It's like a budget Propaganda. It can be better in some cases, but it's going to cost you mana. With that said, I run one along two copies of Propaganda (third I couldn't find). It works as a nice substitute, and the most benefit can be had off of it as a one-of.
Posted By:
Powereslave
(2/22/2010 1:07:46 PM)
I'd rather run Propaganda. A smart opponent will attack first before playing spells, forcing you to spend mana to prevent the attack. You are then mana-less to cast the usual instants in a blue deck (bounce, counterspells, etc) to counter whatever the opponent has up his sleeve for the rest of the turn. You don't have this problem with Propaganda, it's a done deal for the rest of the game (until it's destroyed).
Posted By:
ropebreezy
(3/22/2010 10:58:47 PM)
This prevents creatures from attacking your planeswalkers. Propaganda, ghostly prison, collective restraint all do not. Also, even if the opponent draws enchantment removal, once activated this effect will last until end of turn. Enchantment removal on the other three mentioned cards will remove the effect on the turn it is played.
Posted By:
Nate_Prawdzik
(11/30/2010 5:09:55 PM)
Good for multiplayer where the usual blue instants like counterspells don't really cut it due to the 1 for 1 principle (in multiplay, you have more than 1 opponent so you should use cards that trade more than 1 for 1)
Posted By:
Pigglebee
(2/12/2011 3:24:31 AM)
i like the red opposite war cadence
Posted By:
ChampionofSquee
(2/27/2011 12:32:32 PM)
I love this card. I run it in a Luminarch Ascension deck based on preventing attacks from the enemy. I rarely use any of my mana, so it just kinda builds up untill luminarch goes off. And in the late game makeing your enemy pay 6 or so mana per attack will really hurt them
Posted By:
bijart_dauth
(3/29/2011 8:19:05 PM)
I personally love this card when combined with Oracle en-Vec. You use the Oracle's ability on your turn, forcing your opponent to choose which creatures he wants to send at you on his turn. Then you know how much mana it will cost you to shut him down. You can either decide to just take whatever he is going to throw at you if it is small enough, and use your mana to play spells on your turn, or you can wait until his turn, activate the war tax and prevent his creatures from attacking at all, thereby destroying the designated attackers. And you can do it every turn. This combo removes the biggest downside of this card, which is that you have to save so much of your mana every turn on the chance that your opponent will throw some nasty creature your way. It helps to be able to see the future.
Posted By:
TheMurderousKitten
(7/5/2011 9:46:10 AM)
I like how this and Propaganda can work together. Some will say they'd rather run one or the other. War Tax is interesting in multiplayer, EDH etc. because you can stop anyone's attack against anyone. I've played playgroup politician a bit with this before.
Posted By:
jfre81
(8/17/2011 2:43:36 PM)
Love this one. Not to be used every combat phase but if you have just 1 land more than your opponent you can keep them from attacking until you get your hand sorted out. Definitely more in the vein of stasis.
Posted By:
Smoke_Stack
(2/10/2013 9:43:08 PM)
I use this card in multiplayer games with things like Avatar of Slaughter. Just pay {0}{U} on your own turn, and you then have the option of not attacking. Of course, you run all the other Propaganda variants too, to make sure you don't get rushed.
Posted By:
The_Murderauder
(7/16/2013 2:23:32 AM)