The Advantages of Dark Intimations
Before we dig into Dark Intimations…
Instagram!
Top Level Podcast is now on Instagram! Check out these two teasers for tonight’s episode:
So… No swimsuit calendars (yet) but some fun, actually podcast related stuff for now.
Dark Intimations
Like one of the Instagram videos says, Mike is a little noncommittal on this one; Patrick just likes it. Here’s why…
Dark Intimations costs five mana. Its front side produces four cards:
- The opponent sacrifices a creature or planeswalker.
- The opponent discards a card.
- You return a creature or planeswalker from your graveyard to your hand.
- You draw a card.
Patrick’s argument is that, five mana against five mana, Dark Intimations far outstrips Tidings; Tidings was of course a Staple in Standard with “just” the text “Draw four cards” on it.
Let’s set aside for a moment the possibility you don’t actually get four cards when you cast Dark Intimations. Obviously you will sometimes cast this card when you don’t have a creature or planeswalker in your graveyard, or your opponent doesn’t have any cards in hand. That’ll happen sometimes… And sometimes you will get a full four in a fashion that compares favorably to Tidings.
The argument is that while drawing a card is approximately the same as drawing a card, forcing the opponent to sacrifice a creature or planeswalker is worth more — in the range of 1B or 2B. Moreover, returning a creature or planeswalker to your hand is more powerful, generally, than plucking a random card off the top of your deck.
The “Bolas planeswalker” clause makes this card very interesting. The assumption is that you cast Dark Intimations prior to the Bolas planeswalker (powering it up)… But you don’t have to in order to get the bonus. For instance, you can discard Dark Intimations to Tormenting Voice or Cathartic Reunion just to load up Bolas.
Lots more from Aether Revolt in this podcast including:
- What Mike wants to Disallow
- How Patrick flips Mike’s opinion on Battle of the Bridge
- How quickly you can win with Pia’s Revolution
- Building your own Cursed Scroll with Quicksmith Rebel
Give “The Advantages of Dark Intimations” a listen!
