Oddly enough I think drawing 3 cards is typically weaker here. They *may* draw 2 burn spells, but more than likely they'll have to wait a turn to use them. If you can manipulate the draw (black or blue) then you have a better chance of knowing what to pick.
Giving a burn deck 5 damage is not something you want to do; giving it cards at least gives you a chance to live (unless they have 5 mountains, in which they just burn you anyway.)
Better for them to have to use more mana and cards for burn than to just give it up to them. Think about it. Same with vexing devil; use a bounce or kill spell on it. Don't let that burn deck hit your life total!
Posted By:
blurrymadness
(6/25/2013 1:43:07 PM)
I quite like the look of this card actually. Either this card will burn them in the face for 5, the burn spells I draw will burn them in the face for a nice amount, or I can target them with the card draw and let Tibalt/Trouble/Runeflare Trap/etc. burn them in the face for their hand size (at least 3 each).
Very nice potential burn value on all sides if your deck plays to those strengths.
Posted By:
Veggeh
(7/12/2013 8:45:42 AM)
.. because this would have been too brutal in the Izzet vs. Golgari deck, 5 life or draw 3 cards, which with Niv-Mizzet out would also do three damage. It would have been silly with Replicate in that deck too! Imagine this with a smug smirk from Niv-Mizzet as the artwork!
Posted By:
TowerDefender
(7/19/2013 4:43:06 PM)
Whether it's positive OR negative, I don't understand the people talking about this giving the opponent the choice. You're running this in mono red burn! When you get them down to 4 or so and are completely out of gas, you use this to refuel and finish them. Because they CANT take the five!
Posted By:
TheBringer
(9/18/2013 3:36:23 PM)
I have this card in a black/red deck, but I think that I might switch it into my Izzet deck. If I can combo it with Melek, Izzet Paragon and a Guttersnipe on the field, you get to cast it twice, doing 2 damage per cast with Guttersnipe. If your opponent doesn't want you to draw, he takes 14 damage. At best he takes 4 damage and you draw six. If you have a Chandra, the Firebrand on the field you could copy it again, for 6 damage from a single Guttersnipe, and any combination of draw 9 cards/do 5 damage draw 6/do 10 damage draw 3/or do a grand total of 21 damage.
It's a win/win. Either do 5 damage for 3 mana (compare to lava axe for 5 dmg for 5 mana) or draw 3 for 3 mana (in a burn deck) while most draw 3's have a CMC of 4.
Posted By:
Mazakur
(9/29/2013 2:37:18 PM)
I play red/black control.
To play control you need some cards in your hand, but sometimes you have cards and you just want to kill an opponent. People say that your opponents get the choice, which is technically true, but you can easily influence them to the pick the option you want.
Want to draw three cards? Get them around or below 10 life and they will not want to take the damage, so attack first, then cast this.
Want to deal damage? Save your damage spells and attack after you cast this.
Works nicely with traitorous instinct because they won't be expecting the damage from their own creatures (if you have enough mana).
Great card, never feels useless. 5/5
Posted By:
Lamaboy4
(12/6/2013 6:39:33 PM)
Although I dislike any card that gives your opponent a choice that affects you, this does it pretty well, especially in multiplayer. I played this in a five-player game once and I had a deck full of cheap burn spells, and everyone just kinda looked around the table waiting for someone else to take the damage.
I got the three cards.
Posted By:
SirLibraryEater
(12/25/2013 9:56:07 AM)
These "punisher" cards (Vexing Devil,Temporal Extortion,Dash Hopes, this) are amazing "skill testers." Some n00bs will see the powerful effects and think they're auto-includes (they're not). Some net-decker twits will think they don't work at all because they aren't common sights in top 8s.
What I will say is this: these cards can be circumstantially amazing. You have to put some thought into the rest of your deck, yes, but these cards will reqard you if you design properly for them.
Believe it or not, they work pretty well together too!
Posted By:
Paleopaladin
(2/18/2014 3:09:17 PM)
Browbeat really is disappointing. I see a lot of people across the "punisher" themed cards' comment sections arguing for their effectiveness by pointing out that each mode is heavily undercosted, but that comparison is irrelevant. You're not getting the mode you want, you're getting the mode you don't want, and whoever thinks that's irrelevant should consider the cases when you're playing the card. Most people here seem to like this card for a straight burn/RDW, so let's entertain some possibilities.
Example 1: You're against a control player who has four cards in hand by turn 3. You have three cards in hand, this, a Skullcrack, and a Lightning Bolt, and three mountains in play. Let's say they've got a creature on the board that's giving you grief, e.g. a Meddling Mage, and you want it gone. Your opponent has two islands open. You would have to tap out to play the Browbeat, and there's no chance of sneaking it in at the e... (see all)
Posted By:
Gummibears
(5/18/2014 9:34:11 AM)