Originally Posted by
Mr. Safety
Brainstorm is only as powerful as it is because of it's relationship to other cards. In and of itself, Brainstorm is actually quite fair. What people need to do is worry about what Brainstorm is getting, not Brainstorm itself.
I'm going to 'throw out' some discussion points, feel free to agree/disagree/contribute, but I think it's a closed case. Brainstorm is powerful, but not too powerful. Players need to start making better decisions rather than holler for Brainstorm to be banned.
1) Imagine if fetchlands didn't exist. In that fantasy world, Brainstorm isn't any better than Ponder, and Ponder is arguably better because you can shuffle away the top 3 cards if they don't have anything useful. Fetchland synergy makes Brainstorm better. Not broken, just better.
2) Brainstorm can be an instant-speed way to gain an answer to a problematic situation (by getting counterspells, removal, etc.) but those are the problem cards...not Brainstorm. Figure out how to beat those cards.
3) Saying 'ban Brainstorm' is like saying 'don't use glue in furniture, only screws and nails'. With Brainstorm being the proverbial glue, legacy without Brainstorm would feel like sitting in a chair with no glue, just screws or nails. Something about trusting my 200 lbs to a chair with only one support system seems a little risky.
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