Pithing Needle

Artifact

As Pithing Needle enters the battlefield, name a card.

Activated abilities of sources with the chosen name can't be activated unless they're mana abilities.

Discussion (51)

Gilbobaggins on Zombie Hunt is best combo in Modern

4 days ago

Turn one Pithing Needle is a killer :(.. still a fun deck to play with

Funkydiscogod on Powerless

1 week ago

Now the card is badly phrased: it's missing the "enchant type" line.

What about this?

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Powerless

Enchantment

As Powerless enters the battlefield, choose a card name.

If one or more counters would be placed on a planeswalker with the chosen name, that many loyalty counters minus one are placed on it instead.

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This way, it's like a bad Pithing Needle , instead of a bad Suppression Field .

ThaneGarrus on Queen Marchesa: Politics, Aikido, and Control

1 week ago

Personal opinions: Unfortunately for us Queen Marchesa isn’t a particularly consistent deck to use at a competitive table, We certainly have the tools to hamstring them and (sometimes) steal a win with akido tactics but more often than not we will be heavily reliant on other players to take the strongest decks down.

Imo playing at a mixed table yields the best opportunity for a win. As a politics deck it’s to your benefit to shout and point at every key combo piece your opponents put down.

That being said we have some great hatebears in our colours and you should fully utilise them against a stronger table, Linvala, Keeper of Silence , Pithing Needle , Aven Mindcensor , Rest in Peace , Hushbringer , Containment Priest , Grand Abolisher , Rule of Law can completely house certain decks when played right and you have black to tutor them up

Of course, if you decide to go that route you’ll be playing a totally different deck and losing the soul of this beautiful deck but it is the price we pay to stay interactive. Maybe the best advise would be to have several decks that you can pick to match the tables power level, and remember that who you sit down to play with is ultimately your choice.

Icbrgr on Stupid.deck

1 week ago

I have a very similar idea that I'm tinkering with for modern! I thin you need to have a way to deal with Pithing Needle so they dont name Maze's End and its G.G.... .maybe Return to Nature or Broken Bond or Natural State ?

Darth_Savage on Floop the Pig

2 weeks ago

I like the addition of Torch Courier, in the Ilharg shell. I'm not so sure about Leyline of Sanctity in your sideboard. Discard effects can hurt the deck and there is no denying that, the Leyline also has some value against Prowess or Ensoul decks, personally though I've never been a fan of putting in a dead card. Rather than Leyline I have two copies of Elixir of Immortality this gains life, but also shuffles your graveyard back into your deck.

Other common sideboard inclusions are Ruric Thar, the Unbowed Hornet Queen and Carnage Tyrant (or Plated Crusher in a push) alongside Anger of the Gods and Pithing Needle these cards are likely a good place to start. I was tempted by Archetype of Endurance partly because it's a boar and partly for it's hexproof based abilities.

Hope this is of some help, good luck brewing your deck.

uJar_Gamer on Ineffable Tron

3 weeks ago

I can finally say that Ugin, the Ineffable is not bad and after painstakingly beating my head against the wall to build a customized deck I am pretty confident that I am on to something here. Eledain thanks for your feedback on Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma as well as Awakening Zone . Thursday night I ran those and you were right and having them in the deck slowed it down way too much and was pointless. thanks for the heads-up!

As a real-time player I still love the feel of the actual cards in my hands and it is very hard for me to transition over to the "virtual" MTG world so I have yet to make that leap. I realize this site is great in introducing builds at the click of the button or copy & paste. I use it for the play test feature and it helps a great deal.

Tonight I came in 4th place in tournament and that was huge with what I had come up against. The first round was with a young lady running a blue Merfolk deck. I have played against her several times before messing around with different builds and she is pretty tough. the first bout she nailed me like usual and I added a sideboard just for her and shut her down. She likes to get Sea's Claim out immediately so I brought Choke to this particular event just for her. It was hilarious and the expression on her face was every bit worth the play. "Sorry dear you just got choked.. Next!" That session I was 2-0

The next match I was up against Tron and this guy was running Once Upon a Time . The only reason he got me in two rounds was his hands were one step ahead of mine and bout two I was forced to mulligan down to four cards. he took the game with a 2-0.

The third and final match was another Tron with Karn, the Great Creator and it was definitely close all three rounds. He got Karn Liberated out turn three on the first bout and I popped creator. I couldn't come back so I gave him that win. In the second game we were neck-in-neck but I side-boarded in and dropped Pithing Needle shutting down Creator came out with two Wurmcoil Engine and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon for the win. Again the final match we were neck-in-neck and it was a race to the finish and laughing like champs the both of us all the way through. It was a really close game but I again came through with another choice sideboard Thought-Knot Seer and ended the match with Spirit Dragon again. I did get to pull Ineffable a few times through out the game and it proved to bare it's weight in gold and I am pretty happy with this custom build and encourage others to try it out if you ever get the chance. I might eventually add two more Karn Liberated later on to strengthen the brutality of it but Tron is so much fun to play and this build is sealed~

Thanks for stopping by my page here, have fun and see you all on the battlefield!

Icbrgr on Going all in with kiora ...

3 weeks ago

@abbatromebone I agree... maybe Veil of Summer mist be the "new" or "better" option for Turbofog over Dispel / Negate ...can also slap down Thoughtseize so i like that a lot... or perhaps just in the SB along with the others depending on the matchup... ill look into it for sure.

currently this is what my sideboard is shaping up to be

4x Beast Within For addressing resolved permantants that just need to go... i figure the 3/3 token should be completly negated in turbofog so that should be golden removal in theory.

2x Mindbreak Trap I think could be good to just slow down anyone with lots of cantrips or stormy decks.

3x Negate : straight up noncreature counterspell.

2x Pithing Needle resolved planswalkers primarily.

2x Torpor Orb for keeping my Whelming Wave useable/useful against people getting advantage with ETB value.

2x Witchbane Orb Budget Leyline of Sanctity (which honestly is a lot more affordable than it was a few years ago... wow)... try to stave off burn/hand disruption.

May be Kiora, Master of the Depths could also help out with Genesis and Spore Frog ?... and if i splashed white i can see the possibility of integrating Kami of False Hope too...I currently dont think this is the way i wanna go because i really wanna try to stay simic for budget reasons (mostly mana base issues); but definitely an idea to be explored.... ill work up a theoretical "fog re-animator style" decklist and see where the price tag would end up.

TheRoaringBlaze on Artifact Storm Pioneer Idea

3 weeks ago

If you’re using Inspiring Statuary and Ghirapur AEther Grid , consider using Paradox Engine as a way to generate mana, and with grid, damage. Also, I know you’re going the Reservoir route, but considering Pithing Needle is common in this format, consider maybe adding in Reckless Fireweaver or Firebrand Archer as alternative ways to win.