@meecht - I really hesitate to remove Barter in Blood for it. Barter in Blood is almost always going to be just straight better, unless I'm in a mana pinch and need to cast one half or the other REALLY badly with less than four mana open.

Devour Flesh maybe, but it's a really important fast kill piece.

My only real suggestions are Devour Flesh , Murder or Barter in Blood , but I do see your point with it being one cost more than Barter, and it doesn't sacrifice both. I guess you could replace Barter with it once Barter rotates out, unless something better comes out.

@Denial048 - There's a good thought.

The problem with that is that when Barter in Blood rotates out, Bolas is rotating out as well, unless they decide to reprint him in M14 (which seems unlikely given that his inclusion in M13 was that set's gimmick).

Yep, alas. Will have to hit the drawing board for a new standard idea when that happens; this deck shall not continue sans Bolas.

I like Mutilate better myself. Just my thought.

@Darsul:

Mutilate just doesn't work in this deck. Insufficient swamps.

If you were to replace mountains/others for Blood Crypt s you could easily justify it. (Requires GETTING them but worth it.)

Truth be told Barter in Blood is the closest you are going to get to a board wipe at 4 cmc.

I was just tooling with There, wolf. There, castle. looking for sideboard options and I realized something. If fast aggro is an issue for you AND since you have so much ramp do you think Blasphemous Act could find a space in the 75? (Probably sideboard because you won't want to hit Boros Reckoner with i.)

@Ohthenoises - The Act just isn't fast enough. The main problem isn't actually getting RID of creatures, it's getting rid of them in a timely manner. Even with four creatures out (about an average number once aggro casts out), BA still costs five mana. What I really miss is something like Wretched Banquet .

KrazyCaley, I just got a notification saying you mentioned me in a comment a few seconds ago, but I cannot see a new comment... Glitch in the system, or did you delete a comment?

@Denial048 - If you just got it, I dunno. I didn't delete anything. You sure it was here? I think I mentioned you somewhere else.

It definitely said here, but the lines might have gotten mixed up on the Notification window, it happens sometimes.

Hey Caley, I just laughed my ass off with your Mystic Retrieval + Slaughter Games recursion in the DDoS article. Thumbs up!

~Reap Intellect
X2UB
Sorcery
Target opponent reveals his or her hand. You choose X non-land cards from among them. Search that player's library, hand and graveyard for cards with the same name as those cards and exile them. Then, that player shuffles his or her library.

Thoughts?

I feel like it's really expensive, but there's a lot of mana in this deck. It's basically Slaughter Games and Mystic Retrieval together in one. The problem is that it's a sorcery, so getting the maximum use out of it would require him to be unable to counter for a turn, and play lands that could otherwise represent counterspells.

Aggro decks won't have cards in their hand by the time the card comes out, unless they're already losing. Although, I could maybe see it as a 1-of against control decks, but KC has mentioned numerous times that this deck roflstomps other control decks. I could maybe see it doing well against a midrange deck if KC could take out their mana dorks fast enough.

It would combo with Cyclonic Rift were still in the deck, but alas, there were better cards.

Yeah, I have to agree on that one. Five mana for a worse Slaughter Games , although with more than five mana you can potentially exile their whole hand. You can't even really say "good in EDH" except as a Mind Twist that blows their hand to oblivion.

Well, I would hesitate to discredit the card completely. Of course the card isn't good in EDH. No Extirpate effect is good in a singleton format. XD

The problem with the card is that a lot of control decks don't run very many copies of their win-conditions (depending on the card, of course). It's limited in versatility, but I feel that it has a niche.

The joy is I guess that you don't need to name the cards your looking for or even use your brain at all working out which cards they might have 4 of in their deck, you just pay the mana, then exile whatever they were holding onto in hand and the corresponding copies through their deck. You could get several Slaughter Games worth of deck disruption just from one spell.

But it isn't uncounterable, which is a bit of a pain and might just make it inferior....

Exactly, by the time you have enough mana to cast it profitably the only deck that will be affected will just hit it with a Counterflux .

This being said, I really like it and want it to be good, I love cards like this that pick a person's hand and library apart. I loved Lobotomy , I still play Thought Hemorrhage whenever I can, and Slaughter Games is a treat. Nevermind Extirpate and Surgical Extraction ..."No! Bad Opponent! You wanted to cast spells...pfff"

Oh, wow, yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, being counterable definitely weakens the card...

Re: Reap Intellect - Way, way too expensive to be a good card, I think. You're probably spending 6 or so mana before you can even eliminate a card, and even then you're getting the worst one.

KrazyCaley - They reveal their whole hand, and then you get to choose the card you lobotomize, not them. At least according to the card text we have at the moment. I initially read it like a Mire's Toll at first but you just get to look at everything and exile X.

That all said, I think Slaughter Games 's uncounterability still makes it stronger.

@MagnorCriol - As always, I need to read the card. I thought it was they reveal X non-land cards, you pick one and Slaughter Games it, and I was like "this card seems terrible."

This card is very playable and dangerous, in that case, but it might be a sideboard card because it will not be good against its best use - vs. a control deck.

I think it could be good v.s. rites, midrange, and some aggro decks. It is worse than Slaughter Games v.s. control but still, IMO, deserves a slot.