Mission Briefing vs. Snapcaster Mage
Modern forum
Posted on Dec. 1, 2018, 10:11 p.m. by ArchonBlue
Is there any deck in Modern where Mission Briefing might outshine Snapcaster Mage? Thinking of trying out the former in my U/W Control list. The surveil ability seems like it would be pretty sweet in supporting additional copies of Logic Knot and Search for Azcanta Flip as well as setting up for Entreat the Angels and Terminus.
wallisface says... #3
The only use i’ve figured for it so far is as a quicker way to flip Thing in the Ice Flip. While it makes the flip massively easier, it also means you won’t be getting a snappy back in your hand either, so requires some playtesting
December 2, 2018 2:01 a.m.
If your wincon is to mill or go infinite, and never gonna win through combat damage, then MB might be better. Other than that the chip damage and potential creature trade is not comparable.
December 2, 2018 2:07 a.m.
You pretty surely wont snap into MB because thats two additional blue mana for basically nothing.
Theoretically if your deck has a lot of prowess or otherwise benefits from instants being cast it could have an advantage over snappy. Those decks usually want blood moon though and the additional colored mana of briefing makes the inclusion in such a deck questionable.
So no I dont think that there is a deck that wants snappy over briefing because the body is so much more useful and UU os rough
December 2, 2018 2:43 a.m.
Mission Briefing is better in the modern timewalk deck. Else Snapcaster Mage should be superior as a damage source or suprise blocker.
December 2, 2018 7:08 a.m.
Mission Briefing lets you cast cards for alternative costs, and it lets you cast Ancestral Vision from your grave if you have As Foretold in play.. I use it over Snappy in my legacy deck Tipping the scale (Stasis)
December 2, 2018 8:11 a.m.
Matt_The_OGRE says... #8
Opponent cracks a fetch and after they get their land, you respond with Archive Trap then Mission Briefing and recast archive trap. Milled 26 cards for 2 mana. There are fringe cases where mb is better but not many. Also, it is better with Force of Will for legacy or commander.
December 2, 2018 5:04 p.m.
UB Mill
- Alternate casting costs Archive Trap and Surgical Extraction are only usable with Mission Briefing not Snapcaster Mage
- Beat down is never the plan so the body Snapcaster Mage leaves behind is irrelevant
December 2, 2018 5:19 p.m.
I have an UR Can highlander deck that plays both (I know, not the right format, but still) and I am always happier to see Snappy over MB. Snappy's the 2/1 flash body is much more useful than a surveil 2 in a control/tempo shell that I have them in.
The biggest difference is the casting cost. UU is just too hard sometimes, especially when you want to cast another blue spell. When you are a non-monoblue deck, you certainly feel the difference between UU and 1U.
December 3, 2018 3:21 a.m.
Boza Unless you ment biggest difference in your deck, I would say that the biggest difference is the wording, flashback vs cast. This is more important in Legacy where there are many spells with alternative costs. If your deck runs As Foretold with the suspend cards Mission Briefing is much better. If you run Force of Will one could argue that being able to cast force from your grave for 0 is better than the 2/1 body.
In a vacuum tho, snappy is better. Both because it's easier to cast and it being a surprise blocker.
drsnailtrail says... #2
I feel like MB is good only as a one-of and only to support Snapcaster Mage. In a Prowess deck for example I could see that being an incredible play:
Step 1: MB into bolt, mill an additional bolt or burn spell
Step 2: Snap into MB into an additional bolt, plus another potential threat spell.
Step 3: You`re probably running 4 Snaps so have fun
Btw all in the same turn thats 4 on-cast triggers to trigger prowess. Thats one instance where I could see MB being highly valuable, but again, I wouldn`t run more than 2 copies max in the deck.
December 1, 2018 11:44 p.m.