I didn't nominate this for Top 10 mainly because
it's a reprint. This is the best of 2013, after
all. Was 2013 just an uninspired year, that's
its best wasn't as good as reprints from past
years?
Well, this is a pretty good card. Duress without
the drawback, able to nail the cards you most
want gone from an opponent's hand. All it costs
is a measly 2 life... And a king's ransom in the
secondary market. ;)
This was one of the elements added to Theros
to give black a better chance against an
environment heavy on enchantments. If that's all
you want, though, you can just as easily go with
the core set's Duress. Thoughtseize is actually
back for high-level constructed environments
that don't care about life totals (or singles
market prices) and want to be absolutely
prepared for anything and everything. Those of
you who remember Lorwyn will probably recall
this card's prominence in every style of
aggressive, tempo, and tribal deck; it would
take something very extraordinary to prevent it
from being just as prominent in this Standard
season.
The number nine card of the year is
Thoughtseize which is a one mana Black sorcery
that has target player reveal his hand, then you
have them discard one nonland card from it and
you lose two life. This is a very solid card,
similar to Duress that also works for creatures
at the cost of two life, though like most hand
destruction is of minimal value in Multiplayer.
In one on one this is a pre-counter for just
about any threat and playable on the first turn,
making it one of the strongest weapons in
Black's toolbox. The loss of life is minor,
particularly with many life drain effects
available, and this will be very popular in
Standard while Theros is in rotation.
In Limited this is effectively removal and
combined with a high value is a clear first pick
in Booster that should also always be played
when running Black in Sealed. Seeing the
opponent's hand is a solid advantage, especially
early in the game, and the small life loss is
well worth the one for one trade.
