Will Manifest be Competitive?
Standard forum
Posted on Jan. 13, 2015, 6:39 p.m. by ZooGambler
As we look forward to the next Standard format with the inclusion of FRF, we gain several new mechanics including Raid, Manifest, Khans or Dragons, etc.
My question is if any users believe manifest can be used competitively. I know that we're still not quite in the meta yet, but what are your thoughts looking forward?
I think that Manifest will be too slow to be used well. It seems like you have to go all-in on manifest to make it work but will lack interactivity with your opponent. If you don't win as quickly as possible you'll just end up behind as the game goes on. Thoughts?
pleasiodmakerblooloo says... #3
Well I don't know if you've been checking tapped out recently but there have been many decks that are modern or legacy that have been building around the manifest auras to get out big guys with drawback . I'm not sure if it will be as strong in standard as we don't have a Phyrexian Dreadnought to use but it definitely is an ability to build around that seems like it could be possibly very powerful.
January 13, 2015 6:57 p.m.
ZooGambler says... #4
True true, and that stifles discussion.
I guess I should rearrange the questions to be is manifest good enough to replace current cards in decks in the competitive scene? What would move out and what would move in? Is the probability of manifesting a creature with value high enough that it's okay if we manifest our spells occasionally? Does the increased pressure from a 2/2 make the risk worth it? And what really is the value of a 2/2 on terms of blocking/pressure/etc? Why should we not just cast our cards for their original costs outside of Hooded Hydra?
January 13, 2015 7:04 p.m.
Could probably make an interesting deck revolving around the "Hunted" creatures or other things will adverse ETBs, but really you could just run Torpor Orb and shut your opponents ETB triggers down too. Manifest, like Epoch said, is not a core mechanic you can competitively build around. Just for fun, sure you could make some nice interactions, but you don't see people just taking every card with lifelink and calling it a competitive deck. You use it to support an already established game plan.
January 13, 2015 7:13 p.m.
I could see maybe some fun happening with manifesting a Phyrexian Dreadnought in EDH/silly Legacy, but it's not going to happen that often nor be that strong.
January 13, 2015 7:28 p.m.
I think morph and manifest have a surprise for us in the future...
January 13, 2015 7:36 p.m.
MSU_Iced_Z says... #8
Cloudform could be a good devotion enabler, perhaps.
Epochalyptik says... #2
Didn't you basically answer your own question?
I see people make this mistake every time a new set is spoiled. "Will mechanic X be competitive?" It's an honest question, to be fair, but it misses the mark more often than not.
Mechanic X is, in this instance, manifest. And manifest is not the kind of mechanic you build around. The competitive perspective on manifest is "Oh, it's a thing that does some stuff. It might be useful if it comes up, but it doesn't make or break the deck."
I always see people try to build competitive decks around every mechanic, and their efforts fail because they don't quite grasp the difference between a central mechanic (e.g., storm, dredge, affinity, infect) and a utility mechanic (e.g., lifelink, battle cry, overload, replicate, raid). Central mechanics are things that make the deck work at a competitive level. Utility mechanics are things that support the deck by adding functionality, but that aren't the main focus of the deck.
January 13, 2015 6:50 p.m.