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Pojo's Magic The Gathering Card of the Day
Daily Since November 2001!


Image from Wizards.com

Top 10 Cards of 2010
#1 - Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Set: Worldwake


Reviewed Jan. 14, 2011

Constructed: 4.75
Casual: 4.75
Limited: 4.75
Multiplayer: 4.75

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 of our 
Card of the Day Reviews 

BMoor

Jace, the Mind Sculptor

We always knew who'd be in the #1 slot, didn't we? Of course it's Jace 2.0. But what exactly is it that makes him so good? Is it the fact that he charges up loyalty by locking you out of ever drawing anything good? Is it that when he's fully charged, he simultaneously rids you of your entire hand and mills away almost your entire deck? Is it that he can cast Brainstorm, one of the most powerful draw spells this side of Ancestral Recall, for free? That he's repeatable bounce and can systematically empty your board, forcing you to play catch up?
No, it's that he does ALL of those things. As is the case with so many of the cards on this list, if he had half of the abilities he has he'd be playable, but the added functionality put him over the top.

Constructed- 4.9
Casual- 4.9
Limited- 4.9
Multiplayer- 4.75

David Fanany

Player since 1995

Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Since the very beginning of Magic, some cards have been polarizing. Counterspell, Stone Rain, and Strip Mine are, to many people, the kinds of cards you must either love or hate, with no middle ground. Yet every card - every single one, even your least favorite card - appeals to somebody. Jace's appeal is obvious, as he fits superbly in constructed decks, especially the blue control archetypes. This is, of course, also one of the features that contributes to part of the fan base hating him. Today, though, let's leave that aside and recognize the implications this card has had for Magic as a whole. Jace, the Mind Sculptor changed the idea of what planeswalkers are capable of doing, helped define not one but two Standard seasons, and carries the hopes of an entire generation of blue players. For those reasons, for better or worse, we have named him the #1 card of 2010.
 
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5

Paul

Magic The Gathering Card of The Day:  Jace, The Mind Sculptor
 
Welcome back readers today's card of the day is Jace The Mind Sculptor the number one card from 2010. Most everyone saw this coming unless of course you have been living under a rock. The most powerful and widely used planeswalker Jace's new form rolls together a powerful menagirie of abilities. A free Brainstorm every turn combined with fetch lands makes for a powerful card drawing and filtering engine. The loyalty adding ability of a fateseal is weak but its good for messing up opponents carefully sculpted plans and a necessity to gain loyalty. The ability to unsummon a creature is great for reusing come into play effects or simply unsummoning an opponents creatures. Finally his ultimate ability takes a long time to build to but can end the game quickly although im unsure of how often it actually comes up. In standard Jace is a format defining card that has appeared in the top decks at every major tournament, if you are playing blue you play this card, you need to splash blue to play this card its unreal and extremely powerful. In extended it sees a little less play then in standard but the same rules apply its powerful.
 
 In eternal its rare to see a card that plays so well in vingtage as well as standard and every other format, it has made appearances in top decks and is nuts. In casual and multiplayer this guy is realistically to expensive unless your hardcore about casual play or trade or open them in boosters, once again no need to tell you how powerful it is. In limited it pays for your draft and then some and its a powerful win condition always draft it no matter what. Overall one of the most powerful cards made in a long time, a format defining card, believe the hype this card is nigh perfect.
 
Constructed: 5.0
Casual: 5.0
Limited: 5.0
Multiplayer: 5.0

Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's number one card of 2010 is Jace, the Mind Sculptor which is an impressive rebuild of the character and the first Planeswalker to feature four abilities. The first of which is similar to an old five mana enchantment named Precognition, but works on your own library as well as an opponent. The second effect is a copy of the Ice Age classic Brainstorm while the third is a copy of Unsummon, both of which quite useful and often played in Blue decks. The ultimate ability will almost always end the game in your favor when used as it exiles an entire library and replaces it with that player's hand which will likely be either cards they were unable or unwilling to play previously or no cards at all. This is an extremely powerful and versatile card and well deserving of the hype it is receiving.
 
In Constructed, Casual, and Multiplayer this is a top of the line card that can manipulate a deck, gain card advantage, control the field, and potentially win the game. The plus two ability works quite well after the draw cards effect to send the second of the two cards to the bottom of the library on your next turn. At only three mana not much more can be asked of any card.
 
With Limited if you are playing Sealed you should seriously consider running a primarily Blue deck if this is in your pool for the card advantage and reusable control aspects at the very least. In Booster you may consider playing Blue for this, but at the very least Rare draft it and it'll cover the entry fee for your tournament. If you prefer you can also consider it hate drafting to prevent someone else from having the advantage. The only reason to ever pass one is if there is a foil and regular in the same pack. Actually playing this card is slightly hindered by the double Blue mana cost and it may not see play on the third turn in multicolor decks.
 
Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4.5

John
Shultis
Phoenix
Gaming

     And then there was one. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, please allow me to introduce you to our number 1 card of 2010, non other than Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Four mana, two blue, two generic gets our number one on the board. From there, it gets crazy. The first, and so far only, planeswalker with four amazing abilities. His first, add two counters, look at the top card of target player’s library, you may put that card on the bottom of that player’s library. Second ability, add zero, draw three cards and then put two on the top of your library in any order. Third ability, minus one, return target creature to its owners hand. And the coupe de grace fourth ability, minus twelve, yes twelve, exile target player’s library, that player then shuffles his or her hand into his or her library.

   This guy is by far the most sought after card in Magic perhaps since the legendary Black Lotus. His appearance in five of the six of the top eight decks in this past Worlds Championship screams at how pros value him, and just look at any site selling him right now to see the perspective value this phenom brings with him, but why? He seems pretty weak at first glance; I mean a Lightning Bolt can take him out before he even gets his first ability. But there in lies the challenge. People, especially pros, didn’t get this card to simply let it die, they build decks around him. They will let him drop only if they feel they can keep him there, at least until he isn’t needed. That is why Jace has found his home in so many control based decks. That and his ability to “control” what people draw means he is a key factor for the person using him. He can either help the controller find something he needs, or simply delay your opponents from getting something they may need. But ultimately, if you can keep him on the table long enough, he can be a game ender, and people know it. How can you deny doing whatever you can to remove him from the board before he can activate his final? Unless you have a hand the size of a small country, exiling a player’s deck and making their hand their new deck can end the game on the spot. If that targeted player has been dumping spell after spell and now has no hand when Jace’s final goes off, they would lose on their next draw.

     I’m not going to waste a whole article trying to convince people how powerful this card is, or why he should have placed number one. His abilities and the fact of his value in tournaments and simple value do those themselves. And there are a number of ways to exploit how to utilize him even more. With Proliferate these days, getting him to twelve counters is just as easy as getting fifteen mana for an Emrakul. The question is, how do you stop him?
 
Limited: 5/5
Casual: 5/5
Constructed: 5/5
Multiplayer: 5/5


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