing nothing but hosing counterspells, it does bring up the question of why they made counterspells so overpowered in the first place.

(Fixed these days not by nerfing counterspells, but by buffing creatures.)

An excellent red spell for getting past those nasty counters and keeping card advantage. It is always fun to Quicken one of these onto another Instance for solid card advantage and a sure-fire hit.

It's a cheap red cantrip that gives the middle finger to FoW. Jeez you guys are greedy.

Turn 1, Personal Tutor for Overmaster.

Turn 2 Overmaster, resolves, Glimpse of Nature. I win.

That bluffing potential. By itself you can bait the opponent into panicking with a counter, and if they don't fall for it then you at least got to draw a card for R.

@PolskiSuzeren
I don't see how silence and orim's chant would be better options. If the spell you want to cast is an instant or sorcery, I'd say this is better.

The extra card DOES mean something. With this card, you can main-deck 1 or 2, and it wouldn't really hurt you that much. At worst, it's a 1 red mana cycle. What if the spell you want to cast WON'T end the game, but will make a huge difference? Drawing that card could mean you win later, but without it, you may not end up winning.

You can't respond to counterspells with orim's chant or silence. They may have other uses as a semi-timewalk, but I wouldn't say they are almost always better.

Autumn's veil is not a bad choice, but you pretty much have to keep it on your sideboard. It's still effective, but I'd still say it's not almost always better than this.

A3Kitsune: That argument has been invalid everywhere except, like Limited for practically ever.

Dual Lands. good decks are usually 2- or 3- colored.

A card's strength determines whether or not you play its color.
A card's color does not prevent you from making your deck strong.

For the record, I've changed my mind on whether the card is 'totally terrible' or not. I was right to have a problem with it, but wrong in putting my finger with what the problem is.


This and Quicken and probably Savage Summoning are mostly bad in most situations, EXCEPT where they are COMPLETELY AWESOME. The BIG issue is: there is no way to deny it: they flat-out increase the CMC of whatever you are actually trying to do. They turn a 4-mana good spell into a 5-mana great spell, or they turn a 2-mana threat into a 3-mana threat.

Time is Mana. Or something. Anything that makes spells cheaper is valued very highly, with Freeness of spells being the next best thing short of taking extra turns. Conversely, making a spell cost more mana is one of the biggest drawbacks you can give it, no matter how many Demon-like stat boosts you give it for the mana. THERE-fore, the best place to play Quicken, Overmaster, and Savage Summoning are in decks that can afford to pay much more mana for their spells in exchange for extra security or extra raw juice.

I can only think of one place this is true, but it is at least the perfect place. Commander is the format built precisely so that cards like these find homes, get played, and shine. They stop being traps and empty promises, and start delivering. :)

This is not a terrible spell. At the very worst, it's cycling for a single . At best, it can protect your game-winning spell. It is a super narrow design, however, and that makes it inflexible in a time when creatures are much better than spells most of the time. However, it does have its place in certain kinds of decks, especially in a meta with many hard counters.