Sphinx's Revelation vs. Spirit of the Labyrinth
Standard forum
Posted on Jan. 25, 2014, 5:18 p.m. by PrimeEpoch
I'm going to be making a bant midrange/ control deck, and I was wondering whether it'd be better to run Sphinx's Revelation , or to run Spirit of the Labyrinth . My deck idea is kinda strange, so it'll screw up people's sideboard plan, but I think that all white decks are going to side spirit against me if I play sphinx's. If I side spirit in, will control side sphinx's out if they think that I'm going to play it?
Basically, which one do I play?
PrimeEpoch says... #3
The idea is to play midrange with a little element of control (Detention Sphere , Cyclonic Rift ect.), but not full blown Supreme Verdict type control. I won't be relying on high cost win cons, like a typical control deck.
I suppose that I could main sphinx's, and and side spirit, so in the control matchup maybe I side out sphinx's and side in spirit? Or will it turn into a guessing game, where I may or may not side spirit, and my opponent may or may not side out sphinx's? Is it just better to not have spirit in my side?
January 25, 2014 5:32 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #4
If you're going midrange, you may not even want Sphinx's Revelation unless you're willing to leave a turn's worth of mana open for the sustain. It's your call.
I know very little about Standard, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
January 25, 2014 5:49 p.m.
PrimeEpoch says... #5
I'll be running Prophet of Kruphix , so it won't really take a whole turn ;)
January 25, 2014 5:52 p.m.
PrimeEpoch says... #6
Just a general question for you, Epochalyptik, how did you become an admin, out of interest? Do you own tappedout, or are you an employee, or are you just trusted by the owner?
January 25, 2014 5:55 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
In the interest of discouraging people from attempting to "attain" admin status, I'm going to answer that selectively.
I was appointed to the role. I'm not an owner, and I'm pretty sure we don't have employees.
January 25, 2014 7:06 p.m.
PrimeEpoch says... #8
Oh, fair enough.
I wasn't trying to become an admin, if that's how I came across, it was just out of interest :)
January 25, 2014 7:20 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #9
Not necessarily you. I just don't want to encourage the random passerby that he or she can get promoted simply based on post count or some other meaningless statistic. Merely a precaution.
January 25, 2014 7:22 p.m.
PrimeEpoch says... #10
Yeah I understand, I did kind of imply it though, which I didn't mean to. I have no particular interest in becoming an admin, but I can see why you'd want to discourage most people on this site from becoming an admin ;)
January 25, 2014 7:27 p.m.
I dare to say mainboarding Spirit of the Labyrinth in certain WW or possibly G/W aggro decks is a distinct possibility. 3 power for 2 mana (that isn't very intensive) is not bad at all, and having the ability to turn off Sphinx's Revelation , Bident of Thassa , Divination , and a few other good things (not Underworld Connections :( ) would appear to make it a real contender in those deck archetypes.
Plus, it's a rare. We all know those are always constructed powerhouses!! ;)
January 25, 2014 8:14 p.m.
I was considering putting a few in my sideboard of my Bant list, because flashing one in with Prophet of Kruphix in response to an opponent's Revelation seems like fun.
Deck for reference (comments appreciated!): Prime Speaker Bant
Epochalyptik says... #2
Sphinx's Revelation is a critical element of control decks. If you mainboard Sphinx's Revelation , you get the advantage in game one unless you're facing someone who mains Spirit of the Labyrinth . You can always side it out game two if you know or highly suspect they will side against it.
Playing the preemptive game and maining Spirit of the Labyrinth just doesn't seem as advantageous, especially if you're trying to play control.
January 25, 2014 5:25 p.m.