So it is pretty much "Play the spell on the top of your (shuffled) deck for free, repeat via Storm." That is...amazing. Pretty high cost, so storming could be a bit difficult, but it could be worked around. Damn that's nice.
UNBAN_SHAHRAZAD
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(8 votes)
Sick. The entire Storm mechanic is broken and this is exhibit 1.
Mill_Master
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(6 votes)
This not the broken storm card. Brain Freeze is broken. I played a guy once who used affinity for artifacts such as Ornithopter, Frogmite and Myr Enforcer combined with Cranial Plating, Glimpse of Nature and Thoughtcast to draw an unnecessary amount of cards, play them for nothing and hit you with a Brain Freeze to mill you for 40 cards. Was seriously unexpected.
LeoKula
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I prefer Temporal Aperture.
wolfbear2
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
THE BEST CARD EVER!!! How could you not like it? How could you prefer anything to it? Easy to brake and doing so feels so good yet so bad }:)
Lateralis0ne
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(5 votes)
Mill_Master, I have a friend who's artifact deck could pull off an infinite mill combo with Brain Freeze by turn two on a good day. Disgusting, but awesome to watch.
Ritius
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(4 votes)
This card is unlocked by all those Urza Block cards that untap your lands.
The most broken part is when you get it on top of your library from another Mind's Desire, and start the shuffling all over, but with twice the storm count. This card usually builds some solid decks with a very high win percentage.
kusumoto
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
There is absolutely no comparison whatsoever between this card and Brainfreeze. Tendrils of Agony and Empty the Warrens are both far superior to Brainfreeze. This card just takes the cake though. In a good deck it only takes 5-6 storm to make casting this an auto-win. That's generally produced by the acceleration used to play it anyway. Brainfreeze is going to always take at the very least 14 storm to win. The card is terrible. You can win on turn three with a 5+ storm Empty the Warrens in most situations and it takes no more than 9 to kill with Tendrils.
This card is absurd in vintage.
OrggKillah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(5 votes)
the oracle should say "cast" not "play"
Studoku
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(6 votes)
I'd insist that my opponent shuffled their deck for each storm. By the time it's finished, their deck will have disintegrated by the sheer mount of shuffling.
Gibbons
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I use it with a bunch of seemingly useless artifacts that cost 0 to begin a time loop with Timestretch and Reminisce. I take turn after turn until I can pile 20 counters on the Darksteel Reactor. Its pretty boring for your opponent though.
No it shouldn't, OrggKillah. There can be land in your library, believe it or not.
Dragon23
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Hey Orggkillah, you would really like this card to cast stuff for free and uncounterable? Cool, let's put in Emrakul for a free Time Walk, or any other cast ability. Cool choice there. You'll still get ETB abilities, and more storm count too, so that's just amazing.
Kindulas
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(11 votes)
i was thinking "wow this cards suck you have to shuffle your library so you can't scry too? i mean OH MY GOD STORM"
GrimjawxRULES
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(7 votes)
@OrggKillah:You cast non-land (spells) cards, and you play land cards. In the event that the card type is unspecified, the term "play" is used, using the logic that you play a card
@Dragon23: I don't know if you're aware of this, but "casting" and "playing" is essentially the same thing, only the term differs from the cards in question. As I wrote earlier, you cast non-land (spells) cards, and you play land cards. In the event that the card type is unspecified, the term "play" is used. Also, playing something does not make it uncounterable (lands don't go to the stack anyway), and Mind's Desire already allows you to play the exiled cards for free. And regarding your example with Emrakul - as a matter of fact you do get an extra turn. Though Mind's Desire tells you to "play" the exiled cards, it still counts as casting them, which in turn means that "playing" Phage the Untouchable with Mind's Desire causes you to lose the game.
Regarding the card itself, I think it's pretty busted. I've seen so many people win the game on the back of this card, and it really is one of the craziest Storm cards ever printed. I also remember great play from the Grand Prix Kobe finals two years ago where Yuuya Watanabe cast a Mind's Desire, put the storm copies on the stack and used Remand to return the original Mind's Desire to his hand and draw a card, only to replay it with double the storm counts afterwards. Needless to say he won that game.
If you're opponent doesn't have Mindbreak Trap, then not even the Rules Manager can save them from KNOWLEDGE POOL+ MIND'S DESIRE!!!!
Nagoragama
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
whoops I accidentally the whole magic
Kryptnyt
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Ban in Legacy + Restriction in Vintage = Good card!
LordRandomness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I know how powerful this thing is, but I'd be afraid to use it just on the staggeringly low chance that it pulls all land.
blunt_shark
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
dude. wtf is this card?!?!
Shard_Fenix
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I played a game today and the following happened: My teammate and I were about to die next turn to a reanimator deck and clone deck. Partner had nothing, so I stormed MD up to 3. One of our opponents said "Aww, mind's desire for 3. That's cute." After shuffling, I asked if they wanted to cut the deck. The same guy cut the bottom card to the top, then I revealed it. It was the singleton Dragonstorm. I tutored 4 Bogardan Hellkites and won.
ElCarl
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hope you like shuffling.
zenitramleirdag
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
you don't need to play the deck to realize this card's power..this card should indeed belong to the banned/restricted list..
the card's so great that people forget to realize how beautiful the artwork is! its so surreal! there's like a mermaid, a spiked-dog, a huge monster with tentacles, and some flying dolphin/manta ray/shark-like creatures in the background..
Toiletmonsta
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
if you run this card with a couple high tide and alot of untap mana cards then your home free just double brainfreeze and your good
Pope_Smotage
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(5 votes)
Whenever I play this spell, my deck gets well shuffled. WELL SHUFFLED INDEED.
Sallucianious
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My Wanderer Commander Deck loves this card. Especially if this card is hit on the second cascade. :3
Tzenmoroth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I put this in my Maelstrom Wanderer EDH deck, even got the foil judge promo... Ya, its busted. Less so in 100 Singleton but if I Brainstorm it into the second cascade, ya... also: Omniscience and Venser, Shaper Savant. Sure its dumb but theres nothing more fun than exiling your library and casting ALL the things! 5/5 for being such a fun, lawlsy Commander card despite breaking Legacy/Vintage while it was legal.
Antsache
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Reading this card for the first time, I'm sure pretty much ALL of us had the exact same thought process:
"Six CMC and blue? LOL, how many extra turns does this give me? ... Wait, I get to maybecast one spell? For six mana? Trash rare. ... Wait, what's that? ... wut."
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@kusomoto While they utilize the same technique, I still find Brainfreeze to be quite usable. Note that it's not banned/restricted, so it's much more usable in the appropriate formats ;)
To this card; it's fraggin' good; but i can honestly say I have no idea on what you put in your deck to make it work. I feel like something like Temporal Extortion says "win the game" more than this; but I know this wins games.. From the comments it seems that this is made more for multicolored decks?
strider24seven
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@kusomoto "Brainfreeze is going to always take at the very least 14 storm to win. The card is terrible." ... ... ... Troll much? 14 Storm is pretty trivial.
And I'm pretty damn sure that brain freeze is an alternate win-con for a lot of blue decks that cast a lot of spells, especially in legacy. Omni-show runs it with Petals of Insight in case they whiff with Emrakul or Griselbrand, and High Tide runs it alongside Blue Sun's Zenith in case they are short on mana but high on storm by the time they hit Cunning Wish.
Besides, Tendrils of Agony-based storm decks have the distinct disadvantage of not being able to effectively run essential counters, like Force of Will or Daze due to them not being blue and due to the fact that they would get nuked by showing FoW during an Ad Nauseam dive. Although B/R storm can run discard mechanics like Duress, Thoughseize, or Inquisition of Kozilek to make up for that.
And on the topic of Mind's Desire: Yes, it's that good. If you want a good time, try playing it in a U/G French 1v1 EDH deck where the win con is this, Fastbond, and Hedron Crab.
Combofriend
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One of my favourite finishers! Insane with cantrips and card drawing! 4.5/5
GiganticQPunch
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My god. Dat Sturm. We need this in modern, my body needs this in life.
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The artwork is no more confusing than the fact somebody thought this card was balanced.
Lord_Egotist
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Play Cloudstone Curio, then use Crimson Kobolds, Crookshank Kobolds and/or Kobolds of Kher Keep so whenever you play one of the kobolds, you take another back. Then when you play this, just pick up your deck and throw it at your opponent. And if you have Brainfreeze in there, throw your opponent's deck too.
Comments (38)
The most broken part is when you get it on top of your library from another Mind's Desire, and start the shuffling all over, but with twice the storm count. This card usually builds some solid decks with a very high win percentage.
This card is absurd in vintage.
nuff said...
@Dragon23: I don't know if you're aware of this, but "casting" and "playing" is essentially the same thing, only the term differs from the cards in question. As I wrote earlier, you cast non-land (spells) cards, and you play land cards. In the event that the card type is unspecified, the term "play" is used.
Also, playing something does not make it uncounterable (lands don't go to the stack anyway), and Mind's Desire already allows you to play the exiled cards for free. And regarding your example with Emrakul - as a matter of fact you do get an extra turn. Though Mind's Desire tells you to "play" the exiled cards, it still counts as casting them, which in turn means that "playing" Phage the Untouchable with Mind's Desire causes you to lose the game.
Regarding the card itself, I think it's pretty busted. I've seen so many people win the game on the back of this card, and it really is one of the craziest Storm cards ever printed. I also remember great play from the Grand Prix Kobe finals two years ago where Yuuya Watanabe cast a Mind's Desire, put the storm copies on the stack and used Remand to return the original Mind's Desire to his hand and draw a card, only to replay it with double the storm counts afterwards. Needless to say he won that game.
Also Hive Mind, Eye of the Storm, and Wild Evocation. And Warp World. And....
It wins by being so insane, that when I asked Rules Manager Matt Tabak how it worked, he said
Mindbreak Trap.
If you're opponent doesn't have Mindbreak Trap, then not even the Rules Manager can save them from KNOWLEDGE POOL+ MIND'S DESIRE!!!!
My teammate and I were about to die next turn to a reanimator deck and clone deck. Partner had nothing, so I stormed MD up to 3. One of our opponents said "Aww, mind's desire for 3. That's cute." After shuffling, I asked if they wanted to cut the deck. The same guy cut the bottom card to the top, then I revealed it. It was the singleton Dragonstorm. I tutored 4 Bogardan Hellkites and won.
the card's so great that people forget to realize how beautiful the artwork is! its so surreal! there's like a mermaid, a spiked-dog, a huge monster with tentacles, and some flying dolphin/manta ray/shark-like creatures in the background..
"Six CMC and blue? LOL, how many extra turns does this give me?
...
Wait, I get to maybecast one spell?
For six mana?
Trash rare.
...
Wait, what's that?
...
wut."
While they utilize the same technique, I still find Brainfreeze to be quite usable. Note that it's not banned/restricted, so it's much more usable in the appropriate formats ;)
To this card; it's fraggin' good; but i can honestly say I have no idea on what you put in your deck to make it work. I feel like something like Temporal Extortion says "win the game" more than this; but I know this wins games.. From the comments it seems that this is made more for multicolored decks?
"Brainfreeze is going to always take at the very least 14 storm to win. The card is terrible."
...
...
...
Troll much? 14 Storm is pretty trivial.
And I'm pretty damn sure that brain freeze is an alternate win-con for a lot of blue decks that cast a lot of spells, especially in legacy. Omni-show runs it with Petals of Insight in case they whiff with Emrakul or Griselbrand, and High Tide runs it alongside Blue Sun's Zenith in case they are short on mana but high on storm by the time they hit Cunning Wish.
Besides, Tendrils of Agony-based storm decks have the distinct disadvantage of not being able to effectively run essential counters, like Force of Will or Daze due to them not being blue and due to the fact that they would get nuked by showing FoW during an Ad Nauseam dive. Although B/R storm can run discard mechanics like Duress, Thoughseize, or Inquisition of Kozilek to make up for that.
And on the topic of Mind's Desire:
Yes, it's that good.
If you want a good time, try playing it in a U/G French 1v1 EDH deck where the win con is this, Fastbond, and Hedron Crab.