All B/R update speculation.

[M+1]

I call it playing with worse cards.

Of course, that is the challenge. A good deck is more than the sum of the (objective) powerlevel of its cards.

So much resignation in this thread. Shrug.

http://tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=15144&iddeck=112373

[bruizar]

If you have the cards and don't some some love affair with a crap deck, there are 0 reasons to not be playing brainstorm if you want to maximize your chances to win.

i'm inclined to agree with this statement but most of us do have a love affair with certain decks. I for one, am a sucker for MUD, even though I know it's a pretty bad deck, I like to specialize in decks that have room for innovation / improvement. This is rooted in my experience of seeing T1 Workshop, Metalworker way back in the days. It had something magical. Also, not everybody has all cards.

I think instead of talking about banning Brainstorm, we just need more cards like Sylvan Library and Green Sun's Zenith. Those cards reduce variance, are competitive and are on color.

We used to have Scroll Rack / Land Tax, but that hasn't been competitive for years. It's not too crazy to think of a dude like this:
Tax Auditor
Creature - Human
T: Put back X White cards from your hand, draw X cards.
1/2 :

This would be really great with a card like Squadron Hawk and Land Tax (not land tax itself - but those type of cards), but wouldn't fit in cantrip.dec. The ability would probably best go with Death & Taxes, but not in blue decks (not even good enough for Entreat or Terminus in Miracles).

These type of cards could help make non-blue more competitive.

[Echelon]

It's not too crazy to think of a dude like this:
Tax Auditor
Creature - Human
T: Put back X White cards from your hand, draw X cards.
1/2 :

These type of cards could help make non-blue more competitive.

How is this a white card..? Also, how can you not see your card doesn't do shit when it's ability is phrased like that..? It's put-3-cards-on-top-of-your-library-then-draw-3. Gee, which cards do you think you will draw..? And please don't say "Yes, but you can use fetch to shuffle your library" because you can't do anything whilst resolving an ability.

And while I'm at it - your solution is to make every color blue..?

[Dice_Box]

How is this a white card..?

Your solution is to make every color blue..?

It's a weak Land Tax/Scroll Rack effect on a creature. That's an engine White uses already.

Edit:
The idea is that you exile X cards from your hand, draw X cards and them place the exiled cards on the top of your library.

[Echelon]

It's a weak Land Tax/Scroll Rack effect on a creature. That's an engine White uses already.

Edit:
The idea is that you exile X cards from your hand, draw X cards and them place the exiled cards on the top of your library.

Except I can't remember the last time I've seen anyone play those cards...

[Dice_Box]

Except I can't remember the last time I've seen anyone play those cards...

I have, but very very rarely. That said, it's not the point, I was simply answering your accusation that the idea was to make the other colours all turn Blue. This is not outside Whites sphere of influence. I feel the Scroll Rack engine is far superior though.

[Echelon]

I have, but very very rarely. That said, it's not the point, I was simply answering your accusation that the idea was to make the other colours all turn Blue. This is not outside Whites sphere of influence. I feel the Scroll Rack engine is far superior though.

Except that Land Tax tutors lands when you are running behind on land drops rather then manipulate the top of your library and Scroll Rack isn't a white enchantment but a colorless artifact. So your comparison is utterly out of place. Land Tax isn't Scroll Rack and Scroll Rack isn't white, so a walking Scroll Rack is out of whites' reach.

[Dice_Box]

It's not my example, it's what the inspiration for that card is. Also last time I checked, White could use colourless cards.

[Echelon]

It's not my example, it's what the inspiration for that card is. Also last time I checked, White could use colourless cards.

That still doesn't make colorless artifacts white, which was the point. The card he suggested should be a colorless card rather than a white one. That one might choose to play it in a white shell doesn't change that.

[Dice_Box]

Whatever, talk to him about it. I answered your question, take your views on it up with person making the suggestion.

[Echelon]

I answered your question

I lol'd

[bruizar]

The point was that you could easily make cards that reduce variance but ONLY operate in non-blue shells.

You say that Scroll Rack is not a white effect but a colorless effect. I don't think this is an issue at all if I look at historical colorless effect and have they've been assigned to colors:
Cursed Scroll -> Magus of the Scroll
Bazaar of Baghdad -> Magus of the Bazaar
Candelabra of Tawnos -> Magus of the Candelabra

Another good example of a card that reduces variance is Magma Jet and the Temple lands (which was originally white New Benalia, colorless but refers to a WHITE location (See Benalish Hero)). Yes, the power level needs to be adjusted for eternal play, but in essence these are effects that are desirable to combat blue's dominance.

Also, power level is easily scaled for the card I proposed (Tax Auditor). It's not about the exact phrasing; it's about the intent of the card. If you really want to increase the power level so much, you can make it cost and give it haste and hexproof. Power level is a balancing issue. It's not about the power level, but the way it provides white (or other colors) with a unique avenue to reduce its variance without the card ALSO being added to blue cantrip decks.

[Echelon]

It's not about the power level, but the way it provides white (or other colors) with a unique avenue to reduce its variance without the card ALSO being added to blue cantrip decks.

Isn't that what Wizards said when they made Mental Misstep..? Will people ever learn..? Seriously.

Also, about your magusses - Red has burn, blue has carddraw and green cares about its lands. How are those off-color? Omg...

[bruizar]

Isn't that what Wizards said when they made Mental Misstep..? Will people ever learn..? Seriously.

Did you read anything I just wrote? I mentioned effects that reduce variance and are not suitable for blue shells. Green Sun's Zenith is the prime example of this approach done right at a proper power level for eternal. Now they just need to find ways to make unique mechanics for the other 3 colors.

[testing32]

I think you guys are thinking about this the wrong way. What if:

Goyf was GG
TNN was WW1
Snapcaster is R1
Delver is B

Good luck getting to 18 blue cards for force. Instead of making every color have selection, just increase the power level of every other color and make it hard to splash blue.

Also, Blue has the best spells because WotC has traditionally underestimated how good the card draw and card selection cards they print are.

[menace13]

If that was an actual argument, Wizards would have banned Fetchlands in all formats and Tarmogoyf in Modern ... oh! .... and Mystical Tutor would be still Legacy legal!

Fetches would not get banned. Neither would Wasteland. At that point they might as well ban duals if they had.

Goyf isnt anywhere near the percentages of the most played Modern cards. Actually not even in the top 20 most played cards now.

Mystical Tutor, from what I hear, was all over the place in European metas and, imo, the lynch pin of the best deck since Legacy Flash: Reanimator.

[Echelon]

Did you read anything I just wrote? I mentioned effects that reduce variance and are not suitable for blue shells.

Not suitable for blue shells but suitable for all other colors and somehow leave out blue..? How..? Include a phrase that states you can't have the card in your deck if your deck has one or more blue cards in it..?

[bruizar]

I think you guys are thinking about this the wrong way. What if:

Goyf was GG
TNN was WW1
Snapcaster is R1
Delver is B

Good luck getting to 18 blue cards for force. Instead of making every color have selection, just increase the power level of every other color and make it hard to splash blue.

Also, Blue has the best spells because WotC has traditionally underestimated how good the card draw and card selection cards they print are.

That would have solved a lot of issues and would also have made both red and black a lot more interesting.

[testing32]

Yeah, the point I'm trying to make is that they could of avoided a lot of problems by actually printing cards that made you make difficult deck building decisions.

There are no difficult choices now; which makes including the best card in legacy a no brainer.

[bruizar]

Not suitable for blue shells but suitable for all other colors and somehow leave out blue..? How..? Include a phrase that states you can't have the card in your deck if your deck has one or more blue cards in it..?

Green Sun's Zenith requires you to play green creatures. GSZ is hardly ever played alongside Brainstorm (Maybe in BANT, but that's actually no problem because this way brainstorm is splashed in GW instead of GSZ being splashed in U).

Less splashable cards

Cards that Punish players for drawing extra cards (Chains of Mephistopheles / Notion Thief)

X/X Chalice of the Void creature

Cards that punish shuffling / searching (Shadow of Doubt / Aven Mindcensor / Mindlock Orb)

Etc, etc, etc

It's ironic that 3 of these examples are blue though :-)