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BMoor |
Wild Evocation
I think this card stands as an important example
of the kind of thing Wizards is willing to do
with the new model of Core Set. In a way it
reminds me of Hive Mind from M10-- an
enchantment with a big, splashy effect that
shakes up the game state and has the potential
to generate some fun moments, that might have
been harder to print in an expansion set due to
the need to maintain the flavor of the plane the
expansion takes place on.
And like Hive Mind, Wild Evocation won't go in
everybody's deck, and not just because you need
red mana to cast it. It's a big, exciting
effect, but it's also a random effect. And it's
symmetrical. And, like Howling Mine, your
opponent gets to benefit before you do. One of
the biggest complaints about Howling Mine was
that your opponent could pick up his extra card
and then Shatter the Mine. Well, with Wild
Evocation, your opponent gets a random card in
his hand out for free, then can Naturalize the
Evocation. This is true, but it also depends on
your opponent having the kill spell in hand that
turn, and unlike Howling Mine, WIld Evocation
can't give your opoonent (or you) anything that
isn't already in the player's hand. But what it
can do is give a player a free spell, regardless
of whether or not said player has the mana for
it.
As far as abusing Wild Evocation goes, the
obvious solutions are twofold: empty your
opponent's hand, or make sure your hand contains
game-ending spells that you don't expect to be
able to cast normally.
Emptying your opponent's hand is the simpler
solution. Just play a B/R discard deck with
plenty of ways to strip your opponent's hand,
then drop the Evocation and get a free spell
each turn, while your opponent has no cards in
hand to reveal to the Evocation. The problem
with this plan is that if your deck contains
discard spells like Inquisition of Kozilek,
Perish the Thought, or Mind Rot, then you're
likely to draw said cards even after the
Evocation hits play, and thus the Evocation runs
the risk of giving you spells that are useless,
because you're targeting a player with an empty
hand. Of course, having an opponent stuck in
topdeck mode isn't a bad thing, but at this
point Wild Evocation has become six mana to do
very little beyond drop a few extra lands into
play, maybe.
The other solution, to pack your hand with bombs
and use the Evocation to cheat them out, must
contend with the fact that you reveal cards to
play off the Evocation randomly. If you've cast
the Evocation, you likely have six mana, and in
theory should be able to dump your hand of
everything that isn't Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or
of similar caliber. However, you also have to
have your trump card in your hand, which means
drawing it. I suspect the rest of your deck
would need to be draw spells then--preferably
spells like Ponder, Sift, See Beyond, and the
like, allowing you to dig for what you want
without having to hold onto what you don't need.
But then the same problem arises as in Solution
One-- once the Evocation hits the table, unless
your deck contains twenty or more Emrakuls and
Cruel Ultimatums and the like, statistically the
Evocation will be freecasting your draw spells.
Which will of course draw you more cards, making
your bomb cards even less likely to come up on
the roulette wheel next turn. Meanwhile, what is
your opponent doing?
Really, the best use of this card is in
multiplayer. Any card that affects all players
usually is. And in multiplayer, you have the
fortunate side benefit that if other players
think that the free card they get each turn is
more advantageous to them than it is to the
other players, they may choose not to attack
you, or even defend you from other players.
Also, the randomness will create more fun,
unexpected situations when there's multple
players being affected by them.
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