Not to sound like too much of an old person
here, but I remember a time when this guy was
going for $25-30 at local game stores, and
people thought that was expensive. The problem
is, though, that for competitive Magic, there is
really no other card that does what he does.
Creatures that generate card advantage in some
form are numerous, but there are none that do so
as effectively in the early game - maybe
Stoneforge Mystic is close, but she's much more
specific. Almost any deck, from aggro to
aggro-control to combo to some true control
decks, benefits from not only the card advantage
but by the fact that the Confidant has efficient
stats. For casual play, you shouldn't feel
obligated to use him (Azure Mage, for example,
has a similar effect later in the game with an
awesome concept and artwork), but it's hard to
imagine there will ever be a time when he isn't
ubiquitous in competitive settings.
Today's card of the day is Dark Confidant which
is a two mana Black 2/1 that has you reveal the
top card of your library at the beginning of
your upkeep, lose life equal to the converted
mana cost, and add it to your hand. This
is an excellent card in an aggressive low mana
cost build where taking more than three damage
for a card is unlikely, or in decks that
manipulate the library to control what gets
revealed and what gets drawn. This is a
huge target for removal, but for just two mana
that is not a real drawback and has to be
removed before the next upkeep to not net a card
advantage. As a 2/1 it also works for
early damage and has multiple avenues of being
sacrificed or removed if your life point total
gets dangerously low. Overall one of the
top creatures for efficiency in a deck made to
take advantage of the effect.
In Limited formats where this is available it is
a major source of card advantage, but extremely
risky as trying to build or use a deck without
higher mana cards can be difficult or lacking in
raw strength. If a low mana curve pool is
both available and viable it should be the
centerpiece of a very powerful design. In
Booster this should be a first pick for the
potential it offers, the value as a rare draft,
and as a hate draft to prevent another deck from
using it against you. In Sealed managing
to use it effectively might be unlikely, but the
consideration should be made as it provides a
huge advantage.
One of the many many many double-edged swords in
magic, but arguably one of the greatest. Drawing
an extra card a turn is huge in any format,
especially in a 2 drop. It runs best in small-ish
costs jund modern running Goyfs, LotV, etc,
where you'd only lose a few points a turn,
unless you draw into lands of course. Although
along with the small problem of showing your
opponent a little piece of your hand each turn.
EDH-wise, it's a double-edged sword that's a
little more lopsided. If you're running heavy
cost spells (As EDH players are wont to do)
you're potentially losing big chunks of life
yourself each turn.
