Attention Magic Players: Regarding Platinum Angel

[Mr. President]

A new card from Mirrodin:


Platinum Angel (7)

Artifact Creature - Angel

Flying
You can't lose the game and your opponents can't win the game.

In its heart lies the secret of immortality.

4/4


What were they smoking when they designed this?

[Urban Ranger]

It looks broken, but again, it depends on the context.

First of all, if a player can whip out fast mana, which is mainly Type I, this is going to be much worse than games where mana is slow.

Secondly, since it's an artifact creature, you can target it with any number of spells and effects such as Crumble, Steal Artifact, and Control Magic.

[DinoDoc]

Hell even in T2 there's more than enough artifact hate to make the card little more than a delaying action.

[DinoDoc]

This is the one I would be worried about though:

Card Name: Isochron Scepter
Color: A
Cost: 2
Type: Artifact
Rules Text: Imprint — When Isochron Scepter comes into play, you may remove an instant card with converted mana cost 2 or less in your hand from the game. (The removed card is imprinted on this artifact.)
2, T: You may copy the imprinted instant card and play the copy without paying its mana cost.

[SnowFire]

There are some cards that have a profound impact on the board even if they are dealt with very quickly. Take Triskelion, for example. Even if you kill it rapidly, it'll still be able to shoot off 3 points of damage divided any way you like. Or it can block as a 4/4 once, put damage on the stack, and then shoot its 3 damage somewhere else.

Platinum Angel is not one of those cards. Rather, it will only get its advantage slowly. 4 power means it doesn't even kill you particularly fast. And 4 toughness means it dies to a lot of stuff, like Electrostatic Bolt in the 1 mana slot.

Conclusion? If you have no answer, yeah, Platinum Angel is unstoppable. But if you've got answers in your deck, then it's really not so bad. Moral: Play answers in your deck!

[Ben Kenobi]

That's a cool scepter.

Counterspell, anyone?

I agree with snowfire. That's why my sliver decks have disenchants, just to deal with Humility.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
That's a cool scepter.

Counterspell, anyone?

I was thinking Dark Ritual.

I also like Mindslaver.

[Mr. President]

Mindslaver is just insane. I myself like Psychogenic Probe, to deal with landcyclers.

I was a little more worried about the Angel until I read the entire card list and noticed that Creeping Mold, Shatter, and Detonate are all in Mirrodin. Not to mention the non-reprint artifact killers.

[Ben Kenobi]

2, T: You may copy the imprinted instant card and play the copy without paying its mana cost.

Dark Ritual gets you three Black for the price of 2 colourless.

It works out to be the same as a black Llanowar elf.

With counterspell, you get 2 colourless to counter any spell, anytime you want.

What does mindslaver do?

[FlameFlash]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi

Dark Ritual gets you three Black for the price of 2 colourless.

It works out to be the same as a black Llanowar elf.

With counterspell, you get 2 colourless to counter any spell, anytime you want.

What does mindslaver do?

I agree, counterspell is much more useful... Oh, just think of the places you'll go...

Heh, and try to disenchant it? Counterspell!

[Urban Ranger]

Counterspell is probably the spell to store. Instead of the need to have two islands sitting there just to bluff your opponent, now any two unused mana point will make him think long and hard to do something big.

What about Lightning Bolt?

[SnowFire]

You're missing the truly evil thing to stick in a Scepter. Having a spell countered for free every turn is bad, but not game. However, stick a Memory Lapse in... not only will it counter the spell, but you lose your draw. You can't cast ANYTHING. You've gotta cast at least 2 spells that turn, and you're still losing a draw...

Conveniently enough, they rotated both Counterspell and Memory Lapse out of 8th. There's no way they would have printed that Scepter otherwise, methinks.

Sticking a Holy Day or Fog into the Scepter is pretty fun too. Infinite damage prevention.

And any cantrip, like Guided Strike or Fire/Ice, will turn it into a cheaper Jayemdae Tome.

Another fun Mirrodin card is Soul Foundry. Imagine sticking a Clone into one of those in a big multiplayer game.

[FlameFlash]

Hang on, no counterspell in 8? So what's the purpose of a blue deck now, just control?

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
What does mindslaver do?

It let's you play your opponent's turn for him.

Card Name: Mindslaver
Cost: 6
Type: Legendary Artifact
Rules Text: 4, T, Sacrifice Mindslaver: You control target player's next turn. (You see all cards that player could see and make all decisions for the player. He or she doesn't lose life because of mana burn.)

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by FlameFlash
Hang on, no counterspell in 8? So what's the purpose of a blue deck now, just control?

So blue sucks in Type II in this edition.