Untimely Malfunction – Duskmourn
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2024
Ratings:
Constructed: 4.13
Casual: 4.00
Limited: 4.13
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4.13
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Speaking of efficient removal spells, the only way to make them more appealing is often to make them do more than one thing, and Untimely Malfunction has some very interesting uses. A straight-up Shatter effect is more relevant in many settings than it looks, especially in settings like Commander or cube, but this is one of the most modular Shatters ever just based on the fact that it interacts with combat. That ability is not very appealing when it appears on a card by itself, yet when it’s on a card that can also do even more powerful things, you might find yourself making space to use it when you can. In general, modular spells have you pay for the versatility or the ability to use them differently, but in this case, the cost stays low and the modes are all strong. It seems like a good card just in general.
I also have to feel like the name and effect are a plant for the next time we visit a plane like Kaladesh, or maybe for that space opera set we’ve been promised (how many plot points in Star Trek can be summed up by this card’s title?).
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
Modular spells often trade efficiency for flexibility, but Untimely Malfunction has an interesting mode that isn’t that inefficient; the target reselection is a very nice tool, and this is actually not an overpay for red. The only downside is that you can only aim it at single-target things, but it also can be aimed at a spell or an ability, and this can be pretty potent in a pinch.
Untimely Malfunction also has two other modes: a Shatter effect can always be useful, and stopping blockers can also help in terms of forcing things through. The key here is that all of the modes are situationally useful, and it’s rare that all three of them are dead in a given situation. I like this most for the second mode, but don’t sleep on the other two.
Constructed: 4.25
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
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