Crime //
Punishment - When talking about split cards,
it's important not to just evaluate each half.
The card should be evaluated as a whole. For
instance, Fire // Ice seems pretty lame when
it's two halves, but it's a great card together.
I think this may be the case here, as well.
Crime seems limited and a bit too expensive.
Punishment is very strong, but somewhat small in
scope as well. However, between these two cards,
there are a lot of situations that can be
answered. Considering the easy mana manipulation
between green, black and white, this card seems
like it will have a future in constructed decks.
At the very least, look for this to be included
in all future iterations of the
green/white/black control decks of Ravnica block
constructed.
So here's our first review of one of the new
Dissension split cards. Let's start with Crime:
You get to pick anything from an opponent's
graveyard to put into play for yourself. Pretty
good deal! It's not a cheap proposition, but
considering what you're doing, the cost is not
off at all.
Now Punishment: You get to destroy permanent's
with X cost. Could be useful. You'd likely hit
something of your own, but when you must get rid
of whatever it is your opponent has that is
getting you down, it could work and be worth it.
The best thing about split cards is that you are
getting 2 possible cards for the space of one.
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CONSTRUCTED: 2.5
CASUAL: 2.5
LIMITED: 3.5
BMoor
Crime &
Punishment
Aside from being a classic work of Russian
literature and one of the great philosophical
novels of its era, Crime & Punishment also fits
perfectly into W/G/B control decks that have
propagated through Block Constructed. The Crime
half is an elegant follow-up to Mortify, and the
Punishment half is a solid mass removal spell.
Of course, Punishment is a bit unpredictable,
reminiscent of Radiance spells-- you may miss
some of your opponent's creatures and/or hit a
few of your own. In limited, the W/B/G color
combination is pretty powerful, and this card
should at least give it something to hope for in
the third pack.
OK, let's be honest. Crime won't be used all
that often. It'll be neat for casual play, but
not that strong in constructed most likely.
However, Punishment will see a TON of play.
Anytime you can get a board sweeping effect,
you're likely to see it in competitive
constructed play. I'd get a set of these as
quick as possible.
