It may look like a mill card, and technically it
is, but what's really going on here is that it
can make itself bigger. Hit a decently costed
card off of its ability, and you could be
hitting for Dragon-caliber beats with this
thing. On turn three. Of course, it's a random
card. You could sink six or more mana into
Mindshrieker and hit all lands. And don't think
leaving two mana up will keep the 'Shrieker safe
from a Shock, either-- although it will make
your opponent blink before aiming a burn spell
its way. Blocking or not blocking suddenly
becomes a very dicey proposition.
I'm kind of glad this is rare, since it would
de-stabilize pretty much any Limited game it
sees play in. Evasion is a very good ability, so
I'd run Mindshriker any time I drafted it. But
I'd try to remind myself not to be too
disappointed when all it does it mill a few
lands, hit for one a few times, and then die
from being blocked by a Spider token.
So, I read something talking about "invisible"
rules text the other day. Surely this card has
an invisible random element/drawback? Most
people I know (possibly most people you know
too) aren't going to put this in any blue deck
that doesn't have the ability to know the top
card of its library and possibly every library
at any given time. You almost figure they may as
well have just ripped off the metaphorical
Band-Aid and given it a true "firebreathing"
ability. Still a fun card, though, which hits
hard and can even turn on your teammates'
flashback cards (so maybe it's marginally less
invisible text than I suggested).
Welcome back readers unfortunately today’s card
of the day is not as powerful as previous
entries but is still an interesting card.
Mindshrieker mills and kills, self pumping based
on the converted mana cost of the card. In
standard milling is not exceptionally powerful
but this creature can start swinging with 2
damage to easily 5 or 6 damage on the third turn
nothing to sneeze at, it can even mill yourself
for beneficial purposes and if you have used
Ponder it can deal more damage and guarantee
milling beneficial cards. Overall its not a card
to expect to see at the top tables but it does
have powerful potential making it an interesting
choice that may see some rogue play. In extended
and modern this card doesn’t cut it in standard
these formats are out of the question, some sort
of infinite mana combo would work quite nicely
with this card providing an easy win condition.
In legacy possibly this could see rogue play, in
vintage no chance. In casual and multiplayer
this card should be popular as milling is super
popular and the fact it can become big enough to
kill dragons is nothing to sneeze at. In limited
it can be big and evasive making it powerful and
the fact it can mill yourself or an opponent is
gravy. Overall a casual card that could possibly
see some rogue play.
Today's card of the day is Mindshrieker which
as a two mana 1/1 Blue with Flying is fairly
average, but the somewhat random boost from the
discard effect can be impressive if supported by
library manipulation.
Leaving it up to random chance may allow lands
or low cost cards to be discarded and the cost
of two mana restricts how often it can be used.
Neither drawback is crippling though as against
the right deck a creature with evasion that can
potentially become a 7/7 is a major threat.
Overall this is likely to see some competitive
play in decks that can maximize the effect,
though just about any deck with Blue mana can
run it with or without minimal support and keep
games interesting.
For Limited a two mana 1/1 with Flying is quite
playable and the format encourages a higher
average mana curve for decks which fuels the
effect of Mindshrieker nicely. An easy
first pick in Booster that can be played in a
multicolor deck as only one Blue in the casting
cost and none in the effect allow for easy
splashing. Similarly any Sealed deck that
is considering Blue mana should run this as it
is a potential game-winner.
