This one's a contender for the most broken Magic card ever printed. No, seriously. Have you tried it out? It's power is beyond words. To be fair, if it had a higher casting cost it might be in the realm of sanity. A balanced (even if very strong) version of Isochron Scepter would be a lot of fun. Upping the casting cost from 2 to 4, and keeping everything else the same might be enough... however, allowing repeatable counterspells on the "stick" is still extremely dangerous. Maybe if they made a new version of Isochron Scepter that only allowed instants, and not interrupts...
Whoops!! That's impossible, because the Wizards, in their infinite wisdom, rewrote history and eliminated interrupts from the game. Guess they're hosed now. See kids, interrupts existed as a separate entity from instants for a reason.
Posted By:
DrJack
(12/4/2013 3:39:44 PM)
this with a final fortune under it and sundial of the infinite.
tap stick for an extra turn then use sundial to end said turn before final fortune makes you lose
Posted By:
EnterTheDojo
(12/11/2013 11:46:14 PM)
Its most fun to imprint counterspells on this card, specifically Memory Lapse. That way, if they try to play a spell to kill scepter, you can always just counter that.
Posted By:
TheKazu
(12/23/2013 9:44:13 AM)
This makes all guild charms overpowered as hell...
I'm going to make all my permanents indestructible, wait... wait... I'll just have you take 4 to the face... No, no no! I'll just attack with everything and give whatever gets through double strike. Now, imagine having those options every turn?
Anyone remember Manamorphose? Well, a free card every turn wouldn't hurt either.
Posted By:
Quake5master
(1/4/2014 5:49:33 PM)
Seems like there should be an infinite mana combo in this thing somewhere... Perhaps involving voltaic key and cabal ritual... I'll figure it out.
Posted By:
K34
(2/14/2014 12:37:02 PM)
One word: fog
Posted By:
Theevbomb
(3/17/2014 5:15:14 PM)
one word..... fog
Posted By:
SlymanVII
(3/17/2014 6:09:38 PM)
Definitely a hilarious sideboard card on the cheap. Feels like siding into the Gifts Package but it is a little worse than that.
It eats removal like all hungry little artifacts do, with Abrupt Decay feeling especially bad and it sometimes doesn't get paired with the right instant in your deck to lock your opponent completely. But then there are games where you have imprinted something like Lightning Bolt or even better Lightning Helix and they don't have a creature with toughness more than 3. The best is win you don't side it in and they keep their blanked artifact removal.
But yeah, not going to win a Modern tournament any time soon. If everyone's seven artifact destruction slots got used better elsewhere (which would require Arcbound R... (see all)
Posted By:
casualhorror
(3/23/2014 9:42:09 AM)
@ Aquillion: Thank you. Your comment is spot-on!
In Modern format, you'd have a lot to contend with if you're hoping to profit from Scepter. First, you need both Scepter and a desirable card to imprint in hand, making it especially weak to Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek.
Then, you should avoid being two-for-oned. Abrupt Decay, Maelstrom Pulse, Qasali Pridemage, Beast Within, and Karn Liberated are some obstacles in this category.
That being said, there are a couple rules to follow when playing scepter:
1. Treat Isochron Scepter as if it costs 
, not 
(Ignore this rule pre-sideboarding against straight aggro).
2. Cantrips are a must. Not only do they help prevent Scepter from being dead by keeping a fuller hand, but they're among the best cards to imprint. Manamorphose and Remand a... (see all)
Posted By:
Tempted_Johnny
(3/24/2014 8:44:55 PM)
I don't know how I never noticed it before but this card can shut down the game on turn 2 with Memory Lapse. Unless your opponent has a ridiculous aggressive opening hand that can win the game by itself (even with the first spell being countered every turn) it's basically game over. And guess what card just got reprinted in Jace vs Vraska....
Posted By:
Reishyn
(4/10/2014 5:47:56 AM)