Cool Card Design of the Day5/16/2011 - I like Praetor's Grasp. I doubt it's useful in Constructed except against a silver-bullet type deck or a control/combo deck with only one copy of its finisher (and perhaps not even then), but I know it's awesome in Limited. Grabbing your opponent's Karn and playing it against them is pretty satisfying the game after they wrecked you with it. Communist Mandate is the result of thinking about other similar effects that might be interesting.
I like the way that Communist Mandate reads fairly symmetrically but will usually play out quite lopsided. In a duel, you might find a land from your own deck and the best spell you can cast from your opponent's deck. Or perhaps, you'll find the card from your deck you need the most that your opponent will never be able to pay for.
Things should be more interesting in a multiplayer game where it's less likely you'll be able to play everything you search out unless you're already in the late game with 12 land lying around. Come to think of it, this card would be amazingly brutal in 2HG where you and your teammate will likely be able to play all four cards you find.
This could be an instant, but I quite like the fact that it depletes some of your mana the turn you need it most. The sorcery version also makes it a bit more clear to new players how to best make use of the card.
I think there's a good vein here, but I wish it required more difficult choices when cast like a Gifts Ungiven, or more hoop-jumping like a Hive Mind. It's too easy to just get a Go for the Throat or something from the opponent's deck and two lands from your own.
ReplyDeleteThe card might cause confusion about priority because not every player has a good grasp on priority rules. You could allow each player to cast the exiled cards only on his/her turn. The tension of "I get to cast it first but if I don't, my opponent would" would still be preserved.