[ORI] Demonic Pact

[MaximumCDawg]

This episode, on You Make the Card: https://twitter.com/Suspinded/status/614116526245851136



2BB Enchantment

At the beginning of your upkeep, choose one that hasn't been chosen:

- Demonic Pact deals 4 damage to target creature or player and you gain 4 life.
- Target opponent discards two cards.
- Draw two cards
- You lose the game.

Regardless of play-ability, this card is a flavor home run.  So that's cool.

As a card in Vintage, if it could do any of those modes immediately for 2BB, I'd venture to say it's amazing.  It'd be like a little mini-black Planeswalker whose abilities are on par with Jace the Mindsculptor (albeit with a downside).  Having to wait a whole turn to do anything with it might be fatal.

But then, there's that downside.  We have tons of ways to avoid it, but we also have Donate.  Is this card powerful enough to warrant discussion about a possible New Illusions of Grandeur type deck?  If one of the modes was Demonic Tutor, I'd say YES! in a heartbeat because it would find its own combo pieces.  Since it's not, you can use the +2 cards to dig for your Donate, but even so, I'm not sure 2BB + 2U to win the game four turns in the future is a good idea.

Really cool, though.  This set is getting some really good mythics and rares.  Now, about those uncommons and commons....

EDIT: In Modern, you get this going with Venser, the Sojourner and you're pretty much winning at life.

[vaughnbros]

Interesting.  A version of this was originally part of the past you make the card, I guess they decided to go ahead and make it anyway. 

So blinking it, donating it, and destroying it are the long term options to saving your life?  Sadly none of these effects are overly common in vintage decks right now. 

So is the effect strong enough to build around?  I'm not sure.  4 mana is pricey, but getting essentially +3 cards and a potential way to kill your opponent (via donate) seems good enough to at least warrant exploration.

[xouman]

At first I got a bit attracted, but after thinking a bit, it's a 4 turn clock, with a dangerous risk. It's true that it involves nice advantages, but I'd play liliana before this. However I admit that winning via donate is hilarious.

[Protoaddict]

For what it is worth, for the same mana cost I can play Hymn to tourach and Nights whisper. Its -1 card and -2 life but can happen in the same turn and the discard is far better. I can run soul spike or whatever if i really wanted a 4 damage thing. ALl of these cards are available in both legacy and vintage, so even if this card had no risk i wouldnt think it was worth it.

If this card for 4 mana did all 3 good abilities at once, i still probably wouldn't run it at 4 mana, and thats saying a lot.

[bactgudz]

If this card for 4 mana did all 3 good abilities at once, i still probably wouldn't run it at 4 mana, and thats saying a lot.

That is stretching it...4 mana for a draw 2 opp discards 2 targeted drain 4 would be an insane card even in vintage.  

[Chubby Rain]

If this card for 4 mana did all 3 good abilities at once, i still probably wouldn't run it at 4 mana, and thats saying a lot.

That is stretching it...4 mana for a draw 2 opp discards 2 targeted drain 4 would be an insane card even in vintage.  

Sign me up for this mini-Cruel Ultimatum. As it is, cool card...almost certainly not Vintage playable.

[rikter]

I'd like it a lot better if it was thoughtseize, draw 3, damnation, with the caveat that if it left play you lost on the spot. Oh, and you get to choose one of those abilities as it enters the battlefield.

That would be a pretty sweet card!

[TheMonadNomad]

Although too slow for Vintage, this sure is sweet design and would be a lot of fun to run in either casual or cube...

[jamestosetti]

Edit. Posted in wrong thread.

[evouga]

This is another promising concept that got neutered by Development.

If there were no downside, this would be marginally playable, perhaps... but to not-lose you need tons of bounce/enchantment removal, with counterspell backup... just play the 1G enchantment with, "At the beginning of your upkeep, choose one: you win the game" instead.

[Random Noob]

Could Donate be a thing? Would be a mana heavy combo, and take some slots we are used to give Jace, TMS.

EDIT: First use 3 turns all the goodies, and then Donate for the win.

[desolutionist]

Or you could sacrifice it to Smokestack or Perilous Research.

[mmcgeach]

I know this looks cool, but, like I said during the "you make the card" stuff: Just because the card says "you lose the game" on it, doesn't make it good.