Comments on: (Miss)Stepping Through Danger

By: Speculum

Speculum — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 09:01:56 +0000

I'm wondering if Mental Misstep might be the catalyst the Nix needs to see play…

By: weise guy

weise guy — Tue, 17 May 2011 02:26:17 +0000

Hey Ian! Nice to see you writing some articles since you've definitely got the experience for it. However, misstep is much better than you're giving it credit for. It's at its best in Gerry T's landstill list because there you just need a critical mass of counters and then you can prevent them from doing anything relevant until you've got the game locked up. If you misstep their first spell, then you basically both mulled to 6, which makes your standstills much better (you're less likely to have to discard after they pop the standstill, and they lost a turn of tempo, so it's easier to drop standstill into an empty board, where it will benefit you the most). You can also shuffle it away with jace and brainstorm, discard it if your standstill draws you to over 7 cards, pitch it to force of will, and even "just" use it to counter a late-game brainstorm or something of theirs. In a pure control deck (like that uw standstill list), mental misstep : aggro :: force of will : combo. Basically, misstep acts like a force for aggro decks, stopping their big plays and giving you time to stabilize the game and drop something big (like a jace or shackles).

Also, I do agree that choke seems pretty nice right now. It seems like a decent sideboard card in junk, but I think that it might just be time to break out rifter again. Enlightened tutor for choke or crucible just goes over the top of what the other control decks are trying to do, and lightning rift seem like a solid choice against all the merfolk that seems to be cropping up. Maybe I just want to be playing renewed faith against the Patrick Sullivans of this world, but I really think that a well-built rifter list could be the best deck for this meta.

By: Ian Ellis

Ian Ellis — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:25:55 +0000

Honestly, I'm not surprised. Misstep is a good card (pretty darn good). I'm surprised to see Spell Snare come out of hiding for this tournament. I would have figured that it'd stay hidden a bit longer.

I think that the absence Choke is the bigger question. With 3-5 of the top 16 decks being able to be severely hindered by a single resolved Choke, it seems like it would be a great choice for the current look of legacy. So, The question becomes, "What to run it in… ?"

…I wonder if anyone had it in their board and how they did.

By: Stric9

Stric9 — Mon, 16 May 2011 18:14:05 +0000

So, what are your thoughts on Misstep's appearance in the Top 8 recently?

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 16 May 2011 07:30:21 +0000

Thoughtseize lets the player choose ANY nonland card in his or her opponent's hand. But, the drawback is that you lose 2 life.

However, the drawback on Misstep is also 2 life. Except it's a payment. The alternate cost. Thoughtseize's life loss is part of the effect, so if it gets caught by the Misstep, you made THEM pay the drawback on your Thoughtseize.

Great job, opponent!

By: Frank Canapino

Frank Canapino — Mon, 16 May 2011 06:39:07 +0000

This card is so over valued. At my LGS everyone seems to be pulling them in mass quantities and its crazy expensive for a uncommon.

As for your question. Thoughtseize is the best spell to play in that situation because you are essentially get the effect anyways. If they have the mana you still get a card out of their hand like your hoping to. If they don't have the mana then they pay two life and still ditch a card. Finally if they choose not to use it for whatever reason (like its the only 2 or less cost card in their hand) you get a free peek and still get them to discard a card. None of that really seems bad.