Card Discussion: Grim Discovery
Modern forum
Posted on Jan. 12, 2024, 9:38 p.m. by Icbrgr
Recently I have Been inspired to brew/play 8-Rack in Modern specifically due to all the hype/buzz generated around Scam decks.
In my brewing/research I came across an old primer off of MTG Salvation and a card that caught my eye was Grim Discovery.
This really seems like a neat card but to my knowledge sees virtually no play... I did a quick search on MTG Top8 Modern and found one deck back in 2011 that used it in a Vampires deck.
Does anyone else think this card is worth revisiting as a niche tech choice for today? I remember after the Fury ban people placed bets on scam being a thing... could this maybe do to Subtlety what Undying Evil/similar does for Grief? Or perhaps at its worst just get the elemental/creature back in hand and or recycle a fetchland?... maybe some sort of application in a Yawgmoth, Thran Physician brew?
It only puts cards from a graveyard into your hand and no other effect. There’s no real decks that want that effect at 2 CMC, so I don’t see the appeal.
Just for clarity, Scam wants cards that keep the creature in play, for double triggers and a threat.
January 13, 2024 11:48 a.m.
I have been running Ghost Quarter recently to blow up triomes to mess with Domain and or general land interaction and the general idea of recursion just seems interesting especially if you are just in a position where you evoke without Malakir Rebirth Flip or just wanna get back some other valuable resource.
January 13, 2024 1:28 p.m.
wallisface says... #5
The problems with it, as I see:
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It's sorcery speed and two mana, which is both very slow and quite high-mana for a card that doesn't apply any pressure at all (it's not affecting the board state, and only setting you up for future-turn plays). Scam decks typically rely on applying constant pressure - they're not designed to out-grind the opponent, their plan is to cause early-game havoc and then win while the opponent is trying to stabilize from their turn-1 trauma. I don't think Grim Discovery is a good fit in that regard.
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In regard to trying this in a Yawgmoth, Thran Physician brew, I just don't see them wanting this kind of effect. They already have tons of ways to fetch creatures into play, and so can get additional copies of whatever happened to die. Plus they have Agatha's Soul Cauldron which does a much better job of turning the graveyard-creatures into huge value. They also don't want to have to rely on the graveyard too-heavily, as that's going to be one of the primary ways the opponent will be attacking the deck post-sideboard.
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Generally speaking, the card is only barely creating a net-positive in card-advantage, and only really in the form of a land. That's a pretty low return considering that the card costs 2 mana, and only puts these cards into hand. Compare this to Unearth or Persist which get the creature into play immediately and so have immediate impact - while they're not giving you a land with their effects, they're giving you some virtual mana-advantage by yeeting the creature into play instead of making you have to go to the trouble of casting it.
imo it's not seeing play because it's just not any good. It's really slow, barely creates any kind of meaningful card-advantage, is liable to be useless if your deck is already graveyard focused (because your opponent will bring hate), and there are just much stronger effects in this vein which more proactively advance the boardstate.
shadow63 says... #2
I think it's too slow for scam decks and probably modern in general
January 13, 2024 7:53 a.m.