For one more mana than Cancel, you can not
only "counter" uncounterable spells like Great
Sable Stag and Volcanic Fallout, but you can
also hit an entire stack of Cascaded or Stormed
spells, regardless of how many there are. as
well as defeat any creative application of
Twincast and decisively win any and all counter
wars. As an added bonus, if your opponent plays
three or more spells in a turn, it's free!
There are no cooler and more frightening
words in all of Magic than "without paying its
mana cost." Just ask Mind's Desire. True, this
is designed to be used against Storm, meaning
that your opponent will usually see it coming
anywhere else. But that doesn't mean they can do
anything about it - even Great Sable Stag
doesn't get past this card!
-Balding
for just over 5 years
-Playing MTG for just over 10
Mindbreak Trap
OK. This card is a doozy. My head spun when this
was printed but now I think I get it. Unless
spells are stacked, then ultimately this is just
a counter spell for 4. It works great for
Bloodbraid Elf or Storm Type of Situations, but
that is about it. Otherwise, we have a counter
spell. So, I do like counterspells. Bloodbraid
Elf is running rampant out there. Storm is still
a force in extended. Not a bad card but really
just another specialized counter. In
multi-player this can be fun however as often
spells are stacking in this format.
Welcome back readers today’s card of the day is
mindbreak trap a mythic rare trap from Zendikar,
the power of Mindbreak Trap lies with the fact
it can disrupt storm or cascade based combo
decks serving a small yet valuable niche. In
standard it is a sideboard card for various
matchups and serves almost no purpose except you
can hardcast it late game as an answer to a
powerful spell if you can’t activate is trap
cost. In extended it will see some play as a
combo disrupter in the sideboard. In legacy and
eternal this is more like it Minds Desire and
other storm based combo decks will have a new
enemy and its name is Mindbreak Trap. In limited
almost worthless. In casual and multiplayer if
multiple opponents play spells you don’t like
you can stop them all other than that this card
doesn’t deserve a home in a deck near the
kitchen table unless a player has a combo deck
you need to disrupt. Overall Mindbreak’s power
is relative to the cards used around it making
it obscenely powerful based on match ups then
nearly useless in others. You will know if your
deck needs this card just by reading it.
Today's card of the day is Mindbreak Trap a
fairly interesting counterspell that can exile
any number of target spells. The main use is
against a Storm style combo, but even without
that exiling instead of simply sending to the
graveyard can be quite useful against recursive
threats. A bit expensive at four and it isn't
often the option of casting it for free will
manifest, with the exception of Elfball, so it
may see more play in sidedecks.
In Constructed, Casual, and Multiplayer this
doesn't strike me as a maindecked card, but best
used to deal with specific decks with multiple
card combos or cards that return to hand from
the graveyard. In that role it can be
devastating and covers two of Blue's gaps in the
standard counterspell arsenal.
With Limited any counterspell can be useful
in a Blue mage's hands, but leaving four mana
left untapped is costly as it is rare to ever
see three spells played in a single turn in the
format. Having this card in hand prevents
playing a threat to the board and a savvy
opponent will soon realize a counterspell is
waiting for them. In Sealed this can be fitted
into a primarily Blue build and used to counter
an opponent's bomb later in the game, but having
both the card and the mana at the time needed is
a tall order. In Booster it depends on your
style as passing something like this can be
painful especially as a mythic rare.
If control or rare drafting is your thing pick
it up, otherwise a more offensive choice and
less mana restrictive card may be better.
