Strict Tutor

[The Atog Lord]

Tutor mechanics are fun, and WotC has found various ways to balance paying some mana to get the card of your choice. I have an idea for a tutor which I double will be strong enough to see much competitive Vintage play, but whose flavor I like.

I imagine that Demonic Tutor is a good tutor who can just teach you what you want to know. Vampiric Tutor is not as nice and takes a bit of your blood in payment; further, she isn't quite so good at teaching, so the knowledge doesn't kick in until some time later. Diabolic tutor is also a good tutor, and doesn't thirst for your blood, but he costs more to hire.

What I envision here is a tutor who does a good job teaching you, but at the same time demands that you follow his lessons carefully without getting distracted. A tutor that demands your rapped rapt attention. In the course of a battle, perhaps in the early stages it isn't a big deal to pay strict attention to a tutor. However, as the battle heats up, you will be less and less able to give undivided attention to a tutor.

I think that this captures the above flavor. Mechanically, you stop what you're doing and just pay attention to this tutor.

Strict Tutor
1B
Sorcery
If you have not played any other spells this turn, search your library for a card and put that card into your hand. Then shuffle your library. You may not play any spells this turn.

Strict Tutor
1B
Sorcery
If you have not played any other spells this turn, search your library for a card and put that card into your hand. Then shuffle your library. You may not play any spells until your next turn.

[Matt]

This is pretty strong. What combo deck wouldn't spend turn two to play Demonic?

[taniquetil]

Any vintage deck. The thing's looks to me like a bad Imperial Seal/Vampiric Tutor in that it doesn't do anything until the turn after.

Given that both Vampiric and Seal are restricted and still seeing extensive play, that's not such a bad thing.

Looks pretty good as is. Standard and Extended doesn't have enough broken shit to make it ban-worthy and Legacy wouldn't use the thing because it's too slow.

[Machinus]

This is good obviously, but I'm thinking about whether or not it's broken and how I can explain it.

[parallax]

This is known in R&D as bah-roken.

Granted, it might be a little slow for Vintage combo, but Vintage control decks can probably afford to spend turn two finding whatever spell they need. There is some risk of self-chanting on turn two against another control deck, but only if they are in a position to cast a bomb on turn two. Late game it could be quite bad.

Legacy combo, on the other hand, already spends turn two setting up most of the time. Even if it won't see play in Tendrils builds, there's always Time Vault-Mizzium Transreliquat.

Standard and Extended would definitely make good use of this card. If there are good tutors available, people will find good tutor targets.

I think unrestricted Demonic Tutor is too good for most formats, in spite of the dissynergy with storm.

[jeek]

This is known in R&D as bah-roken.

Granted, it might be a little slow for Vintage combo, but Vintage control decks can probably afford to spend turn two finding whatever spell they need. There is some risk of self-chanting on turn two against another control deck, but only if they are in a position to cast a bomb on turn two. Late game it could be quite bad.

This could be significantly weakened if "this turn" was changed to "until your next turn."

[Godder]

I'm not so sure about Vintage - you can't cast it turn 1 without ESG, and most Vintage combo is trying to win on turn 2, not muck around getting some spell and doing nothing else.

With things like cycling, channel (the ability, not the card) and utility creatures/artifacts actually relevant in other formats, the drawback would be too easy to work around at only 2 CMC, so maybe it should cost BB (to avoid splashing - plays on that strict thing as well) and not allow spells or activated abilities that aren't mana abilities until your next turn - I think leaving yourself wide open is a reasonable drawback.

[parallax]

I think you could solve the whole problem by costing it fairly at 3 mana.

[asmoranomardicodais]

It's a different card, but if your going for the flavor of a strict tutor, why not do the exact opposite:

Strict Tutor
1B
Sorcery

Search your library for a card and remove it from the game. Until end of turn, you may play that card as though it were in your hand as long as it is the second spell you have played this turn.

This version means that you can demonic tutor up anything, but you had better play that, and you had better play it immiatly. It also has a nice contrast to Vampiric tutor, who makes you wait a turn for the card you want.

[chrissss]

I like the card. Its a cheap tutor, but because of the drawback, its not directly broken. Although having 4 in a deck can be powerfull, but not playing a spell all turn is really good for your opponent. he can instant all he wants during your turn, so I think its an ok card. Maybe up the mana to 3CC, but I am not sure about that.

[The Atog Lord]

At three mana, this card would be much worse than Grim Tutor, which wouldn't even be itself be broken outside of Type One. So, I'll go with the suggestion that you be unable to play spells until your next turn.