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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Stubborn Denial
Image from Wizards.com

Stubborn Denial
- Khans of Tarkir

Reviewed Jan. 8, 2015

Constructed: 2.88
Casual: 2.40
Limited: 2.50
Multiplayer: 2.40

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale:
1 - Horrible  3 - Average.  5 - Awesome

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Card of the Day Reviews 


David Fanany

Player since 1995

Stubborn Denial
 
It's almost funny to see a Temur-themed counterspell, seeing as their main color is green and we've been trained not to expect green or green-flavored or green-aligned counterspells. There's not so much that's funny about trying to kill a pair of gigantic Tarmogoyfs with Wrath of God and being told "no, never"; nor about how easily this card fits into decks involving Magnivore or Cognivore. And even if they don't have the creature with power 4, it will still somehow blow you out sometimes, when you just have to tap all your mana. This could be the beginning of a "counter-Titan" archetype, especially in casual settings with older cards.
 
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5

Paul

Magic The Gathering Card of The Day: Stubborn Denial
 
Welcome back readers today's card of the day is Stubborn Denial a non-creature force spike, which gets  significantly better if you control a creature with power four or greater. In standard this is a great counterpsell for monster decks, or those decks who try and ramp out big creatures quickly such as Polkuranos. This card allows creature heavy decks to have an opportunity to fight back against some of the powerful spells in the format. In modern I could see this card seeing some fringe play although the circumstances have to be just right. In legacy and vintage this card is inferior to the other more reliable counterspell options available. In casual and multiplayer there are better counterspells available to you, however if your deck specializes in large creatures this can be a cheap and effective way to protect them. In limited its a solid counterspell if your deck focuses on having a wide variety of large threats. Overall a card more for standard than other formats but still a unique and powerful counterspell..
 
Constructed: 3.0
Casual: 2.0
Limited: 2.5
Multiplayer: 2.0

Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Stubborn Denial which is a one mana Blue instant that counters target non-creature spell unless its controller pays one mana or with Ferocious it counters the spell. This is a low cost, but otherwise mediocre countermagic that is far better replaced with a more reliable two mana alternative that isn't as situational such as Negate.  The increase in cost with Negate is a drawback in some situations, very early in the game and at some points for maintaining tempo, at which times Stubborn Denial can be better.  It also works well alongside higher power creatures to trigger Ferocious, which could even include the two mana 4/1 Dandan.  Overall this is a situational choice that can be playable, but probably won't have slots in many decklists.
 
In Limited this is low cost and can counter a key threat, but most of the format is dominated by creatures and excess mana is typical in later stages of a game.  It can be included when running Sealed if space is available and it is an okay later pack choice in Booster when on color. 
The very situational nature, more noticeable in the format, makes it a low priority though and other cards should usually be a better fit.
 
 
Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 2.5
Limited: 2.5
Multiplayer: 2.5

Mattedesa

Deck Garage
Stubborn Denial
 
This is an example of a card that I overestimated when it came out. I had decided to play a Temur deck with lots of 4 power creatures, and I thought this would be the perfect card to counter creature kill on my big guys. The problem turned out to be twofold. One, it's no given that you will be able to get a 4 power creature out, have this card in your hand, and still have the blue mana to cast it. Without ferocious, this card is pretty bad. Two, it only stops non-creature spells. There were too many times I had this card sitting dead in my hand because the opponent was only playing creatures. I would still consider this card for a sideboard in such a deck, but it's value has gone down in my book.
 
Constructed: 3.0
Casual: 2.0
Limited: 2.0
Multiplayer: 2.00

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