why hasn't this card blown up?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Dec. 29, 2020, 1:14 p.m. by RambIe
when i first pulled Feed the Swarm i got so excited that i don't even remember what my rare was...
its been out a while now and i have yet to see any real chatter or activity with it
i really thought everyone would slap a staple on it
@Optimator me too ! first thing i did was pick up a play set of foils.
December 29, 2020 1:25 p.m.
for those that don't know what makes it amazing
lets play a game
pretend you are piloting Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon aka "skittles" (you can find the deck online anywere)
and i put Imprisoned in the Moon on your commander
how many ways can you find to get out of this ??
December 29, 2020 1:26 p.m.
Optimator "as I don't have much call to use them these days"
i feel you, for me the new norm for 2020 is a 60-65 hour work week and the closest thing i have to a social life is these forums.
December 29, 2020 2:05 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #6
It is a staple in mono black. It's in 66% of the mono black decks on edhrec. However, it probably won't reach true staple status because other colors are afforded better options in dealing with enchantments and creatures.
December 29, 2020 3:27 p.m.
Metroid_Hybrid says... #7
Maybe because it was printed as a Common only a few months ago..
December 29, 2020 3:33 p.m.
Suns_Champion says... #8
"how many ways can you find to get out of this?"
18+ cards destroy lands in black, 11+ ways to exile/destroy a permanent in black... the true joy of deckbuilding is overcoming the challenges that the color pie presents. I play Neheb, the Eternal and I slotted in Strip Mine and Ugin, the Ineffable to protect him from such effects.
Feed the Swarm is a good card, but not really one that black needed.
December 29, 2020 3:38 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #9
Myself, I love Sanctum of Eternity for getting out of commander-tucking. But yeah, "Feed..." isn't exciting but it's obviously nice when you're not running a / commander.
December 29, 2020 3:52 p.m.
I know a lot of pauper players who are excited about it. It's a cool card, but mostly because it helps out mono-B, not because it's great in general. So only mono-B players are gonna be that psyched for it!
December 29, 2020 4:05 p.m.
@Suns_Champion well played!!
@Coward_Token how is it not exciting?
ability to remove an enchantment but never a waste because it can fill in a creature removal slot for 2 cmc
December 29, 2020 4:14 p.m.
griffstick says... #12
Blowing up a Sylvan Library with Feed the Swarm feels really good lol.
December 29, 2020 4:17 p.m.
@Suns_Champion but how many of those ways can be done for just 2 cmc?
agreed its not needed, but how can you not get excited about this much value (cost vs effect)
December 29, 2020 4:29 p.m.
lets keep it real, if this was an instant instead of a sorcery
everyone else would be labeling it as a staple
and i would be protesting against staples...
December 29, 2020 4:34 p.m.
Megalomania says... #15
There you have it. It’s a sorcery making it far from optimal in as far as removal spells are concerned. Pretty much the same reason Maelstrom Pulse isn’t as sought after as Abrupt Decay despite the latter having cmc limitations.
It’s still good if you’re playing mono black though.
December 29, 2020 7:13 p.m.
Gabe_The_Controller says... #16
Feed th swarm is really only playable in monoblack, ub, be, and ubr decks since every other combination has better removal spells that can hit enchantments or creatures (since bw and gb are the colors that get destroy target permanent. So it's only wanted in a small portion of the edh deck pool.
December 29, 2020 7:25 p.m.
Personally, sorcery speed is pretty bad and I’d rather dedicate that slot for Go for the Throat or Heartless Act unless your commander is Mono-black.
Even though the card doesn’t meet my standards I am running it in my competitive deck, because it’s the best answer to straight up removing Contamination and at the very least its cheap removal. I’m hoping better black enchantment removal will be printed in time.
December 30, 2020 2:52 a.m.
plakjekaas says... #18
It's hard to get excited over a removal spell in commander. Are there any removal spells that did "blow up" in EDH? In my experience, interaction like this is played because you need to, not because you want to. It's not an exciting new build-around, it's not a way to win the game, it's just a boring card that deals with creatures and/or enchantments that punches you back in the face the more impactful your target was. I reanimate Meteor Golem in my mono black deck for that purpose, which almost always feels better.
Optimator says... #2
I bought several and am sliding them into my decks. Slowly, as I don't have much call to use them these days. Got some foils on the cheap too
December 29, 2020 1:21 p.m.