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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Dark Confidant
Image from Wizards.com

 Dark Confidant
- Ravnica, City of Guilds

Reviewed May 27, 2015

Constructed: 4.38
Casual: 2.88
Limited: 3.00
Multiplayer: 2.88
Commander [EDH]: 3.13

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

Click here to see all of our 
Card of the Day Reviews 


David Fanany

Player since 1995

Dark Confidant
 
Not to sound like too much of an old person here, but I remember a time when this guy was going for $25-30 at local game stores, and people thought that was expensive. The problem is, though, that for competitive Magic, there is really no other card that does what he does. Creatures that generate card advantage in some form are numerous, but there are none that do so as effectively in the early game - maybe Stoneforge Mystic is close, but she's much more specific. Almost any deck, from aggro to aggro-control to combo to some true control decks, benefits from not only the card advantage but by the fact that the Confidant has efficient stats. For casual play, you shouldn't feel obligated to use him (Azure Mage, for example, has a similar effect later in the game with an awesome concept and artwork), but it's hard to imagine there will ever be a time when he isn't ubiquitous in competitive settings.
 
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 2/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 2/5
EDH/Commander: 2/5

Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Dark Confidant which is a two mana Black 2/1 that has you reveal the top card of your library at the beginning of your upkeep, lose life equal to the converted mana cost, and add it to your hand.  This is an excellent card in an aggressive low mana cost build where taking more than three damage for a card is unlikely, or in decks that manipulate the library to control what gets revealed and what gets drawn.  This is a huge target for removal, but for just two mana that is not a real drawback and has to be removed before the next upkeep to not net a card advantage.  As a 2/1 it also works for early damage and has multiple avenues of being sacrificed or removed if your life point total gets dangerously low.  Overall one of the top creatures for efficiency in a deck made to take advantage of the effect.
 
In Limited formats where this is available it is a major source of card advantage, but extremely risky as trying to build or use a deck without higher mana cards can be difficult or lacking in raw strength.  If a low mana curve pool is both available and viable it should be the centerpiece of a very powerful design.  In Booster this should be a first pick for the potential it offers, the value as a rare draft, and as a hate draft to prevent another deck from using it against you.  In Sealed managing to use it effectively might be unlikely, but the consideration should be made as it provides a huge advantage.
 
Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 4.5


Armuun
Dark Confidant
 
One of the many many many double-edged swords in magic, but arguably one of the greatest. Drawing an extra card a turn is huge in any format, especially in a 2 drop. It runs best in small-ish costs jund modern running Goyfs, LotV, etc, where you'd only lose a few points a turn, unless you draw into lands of course. Although along with the small problem of showing your opponent a little piece of your hand each turn. EDH-wise, it's a double-edged sword that's a little more lopsided. If you're running heavy cost spells (As EDH players are wont to do) you're potentially losing big chunks of life yourself each turn.
 
Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 2
Limited: 2.5
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3

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