[m14] Mindsparker

[serracollector]

Mindsparker
1
Creature - Elemental    Rare
First strike
Whenever an opponent casts a white or blue instant or sorcery spell, Mindsparker deals 2 damage to that player.
3/2

Preordain?  Gush?  Counters? Bounce?  Brainstorm? Ponder?  TFK?  Gifts? Impulse? Hurkyll's?  Time Walk?  Ancestral?  I think not sir.

[msg67183]

I liked this card the moment I saw it spoiled, I was just waiting for someone else to notice.

[Guli]

Well it does not prevent anything. What kind of support would you give this card? Spheres? Pillars? Painter maybe?

It is going to be Thalia again most likely that will get the job done. So maybe the question should be; How well can this elemental support Thalia?

[serracollector]

4 of this guy + 4 Guttersnipe vs Blue = LOTS OF SHOCKS.    RDW has two new pets to try is what I am thinking.

Also might seems "cute" but could be backbreaking honestly is to play with Painter's Servant, and just make EVERYTHING blue, drop this guy, and watch your opponent kill themselves.

Something like:

4 x Painter
4 x Guttersnipe
4 x Mindsparker
4 x Magus of the Moon
4 x Bolt
4 x REB
4 x Pyroblast
? x Grindstone

etc etc.

[Protoaddict]

Does this guy not run counter to spheres? I mean you want to them to cast their stuff, that is how they take damage. If you prevent them from casting then this guys is just a 3/2 creature.

If anything I would think more complimentary to this guys is a burn package, so you can capitalize on when they actually do cast something. Opening with some goblin guides and like a Pyrostatic pillar and then this guy basically locks them out of winning.

[MaximumCDawg]

This dude seems kind of meh, since he's a punisher mechanic.  They won't take damage for casting spells unless they can win doing it.  Heck, even storm is going to mostly cast black and artifact spells while they go off, making the life downside a problem.

Sparky is not terrible.  He's a Balduvian Barbarians who, if he sticks around, will probably end up zapping your opponent for a minimum of 4 - 6 damage over the course of a game.  If he said "when this enters the battlefield, deal 6 damage to an opponent," he'd be astounding.  Spreading the damage out and giving your opponent control over when it hits, in a world with Deathrite Shaman and Scavening Ooze, seems significantly weaker.

[xouman]

I had forgotten about that guy. It's great for an aggro deck (altought I'm biased to control red). Bolts will hit more easily (countering them is 2 damage nevertheless).

While painter is nice, most sorceries/instants are already blue, and some white like swords. With painter your own bolts would deal damage to you, and you would affect black discarders/tutors and little more.

These combines nicely with Tovolar's Magehunter in the blue matchup: if you want to concat spells you are going to have a bad time. Pyrostatic pillar/spellshock also punish playing spells for fun.

Magus seems a good idea since he also helps preventing opponent playing spells. It's not a hard lock at all, but an aggressive soft one. This card improves blue match, but against mud, dredge or oath is pretty bad. With magus of the moon some pairings are improved. Smash to smithereens is advised (direct damage while breaking vault/moxen/mud cards, or even killing a jace). Grafdigger's cage also helps, but is no offensive at all.

At the end it's a kind of midrange deck with lots of blanks... still I like the card

What a whole crap I have written... sorry for the low quality post

[Vennie]

I had forgotten about that guy. It's great for an aggro deck (altought I'm biased to control red). Bolts will hit more easily (countering them is 2 damage nevertheless).

While painter is nice, most sorceries/instants are already blue, and some white like swords. With painter your own bolts would deal damage to you, and you would affect black discarders/tutors and little more.

These combines nicely with Tovolar's Magehunter in the blue matchup: if you want to concat spells you are going to have a bad time. Pyrostatic pillar/spellshock also punish playing spells for fun.

Magus seems a good idea since he also helps preventing opponent playing spells. It's not a hard lock at all, but an aggressive soft one. This card improves blue match, but against mud, dredge or oath is pretty bad. With magus of the moon some pairings are improved. Smash to smithereens is advised (direct damage while breaking vault/moxen/mud cards, or even killing a jace). Grafdigger's cage also helps, but is no offensive at all.

At the end it's a kind of midrange deck with lots of blanks... still I like the card

What a whole crap I have written... sorry for the low quality post

It does not affect your spells at all. It says 'Whenever an opponent casts a white or blue instant or sorcery spell'...

[Saya]

Never forget the ability first strike.power 3 with strike is nearly invincible in vintage combat scene.Especially it deters lodestone attck

[msg67183]

This actually seems pretty strong in TMWA. It punishes blue, It's a bully to Lodestone Golem and Fish creatures, the only deck it doesn't seem too strong against is Dredge, but that's not that bad.

[vaughnbros]

Hes a wall against workshops and fish, and an aggro card against blue.  Sounds pretty similar to goyf.  The problem is his mana cost is far more restrictive at 1RR.  I don't think he really has a home in any existing deck and isn't powerful enough to create a new one.

[Protoaddict]

There has never been, to my knowledge, a RR card that has seen play in vintage (Fireblast? Does that see play?). I thought ash zealot might have made it, and so far I have been wrong about that. Frankly To have such a restrictive mana cost I really do feel the card would have to flat out win the game to see play. I could be wrong here, I would love to see something so basic do well, I just have a hard time believing that the decks that fear this wouldn't just deal with it and be on their way.

Shops will basically never let this see play past spheres
Blue can counter it as its not a good class for Cavern of souls unless some sort of Elemental deck with this and chewer becomes prominent.
White does not rely on spells but can deal with it or trade creatures for it
Dredge does not care about it at all
Oath wants nothing more than for you to play a creature that does not stop oath.

[Shax]

Mindsparker can see play much like Pyrostatic Piller sees play. It also works with Painter's Servant.

[MTGFan]

Maybe at some point there will be a critical mass of Elemental creatures that are good enough, like this, to make a deck that is built around doing fast damage, with Rage Forger, with some disruption, all backed by Caverns.

[msg67183]

Maybe at some point there will be a critical mass of Elemental creatures that are good enough, like this, to make a deck that is built around doing fast damage, with Rage Forger, with some disruption, all backed by Caverns.

Rage Forger puts counters on Shamans.

But on a different note, Elementals that seem playable:

Ingot Chewer- no explanation
Wispmare- same as Ingot Chewer
Fulminator Mage- Free Wasteland effects on a dude seem good
Flamekin Harbinger- a tutor for the situation
Smokebraider- mana fixing and ramp
Squall Drifter- Tap Effect
Thornling- the elemental morphling
Tunnel Ignus- anti Gush/ Fastbond
Voice of Resurgence- psuedo anti removal
Wayfaring Temple- Big guy

And I'm sure there are more this was off the top of my head.

[serracollector]

I was mainly looking at this card + Painter's Servant as well.  As stated before, this DOES NOT affect you in any way.  Also remember that if they FOW a burn spell they are still taking 3 damage (assuming free cost) and if they use a Mental Misstep (alternate cost) they are losing 4 life.  True this card does allow the opponent to "choose" when they take 2, but with something like Guttersnipe beside it, its damned if you do damned if you don't.  And is 3 mana really hard to get in RDW with 4 SSG, Moxen, Lotus, Petal, etc etc??

Something like:
I have Guttersnipe and Mindsparker in play, cast REB on your blue spell you take 4 and lose your card.  That's pretty damn good IMO.

[AmbivalentDuck]

Something like:
I have Guttersnipe and Mindsparker in play, cast REB on your blue spell you take 4 and lose your card.  That's pretty damn good IMO.

Seems worse than just playing a blue deck. That's a whole lot of "high" CMC board development that gets wiped by Grixis Pyroclasms. Consider black tutor for Pyroclasm has no new cost imposed by Mindsparker. The cost to storm decks is also fairly minimal. Sure, this hits Gush, but can this really be called the best answer to that strategy? Isn't Ankh of Mishra much better?

[MTGFan]

Maybe at some point there will be a critical mass of Elemental creatures that are good enough, like this, to make a deck that is built around doing fast damage, with Rage Forger, with some disruption, all backed by Caverns.

Rage Forger puts counters on Shamans.

But on a different note, Elementals that seem playable:

Ingot Chewer- no explanation
Wispmare- same as Ingot Chewer
Fulminator Mage- Free Wasteland effects on a dude seem good
Flamekin Harbinger- a tutor for the situation
Smokebraider- mana fixing and ramp
Squall Drifter- Tap Effect
Thornling- the elemental morphling
Tunnel Ignus- anti Gush/ Fastbond
Voice of Resurgence- psuedo anti removal
Wayfaring Temple- Big guy

And I'm sure there are more this was off the top of my head.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Back all of this up with Null Rod and Caverns and Mental Misstep:

4 Smokebraider
4 Rage Forger
4 Flamekin Harbinger
4 Ingot Chewer
4 Mindsparker
4 Voice of Resurgence
4 Fulminator Mage
4 Tunnel Ignus

4 Null Rod
4 Mental Misstep

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby

4 Cavern of Souls
4 City of Brass
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Taiga

[Bibendum]

Is there any elemental that would let you ping or deal damage to creatures? If not I think you need bolts in the deck to clear the way for your dudes as well.

[msg67183]

Maybe at some point there will be a critical mass of Elemental creatures that are good enough, like this, to make a deck that is built around doing fast damage, with Rage Forger, with some disruption, all backed by Caverns.

Rage Forger puts counters on Shamans.

But on a different note, Elementals that seem playable:

Ingot Chewer- no explanation
Wispmare- same as Ingot Chewer
Fulminator Mage- Free Wasteland effects on a dude seem good
Flamekin Harbinger- a tutor for the situation
Smokebraider- mana fixing and ramp
Squall Drifter- Tap Effect
Thornling- the elemental morphling
Tunnel Ignus- anti Gush/ Fastbond
Voice of Resurgence- psuedo anti removal
Wayfaring Temple- Big guy

And I'm sure there are more this was off the top of my head.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Back all of this up with Null Rod and Caverns and Mental Misstep:

4 Smokebraider
4 Rage Forger
4 Flamekin Harbinger
4 Ingot Chewer
4 Mindsparker
4 Voice of Resurgence
4 Fulminator Mage
4 Tunnel Ignus

4 Null Rod
4 Mental Misstep

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby

4 Cavern of Souls
4 City of Brass
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Taiga

I would replace Taiga with Primal Beyond.
Since you play Harbinger, do you really need all the 4 ofs?
Another card I saw that could have potential in the deck is Eyes of the Wisent:

Tribal Enchantment- Elemental 1G

Whenever an opponent casts a blue during your turn, you may put a 4/4 Elemental token onto the battlefield.

I also like the idea of Wispmare for the Oath matchup.

Thoughts?

[msg67183]

Also, Oath of Ghouls seems like it may fit into this deck, bringing back Fulminator Mages and Ingot Chewers, just a thought.

[msg67183]

I also forgot about Mulldrifter, at its worst its a Divination that you can make uncounterable, with Oath of Ghouls you can bring it back a draw 2 more cards.

[MaximumCDawg]

I think Elementals needs a "win now" condition, since it does not have a good hate bear base to fall back on. I have a casual Elementals deck which is a lot of fun, but not exactly vintage-worthy.  One feature interaction of the deck is Incandescent Soulstroke + Liege of the Tangle (or maybe Living Hive), which is the closest that Elementals have to Tinker->Blightsteel.  You use Soulstroke to drop Liege, who swings and connects (thank you, trample) and gives you an army of 8/8s for next turn.  That's usually GG, barring balance.  

Since Liege is Green, you also have the possibility of Natty Order, but there are very few cheap utility creatures that are also Elementals.

What if you did something like this:

Cheatyface (8)
4 Incandescent Soulstroke
2 Show and Tell
2 Natural Order

Beats (6)
3 Liege of the Tangle
1 Bane of Progress
2 Maelstrom Wanderer

Tutor (6)
2 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Flamekin Harbinger

Dorks (12)
4 Arbor Elf
3 Scryb Ranger
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Mindsparker

Disruption (8)
2 Pyroblast
4 Null Rod
3 Grafdigger's Cage

Mana (20)
4 Wooded Foothills
3 Misty Rainforest
4 Tiaga
2 Forest
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Mountain
4 Cavern of Souls
1 Strip Mine

Sideboard ( Whatever )

The concept here being to bring the beats early with the hope of having just enough disruption to stop the enemy from just barfing out a Blightsteel immediately.  Then, when they deal with the small fry, you try to cheat a Liege or Wanderer into play FTW.  

Elementals lack decent acceleration, and they need RG.  So, I think a base of dual lands with Arbor Elf and Ranger is better than using Primal Beyond.  You might need Beyond in a three-color shell, but the only reason I can see to go to three colors (blue, probably) is countermagic and Animar, Soul of Elements.  Two color is probably just better.