Today, we review the Darkness spell known as Scheming Hands.

Scheming Hands

Civilization: Darkness

Type: Spell

Cost: 5

Ability: Look at your opponent’s hand and discard a card from it.

Rarity: Uncommon

Ok, Scheming Hands. I’ve seen this card in play in many of the control decks that are slowly gaining popularity. Just what we need in this game, another ghost touch, masked horror, and locomotiver. Anyway, let’s get on with this review.

The Plus Side

Destroying a person’s hand can be vital to the game. The hand makes up the mana, the field, and all the possible plays a person can do, so pwnage of a person’s hand gives you a major advantage. This is basically the case for all CCGs out there.

This card is amazing. It does cost 5, which is fairly high, but its effect is really good. You get to choose what card your opponent must lose, plus you get a look at any other plan that they may have in their mind.

5-mana is a good area for the card. No matter if you went second or first, you get the chance to take out the possibility of a 6-cost card. Takes out Alcadeias, Crystal Lancer, Natural, Terror Pit, Holy Awe, FDF, and anything else that can change the game pretty drastically.

The cost is very convenient of the entire skew of the discard deck. Look at this possible turn.

Turn 2-Ghost Touch

Turn 3- Horrid Worm

Turn 4- Locomotiver

Turn 5- Scheming Hands

Craziness. Your opponent’s hand is basically gone with this.

That’s really it. It’s got a convenient mana cost, nasty effect, and a free look in your opponent’s plans for that turn. For that, this card is pretty decent.

The Negative Side

This card has many disadvantages. For one, it costs 5. 5 is hella high for a card that basically does the same as Ghost Touch. That’s another bad thing. Ghost touch is amazing because it’s cheap and gets the quick finish of a person’s hand later on in the game. By the time 5 mana gets around, your opponent would have burnt away much of his hand, so don’t expect to see more than 2 cards in your opponent’s hand at the time. Sure, it will do the same thing as Ghost touch, but it seems pointless to spend the extra 3 mana.

Discard decks face a major problem. Yes, the opponent’s hand is high at the start and the continuous discarding by you will force their hand to 1 or 0, and that’s fine, right?

Ok, now what happens when your opponent goes to no cards in their hand, and every card he/she draws is either played or put in the mana zone? Nothing but…TOTAL K-RAP!! Without a hand, Locomotiver becomes a junky 4 for 1000 shield trigger, and Ghost Touch and Scheming Hands become useless. Discarding is great…only if your opponent has a hand, besides that, you have a completely useless 5-cost card that only can be mana.

Finally, let’s play “what else could you use?”

-         2 ghost touch and a marrow ooze?

-         Ghost touch and horrid worm?

-         Locomotiver?

-         Masked horror?

-         Wait 2 turns for a Lost Soul?

-         Wait 1 more turn for a terror pit?

There are better things than Scheming hands. Because of the fact that there will probably not be many cards in your opponent’s hand by turn 5, it might be better to stick with the Ghost Touch and Horrid worm.

The Limited Side

Scheming Hands in limited can be good, but exactly what would you destroy in your opponent’s hand that really could be a threat. There is a low chance that there is a card in their hand that can be threatening, like a Terror Pit or Alcadeias or something, but don’t really expect it. Still, it will do something to switch up the game in your favor.

The Recap

Here are the + and – again

Pluses

- Convenient mana cost as to turn count

- Another notch in the discard deck belt

- Your choice in what gets destroyed

- Free look in their hand

Minuses

- Too expensive compared to other good discarders

- There probably won’t be much to choose from by Turn 5

- Too much discard can be overkill

- Useless if opponent has no real hand

- 2 turns away from the entire hand being killed by a Lost Soul

Constructed- 2.5/5- Good effect, just not as good as other very strong pre-negators

Limited- 3/5- Probably more helpful here, since DB’s, Terror pits, Snares, and Holy Awes are more crucial in Limited.

Art- 2/5- Watch out…It’ll steal your soul…*eerie background music…*

Well, that’s it for Scheming hands. If anyone has any questions, comments, concerns complaints, e-mail me at

pt_1bc_2@yahoo.com

Later Days….