Plasm Capture
I must have slipped into another quantum stream,
like Lieutanant Worf in that sixth-season
episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I'm
reviewing a card that's basically Mana Drain -
no, that's better than Mana Drain - and I don't
remember hearing about Mark Rosewater being hit
by a bus. Yeah, it costs twice as much (more if
you count the specific mana requirements). But
if you can't effectively (or literally) win the
game the turn after countering something with
this, you probably need a refresher course in
Magic.
Today's card of the day is Plasm Capture which
is a two Green and two Blue countermagic that
counters target spell and adds that spell's
converted mana cost in and combination of colors
to your mana pool during your next pre-combat
main phase. This is a little expensive and mana
specific, keeping it to Blue/Green decks almost
exclusively, but the added mana boost can be
very beneficial to the right build. Unlike most
countermagic this works well with almost any
target and as a method to accelerate into late
game cards in the midgame or X effects this is
hard to beat in current formats.
In Limited the specifics of the mana cost
leave it in Simic's hands only, which can enable
the various repeatable effects on some of the
guild's creatures. Otherwise it is a counter
that has minimal loss of tempo and can bring an
endgame threat out on the fifth turn. A
reasonable first pick in Booster and well worth
including in Simic for Sealed, but beyond
Blue/Green it gets weakened dramatically as any
additional colors make casting it very
difficult.
Welcome back readers todays card of the day is
Plasm Capture this card is an interesting take
on Mana Drain and can provide an immense mana
boost and color fixing as well. In standard
decks looking to ramp into expensive spells
should look to this as it provides an element of
control for the deck and replicates one of the
more powerful spells eve printed, I see this
card appearing as fringe playable just needs a
deck to take advantage of its insane power. In
modern a four mana counterspell may be to slow
but if you’re looking to dominate the long game
and drop a powerful spell you could do worse
than this. In legacy and vintage four mana is
expensive but even a more expensive Mana Drain
is still a mana drain making this card possibly
have some applications in legacy, in vintage
it’s an off color Mana Drain 5-8 if a deck wants
or needs that. In casual and multiplayer this
card is amazing a powerful spell that scales
well into late game providing an amazing mana
boost and a versatile counter for decks able to
pay the mana cost. In limited it’s a ramp/counterspell
and has a niche in decks looking to go big.
Overall a powerful spell that needs a deck
tailored to take advantage of its power.
