How Good is Ring of Three Wishes in EDH?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on May 25, 2022, 9:26 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
I have a copy of Ring of Three Wishes in every one of my EDH decks, because it simply is such an awesome card; it can be put into any deck, it searches a library for any card unconditionally, and (most importantly) it is reusable. It can be used only three times under normal circumstances, but that is usually more than sufficient to turn the tide of a game.
However, I have noticed that I rarely have used the ring in any of my decks to its fullest potential, since it simply is very expensive. Too often, if I draw it, I keep it in my hand until I have plenty of mana to spare, and, even when I do use it, I usually use it only once or perhaps twice, but I have rarely ever used it the full three times, so I wonder if it really is as good a card as I initially thought that it was.
What does everyone else say about this subject? How good is Ring of Three Wishes in EDH, and, if it is not a good card, what is a good replacement for it (i.e., a card with a similar effect that is less expensive)?
DemonDragonJ says... #3
TypicalTimmy, in that case, what do you recommend as a replacement?
May 25, 2022 9:35 p.m.
Megalomania says... #4
It’s a terrible card. Just stick with regular tutors or try cards that get you the specific card types that you need like Birthing Pod or Fauna Shaman, etc. I use Wishclaw Talisman in my Aminatou deck.
May 25, 2022 9:42 p.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #5
It all depends on the colors available to you. Every color has some sort of tutor effect. Even white. So it depends on what, precisely, you are wanting to tutor in the first place? What sorts of decks do you slot it into?
May 25, 2022 10:08 p.m.
plakjekaas says... #7
If we're talking overly expensive colorless tutors, Tamiyo's Journal and Citanul Flute seem worth mentioning as well. Cards I've used to good effect for cheaper than Ring of Three Wishes would have costed me. Although maybe with Zirda, the Dawnwaker or similar cost reducers you could make that one worth it as well. As is, it's a waste of resources with barely any side synergies to make it better than just 10 mana for any card in your library.
May 26, 2022 7:02 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #9
Not to pile on, but Ring of Three Wishes is pretty bad. What would be a good replacement depends entirely on deck (i.e. color and likely targets). I dislike it enough that I would probably run another basic over it.
May 27, 2022 3:34 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #10
In both my Chulane, Teller of Tales deck and my Ghired, Conclave Exile deck, I have replaced Ring of Three Wishes with Shared Summons, since both of those decks focus very strong on creatures, making the latter card an ideal replacement.
In my Atraxa, Praetors' Voice deck, I am contemplating replace the ring with Liliana Vess, since her second ability is very similar to the ability of the ring; what does everyone else say about that?
May 28, 2022 12:04 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #11
Atraxa contains black and you don't currently run any of the traditional black tutors. If you want objectively good cards that tutor then you are looking at Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Diabolic Intent, Imperial Seal, and Grim Tutor. Cruel Tutor, Mastermind's Acquisition, Wishclaw Talisman, Scheming Symmetry, Infernal Tutor, Profane Tutor, and Diabolic Tutor can be useful as in the right deck or if you need more black tutors. Passable options in low powered metas include Diabolic Revelation and Increasing Ambition.
May 28, 2022 3:53 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #12
Gidgetimer, those are all excellent cards, and I would have no problem using them in another deck that contained black, but none of them use counters (except for Wishclaw Talisman, but I am wary of using a card that is unreliable), and I specifically am using cards that use counters in that deck, so that I can take advantage of the proliferate mechanic to gain greater advantage from them.
May 28, 2022 12:19 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #13
Liliana Vess is pretty good in an Atraxa deck, even better if you can proliferate twice per turn and just make her into an Imperial Seal every turn. I probably should have listed her in the "useful in the right deck" part and mentioned that Atraxa is in fact the right deck for her, so it is a decent choice. The counters synergy isn't what makes a deck "the right deck" for Wishclaw. Voltaic Key-esque abilities are what constitutes "the right deck" for Wishclaw.
I totally understand wanting to keep to a theme and people having fun in different ways. You are however asking (both in this thread and the one on Book of Rass) if cards are "good" and I kinda got caught up in that mindset. Liliana Vess is not a good card, it is a passable card that is good in Atraxa (assuming that people allow you to keep proliferate engines out).
Also, before people jump on me thinking I am trash talking the vast majority of cards, there is nothing wrong with running passable cards that are only good in the context of the deck. Every single one of my decks contains cards that are only good in the context of the deck. In 6/7 the non-lands are mostly passable to bad cards that are good only in context. Personally I find this a much more interesting way to build than "all of my decks of a certain color contain these cards and there are only like 5-7 spots to make it different than any other commander in the same colors".
May 28, 2022 4:27 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #14
Gidgetimer, I perfectly understand that, since, I also, have cards that work with specific strategies, but otherwise are lackluster, such as the storage lands (Calciform Pools, Dreadship Reef, and so forth), which are far too slow and inefficient in most decks, but are amazing in a deck dedicated to proliferating.
May 29, 2022 11:15 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #15
As long as we are discussing alternatives to Ring of Three Wishes, how good is Diabolic Revelation? It is a one-shot effect and is a sorcery, but I can imagine that it would be excellent, if a player spent sufficient mana on it.
June 4, 2022 9:01 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #16
As I have stated previously, I think it is a passable option in low power metas. In a meta where you can get to 7-8 mana and take a turn off it is the best rate/card of the sub-$5 tutors. What keeps it from being a "good" card is that for many playgroups you will never get to 7 mana. For many more you can not spend your 7 or 8 mana turns completely taken off to set up future turns.
June 4, 2022 11:03 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #17
Gidgetimer, in that case, the only other option is Increasing Ambition, since every other tutor that you suggested merely replaces itself, and I wish to have a net gain when using such cards.
TypicalTimmy says... #2
10 mana for a tutor, and then a subsequent 5 for two more? So 20 mana for 3 cards.
Kinda terrible. It has it's place, in perhaps mono-green ramp or Selesnya ramp where tutors may be lackluster. But overall, kinda not good homie
May 25, 2022 9:28 p.m.