Show and Tell – Urza’s Saga
Date Reviewed: February 17, 2022
Ratings:
Constructed: 4.92
Casual: 5.00
Limited: 3.00
Multiplayer: 4.67
Commander [EDH]: 4.00
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Show and Tell was designed as a more accessible, slightly streamlined version of Eureka from Legends. (I know that’s not the original art, but I just like it!) I’d say it succeeded at that, because it became the centerpiece of combo decks throughout Magic’s history. In formats where you don’t care about the date a card was printed, it has become downright ridiculous as ever-bigger and nastier creatures were printed for the formats where you do care about the date. The symmetry is easy to break in constructed, where your deck is presumably designed with it in mind and your opponent’s is not. I’d stay away, though, from using it in any competitive deck where your creatures are likely to be roughly on par with your opponents’ – you’ll be hurting yourself as often as you hurt them.
Constructed: 5/5
Casual: 5/5
Limited: 2/5 (there are better ways to cheat on mana costs in limited)
Multiplayer: 4/5 (chaos and fun for the whole playgroup)
Commander [EDH]: 4/5 (see Multiplayer)
Show and Tell has long been one of the instrumental cards behind a notorious Legacy archetype, “Sneak and Show”, which involves tricking in disgusting permanents ahead of schedule. While Sneak Attack (the other namesake) has been reviewed on Pojo a fair bit, Show and Tell has not, and so here we are.
While Show and Tell is ostensibly symmetrical, if you’re playing the card, you’re likely playing a deck meant to take full advantage of Show and Tell, usually through the use of either Omniscience or very rude abominations (usually with tentacles). That said, there is always the risk of this backfiring by letting someone trick in their combo piece or their answer to your combo piece, but it’s long been a staple card in Legacy because, once it sticks, you can usually bring a game careening to a quick end. Symmetrical spells are far more vicious if you can break the symmetry somehow, and Show and Tell certainly has plenty of room in that regard; who cares what an opponent gets if you can end the game then and there?
Constructed: 4.75 (no other card does what this one does, for as cheaply, but the deck it’s part of can sometimes drop the balls it means to juggle if an opponent sees it coming)
Casual: 5
Limited: 2 (I’ll be honest, this card is not worth it in Limited; it’ll backfire more often than you’d like, and the upside is too narrow to build around in either of its two outings)
Multiplayer: 4 (buyer beware)
Commander [EDH]: 4
One of the best cards ever printed. Decks and formats have been decided on this card and this card alone. Cheating in Magic’s best creatures, artifacts, enchantments, or lands on turn two is game changing. If you’re unfamiliar with this card, Google some “Show and Tell decklist” and see all of the combinations people have made. The slight drawback is your opponent has the opportunity to play a card as well but usually they do not have the game winning answer that you do in their hand to make it worth while. Such a good card that got a much needed reprint due to the price spike. I’ve piloted this deck, it is a lot of fun!
Constructed: 5/5
Casual: 5/5
Limited: 5/5
Multiplayer: 5/5
Commander [EDH]: 4/5
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