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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day


Image from Wizards.com

Counsel of the Soratami 
Champions of Kamigawa


Reviewed November 01, 2004

Constructed: 2.78
Casual:  2.50
Limited: 3.20

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating

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Card of the Day Reviews 


Judge Bill

*Level 2
MTG Judge

*game store employee

Monday - Counsel of the Soratami

This is a card I really really like. It only draws you two cards, compared to 3 with Concentrate, but this is less color intensive (it only has one U in the cost instead of 2), meaning it can be splashed.

It's one less than Inspiration for the same number of cards. It is a sorcery, but the cost difference is big enough to overcome that.

It costs one more compared with Night's Dealings, but it doesn't cost you 2 life.

If I were playing blue, I would definately include this in any casual deck. I would also play this in any Type 2 deck (if I were blue).

In limited, I tend to not like card draw, and blue seems to be a weak color right now. This would be better than most 23rd cards though, so I would probably play this if I were blue.

Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 3.5


Jeff Zandi

5 Time Pro Tour
Veteran

Counsel of the Soratami

I don't think the best limited players in the world want to play two or three of these in their decks, but Counsel of the Soratami can be the right kind of card for many limited Champions of Kamigawa decks, allowing you to drill down a little further into your forty cards to find the cards you need to win. The three casting cost is just fine for Kamigawa limited formats.
Apparently, lots of people get the art on this card confused with several of the small blue flying creatures in this set, because they will place Counsel of the Soratami on the table, then, noticing what they have done, quickly grab the Counsel and put it back in their hand, replacing it on the table with a 2/1 or 3/1 flyer. This card has no particular use in constructed play, where there are many better options for card-drawing cards.

CONSTRUCTED: 1.5
CASUAL: 1.5
LIMITED: 3.0


DeQuan
Watson

* game store owner (The Game Closet - Waco,TX)

Counsel of the Soratami - Monday

This card has to be decent right? It's a sorcery, so that might turn some people off, but other than that, I'd expect this card to see some play. Slower control decks love cards that let them draw other cards. On top of that, it will probably see a lot of play in Kamigawa Block Constructed play. I wouldn't expect many casual players to enjoy this card. It's not really better at card drawing efficiency than any other card that most are already playing.

Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 2
Limited: 4
Paul
Hagan
Counsel of the Soratami --

In days where there are very few instant-speed card-draw spells, I can't complain too much about Consel of Soratami. For the same amount of mana, you can get one deeper with Thirst for Knowledge, but you also have to lose one, possibly two, so you wind up netting just as many (or more) cards. It's splashable with the lone blue mana in its cost, but overall, Counsel of Soratami isn't anything special.

In any sort of casual environment, there are a lot better cards available, making Counsel a bit worse than it is in limited. When Accumulate Knowledge, Fact or Fiction, Brainstorm, and many others are available, why play a lesser card?

I would definitely play this card in limited. Card draw seems to be that much better in a limited format, and this card fits easily into almost any blue deck.

Constructed Rating: 2.5
Casual Rating: 2.0
Limited Rating: 3.0
Monk

Counsel of the Soratami

 

In Limited, this card tends to make the cut every time, helping refill my hand when I need it, or simply drawing two extra cards on turn three if I don’t have a turn three drop. Admittedly I play it most on turn six or seven, when I lay my sixth land, case a three drop and this spell. In constructed, it simply doesn’t match up with other card draw spells in the format, and is unlikely to be used very often. Solid in limited, just not quite making the cut in constructed.

 

Constructed:                 2

Casual:                         2

Limited:                        4

 

 

 

 

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