Tainted Pact... I love it.. Why is it a $0.60 card?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Nov. 22, 2014, 6:53 p.m. by jerresette
Title says it all. It's my favorite Dig card. It's instant speed, two mana (and only one is colored).
You have to make sure you don't run too many of the same basic lands, but in EDH that's gonna be pretty easy in a three-color deck, and reasonable in a two-color.
One downside that's been brought up is that Mindslaver done on you with it in-hand is an auto-lose, but if Mindslaver hits the board I just use it ASAP.
Does anyone have any further insight into this card? Seems like it should be an auto-include into a lot of EDH decks that include black.
Epochalyptik says... #3
It's really just situationally good. It's just not the kind of effect many decks can afford because you risk exiling something important, which would more or less force you to take an irrelevant or dead card if it happened to come up before it were needed.
November 22, 2014 7:01 p.m.
jerresette says... #4
@miracleHatEven digging through 5 cards, I still feel like there's incredible value there. That's like "exile the top 5 cards from your library and put one into your hand". But, it's even better because it's vastly more versatile than that. You might like the first card you see. Or you might need to dig through ten to find the answer to any number of things.
@Epochalyptik Wouldn't that be the same if instead of Tainted Pact you ran any number of other cards that could be "situationally" good? Like most cards in any given deck. I mean absolutely worst possible case scenario this simply shrinks your deck by one card for 2 mana instant speed. Obviously, that would be total shit if that's all it did, but most of the time it's gonna be vastly more useful than that. Sometimes I need another land and I just flip til I see one. Sometimes I need a removal - flip, flip, flip. If I see something I can't let go of and want to hold onto... I mean, I just take it: it's that simple.
November 22, 2014 7:11 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #5
I understand that it's that simple. The problem is that it's not good.
It had been suggested for my deck, Dominus - Dreamcrusher Edition several times, but it just doesn't offer strong enough advantage, and it offers great potential for disadvantage given that I could be spending mana and exiling potential resources just to get a dead card a few turns before it becomes relevant.
I'd rather run a tutor or use the slot for something else.
November 22, 2014 7:22 p.m.
jerresette says... #6
I suppose if the exile effect is a concern for someone then a Brainstorm is much better. I don't worry about the exile too much, and run both.
November 22, 2014 7:26 p.m.
It would be far better if you dumped the non-chosen cards into the graveyard. Probably a lot of money better. As it stands though, I wouldn't want it in my Mikaeus, the Unhallowed deck.
November 22, 2014 8:33 p.m.
DarkMagician says... #9
I use it with Riftsweeper and Deadeye Navigator in edh. It is a hit or miss card but I like it for casual. If you're playing more competitively it's really not that great.
November 22, 2014 10:48 p.m.
NotSoLuckyLydia says... #10
It's a very specific card, for a very specific deck. Some Five Color Reanimator EDH decks use it, though not often. Occasionally, you'll see it in dedicated combo versions of Teysa, Orzhov Scion, but that requires you to be playing no more than 1 of each basic land, which is a problem for a 2 color deck, especially an enemy color one. (You have to be playing lots of bad lands.)
Generally, however, it's worse than any of the other tutors out there. The combined risk of exiling a wincon, and the fact that there are simply better tutors out there (Demonic, cruel, etc.) leads to this card rarely being played.
miracleHat says... #2
If you dig too much through your library, then you would be screwed. If you only use it to dig 5 cards, then there isn't much point in using it. Also, watch out for basic lands.
November 22, 2014 6:59 p.m.