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Pojo's Duel Masters Card of the Day
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Image from
Wizards Duel Master site |
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Mana Nexus
Rampage
Date Reviewed: 8.30.04
Constructed
Average Rating: 4.83
Limited Average Rating: 4.35
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ... average.
5 is the highest rating. |
cecillbill
(Top 4 at
2004 GenCon
Championship) |
MANA NEXUS
In my humble opinion, Mana Nexus is the best Rampage
of the Super Warriors spell, and one of the top 5
cards from the set. I'd venture to say it's the best
card of the set, but then I'd get reams of hate mail
from people telling me that I spend too much time
standing on my head. Of course they'd be right
because standing on my head helps me find loose
change under chairs
and I do it a lot on the weekends. But, just for the
record, I am not going to say that it's the best
card in the set and will stick to saying that its
definitely worth playing in any deck that runs
Nature. This "shield setting via mana robbing" spell
has come in handy more than enough times to warrant
my admiration.
PROS:
#1 Another shield. The benefits of gaining another
shield--often the "just saved my tail because I
slapped down Holy Awe" extra shield--shouldn't even
have to be discussed. You've all wished at some
point that you had "just one
more shield" to hang into the game long to pull the
win. You know, the win that would have come had you
drawn your next card and...blah blah blah.
Well, stop wishing. Mana Nexus can fish that 1st
turn Holy Awe mana drop and
put it into your shield zone where it belongs. Sure
your opponent knows its coming, but who cares if the
card you slap down is going to hurt him. Having
this sort of 'divine intervention' to save you when
times are bad is what the Greeks called "deus ex
machina," or a god who descends in a stage machine
to straighten out the mess humans have made. In the
case of Duel Masters, that would translate into a
shield trigger that saves you when you're about to
have your grand exit from the game. "Deus ex machina"
might be bad for Greek tragedies, since it signals
weak climax writing, but it's great for you. If cast
early in the game, you might have anywhere from 6-8
shields before an opponent knocks one down.
#2 Annoyance factor. Yes, that's a plus. Anything
that causes my opponent's plays to become hampered
is good for me. That one extra shield could mean the
difference between your opponent winning and you
coming home with the prize. Want to make your
opponent pull his hair out in frustration from not
being able to keep you down? If Mana Nexus is in
your shield zone and broken, then pop another Mana
Nexus into your shield zone if you have it in your
mana zone. Maybe that will keep you in the game long
enough to drop a Terror Pit or Natural Snare into
your mana zone for the second Nexus to set.
Good, clean fun had by all. Well, maybe just you.
#3 Trigger spell, affordable hard-casting cost. 4
mana to lose one mana might seem pricey, but it's
not. That one mana you're losing gets a great new
home in your shield zone. Make the spell count. Put
a shield trigger into the zone with Mana Nexus. I've
even put Dimension Gate down when presented with no
other options.
CONS:
#1 Loss of 1 mana. Sometimes if you hard cast Mana
Nexus on your 4th turn you can set your startegy
back a bit if you don't have or can't get to your
mana acceleration.
#2 Timing. Sometimes Mana Nexus pops off the trigger
when you don't have ideal choices for a card to zap
from your mana zone and place into your shields.
#Lack of surprise. Your opponent knows what that new
shield is and will plan
accordingly (read: hit that shield last).
OVERALL IMPRESSION:
Mana Nexus works in any deck running Nature. It's
super great in my favorite
build, Water/Nature with Terror Pits splashed,
because it opens up options for ensuring that the
shield is more effective. While the spell at times
can
be "dead" in the hand or off the trigger--when you
don't have any good spells to slap into your shield
zone--just being able to add another shield down
helps. Mana Nexus is best when you have lots of mana
to play with and shield trigger spells to choose
with it.
FORMAT RATINGS:
Overall: 5/5. For any deck running
Nature--especially with great shield trigger
spells--add aat least 2 Mana Nexus for that extra
protection factor.
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Joe
(Top 4 -
2004 GenCon
Championship) |
Mana Nexus
Wow. This is just about the most playable card that
I’ve seen in the Rampage expansion.
For a cost of four, add a card from your mana zone
to your shields. How many times have you dumped a
Terror Pit, Holy Awe, or a Natural Snare as mana
first turn? Suddenly those shield triggers are
useable. The Nexus is even a shield trigger, so it
can form chains of shields if you have others as
mana. For example: your opponent hits a Nexus shield
trigger, you add a Nexus from the mana zone. Soon it
looks like Nexus, Nexus, Nexus, SNARE!!
The only drawback is that it eats mana, but a
typical nature deck shouldn’t have trouble with
this. This drawback of mana fuel also means that
playing it early game can cripple you by killing
much-needed mana. Bottom line? Use it to snag a
trigger when you can afford it.
Constructed: 5/5 (more shields = good)
Limited: 4/5 (less shield triggers in
|
Bill Gill
(aka Pojo) |
Pojo Review:
I probably would have given Mana Nexus 3 to 3.5
before the Gen Con Tournament, but seeing blue/green
decks using this card in the late game changed me
mind. My opponents were putting down really good
shield triggers, or even another Mana Nexus. One
game I remember setting off 8 shields before I got
through for victory. Another game, I set off 7
shields, and lost.
I’m sold! And it’s an uncommon, so even the poor
folk can get 4 of these pretty easily.
Pojo’s Overall Rating: 4.5
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