Cards you initially overrated

[lordofthepit]

Legacy players, as a whole, generally seem to underrate new cards and slow to accept them until they're proven. Perusing the old SCD threads would read something like this:

Coralhelm Commander? Sucks.
Path to Exile? Card disadvantage.
Steppe Lynx? Bad topdeck.
Spell Pierce? Too conditional.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor? Jank.
Noble Hierarch? Inferior to BOP.
Progenitus, Emrakul, and Iona? Timmy fodder.
Knight of the Reliquary? Woolly Thoctar is better.

Occasionally, however, there are cards that get overestimated. My question is what is one card that you thought would be amazing, but turned out to not be that great?

For me it was Lorescale Coatl. I thought that would be Tarmogoyfs #5-8 to put thresh decks over the top.

[Nessaja]

Warren Instigator, thought still great. I thought it would have had a much bigger impact on Goblins then it does. Which means that wizards did a good job on the mana cost.

[Aggro_zombies]

Anyone who's known my Legacy habits for a while will know I severely overrated Wydwen, the Biting Gale when Lorwyn first came out. The body was kind of anemic, sure, but it had evasion and was basically impossible to kill, so you could put it in a deck with Tarmogoyfs to hold the ground and then fly over!

Yeah...that one didn't work out so well...

[Bardo]

Lorescale Coatl

[Eddy Wally]

Lorescale Coatl and Abyssal Persecutor.

[sligh16]

Mindbreak trap ofc

[Nidd]

Lorescale Coatl and Abyssal Persecutor.
QFT.

Also, the OP made my blood boil until I realized you weren't serious about the examples you gave.

[Valdez]

Doran & Goblin Guide...

[morgan_coke]

Mindbreak Trap. Really thought it would be some kind of obstacle to storm/combo decks. Obviously not.

[Greenpoe]

Silence and Graveborn Muse (a 3/3 Confidant with the lifeloss of Arena? ).

[freakish777]

http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardscans/MAGRAV/shadow_of_doubt.jpg

http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardscans/MAGFUT/aven_mindcensor.jpg

http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardscans/MAGRAV/watery_grave.jpg

http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardscans/MAGBOK/genju_of_the_spires.jpg

http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardscans/MAG10TH/distress.jpg

http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardscans/MAGSOK/erayo_soratami_ascendant.jpg

http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardscans/MAGGUI/quicken.jpg (not for Legacy, but some people, myself included, were drooling about the possibility of endstepping a Wrath of God in Standard).

http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardscans/MAGDIS/rise__fall.jpg

[4eak]

Admittedly, after my first battery of tests, I thought Ad Nauseam was going to be banned because it made Storm too consistent, fast and easy to play. I was wrong about the extent of these effects, and Ad Nauseam didn't turn out to be as format warping as I thought it was going to be (although, I still considered it the best deck in Legacy given a pilot of maximum skill). Ironically, WoTC did nerf the deck (and AdN indirectly), but I now disagree with Ad Nauseam being too powerful (despite the fact that it did change the metagame and nearly wiped the majority of approaches to dedicated control, I didn't think the card warped the metagame too much).



peace,
4eak

[Offler]

I have been reading this topic... Mindbreak trap does not surprise me. People in my city play Type2 mostly. First of all they say how great it is - playing a counterspell which exiles spell from stack for 0 mana (while no blue mana in play). Three months later was everyone sure that card is unplayable on tournaments.

But fact that Jace, The Mind Scultor is mentioned here surprises me a bit. Currently the card is getting much more expensive than ever before, still being played in T2 while players say "this is only reason why the blue is playable". Well... my current experience for blue shows that playing card filtering with 4 mana is very late. Instead of it i play sorceries and instants for 1-2 blue mana, and my hand is well filtered while my opponent just play his allmighty new jace.

Most planeswalkers are overrated here.

[freakish777]

But fact that Jace, The Mind Scultor is mentioned here surprises me a bit. Currently the card is getting much more expensive than ever before, still being played in T2 while players say "this is only reason why the blue is playable". Well... my current experience for blue shows that playing card filtering with 4 mana is very late. Instead of it i play sorceries and instants for 1-2 blue mana, and my hand is well filtered while my opponent just play his allmighty new jace.

Jace is not a Brainstorm. Jace kills your opponent.

[Aggro_zombies]

Jace is not a Brainstorm. Jace kills your opponent.
This. If you're only using Jace to Brainstorm every turn, you are doing it very, very wrong.

I don't think very many people correctly evaluated Mindbreak Trap. I remember arguing against it at the time because it would only get them in game two, and then they'd side Chants or Duress back in and that would be the end of your Trap plan. Of course, lest it sound like I'm gloating, I was also on the "ZOMG COATL" bandwagon, and we all know how well THAT guy worked out...

[Plague Sliver]

Lorescale Coatl, by a mile. I remember that long discussion thread...it's not that he's bad, it's just that there's so much better out there.

[Forbiddian]

Lorescale Coatl.

And Ad Nauseam.

[dyzzy]

I remember thinking Cosi's Trickster would be great for Merfolk, and it turned out to be terrible. Then I revisited the idea after the 16 lord version became popular. Yep, still bad.

[Offler]

This. If you're only using Jace to Brainstorm every turn, you are doing it very, very wrong.

Thats the way how most people here use him, and the first ability to filter the hand. At all I see that he has possibility to kiil the opponent with its final ability, but mostly I hear that he is used to filter cards - first and second ability and its the rest of deck what kills, or combining him with Gideon in planeswalker decks.

[Nonex]

The general idea is that if you drop Jace and your opponent is in topdeck mode, you win by abusing the first ability on them, preventing them from drawing good cards and eventually using the final ability.

[The_Red_Panda]

Admittedly, after my first battery of tests, I thought Ad Nauseam was going to be banned because it made Storm too consistent, fast and easy to play.

At least you didn't call for a pre-emptive banning.

I suck at judging cards :frown:

[Pastorofmuppets]

Standstill.

[Bardo]

If we're going old school (circa 1994-5), I'll add Time Elemental (LG) and Wind Spirit (IA).

Edit - And Shapeshifter. I loved that thing.

[Bryant Cook]

Oh, Breathweapon (http://www.coolstuffinc.com/images/Products/mtg%20art/Tempest/Minion%20of%20the%20Wastes.jpg)

Slithermuse

[Aleksandr]

Extirpate.

Not that it's that bad, but still...

[dahcmai]

Time Reversal. I still think there's something to that card. Timetwister on a 5cc card? I should be able to do something with that, but grrr. Such a pain dealing with that UU cost.

I overrated Lord of Extinction for sure. It seems so good being such a monster when you play it. Too bad it dies to everything.


Maelstrom Archangel. Too bad this didn't come earlier. It would be the premiere Emrakul dropper if it came sooner.

Manaplasm - when I saw it was 1G to cast I thought it would rival Goyf, but then it got spoiled as 2G and I lost hope. I was so sad to see it.

[Shabbaman]

If we're going old school (circa 1994-5), I'll add Time Elemental (LG) and Wind Spirit (IA).

Edit - And Shapeshifter. I loved that thing.

I got hosed by Time Elemental over and over again. A deck with those plus some Icy Manipulators was pretty annoying in those days.

The first card I overrated was Hecatomb. I had never seen the card IRL, only on a spoiler. But I was pretty sure that card was broken. But then again, my black deck was so bad it got locked out by Time Elementals and Icy Manipulators.

[ddt15]

Warren Instigator. That one mana it costs more than Lackey really makes the difference between must-play and too-slow. Double Strike? Meh.

[Cthuloo]

I got hosed by Time Elemental over and over again. A deck with those plus some Icy Manipulators was pretty annoying in those days.

The first card I overrated was Hecatomb. I had never seen the card IRL, only on a spoiler. But I was pretty sure that card was broken. But then again, my black deck was so bad it got locked out by Time Elementals and Icy Manipulators.

Time Elemental was a bomb. That + Icy Manipulator + Winter Orb + Howling Mine + Stasis... I loved that deck.

When I first saw Hecatomb I thought it was seriously broken too. My idea was to combo with Sengir Autocrat. It worked. Like twice. In 30 games. But when it did work it was amazing! Two of my best wins (even if number one goes to my Marton Stromgald + 8 Kobolds kill).

In more recent time the mistakes I can recall are:

- Anathemancer: thought it would be at least playable
- Maelstrom Pulse: thought it would be great (it's still good, though)
- Bloodchief Ascension: thought there was a way to abuse it in pox
- Realms Uncharted: don't know what I thought, but whatever it was it's not working

[Eddy Wally]

Anathemancer is in the wrong colours to be playable. Maelstrom pulse suffers from an unfortunate case of collateral tarmodamage. If they'd have switched the casting cost of both spells, you'd have two cards that are better than they are now (but pulse would be completely screwed up on the colourpie).

[Nelis]

I expected more of Realms Uncharted too.

[Sanguine Voyeur]

Shadow of Doubt

Manamorphose

Shelldock Isle with Eldrazi.

[KillemallCFH]

I thought Pride of Clouds was going to be playable...

[Piceli89]

Force of Will. For real.

[majikal]

Force of Will. For real.
You best be trollin'. :really:

[Forbiddian]

Tarmogoyf

[Malakai]

I actually had a lot of success with Lorescale Coatl. The guys gets huge pretty fast. He tested pretty well overall.

Then someone showed me Knight of the Reliquary.

[Offler]

Force of Will. For real.



You best be trollin'. :really:

IMO Force of will... Have seen it playing - player sucessfully countered something, but he has removed a card which was crucial for his next play. Usually card with very good rating, but needs skilled playing.

I overrated Ertai, Wizard Adept.

[(nameless one)]

Training Grounds - I tried building a Rebel deck around it, but there are simply not enough Rebels out there to actually gain advantage. And Zoo rapes them :(

Also, Quicksilver Fountain. I keep having hopes that with all these crazy manabases, its going to work. So far, haven't seen on any competitive decks. Maybe neo-merfolk decks should run it as a means of mana-denial?

Scroll Rack - All the speculation for nothing. It's price keeps going up but no one really uses it.

[dearleader]

+1 for Hecatomb. It's one of those cards where newbies can only see the upside.

Other overrated cards when I was a wee lad:
Aspect of Wolf - this card was monstrous. Games would inevitably last a long time with people battling with Bog Wraiths and Craw Giants, so Aspect of Wolf was a gamebreaker. Craw Giant + Aspect of Wolf was unstoppable.
Royal Assassin - He'd stab dudes all day.
Anything with flanking - it felt like flanking creatures were cheating.
Every cool creature ever.

Modern Cards:
Goblin Guide - I thought this would replace Kird Ape in Zoo, reasoning that it could function as a pseudo burn spell in the lategame.
Oust (for standard) - Despite the fact that it's a sorcery, I thought it would be better than PTE in some matchups. Ramping Jund into 5 mana on turn 4 usually isn't very good. But I don't really follow standard, so I don't know what the concesus is on that card.

[Jonathan Alexander]

Gifts Ungiven. It was like soooo broken when I used to play Vintage. And after not playing Magic for almost four years I thought it had to be good in Legacy. But it sucked.

[Vacrix]

Path to Exile and Iona, Shield of Emeria

[Grollub]

If we're going old school (circa 1994-5), I'll add Time Elemental (LG) and Wind Spirit (IA).

Edit - And Shapeshifter. I loved that thing.

Haha, Time Elemental and Stasis would be on my list if we go that far back. ;-)

[morgan_coke]

Storm Seeker from my way back machine.

[from Cairo]

Extirpate.

Not that it's that bad, but still...

I don't really have any idea how much you (over)rated it, but I feel like the general opinions of this card rate it lower than it deserves. It answers Life from the Loam, it answers Academy Ruins + EE, SB versus control in general I think it's a pretty underrated card- especially if one, playing black, is pairing it with early hand disruption.

[dontbiteitholmes]

Overrated. I'll agree with Coatl, I thought it would see play for sure.
CUNNING WISH <- I think most people were guilty of this one.
Isochron Scepter- Once again, a lot of people were with me on this one.
Back in the day Ali From Cairo, but I was 12 or so.

[IsThisACatInAHat?]

Knotvine Paladin
It meets a lot of criteria for a good card (minimal cost, respectable body, powerful ability) and synergizes well with cards Bant already plays (anything with exalted mainly). But also, the Achilles heel of all generic beaters: "is it better than goyf?"

[LostButSeeking]

Ha, I've done this with lots of cards, but the one that haunts me the most is Arcanis, the Omnipotent. This was leaked and I was SO sure it was fake. Ancestral Recall? Every turn? for Free? And even if the opponent HAS terminate and Arcanis' controller DOESN'T have counterspell . . . you STILL can't kill it! I figured some draw-go deck would break this card wiiiiiiiide open, no way wizards could have messed up that bad . . .

[leander?]

Fauna Shaman.

When it was spoiled as:

G
Creature - Elf Shaman
G, discard a creature card from your hand: Search your library for a creature card, reveal it and put it into your hand.
2/2

...

[Yochanan]

Isochron Scepter, Platinum Angel and Worship.

[heroicraptor]

Goblin Guide

[JeroenC]

Definitely Dream Halls. Before it was unbanned, I thought it would be better than Ad Nauseam, but it never really took off for real. Shame, really.

[SpikeyMikey]

I've got a doozy. Long-Term Plans. But unlike most people overrating a card, I chose to do so in an article on SCG.

[Pastorofmuppets]

I've got a doozy. Long-Term Plans. But unlike most people overrating a card, I chose to do so in an article on SCG.

We all make mistakes.
I still run it in mono-blue EDH, if it makes you feel any better.

[SpikeyMikey]

Yes, but I said it was better than Mind's Desire. Like 3 or 4 years later, I was on TMD and someone was still using that quote as their sig. "The unresteicted tutoring with Long-Term Plans scares me far more than Mind's Desire.". Of course, that was almost entirely due to a bad case of RtFC. I didn't realize that storm triggered even if the main spell was countered; I thought it was part of the resolution. But that's not really an excuse. If you're going to write an article, you need to do your due diligence. It was embarassing enough that I didn't write another article until a Survival primer for RGSA, ATS and Weld-Sur that ended up on the forums here (after SCG sat on it for a week and a half) maybe 8 months after the split from T1. I think it's a large part of the reason why I'm not as quick to pop off at the mouth anymore, online or IRL. Saying something colosally stupid will have that effect.

[Julian23]

When I started playing I was totally fascinated by Worship. A card that doesn't let you lose the game! I would build a deck with 4 of those as well as playsets of Enlightened and Vampiric Tutor just to get it into play. Who plays Disenchant after all?

Years had to come and go until I realized how little Worship actually contributed to me winning than the creature I used to keep it online did. (http://magiccards.info/us/en/85.html)

[Justin]

Vampire Hexmage is one with the Dark Depths combo that I thought would have a bigger impact. It turned out to be huge in the old Extended, but Wasteland kept it down in Legacy.

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is another card that I thought would have a better impact. It does see some play in Legacy in Show and Tell and Doomsday decks, but it's mostly off the radar.

[Humphrey]

Balduvian Horde

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Determined.

[Justin]

A few more:

Swans of Bryn Argol is one that I thought would do better in Legacy with its combo with Chain of Plasma, it's hyrbrid casting cost, and the fact that it has powerful evasion. There was a Swans Thresh varient that some people played for a while, but ultimately Swans did not last in Legacy.

Wake Thrasher I thought would make a bigger splash in Merfolk decks, especially after last summer when mana burn went away. Most Merfolk players decided that it is better to up the "lord" count with Merfolk Sovereign and the like. Thrasher still sees some play, but not in most Merfolk builds.

Kitchen Finks was quite strong in standard. I thought that it might make a splash in Legacy, but it didn't work out that way. I guess it's OK in Rock, but that deck doesn't see a lot of play anymore.

[Nessaja]

Another one that I overestimated; Phyrexian Arena, I just thought it would be much better / have a larger pressence.

[Nihil Credo]

I expected Warren Instigator to become a staple 4-of in Goblins, instead even lists without colourless lands have since cut him down to a 2-of at best.

[Sanguine Voyeur]

I remember swans. A combo deck I worked on that I had no intention of ever actually playing.

[Offler]

[QUOTE=Justin;476934]A few more:
Wake Thrasher I thought would make a bigger splash in Merfolk decks, especially after last summer when mana burn went away. Most Merfolk players decided that it is better to up the "lord" count with Merfolk Sovereign and the like. Thrasher still sees some play, but not in most Merfolk builds.
[QUOTE]

He's much better in monoblue wizard tribal which uses TAP creatures.

But for one of the most overrated card in blue ... Fact or Fiction. Its Instant - so far so good. Can draw up 2,5 card in average, and discard 2,5 cards in average. The plaing around with them on the table is not so good as seems. Its too random. But its the manacost which kills this card.

I always prefer Impulse, where you get single card, but the one you wish, but at very decent mana rate. But comparing to Brainstorm - draw three, put two on top of your library (considering your current hand)... That effect is just unbeatable when comes to similar cards.

[Tilde]

Bloodhall Ooze. I mean, it only costs one mana! It pumps off of Dark Confidants and Tarmogoyfs! Then I tried actually building a deck with it and realized that four-color aggro Rock wasn't exactly going to crack the metagame wide open.

[Zlatzman]

Bubbling Muck - I initially imagined all sorts of brokenness from this thing.

Sunken City - I came across this cards fairly late in my casual era, while playing mono blue "fish". Was convinced it was a good card, in hindsight it just costs too much to maintain.

[Caspid]

http://magiccards.info/scans/en/an/9.jpg

thought he was a 5/5 for BB lol

[Clanker]

I overrated Glimspe the Unthinkable and Archive Trap, too.
I thought both would be playable in Legacy, but they aren't :frown:

[mossivo1986]

Fathom Seer.