Deputy of Detention – MTG Card Review

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

Given enough time, every iconic spell seems to get a creature version. Detention Sphere is perhaps not quite as legendary as cards like Phyrexian Arena (Dark Confidant) or The Abyss (as in the Magus from Future Sight), but it was a powerful tool that was prominent at competitive tables during Return to Ravnica‘s run in Standard. This guy has a lot of potential too, especially since cards that only unsummon creatures are usually more common than those that hit any permanent, making him easier to reuse if something more threatening appears. If nothing else, he fits really, really well with cards like Whitemane Lion and Deputy of Acquittals in larger card pools.

Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
EDH/Commander: 3/5

Detention Sphere is back. Kinda.

Deputy of Detention is a retooled version of Return to Ravnica‘s infamous Detention Sphere, the mega-Oblivion Ring that gave Azorius a powerful weapon for clearing out the board. While Deputy of Detention is weaker with more players (it only hits things controlled by a single player), this does mean you can hit something in the mirror match without having to worry about it nuking your things. And, of course, being a creature presents pros and cons: it pairs well with creature-finding effects (like Collected Company), but it’s a 1/3 with a fondness for dying rather quickly.

That said, Deputy of Detention is a powerful anti-token card, if nothing else, and it’s a good emergency option to slow down aggressive decks. With a shell it’s already at home in (the Teferi-based control decks), I can see this doing well in the current format.

Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3
Commander: 3.25