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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day
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Chris
Gerhardt |
Isochron Scepter - This thing is really good.
We've seen it selling off our shelves like crazy.
Name an amazing low cost instant, slip it under
your scepter, and POOF... you have renewable
instants! Good times. Obviously, it's best
in constructed where you can build around it. But
it's also very usable if you have several decent
instants in limited. Not as easy to do in sealed,
but you can plan around it in draft.
Constructed:
4
Limited: 4
Current Price:
$4.50
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Judge
Bill
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The most popular
uncommon in Mirrodin, and for good reason. The
ability to copy Shocks, Boomerangs, Ancestral
Recalls, or any other card repeatedly is the
definition of card advantage. It will see play
in lockdown decks mainly in type 2, but is
worthy of a second look in any format.
In limited, copy
your Shatters or Electrostatic Bolts. Those are
the best 2 targets, and there isn't much depth
in that pool. If I had a powerful card to run
this, I might or might not, as the card might
not even show up or be used by the time you get
this.
Constructed: 4.75
Limited: 2.5
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Andy
Van Zandt |
Isochron Scepter
At least they made it uncommon so we're not
bleeding ourselves dry to get a
play set. There's too much you can do with this
card, chant/abeyance,
counterspell/memory lapse/boomerang, even an
incinerate under it is scary.
You don't even have to build the deck around the
card to consider including
it. I'm pretty sure i'm going to get tired of
seeing this card in play very
soon. In limited, they did a good job of keeping
a low cheap instant count
in mirrodin block so far, but shatter, terror,
electrostatic bolt, and
raise the alarm will all dominate a game anyways.
limited 3.5
constructed 3.8 |
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Danny Tatro |
Isochron Scepter
This card is the
talk of the town. Why is it always some random
uncommon that breaks every format? Lightning
Rift, Pyschatog... etc.
Well I must say
it has some potentially AMAZING uses. Counterspell,
Orim's Chant, Avoid Fate. Ok so that last one
isn't so good...or well known. ;)
Still this card
in constructed WILL see play somewhere somehow
someway... even if it doesn't work people will
attempt to use this.
In limited this
card is AMAZING still. It can easily be
destroyed, but play smart and lure your opponent
to waste their artifact destruction before you
drop your nasty infinite anything. Or just go
all-out and put something like Raise the
Alarm, Electrostatic Blot, Shatter, or
Predator's Strike. Just be aware how
much artifact removal your opponent is playing,
and how many ways you can abuse
it. It can easily help in mounds to win a
game!
Constructed: 4.5-4.0
Limited: 4.5-4.0
Either way its a bit
situational... but STILL MAN!! =)
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Spooks |
Isochron
Sceptre
I love this card. I
love it I love it I love it I love it I love
it!!!!
Holy day, Raise the
Alarm, Shatter, Shrapnel Blast, Shock, Flash
Counter, Mana leak, Terror, Smother,
Boomerang...BRAIN FREEZE!
I have not yet made
a mirrodin deck without a sceptre in it, and I
have made 3 decks where sceptre is the focus.
My favourite one is the Freezing Sceptre. Guys,
with a brain freeze on a sceptre, it isnt
uncommon for me to mill 9 cards a turn. It's
mcuh easier if I have other sceptres out, but
yeah. A second turn Sceptre witha holy day is
pretty mcuh game if there is no artifact removal
in the deck. If you holy day and freeze every
turn, assuming they didnt play any spells, thats
6 cards for 2 mana. BARGAIN!
Constructed, people
will be playign this everywhere. What I liek
about it is it isnt that much card
disadvantage. You risk losing your instant,
somethign you can use once, for a chance to use
it unlimited times (assuming you have mana). My
thre favourite cards to imprint are Holy Day,
Brain Freeze and Shrapnel blast. If you can get
a nuisance Machine going off with a shrapnel
blast imprinted...your opponent is on a 3 turn
clock.
Limited, it depends
on what you open. If you don't have any decent
instants, just tuck it away and be glad you can
make that deck you wanted to when you get home.
Constructed rating:
5 (Worried about shatter? Imprint flash
counter!)
Limited: 1 (if you
have noting) or 3 (if you have something)
I love it I lvoe it
I love it rating: Pretty darn high!
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Shaddock |
Isochron Specter
Entomb
Smother
Brain Freeze
Ancestral Recall
Obsessive Search
lightning bolt
boomerang
Unsummon
Mana Drain
Beserk
Counterspell
Brainstorm
Vampiric Tutor
Incinerate
Naturalize
Moment’s Peace
Terminate
Diabolic Edict
Wow, what an amazing card. I'm usually a good
spotter of broken cards and this is definitely
one of them. Mind you, it probably won’t
dominate the T2 format as it will in extended
and T1 (as it will probably get restricted and
banned) – imagine having an infinite
counterspell, or how about infinite boomerangs
for early lookdowns? A terminate every
turn…that’s just wrong! Ancestral recall…*drolls,
slaps himself, and wipes droll of the
keyboard*.Talk about having the most broken play
ever. I imagine mono blue players to be the ones
to be singing the most praises to wotc for this
card.
However, there is a half-empty glass
perspective, an apparent card disadvantage that
must be acknowledged. Let’s say you have an
ancestral recall (which is restricted btw). You
play this specter, you remove recall from your
hand, and your stuck with one copy. Now if your
opponenet was to naturalize specter, you’ve lost
an essential card (recall) AND the specter which
contributes to a ruined tempo.
However in T2 and block, this card will most
likely be largely ignored unless they print more
than a handful of <2 cc instants (unlikely).
Plus there’s a certain card disadvantage for
playing this card and there will be sure to be
an overwhelming number of artifact hate in
Mirrondin.
It could fit into Extended Psychatog. The deck
has everything it would need: tutoring, Wishes,
plenty of maindeck 2cc or less instants worth
copying (Counterspell, AK, Brainstorm, Smother,
even Memory Lapse if you want it). I think the
idea would be worth playtesting, but I strongly
suspect that this card is a "win more" card and
thus won't see much tournament play in any
format
It would also be quite a neat way for black to
solve its artifact and enchantment woes by
imprinting naturalize to this.
Could this be the card that breaks WotC’s color
wheel? Very interesting, it’s like soul foundry
for instants.
Constructed: 3.5
Type 1 and Extended (if not banned): 5.0
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