Is Hive Mind still a thing?
Legacy forum
Posted on Nov. 10, 2015, 7:07 p.m. by FAMOUSWATERMELON
Been doing a bit of research on the Hive Mind Combo in Legacy, and it seemed like it was quite the deck... in 2011. From what I read, it seemed like the deck completely vanished with the printing of Omniscience, simply because it used the same basic plan (Show and Tell) and was much quicker and more efficient. So my question: is the Hive Mind combo still viable in Legacy, even remotely, and is there another way to build around it (apart from the traditional build explained in the primer I linked)?
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #3
I linked a primer in the description if you want to learn about it. And I have tried Hive Mind in Modern, but the fact is that it's just too slow in anything but Amulet Bloom (maybe some very weird type of Tron...?), so I'm trying Legacy for once.
November 10, 2015 7:20 p.m.
I honestly think it looks like a worse version of sneak and show. Because you have to have eight slots dedicated to hive mind and pact of negation, you don't have slots for lotus petal and grisslebrand.
Plus, until you actually sucessfully get a Hive Mind into play, you've got a ton of dead cards in your deck as you definitely don't want to cast a pact you can't pay for. To compound this, Wasteland is one of the best AND most popular cards in legacy. If you play a pact thinking you can pay for it, and suddenly get wastelanded... well, it's a free win for your opponent.
Definitely looks playable, but as long as you're sinking money into legacy, i'd sink money into a deck that's at the very least tier 2, not something like this.
November 10, 2015 7:51 p.m.
RoarMaster says... #5
I dont think you generally mind playing a pact you cannot pay for, as your opponents get the upkeep trigger first and die before you would have to pay for it.
November 10, 2015 8 p.m.
I meant like, having to play the pact without a hive mind on the field. You only have four in the deck, it's unreasonable to think you're going to always be able to get one out on turn 2-3. The times you don't, or it gets countered, you've got like 10 dead cards in your deck.
November 10, 2015 8:03 p.m.
EndStepTop says... #7
Not really, it requires more cards to "go off" than Sneak and Show and is more vulnerable to countermagic. I saw someone playing it at GP Seattle so it shows up, but if I where to invest in a legacy deck i'd choose something that consistently puts up results.
November 10, 2015 8:36 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #8
I mean, I wouldn't be investing in this, I would probably be playing it online for the most part, so it's purely for fun (and perhaps the T/O Legacy League if that ever comes up again). From what I read, there are 4 Pact of Negations that you can cast normally and that can be used for the combo, and 4-5 others that you can't cast without the Hive on the field. Also, things like Stifle and Krosan Grip really seem to screw this deck over... Anyhow, thanks for the opinions guys!
November 10, 2015 9:32 p.m.
titanreaver says... #9
The reason you still see it every now and again, is its actually harder to hate on then Sneak and Show. Not having to play dudes can be huge since there is so much hate out there creatures, especially legendary creatures. I agree the deck doesn't win as quickly most of the time, but I wouldn't count it out as a whole. The best version that I ever saw was mostly mono-U control that happened to win this way. Plus being able play a wish board for the win is pretty sweet. You can save a few deck spaces that way and have access to the full 75 potentially. Most likely not since some side board slots will not be fetchable. It also does much better against sneak and show. Since there game plan actually lets you win.
kyuuri117 says... #2
Not sure what hive mind combo there was in legacy, but if you want to use hive mind in a competitive deck, you might as well run Amulet Bloom in modern.
November 10, 2015 7:15 p.m.