Is this card playable at all in modern? I've been experimenting with it in my Mardu/Control deck. I'm not sure if my testing is truly indicative of how good the card really is.
Basically how I'm currently using the card is to find my win conditions. You get to see up to 4 cards. Which usually gets me there.
Is this confirmation bias? It seems to me to be much better than Phyrexian arena and sign in blood. Mostly due to the speed in which I get my draw/filtering.
The closest thing is Night's whisper which i'm still on the fence about. Often times I cast this spell and it gives me more removal. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It is also nice when casting on turn 4 to have 2 lands up afterwards to use on instant speed removal whether it be lightning bolt, lightning helix, or Terminate.
IMO Dark Confidant still tops this list, but Sign in Blood is good since you can use it offensively as well. I'm guessing Bob won't be in your deck, and I'm also guessing you're very rarely going to end the game with Sign in Blood, in that case I'd run Night's Whisper over Read the Bones because its faster. And modern is a fast format, paying 3 for something you can get at 2 is undermining the deck building.
IMO Dark Confidant still tops this list, but Sign in Blood is good since you can use it offensively as well. I'm guessing Bob won't be in your deck, and I'm also guessing you're very rarely going to end the game with Sign in Blood, in that case I'd run Night's Whisper over Read the Bones because its faster. And modern is a fast format, paying 3 for something you can get at 2 is undermining the deck building.
I'm currently running a split between 2 Read the Bones and 2 Night's Whisper. Perhaps I should cut read the bones entirely and run a playset of Night's whisper?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Would Dark Confidant still be good if he punched you in the face for 5 damage a turn?
In Modern, pay three mana to draw two cards in a Sorcery speed is not a good idea.
Because Modern is a turn-4 format, in turn three, you should:
1. Prepare doing something against the threat from your opponents (interact with your opponent)
2. Put your threat and force your opponent to interact with you
Because of the mana cost difference, Sign in Blood/night's whisper is more suitable than Read the bones.
However, none of them are really good in Modern. If you really want to draw more cards in the later game, please use "Treasure Cruise + Fetch lands"
In Modern, pay three mana to draw two cards in a Sorcery speed is not a good idea.
Because Modern is a turn-4 format, in turn three, you should:
1. Prepare doing something against the threat from your opponents (interact with your opponent)
2. Put your threat and force your opponent to interact with you
Because of the mana cost difference, Sign in Blood/night's whisper is more suitable than Read the bones.
However, none of them are really good in Modern. If you really want to draw more cards in the later game, please use "Treasure Cruise + Fetch lands"
I'm sorry I didn't realize that Modern was a turn 4. What makes it a turn 4 format? I can't think of a time where Delver or Burn killed me on turn 4. I can't think of a game where scapeshift or UWR control killed me on turn 4. Mono U tron? Yeah never killed me on turn 4.
What makes modern a turn 4 format?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Would Dark Confidant still be good if he punched you in the face for 5 damage a turn?
I'm sorry I didn't realize that Modern was a turn 4. What makes it a turn 4 format? I can't think of a time where Delver or Burn killed me on turn 4. I can't think of a game where scapeshift or UWR control killed me on turn 4. Mono U tron? Yeah never killed me on turn 4.
What makes modern a turn 4 format?
Mayhap I am reading too much into it, so I will assume you just have never experienced it or heard Wizard's logic in making Modern a Turn 4 Format. Storm, Splinter Twin, Infect, many decks run very fast and could kill much earlier than turn four, but certain bannings made it so they were forced to follow the turn 4 rule. The basis of this fact is, all cards you run must be looked at as, are they worth it? Are they fast enough?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern Decks: B/W Tokens, Living End, R/W Lockdown (a.k.a. PillowFort)
Working on:G/W Hatebears, Mono Blue Tron, U/R Delver
Quote from TheDasuri:
First they came for the ghosts of past standards like Jace the Mindsculptor and artifact lands
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy spike
Then they came for the cantrips
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy blue player
Then they came for the Bloodbraid Elves
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy midrange player
Then they came for the Seething Song
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy combo player
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
I'm sorry I didn't realize that Modern was a turn 4. What makes it a turn 4 format? I can't think of a time where Delver or Burn killed me on turn 4. I can't think of a game where scapeshift or UWR control killed me on turn 4. Mono U tron? Yeah never killed me on turn 4.
What makes modern a turn 4 format?
Mayhap I am reading too much into it, so I will assume you just have never experienced it or heard Wizard's logic in making Modern a Turn 4 Format. Storm, Splinter Twin, Infect, many decks run very fast and could kill much earlier than turn four, but certain bannings made it so they were forced to follow the turn 4 rule. The basis of this fact is, all cards you run must be looked at as, are they worth it? Are they fast enough?
Actually I understand the turn 4 "rule" WoTC wants to retain in Modern. My point was that it is asinine to think that games frequently end on turn 4 in modern when in reality they do not. Is it possible to goldfish a turn 4 win with most decks? Yeah. The wonderful thing about this game is that you aren't playing solitaire against your opponent (unless you choose to).
Anyway it seems as a general rule of thumb that the vast majority of Magic players aren't innovative people and avoid change as much as possible because unless the pros have started doing it already its worthless jank.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Would Dark Confidant still be good if he punched you in the face for 5 damage a turn?
In Modern, pay three mana to draw two cards in a Sorcery speed is not a good idea.
Because Modern is a turn-4 format, in turn three, you should:
1. Prepare doing something against the threat from your opponents (interact with your opponent)
2. Put your threat and force your opponent to interact with you
Because of the mana cost difference, Sign in Blood/night's whisper is more suitable than Read the bones.
However, none of them are really good in Modern. If you really want to draw more cards in the later game, please use "Treasure Cruise + Fetch lands"
I'm sorry I didn't realize that Modern was a turn 4. What makes it a turn 4 format? I can't think of a time where Delver or Burn killed me on turn 4. I can't think of a game where scapeshift or UWR control killed me on turn 4. Mono U tron? Yeah never killed me on turn 4.
What makes modern a turn 4 format?
Modern as a turn 4 format is defined by WOTC at very beginning. This means, if you do not prepare well against your opponent, he/she can kill you in turn 4 consistently. Some most obvious examples are Twin, Affinity, Infect, Jeskai Ascendancy. This means "tap out all of your mana in your turn three main phase" is a big decision.
Actually I understand the turn 4 "rule" WoTC wants to retain in Modern. My point was that it is asinine to think that games frequently end on turn 4 in modern when in reality they do not. Is it possible to goldfish a turn 4 win with most decks? Yeah. The wonderful thing about this game is that you aren't playing solitaire against your opponent (unless you choose to).
Anyway it seems as a general rule of thumb that the vast majority of Magic players aren't innovative people and avoid change as much as possible because unless the pros have started doing it already its worthless jank.
The "vast majority" of Magic players (myself included), will never reach pro player levels, but there are still some among us that want to win (packs, prestige, w/e) and, admittedly, will offhandedly throw anything unproven out the window. I still get the desire to brew and innovate, but just for fun. I never expect to win anything playing Mono-Black Devotion in Modern...it is just for fun.
Back onto the point though, many games I have played, the only reason they go beyond the turn four (for me) is because Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek, which allows me to tear apart my opponents combo and hope they dont topdeck it again with me having no answer (i.e. Dismember or Path to Exile).
This shows that the game, while possibly not OVER ON TURN 4, it could have ended there, meaning my deck was built specifically to allow me to go beyond that point.
But, as to your original question, which I never actually said anything about, so bad show on me, I believe that Read the Bones is Modern playable, but only as a 2 or 3 of, and almost never used on turn 3, unless you know the path is clear.
EDIT: Oh yea, and most games DON'T actually end on Turn 4, that is just the earliest that Wizards wants people to be able to consistently go off, and there will always be those who want to win as fast as possible and combo off, meaning just bringing in the right sideboard hate matters a lot more than a couple of 3 mana cards in the maindeck.
Modern Decks: B/W Tokens, Living End, R/W Lockdown (a.k.a. PillowFort)
Working on:G/W Hatebears, Mono Blue Tron, U/R Delver
Quote from TheDasuri:
First they came for the ghosts of past standards like Jace the Mindsculptor and artifact lands
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy spike
Then they came for the cantrips
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy blue player
Then they came for the Bloodbraid Elves
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy midrange player
Then they came for the Seething Song
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy combo player
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
The wonderful thing about this game is that you aren't playing solitaire against your opponent (unless you choose to).
Or they choose to let you. If you spend all your mana drawing cards and don't interact with your opponent, you're letting them go off on turn 4 and kill you. You can't say "My opponent won't win on turn 4 because of disruption" and then not play disruption.
If you're casting RtB after you've stabilized the game and just need to finish it, though, that shouldn't be a problem.
Read the Bones might be good enough for Modern but I don't think the shell for it is there. The scry effect increases in value in a polarized deck with a lot of situational cards. I tried it out in a mono black tron brew where it really shined, all though the deck didn't. Your list looks pretty streamlined with a lot of redundancy where the difference between drawing into Bolt and drawing into Helix might not be that great. You also don't have Delvers to flip, so overall the scry might not be worth a mana here.
This is an urban legend, an anti-intelligent jingo, a logical fallacy, and a way to shut down all rational thought all in one. It's as bad as the one about "we only use 10% of our brain." Modern is "turn 4" only in that Wizards wants to limit the number of cards that enable any way to win before that. That's all it means. It does NOT mean that every single game is going to end on the seventh card drawn from either deck. Debating the merit of a card based on that is useless. Please stop.
In reality, most decks have some degree of interaction. Against a goldfish who does nothing, true, most Modern decks can kill by turn four - and so can a good number of Standard decks, for that matter. Since we will be considering playing a deck against an opponent with some interest in winning, players will be splitting their time between playing their own wincon and stopping you from playing yours.
While we're at it, the SECOND fallacy mentioned in this thread is that 3 CMC = AUTOMATICALLY PLAYING IT ON TURN THREE NO MATTER WHAT. This is beyond dumb, and I wish this myth would die. You don't want to be playing any card draw at all on turn 1, 2, 3, or 4, unless it's a 1-drop (which means blue), or you're setting up a combo deck (e.g. Polymorph or Twin).
And finally, anybody who considers Dark Confidant to be the only card draw needs to go into an event right now running that, because they'll learn a lesson after getting trashed by the current burn-heavy environment.
Now then: In the right deck, a couple Read the Bones go a long way. I've top-8ed in both Standard and Modern with a deck running that card. It digs four deep, and is good for finding more gas late game, or finding the crucial silver bullet to answer your opponent's threat. It's also splashable. It's not right for every deck; some decks do better with Dark Confidant, some do better with Sign in Blood, and some do better with no card draw at all. As for the sorcery speed, there *are* no instant-speed card draws in black in Modern, unless it's a cantrip or you're sacrificing a creature with Altar's Reap.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
This signature holds priority until end of comment.
This is an urban legend, an anti-intelligent jingo, a logical fallacy, and a way to shut down all rational thought all in one. It's as bad as the one about "we only use 10% of our brain." Modern is "turn 4" only in that Wizards wants to limit the number of cards that enable any way to win before that. That's all it means. It does NOT mean that every single game is going to end on the seventh card drawn from either deck. Debating the merit of a card based on that is useless. Please stop.
NO, it does not mean that EVERY SINGLE game is going to end by Turn 4, but NOT debating the merit of a card based on the speed and power level of the format is......stupid.
In reality, most decks have some degree of interaction. Against a goldfish who does nothing, true, most Modern decks can kill by turn four - and so can a good number of Standard decks, for that matter. Since we will be considering playing a deck against an opponent with some interest in winning, players will be splitting their time between playing their own wincon and stopping you from playing yours.
Yes this is true, there are very few decks that you cannot interact against game 1, but if you built your deck without a certain power level in mind, you SEVERELY limit your game one win ratio against some decks, which is what the sideboard is for, but still, almost auto-losing a game is not good.
While we're at it, the SECOND fallacy mentioned in this thread is that 3 CMC = AUTOMATICALLY PLAYING IT ON TURN THREE NO MATTER WHAT. This is beyond dumb, and I wish this myth would die. You don't want to be playing any card draw at all on turn 1, 2, 3, or 4, unless it's a 1-drop (which means blue), or you're setting up a combo deck (e.g. Polymorph or Twin).
I already mentioned the card at 3 cmc was Modern playable but should not necessarily be used on turn 3.
And finally, anybody who considers Dark Confidant to be the only card draw needs to go into an event right now running that, because they'll learn a lesson after getting trashed by the current burn-heavy environment.
I do not see a single instance where Bob was considered the only card draw. The one time I see it mentioned in this thread, it was mentioned it was the best card draw engine, not that it was the only one, unless your comment was directed generally.
Now then: In the right deck, a couple Read the Bones go a long way. I've top-8ed in both Standard and Modern with a deck running that card. It digs four deep, and is good for finding more gas late game, or finding the crucial silver bullet to answer your opponent's threat. It's also splashable. It's not right for every deck; some decks do better with Dark Confidant, some do better with Sign in Blood, and some do better with no card draw at all. As for the sorcery speed, there *are* no instant-speed card draws in black in Modern, unless it's a cantrip or you're sacrificing a creature with Altar's Reap.
As for your mentioning of the SCD Read the Bones, I actually agree with you completely, it is a good card, but also a specific card usable in only certain builds.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern Decks: B/W Tokens, Living End, R/W Lockdown (a.k.a. PillowFort)
Working on:G/W Hatebears, Mono Blue Tron, U/R Delver
Quote from TheDasuri:
First they came for the ghosts of past standards like Jace the Mindsculptor and artifact lands
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy spike
Then they came for the cantrips
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy blue player
Then they came for the Bloodbraid Elves
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy midrange player
Then they came for the Seething Song
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy combo player
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
You don't want to be playing any card draw at all on turn 1, 2, 3, or 4, unless it's a 1-drop (which means blue), or you're setting up a combo deck (e.g. Polymorph or Twin).
If you have no answers in hand then tapping out to cast a draw spell doesn't matter. Sitting there holding up mana for nothing would be pretty dumb.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
GW Hatebears more like HateBROS BWR THE ARISTAHCRATZ!
You don't want to be playing any card draw at all on turn 1, 2, 3, or 4, unless it's a 1-drop (which means blue), or you're setting up a combo deck (e.g. Polymorph or Twin).
If you have no answers in hand then tapping out to cast a draw spell doesn't matter. Sitting there holding up mana for nothing would be pretty dumb.
It does matter though. It lets your opponent know they're in the clear to play whatever they want without being disrupted on their next turn. Sitting there holding up mana poses a threat to the opponent. I have bluffed counterspells/removal several times when I really had nothing, and have successfully caused an opponent to wait to combo off.
Well, yes, but having nothing to play *but* a draw spell within your first four turns is also a bad place to be. Probably a sign that your opening hand was the pits. You don't want to be there either. You want gas, gas, gas, gas, now draw more gas, finish.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
This signature holds priority until end of comment.
I think its a really sub-par option. Losing two life and costing 3cmc are really huge drawbacks. Costing 2cmc, like bob, night's whisper or sign in blood help you be reactive sooner, and Phyrexian arena helps you out-resource your opponent in the long run.
I think its especially mediocre now, where counterspells and burn are having a field day. paying two more life against one of these decks just to scry 2 makes them very, very happy
I think its a really sub-par option. Losing two life and costing 3cmc are really huge drawbacks. Costing 2cmc, like bob, night's whisper or sign in blood help you be reactive sooner, and Phyrexian arena helps you out-resource your opponent in the long run.
I think its especially mediocre now, where counterspells and burn are having a field day. paying two more life against one of these decks just to scry 2 makes them very, very happy
What are you talking about 'paying 2 life to scry 2' Thats not what read the bones does. You pay 2 life to scry 2 and draw 2. Additionally Phyrexian Arena and Night's whisper have the same life payment as most black draw spells do. Bob on the other hand is going to cost you A LOT more life generally unless you're hitting lands. Especially in the list where that i'm running read the bones.
The list does very well against burn and delver strategies.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Would Dark Confidant still be good if he punched you in the face for 5 damage a turn?
Was I singling you out? Did I mention your name? Are you just here to look for a fight? Because here, the mods will oblige.
I did not feel singled out, I was just responding point by point. I was not mentioned anywhere in your comments, so I took no offense. I am sorry if the way my reply was worded caused you offense, the typed word can be read differently than intended, since the spoken word involves tones that can be heard. I am not looking for a fight, but I am sure your comment about the mods obliging if I was is true.
To prevent further problems, I will withdraw from this discussion, and if requested, remove the content of my posts.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern Decks: B/W Tokens, Living End, R/W Lockdown (a.k.a. PillowFort)
Working on:G/W Hatebears, Mono Blue Tron, U/R Delver
Quote from TheDasuri:
First they came for the ghosts of past standards like Jace the Mindsculptor and artifact lands
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy spike
Then they came for the cantrips
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy blue player
Then they came for the Bloodbraid Elves
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy midrange player
Then they came for the Seething Song
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy combo player
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
I think its a really sub-par option. Losing two life and costing 3cmc are really huge drawbacks. Costing 2cmc, like bob, night's whisper or sign in blood help you be reactive sooner, and Phyrexian arena helps you out-resource your opponent in the long run.
I think its especially mediocre now, where counterspells and burn are having a field day. paying two more life against one of these decks just to scry 2 makes them very, very happy
What are you talking about 'paying 2 life to scry 2' Thats not what read the bones does. You pay 2 life to scry 2 and draw 2. Additionally Phyrexian Arena and Night's whisper have the same life payment as most black draw spells do. Bob on the other hand is going to cost you A LOT more life generally unless you're hitting lands. Especially in the list where that i'm running read the bones.
The list does very well against burn and delver strategies.
He never said Read the Bones is 2 life for Scry 2. He means you pay 2 extra life (as in, extra to the cost of Night's Whisper, for example) to Scry 2.
I think its a really sub-par option. Losing two life and costing 3cmc are really huge drawbacks. Costing 2cmc, like bob, night's whisper or sign in blood help you be reactive sooner, and Phyrexian arena helps you out-resource your opponent in the long run.
I think its especially mediocre now, where counterspells and burn are having a field day. paying two more life against one of these decks just to scry 2 makes them very, very happy
What are you talking about 'paying 2 life to scry 2' Thats not what read the bones does. You pay 2 life to scry 2 and draw 2. Additionally Phyrexian Arena and Night's whisper have the same life payment as most black draw spells do. Bob on the other hand is going to cost you A LOT more life generally unless you're hitting lands. Especially in the list where that i'm running read the bones.
The list does very well against burn and delver strategies.
He never said Read the Bones is 2 life for Scry 2. He means you pay 2 extra life (as in, extra to the cost of Night's Whisper, for example) to Scry 2.
Sorry if I'm missing something, but both read the bones and night's whisper cost 2 life - the difference (regarding the cost) is 1 mana
I think its a really sub-par option. Losing two life and costing 3cmc are really huge drawbacks. Costing 2cmc, like bob, night's whisper or sign in blood help you be reactive sooner, and Phyrexian arena helps you out-resource your opponent in the long run.
I think its especially mediocre now, where counterspells and burn are having a field day. paying two more life against one of these decks just to scry 2 makes them very, very happy
What are you talking about 'paying 2 life to scry 2' Thats not what read the bones does. You pay 2 life to scry 2 and draw 2. Additionally Phyrexian Arena and Night's whisper have the same life payment as most black draw spells do. Bob on the other hand is going to cost you A LOT more life generally unless you're hitting lands. Especially in the list where that i'm running read the bones.
The list does very well against burn and delver strategies.
He never said Read the Bones is 2 life for Scry 2. He means you pay 2 extra life (as in, extra to the cost of Night's Whisper, for example) to Scry 2.
It SEEMS to be strong in my testing. The most obvious comparisons to this card are Phyrexian Arena, Night's Whisper, and Sign in Blood. Sign in blood is strictly better than night's whisper in a mono black shell.
Basically how I'm currently using the card is to find my win conditions. You get to see up to 4 cards. Which usually gets me there.
Is this confirmation bias? It seems to me to be much better than Phyrexian arena and sign in blood. Mostly due to the speed in which I get my draw/filtering.
The closest thing is Night's whisper which i'm still on the fence about. Often times I cast this spell and it gives me more removal. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It is also nice when casting on turn 4 to have 2 lands up afterwards to use on instant speed removal whether it be lightning bolt, lightning helix, or Terminate.
For better context here is a link to my list. (I don't think this is against the rules?)
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/modern-deck-creation/579506-still-a-better-love-story-than-twilight
[Semi-Competitive] GWUB "NO" GWUB 89%
Thrasios and Tymna aggro-control voltron-combo
"No machinations, no puppet strings, no plots. Just pure, sweeping death."
—Tasigur, the Golden Fang
I'm currently running a split between 2 Read the Bones and 2 Night's Whisper. Perhaps I should cut read the bones entirely and run a playset of Night's whisper?
[Semi-Competitive] GWUB "NO" GWUB 89%
Thrasios and Tymna aggro-control voltron-combo
"No machinations, no puppet strings, no plots. Just pure, sweeping death."
—Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Its a brew. I posted a link in the OP.
2x Blood Crypt
4x Bloodstained Mire
2x Clifftop Retreat
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Fetid Heath
1x Godless Shrine
1x Graven Cairns
2x Isolated Chapel
2x Marsh Flats
2x Mountain
2x Plains
2x Sacred Foundry
2x Swamp
Sorcery (14)
2x Anger of the Gods
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Lingering Souls
2x Night's Whisper
2x Read the Bones
2x Thoughtseize
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Lightning Helix
2x Magma Jet
4x Mardu Charm
Artifact (1)
1x Sword of War and Peace
Creature (2)
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
Planeswalker (6)
2x Ajani Vengeant
2x Chandra, Pyromaster
2x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1x Anger of the Gods
1x Batterskull
2x Duress
2x Path to Exile
2x Sowing Salt
1x Sword of War and Peace
1x Thoughtseize
2x Timely Reinforcements
3x Wear / Tear
Because Modern is a turn-4 format, in turn three, you should:
1. Prepare doing something against the threat from your opponents (interact with your opponent)
2. Put your threat and force your opponent to interact with you
Because of the mana cost difference, Sign in Blood/night's whisper is more suitable than Read the bones.
However, none of them are really good in Modern. If you really want to draw more cards in the later game, please use "Treasure Cruise + Fetch lands"
Anything, but nothing at the moment...
Modern:
WUBRGAmulet Titan, WUBRGHuman
WUBRAd Nauseam, WBRGDeath Shadow, UBRGScapeshift, UBRGDredge
WURJeskai Nahiri, WURCheeri0s, WBGCounter Company, WRGBurn, UBRMadcap Moon, BRGJund Midrange
UBTurn,BRGriselbrand Reanimator, WGKnight Company, RGRG Tron, RGRG Ponza, XAffinity, XEldrazi Tron
I'm sorry I didn't realize that Modern was a turn 4. What makes it a turn 4 format? I can't think of a time where Delver or Burn killed me on turn 4. I can't think of a game where scapeshift or UWR control killed me on turn 4. Mono U tron? Yeah never killed me on turn 4.
What makes modern a turn 4 format?
Mayhap I am reading too much into it, so I will assume you just have never experienced it or heard Wizard's logic in making Modern a Turn 4 Format. Storm, Splinter Twin, Infect, many decks run very fast and could kill much earlier than turn four, but certain bannings made it so they were forced to follow the turn 4 rule. The basis of this fact is, all cards you run must be looked at as, are they worth it? Are they fast enough?
Working on:G/W Hatebears, Mono Blue Tron, U/R Delver
Quote from TheDasuri:
First they came for the ghosts of past standards like Jace the Mindsculptor and artifact lands
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy spike
Then they came for the cantrips
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy blue player
Then they came for the Bloodbraid Elves
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy midrange player
Then they came for the Seething Song
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy combo player
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
Actually I understand the turn 4 "rule" WoTC wants to retain in Modern. My point was that it is asinine to think that games frequently end on turn 4 in modern when in reality they do not. Is it possible to goldfish a turn 4 win with most decks? Yeah. The wonderful thing about this game is that you aren't playing solitaire against your opponent (unless you choose to).
Anyway it seems as a general rule of thumb that the vast majority of Magic players aren't innovative people and avoid change as much as possible because unless the pros have started doing it already its worthless jank.
Modern as a turn 4 format is defined by WOTC at very beginning. This means, if you do not prepare well against your opponent, he/she can kill you in turn 4 consistently. Some most obvious examples are Twin, Affinity, Infect, Jeskai Ascendancy. This means "tap out all of your mana in your turn three main phase" is a big decision.
Anything, but nothing at the moment...
Modern:
WUBRGAmulet Titan, WUBRGHuman
WUBRAd Nauseam, WBRGDeath Shadow, UBRGScapeshift, UBRGDredge
WURJeskai Nahiri, WURCheeri0s, WBGCounter Company, WRGBurn, UBRMadcap Moon, BRGJund Midrange
UBTurn,BRGriselbrand Reanimator, WGKnight Company, RGRG Tron, RGRG Ponza, XAffinity, XEldrazi Tron
The "vast majority" of Magic players (myself included), will never reach pro player levels, but there are still some among us that want to win (packs, prestige, w/e) and, admittedly, will offhandedly throw anything unproven out the window. I still get the desire to brew and innovate, but just for fun. I never expect to win anything playing Mono-Black Devotion in Modern...it is just for fun.
Back onto the point though, many games I have played, the only reason they go beyond the turn four (for me) is because Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek, which allows me to tear apart my opponents combo and hope they dont topdeck it again with me having no answer (i.e. Dismember or Path to Exile).
This shows that the game, while possibly not OVER ON TURN 4, it could have ended there, meaning my deck was built specifically to allow me to go beyond that point.
But, as to your original question, which I never actually said anything about, so bad show on me, I believe that Read the Bones is Modern playable, but only as a 2 or 3 of, and almost never used on turn 3, unless you know the path is clear.
EDIT: Oh yea, and most games DON'T actually end on Turn 4, that is just the earliest that Wizards wants people to be able to consistently go off, and there will always be those who want to win as fast as possible and combo off, meaning just bringing in the right sideboard hate matters a lot more than a couple of 3 mana cards in the maindeck.
Working on:G/W Hatebears, Mono Blue Tron, U/R Delver
Quote from TheDasuri:
First they came for the ghosts of past standards like Jace the Mindsculptor and artifact lands
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy spike
Then they came for the cantrips
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy blue player
Then they came for the Bloodbraid Elves
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy midrange player
Then they came for the Seething Song
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy combo player
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
Or they choose to let you. If you spend all your mana drawing cards and don't interact with your opponent, you're letting them go off on turn 4 and kill you. You can't say "My opponent won't win on turn 4 because of disruption" and then not play disruption.
If you're casting RtB after you've stabilized the game and just need to finish it, though, that shouldn't be a problem.
Good grief, Charlie Brown!
This is an urban legend, an anti-intelligent jingo, a logical fallacy, and a way to shut down all rational thought all in one. It's as bad as the one about "we only use 10% of our brain." Modern is "turn 4" only in that Wizards wants to limit the number of cards that enable any way to win before that. That's all it means. It does NOT mean that every single game is going to end on the seventh card drawn from either deck. Debating the merit of a card based on that is useless. Please stop.
In reality, most decks have some degree of interaction. Against a goldfish who does nothing, true, most Modern decks can kill by turn four - and so can a good number of Standard decks, for that matter. Since we will be considering playing a deck against an opponent with some interest in winning, players will be splitting their time between playing their own wincon and stopping you from playing yours.
While we're at it, the SECOND fallacy mentioned in this thread is that 3 CMC = AUTOMATICALLY PLAYING IT ON TURN THREE NO MATTER WHAT. This is beyond dumb, and I wish this myth would die. You don't want to be playing any card draw at all on turn 1, 2, 3, or 4, unless it's a 1-drop (which means blue), or you're setting up a combo deck (e.g. Polymorph or Twin).
And finally, anybody who considers Dark Confidant to be the only card draw needs to go into an event right now running that, because they'll learn a lesson after getting trashed by the current burn-heavy environment.
Now then: In the right deck, a couple Read the Bones go a long way. I've top-8ed in both Standard and Modern with a deck running that card. It digs four deep, and is good for finding more gas late game, or finding the crucial silver bullet to answer your opponent's threat. It's also splashable. It's not right for every deck; some decks do better with Dark Confidant, some do better with Sign in Blood, and some do better with no card draw at all. As for the sorcery speed, there *are* no instant-speed card draws in black in Modern, unless it's a cantrip or you're sacrificing a creature with Altar's Reap.
Working on:G/W Hatebears, Mono Blue Tron, U/R Delver
Quote from TheDasuri:
First they came for the ghosts of past standards like Jace the Mindsculptor and artifact lands
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy spike
Then they came for the cantrips
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy blue player
Then they came for the Bloodbraid Elves
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy midrange player
Then they came for the Seething Song
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy combo player
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
If you have no answers in hand then tapping out to cast a draw spell doesn't matter. Sitting there holding up mana for nothing would be pretty dumb.
BWR THE ARISTAHCRATZ!
Commander
U Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
RG Zilortha, Strength Incarnate
WB Amalia Benavides Aguirre
I think its especially mediocre now, where counterspells and burn are having a field day. paying two more life against one of these decks just to scry 2 makes them very, very happy
What are you talking about 'paying 2 life to scry 2' Thats not what read the bones does. You pay 2 life to scry 2 and draw 2. Additionally Phyrexian Arena and Night's whisper have the same life payment as most black draw spells do. Bob on the other hand is going to cost you A LOT more life generally unless you're hitting lands. Especially in the list where that i'm running read the bones.
The list does very well against burn and delver strategies.
I did not feel singled out, I was just responding point by point. I was not mentioned anywhere in your comments, so I took no offense. I am sorry if the way my reply was worded caused you offense, the typed word can be read differently than intended, since the spoken word involves tones that can be heard. I am not looking for a fight, but I am sure your comment about the mods obliging if I was is true.
To prevent further problems, I will withdraw from this discussion, and if requested, remove the content of my posts.
Working on:G/W Hatebears, Mono Blue Tron, U/R Delver
Quote from TheDasuri:
First they came for the ghosts of past standards like Jace the Mindsculptor and artifact lands
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy spike
Then they came for the cantrips
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy blue player
Then they came for the Bloodbraid Elves
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy midrange player
Then they came for the Seething Song
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a filthy combo player
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
He never said Read the Bones is 2 life for Scry 2. He means you pay 2 extra life (as in, extra to the cost of Night's Whisper, for example) to Scry 2.
Sorry if I'm missing something, but both read the bones and night's whisper cost 2 life - the difference (regarding the cost) is 1 mana
Read the Bones and Night's Whisper BOTH require you to pay two life.