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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day
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Image from Wizards.com |
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Mana
Leak
8th Edition Common
Reviewed July 30, 2004
Constructed: 3.6
Casual: 2.2
Limited: 2.6
Ratings are
based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ...
average.
5 is the highest rating
Click here to see all
our
Card of the Day Reviews
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Chris
Gerhardt
*
game store owner in CA,
ShuffleAndCut |
The new idea of what
counterspell should be, honestly. While
Counterspell was a staple until 8th Edition rolled
in, Control had become....well, out of control.
For many opponents, it just made the game not fun, and
honestly, we've seen a jump in the number of
players since it's leaving the environment allowed
other archetypes to flourish. Control isn't
gone, it's just taken a new form, often in other
colors or combinations of colors, and sometimes
not even including Blue. I think it's nice
(and necessary) for the livelihood of M:TG.
In Constructed, in the
absence of Counterspell, it's a
mainstay for Blue based control/permission. Obviously, it's better early game than late, when
it's useless against Urzatron and other mana
mongering variants. In casual, permission is rarely a
theme except in the extreme...Mana Leak does not
qualify. In limited, it's okay if you are
already going Blue.
Constructed:
3.5
Casual: 1.5
Limited: 3
Current Price:
Mana Leak
- 8th Edition - $0.99
Combos
Well With:
Counterspell -
7th Edition - $0.97
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Judge
Bill
*Level 2
MTG Judge
*game store employee
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Finally, a
counterspell war to end the week. Mana Leak is
superior in almost every instance where you may
want either of these cards. The question is, do
they have 3 mana (to pay for the Mana Leak)? If
not, then Mana Leak is far superior, as it
outright counters the spell, instead of letting
them cast is again next turn. If they have the
mana to pay for the Mana Leak, then what happens
next turn when they draw the card again when you
Memory Lapse it? 99% of the time, Lapsing the
spell will make absolutely no difference
whatsoever. Thus, it is just as dead as Mana
Leak would be in that situation.
In casual, they just
play Counterspell anyway, so why bother with
these?
In limited, I don't
like counters. Neither would be very effective
outside the first few turns here, so why bother
playing either of them?
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 1
Limited: 1.5
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Jonathan
Pechon
2 Grand
Prix Top 8's
Multiple Pro Tour
appearances |
Mana Leak
This has been used
over and over since it was printed and is now used
to symbolize what the balanced 2-mana counterspell
should look like. While a great number of people
still lament Counterspell, this has proven to be
more than adequate for a great number of decks in
the current environment. Some people see this as
strictly inferior to Counterspell; others actually
argue that it’s superior due to its friendliness
in two-or-more-color decks. Either argument you
use, it’s still an exceptional card in use in a
slew of environments.
Counterspells are poor
in casual games; it’s still quite decent in Mental
Magic.
While you don’t tend
to want to hold mana back during the early turns
of the game in draft, this still works after you
drop a couple of early attackers to keep those
nasty tempo-changing spells from killing off your
critters. It’s efficient and does the job most of
the time; don’t be ashamed to pick this.
Constructed: 4.0
Casual: 1.5
Limited: 3.5
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Jeff Zandi
5 Time Pro Tour
Veteran
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Mana Leak
In a world without a true Counterspell for UU,
Mana Leak is the best counter
spell there is. Early in a game, the part that
usually matters the most,
requiring a player to ante up another three mana
in order to avoid a spell
being countered by Mana Leak is such a problem
that in the early game, you
can consider Mana Leak to be a "hard counter" most
of the time. Mana Leak is
fine in limited play as well, but generally only
good in numbers, where you
can count on having one early in the game as often
as not.
CONSTRUCTED: 3.5
CASUAL: 3.5
LIMITED: 3.0 |
Ray
"Monk"
Powers
* Level 3 DCI Judge
*DCI Tournament Organizer |
Mana Leak (vs. Memory
Lapse)
This one was very
interesting to me. I am not a fan of Memory Lapse,
but I see its strength as a tempo card, and a card
playable in so many other decks, like combo decks
and decks with mana denial like Winter or Static
Orb. Mana Leak can have the same benefits for mana
denial decks, but are slightly weaker, because you
want them to draw that expensive card again and
not be able to cast it. In combo decks, Mana Leak
is not as strong as you need a “hard counter,” not
one that they can pay three to get around. That
being said, Mana Leak is more useful in the “day
to day” decks that people play, and fits more
effectively in a new deck you design. A very tough
call.
Constructed:
4
Casual:
2
Limited:
2
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DeQuan
Watson
* game store owner (The Game Closet - Waco,TX) |
OK, this one actually seemed like a tough vote
for people to make. I'm glad that Mana Leak one
honestly. It works for more decks. Also, I
think a counterspell is outright more useful
when it even has the CHANCE that it can
completely stop a spell. Memory Lapse just buys
you time from a spell. Mana Leak may actually
counter it. I think that's the largest
difference in these two cards. Sure. Memory
Lapse can set your opponent back a turn, but
what good is that when he's getting a spell back
that you were OBVIOUSLY bothered by enough to
counter? Mana Leak is the clear favorite for me
in this bunch.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3
Limited: 2.5
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Andy
Van Zandt |
Mana Leak
I'm sure everyone will say this, but like rewind,
it's no counterspell.
It's satisfactory though, for what it needs to
do, which is be almost a
hard counter during the first 5 turns of the
game. I wish it included the
powersink-forced-tapdown, but again, maybe I'm
asking too much. As with
most non-card advantage generating counters, this
card is mediocre in
limited... more for sideboard against bombs.
constructed 3
casual 2.5
limited 2.5 |
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Chase
Secret Squirrel
on the
Pojo.com
Message
Boards |
Mana Leak
A very useful spell
in the early game. It can counter just about
anything your opponent hurls at you in the first
few turns of the game. Not as useful late game,
as people will generally have the extra mana
open, and it’s wiser to use a
Condescend. Unlike a majority of the cards
this week, this card has seen play, and, I
predict, will see more play in the future. The
ability to counter something for only 1 blue
plus a generic is really powerful early game.
You don’t necessarily need the two blue to get
rid of an early threat. Even though a lot big
threats come later in the game (Tooth and Nail,
Ravager sometimes) or are swarms that each
creature isn’t overly powerful (virtually any
weenie deck until a late game trick) this is
still useful. I don’t think much more needs to
be said about this card.
In limited,
controlling people has never been all too
popular (talking base sets limited), but I
imagine this is useful.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 2
Limited: 3
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Paul
Hagan |
Mana Leak --
As with yesterday, the result of this vote for 9th
Edition was a given. Who needs Memory Lapse (a
temporary counter) when you have Mana Leak (a
permanent counter)? Yes, I heard all of the cries
of, "But it sucks late game!" when Mana Leak first
re-emerged, but that hasn't exactly happened, has
it? As it turns out, late game, your opponent is
casting more expensive spells, making Mana Leak
almost as useful.
In casual, I think Memory Lapse might have been a
better call, but Mana Leak is still effective at
stopping some of the wacky combos that tend to
rear their heads in the casual environment.
For limited, as with yesterday and Rewind, I
usually won't play Mana Leak in limited, as I'd
prefer to use my mana for making threats. However,
because of the lower cost, Mana Leak can sometimes
make the cut into a sealed deck (or a poor draft)
just on grounds of me not having an answer for
certain types of cards.
Constructed Rating: 3.5
Casual Rating: 3.0
Limited Rating: 2.5 |
w00t |
Mana Leak -
Constructed - Most.
Played. Counter. In a fast format - this is the
counter to play. Early game it's nearly ALWAYS a
hard counter. Only time to worry is late game,
where it's almost a Dead card.
Casual - As always,
if this ISNT frowned upon, it's only good in
the people you play with play faster decks. And
that isn't extremely common in casual.
Limited -
If you draw it in
time, this card isnt too bad early game.
Otherwise, as always, a dead card.
Constructed - 3.0
Casual - 2.0
Limited - 2.0
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