Graveyard Hate: Shutting down Shenanigans
General forum
Posted on Jan. 18, 2012, 10:33 p.m. by DarasuumKote28
Purify the Grave , Nihil Spellbomb , and new Grafdigger's Cage (1 colorless artifact, "Creature cards can't enter the battlefield from graveyards or libraries. Players can't cast cards in graveyard or libraries."
I honestly am not sure which is best for the current meta's graveyard hate. I like the Cage's permanence and "fire and forget" mentality (put it down, no problems from now on), and ability to stop cards such as card:Green Sun's Zenith .
However, the spellbomb is great because it can work its magic in response to Ancient Grudge , when the cage is pretty vulnerable.
Finally, Purify has no problems with that, is instant speed, has flashback, and is cheap (although they all are).
In a deck with flashback in it, obviously the Cage doesn't work, but besides that, I see it as the well-rounded winner.
What says the masses?
DarasuumKote28 says... #3
Yeah, I have two in my SB of my current control deck. It's just that it's a one use thing. Purify the Grave has it beat if there's a key card that you want gone and they're running a 4-of, but then the Cage solves it all, no problem. But like you said, it'll hit the battlefield and instantly become a target.
January 18, 2012 11:04 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #4
If that's why you would run Purify the Grave , why not Surgical Extraction ?
January 18, 2012 11:07 p.m.
DarasuumKote28 says... #5
Hmm. Good point. Because Phyrexian mana... That's not a real reason, ha. I guess because my thought isn't exactly taking out key creatures, it's stopping Snapcaster Mage , Sun Titan , and Unburial rights. What I meant by key card wan't necessarily wrecking a combo, it was what they wanted to flashback, or bring back. Still, that's a good idea.
January 18, 2012 11:12 p.m.
Jarrod_0067 says... #6
Don't forget Noxious Revival and card:Memory's Journey. Sometimes it's better that their bombs are in their library, messing up their next draw or stopping Ponder
January 19, 2012 12:28 a.m.
I'm unconvinced this is going to completely shut down graveyard decks, for the reason that most of the listed ones are artifacts and the others can only hit a limited number of cards. Artifacts take all of 2 mana to beat. Plus, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the only new one Nihil Spellbomb , Purify the Grave , and so on?
Plus I'm not sure that if you built a deck to capitalize on this graveyard-killing that it would be strong enough to stand on its own. Especially with all the cards and decks that don't depend on graveyard interaction around.
January 19, 2012 12:32 a.m.
Well the new cage is just better than the others. The others just have one shot effects. I sideboard 3x Nihil Spellbomb in my BatterRun Ramp deck, because my meta has a couple solar flare decks. But after I use the initial spellbomb on their graveyard when they are casting Snapcaster Mage , they just end up Forbidden Alchemy ing into a whole new graveyard. I also think the Purify the Grave card is a bit limited. It's essentially "cancel target spell that is going to be flashbacked with snapcaster, or brought back with Sun Titan ." It doesn't really stop their shenanigans. It just causes an annoyance.
Plus people aren't putting things in their decks or sb's to deal with these things. Your opponent sb-ing Ancient Grudge just to stop a Cage hitting play, hurts your opponent. That Ancient Grudge they are drawing is taking away from their strategy as well. Either way, they are being hurt more from the cage. Plain and simple.
January 19, 2012 8:31 a.m.
Arachnarchist says... #9
Personally, I would have to rule out Purify the Grave as a winner immediately. To me, the biggest advantage Nihil Spellbomb is a lot harder to deal with. You just wait until they go for the graveyard to crack it, or if they try to destroy it. The spellbomb can also provide card advantage. Another thing to think about, the Cage can't stop card:Chandra's Phoenix, which is currently RDW's biggest recurring threat.
SpammyV, no one here is talking about building a deck around these cards, we're talking about which one to have in your sideboard if you come up against a deck that does use the graveyard.
January 19, 2012 10:24 a.m.
rckclimber777 says... #10
Here are the drawbacks and pros as I see it for each. Starting with Nihil Spellbomb
Pros:
Has a 1 CMC.
Exiles all of the cards in your opponent's graveyard.
Can be activated in response to artifact removal spells.
Doesn't interact with your own flashback spells. (thus giving you access to all flashback spells without fear of them not working)
Doesn't do anything to your own undying creatures.
Gives card draw if you activate its second ability.
Cons:
One time use.
Does nothing for creatures that have Undying.
Sometimes difficult to know when to activate.
Can be forced to be used early.
Doesn't have a constant effect so until you use it, they have complete access to their graveyard.
So these are what I see as the big pros/cons of the two. In my opinion each has their own role and specific deck. Nihil Spellbomb can wreck solar flare and any control deck running Snapcaster Mage and doesn't impact a control deck itself. In my opinion, Nihil Spellbomb over the cage.
January 19, 2012 12:19 p.m.
I still think Purify the Grave is undervalued.
It can stop flashback spells, it can stop Snapcaster Mage from flashing back a spell, it stops undying creatures, shuts down Havengul Lich, has flashback itself so it sits in the graveyard as a known threat, is immune to artifact removal, and doesn't affect your own spells.
The only drawback is that it's not great against decks that want to dump a lot in their graveyard (Splinterfright), and only Nihil Spellbomb will realistically stop that.
January 19, 2012 6:07 p.m.
Arachnarchist says... #12
Actually mafteechr, Purify the Grave can't stop flashback that well. If you were to play a spell with flashback, after it resolves and goes to the graveyard, you could flash it back before passing priority to your opponent, as long as you don't do anything in between. No priority means no chance to Purify the Grave.
January 19, 2012 10:15 p.m.
Yeah, I agree, but let's be realistic: how often does someone flashback a spell immediately after it resolves? Seems like a rare occurrence only done with Think Twice and Dream Twist, because flashback costs are often too expensive to be cast right after it resolves.
January 20, 2012 12:19 a.m.
I still enjoy turning off Snapcaster Mage by exiling their target spell they want to flashback.
January 20, 2012 12:27 a.m.
rckclimber777 says... #15
I'm not sure how purify the grave will stop snapcaster's ability. When he enters the battlefield then the trigger goes on the stack. You have to let the trigger resolve, once that happens they can cast the spell, which exiles the card making purify the grave no longer have a target. If you have priority you cast the purify the grave and in response (assuming it is an instant) they cast the flashback spell again leaving purify the grave without a legal target. Maybe I'm missing something here, but it still appears that purify the grave isn't really that effective.
January 20, 2012 11:02 a.m.
you have to let the trigger resolve
When Snapcaster Mage resolves, his triggered ability to give a spell flashback is put on the stack. When the triggered ability goes on the stack, they have to name the target card. You can respond to the triggered ability with any instant, which includes Purify the Grave. Thus, you can exile the target card and Snapcaster Mage's triggered ability will fizzle.
January 20, 2012 3:13 p.m.
rckclimber777 says... #17
fair enough. I guess I still feel its underwhelming, but I at least see how that works.
Epochalyptik says... #2
Nihil Spellbomb is the current favorite, but Cage is going to shut down a lot and FORCE decks to deal with it. You might be better off with Spellbomb if you absolutely need the flashback spells.
January 18, 2012 10:57 p.m.