Pithing Needle

[Chill79]

From SoK we get:

Pithing Needle
Artifact
1
As Pithing Needle comes into play, name a card.
Activated abilities of the named card can't be played unless they're mana abilities.

What's your thought of this card,is it going to find it's place in T1 decks??
I think this card will see lot of play,in some decks main(naming Welder/Belcher ect.) but also in sb for mirrors.

[crazynlazy]

what about against oath or CS I think this card may have a home in the SB but probably not MD it's pretty meta dependent.

[Marton]

Unfortunately the art is one of the worst ever, even if it is representative of the real thing (yes, pithing needle is a word). I was planning on buying 4 foils, but the art is so bad that I don't think it's worth it.

Just to make a note, there is so much more applications than what you pointed out. In addition to that, they made an errata. It also affects cards not in play. This means that you can stop flashback (as strange as it seems, if you play vs a recoup deck, you can/should consider playing your pithing needle naming a card like time walk, this way preventing them from flashing back time walk using recoup, which in turn stops their burning wish). Stopping flashback also stops the obvious: deep analysis. It also stops madness. It stops lands such as bazaar of baghdad, fetchlands (can help for color screws and messes brainstorm), wasteland/strip mine. It stops many other things, including random stuff like: laquatus, sliver queen, triskelion. There's also the obvious stuff it stops, such as: mindslaver, welder, charbelcher, salvagers.

[Mixing Mike]

.....you can stop flashback.....It also stops madness......

Survey says:

XXXX

Sorry man, not right.  Flashback is a static ability, not activated.  Madness is a triggered ability and a replacement effect, so this also doesn't work.  As a side note, this card would stop cycling, just as Stifle would.  This will also not stop triggered effects (such as Worldgorger Dragon and Genesis), since triggered abilities are not activated.

[Daniel_112]

I think its really good, you can stop welders with it, and bazaars.

What about the new blue fork? Its very nice against wills, you can abuse and then stop his will.

[roche]

Ok... say... Double U tee Eff Mate?

How is this card any good againist any of the top choices in t1?

1. Belcher- Ok... so your plan is too name? Gifts ungiven... o wait.. doesnt stop that..Tinker?... o no...er? Darksteel? Titan?
Theres wheres around this card if belcher OR welder is named... which makes it...mediorce at best vs belcher.

2. Any stax based deck with welder... name welder? you'll get wired/cow/stacked out before this card makes itself valuable.

3. combo... good luck getting the 4 of these u'll need in ur opening hand to even stand a chance.... vs sensei, naming sensei is your best choice, but you better follow it up with a 3 mages on echoing truth, chain of vapor and cunning wish.

....its not that i'm completely flaming this card..



yes i am.


but, there are just alot better choices that do a whole hell of alot more -

damping matrix
null rod

gg this needle.


Discuss?


the only thing i can see this working with, is combo naming wasteland... which gives it a significant less worry about mana base issues.

and wasteland is just a plain better solution to bazaar than this.



<3 from the goats.

[49 Cents]

I can see it in many SB's against things like Goblin Welder, Bazaar (4 useless slots.. How savage..), Mindslaver, Trisk, it stops Salvager-Oath (Ok, a Null Rod would do the same but better), but I'm questioning whether it's better then Null Rod.. Even though Rod 'Only' stops artifacts..

I'll just see when this card pops up in SB's..

Btw, do you know where I can find a picture of the art?

Greetz,

Hugo

[Lunar]

pithing needle however doesnt effect your mana base like wasteland does, this allows a way to stop bazaar in a deck NOT wanting to run wasteland to mess up mana sources...

How is naming charbelcher not good against SSB? Taking away one aspect of them winning is not a bad way to go, second needle can name slaver or welder or whatever....I know there are ways around it for SSB, but there are ways around every kind of hate out there...its not a bad choice though and it shouldnt be dismissed.

Shutting off welders for 1 isnt bad against any deck running welders, if you can shut down aspects of a deck then you give yourself that much better of a chance....

How about running it as protection from your self not hate against a certain deck...say you are running bazaar of baghdad, you can name wasteland to protect your lands, at 1/3 the cost of crucible of worlds.

There are TONS of options for naming with this card, disruption is never really a bad thing.  Is it optimal?? that remains to be seen...

[49 Cents]

How about running it as protection from your self not hate against a certain deck...say you are running bazaar of baghdad, you can name wasteland to protect your lands, at 1/3 the cost of crucible of worlds.

And, if you play Leviat and you play my bad SB featuring Sacred Ground, 1/2.. But sacred can be Replenished which makes It a lit better, and the fact that enchantment is less hate-sensetive than Artifacts.. But I guess you guys couldn't care less..

I think the card is going to be played in Birdshit, it might even replace Null Rod lowering the mana Curve even more..

Greetz,

Hugo

[shade88]

The strongest thing pithing needle has going for it is versatility. Pithing needle is almost never a dead card. So let's assume the deck you are playing against doesn't have prime targets like goblin welder, tog, or bazaar. Pithing needle is still effective, and not a dead card like so many hosers are in the wrong match up. Also it's an affective card because you stop four of their cards of your choice for 1 mana. If pithing needle was even two mana, it would not be nearly as good. But with a 1 mana casting cost, it can come down before the pivotal turn 2. To summarize, the card is almost always effective, will always cost more than the card it stops, and really does its job against the right deck.

With all this said, will it see a lot of play?

I am going to have to agree with crazynlazy on this card. It really depends on the metagame. The card is much better against control and combo then it is against aggro. So it probably depends on where you play if it goes in the md or sideboard.

[Whatever Works]

A 1 casting cost artifact that can effectively shut down 4 key cards of your opponents deck is amazing, and will have a spot in almost every sideboard. You can argue that you can play around it, but then again what card cant you really play around? And even further 1 single mana cost card would be as difficult to play around. This card to me is way better then phyrexian furnace if you know your opponents deck. Seriously a 1 casting cost artifact that shuts down Belcher (or stalls it for several turns at least), shuts down oath (or makes oath have to find an answer using rescources it would usually use to protect combo), and shutting down welder making opponent have to hope to resolve then protect tinker and its target! thats a really really good card for 1 generic mana even if its art is bad.

Whether it stops flashback is irrellenvent, because I cant think of many times being able to do that would be better then just naming a card... How does this card interact with Squee or Bazaar of Baghdad???

[empathogen]

It's a real dilemma...the needle has focused applications against a wide variety of individual threats, which works both in its favour and against it. On one hand it can hit a whole bunch of things, from bazaar to trike to welder, just to name the big guns. On the other hand, it can only hit one of these things at any one time, and any serious deck will have more than one escape route.

If you consider the only comparable card, Meddling Mage, costs UW to cast for an effect that can be subsumed under Pithing Needle's ability, 1 colourless for a relatively massive roadblock to someone's gameplan seems like a bargain. Unlike Meddling Mage, the Needle's ability doesnt depend on you playing it before the cards hit the table, meaning you can wait for an opponent to drop his stuff before you choose what to shut down.

[Henkka]

To Clarify:

403 - Activated Abilities

    * 403.1 - An activated ability is written as "[cost]: [effect]." The activation cost is everything before the colon ( : ). Its activation cost must be paid by the player who is playing it. [CompRules 2003/07/01]

So the card doesn't stop static or triggered (as, at, when, whenever, etc) abilities.

Even so it's kinda powerfull, as it's versatility is it's main edge against other more specific (perhaps more efficient) hosers.

[Bulls on Parade]

Pithing Needle can be run in combo decks' sideboards to prevent hate cards (for example, Dragon SB to come in against Tormod's Crypt). I think this is where it will see the most play.

[49 Cents]

shuts down oath (or makes oath have to find an answer using rescources it would usually use to protect combo)

Oath is triggerd, not activated, right?

[Duncan]

it is, but it stops the salvager / spellbomb 

[Dominik]

Btw, do you know where I can find a picture of the art?

The art is right here: http://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/sok/pithing_needle.jpg



I think the card's ok, I agree that it will be run in SB usually, but it's a one mana artifact (playable anywhere).

[49 Cents]

Thanks, and that is ONE UGLY ART..

On Salvagers: Yes, it wrecks it, but so do Pillar, Null Rod, Root Maze, Tormod's Crypt, Furnace, a good control deck or any other sorts of hate..

[Dzy]

Actually Root maze doesn't salvagers if they use the LED, because it does not need to tap to be used.

[Lord of the Goats]

really is see this card as doing too little. if it stopped triggered abilities as welll or stopped all activated abilities it would be really good.

unfortunatly there's a lot of much better cards to run in sideboards that hose a lot better.

the only application thus far that i think may actually make this card worth running is that it neutralizes wasteland while not necisarily being dead in multiples. for example if you were playing combo and brought in in vs fish the first would hit wasteland, the second copy could hit rootwater thief, aether vial, waterfront bounce, or strip mine. 

 

[MaxxMatt]

@Pithing Needle.

I think that I could be a strong choice for all the ones that need to protect or enhance their strategies focusing on sinergic cards.


Think about the Fish card pool.
Now add 3-4 Pithing Needle somewhere ( maybe as sideboard additions ).
You can name fetchlands not to let the opponent protect and develop his mana base.

Think about what Bird-Shit can do with this card at his disposal.
It act as a good fish.dec with larger creatures.
So it can capitalize in a faster way the little advantage that a single call of the Needle and a single Mage can give to it.

Think about some Artifact.based denial strategies. You are used to leave your fetchland on board in order to protect your possible duals from Wastelands, don't using them until the last possible second. Now the Needle can force you to do uneeded things, giving to the opponent a clear advantage.

Think about a Welder.dec. It usually win by good interacions between Welders and Mindslaver or Welders and Jester Caps or Welders and Jar or Welders and Pentavus and Mindslaver. You can selectively stop some of them with the clearly undercosted useof this artifact, forcing them to use the worst about their plans of  victory: Winning by Fats.

The most I try to think, the most I'm going to find good use in DIFFERENT decks and strategies for this card.
And the good/bad news, is that this card could/should be used in so much different decks that usually you are going to think that it is: BROKEN.
Why doing it an Artifact? A Green Enchantment would be better?



MAxxMAtt

[Ben Kossman]

It's a top notch card in un-powered Aggro. It's narrow enough to not hose the cards in my deck yet broad enough to make the opponent cry like a little girl. And I don't think the art is THAT bad either. I'm getting four.

[Shade]

@Pithing Needle.

I think that I could be a strong choice for all the ones that need to protect or enhance their strategies focusing on sinergic cards.


Think about the Fish card pool.
Now add 3-4 Pithing Needle somewhere ( maybe as sideboard additions ).
You can name fetchlands not to let the opponent protect and develop his mana base.

Think about what Bird-Shit can do with this card at his disposal.
It act as a good fish.dec with larger creatures.
So it can capitalize in a faster way the little advantage that a single call of the Needle and a single Mage can give to it.

Think about some Artifact.based denial strategies. You are used to leave your fetchland on board in order to protect your possible duals from Wastelands, don't using them until the last possible second. Now the Needle can force you to do uneeded things, giving to the opponent a clear advantage.

Think about a Welder.dec. It usually win by good interacions between Welders and Mindslaver or Welders and Jester Caps or Welders and Jar or Welders and Pentavus and Mindslaver. You can selectively stop some of them with the clearly undercosted useof this artifact, forcing them to use the worst about their plans of  victory: Winning by Fats.

The most I try to think, the most I'm going to find good use in DIFFERENT decks and strategies for this card.
And the good/bad news, is that this card could/should be used in so much different decks that usually you are going to think that it is: BROKEN.
Why doing it an Artifact? A Green Enchantment would be better?



MAxxMAtt

Concerning fetchlands, cards like this are exactly why I play with 2 Strands and 2 Deltas in my Oath deck, rather than 4 Deltas like so many others do.

I'm trying to make room for Needles in my SB, along with Twincasts, but don't really know what to pull for 'em.  Here's my current SB.  My MD runs 2 CWishes:

1 Ancient Hydra
2 Echoing Truth
3 Ground Seal
1 Iridescent Angel
2 Misdirection
2 Naturalize
1 Platinum Angel
1 Pristine Angel
2 Stifle

Any ideas?

[ELD]

I'm not getting it.  It seems to me that the reason people think this card is strong is because they are confused about what an activated ability is.  The only thing i can see this being playable against is decks so narrow that they have only one game plan.  Even 2 land belcher can just kill you with tendrils.  Welder based decks would likely just be happy that you didn't drop something that attacks the graveyard and they can still cast Will.  Fetchlands is no reason, as I'm running 2 strand 2 delta right now.  It would have to stop the entire engine of the deck it's boarded in against. 

Bazaar control decks are the only thing i can see this stopping.  It stops the 4 bazaar and the 4 squee for the most part.  If I was expecting to play vs that UBr Tog/Zombie Infestation/Bazaar deck, then I could see it.  That deck is very strong, and mostly because the bazaar engine is unchecked by the best decks in the format. 

On a side note, I'd normally say wasteland is the best answer to bazaar, but the decks that run wastelands tend to lose to Zombie Infestation.  Fish, Bird Sh*t and staxs auto lose to that card. 

[leviat]

On a side note, I'd normally say wasteland is the best answer to bazaar, but the decks that run wastelands tend to lose to Zombie Infestation.  Fish, Bird Sh*t and staxs auto lose to that card. 

I was thinking the opposite actually. I would run a Needle IN Oath and Bazaar decks naming Wasteland.

[CCClark]

I only like it for the versatility.   It's colorless so it can make up for the situations such as:  I am playing against welders and welders wreck me, but I don't have red for lava darts or other direct kill.   You can throw it in decks that can't use the best cards for the job because of color reasons.   Shutting down Bazaar is a really nice trick to be honest though. 

It's good, but depending on the deck it can be shoved out by a better choice.   It's so situational.  I will probably buy 4 just to keep around for those "oh yeah, that will fix that problem!" moments, but it's no super hoser. 


Does kind of make you feel sorry for those type 2 players though, that thing will see a lot of play there.   


Stupid quote heard in a table top magic game far far away from here-  "Oh yeah?  I name Nature's Chosen, so you can't tap your Serra to untap a land to pay for Stasis".

[apoc7k]

I only like it for the versatility. It's colorless so it can make up for the situations such as: I am playing against welders and welders wreck me, but I don't have red for lava darts or other direct kill. You can throw it in decks that can't use the best cards for the job because of color reasons. Shutting down Bazaar is a really nice trick to be honest though.

It's good, but depending on the deck it can be shoved out by a better choice. It's so situational. I will probably buy 4 just to keep around for those "oh yeah, that will fix that problem!" moments, but it's no super hoser.


Does kind of make you feel sorry for those type 2 players though, that thing will see a lot of play there.


Stupid quote heard in a table top magic game far far away from here- "Oh yeah? I name Nature's Chosen, so you can't tap your Serra to untap a land to pay for Stasis".

Well... while you are right in the respect that there are better choices for hating out things, you also hit the truth... this thing is really versatile! In all honesty, you will more than likely have to run cards that affect multiple decks, but aren't necessarily the best choice for certain ones. I would rather be somewhat prepared for a plethora of decks, instead of being very well prepared for one deck, but incredibly vulnerable against another.

About the type 2 players? No I don't feel sorry for them. Many that I know are far too immature for me to feel any sympathy towards. It would be like playing against a group of 5 year old children... far too annoying for my tastes.