Smothering Tithe – Double Masters
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2022
Ratings:
Constructed: 2.00
Casual: 4.00
Limited: 2.75
Multiplayer: 4.25
Commander [EDH]: 4.38
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Just when you thought you were safe from the Rhystic Study style of card, you sit down against a mono-white Commander deck and hear: “Do you pay the two? Do you pay the two?! Do you pay the two?!” Smothering Tithe is essentially the ascended, evolved version of notable Magic tropes: white’s taxing abilities and the way Treasure has become evergreen. And while Treasure might be primary in red, it’s a powerful play for any color – remember, white doesn’t get much in the way of pure mana acceleration, and its aggressive decks can be cold against the decks that focus on drawing as many cards as they can. This card isn’t quite costed aggressively enough for tournament decks – it would be borderline broken at two mana – but it adds up in more casual settings, and particularly multiplayer settings. The choice between tying up two of their mana every turn for ever, and ramping you into expensive cards or multi-spell turns, is a hard one for any deck.
Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
Commander [EDH]: 4/5
Open up your wallets, or something. Smothering Tithe is a supremely annoying card to play against in the right circumstances, taxing people who draw cards by generating mana for your trouble. Tax effects like Rhystic Study, the ones that tax most decks for existing, are especially potent, and setting the price to get out at 2 mana usually means you’re apt to come out ahead. The tradeoff is that this relies on you being not so far behind as to let your opponents just ignore it to run you over, and this obviously does little on its own to alleviate a snarled board that’s not in your favor. All the same, Smothering Tithe is a vicious Commander favorite for the advantage you gain, but it does little to advance the game state on its own in proper Constructed play.
Constructed: 2
Casual: 4
Limited: 2.5
Multiplayer: 4.5
Commander [EDH]: 4.75
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