Judge's Familiar...pros and cons
Standard forum
Posted on April 19, 2013, 1:02 p.m. by MindAblaze
I'm wondering why you don't see Judge's Familiar in many control lists. It seems like it could have some utility in control decks, or sideboards at the very least. Worse comes to worse it's an easy way to activate Morbid in response to someone's spell if you want to burn people for 5 with your Brimstone Volley s. The only downside is you can't just activate it for fun.
MindAblaze says... #3
I just figured in a format where standard where your choices are limited a chump blocker than can be a counterspell AND activate Morbid might see some play. I dunno.
April 19, 2013 1:27 p.m.
TorrentFreak says... #4
It is a little lackluster. Control normally has enough answers, and having a creature that can counter a spell in unappealing, when your opponent KNOWS they need to keep a mana open. People will just play around it, well smart players at least. Syncopate is far better, but still not widely used.
April 19, 2013 1:31 p.m.
TurboFagoot says... #5
Uhhhh Vampire, Mana Leak sees play all the time in EDH. Are you high?
April 19, 2013 1:43 p.m.
atreyujames says... #6
uhh turbo.... are you? there are a million better counterspells than manaleak in EDH. Hinder , Spell Crumple , Cryptic Command , Arcane Denial , Miscalculation , Counterspell .... if your playing mana leak either you have a small collection or your choosing the wrong card
April 19, 2013 3:11 p.m.
atreyujames, Mana Leak is an extremely viable counterspell in 1v1 EDH formats, particularly those using the french ban list. Nearly all of the top tier generals run it.
April 19, 2013 3:21 p.m.
harrydemon117 says... #8
The reason why Judge's Familiar is not seeing play in Esper is because it's more of an "aggro" card. It's 1 CMC is built for aggro type decks that love to cast them, and unless you buff them with a Runechanter's Pike or an enchantment you're going to be "pecking" at your opponent for awhile (pun intended)
He belongs in more of a "aggro flyers" deck using things like Favorable Winds . I had him listed in a Esper Spirt's list using Lingering Souls , Midnight Haunting , Drogskol Captain , and others of this type. The sac outlet was to prevent things like an early Bonfire of the Damned or an overloaded Mizzium Mortars
April 19, 2013 3:53 p.m.
atreyujames says... #9
oh sorry man. never played with the french ban list. we always play with 4-8 people at once, so much fun
April 19, 2013 4:06 p.m.
Judge's Familiar would be much stronger in a Fish deck and could easily replace Spiketail Hatchling in that role. He's cheaper and he stops important spells. However, Fish is mostly tribal in Modern/Legacy and isn't a viable deck in Standard. He'll probably pop up in the occasional Vintage list, however.
April 19, 2013 7:28 p.m.
detentionsphere says... #11
Because it's so easy to play around, both because it has to be on the battlefield to counter a spell, and because it's just a Force Spike ... Dispel , Negate , Syncopate , and Dissipate are all better.
April 19, 2013 10:49 p.m.
NewPlayer9001 says... #12
He's great at preventing the opponent from tapping out. Really helps slow down aggro decks.
July 24, 2013 11:10 p.m.
NewPlayer9001 says... #14
It seems to me like that slows down haste, but not quick generation of strong creatures like naya.
July 25, 2013 12:04 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #15
Their turn 2 Blind obedience, assuming they went first, slows down your attack for seven on turn two (t1 Champion of the Parish , t2 Burning-Tree Emissary + Lightning Mauler )
It's a little easier to play around some bird, in my opinion.
Sure it does slow down a little, but they can either sac it or block one creature with it, either way all my other creatures get through.
July 25, 2013 12:10 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #16
How does Judge's Familiar help against aggro? It counters instants/sorceries only.
If they're playing Searing Spear on your creature, chances are they will have 1 mana still left open as they are just trying to "clear the way" for their attackers and should be at 3 mana plus. Not to mention that Ghor-Clan Rampager is not counterable
July 25, 2013 10:56 a.m.
NewPlayer9001 says... #17
<.< Did not read the card correctly, I didn't realize it was only instants and sorceries. Derp, my bad. I guess it would be too op if it wasn't limited. Hmm, this card isn't that great then. I guess the one place where it would be ok would be a weenie aggro deck, to slow control from messing with you too early.
July 25, 2013 4:03 p.m.
TheLameSauce says... #18
I run it in my Seance /populate deck to lock down my opponent's utility spells. It's much more fearsome when your opponent is looking at half a dozen or more instead of just 1 or 2 at a time.
vampirelazarus says... #2
Well, I'd imagine its the same reason you don't see Mana Leak a lot in edh. Because later on in a game, its easy to just pay the cost to get your spell through. But I'm not a control player, so take that with a grain of salt.
April 19, 2013 1:23 p.m.