The first part in a video series going over some of the most bafflingly underpowered cards I have ever seen in Magic.
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Important note about Hex: You have to starved exactly six creatures. If your opponent has fewer than 6 targetable creatures, you will have to target your own, and if you don't have enough, you can’t cast it at all.
@TheRealSpellstarАй бұрын
Harsh on rite of the serpent. It's an entirely draftable common down the pick order. Was never printed to see standard play. Good example is throttle from shadows over innistrad. 5 mana -4-4 effect at instant speed, when from oath of the gatewatch grasp of darkness does the same thing for 2 mana. But only one of those was printed to be standard playable, and the other gives a draft or limited deck a nice removal spell.
@judgejudyandexecutioner.5223Ай бұрын
I can see your point. When you look at a card in the context of the set it was printed in, you can begin to see the philosophy behind the card and why it was included. Khans of Tarkir was a set designed with big powerful dragons in mind, so it wouldn't make sense to also include efficient removal spells, or you'd just be punishing the players who want to engage with the theme of the set. The +1/+1 counter clause was also relevant due to the Outlast ability. That all being said, as someone who looks at cards specifically through the lens of EDH, Rite of the Serpent has to stand against every other black removal spell in the game. In this context, I feel like the card is completely blown away. If someone is starved enough, for example, any rotten fruit they find lying on the floor would seem to be a blessing. On the other hand, to someone sitting at an all-you-can-eat buffet at a five-star restaurant, they might look at the same rotten fruit on the floor and see it as total garbage. My point is that Limited is just that, extremely limiting. Outside of the context of being starved for removal spells, Rite of the Serpent is unfortunately a joke (and even worse than throttle IMO). In the future of this list, however, I will clarify that I'm judging these cards mainly in the context of Commander, outside the context Limited.
@StragetyMTGАй бұрын
The issue here is if you look at the set it is from and competing with in draft, khans of tarkir has a dozen much better removal spells at low rarity.
@sablesalt28 күн бұрын
Reminder that Cut the Tethers had a benefit in the fact that it blew out Spirits players, a major theme in Kamigawa limited, without killing them, since most spirits in that block had a death trigger that recurred more spirits in Soulshift. I'm not saying it's good, but as a somewhat assymetrical boardwipe, or even targeted bounce spell, it was at least playable in limited/block constructed.
@carolinedavis833926 күн бұрын
One problem is that the cut the tethers targets spirits, a creature type known for being at tempo decks centered around flash creatures, so even if you would play against spirit decks, they will prob not tap themselves out so they can pay for the mana if they want to
@xaropevic791813 күн бұрын
I own several copies of Rite of the Serpent and I don't think I've ever played one. I started playing in Return to Ravnica, where I did play Assassin's Strike despite it being pretty terrible, but even I, new to the game and only experienced in kitchen magic, looked at Rite of the Serpent and went "...why would I ever play this?"
@hoodiegalАй бұрын
Since others have commented on Rite of the Serpent being fine in limited, I'll focus on Animate Wall. It may not have been impressive, but it's still better than the Glyph cycle from Legends. Plus, unlike many cards from that era, it's actually gotten better with age.
@davidlundquist197924 күн бұрын
I think Cut the Tethers is alright for what it does, since there are a lot of cards out there that create 1/1 spirit tokens, so it could be a good way to wreck someone's token board state. It could be decent against a Ranar, the Ever-Watchful deck. Is it great? Still not really.
@ShotofDespresso28 күн бұрын
Animate Wall was pretty cool on illusionary Wall back when Ice Age just came out.
@krisvanbeurden5059Ай бұрын
Ok, that is actually pretty awesome. Thanks for the insight. It seems like a fun two card combo.
@StragetyMTGАй бұрын
@@StragetyMTG No problem, just remembering the good ol' days :). The card is still hilariously underpowered, but I wouldn't say in the same category as the Boomerang or the Cut the Tethers card. (Rite was ... playable ... in its draft format)
@krisvanbeurden5059Ай бұрын
Illusionary Wall was one of my all stars. Pretty sure we played the cumulative upkeep wrong but still a flying 7/4 first strike
@BrootalMetalBanjo26 күн бұрын
Have you ever played the limited formats you discuss in the video? You were right that Wizards was afraid of making another Viridian Longbow, since it was an annoying card in mirrodin limited where you could pick off all the opponent's X/1s for free, or X/2s for only 3 mana. Not a broken card necessarily, but one that's not fun to play against. Rite of the Serpent is definitely a playable card in that format if you're otherwise low on removal, in a limited environment known for some of the lowest power of removal. Limited wasn't a thing when Animate Wall was printed, and Rolling Stones is from Stronghold 1998; 8th edition was a reprint-only set. I think Hex is the kind of spell that really tests newer players, who might not realize it does nothing if there aren't at least 6 creatures in play, and even then if both players have 3 creatures in play, would you really rather have Hex over Rite of the Serpent?
@pidgeotrollАй бұрын
Shoot! You're right about Rolling Stones, it's even older than I thought. I can also agree that Hex isn't as good as it may first appear, but even in the example where I have to destroy three of my own creatures as well, I think I'd still prefer that card in my hand to Rite of the Serpent. I should have mentioned this in the actual video, and I will moving forward, but I was judging these cards in the context of Commander. I understand that cards were more relevant and significant in their limited context, but when put in the context of all of the cards in Magic's history, I still find myself shocked that Rite of the Serpent is so expensive. In my eyes, the card should have been somewhere in the ballpark of (2)(b)(b) for its ability. Moving forward I will make an effort to clarify that I'm judging these cards out of the context of their limited and standard metas, and more in the context of formats like Commander.
@StragetyMTGАй бұрын
Subbed, good list, looking forward to the next instalment, glad KZhead recommended this
@bencheevers6693Ай бұрын
well if you aren't a gem of a channel, can't wait to see more!
@loudenmalachy9067Ай бұрын
Rite of the Serpent beign a Sorcery is beyond insulting. @4:50 Also, I'm one to believe that these Kamigawa effects should have been better designed (thanks, mark crapwater).. by affecting non-spirits (the opposite of designed purpose) or non-humans (depending on the racr that cast the spell). That way, they'd be useful outside of the block. You know, with a LITTLE foresight regarding general Magic design...
@Big_DaiАй бұрын
Pretty sure "Rite of the Serpent" was supposed to be a snake for EACH +1/+1 on it, but they must have either changed it last minute or forgot to add the "each" to it.
Important note about Hex: You have to starved exactly six creatures. If your opponent has fewer than 6 targetable creatures, you will have to target your own, and if you don't have enough, you can’t cast it at all.
Harsh on rite of the serpent. It's an entirely draftable common down the pick order. Was never printed to see standard play. Good example is throttle from shadows over innistrad. 5 mana -4-4 effect at instant speed, when from oath of the gatewatch grasp of darkness does the same thing for 2 mana. But only one of those was printed to be standard playable, and the other gives a draft or limited deck a nice removal spell.
I can see your point. When you look at a card in the context of the set it was printed in, you can begin to see the philosophy behind the card and why it was included. Khans of Tarkir was a set designed with big powerful dragons in mind, so it wouldn't make sense to also include efficient removal spells, or you'd just be punishing the players who want to engage with the theme of the set. The +1/+1 counter clause was also relevant due to the Outlast ability. That all being said, as someone who looks at cards specifically through the lens of EDH, Rite of the Serpent has to stand against every other black removal spell in the game. In this context, I feel like the card is completely blown away. If someone is starved enough, for example, any rotten fruit they find lying on the floor would seem to be a blessing. On the other hand, to someone sitting at an all-you-can-eat buffet at a five-star restaurant, they might look at the same rotten fruit on the floor and see it as total garbage. My point is that Limited is just that, extremely limiting. Outside of the context of being starved for removal spells, Rite of the Serpent is unfortunately a joke (and even worse than throttle IMO). In the future of this list, however, I will clarify that I'm judging these cards mainly in the context of Commander, outside the context Limited.
The issue here is if you look at the set it is from and competing with in draft, khans of tarkir has a dozen much better removal spells at low rarity.
Reminder that Cut the Tethers had a benefit in the fact that it blew out Spirits players, a major theme in Kamigawa limited, without killing them, since most spirits in that block had a death trigger that recurred more spirits in Soulshift. I'm not saying it's good, but as a somewhat assymetrical boardwipe, or even targeted bounce spell, it was at least playable in limited/block constructed.
One problem is that the cut the tethers targets spirits, a creature type known for being at tempo decks centered around flash creatures, so even if you would play against spirit decks, they will prob not tap themselves out so they can pay for the mana if they want to
I own several copies of Rite of the Serpent and I don't think I've ever played one. I started playing in Return to Ravnica, where I did play Assassin's Strike despite it being pretty terrible, but even I, new to the game and only experienced in kitchen magic, looked at Rite of the Serpent and went "...why would I ever play this?"
Since others have commented on Rite of the Serpent being fine in limited, I'll focus on Animate Wall. It may not have been impressive, but it's still better than the Glyph cycle from Legends. Plus, unlike many cards from that era, it's actually gotten better with age.
I think Cut the Tethers is alright for what it does, since there are a lot of cards out there that create 1/1 spirit tokens, so it could be a good way to wreck someone's token board state. It could be decent against a Ranar, the Ever-Watchful deck. Is it great? Still not really.
Animate Wall was pretty cool on illusionary Wall back when Ice Age just came out.
Ok, that is actually pretty awesome. Thanks for the insight. It seems like a fun two card combo.
@@StragetyMTG No problem, just remembering the good ol' days :). The card is still hilariously underpowered, but I wouldn't say in the same category as the Boomerang or the Cut the Tethers card. (Rite was ... playable ... in its draft format)
Illusionary Wall was one of my all stars. Pretty sure we played the cumulative upkeep wrong but still a flying 7/4 first strike
Have you ever played the limited formats you discuss in the video? You were right that Wizards was afraid of making another Viridian Longbow, since it was an annoying card in mirrodin limited where you could pick off all the opponent's X/1s for free, or X/2s for only 3 mana. Not a broken card necessarily, but one that's not fun to play against. Rite of the Serpent is definitely a playable card in that format if you're otherwise low on removal, in a limited environment known for some of the lowest power of removal. Limited wasn't a thing when Animate Wall was printed, and Rolling Stones is from Stronghold 1998; 8th edition was a reprint-only set. I think Hex is the kind of spell that really tests newer players, who might not realize it does nothing if there aren't at least 6 creatures in play, and even then if both players have 3 creatures in play, would you really rather have Hex over Rite of the Serpent?
Shoot! You're right about Rolling Stones, it's even older than I thought. I can also agree that Hex isn't as good as it may first appear, but even in the example where I have to destroy three of my own creatures as well, I think I'd still prefer that card in my hand to Rite of the Serpent. I should have mentioned this in the actual video, and I will moving forward, but I was judging these cards in the context of Commander. I understand that cards were more relevant and significant in their limited context, but when put in the context of all of the cards in Magic's history, I still find myself shocked that Rite of the Serpent is so expensive. In my eyes, the card should have been somewhere in the ballpark of (2)(b)(b) for its ability. Moving forward I will make an effort to clarify that I'm judging these cards out of the context of their limited and standard metas, and more in the context of formats like Commander.
Subbed, good list, looking forward to the next instalment, glad KZhead recommended this
well if you aren't a gem of a channel, can't wait to see more!
Rite of the Serpent beign a Sorcery is beyond insulting. @4:50 Also, I'm one to believe that these Kamigawa effects should have been better designed (thanks, mark crapwater).. by affecting non-spirits (the opposite of designed purpose) or non-humans (depending on the racr that cast the spell). That way, they'd be useful outside of the block. You know, with a LITTLE foresight regarding general Magic design...
Pretty sure "Rite of the Serpent" was supposed to be a snake for EACH +1/+1 on it, but they must have either changed it last minute or forgot to add the "each" to it.