MTG Salvation

Quote from Goodking

I'm happy to say I'm still running Wave at 360. It's rather borderline though.

If I was badass/masochistic enough to cut down to 360 I'd probably still want to run Wave, but based as much on its ability to create interesting situations and allow cunning shenanigans as its absolute power level.

Actually it would be a worthwhile exercise to compile the good interactions that Stifle has. Countering a Sword activation is not a particulary good one, but it's a start. Fetches are a common one.

I just ran over these with my list before deciding to add it. There's a ton of them.

I broke them down into three separate categories:

A) Cards that are answered completely by Stifle (all 12 fetchlands, Strip Mine, Wasteland, Nev's Disk, O Ring, D Sphere, Journey, Seal of Cleansing, E Explosives, Powder Keg, Pernicious Deed, etc)

B) Plays that are worth a card but don't permanently answer their card (stopping a planeswalker activation that generates/removes threats or nets CA otherwise, protecting one of your permanents that's going to be removed by an ETB trigger, etc)

C) Plays that are tempo boosts or stalls for you when you play Stifle, but may not be worth a full card (stopping Sword triggers, countering a Maze/Icy activation, countering an equip cost or a manland activation)

As it turns out, there's a plethora of cards that land into all three of these categories, and it made me want to re-test Stifle.

Part of my issue is also that it is the most reactive kind of card possible; while counterspells are reactive by nature, there will always be a time in every game when they will be useful. I don't feel the same way about Stifle, right or wrong.

This discussion has made me want to pick up a foil Tide, however, in case I want it in the future, before another price spike on Magic cards in general. I might start compiling a list like that...cards that are archetype-supportive for archetypes I don't currently use.

-AA

A mode should move all the Stifle discussion to the Stifle [SCD] when they have a chance.

As blue tempo is picking up some steam lately, is it worth reconsidering Parallax Tide? I know blue is tight, but it seems like this would work really well in Ux tempo.

In addition to that, you have a couple super busted combo plays that you could setup. Remove your own lands from the game and cast Balance or Upheaval. Good times, especially with Upheaval. You get 4/5 land back immediately if I'm not mistaken.

Tide is a fine card for blue tempo. It's the second best behind the nuts Wave.

-AA

It's still good for us. Can't really compare to Wave - it doesn't do something really similar. Wave is like a more versatile temporary Wrath. Tide is a sort of cheaper, off-colour Rain of Salt with other modes, and some other tricks. We run a decent amount of blue tempo decks (and Thassa, if that's relevant to the discussion), and it's an easy maindeck in that archetype. If you go all the way on blue devotion with Master and co., then it's also helpful in there.