Hypnotic Specter

Creature — Specter

Flying

Whenever Hypnotic Specter deals damage to an opponent, that player discards a card at random.

Discussion (50)

MutinyMate on Karnie Rigged

2 weeks ago

Cool deck man! Looks like you're into discard quite a bit here. Definitely wouldn't want to mess with what you like, but I can absolutely name a few cards for mono black that are better when graveyards are huge. Here are a few in no particular order. All of these should be on the cheaper end of the spectrum.

Nyxathid , Nighthowler , Hypnotic Specter , Liliana's Reaver , Shrieking Affliction , Persecute , and Isochron Scepter . That last one is a bit steeper, but it would let you reuse instant and sorcery cards for even more constant discarding.

Good luck with the building!

PEBKAC on OSMonoBlack

3 weeks ago

oldschoolmtg

Mono-black aggro deck with transformational sideboard. Who cares about matchups anyway?!

For transformation, this is probably the best option:

-4 Bad Moon
-3 Hymn to Tourach
-1 Nightmare
-4 Stone-Throwing Devils
-2 Hypnotic Specter
-1 Black Knight

Enral on Threnody for the Victims of Dementia

1 month ago

Lil_Kalki I see that you have a small discard subtheme..I get that stealing creatures from opponents by making them discard is fun but honestly I think concentrating on reanimating your own creatures and having the option of stealing later is much better. I would cut Hypnotic Specter and maybe add another sac outlet or ETB value creature. You do have kokusho and gary which can gain you ridiculous amount of lives already so I do think that sangromancer is redundant but it's really up to you. Good luck!

SynergyBuild on ♤That empty feeling♧

1 month ago

Well, when going for the CMDR kill, Mesmeric Orb is the card of dreams, where other cards aren't bad, like Vicious Rumors, they don't do enough to warrant me wanting their inclusion without the commander.

What should be kept is a lot of tutors, to fetch different cards, as well as a lot of ramp. Then a reasonably large hand disruption package, and finishing the deck off with some combos, and cards that do a ton to swing the board in your favor.

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Unsure of your budget, and the power level you want, here are the cards I would add to increase the competitiveness of the deck:

Lands: Ancient Tomb, Gemstone Caverns, Bloodstained Mire, Polluted Delta, Verdant Catacombs, Marsh Flats

(On a budget? Do nothing with the lands!)

Tutors: Demonic Tutor, Imperial Seal, Vampiric Tutor, Grim Tutor, Cruel Tutor, Demonic Consultation.

(On a budget? Mastermind's Acquisition, Diabolic Tutor, Dark Petition, Behold the Beyond, Demonic Collusion, Demonic Consultation, Diabolic Revelation, Increasing Ambition, and Insidious Dreams)

Ramp: Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, Mind Stone, Thought Vessel, Charcoal Diamond, Lotus Petal, Everflowing Chalice, Chrome Mox, Mox Diamond, Coldsteel Heart

(On a budget? Mind Stone, Coldsteel Heart, Charcoal Diamond, Everflowing Chalice, Coalition Relic, Fractured Powerstone, Prismatic Lens, Fractured Powerstone, Thought Vessel)

Draw: Sign in Blood, Night's Whisper, Sensei's Divining Top, Scroll Rack, and Asylum Visitor (can top cards you don't want to discard), Library of Leng (tops cards you don't want to discard again... but in a different way), Necropotence

(On a budget? Sign in Blood, Night's Whisper, Read the Bones, Library of Leng, Asylum Visitor, Necropotence, Ancient Craving)

Stax: Sphere of Resistance, Thorn of Amethyst, Lodestone Golem, Damping Matrix, Chains of Mephistopheles, Trinisphere, Tangle Wire, Smokestack, Pox, Liliana of the Veil

(On a budget? use control elements like Doom Blade, and removal in black instead of stax, some of the more budget stax is okay, but generally the more layered stax the better, so the less the worse each is. Removal is a good replacement.)

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Drops:

Vicious Rumors, Abyssal Nocturnus, Fell Specter, Guul Draz Specter, Herald of Anguish, Hypnotic Specter, Liliana's Reaver, Myojin of Night's Reach, Needle Specter, Scythe Specter, Sewer Nemesis, Stronghold Rats, Wei Night Raiders, Whispering Specter, Ghoulcaller's Bell, Darksteel Plate, Ordeal of Erebos, Raiders' Wake, Bontu's Last Reckoning, Anvil of Bogardan, Putrefaction, Painful Quandary, Megrim, Fraying Omnipotence, Rise of the Dark Realms, Torment of Hailfire, Liliana Vess.

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Not sorry about the long comment ;)

cdkime on Luminarch Acsension & Liliana's Caress... ...

2 months ago

I played around with Liliana's Caress effects in a Modren setting and really tried to make that card work. Liliana's Caress does nothing on its own and demands a lot of support to function properly. It's a dead play when you drop it on turn 2; then you need to have forced discard in hand, or mediocre creatures like Hypnotic Specter; then you need to make sure they actually have cards in hand.

Ultimately, this is a deck I optimized and optimized. Right up to the point where I optimized Liliana's Caress right out of the deck and realized I had accidentally recreated 8-Rack.

Ouroboros_47 on Where's Your Hand?

2 months ago

Nyxathid, Abyssal Nocturnus, and Shrieking Affliction would be nice in discard heavy decks. If you want the deck to be more creature heavy Fell Specter and Raiders' Wake are nice as well. Hypnotic Specter is also a good choice.

cdkime on Blizzard Specter or Thief of ...

3 months ago

Blizzard Specter does not bounce threats as xhuggels and FSims81 suggested. It allows your opponent to pick their worst permanent to bounce. By the time you cast this on turn 4, that means they're just bouncing a land or an insignificant one drop.

I would argue Blizzard Specter is an all-around worse card than Hypnotic Specter. I would always rather have a creature that forces your opponent to discard a random card than one that allows them to discard their worst card. Yes, Blizzard Specter is more useful when your opponent's hand is empty, but I do not think that justifies the lack of randomness and additional mana.

Thief of Sanity, on the other hand, "draws" you a card whenever it deals combat damage. That's a much more powerful effect than "pick one of two mediocre options."

PuddinWing on Exile Deck

3 months ago

May i suggest Nightveil Specter instead of Hypnotic Specter?

Hybrid mana and Thief of Sanity's older brother.

Cheaper too.