[Discussion] Isochron Scepter

[Lockdown]

What happened to one of the most hyped cards from Mirrodin?  People reported the influx of new Parfait-like decks with the Scepter/Orim's Chant combo they day that Mirrodin became legal, yet very few did that well.  Now the scepter is only found in a few decks, and only in 1-2 copies.  So, what was the flaw in Scepter that prevented it from becoming the bomb that everybody said it was?

[Masked_Rider]

Your opponent can simply play around it by destroying it at the end of your turn, and who really plays with hannas custody?

[BreathWeapon]

You lose to Null Rod, 'nuff said.

[Dr. Sylvan]

Null Rod hasn't been the problem for me. Rather, while it's nice to draw out counters and all that jazz, you can't guarantee having enough mana soon enough. Against control decks, they run the "full nine" (or most of it: 5 strips, 2 shamen, 2 Stifle)---this suite of mana denial makes the critical fourth mana hard to guarantee. In most situations, you don't really want to drop it before you get to that point because they can (a) Stifle the Imprint, (b) Wish for removal that kills it before you get the second activation. Against aggro, you're relying too much on getting the appropriate Imprint target (Swords), because if you toss just anything on the stick, you wasted a turn and they get another trip to the red zone. Obviously combo decks think Scepter is pretty amusing in most cases, though Dragon does have some fear of it. As for Prison, the only time it will work is once you've already got enough mana to break the lock.

That said, it's still a powerful card, and in some metagames it would be a good fit. Just a general powered metagame won't like it much.

[Haksaw]

I tend to agree...putting it out and having it Stifled or destroyed without a single activation is always a turnoff.

I've been thinking that I should use my Workshops/Ancient Tombs to make it a more effient 1st turn threat, but I simply can't pull myself away from my aggro nature...I think there's definitely potential in a control styled deck that can afford to drop them consistently 1st turn.

[Klep]

I actually used it in a U/R control deck where I found it to be very strong and where it served as my primary win condition (via Fire/Ice).  This in a generally powered meta (thanks to proxy-5).  The important thing is to play it in the right deck, and in the right meta.

-David 'Klep' Kleppinger, Raving Lunatic

[defector]

My biggest [problem with scepter was that it was a turn to setuopk and a turn to use.  I couldn't find a spell inside the scepter's requirements powerful enough to lose a turn over.  "Everything is a time walk" psychology would say don't cast one for your opponent.   Otherwise it's a fun card and I play it enough in casual enough that hopefully I'll find the right way to use it.
defector

[TheFram]

Im a big fan of Scepter as a singleton in control decks not running too many asynergystic cards (ie lots of sorceries, null rods/damping matrix, multiple deeds...), since it provides virtual removal while doubling as utility.

For instance, here is my current 4-color tog

Mana - 24
4 Polluted Delta
4 Underground Sea
3 Volcanic Island
2 Tropical Island
2 Island
2 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Mana Crypt
4 Moxen (no pearl)
1 Black Lotus

Interesting Singletons - 5
1 Deep Analysis
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Intuition

Non-interesting Singletons - 4
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Ancestral Recall

Draw/Search - 11
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Brainstorm
3 Cunning Wish

Permission - 11
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
3 Duress
2 Stifle

Win Target Game - 3
3 Psychatog

Sideboard of Goodness - 15
1 Berserk
1 Naturalize
1 Oxidize
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Deep Analysis
1 Fire/Ice
2 Rack and Ruin
2 Smother
3 Red Elemental Blast

I feel that the singleton scepter w/ 3 wishes comes up often enough to give me "virtual removal" almost on the same scale that keeper has. I've been liking it alot recently. Alot of the time the Scepter will come out for the second Deed or a DA, but game 1, and later against aggro, it has been really awesome. It especially complements the draw engine. Scepter+Brainstorm has raced LoA on a full hand on 3 separate occasions for the win.

[Kowal]

I seem to recall saying when the spoiler was posted that this card was not, in fact, the nuts.

I was right, apparently.

The basic idea is that you're paying mana for immediate card disadvantage.  Isochron is kind of like Mesmeric Fiend targeting you, except you don't get the card back when it inevitably dies.  It's extraordinarily situational, but applied with a little finesse it's a strong card, just not good and broken like most other things that could be in its slot.  I tried it in a lot of different things and to this point the only deck I enjoy having Scepter in is Eastman's Chains Control, since it allows me to Impulse a lot without people analyzing it as a threat soon enough.