[OGW] Sphinx of the Final Word

[Chubby Rain]

Card Text:

Sphinx of the Final Word

Sphinx of the Final Word can't be countered

Flying, hexproof

Instant and sorcery spells you control can't be countered by spells or abilities.

5/5


It's a blue mythic, so by my criteria that makes it possibly Vintage playable. Sphinx has a lot going for it - it is uncounterable and virtually unkillable, but also has the very relevant ability of giving you counter superiority. After you resolve your 5/5 flying, unkillable monster, the concern is your opponent going over the top and this allows you to Force with impunity as the opponent's counters look on helplessly. The caveat is of course the mana cost. It is most similar to Dromoka and Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, both of which are cards I've run in Vintage in certain shells and I am excited to try this card out once I can get my hands on it.

[vaughnbros]

So in magic Final Word > Last Word.

[Naixin]

I like how this+consecrated sphinx makes sphinx tribal actually a thing instead of just a deck name.

[Random Noob]

Are we faceing the new Dragonlord Dromoka?

[waz]

Cavern of Souls on sphinx.

Great job whoever wrote the flavor text.

I can't wait to try it out

[evouga]

I like this card as it is one of the few that can turn a game around once you've fallen very far behind in the control mirror. You can topdeck this with no other cards in hands, while your opponent had been cruising and gushing and digging, and suddenly you have a fighting chance.

On the other hand seven mana is very steep; I feel like only the slowest of control decks (eg Landstill) need to fear this coming down before they can seal the win with Mentor, etc.

[xouman]

It would probably compete with dromoka and teferi as stated, and even Ojutai. Overall it could be better, but 7 CC is more than 5 and 6, despite dromoka is white and green and teferi demands  . The fact it *cannot* be killed (I only have in mind toxic deluge among the commonly played cards)

Teferi sees little play (in fact according to tcdecks.net you are the last one with a top8 with that, and I got a couple of t16 just before), despite having a better effect, giving flash to creatures and being 2 mana cheaper. On the other hand is far worse in combat and does not protect himself from swords or dismembers, so it cannot be trusted as a finisher.

Dromoka has started to see some play thanks to Mr Kelly and while it does not affect opponent phase, that less mana and the lifelink are relevant. Also the extra toughness is relevant against something like golem, hellkite, mentor or even the mighty balduvian horde.

Ojutai has some similarities. It's a flier with the same clock and has partial hexproof. It does no affect the counter ability of the opponent, but having a *ponder* every turn is nice. And for 2 less mana!


Is sphinx playable? Could be. Well, of course it is.
Would it be played? I can see it in a monoblue deck with lots of permission, but there it could be worse than teferi, since the pw has flash and this sphinx probably means to pass the turn tapped.
In Kelly's bomberman is probably worse than dromoka, since the opponent still can disrupt our combo in our own turn, and the lack of lifelink often will matter.
In the mentor/gush decks with ojutai it seems too costly. 5 mana is achievable even without drains, 7 mana probably needs tolarian and/or lotus.

I think it would see game, but I will be surprised to see it played over these 3 after some months.

[mmcgeach]

Much as I love a good sphinx, this does seem a little too expensive.  Also it doesn't need a cavern to make it uncounterable; but that might actually be the best thing about it.  Could be great in monoblue where the plan is manadrain -> this.  But, in most decks this would conflict with Consecrated Sphinx for spots as sort of the control finisher.  And both that and this are sort of weak against a field of dudes like pyromancer and/or mentor.  If mono-blue had a better delver/mentor matchup, I could see this going in there, perhaps alongside consecrated sphinx.  mono-blue is missing a good boardwipe, tho...

...if only there was some other blue mythic printed in this set that bounced everything and left you with an 8/8.

[MaximumCDawg]

It's a Vintage-relevant fattie that won't be too hot in Standard so it'll be cheap.  Hooray!

Other than that... I feel pretty "eh" about this card, but I also felt "eh" about the Dragonlords.  (Still do.)  This dork compares most directly to Dromoka, as people have been saying.  It's flying fat that protects you from countermagic.  Being blue means it pitches, which is nice, but that means he would fit into a blue deck that currently wants Dromoka.  Does such a deck even exist...? 

I think he seems worse than Oujati and Consecrated Sphinx at first blush because he's missing the critical ingredient that those two cards have: card advantage.  Oujati in particular wins the game while protecting itself by digging for countermagic and being hexproof until you have a shield up.  So, Oujati seems like a better way to go in Blue decks looking for a resilient finisher.

So I guess... like... I'll get some of these for cube and all, but I'm pretty down on it as a playable.

[portland]

Shame preacher still targets

[vaughnbros]

Shame preacher still targets

Well that is one corner case of Shroud being better than Hexproof, but this can also be equipped.

[waz]

Much as I love a good sphinx, this does seem a little too expensive.  Also it doesn't need a cavern to make it uncounterable; but that might actually be the best thing about it.  Could be great in monoblue where the plan is manadrain -> this.  But, in most decks this would conflict with Consecrated Sphinx for spots as sort of the control finisher.  And both that and this are sort of weak against a field of dudes like pyromancer and/or mentor.  If mono-blue had a better delver/mentor matchup, I could see this going in there, perhaps alongside consecrated sphinx.  mono-blue is missing a good boardwipe, tho...

...if only there was some other blue mythic printed in this set that bounced everything and left you with an 8/8.

Oh, I don't know, lotus, land, sol ring, 8/8, seems just okay  

This definitely feels like it wants to be a drain target, and it does give your spells the advantage of being uncounterable, however, the back end is problematic. For one thing, it dies to the Dragonlords, whereas Consecrated Sphinx, despite having 1 less power, can block Dromoka, and kill Ojutai and Lodestone. As has been said, if this hits the board, you can ensure your spells will resolve.

Regardless, this Sphinx is something I will definitely be testing.

[vaughnbros]

I think this is way better than Teferi.  Improved body, Hexproof, and uncounterable.  The ability is slightly worse, but it still achieves the goal of resolving critical spells.

It's less colors than Dromoka which is the big advantage over her.  GW isn't the easiest thing to achieve.

Consecrated and Ojutai play very different roles generating card advantage directly.  Making all of your card advantage spells, and many of your finishers (like will, show and tell, ect.) pretty much automatically resolve is great.

[brianpk80]

It's a Vintage-relevant fattie that won't be too hot in Standard so it'll be cheap.  Hooray!

Other than that... I feel pretty "eh" about this card, but I also felt "eh" about the Dragonlords.  (Still do.) 

Dragonlords are what bring home the treasure.  The more they are doubted, the more they win. 

Being blue means it pitches, which is nice, but that means he would fit into a blue deck that currently wants Dromoka.  Does such a deck even exist...? 

Yes.  There is a blue Dromoka Mentor list that's been pretty common on MTGO and the paper Vintage tournament scene on both coasts since late October.  Check out Steve M's latest article. 

So, Oujati seems like a better way to go in Blue decks looking for a resilient finisher.

Ojutai is a house, agreed. 

On the topic at hand, it's nice to have another option in the big flying finisher category.  They all have pros and cons which means the people who benefit from their existence are us, the players, since it increases our options.  Even the Abolisher variation on the Sphinx here is quite different from Dromoka's and Grand Abolisher's (which prevents activated abilities of nonland permanents).  With Sphinx in play, your Time Vault or Tezzeret is counterable, but your Force on the counter is not.  With Dromoka, your Time Vault or Tezzeret resolves.  On the other hand, with Dromoka and Abolisher your Force during an opponent's turn can be Forced, Flustered, Blasted, etc. but with the Sphinx it cannot be.  The types of spells you're looking to resolve will be key in determining which creature to use if any.  Dromoka has been really good in various Living Wish/Academy/Tezzeret concept shell's we've been testing as has Ojutai.  By contrast, the Sphinx would only indirectly protect some of the most important spells from resolving (Sensei Top, Black Lotus, Planeswalker, Vault, Key, Trinket Mage, etc.), by sanctifying your counter-back up but not making the permanent itself uncounterable.  It gives a lot of food for thought. 

[Chubby Rain]

I hate that I initiated the comparisons to other cards and now this thread has devolved into more of a discussion of comparisons rather than the card itself. In that way, it has become very similar to the Jace, Vryn's Prodigy thread in which comparisons to Merfolk Looter, Snapcaster Mage, and Dark Confidant obfuscated what the card actually did. Crap, I did it again...

The Sphinx is fundamentally different from Dromoka, Ojutai, Teferi, Consecrated Sphinx, etc and I really don't want to get bogged down in a conversation of how the card is different. Briefly, very few cards can be simply interchanged in the game of Magic and without taking into consideration the role they have deck, the rest of the deck's construction, and the metagame at large. Sphinx is not a direct replacement for any of the cards mentioned in this thread.

[keys]

This is a really good card. Hexproof puts it over the top. Think it will see just as much play as Dramoka/Consecrated Sphinx.

[Saya]

don't forget its mana cost

[vaughnbros]

I hate that I initiated the comparisons to other cards and now this thread has devolved into more of a discussion of comparisons rather than the card itself. In that way, it has become very similar to the Jace, Vryn's Prodigy thread in which comparisons to Merfolk Looter, Snapcaster Mage, and Dark Confidant obfuscated what the card actually did. Crap, I did it again...

The Sphinx is fundamentally different from Dromoka, Ojutai, Teferi, Consecrated Sphinx, etc and I really don't want to get bogged down in a conversation of how the card is different. Briefly, very few cards can be simply interchanged in the game of Magic and without taking into consideration the role they have deck, the rest of the deck's construction, and the metagame at large. Sphinx is not a direct replacement for any of the cards mentioned in this thread.

Nice original post bro

[Chubby Rain]

I hate that I initiated the comparisons to other cards and now this thread has devolved into more of a discussion of comparisons rather than the card itself. In that way, it has become very similar to the Jace, Vryn's Prodigy thread in which comparisons to Merfolk Looter, Snapcaster Mage, and Dark Confidant obfuscated what the card actually did. Crap, I did it again...

The Sphinx is fundamentally different from Dromoka, Ojutai, Teferi, Consecrated Sphinx, etc and I really don't want to get bogged down in a conversation of how the card is different. Briefly, very few cards can be simply interchanged in the game of Magic and without taking into consideration the role they have deck, the rest of the deck's construction, and the metagame at large. Sphinx is not a direct replacement for any of the cards mentioned in this thread.

Nice original post bro

I was excited, brah. I love me some blue mythics. Two sweet ones in one day was almost too much.

[xouman]

I agree that this is no direct replacement to any of those cards. It can find a home where it's better than any of those of other cards. But it's also interesting and often easier to try to fit it into existent archetypes. When Griselbrand appeared most people agreed to compare it against other oath targets, despite it was clearly different than the rest.

For example, this sphinx probably demands playing drains, unlike decks featuring teferi or dromoka. It's a good finisher, so in a deck with heavy permission you can be in a reactive position, growing mana until you can play this, hoping to have still some countermagic available in order to survive next turn. Probably a UR build, since both have the best countermagic and red has some removal. Or maybe UW, since white has even better removal and something like moat, that seems a wonderful complement to sphinx.

But then my question arises: can we keep the match under control until we can deploy this? 7cc is no joke. besides, this seems a solid win condition so maybe you don't want to play much more than this. Can we control a game for maybe 20 turns if we don't find this?

[Chubby Rain]

But then my question arises: can we keep the match under control until we can deploy this? 7cc is no joke. besides, this seems a solid win condition so maybe you don't want to play much more than this. Can we control a game for maybe 20 turns if we don't find this?

Kohler's Bomberman decks routinely takes 20 or so turns to kill their opponent while finding Salvager (if it even needs it).

And yes, 7 mana is a lot but if you are going to pay 5-7 mana for a finisher, you really want that guy to be resilient. Sphinx of the Last Word cannot be countered, swords, pyroblasted, karakas'd, Jace bounced, etc. It's the same as casting Consecrated Sphinx with Flusterstorm back up, but much easier as the protection is built in.

[Islandswamp]

I might be completely wrong,but I think I love this thing. It's obviously expensive but it is a great control finisher. Also it could protect a combo somewhat, whether it is a game winning combo or just something like allowing ancestral recall into yawgmoths will resolve unimpeded.

I think someone will do something awesome with this dude.

[Aaron Patten]

I like this card.  Mana drain becomes much better when it's uncounterable but so do 5/5 flying hexproof beaters.  This is a worthy creature to cheat into play and is easier to cast then a lot of things people Oath into.  Oath into castable things = superfunhappytimes imo.  Not drawing dead cards is fun.