Imp's Mischief

Instant

Change the target of target spell with a single target. You lose life equal to that spell's converted mana cost.

Discussion (50)

Profet93 on Tergrid is Poxerific

1 week ago

People are going to try and remove your commander, as your deck is centered around him. As such, protecting him is key.

Imp's Mischief - Counter counterspells, redirect targetted removal/draw/extra turns, etc.... super utility

Deserted Temple - Untap coffers

Thespian's Stage - Copy coffers or other utility lands

Since you are playing pox with lots of creature removal, you might want to consider Infernal Darkness or Contamination + Bitterblossom.

Feed the Swarm - Good removal

Blast Zone - Not needed but nice to have, another way to deal with artifacts/enchantments

Given you're saccing your own lands too, have you considered adding fetches and Crucible of Worlds? It could really offset Lake of the Dead

I got some ideas for cuts should you need. I HATE this commander so much, deck looks pretty good +1

7thZombieman on Tiny in Size, but he'll be your Demise

1 month ago

Mindcrank + Bloodchief Ascension / Leyline of the Void + Helm of Obedience / Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Cinderhaze Wretch These are some solid combos for discard tribal, and usually a quick closeout for a game.

I'd leave the Painful Quandary in and opt out Oppression. Every time I've played Oppression, its fucked me in the long run. Library of Leng is better than Anvil of Bogardan in my opinion, since it only applies to you. Definitely include that Sangromancer, crazy value in a discard deck. Mind Rake > Mind Rot just cause of the overload cost. Some cards to think about adding in Imp's Mischief, Rankle, Master of Pranks, Syphon Mind, Mind Twist, Archfiend of Ifnir, Banshee of the Dread Choir. Good lookin deck though! Hope these suggestions can help you out

HalbrechtHalbrecht on Ellie's Rats

2 months ago

I agree on the black counterspells — so much fun to surprise people with! I also use Withering Boon in non-Modern decks. I do think Imp's Mischief is best for this deck, but unfortunately it's both a little pricey plus from that same Time Spiral era that gives you trouble. :\

Speaking of budget, I'd honestly just wait for Fiend Artisan to rotate out, as it's biggest demand seems to be in Standard (and Pioneer). I've only seen Modern and Legacy toying with it a little, so hopefully it'll drop a bit.

Marrow-Gnawer

Siiiiiiiigh..... Yeah, I know Marrow-Gnawer is too slow. That's just a case for me where it's a pet card that I don't want to cut, even though I know I should. Honestly, the phrase "it's too slow for modern" is one of the reasons I backed off of Modern in the first place. I got tired of all the things I liked being increasingly too slow. I tried EDH for its promise of "play with the cards you love", and it's alright I guess, but it just doesn't quite scratch the same itch for me as 60-card constructed (I know, I know, heresy in today's Commander-centric world!). So I've been relegated to kitchen table Magic. LoL. But anyways, I agree that Marrow-Gnawer shouldn't be in this deck. It definitely works better in a deck with 4x Cabal Coffers and other ways to accelerate rats out.

That all said, I actually dislike the Nezumi, too (same with Orochi, Kitsune, etc.). Marrow-Gnawer just happens to be so good with rats that he got a pass from me. Same with my other rat deck, that's focused on discard — Nezumi Bone-Reader synergizes so well with everything else in the deck that I couldn't not include him! Still ugly, though. LoL. I just pretend they're the rats from The Secret of NIMH.

Recursion

Here's my "last hurrah" for Call to the Netherworld — I agree, Unearth is better, but only because of the cycling. I would play Call over Claim any day, and here's why: Claim is reliable, sure, but it can only ever do that one thing (recur a creature), at the same mana rate (1 mana), in the same way (by casting it). The thing is, worst case Call can do that too, just a little less efficiently (1 mana to cast, 1-2 mana to cast the returned creature). But considering the most common time I'll want to use recursion is when I'm discarding creatures to Pack Rat, I'm fine with trading that efficiency in the other parts of the game with the large benefit Call gives me with Pack Rat online. Because then it's doing the thing (recur a creature), at a comparable mana rate (1-2 mana depending on creature), in a superior way (by discarding it for value). You can never discard Claim to fuel Pack Rat if you want to also use it to recur a creature.

That all said, I want to reiterate that I agree about Unearth being much better. After your reply, I realized that my bias towards Call is because it's in a mass discard deck (I also run a couple Dark Withering in that deck in addition to Tragic Slip). I'm also always fine casting Call for in that deck if I need to, so it's never a dead card for me. But yeah, in your deck, Unearth is far superior.

That's so interesting! I wonder why that specific era of cards were affected? I'm not familiar with South American history. Was there any sort of political or economic issues or something like that which would have affected trade/import at the time (2006-2007 was the US release)?

HalbrechtHalbrecht on Ellie's Rats

2 months ago

Thanks for your help on my deck; I thought I'd return the favor!

First of all, +1 from me for rats! I've been working on a rats deck off and on for a while now, and I'll be taking some notes from your deck. ;)

Late-Game & Threat Protection

So I know you said you're avoiding the high-CMC dudes like Ogre Slumlord in this version... but are you suuuuuure you don't want 1x Marrow-Gnawer??? I just think in a deck like this that's dropping so many rats, it makes for a great late-game play. In the right matchups, just dropping it and giving your rats Fear might win the game (though obviously side it out against opponents playing black / lots of artifact creatures). But if it can stick around one turn and get back to you, man, that tap ability will seal your victory. Obviously the issue with that is it'll be a major target for removal (assuming they haven't already used up their removal on your Pack Rats / Pipers), but on that note, consider....

Counter magic. Yep, in black. I've been playing around with both Imp's Mischief and Dash Hopes, but I think in the case of protecting specific threats like Pack Rat or Gnawer, I'd go with the former. No one sees it coming in black, so it can make for great game 1 blowouts.

Recursion

Now, I love your Unearth find, and I'm thinking of trying it in my deck, but have you considered Call to the Netherworld as a discard target for Pack Rat? I know returning to play is better than to hand, usually, but hear me out:

• With Unearth: You discard creature 1 to Pack Rat, pay 1 mana for Unearth, then discard creature 2 for another Pack Rat.
• With Netherworld: You discard creature 1 to Pack Rat, discard Netherworld for another Pack Rat which you cast for free to return creature 1, and then you play creature 1 for 1-2 mana (you still have creature 2 in your hand).

The net result is that you pay the same or one more mana (depending on which creature you bring back), but you only use 2 cards to achieve two activations of Pack Rat plus an extra rat in play, rather than 3 cards. In other words, you have creature 1 in play and creature 2 in hand rather than creature 1 in play and creature 2 in the yard. I wouldn't recommend it if you had a lot of 3-CMC rats, but in your case, I think it's actually marginally better.

What I'm completely ignoring in that comparison is the Cycling on Unearth. Count how many times you actually cycle it instead of cast it, and consider that as well. Guess it might be matchup dependent.

Sac Outlet

In my deck, I haven't been keeping it format specific, so as my sac outlet, I'm using Diabolic Intent. It's perfect for getting the Pack Rat engine going, grabbing a late-game Merrow-Gnawer, searching up a removal spell, or just going for a big mana turn by tutoring a Cabal Coffers. Sadly, it's not Modern-legal!

Instead, I looked through all the free sac effects (either as an activation on a permanent or as an additional cost on a spell), and the best one I think is Village Rites. It's only 1 mana, it turns on BOTH Tragic Slip's Morbid and Fatal Push's Revolt, it's instant-speed so it pairs nicely with that removal, and it adds card draw to your deck, which is great in a deck where you empty out your hand quickly due to a low curve and discard effects.

The only other option I found is Fiend Artisan. Not a rat, unfortunately, but it's the closest thing to Diabolic Intent you can get in Modern. It not only provides a sac outlet, but it also tutors straight to the battlefield, and because of your low curve, you'll only ever be paying 2-3 mana.

Well, that about does it for me. I ended up writing quite a lot more than I originally thought I would, hence adding the accordion, so I hope at least something in all that rambling helped!

---

P.S. If you don't mind me prying, where do you live that Time Spiral cards are hard to come by? Feel free to ignore entirely if you'd rather keep your location private. :)

Omniscience_is_life on Impish Delight

2 months ago

What's the budget for the deck? Because first and foremost, before you start adding tricks n' pranks, I would suggest upgrading your manabase by taking out the tap lands such as Rakdos Guildgate, Akoum Refuge, Tresserhorn Sinks, Bloodfell Caves, and maybe even Temple of Malady for Blood Crypt, Bloodstained Mire, even some basics would probably be better. That said, some fun and funny cards are Magus of the Mirror, Indomitable Creativity, Imp's Mischief, Deflecting Swat (or some version thereof), etc. Good luck with the deck!

Omniscience_is_life on Yurlok, Mana Burn Strikes Back

2 months ago

You're going to want to wait to have open mana before casting Yurlok, for a Imp's Mischief or to equip Swiftfoot Boots. That's my suggestion for the deck

Metroid_Hybrid on Ladies & Gentlemen, Mister Konrad Twitty..

3 months ago

Top is a maybe, but Rings only copies activated abilites, not triggered abilites..

Imp's Mischief doesn't fit that well since I'm usually tapping-out every turn, but I do have a foil copy in my Yawgmoth deck..

You should look at my manabase again.. You missed the other 18 Snow-Covered Swamps, plus the Coldsteel Heart..

Feed the Swarm is brand new, and it will find their way into all of my Mono-Black decks. However I this is more-or-less a Burn deck, not a Control deck.

Profet93 on Ladies & Gentlemen, Mister Konrad Twitty..

3 months ago

Metroid_Hybrid

Have you considered adding a Rings of Brighthearth and Sensei's Divining Top package? Rings is synergy with your commander (all fetches if you wish) among others and top is great on it's own.

Imp's Mischief - Counter counterspells, redirected targetted removal/draw/extra turns.

Why dead of winter with only 2 snow swamps? Why not make all your lands snow covered? You're not playing field of the dead so I see no reason not to.

I also agree with above user's comment.

You have no artifact or enchantment removal aside from Ulamog - Nev disk/Oblivion Stone, Blast Zone, Feed the Swarm among others are all great inclusions to mitigate black's weakness.