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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Skullcrack
Image from Wizards.com

 Skullcrack
- Gatecrash

Reviewed February 1, 2013

Constructed: 2.87
Casual: 2.33
Limited: 2.87
Multiplayer: 2,87

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

Skullcrack

"Players can't gain life" hoses black harder than it does white, since black has as much life gain as white and black's life gain cards tend to be stronger. Then again, when you cast this, Douse in Gloom still deals 2 damage, while Whitesun's Passage is just straight-up countered. Then again, the "damage can't be prevented" line hoses white, and pretty much nobody else. Not that damage prevention even sees a lot of play in the first place.

If Skullcrack hit creatures as well as players, or even hit just creatures, then I'd be demanding every red deck play a full four of it. Maybe it's better, then, that it only hits players, because then we won't be seeing it all over the place for the next two years. I suspect, in fact, that we'll see very little of it. Outside of an Izzet spell-themed deck, it's little more than a sideboard card against life gain combos.

Constructed- 2
Casual- 1.5
Limited- 2
Multiplayer- 1.25

David Fanany

Player since 1995

Skullcrack
 
Where were cards like this when I was playing games in Coldsnap Standard at FNM, and people were running around gaining 18 life on their second turn with Martyr of Sands? No problem deck of that magnitude and orientation has come out of recent sets, but this is still a nice card to have around. Anybody who tries to use cards like Thragtusk and Centaur Healer, especially in combination with flickering effects, is going to have to be aware of it. This is also one of a very few cards with a similar effect in the Modern card pool, and its surprise effect makes it an interesting complement and/or alternative to Stigma Lasher. (Just when I made a "blink Loxodon Hierarch lots of times" deck for Filth Casserole.)
 
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 2/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Skullcrack which is a two mana Red instant that deals three damage to target player and prevents life gain or damage prevention that turn.  This is an excellent sidedeck card for mono-Red against decks that have enough life gain to be difficult to overcome, but not being able to target creatures keeps this from being efficient for the maindeck.
 
In Limited this works particularly well against Orzhov and is decent enough to play in any Red deck in Sealed as a little extra burn.  It isn't a first or second pick in Booster, but should be picked up when in color over inefficient creatures as mostly guaranteed damage.
 
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 3.5


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