Single Card Discussion: Pithing Needle

[trickydan]

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

This card is so incredibly versatile. It turns off something in every deck. Goblin Welder, Aether Vial, Sensei's Divining Top, Bazaar of Baghdad, just to name a few. This is the type of card that it seems should have immediate maindeck impact on the environment. Its laughable when R&D prints an answer for Jitte and Top in Block and ends up with a card that is this powerful. And its not legendary, as it should've been to stay in flavor in the Kamigawa block. And it works on lands.

[CCClark]

It's not bad, though I don't like only getting to name one card.  (call me greedy)   Let's say you're playing against Cerebral Assasin (it just came to mind first).  What do you name?   Bazaar will hurt to be sure, but it can work around it.   Welder?  It can go around that also.   It's pretty decent though and can be crippling to some decks.    Naming Beacon of Destruction makes me happy.  So does naming Mindslaver.   Too bad it doesn't hit Forbidden Orchard.    I don't see TPS or the like having a prob w it either.  Situational, but still might be worth a board slot or a few depending on the deck you are playing and it's weaknesses. 

I'll play with it, it seems good enough to warrant a slot.  Then again, I'm that weirdo who likes putting magical hack in my board because I think wishing up a hack to change a choke is pretty darned funny despite the fact green still stinks in type 1. 

   

[jeremy_78]

^[/sup

]It's not bad, though I don't like only getting to name one card. 

  I think the card is more than not bad.  I think the card will merit maindecking in certain archetypes.  It most likely will never be a bad draw, since just about every top deck is playing blue and running fectlands just name those.  Against slave name welder, dragon name bazaar to make the game go really slow.  Maybe its just me but I think it is a better version of null rod.  I don't think it slows down storm base combo as much, but the card is certainly powerful.

[Zeylon]

Null Rod is a bomb against combo. Pithing Needle is only good against a few combo decks. It's a great SB card, but it'll never replace null rod. Null rod is still the number one option if you want to beat combo.

Seriously, are there ANY viable combo decks (other than dragon (you have swords for that)) that Null Rod doesn't hate out. I can't think of any.

[Nefarias]

Naming Beacon of Destruction makes me happy.

This would make me ecstatic if I were your opponent. This card only stops activated abilities.

I'm sure this has been stated many times in regards to Stifle, but activated abilities are written as "Cost : Effect", such as " : Target creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn." The key thing to look for is  the ":"

Since Beacon of Destruction doesn't have that, Pithing Needle does nothing against it.

Back on topic, this is only good against decks that can remove it relatively easily. Naming Goblin Welder or Midslaver against CS for example is the same as having Null Rod: They don't care, and they get rid of it when they're ready to win. It's nifty and could have some applications, but I don't think it's good enough.

[Mordred]

Back on topic, this is only good against decks that can remove it relatively easily. Naming Goblin Welder or Midslaver against CS for example is the same as having Null Rod: They don't care, and they get rid of it when they're ready to win. It's nifty and coudl have some applications, but I don't think it's good enough.

I think this card is plenty good.  It's not only good against decks like CS, it hurts almost every major T1 deck out there.  The ease of casting it and the major effects it can have suggest that this card will definatly be popping up in simple tempo based decks.  If nothing else, it will definatly allow time for the tempo player to gain card, board control, and position advantage on their opponent.

To me, this card is vastly superior to Null Rod.

[trickydan]

Comparing this card and Null Rod is unfair and inaccurate. Against Slaver, Null Rod can in many cases be welded away. Since this card can and probably should be naming Goblin Welder against Slaver, that is not an option. Further, Null Rod turns off artifacts, while this card can turn off ANYTHING. For example, against Dragon, you could turn off Bazaar with the first and Compulsion with the second. Its versatility is one of its strengths.

It also costs only 1, half of what Null Rod costs. In a tempo-based deck like Fish, this is certain to be a very powerful weapon. Certainly most decks are equiped to get rid of it, and by no means is it a permanent answer, but neither is Null Rod. It takes just as much time to answer this as it would to answer Null Rod, in some cases more time since this can turn off Goblin Welder (seriously, it TURNS OFF WELDER, in what way is it not an amazing card?), and at half the price it seems that in that time it generates twice the tempo that Null Rod would.

It has a tempo advantage over Null Rod, and a versatility advantage over Null Rod. The Rod is a stronger card, but versatility and tempo have many times before made up for a deficiency in power. Pithing Needle could easily become the poster card for versatility and tempo in this format.

[Mufflon]

I think Pithing Needle might be a possible sideboard option for the combo-decks themselves. Naming Tormod's Crypt and/or Wasteland isn't bad at all if you play Dragon. It can also kill cards like Phyrexian Furnace, Withered Wretch etc, and having answers for welder is never bad, so I think it would be rather nice having 2-3 Needles in your dragon SB.

[Shade]

I'm running 2 MD Needles in my Oath deck, and am considering cutting my pair of Impulses for 2 more.  They're really good, and usually less situational than the MisDs I was running there anyway.

[Hi-Val]

Needle is good in tempo decks. Meddling Mage doesn't present a final solution to TPS or Control Slaver or whatever. It stalls the game and says "deal with this for a while" and even if it gets removed, it buys time. In that time, the tempo deck is destroying your lands, countering your spells and hitting you with a fast clock. It's a band-aid, not a full body cast. I see Needle being pretty good, personally.

[Shade]

Needle is good in tempo decks. Meddling Mage doesn't present a final solution to TPS or Control Slaver or whatever. It stalls the game and says "deal with this for a while" and even if it gets removed, it buys time. In that time, the tempo deck is destroying your lands, countering your spells and hitting you with a fast clock. It's a band-aid, not a full body cast. I see Needle being pretty good, personally.

Well said, that's exactly right.  That's why I run it in the MD -- it's versatile and cheap enough, and there are often better solutions to particular matchups in the SB.

[Glix]

In my opinion Pithing Needle is okay in type 1, but most of the time there are better options.  Null Rod costs 1 more and the majority of the time it is the supperior card in my oppinion.  Not to mention that being an artifact means that it gets hated out already.  Its good against CS, combo oath, and Sensei-Sensei.  Outside of those matches it isn't going to be that good.  Null Rod will shut down the previous decks just the same, in addition to being able to shut down those 9 artifact mana cards that all are restricted and have diferent names which null rod does work against.  Null Rod shuts down those and more in decks, for but 1 more mana.  Not to mention that Null Rod is actually good in matchups like BBS and Gilded Claw and Combo.  Pithing Needle does NOTHING to TPS, Meandeck Tendrils, etc.  Null Rod is okay in those matchups.  Meddling Mage can hurt combo at least.
Pithing Needle has a multitude of weaknesses when compared to the alternatives.
1) It must target a specific card
2) That card must be an Artifact, Creature, or Land
3) It only effects activated abilities.  Non-Mana activated abilities.  Null Rod kills moxen.  That slows decks down drastically, something needle can never do.
Not to mention that decks have been developing natural diversity as of late.  The majority of decks can deal with this card easily.  Sure it costs 1 mana, but its just not going to be all that great.  The best satus it will achieve, imo, is sideboard or possily a silver bullet.  Even then, I'm sure their are better options for the SB than this.

IMO, medicore at best, but thats just my 2 cents.

[Wolfo]

...Pithing Needle has a multitude of weaknesses when compared to the alternatives...
...2) That card must be an Artifact, Creature, or Land...

you are mistaken, it can name any card, so even enchantments such as compulsion and such will also get locked cold.

[Hi-Val]

Also something of note:

Turn 1, Fish plays Wasteland, Chalice 0 and Needle naming Polluted Delta. If you play cards that are called "Mana Drain" in your deck, you lose.

Needle shuts down fetches, which is insane in a Fish deck.

[Freelancer]

Also something of note:

Turn 1, Fish plays Wasteland, Chalice 0 and Needle naming Polluted Delta. If you play cards that are called "Mana Drain" in your deck, you lose.

Needle shuts down fetches, which is insane in a Fish deck.

Well it usually isn't much of a problem to play 2x flooded strand and 2x polluted delta in most decks. All they really need is a U fetchland, so after people tweak there decks its power level (in a fish deck) will decline. The decks running swamps do encounter this problem though, but really only non-mana drain decks (with duress) actually run those (TPS).