Thoughts on Warping Wail?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on April 16, 2018, 6:30 p.m. by chirz2792
I've been thinking about putting Warping Wail into my mono- and mono- decks but I'm not sure if it's worth a slot.
For those people who have used it before, is it any good? Obviously being able to counter spells like Tooth and Nail, Expropriate, Exsanguinate, Torment of Hailfire, and Genesis Wave along with extra turn spells is good, but what about it's other modes? In your opinion is it worth it based on being able to counter sorceries and what powerful sorceries are there that I've missed?
I want to hear people's thoughts on this card.
Thanks in advance.
it seems ok, but the issue with running random off coloured counterspells is that typically you want to use them to protect your stuff rather than try to shut down the enemy.
So in red/black you have Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast and Imp's Mischief which you can go to before Warping Wail. And all of those cards are good for stopping blue decks which stop you. Outside of that it's a bit of a janky counterspell which might let you shut down an opponent's spell, but it seems like you could run better. Don't get me wrong, I run Mana Tithe and Lapse of Certainty in my Selvala, Explorer Returned deck but that's to help me fight counterspells/removal to help me get my spells through first and foremost. The problem with Warping Wail is that it doesn't fight counterspells.
April 16, 2018 11:34 p.m.
griffstick says... #4
I just don't like the spell but if it works for you and I'll the before mentions cards are being played then go for it
April 17, 2018 3:07 a.m.
ay.lobo: I'm running Etali, Primal Storm as my commander. I already have Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast but those don't stop me losing to Tooth and Nail... Thanks for the response! I might have to give it a shot.
enpc: I'm already running Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast, but I forgot about Imp's Mischief. That might go in instead but does that work against Torment of Hailfire and Exsanguinate? I was under the impression that the spell needed to target.
griffstick: Fair enough. The last couple of times I've lost has been to one of the cards I named above and I don't really like being helpless against them. I might have to put Imp's Mischief in my sidisi deck before wail, but having another method of countering spells might be worth it for Etali.
Thanks for the responses everyone!
April 17, 2018 3:13 p.m.
chirz2792: That's correct. You can't stop an Exsanguinate with Imp's Mischief. But that's not why you run it. As for using Warping Wail, as a once off offensive counterspell it just seems like too much hassle for not enough consistency as it will be your only offensive counterspell.
Sure, you might counter something big once and it will feel really good at the time, however in the long run I still think you're better off diverging from deck theme for the sake of a very situational counterspell. But that's just my two cents, if you want to run it then go for it. I don't know your meta, it might hit as much as it misses which could make it worth a slot.
April 17, 2018 6:07 p.m.
enpc: I appreciate the input. I might hold off on it for now and just pay closer attention to the games I'm in. If I find myself wishing I had it more often than not I'll probably include it, if not I don't think it will be worth it.
Thanks again for the input.
April 17, 2018 8:43 p.m.
griffstick says... #8
If you have been following the trend of magic edh lately you would know the the up trending powerful "in response cards" are, cards that do out of color things.
For example; Counterspell
Predictable isn't it?
Player 1; "oh look! You have 2 mana open"!...
Player 2; (anxious, waiting to do something in response!).... Shhh".
Player 1; "I better not cast this Blatant Thievery with 2 open over there. I'll cast this instead".
But if you're a mono player with with Withering Boon in your hand. Then you feel pretty damn good waiting for the hard to remove creature.
This is blacks way of dealing with certain hard creatures to remove.
Another good example is Chaos Warp. This is out of the norm for mono red players. What's more out of the norm for mono red players? Wild Ricochet this is much like a Counterspell but only way better.
April 17, 2018 10:12 p.m.
griffstick: sure, it might feel good that time you pull it off, but the problem is that unless your deck is already built as a counterspell based control deck, offensive counterspells will generally dilute the overall deck theme, as you're starting to try and include quite niche silver bullet cards.
April 18, 2018 3:03 a.m.
griffstick says... #10
What I'm trying to say is there are certain cards that are hard to deal with like Blightsteel Colossus and withering boon will work in mono black as a good creature removal. Go for the Throat will not work on Blightsteel Colossus.
Silence the Believers will work but it's 4 mana.
April 18, 2018 8:07 a.m.
griffstick says... #11
A better example is for creatures with really good etb effects. Like terastadon and Acidic Slime you need to counter these guys. Withering boon is really good here
April 18, 2018 8:19 a.m.
Karns_Pyromancer says... #12
I didn't like it in my Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh
Flip deck. Never seemed useful.
April 18, 2018 10:27 a.m.
griffstick: I don't know how good Withering Boon would be. Nobody in my group runs Acidic Slime, cards like Terastodon are usually cheated into play and I'm the only one running Blightsteel Colossus.
I've never really had an issue dealing with creatures anyway, it's mostly spells like the ones mentioned above that cause problems. My group is kind of lacking in control decks and any decks that run blue never bother to leave mana open so cards like those usually just win the game on the spot.
Karns_Pyromancer: Fair enough. I was thinking more about my sidisi deck where I can consistently grab it. The more I think about it the more I think my Etali deck would be better off killing everybody asap.
I appreciate the discussion everyone! It's been very helpful.
April 18, 2018 5:35 p.m.
I think it's an underused card in Commander. It's great utility. Itsbpretty much a colorless charm. The counterspell certainly catches people off guard. Especially in decks that have colors that are not traditionally known for such things. I play it in my mono green deck to stop boardwipes and other sorcery spells that end up being game warping if they resolve. Time Warp, Tooth and Nail. It's other modes are useful too. Bring able to throw down a chump blocker if needed can save your life from a master of Cruelties and exiling a creature with the power or toughness of 1 is useful too. There are many utility creatures that this card can hit. I started playing around with the card while back and it's slowly become a hidden gem for me.
battle_jelly says... #2
Yes. Absolutely gold in decks like Purphoros, God of the Forge. I keep one in mine because who doesn't want to exile a Dark Confidant. Sorceries like Primal Surge, In Garruk's Wake, All Is Dust, and Expropriate are good to counter here. Also, worse comes to worse, a little sac-able creature that affects Purphoros and gives you a mana boost later. Great card. No regrets.
April 16, 2018 7:09 p.m.