Symmetrical draw is great in multiplayer, where
it's a good political tool. Nobody wants to
single out the guy who's giving them extra
cards! The traditional trouble with them is that
they hit play on your own turn, which means your
opponents get first crack at using what they
draw-- and if somebody's extra draw was a
Disenchant, they all got an extra card and you
didn't. The flash on this card solves that issue
handily, making it a good addition to any "group
hug" style deck. You could even flash it in
during someone else's step, if you wanted to
curry favor with a specific other opponent by
giving them first draw.
The cynic in me suspects this was an attempt
to address the "flaw" in Howling Mine that was
never actually a flaw, where people fear that
their opponent will get to draw first and then
Disenchant the Mine before the next upkeep. Of
course, that cynic also points out that someone
can just let the Dictate resolve and still
Disenchant it during their end step or whenever
you cast it. But don't let that get you down.
This effect is always popular and often imitated
for a very good reason - it lets you play
political games at multiplayer tables and is
very exploitable everywhere.
Today's card of the day is Dictate of Kruphix
which is a three mana Blue enchantment with
Flash that has each player draw an extra card at
the beginning of their draw step. This is
Howling Mine for Blue with the option of giving
you first draw instead of an opponent while
still leaving mana available for a counter
during opposing turns. Overall this will be a
popular card for Casual decks based on milling
or draw triggered effects, but is less likely to
appear competitively as it still benefits an
opponent most of the time.
In Limited this is a very risky card even if
it gives you the advantage first as it can
provide an opponent with a save or win condition
during stalemates, when behind, or even if used
to try and draw into your own needed cards. The
loss of a card and giving an opponent draws is
too much of a penalty when the format doesn't
allow fully supporting the effect. Barring a
Blue/Black milling theme this is likely best
passed on in Booster and left in the sidedeck
for Sealed.
For Multiplayer the deck can be designed for
this effect and opponents are usually less
likely to want to remove it or the player
controlling it. However, the one card gained
each turn can be difficult to benefit from when
every other player is also receiving additional
resources.
With the exception of a couple crazy decks,
Howling Mine has pretty much been a casual
paradise. Casual player like games where lots of
stuff happens, and more stuff happens when you
draw a bunch of cards. Why don’t competitive
players like it? It helps the opponent as much
as you. In fact, they benefit from it first,
since you play it on your turn and they have a
draw step again before you do.
Will Dictate of Kruphix, with it’s Flash
ability allowing it to be played on the
opponent’s turn, be enough of an improvement
where competitive players will want it in their
decks? Possibly. Control decks will have more
chances to draw their counterspells or removal.
Will getting to draw first be enough of a leg
up? My early impression is that this will still
be mostly a casual card, but I’ll be glad to be
proved wrong.
Multiplayer games will have this card on the
table often. The player with Howling Mine or
Dictate of Kruphix becomes a friend to everyone,
since it helps all players. It’s a big political
piece - make everyone like you until you find a
way to use all the extra cards you’ve drawn to
do some crazy combo. At the same time, if you’re
in a free-for-all game, ALL your opponents get
to draw an extra card, and you only get one.
That could be 3, 4 or more cards to each extra
card you get. Is it worth it? It depends on
whether your goal is to win at all costs, or
simply do fun stuff and have a good time.
Dictate of Kruphix is a fun card to play with a
lot of potential, even if it isn't really for
everybody.
Strategy-wise, it's neat that this card has
flash, otherwise it'd basically just be a
Howling Mine. But people played Howling Mine,
heck some people still play it! This card
ditches the tap-it-before-your-opponent's-turn
shenanigans and instead lets you play it on your
opponent's end step, thus ensuring that you get
the first extra draw.
...And then what?
Well, it very much depends on what kind of
deck you have. This isn't really a card you can
throw into any old deck and expect winning
results. You have to find some way to ensure it
helps you more than it will help your opponent.
What are some good ways to do that? Well cards
like this are exceptionally good in any kind of
combo deck, where it doesn't so much matter if
your opponent draws an extra land or attacking
creature so long as you get your super powerful
instawin combo.
Another thing to do is find cards that
synergize with either you drawing extra cards,
your opponent drawing lots of cards, or both.
And there are a lot of cards that do this.
Everything from Archmage Ascension to
Consecrated Sphinx to Spiteful Visions to
Underworld Dreams to Lorescale Coatl. Some will
work better in a deck with Dictate of Kruphix
than others.
Overall, is this a good card? Sort of. It has
the same problem with other potentially good
cards in that it's a double edged sword. It CAN
help you win, but it can also potentially help
your opponent win more than you. It depends on
your deck and what you draw. If you do choose to
use this, I've got one word for you: scry. Scry
will help you tilt the odds more in your favour.
Also try playing this in multiplayer. You'll
instantly become everyone's best friend!*
