Waste Not – MTG Throwback Thursday (2015)

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

Much like Fires of Invention, Waste Not is a card that really needs to be built around. In a deck dedicated to discard, it will provide a little extra value that helps you stay ahead on the war of resources. Even then, it probably works best with mass discard effects like Dark Deal, that will now cause an enormous swing in resources. It also has a certain value against a lot of reanimator strategies: using blue or red draw-and-discard spells is a common setup step for these decks. Beyond that, it doesn’t do a lot in a black deck with a different theme; it’s not the sort of card you just throw into every deck, but it can be a helpful card with the right support.

Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 2/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
EDH/Commander: 3/5

Waste Not is an interesting little gem of a card that makes for a fun build-around piece. An army of zombies, a veritable abundance of mana, and a bunch of card draw is what this two-mana enchantment can offer, but it’s definitely a card that requires a heavy amount of support to shine; cards like Wrench Mind and Mind Rot, mandatory looting, and the various Specter creatures can help out. This isn’t a card you should just slam into a deck and hope for the best, as even a two mana investment can go towards things more immediately applicable to helping you to win the game. Still, there are ways to get a lot of mileage out of your mana, and this scales well into multiple player games.

Constructed: 3
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 1.75
Multiplayer: 3.25
Commander: 3.75