Can detain be strong in Standard?
Standard forum
Posted on Feb. 18, 2014, 4:55 p.m. by TheBolas
Can you detain mechanic azorius offers in RTR be a competitive build? I have a ton of detain cards and have always wondered if that mechanic could be viable in standard. I would love to hear your guys input!
Servo_Token says... #3
So from someone who's actually tried Detain in an even semi-competitive field, I would have to say that it's terrible.
It doesn't actually deal with a problem card, it just holds things off for a turn. Basically, unless you have an extremely efficient clock on the field, it is not a good idea to try to compete with it.
This is for every format, not just standard.
February 18, 2014 5:08 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #4
It's decent when coupled with an already really good card, but as a mechanic it isn't particularly playable.
February 18, 2014 5:21 p.m.
It's pretty bad. It only stalls out what's already there but doesn't react to new threats and doesn't actually affect the board state - you're literally just pushing back when you're going to lose by a turn or two. Most decks with a decent tempo will absolutely wreck a detain deck simply because going into the late game they hsould have a ton of creatures out all ready to bash face.
February 18, 2014 5:25 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #6
People play Voyage's End over Inaction Injunction in standard. That should answer your question.
February 18, 2014 6:20 p.m.
its good if you know how to run it, like ChiefBell said its weak since it cant actually deal with threats, but if you're just using it to stall till a verdict it can be pretty nice, you're gonna need a 4 of Detention Sphere and Supreme Verdict and maybe some Sphinx's Revelation though.
check out my tempo deck to see how a detain deck would run Azorius Tempo/Devotion
February 18, 2014 6:27 p.m.
Actually I have found that it is pretty good in aggro (particularly when on creatures eg: Lyev Skyknight ). You are already attacking with everything you have and then you can detain their blocker to get through a bit more damage and prevent a counter attack. It really punishes voltron strategies or weak starts. Yes you only delay it for a turn but sometimes that extra 2 damage is all you need to close out a match. It's also excellent in buying you an extra turn against things that would otherwise close out the game Thassa, God of the Sea , Elspeth, Sun's Champion , pre-monstrous Polukranos.
February 19, 2014 5:31 a.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #9
Detain decks can have some really good matchups, namely against aggressive decks with lots of creatures. Like others have said, though, you'll still want to mix in some real removal to deal with the big threats.
The problem Detain decks run into is when they go against more controlly decks that rely on instants, sorceries, etc. since you're essentially just playing underpowered creatures in those matchups, and there aren't enough Lyev Skyknight
s to deal with Planeswalkers.
In the end, I don't really think any of the RTR Guild mechanics are meant to be built around because there aren't enough good cards to do so, and each mechanic has a weakness. For another example, as a person who loves to play Simic, it pains me to see people try to build competitive Evolve decks since they are destined to fail due to lack of a good pool of cards and susceptibility to boardwipes. You want to just find the good cards with those mechanics, but don't depend on or build around them, or your deck will feel like it's pre-constructed.
JimothyCrikkett says... #2
I've got a friend I play against who has a deck that runs heavily with detain, and it's perhaps one of the finest control abilities I've seen yet (that I really understand lol). Getting to have a permanent not do anything until your next turn (not theirs) is a huge way to cripple a deck. Your opponent has an AEther Vial on the field? Detained. It That Betrays , even? Detain it. The possibilities are just astounding when it comes to detaining, and it's just a heck of a mechanic in my opinion.
To actually answer your question: Yup, definitely good for competitive builds, though you'll probably have plenty of spitting and cursing in your direction :P
February 18, 2014 5:03 p.m.