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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Sunder
Image from Wizards.com

Sunder
- Urza's Saga

Reviewed Oct. 31, 2016

Constructed: 2.75
Casual: 3.50
Limited: 3.00
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 3.67

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale:
1 - Horrible  3 - Average.  5 - Awesome

Click here to see all of our 
Card of the Day Reviews 

James H.

Sunder (10/31)
 
Instant speed land “destruction”…yep, this was an Urza’s Saga card, all right. Sunder serves as the blue equivalent to Armageddon, putting all lands back in their owner’s hands and making everyone sad at your table. 5 mana is a bit on the steep end of the mana curve, but instant speed makes it more reasonable. And even though the lands just all return to hand, most people will be hard-pressed to put their lands back out before they're forced to discard them. (It could make some kind of combination with landfall triggers, but that requires a lot of set-up).
 
Mass land destruction, for the most part, isn't a thing that older formats particularly desire or rely on, thanks to the low mana curves of the format, but this would be busted if it were to return to Standard. Even now, it’s a massively disrupting tool for blue or part-blue decks, especially decks with abundant artifact mana, and removing someone’s ability to respond entirely to you is one of the surest ways to make sure you have a game in the bag. Just be wary that a resolved Sunder is the fastest way to draw aggro…
 
Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 3
Multiplayer: 4.5
Commander: 4.25


David Fanany

Player since 1995

Sunder
 
A blue version of Armageddon? In my Magic: the Gathering? It's more likely than you think, and in a way it's even more demoralizing than the original because your opponent/s get to sit and stare at lands in their hand for at least five turns, thinking about all the things they'd be able to cast if you hadn't played Sunder. It doesn't even seem to be costed that much more for being an instant (compare Decree of Annihilation's cycling cost). Having said that, there hasn't often been much of a niche for Sunder in tournament Magic. Aggressive blue decks weren't common when it was new, and the more control-oriented decks tended to have a greater need to deal with creatures than with lands. If you ever do need this effect, there is no better choice and there probably never will be.
 
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
EDH/Commander: 3/5

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