[Card Discussion] Persecute

[Shawon]

Here's a card that I loved using when I played Standard that I'm surprised sees NO play in Legacy. And it's not even a Timmy card. It's pure Spike:

Persecute :2::b::b:
Sorcery
Choose a color. Target player reveals his or her hand and discards all cards of that color.

I used to hate this card in Standard. Then I started playing with it and realized how awesome it was. It's to control decks like Damnation or Wrath of God is against aggro decks. It's such a skill-intensive card. The color you choose from Persecute depends on what information you know about your opponent's hand, depending on prior knowledge of the opponent's deck and present game situations.

Why is Persecute not played at all in Legacy? Anyone can say it's slow, but seriously, is its effect not gamebreaking enough, or just not worth it for its cost? Or is it not really relevant against certain decks?

I don't even see Persecute used in discard decks, what's up with that?

[Mordel]

I don't even see Persecute used in discard decks, what's up with that?


Extremely multi-coloured format. High cost.

When you compare it to duress, therapy, thoughtseize and hymn, you find an inferior card.

The best fit for it would be in a MBC deck and MBC gets access to mindsludge, which doesn't have the guessing game where you need to try to figure out what you would want to see discarded the most.

[The Wes]

My best guess is because it costs 4 mana. In a lot of cases by the time a deck that would play persecute gets 4 mana (not counting a certain 3 for 1 instant), the opponent probably doesn't have that many cards in hand and a hymm would probably be just as good.

[Anusien]

There aren't any pure control decks. Take my hand? Sure, eat Counterbalance and Tarmogoyf...

[Goaswerfraiejen]

Extremely multi-coloured format. High cost.



Yup, there are the answers.

[TrialByFire]

The only color I would ever choose is blue when playing against control, and if they care enough it's going to get countered, and if they don't they discard a FoF or something an then play Goyf and kill you. There are much better discard spells avaiable in Eternal formats

[Mayk0l]

I guess it could be fun in a deck with Painter's Servant, but even that sounds subpar

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

The mana curve's lower, the format's faster and everyone plays more colors.

[Peter_Rotten]

http://rickoshea.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/star-trek-inspirational-poster.jpg


Asked and answered.