Mindcrank in EDH
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Nov. 13, 2019, 6:29 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
I have Mindcrank in many of my EDH decks, because it is a very useful card to have, but I am wondering if I should replace it with another card in decks where it does not contribute to the central theme, and suitable replacements would be either Thought Vessel or Arcane Signet , since a deck can never have too many sources of mana, in my mind. In some of my decks, Mindcrank contributes to the deck’s theme, but, in other decks, it is merely a filler card, so it is from those decks that I may remove it.
What does everyone else say about this? How good of a card is Mindcrank for EDH?
I run it in my Neksuar wheel deck and I hope to draw my leyline of the void with it out but it is very situational card that work in certain decks
November 13, 2019 6:44 p.m. Edited.
I mean it really depends on the commander and goal of your deck. Mindcrank isn't going to be great in every deck, but certain commanders can appreciate it. Syr Konrad, the Grim comes to mind considering it is essentially a 1 card combo pairing with him that can go pseudo-infinite to kill the table. Otherwise, if you're not milling people with your deck, you should probably pass on it.
November 13, 2019 7:37 p.m.
I mean even if you get it out before anyone damages anyone at the table and you get everyone from 40 to zero your still milling less then half the cards in each players deck. If your already in a mill strategy it's an amazing card but outside of mill it's a DEAD card
November 13, 2019 8:06 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #6
enpc, Dango, shadow63, your words have convinced me to keep Mindcrank only in decks in which it actually contributes to the deck's central theme, and I thank you for that.
November 13, 2019 9:08 p.m.
SP3CTR3_chelts says... #7
in most decks mindcrank just helps opponents, unless you use their graveyard or are planning to win via mill mindcrank is not great.
November 14, 2019 5:46 a.m.
If you have a spot for it I support adding it. You are possibly stripping answers to your board state from you opponent(s) library while still dealing damage.
If your opponents don’t have any or limited recursion all the better for you.
November 14, 2019 11:37 a.m.
Kidaalpha your also just as likely to get your opponents to their answers sooner
November 14, 2019 2:45 p.m.
You have a valid point. Mindcrank is sort of a double edged sword. More so in DemonDragonJ favor if he is hitting hard and milling for more, less so if only hitting for a couple damage here and there.
The question DemonDragonJ needs to ask himself is "Do I want to gamble"?
November 15, 2019 12:02 a.m.
Personally, I run Mindcrank in only one deck, which is
"Library.exe has stopped working" | Phenax Primer
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 60 | 52 COMMENTS | 7005 VIEWS | IN 40 FOLDERS
As stated before by others, I usually try to use such card as a combo piece with Duskmantle Guildmage / Bloodchief Ascension / Syr Konrad, the Grim . There are times in which I cast it without the other combo piece and usually the table knows how to interact with it, if they can't destroy it: attack the player that benefits less from mill. Meanwhile, I laugh for the success of my evil plan...
It's a good card if its mechanic it's supported, as all cards should be. Otherwise, skip it. No card belongs in every deck, not even a Sol Ring . That's the thrill of deck building!
November 15, 2019 2:14 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #12
shadow63, SP3CTR3_chelts, how likely is it that my opponents shall use their graveyards as resources?
November 16, 2019 1:19 a.m.
DemonDragonJ: How long is a piece of string? It entirely depends on what your opponents are playing (are they running Kess or Meren type decks), do they run stuff like Past in Flames or Yawgmoth's Will , do they run cards like Mission Briefing or Reanimate -esque spells?
Most "decent" decks (that is ones that have at least somewhat of a competitive focus) will have some level of personal graveyard interation,.
November 16, 2019 2:02 a.m.
SP3CTR3_chelts says... #14
even if you are not playing against a specific GY deck (which are not that rare) most decks should have a peice or two of recursion and mindcrank just helps them
November 18, 2019 3:38 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #15
SP3CTR3_chelts, yes, I agree, since every one of my own EDH decks contains Elixir of Immortality ; therefore, I have removed Mindcrank from any of my EDh decks that do not specifically focus on using graveyards as resources.
November 18, 2019 6:41 p.m.
DemonDragonJ: Elixir of Immortality isn't such an issue. It's more that there a a slew of cards (like Mission Briefing or Yawgmoth's Will ) which let you treat your graveyard like cards in your hand, which is where the power comes from. Elixir just shuffles your GY, but cards which let you target something specifically in your GY get more powerful the more options there are.
November 18, 2019 7:13 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #17
enpc, Yawgmoth's Will is far too expensive for me to purchase a copy of it for my decks (although I would consider Magus of the Will , if I could find a card to remove in its stead), and Mission Briefing relies on having a large amount of instants and sorceries in a deck, which only some of my decks have, so that card is too unrelaible for my decks.
November 18, 2019 9:54 p.m.
DemonDragonJ: You've missed the point there, it's not about you running graveyard recursion, it's about your opponents running graveyard recursion against your Mindcrack. Any spells which target cards in graveyards get strong when they are given a bigger pool of cards to pick from. That was the point.
enpc says... #2
Mindcrank is situationally a good card, but for most decks it just takes up a card slot. There are the obviously good lines with Bloodchief Ascension or Duskmantle Guildmage but unfortuneately mill in generally (but especially in EDH) is a double-edged sword as most EDH decks are designed to leverage their graveyard at least somewhat.
November 13, 2019 6:39 p.m.