IMO this card is very very strong and will warp format a lot
Here are my arguments:Damping Sphere -
Artifact
If a land is tapped for two or more mana, it produces C instead of any other type and amount.
Each spell a player casts costs more to cast for each other spell that player has cast this turn.
- Its colorless so each construction can run it, if wanted
- It tax each second spell like Canonist - so no cantrips mostly unless it's a timewalk after cast.
- it doesn't die to easily like Canonist - for sure Abrade and K.Command will be on rise, so Miracles is a big loser here.
- it tax also a creatures so also Elves / Food Chain / Aluren
- it stops/slow down Big Eldrazi (stops cloudposts) and small Eldrazi (no sol lands, and Eye doesn't work so well)
Analysis based on decks on theSource
which deck can run it hurtless(mostly):
- Death & Taxes
- Maverick
- Deadguy Ale (B/w Confidant)
- Pox
- Vial Goblins
- Aggro Loam (mostly depends on punishing fire..minor)
- The Rock
- Merfolk
- The Gate
Which deck it hurts:
- Turbo Dark Depths (not really) too many 0, 1 spells
- Eldrazi Stompy (lands produce C...)
- Grixis Tempo (cantrips)
- Czech Pile (cantrips, snapcaster)
- UWx Miracles (cantrips, snapacaster)
- Elves ! (Cradle, Glimpse chain)
- Sneak Show (Cantrips, Sol lands, Omni plan)
- UB Tezzeret (Sol lands)
- MUD (Metalworker) (Sol lands)
- Faerie Stompy (Sol lands)
- Mono-Blue Control (MUC) (Cantrips)
- Aluren (Combo)
- Burn (slow down finish)
- Dredge (no big turn, after Breakthrough, just pass..)
- BRx Griselbrand Reanimator (taxing darks, unmask etc - but it is mostly too slow hate with cmc 2)
- Dragon Stompy (sol lands)
- Solitaire (Enchantress) (combo)
- The EPIC Storm (Storm)
- ANT (Storm)
- Food Chain Combo (combo)
- U/G Infect - ( pumps)
- Canadian Threshold (aka RUG Delver, Tempo Thresh) (Cantrips)
- Team America (BUG Delver) (cantrips)
- UWx Stoneblade (cantrips, snapcasters)
- BUG "Shardless" Control (shardless, cantrips)
- Affinity (it mostly to slow..vs affinity but it hurts)
- High Tide (hate card)
- Spanish Inquisition (Storm Combo)
- Fetchland Tendrils (Storm DDD)
- Big Red (Mono-R Sneak Attack) (Sol lands, Songs)
- Zoo (has too low curve so it taxed same as burn)
- Belcher
- R/G Lands (Loam slowed down in second cycle, same is true for punishing fire but it's minor)
- Jund (BBE and minor punishing fire build)
If I miss some archtype sorry and please add.
As you see unaffected are: Vial tribals, D&T, Maverick and Rock style decks, which mostly has mid-range mana curve and cast 1 spell per turn and removal in opponent turn.
For sure it doesn't replace Chalice as no.1 hate card against cantrips since it can't be run effectively with sol lands, but it is nice additional hate stone against cartel.
For sure it is much more powerful in Vintage.
It does little to hurt Lands. We already drop Sphere in some matches and in my mind this is a less effective Sphere since we rarely cast three things a turn.
I think it threatens to do a ton. A card that can target both Storm and Eldrazi? That's good design. But where I think it's going to do the most is actually outside of Legacy. I think we sit smack bang in the middle of the formats most effected. This thing will gut punch Shop's, Storm and Blue stew decks in Vintage and be a answer against Tron in Modern.
Legacy is the format that's already in this equilibrium of sorts to hate out what this thing targets. While I can see it being picked up I don't see it being as impactful as it will be in the other two non rotating format. God I am going to Love Whiring this in Modern. Vintage... no not so much.
Edit.
While you have a long list of decks that this would adversely effect, and I agree with your assessment, it's symmetrical effect limits the amount of decks that can run it. I think the card would see more play if it only made shit cost more, the mana nullification seams to me not to be made to attack mana bases as much as it is designed to stop it becoming yet another tool in Shop's style decks. The idea that you can weaponise it against them is just gravy.
Pretty much every deck runs cards its good against like u mentioned...but I don't think it slots into the few existing decks which don't. Aggro loam might be the exception? You missed some interactions where it's good like against fow or daze if they played something already and have no mana up. Similarly gitaxian probe and token generators like young pyromancer or mentor. It can slot right into quinn or parfait too...or other tap out control especially if they have relevant instants you can play on opponents turn.
The cards have triggered abilities so I believe that it's Heartbeat of Spring/Mana Flare that actually adds the mana, not the land. So I don't think this has any effect on cards like that, or cards like Abundant Growth.
I don't think it's super effective against ANT because you can always cantrip into Hurkyl's recall without a problem.
Thorn of Amethyst is way better.
DnT probably wants Canonist for Mother of Runes and Aether Vial action.
Other white Decks like Maverick will probably also play Canonist, as it is a body against Storm.
Not sure how Damp. Sphere is better against High Tide than Canonist. High Tide's Effect isn't stopped by this, as it is a separate trigger, not a replacement for the mana ability of the Islands.
You are listing way too many irrelevant decks. xD
Anyway, still a very good card, although it's probably way better in Modern than it is in Legacy.
I think, although the card is a reasonably powerful hate piece, it doesn't end up doing much more in legacy than the hate pieces that are already available to the decks that want them. The decks that need to have answers to this kind of hate (like Storm) already have to run the answer cards, and it doesn't offer much if any additional protection against them. As Damping Sphere is also an artifact, like most similar cards (Sphere, Thorn, Canonist, and so on), the same answers that worked for them will work for it. In light of this, as others have pointed out, it will probably do more in Vintage and Modern than in Legacy. I don't think it's flexible enough to justify being run in higher quantities than other pieces, or in maindecks where the others wouldn't be maindecked anyway.
You 4got, and this is key, turbo eldrazi or 12 post. Though, wizards alredy did a good job killing the deck with the unwarranted sdt banning. Now they just need to put a few more nails in the coffin and the most intriguing deck in legacy will be dead for good...
12 Post, and this is key, was already a dead deck with SDT around.
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