[Culling Scales] Can someone break this card?

[Nantuko Rice]

After a quick search, I found no promising Culling Scales threads so... I started my own.

Culling Scales 3
Artifact
At the beginning of your upkeep, destroy target nonlan permanent with the lowest converted mana cost among nonland permaments in play.

This card has been out for a while now and even Damping Matrix sees more play than this. Why hasn't this seen type 1 play yet? It has the potential to wreck any deck and ruin their plans.

Name a nonland permament in type 1 with converted mana cost greater than 3. Morphling... Exalted Angel... ... ... That's it. People don't play high-casting cost spells because simply they're to slow. Or they become drain targets. (ball lightning anyone) Three mana for 6 damage wasn't enough. Spells that cost 3 or more mana are gamewinners, Exalted Angel or Psychatog, or they're artifacts.

Are there any matchups that are slow enough for the Culling Scales player to gain card advantage. Fish and GAT to name a few. How would culling scales do against other decks? I feel it is to slow against decks such as FCG, and in many matchups, it is like a very slow null rod.

Why doesn't it see play? The single card gains card advantage and kills things from Soldier Tokens, to Welders, to Dryads, and to Psychatogs. So why doesn't it see play? My only conclusion is that Culling Scales is to slow. Type 1 needs cards like Pernicious Deed, Swords to Plowshare, Fire/Ice, and Force of Wills. Cards that sit around and blow one thing up per turn aren't fast enough. Cards that would work very well with Culling Scales are Tel-Jilah Chosen, Darksteel Ingot, and Darksteel Brute. The chosen sucks, so our only options are the two darksteel artifacts.

Attempt to Break it: Black/Blue Landstill. Dark Rituals help pump out darksteel brute and culling scales. Black provides duress and smother. Blue is there for the drains (if scales doesn't handle the problems), disk, and draw engines. Viable deck? Probably not. Is the card viable in type 1? It's waiting to get broken.

[D0rk]

My only conclusion is that Culling Scales is to slow. Type 1 needs cards like Pernicious Deed, Swords to Plowshare, Fire/Ice, and Force of Wills. Cards that sit around and blow one thing up per turn aren't fast enough. Cards that would work very well with Culling Scales are Tel-Jilah Chosen, Darksteel Ingot, and Darksteel Brute. The chosen sucks, so our only options are the two darksteel artifacts.

You answered your own question. Sure, it's cute to get Ingot/Scales out, but it's not game altering for the most part. And it only pairs with bad cards, so you come back to the common question: "Why cut good cards for bad ones?"

[Addolorisi]

With having to wait a turn just to achieve parity, it's simply either too slow or outclassed. Compare it to something like Keg, which can come down and 1 or 2 turns later trade for a lot more than 2-for-1. Not to mention that Keg can be used the turn you drop it. I think the key difference that might make Scales playable is that it will function under Null Rod, but I'm not sure if that's enough to justify it.

As for Ingot and Brute: The Ingot is pretty terrible in terms of mana fixing in a world of fetches and duals, and the Brute is extremely mana intensive. Having to spend 5 mana for the first 2 damage is incredibly costly. I think that if it gets to the point where you have to pop your own Scales, then it's probably done enough that you probably won't be needing it anymore.

[goober]

Name a nonland permament in type 1 with converted mana cost greater than 3. Morphling... Exalted Angel... ... ... That's it.

Smokestack, Triskelion, Sundering Titan, Yawgmoth's Bargin (well, you won't have an upkeep anyways), Karn, Platinum Angel, Mindslaver, Pentavus, Duplicant, Arcbound Crusher, Juggernaut, and Arrogant Wurm.  I think thats about it, I probably forgot a few.

Even if it could hit those it is just way too freaking slow.

[combo_dude]

Also, when is this best? Workshop decks.
What do almost all Workshop decks run? Welders.

What will get killed as soon as they hit the table by your own card? Welders.

[Dr. Sylvan]

Yeah this is a pretty obviously horrible card. I don't really want to lock it so I'll move it to Newbie.

[Toad]

Meandeck has tested this card in Stax when Mirrodin came out, as a sideboard tech for the Prison mirror, since Culling Scales will eat all your opponent's Moxens if you can drop it out of a Mishra's Workshop. Unfortunately, It didn't make the trick as well as we expected.

[Nantuko Rice]

maybe it will find a home in mono-brown MUD (no welders).... because that deck is sooo viable

when they made this card, R&D probably had type 1 in mind (as they do for alot more cards now recently) but it's just not effective enough.

i realized that it was slow, but i wanted to see if any other users had any ideas. i guess not. oh well. i tried.

[TrixR4Kidz]

Just.... no

Please add more substance to the conversation when you post. And to avoid double- or triple-posting, only hit Submit once. -Dr. Sylvan

[defector]

I screwed around with this card in stax a lot and nothing good came out of it.  i was hoping to answer null rod with it so that Karn could swing for the kill, but I just fed it my welders instead.  It's close, but not close enough.  It was worth looking at as a spoiler item, but thats the end of the story.  Also, drop of honeyt and the abyss are probably better that this card and trhey are no longer good enough to play.
defector

[Webster]

The problem with culling scales is that it was made for a slower environment. Type 1 is just too fast for it to be effective unless you are in a metagame where everyone is unpowered and plays with lots of low-CC permanents.

keeper
hulk
control slaver
7/10
workshop slaver
tnt
welder MUD
belcher
draw-7
gobvantage
fish
madness
dragon

Of the decks listed above, what deck(s) does culling scales prove to be more effective against than another card like rack&ruin, fire/ice, etc?


Web

[LotusHead]

Well, against the list of deck archetypes just listed, most of them run power, and rely on power (except workshop decks which have land-based power).  

The problem is, even if Culling Scales resolves and eats a few permanents, players can simply get around this by waiting a turn or to until the Scales eath themselves (cc3). Then again, anything that makes your opponent do nothing is worthy of note, right"?

[goober]

They can also get around it by not noticing it, and proceeding to play good spells while you waste your turn casting this.

Check this out, for your own edification. -Dr. Sylvan

[Dr. Sylvan]

I tried to give you a chance, I really did. I as much as told you not to take the weapon belt into the vision cave.

Locked, see rule #5.