Why is Singing Bell Strike rated so low?
General forum
Posted on Dec. 29, 2015, 7:49 a.m. by Dathgo
Why does it have such a low rating? It leads me to believe that I may be using it wrong. This is how I understand it;For the cost of three mana I can enchant and tap a target creature so that the opponent must tap six mana to untap and pay six everytime to untap again. Is that wrong?
Well, it actually only costs two mana to play it, for once :)
The main problem with the card is that it's one out of 60 or 100 cards that will at the most get you a 1-for-1 trade - most of the time, you will get less than that, as the creature stays on the battlefield, meaning it can be used as Birthing Pod fodder, Cloudshifted back into usefulness (while re-triggering ETB effects), and so on. Also, activated abilities can still be activated, unlike for cards like Pacifism, meaning you can't really stop a Stronghold Assassin with this card.
Even if your opponent can use none of those flaws, they will eventually get the opportunity of paying 
and just use their creature as they originally intended to. That's a valid option if the creature is reasonably good (and you wouldn't want to play it on a bad creature anyway), and a great choice if you draw a land in the lategame and don't have another mana sink. Also, you're giving your opponent the choice in the first place, meaning you may feel safe with that creature tapped and only five mana open, when they use Simian Spirit Guides ability and turn what you thought was an advantage for you into a disadvantage.
I also don't think this belongs into Q&A.
December 29, 2015 10:38 a.m.
Uh BlueScope the bell strike taps the creature, meaning Stronghold Assassin will not be usable. Whearas with Pacifism, the creature can still tap and untap normally, meaning the assassin can be used.
It's a totally fine card, there are just much better options in almost every other color that people prefer to play. One of the niche uses I've found for it, however, is sticking it on one of my own creatures and using the six mana untap to give it pseudo vigilance.
December 29, 2015 11:24 a.m.
I'm sure BlueScope was thinking of cards like Prison Term or Arrest.
December 29, 2015 11:52 a.m.
canterlotguardian says... #6
rorofat you were thinking about Royal Assassin. that's the one that cares about tapped creatures.
December 29, 2015 12:25 p.m.
The_Dragonmaster says... #8
Not in kitchen table, I know from experience :/
December 29, 2015 1:19 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #9
It's a fine casual card, but in competitive formats... Well, we have options like Path to Exile, Lightning Bolt, Abrupt Decay.... Swords to Plowshares....
December 29, 2015 2:21 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #11
It depends on how you use it. For opponent's creatures, I prefer to use Encrust or Claustrophobia.
When I use Singing Bell Strike, I use it in a 
deck with Karametra's Acolyte. As long as you have 7 devotion, and the acolyte enchanted with the Bell Strike, you have infinite green mana to use on things like Hydra Broodmaster.
December 30, 2015 3:08 a.m.
rorofat: Yeah, I messed a lot up there, thanks for pointing that out. I meant Garza's Assassin instead of Stronghold Assassin (didn't mistype, just forgot that Stronghold Assassin needs to tap for his ability), and like brcap said, meant auras that keep the creatures from using activated abilities (no idea what I was thinking that Pacifism does, but yeah... I don't play it :) ).
The reason I'd say it's not a good card is that you're just so much better off with a destruction or exile spell than this - there's too many outs for the opponent, you have to play it on your turn, and there's just so many cards I'd rather draw than this.
@Raging_Squiggle: While it doesn't have the option of playing it on opponent's creatures, you might want to consider Umbral Mantle for the very same purpose, which provides a win condition on it's own and is a bit more resistant, without the need for devotion altogether and only requiring 
instead of to activate!
December 30, 2015 7:50 a.m.
canterlotguardian I was referring to the fact that the creature enchanted with bell strike/pacifism can still untap and tap normally. For example Llanowar Elves can still float mana when enchanted with either of the aforementioned enchantments.
December 30, 2015 9:10 a.m.
awesome info guys, made me think of other ways I can use it too!
December 30, 2015 9:32 a.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #15
@BlueScope oh I know it's a crappy combo compared to Umbral Mantle. Lol. But the reason I gave it is because it was a standard legal infinite mana combo until recently.
PartyJ says... #2
Link the card for easy reference : Singing Bell Strike
You are right about the use of the card. When Singing Bell Strike is cast and resolves, target creature becomes tapped or if it's already tapped, it remains tapped. The controller of the enchanted creature must pay 6 mana to untap this creature. This remains active for as long as the creature is enchanted.
There is a number of alternatives for this card. Sometimes they prove to be better than this card. It all depends on your meta and the synergy you wish to achieve in your deck. It isn't hugely played. Therefor I believe it isn't immense popular.
December 29, 2015 10:16 a.m. Edited.