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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day
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Image from Wizards.com |
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Condescend
Fifth Dawn Common
Reviewed July 20, 2004
Constructed: 3
Casual: 2
Limited: 2.9
Ratings are
based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ...
average.
5 is the highest rating
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Card of the Day Reviews
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Chris
Gerhardt
*
game store owner in CA,
ShuffleAndCut |
Versatility is the edge that Condescend has over
Mana Leak. While Mana Leak is one of the best
counters in the current environment, it's
practically useless in the late game, and gives
you a sick feeling to draw it then when you
desperately needed something else.
Condescend overcomes that with it's "X" ability,
that allows it to counter very early or very late.
Now add to that the amazing Scry ability, and you
have a very solid card. Scry is more useful
than it initially looks, not just for setting your
cards, but dumping useless ones if necessary.
In Casual, control,
other than extreme control, is too boring for
consideration. So take that as you will.
In limited, I really
like this spell. In an environment where you
don't always have all optimal cards in your deck,
the ability to Scry is powerful. Combine it
with other scry cards, like
Serum Visions, and you will vastly improve
your draws.
Constructed:
3.5
Casual: 2
Limited: 3.5
Current Price:
Condescend -
Fifth Dawn - $0.52
Combos
Well With:
Serum
Visions -
Fifth Dawn - $0.49
Mana Leak -
8th Edition - $0.99
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Jonathan
Pechon
2 Grand
Prix Top 8's
Multiple Pro Tour
appearances |
Condescend
Power Sink is the
only U-x card that can compete with this in
terms of real playability (I’m ignoring
Prosperity, as it was only really good in one
combo) in constructed play. The ability to
counter early spells is powerful enough; the
ability to Scry through your deck is fairly
ridiculous. Expect to see this in quite a few
decks over the coming months.
This gets the same
poor grade as every other counterspell does for
casual play. It’s too direct a card, and
doesn’t really provide any sort of residual
fun. It is a solid play in Mental, though…
It’s very hard for
me to condone playing reactive cards in this
particular draft format; personally, I want to
keep my deck extremely aggressive most of the
time. Soul Nova is another card that I
absolutely despise; I consider it a similar
card, though considerably worse than
Condescend. You can play up to two of these in
a draft deck without too many problems, and
it’ll probably be fine.
Constructed: 3.0
Casual: 1.5
Limited: 3.0
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Jeff Zandi
5 Time Pro Tour
Veteran
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Condescend
At first glance, I thought this latest version of
Power Sink was easily the
best ever. Syncopate, printed in Odyssey, was an
interesting update to Power
Sink in its day, featuring the ability to remove
from the game any spell
countered by it. Condescend appears immediately
better, adding the ability
to manipulate the top two cards of your library at
spell resolution time.
Condescend is definitely very good. However, the
word on the street,
recently, has been that Condescend is a little
slow for the current booster
draft environment. Perfectly playable in drafts,
Condescend will be a
bomb-killer for your opponent's best spell in
sealed deck play. In block
constructed, Condescend will be very popular
because it represents the most
reasonable counter technology available.
CONSTRUCTED: 3.0
CASUAL: 3.0
LIMITED: 3.5 |
Ray
"Monk"
Powers
* Level 3 DCI Judge
*DCI Tournament Organizer |
Condescend
I have always been a
big fan of Power Sink, against decks without their
own Counterspells, Power Sink often doubled as
both a Counter and a Time Walk, tapping out your
opponent so they couldn’t play any more spells.
Condescend does not give you that same ability,
making it weaker, but Scry is a powerful tool in a
control deck, and can make up for that ability.
All in all, Condescend is a medium level card
playable in a variety of decks.
Constructed:
3
Casual:
1
Limited:
3
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DeQuan
Watson
* game store owner (The Game Closet - Waco,TX) |
People want to refer
to this as the new Power Sink. I think in some
ways it is better than Power Sink. Of course, it
doesn't FORCE your opponent to tap out, but if
played properly, you can manipulate their mana a
bit. Also, the ability to look at the next two
cards and move them around is more than
acceptable. It's definitely a constructed worthy
card. I'm not sure if it has a place in limited or
casual play though.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 2
Limited: 2 |
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Andy
Van Zandt |
Condescend
While scry is an excellent ability, I think I'd
still prefer power sink...
the forced tapdown is a bit more relevant when
you're spending 3+ mana on
average for the spell. Still, very solid, and the
scry makes it more
tolerable in limited.
constructed 2.5
casual 2
limited 2.5
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Chase
Secret Squirrel
on the
Pojo.com
Message
Boards |
Condescend
I’ve found that this
card is good in limited. There are a very few
amount of counters these days, they’re probably
going to be tapping out when they play their
spell. Plus, even if they pay the mana, you get
to reorder/ditch 2 cards off the top of your
library. Most Scry cards are playable, simply
because manipulation can save you a turn or two
easy.
Probably more useful
in limited, but it’s not terrible in constructed
either, especially considering b/w control is
making a comeback. However, I’d probably go
with
Mana Leak, so you can save your mana for
actually drawing the cards you need. Though it
will all depend on how much everyone like Scry.
In casual, who
counters things? Control is tough in
multiplayer.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 2
Limited: 3.5
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Paul
Hagan |
Condescend --
In a world without many hard counters, Condescend
is pretty solid. Mana Leak can wind up being weak
in the late game, and Rewind can keep your blue
mana tied up, so Condescend is a decent choice for
most any deck looking to run counterspells. The
Scry ability attached to Condescend makes it just
that much better, so no complaints there.
Currently, its seeing some play in Constructed,
mostly in White-Blue Control decks. Casual
players, however, have many other options
available (Counterspell, for example), so
Condescend isn't as powerful in a casual
environment as it is in Constructed. For limited
purposes, I'm not sure Condescend should see much
play. You really want your control elements to be
more in the area of bounce or removal, and not so
much where you have to have your mana open,
waiting for something to happen.
Constructed Rating: 3.0
Casual Rating: 2.0
Limited Rating: 2.0 |
w00t |
Condescend -
Constructed - This
is one of the better counters in extended right
now. For 2 mana, its an expensive force spike
with scry. For 5 mana, It will stop the majority
of your opponents spells... with scry. Works
well for Obliterate decks, to help stop
March.dec
Casual - Counters
are usually frowned upon in large numbers for
casual decks. However, if your just running a
few, this could be a good choice. The perfect
counter for multiple color decks, helps you dig,
and takes there spell for the only colored mana
being U. I like this in Domain or Sunburst decks
(Domain as another option than Evasive Action),
as that is where it is best as a counter. Of
course, its great anywhere that has U and wants
a counter.
Limited - The first
day 5th dawn game out on Magic Online, this card
was very underestimated in drafts. I managed to
snag 6 in a 555 draft, needless to say I won the
draft. Great way to stop opponents bombs, or
just take something small when your having land
flood/screw.
Constructed - 2.5
Casual - 2.5
Limited - 3.0
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