Pojo's Magic The Gathering news, tips, strategies and more!

Pojo's MTG
MTG Home
Message Board
News & Archives
Deck Garage
BMoor Dolf BeJoSe

Columnists
Paul's Perspective
Jeff Zandi
DeQuan Watson
Jordon Kronick
IQ
Aburame Shino
Rare Hunter
Tim Stoltzfus
WiCkEd
Judge Bill's Corner


Trading Card
Game

Card of the Day
Guide for Newbies
Decks to Beat
Featured Articles
Peasant Magic
Fan Tips
Tourney Reports


Other
Color Chart
Book Reviews
Online Play
MTG Links
Staff



This Space
For Rent

Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Murder
Image from Wizards.com

Murder
Magic 2013

Reviewed July xx, 2012

Constructed: 3.80
Casual: 4.00
Limited: 4.00
Multiplayer: 3.80

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

Murder

This card reminds me of Cancel. It's the simplest execution of a straightforward effect. If all you want is to be able to undo your opponent's threats, you shuffle in a few of these and have at it. Other cards might give you the effect cheaper but with a limitation or a drawback. This card exists for people who are willing to pay the extra mana to not have to worry about that. If you're worried about your opponent's creatures and you want a way to destroy them, this card gives you a simple, reliable way to make that happen.

Really, the only reason this card exists is to be the simplest execution. The baseline. The industry standard. Because of that, I feel like I have to give it 3's across the board simply because it's the ultimate example of an average card. It was created for the express purpose of being average.

Constructed- 3
Casual- 3
Limited- 3
Multiplayer- 3


David Fanany

Player since 1995

Murder
 
In a sense, it's very hard to believe that there hadn't been a card named "Murder" until now. Then again, the creative team goes in phases with the snap, crackle, and zing of names, as evidenced by the problem with M11 and Scars of Mirrodin where Go for the Throat would have been better named as Exsanguinate, Exsanguinate would have been better named as Blood Tribute, and nobody remembers Blood Tribute even exists (sadly). When you consider that Doom Blade already basically destroyed almost any creature people were likely to play, adding another mana and making the flexibility official and, arguably, fairer, seems like the obvious move. I have no doubt that people will make space for this card, even if only a couple of copies, as that flexibility is also too much to pass up now that it's official. I'm not sure how this will fare in older formats where Mortify and Maelstrom Pulse are "things" and there are lots more dual lands, but then again, mono-black is also a "thing."
 
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Murder which is a three mana Black instant that destroys target creature.  Unlike Terror, Doom Blade, Go for the Throat, and similar Black removal options this has no specific limitation on type or color and also lacks an additional cost such as life payment or sacrifice of a creature.  Three mana, two of which being Black, is reasonable and can be supported by an appropriate two mana option in the main or side decks.  Overall this will be a staple of mono-Black for a long time to come and is only opposed by Indestructible, Shroud, and Hexproof.
 
For Limited the double Black is a drawback, but a three mana removal for anything aside from Primal Huntbeast or something equipped with Ring of Evos Isle is too powerful to ignore.  This is something that should be drafted very early in a pack, ahead of a weak rare or at least second or third, and followed with a mono or primarily Black pool whenever possible.  Generally this would be best later in the game against a bomb creature or other major threat, so the double Black can be less of a concern though just splashing Black for this is unlikely to work out well.  In Sealed the usefulness of this is heavily based on how strong your Black pool is as a weak build won't be helped much by a single removal.  If the pool is playable there is no reason not to include Murder and it is the kind of card that can change a game, whether it is saved in hand or topdecked.
 
Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4.5

John
Shultis
Phoenix
Gaming

      Welcome to the Pojo.com card of the day section. Today we are looking at Murder from M13. Murder is a common black instant that costs one generic and two black mana. Murder destroys target creature.

       Murder is going to become the new favorite kill spell for a long time to come. The reason why, it “murders” anything it is able to target. No draw backs, such as non-artifact creature or non-black creature like Go For the Throat and Doomblade. Sure, it may cost one more mana, but it is certainly worth it.

      I know it will become a tournament staple for black decks. And likely become a favorite in several black decks.

Limited: 5/5
Constructed: 5/5
Casual: 5/5
Multiplayer: 5/5


Paul

Welcome back readers todays card of the day is Murder an unconditional kill spell with some great applications. In standard having to pay three mana to kill a creature is not the best compared to Go For The Throat and Doom Blade as being able to answer a threat for two mana is important but being able to kill titans, wurmcoil engines and other creatures is quite powerful due to the versatility but I don’t foresee this being played as heavily as cheaper removal spells but it may find a place. In modern this card is decent as well but faces even stiffer competition for deck space as the amount of premium removal spells increased, in legacy and vintage I don’t think this card provides enough bang for having to spend three mana to kill something. In casual and multiplayer it’s a replacement for anyone running those previously mentioned conditional removal spells as it can handle a Grave Titan, Platinum Angel, and a dragon all equally well. In limited it’s a powerful removal spell and kills about every creature in the format making it amazingly powerful. Overall a card that may see some constructed play and then a lot of casual and kitchen table play.
 
Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 3.5


Copyright© 1998-2012 pojo.com
This site is not sponsored, endorsed, or otherwise affiliated with any of the companies or products featured on this site. This is not an Official Site.