Cancel does the job without the risk of the opponent actually spending {4}, with the same CMC. I like the flavor text though. 3/5
jeff-heikkinen
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Compare this card to Mana Leak. Paying one extra mana just to get the opponent to pay one extra as well isn't good at all! This does have an advantage over Cancel in being splashable, but I don't think that matters much; people don't really splash counters anyway. But I wouldn't run this if Mana Leak were also available, splashed or otherwise.
Kryptnyt
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(6 votes)
Come back, you fools! Everyone knows viashinos suck at magic!
izzet_guild_mage
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
It was funny, when this set came out, people were so used to playing around Mana Leak that this thing countered a good many spells by the margin of one mana available XD
Vedalken_Arbiter
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Try Hindering Touch instead. It does pretty much everything this one does and more.
Test-Subject_217601
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Actually, this card is better than Cancel/Counterspell in some cases, it basically makes your opponent choose between playing another spell that turn or getting the spell they already played to resolve.
DacenOctavio
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
The point of cards like these lies in the Magical Hack + Lifetap combo. Do they really want to cast a spell, or are you just going to gain ridiculous amounts of life? Or with Manabarbs.
NoobOfLore
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
@Test-Subject_217601 Why is it better to have your opponent make that choice instead of you? Or, at the very least, instead of it being made randomly based on the situation? It's the same difference between random discard and chosen discard.
Imperialstonedragon
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
with 4 to pay nearly a hard counter... nearly
Pontiac
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Not bad, not great either.
Polychromatic
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I love the flavor of this spell.
"You wanna cast that spell? Alright, but it's going to be VERY complicated..."
JFM2796
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Seems about average. Probably on par with cancel, simply for the less saturation. By that point the only time you would need to worry about them paying the is late game or if they play a little guy, and at the point they can play a one drop with four lands untapped the thing is probably not going to do much.
Paolino
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It is practically a less mana-intensive Cancel. Not bad...
skorpionrazor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is great for two color decks full of basic lands. Become a Lizard or pay 4 !
Wormfang
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@JFM2796 2 Dragonmaster outcast begs to differ in your assessment of late game 1-drop potential
leomistico
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The original Ravnica block did a ton of good things, but it didn't have a mono-color hard counter! Not only one!
Convolute: not hard counter Frazzle: target limitation, and overcosted Induce Paranoia: needs black to do something that justify the high mana cost Muddle the Mixture: limited to instant/sorcery Remand: really good to gain tempo, but not exactly an hard counter Runeboggle: not an hard counter Spell Snare: target limitation
I would have really liked to see something like Hinder, Dissipate, Dismal Failure, Dismiss, hell, even Cancel! Moreover, the only guild that didn't get an hard counter is Izzet... It only gets Odds! This fact still bothers me...!
This one is a variant of Mana Leak that can surprise an opponent prepared to pay , but not . It's not a bad card, but not good enough... 2.5/5
Comments (17)
Why is it better to have your opponent make that choice instead of you? Or, at the very least, instead of it being made randomly based on the situation?
It's the same difference between random discard and chosen discard.
"You wanna cast that spell? Alright, but it's going to be VERY complicated..."
Convolute: not hard counter
Frazzle: target limitation, and overcosted
Induce Paranoia: needs black to do something that justify the high mana cost
Muddle the Mixture: limited to instant/sorcery
Remand: really good to gain tempo, but not exactly an hard counter
Runeboggle: not an hard counter
Spell Snare: target limitation
I would have really liked to see something like Hinder, Dissipate, Dismal Failure, Dismiss, hell, even Cancel! Moreover, the only guild that didn't get an hard counter is Izzet... It only gets Odds! This fact still bothers me...!
This one is a variant of Mana Leak that can surprise an opponent prepared to pay
2.5/5