By far the weakest of all the "fancied up" counterspells in this cycle (Absorb, Mystic Snake, and Undermine being the others) and yet it's still very, very playable. It really only looks bad when you stand it next to Undermine.
Had this either cost {1} less and/or had included the damage as an optional "may" clause, this would have been just as heavily played as Undermine was.
Posted By:
yyukichigai
(7/2/2011 12:09:57 AM)
excessively attractive card design.
Posted By:
Kryptnyt
(6/23/2011 11:01:07 AM)
@DoctorKenneth: Amen to your first two paragraphs.
Having played this thoroughly back in the day, the only problem with it is that it doesn't work if you've already cleared the(ir) board. And that ends up feeling like a real issue.
Posted By:
nibelheim_valesti
(6/29/2010 4:22:11 PM)
@TheFrostReaper:
I would rather play Baneslayer Angel over Serra Angel. I would rather play Thoughtsieze over Duress. Etcetera, etcetera. Format defining staple cards are better than their predecesors. Who knew?
Compare Cryptic Command to nearly any other four-mana counterspell. It wins. That does not make everything that has come before it inhertly bad. This is a good card, especially for the burn/counter strategy of blue-red.
Damaging players is nice, but for a control strategy (which blue-red clearly is. It's the instant/sorcery combination), dealing with opposing creatures to stabilize the board is the kind of thing you want to do, not beat your foe down. That comes later.
And it's not overcosted at all, actually, even by moden standards. Cancel is 1UU. Lightning bolt is R. There we have it. (Or, if you'd rather, Incinerate for 1R and Counterspell for UU). The limiting factor on the Bolt (unable to hit players) is the cost you pay for the card advantage (combining it in... (see all)
Posted By:
DoctorKenneth
(4/7/2010 4:42:16 AM)
Suffocating Blast: When you just need a Cancel stapled to a Lightning Bolt.
Posted By:
Test-Subject_217601
(10/19/2010 3:13:07 PM)
I'd prefer Undermine though it can't kill creatures, but costs 
less and makes that 3 to player.
Posted By:
Qazior
(2/7/2010 8:00:58 AM)
@blindthrall: You do realize that CC lets you choose two effects, right? It's a powerful chase rare, not utter jank.
Posted By:
Fanaticmogg
(2/5/2011 12:52:57 PM)
@ TheFrostReaper, they didn't have Cryptic back then...
@MsterOfEtherium, You Suck, Please Stop Capping Ever Word!
@Qazior, in a vactum I agree with you, but if you're having trouble with creatures in your meta, this wins.
Posted By:
wolfbear2
(1/2/2010 6:49:58 PM)
Frost Reaper Sucks. This Card Is Awesome
Posted By:
MasterOfEtherium
(7/15/2009 5:21:17 PM)
cryptic is better maybe, but this is just fun, countr their combat trick and kill their creature hopfully
sure you could counter their trick and bounce their creature with cryptic but why not run both, really, whats not fun about this card in UR EDH
Posted By:
Dingo777
(2/16/2010 5:44:57 PM)