Opinions on Nullmage Advocate
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Feb. 13, 2017, 10:15 p.m. by VictorSilvertome
I had gotten Planechase Anthology awhile back and one of the decks had Nullmage Advocate in it.
Is this a good card to run in commander? Or is giving people their cards back too big of a downside?
UpperDeckerTaco says... #3
I'd rather run Reclamation Sage, Krosan Grip, Seal of Primordium, and Acidic Slime in mono-green. And Aura Shards and Qasali Pridemage in G/W with the others if artifacts are that prevalent in your meta. As well as Creeping Corrosion and/or Fracturing Gust.
February 13, 2017 10:24 p.m.
If you're running black (Leyline of the Void) or white (Rest in Peace) then so long as that synergy is in play, it's great!
February 13, 2017 10:27 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #6
Those two cards would neuter the Nullmage wouldn't they?
February 13, 2017 10:28 p.m.
Nullmage Advocate is garbage. Literally if I saw one sitting on a table for free, I would leave it.
I guess it could see some use if you're going ultra Group Hug with something like Phelddagrif.
February 14, 2017 2 a.m.
MindAblaze, no - it works. They are part of the result of the activated ability rather than the activation cost. So you can activate Nullmage Advocate and then choose 2 cards. But if there are no cards in the opponent's graveyard, then you skip that clause and move onto the next sentence.
February 14, 2017 7:08 a.m.
Eiti3, not really. You have to choose all targets at the same time for this ability, which includes the cards in the graveyard. If you are not able to select enough targets while activating the ability, it is not even put on the stack.
You can, for example, activate the ability, select the three targets and in response, activate Tormod's Crypt. The ability will then do as much as it can, which is destroy the artifact you want, without giving the opponent cards back.
This will not work with rest in peace, because there would be no targets to select in the first place.
February 14, 2017 7:20 a.m.
It is a political card. People shit on them, but if you are in a good commander pod, with proper threat analysis, you can use it to good effect.
February 14, 2017 7:22 a.m.
MindAblaze says... #11
Yes, legal targets blah de blah, that's what I was getting at.
I have to agree with LP though. If you play in a group where giving someone a couple cards back could benefit you for a turn or two, then it's probably worth the slot.
February 14, 2017 10:50 a.m.
If late game you're giving players back ramp cards or fetch lands then it's an ok removal card if used sparingly. The problem with a card like this is that people want to use it every turn, which is where you start running into issues.
MindAblaze says... #2
The nice thing is you pick the targets, but yeah, giving people their cards back is a pretty big downside.
February 13, 2017 10:22 p.m.