Windfall Vs. Rhystic Study
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Dec. 16, 2016, 1:02 p.m. by Mortlocke
I just wanted people's opinions on how does Rhystic Study stack up against newcomer Windfall?
Pros for Rhystic Study:
Is an enchantment, and can stay in the battlefield
forces the opponent(s) to constantly pay for each and every spell they play
Cons for Rhystic Study:
Can be somewhat annoying to constantly have to remind the opponent that they need to pay "or else"
Given that it is rather easy to generate a lot of mana in Commander, the opponent can easily afford to pay
Pros for Windfall:
Forces the opponent to discard their hand.
will likely net you multiple cards immediately.
Cons for Windfall:
Forces you to discard your hand.
May not always net you a lot of cards, as it is dependent on the player with the most cards.
What's everyone's thoughts? Why is one better than the other?
I like Rhystic Study the best in the scenario you've presented.
As for which is the best card for drawing cards in EDH, I think that honour goes to Consecrated Sphinx.
December 16, 2016 1:25 p.m.
DarksteelBadger says... #4
I much prefer Rhystic Study. Rhystic Study provides more long term card advantage.
December 16, 2016 1:29 p.m.
definitely Rhystic Study and not to be snarky, but how is Windfall a newcomer? It has been around since Urza block... Your lack of awareness reflects it's more limited use in commander.
December 16, 2016 1:38 p.m.
Mind's Eye gets around the issue of waiting to see if other people will pay or let you draw a card.
It's more expensive than Rhystic Study, but that upside is worth it IMO.
December 16, 2016 1:39 p.m.
These cards serve entirely different purposes and should be added to decks based on the needs.
Rhystic Study is just good solid card draw. I believe every blue deck should play this spell as it either gets you resources or taxes your opponents. Put this up there with Cyclonic Rift level of importance.
Windfall is just another printing of Wheel of Fortune that happens to be blue. If your deck wants 'Wheel Effects' this card does it on the cheap (4 mana is the baseline).
December 16, 2016 1:46 p.m.
How competitive is the meta? After a certain point, Windfall outclasses Rhystic Study by a mile. I'd say around 9 on a scale of 1-10 in competitiveness.
Before then, however...
December 16, 2016 2:34 p.m.
Randomdeath says... #9
I run both cards in my melek deck, and while I will wholeheartedly agree that the rhystic study is the better draw card because it gives you long term draw but if you deck has punish effects for drawing like say a Psychosis Crawler then windfall can win games.
December 16, 2016 6:54 p.m.
MoJoMiXuP Well, I do feel a bit embarrassed on showing my lack of knowledge...but your statement does speak volumes. It seems strange to me that Windfall sees so little play in Commander. For the most part, it seems like a very solid card that could prove to be very worthwhile in the format.
TheDevicer My thoughts exactly...minus the mildly disturbing heavy breathing and staring lol. If my meta was very competitive, then it'd be safe to assume that my opponents would have many draw tools/options available to them. While very similar to Wheel of Fortune (I also agree with you Reaxetion), it seems strictly worse...unfortunately.
Argeaux, while awesome, Mind's Eye is just obscenely expensive...at least to me. is alot of mana to muster, and if you were to play this card early on you'd be sacrificing board presence for potential draw opportunities. I don't know how I feel about that.
Given all of everyone's input, it's clear that Rhystic Study is the superior spell for at the very least it's tax effect. However...now i'm curious...what do you think is better between Mind's Eye and Rhystic Study?
December 16, 2016 8:30 p.m.
At pure efficiency, Rhystic Study outclasses Mind's Eye by a mile. It costs 2 less, and you don't have to pay additional to draw.
Mind's Eye can make an argument on the merits of being able to go into any deck and that you control your draws. The downside being those draws cost even more mana. Tidings costs 5 mana and gets you 4 immediately. Mind's Eye scales, but even scaling draw cards are usually 3 or less + X for every desired card. Mind's Eye simply isn't efficient. But it's available to all colors and reusable, giving it some solid bonus point.
If you are playing blue, always go Rhystic Study
December 17, 2016 9:04 a.m.
I play Atefacts and was sceptical about Mind's Eye, but being an Artefact I thought I'd try it out.
I like it MUCH better than Rhystic Study.
Everyone is saying that it costs too much mana, but that is the beauty of it. You don't pay the mana if you don't want to.
In the late game, when you and your Opponents have tonnes of mana, it outclasses Rhystic Study.
December 17, 2016 9:16 a.m.
JaceTheSwagSculptor says... #13
I'm probably the minority on this one, but if we are just talking Windfall and Rhystic Study, then my vote is for Windfall. I can't justify putting a card in my deck that has the potential to do nothing. If I want to draw cards, I'd like to do it immediately without placing that choice in the hands of my opponents.
December 17, 2016 9:20 a.m.
Windfall is strictly better than Rhystic Study if your meta is competitive enough. You dump 2-4 cards out of your hand, probably mana rocks, and then windfall to restock before your opponents can cast anything.
That's not to say Rhystic Study is bad. You're probably running both. But in a cEDH game, Windfall>Rhystic Study, especially if your opponents have been tutoring.
December 17, 2016 2:17 p.m.
chaosumbreon87 says... #15
IMHO, both are good, but both have different uses. Rhystic study basically reads "your opponents' spells cost 1 more to cast" (not many cEDH players will let you get the extra draw) windfall is not a wheel of fortune as its never symmetrical. think of it more of a Time Spiral or nerfed timetwister. The con for windfall of not always netting cards is incorrect due to the fact that you are cycling for different purposes (Notion Thief, Alhammarret's Archive, Consecrated Sphinx, etc). You are comparing apples to oranges here. Both are great for their respective decks, rhystic study for a stax or windfall for wheels. If you are playing stax, then the 1 mana means a lot. Also the extra 1 is almost like a casting limit as most combos are significantly hurt by the extra draw or tax. Neither are new, both are played around. Also as a chaos player, my vote for best draw card is Teferi's Puzzle Box as both disruption, wheel and absolute chaos. the box can be used casually (norin) or competitively (nekusar, niv mizzet, leovold) and disrupts plays almost as much as Timesifter
December 17, 2016 5:34 p.m.
Matt_The_OGRE says... #16
Both are bad. Just run Timetwister.
In all seriousness, Windfall sees play in both of my blue edh decks. One is a jeleva storm deck and the other is a progenitus deck that acts like a 5 color nekusar deck. Both of them would rather have the wheel effects.
It really all depends on what your deck is trying to do.
MagicalHacker says... #2
It's my opinion that Rhystic Study is the best card for drawing cards in the format.
December 16, 2016 1:09 p.m.