Truth or Tale

Instant

Reveal the top five cards of your library and separate them into two piles. An opponent chooses one of those piles. Put a card from the chosen pile into your hand, then put all other cards revealed this way on the bottom of your library in any order.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (10)

TwelveOpossum on Odd Fate

5 years ago

Normally people between 36-40 lands, right? I'd say this one wants 38. Couple especially good ones: Myriad Landscape and Ash Barrens. If you're serious about the token theme, maybe also Westvale Abbey  ^Flip.

You might also consider these cheap spells: Preordain, Telling Time and Serum Visions. Truth or Tale also seems hilarious, especially with a little politicking.

I really like your choice of a bunch of modal cards (with odd mana costs, obviously) that can do a bunch of different things. I would add a couple more - Righteous Confluence is less popular than the blue and black ones but still pretty good (life sometimes matters a lot in Commander, this gains 15).

I STRONGLY suggest the Scry temples from Theros block. Temple of Silence, Temple of Deceit &Temple of Enlightenment all help you control the top of your deck and your colors. Isolated Watchtower is also pretty freakin good in your deck as green decks will often ramp, so it should often be live.

Some pretty good ones from EDHrec that contribute to your strategy: Prognostic Sphinx, Windreader Sphinx Angel of Serenity Luminate Primordial and especially Conundrum Sphinx Penance and Future Sight. Those last three, I really would try to find room for (holy damn, especially Penance).

Grave Betrayal, Entreat the Angels, Terminus, Overflowing Insight, are good bigbois that work (in different ways) with Yennett.

Then a couple general comments - you should probably try to include 2-3 sweeper effects and maybe 3-5 point removal (for a creature, I mean) effects, and a few effects that hit other permanent types (like Anguished Unmaking and Utter End). I think you'll probably want to include most of the cards I mention above that mention card draw, because it's REAL important to not get stuck on lands in EDH, and card draw's really a good way to avoid that.

A few cards that I think would be good cuts: Dowsing Dagger  ^Flip, maybe Anointed Procession depending (you probably would want 20-30 token effects to justify this), Aphetto Alchemist, Lich Lord of Unx also because it's expensive, Master Trinketeer which has an activated ability that's way too damn expensive, Retrofitter Foundry which again is way too expensive, Sram's Expertise is probably too low impact - Righteous Confluence would be a great replacement here, for example, Connive / Concoct and Discovery / Dispersal are both a lil underpowered too.

Those are some thoughts for now - looks real fun though, isn't this commander's complexity so nifty?

patrickd117 on Artifactually Magnificent Future

5 years ago

I'd definitely cut:

Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer, Jhoira's Familiar, Tawnos, Urza's Apprentice, Mindlock Orb, Orbs of Warding, Truth or Tale (this one especially is total garbage), Essence Scatter, Opt, Frantic Search, Magmaquake (there are a lot of earthquake effects that don't negatively synergize with your commander like this does), Remove (Not sure if this is even in the deck), Spell Shrivel, Syncopate (there are way better counter spells)

I'd probably cut:

Foundry Inspector, Geode Golem, Sharding Sphinx, Thopter Engineer, Tormod's Crypt, Damping Engine, Brainstorm (Brainstorm really wants more ways to shuffle your deck than you have.)

I really like the card Steal Enchantment I'm surprised I haven't seen it in other decks before.

I also think you need at least one or two more lands. 34 is really low.

Upyron on Grimoire: Radial Control

6 years ago

cdkime i very like your comments is very hopefully, i'll consider them.

but you make a mistake about "transmute" you mean after paying it's cost i can take only Truth or Tale or another Muddle the Mixture but that is wrong, i can take all of those like Far / Away orRise/Fall or any other cards same converted cost as .

same with Perplex converted cost as like Pain Magnification or Soul Manipulation xD

xyr0s on Grimoire: Radial Control

6 years ago

Vexing Devil. In an aggressive deck, like burn, it's fine since it doesn't have any bad outcomes. In this deck, you don't follow up with more damage in the same way a burn deck does, and a deck with built-in lifegain could just take the damage and regain life later, while a deck with a lot of removal would let you have the creature, only to kill it with Fatal Push right away.

Crackleburr is not really a modern-viable card. 3 mana to play for a 2/2 body, waiting out the summoning sickness, then needing 2 mana AND two other creatures in play (which you don't intend to use for attacking), is way too high mana costs and difficult circumstances to ever really rely on.

There's a couple of cards that seem like they are simply less efficient versions of well-known modern staples. Soul Manipulation, for example. It seems like a counterspell with an upside (and it is), but you most likely can't play it until turn 4 (a lot of ETB-tapped lands in your deck), and you only get full value if opponent actually plays a creature worth countering. It also costs a lot for a counterspell, stopping you from playing more than one of them in a single turn. Truth or Tale - isn't it better (due to mana cost) to play Serum Visions or Opt? Pain Magnification is, again, only conditionally good - only when you get to attack for at least 3 damage. If you don't, it's just dead cardboard. At the same cost you could get Kolaghan's Command, or Blightning if you're on a budget. I know which of those cards I'd rather play during turn 3 against more or less every deck in modern. Perplex is another of these "opponent chooses"-cards, and they are in general bad cards - at turn 3 (realistically 4, due to ETB-tapped lands), any agro deck is done barfing their hand all over the table. Mana Leak instead? Or discard? The problem isn't that you play a few unusual cards, that hold multiple options, but that this deck only has multi-option decks at higher mana costs - if you want to play counterspells, play at least some number of Spell Pierce, Remand, Mana Leak, and so on. You know, the usual stuff (they are played much, because they're efficient and solid cards).

If your main strategy is discard, you should start on it turn 1. Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek are really good openers, in spite of their slightly boring text, since they don't give your opponent any choices - they lose the best card in their opening hand when you play it turn 1. This, in turn, becomes advantage for you as opponent can't make his best possible opening, and the game goes a bit longer (just think of what happens to burn, when you trade your discard effect for a Lightning Bolt). Waiting for creatures to come into play and attack, is a very fragile kind of discard.

Overall, I think you have put too much emphasis on having options, but have forgotten about mana-efficiency in the process - in modern, casting cost is more important than almost anything else. Spell Pierce sees more play than Disallow, in spite of disallow being a much stronger card. Fatal Push is played a lot, Murder is not played at all - guess why :)

Caerwyn on Grimoire: Radial Control

6 years ago

Respectfully, your writing is a bit all over the place, and a tad hard to follow. I'll try to answer the questions and issues you raised, but recommend proof-reading in the future!

Regarding the dual lands, Steam Vents and the other shock lands are pretty much the best you can get for Modern, as they can be fetched with Scalding Tarn and its ilk. Even in the absence of fetch lands, I would argue the pain lands are better than fast lands (such as Blackcleave Cliffs), simply because you can have it entered untapped regardless of the board-state. Both would be better than the lands I listed--those were provided as a budget-friendly option. Your perfect mana base would run numerous fetch lands and shock lands.

As for your desire to protect your life total, remember, life is a resource like anything else. Resources do little if not effectually utilized. This is a fundamental tenet of Black.

Crumbling Necropolis is not needed. There are better ways to fix colours. Your substitution for Pillar of the Paruns would work fine.

Regarding Muddle the Mixture's transmute, and the implication that makes it worth running over Thoughtseize... There are situations where transmute is nice to have--combo decks, in particular, like additional ways to fetch their required pieces, which also have utility when a tutor is not necessary. That is not what your deck does. In fact, you currently have only two cards Muddle the Mixture's transmute hits--Truth or Tale and more copies of Muddle the Mixture. Both are incredibly mediocre, and not worth a turn tutoring for.

Upyron on Grimoire: Radial Control

6 years ago

hey dude thanks for the comment is appreciate :) i trust on you is definitively better improve those land, Steam Vents but i prefer save my life xD Blackcleave Cliffs isn't better?

This card Crumbling Necropolis is necessary 4 cards to make all mana, Pillar of the Paruns i think is a good substitute (i know blood moon can be a problem xD but i like counter spell it).

Waste Not is to much control it isn't chain with Pain Magnification so much, but for a few modification is very good thanks, with it's strong Hypnotic Specter but is more control like, this deck would to go between Controll Aggro,Hypnotic Specter isn't bad but is going like controll. without so much damage.

The The Rack is fantastic for early phase, approved

Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek they're best with Waste Not but is very focused only "discarding", use counter spell for its "Transmute" cost i think they are defenetvly better, them only discard this can counter and looking your library for a card!!

Truth or Tale isn't very good, i know is possible change but i like it's effect potential you can draw 3 is a lot i think

Torment of Hailfire is very good Muddle the Mixture and is good with it trasmute!! thanks

Thanks so much

Caerwyn on Grimoire: Radial Control

6 years ago

The best thing you could do for this deck is improve the mana base. Lands that enter the battlefield tapped are cancer, and will lose you games. For some budget substitutions, look at the pain lands such as Underground River. They can be tapped for colourless generally, and the life cost is well worth necessary colour fixing. Crumbling Necropolis is incredibly mediocre, and you should find a better substitute. You might also want to add some basic lands, in case you run into the dreaded Blood Moon.

Waste Not is a solid 2-drop in any discard deck. That said, it does not play nicely with Sedraxis Specter--they can choose to discard a land card, giving you no advantage from Waste Not (as your mana will empty before you can really use it).

Personally, I prefer Hypnotic Specter to Sedraxis Specter. While the later's unearth ability is nice, giving your opponents options is a bad thing--they will always pick what is in their best interest. Hymnotic Specter removes any freewill, and leaves your opponent's fate up to random chance.

The Rack is a great card in a discard deck. Easy-to-play with its casting cost of , it can quickly whittle down your opponents. There's an entire deck archetype called 8-Rack that you might want to check out.

Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek are arguably the best black cards in Modern. Why counter a spell when you can remove it before it becomes a threat?

Truth or Tale gives your opponents too much freedom. Instead, consider one-mana cantrips such as Serum Visions or Opt. Street Wraith is another great draw card (you never want to actually play this creature--but 2 life for a new card is wonderful).

Lightning Bolt is an all-around good card, and even plays nicely with Pain Magnification.

Finally, for a win condition, Torment of Hailfire is fairly strong. It's a bit weak in the early game, since your opponent can merely get rid of their worst card/permanent. But if you've obliterated their hand, removing discard as an option, you can easily disrupt their board-state or life total.

Ghitu_Spellbomb on OG Jhoira Tempo

6 years ago

@marcprowstealer one thing which I've considered replacing Aeon Chronicler with is a lower-tier Brainstorm, like Telling Time or Truth or Tale. They don't quite fill the same role, but they're certainly more versatile and faster.