Burn w/ Howling Mine?

[rattle]

I was reading this thread and started wondering why Howling Mine doesn't seem to see any play. Obvious doubts aside (like "it can be disenchanted") - I would always prefer it to, say, a cursed scroll. Anyway, noone even suggested Howling Mine throughout the entire thread and I figured - there must be a good reason why people don't want it.

[President Skroob]

Basically, it's card disadvantage unless you Time Walk. You invest a card to play it and your opponent draws two cards first.

If you want to play Howling Mine, you have to find ways to make the symmetry work in your favor. It's a dangerous card.

[rattle]

Well, that's about the reply I expected. However, "card advantage" feels like such a blurry term - and simply from experience, red burn seems to get more out of the additional draw than most opposing decks.

[President Skroob]

Powerful symmetrical effects are always dangerous, which is why they rarely see play. Mana Flare and Howling Mine are, in my opinion, the two best examples.

That is not to say that certain decks can't use them better to their advantage, but back in the day when I played more casual games I was never unhappy to see my opponent lay down a Howling Mine.

In my opinion, Howling Mine is best in asymmetrical lock decks where you can keep your opponent from using their draws while pumping up your tempo using your own.

Nevertheless, experimentation is the best way to reach conclusions. Play around with it and reach your own results, but just make sure to evaluate your data objectively and not just with "I won with Howling Mine in play, therefore it is good," but with "I won with Howling Mine in play, but would I have won without it in play?" It is possible to say that you would win a faster paced war of topdecks with a burn deck, but my guess would be that there are archetypes that would match the burn with their own threats. Essentially, Howling Mine will turn shifts in game position into swings, and I don't think you can always count on those swings in your favor.