Dakra Mystic
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on April 15, 2014, 12:40 a.m. by InconspicuousPotato
Discuss. I think it could be a nice, cheap, arguably better alternative to Cursecatcher in modern merfolk. In standard, it could replace Judge's Familiar or Cloudfin Raptor or join them as 1 drops. The constant card advantage/disruption could be really good.
TurboFagoot says... #3
...Mystic doesn't provide card advantage at all. And better than Curse Catcher? Curse Catcher actually has a relevant ability, it's not just a 1/1 for one. And it's an ability that requires no mana investment, unlike mystic.
In standard, having evasive flyers is what Mono U wants, because it gets outclassed on the ground and fuels Bident better.
I'm pretty sure you have no idea what you're talking about.
April 15, 2014 1:22 a.m.
Hellrazor_Dragoness says... #4
Here's the deck I created on the fly. Just a basic Modern Merfolk I guess, with Dakra Mystic and Telepathy. Don't Call Us Naga Enjoy. :)
April 15, 2014 1:22 a.m.
Schuesseled says... #5
In standard every gr monster net decker reveals the top cards of their deck for you.
April 15, 2014 4:53 a.m.
RussischerZar says... #6
Well, against those decks it's even better since you will know that they will get their top card removed if you need it to.
April 15, 2014 5:33 a.m.
SwiftDeath says... #8
Dakra Mystic will not replace Cursecatcher in Modern Merfolk. A potential Daze effect for instant and sorcery spells that can be made uncounterable with AEther Vial is way to good for modern and giving your opponent draw of any kind is never a good idea even if you are drawing at the same time.
For MUD I doubt it will find a place either. Again you never want your opponent to get draw and the single devotion isn't enough to warrant playing it. You don't really need the additional draw anyway. Especially when you have Jace, AoT and Bident of Thassa as dig/draw engines that highly out scale the draw from Dakra Mystic in a single turn.
April 15, 2014 5:53 a.m.
SwiftDeath says... #9
Okay I missed the part where you can use Dakra Mystic to deny your opponents top deck but even in the same since if you bottom it you are increasing their odds of drawing something worse but without hand knowledge they might not even want that card or you could possibly draw them into something better it is the same concept of cards like Vendilion Clique and Jace, the Mind Sculptor but at a much slower and less consistent base. Also paying a U every time can strain your mana where even a single mana open can be critical to resolving spells or being able to scale through your turns. Again it isn't a bad idea but from a competitive standpoint it isn't worth the risk.
April 15, 2014 5:59 a.m.
SwiftDeath says... #10
I hate myself. sense* not since in the first sentence. Also because I don't want to wast a post just to reiterate my mistake I will add that because it can also deny your top deck at the same time. So what if you really like your card but you like your opponents card less then you are denying both of you good cards but it is tough to say how critical that one card could've been for both sides. You could hold this up in response to Azorius Charm , Jace, AoT, Sphinx's Revelation , or your opponents end step and it could work but it is usually not worth the same value as other cards you could play that would help you win and not stall for time, which in current formats is never a winning strategy unless you are playing a deck that requires it. Even then I would rather play other removal, acceleration, or spell disruption before Dakra Mystic . Again this is all from a competitive standpoint so if you are all casual then disregard everything I say because there is no limit to casual magic.
April 15, 2014 6:09 a.m.
InconspicuousPotato says... #11
Just out of curiosity, what does your opponent have that's worth countering when you have a vial on 1? Vials should almost always be on 2-3 since all your lords are on 2 and 3. The only thing to flash in on 1 is catcher. Assuming you're on the play, what can you counter T2 that's worth it?
April 15, 2014 10:33 a.m.
TurboFagoot says... #12
A kill spell for your lord? A combo piece that can finish the game?
And you realize games go beyond turn two right? Sometimes you have multiple Vials,
Why am I typing anything here you have no idea what you're talking about. I'm done.
April 15, 2014 11:20 a.m.
megawurmple says... #13
I think the key reason that Cursecatcher is far, far better than Dakra Mystic in Modern Fish is that Cursecatcher has a much stronger ability that, crucially, you don't need to tap for. Fish is an aggro deck, and an aggro deck doesn't want to leave a creature and a mana open to potentially gain an advantage. It would rather have the 2 damage. Besides, aggro doesn't need the card draw, whereas the ability to counter and instant or sorcery with no mana input is very powerful.
April 15, 2014 12:25 p.m.
InconspicuousPotato says... #14
But the thing is he hardly ever counters anything because he is so obvious and easy to play around.
April 15, 2014 12:42 p.m.
megawurmple says... #15
That's the point: he makes people play around him. With him in play, your opponent can't play the game they want to. That turn 4 Cryptic Command isn't happening, and you have to leave 2 mana open to play that Lightning Bolt , or 3 for a Remand . Dakra Mystic 's ability is completely pointless in Fish. You're never actually going to use it. The mystic is basically a 1/1 vanilla guy. Cursecatcher is better by miles.
April 15, 2014 1:13 p.m.
I feel like people are missing the point. Mystic isn't great in merfolk, but cursecatcher is bad too. Comparing all the levels of suckiness is fine and good, but let's be honest, all fish really wants is a Phantasmal Bear equivalent. Until then, all options are pretty meh.
Also, it should be noted that in spite of what many of the nay-sayers are saying, lots of pros are currently considering Dakra Mystic for MUD/fish. It is a very hard card to evaluate.
May 3, 2014 3:41 p.m.
Cosi's Trickster and Cursecatcher are both better options imo (vial-ing in a trickster in response to a fetch-land is a funny play, and even without bonuses, a 1/1 menfolk will grow huge with all the lords that they play). The only place i think Dakra Mystic has is in turbo-fog. It's basically Temple Bell on a 1-drop, but you can mill the card if you don't think the resource trade is fair.
May 3, 2014 8:51 p.m.
CanadianShinobi says... #19
Firstly, Cursecatcher iis perhaps the most versitile card Merfolk has in Modern. I'm speaking as a Control player. If that card comes down T1 I immediately hate my opponent. Until I can safely remove it, which is, at best T2, I have to play around the damn thing. I don't want to play around it, it slows me down and forces a huge tempo advantage to my opponent. Dakra Mystic doesn't concern me. Oh... you removed my Lightning Bolt ? Have an Electrolyze instead.
May 4, 2014 12:48 a.m.
Or you could just Lightning Bolt the cursecatcher turn 1. "But they could counter it". Go for it. Sacrifice your creature to counter my spell which was designed to kill your creature. I agree catcher is better, but it's easy to remove with a simple burn or removal spell. Although you don't want to be wasting your removal on their 1-drops when they have big merfolk lords, so yea, it's good.
May 4, 2014 2:49 a.m.
forestlore44 says... #21
It Might work as a nice dredge enabler in some Dredgevine builds.
May 4, 2014 8:49 a.m.
Cursecatcher is bad in something like half of the modern MUs. Even against the instant/sorcery decks, the only expensive card that is played is Cryptic Command nowadays (there are others, just none that see that much play). Most fish experts currently agree that it is one of the worst cards in the deck, if not the worst. Also, your dismissal of dakra uses an extremely narrow situation. On average, dakra allows you to get a better card than your opponent, plus fish can generally take advantage of the extra cards better than a control deck.
May 4, 2014 4:57 p.m.
I personally rate Cosi's Trickster . It annoys fetch land users, or pod players, and with aether vial you can flash it in in response to a shuffle-effect
May 5, 2014 3:48 a.m.
gheridarigaaz says... #24
In stadard/block, put it alongside Kiora's Follower or Triton Tactics or Prophet of Kruphix i managed to make my opponent squirm at the fact that all his threats and answers were preemptively being milled before they had the chance to reach his hand thanks to courser broadcasting his next draws. Really really good anti-meta card...
As for modern, if youre looking for an alternative to cursecatcher, i'd go with Cosi's Trickster . In a format packed wih fetches, control players ought to be able to see how much more of a threat she is considering most control decks pack 3 colours and the fetches to support it. I've thrown in a couple of Ghost Quarter s too if they decide electrolyze is a good answer for the trickster. Tempted to try out a simic version of merfolk using the dakra mysic/kioras follower interaction
Hellrazor_Dragoness says... #2
I think you do have a point - Dakra Mystic can help you get what you want, and prevent everyone else getting what they want depending on the weight of needs for both sides. That being said, Cursecatcher still has its early game usability. Personally, I think Dakra Mystic 's best component is the fact that you know what your opponents are drawing or could have drawn. I've considered forming a deck that has her and Telepathy .
April 15, 2014 12:54 a.m.