Act on Impulse

[Protoaddict]

In the light of us talking about Aggressive Mining as if it was a playable card, I thought this merited discussion as it seems like it actually could be. Applications off the top of my head for this thing are beltcher for sure, possibly other storm combos. It can combo with lions eye diamond too since the cards are being cast from exile. TMWA is another place this could have a home, or anything that is just rushing free things into play like affinity.

I'm not sure if you can exile a spirit guide with this, I imagine no, but all the same this card to me has a ton of potential for those limited strategies that cannot use blue.

[Commandant]

Three Wishes


Added Pic.
-MM

[evouga]

No, you can't use Spirit Guide's mana ability if you exile it with this.

In TMWA, this expensive sorcery will rarely let you play more than the best of your next three cards. Which is still not terrible, mind.

[Demagoguery]

This card is actually pretty ok, you can always make a land drop off it, and Moxen are silly good when revealed off it. The issue is that if you don't have extra mana in play you basically just lose three cards since even a Recall takes 2RU to use at Sorcery speed.

It's playable, but it needs to have a deck built around it I guess? I don't like it :/.

Edit: What about that Ogre, it has a pretty large body and an interesting ability that's cheaper than most other options. Could have some potential, even if it would be very niche.

[xouman]

This is best in a storm deck, and could be quite playable there. I like this more than agressive mining, but probably is still not good enough since this would let you play a mana source and little else until it's late game.

With SDT gets better since you can swap SDT for most expensive card and then play SDT, a mana source and probably a third card... but just "probably".

At R would be a great card, at 1R would be probably decent, but at 2R is too fair.

[The Atog Lord]

Blue already had a cheaper, better version of this card in Ideas Unbound.

Added Pic.
-MM

[Demagoguery]

Blue already had a cheaper, better version of this card in Ideas Unbound.

While I don't think this card is particularly playable, it's in a different colour and can be played off a Sol or Crypt type mana source, where Ideas requires a much greater coloured mana commitment in a colour with much better card draw options.

Cards like Cloudpost and Ancient Tomb really change the playability of cards like this. Same thing with Workshop really, where you're not as capable of generating UU but you're much more likely to generate 2R and be able to play more revealed spells. Fast mana tends to be colourless and the heavier colourless cost favours those decks in this situation.

Edit: Also flipping certain cards with this doesn't make it it worse, as is the case with Ideas. Having to discard three cards means you can't always make use of the extra three cards if you want to hold back certain things, whereas with this you can play all the random mox/lands/etc for value if you so desire, or can, without jeopardizing your hand at the time.

[Meddling Mike]

Blue already had a cheaper, better version of this card in Ideas Unbound.

While I don't think this card is particularly playable, it's in a different colour and can be played off a Sol or Crypt type mana source, where Ideas requires a much greater coloured mana commitment in a colour with much better card draw options.

Cards like Cloudpost and Ancient Tomb really change the playability of cards like this. Same thing with Workshop really, where you're not as capable of generating UU but you're much more likely to generate 2R and be able to play more revealed spells. Fast mana tends to be colourless and the heavier colourless cost favours those decks in this situation.

Edit: Also flipping certain cards with this doesn't make it it worse, as is the case with Ideas. Having to discard three cards means you can't always make use of the extra three cards if you want to hold back certain things, whereas with this you can play all the random mox/lands/etc for value if you so desire, or can, without jeopardizing your hand at the time.

Sure, but can you splice your Glacial Ray onto this thing like you can with Ideas Unbound? Game. Set. Match.

So, thinking about situations where you would want this card, we're already excluding decks that can comfortably meet the blue commitments of either Ideas Unbound or Three Wishes, neither of which sees any play. So we're looking at some sort of mono red, RW, RG or RB deck. Black offers better ways to draw cards. Just off the top of my head Skeletal Scrying or Night's Whisper would seem to be better than this. I think in a green deck Harmonize would seem better than this for just 1 more mana you get to keep the cards. So we're looking at some sort of R/W or mono red deck that needs a way to generate some late game card advantage. I almost feel like any scenario where you would want this card you'd prefer Wheel of Fortune or Memory Jar. For unrestricted options you could even have something like Reforge the Soul. It just seems like too much of a stretch to me. We're basically talking about a niche this card might have in an archetype that doesn't currently exist in Vintage.

[MTGFan]

I feel like this fills a niche for red decks that want card draw but don't want to splash blue. Maybe more so in Legacy, where you have these Ancient Tomb / City of Traitors decks that play only one color. Additionally, Burn decks can make use of this.

[nedleeds]

then play Tezzeret's Gambit ... you get the cards regardless and can tap out to play it (not that tapping out to draw 2 and mess with your tangle wires and chalices is great).

[MaximumCDawg]

In the light of us talking about Aggressive Mining as if it was a playable card...

Don't whine.  Aggressive Mining actually is interesting and I still say it's a possible playable in a red deck.  What you meant to refer to were the threads for the New Jace and others that the moderators hilariously shot down and locked to try to keep the quality of the forums up.

As far as this card goes, yes, I think Act on Impulse is playable.  In fact, it might just be flat out better as the late game topdeck to recharge an aggressive deck than Aggressive Mining could be.  True, it's just a colorshifted Three Wishes, but: (1) it's colorshifted into a color that is more likely to be able to deploy what you drew; and (2) it's easier to cast, particularly because many mono red decks run Sol lands, too.

I get why you would compare it to Ideas Unbound -- which is a favorite card of mine -- but it's not quite the same.  With Ideas, if you deploy what you drew off the card, you're going to have to pitch whatever you have left.  So it only makes sense to use Ideas if you have no hand or worthless cards in hand, largely.  it improves card quality only.  With Three Dreams and this guy, if you cast what you drew, you get to keep the rest of your hand.  That matters in the world of Blue decks, since you usually want a counterspell in your hand.  It doesn't matter so much in the world of Red decks, but those decks don't have access to Ideas anyway, so.

Bottom line: good card is good.  I foresee it doing more in Modern than Vintage, but it seems quite playable to me.

Additionally, Burn decks can make use of this.

I don't see it in Burn.  Those decks want to kill you with 1cc spells.  If they get to a point where they have enough mana on the board to cast this AND cast all the burn spells they drew -- we're talking 5 - 6 mana here -- then they're probably already lost.  I see it more in a RDW or Dragon Stompy build.

EDIT: Also, as Red continues to get a greater density of looting effects (the best still being Faithless) does Trash to Treasure ever start to look attractive in Modern / Legacy?

[vaughnbros]

This card is awful.

I have to pay 3 mana+ the mana cost of every card I just exiled, or in other words I need to be completely flooded out for this to have any real effect. 

Compared to other cards:
3 wishes is blue and puts them into the graveyard after making it better for a combo deck.
Prophetic flamespeaker for the same 3 mana investment he can hit like a truck and nearly gives me an identical effect every turn.
Chandra (the one with the same ability):  gives me one additional card a turn or the option to fire volley.

[MaximumCDawg]

It's not awful.  I agree that having Chandra in play or having Flamespeaker with a clear line to the opponent's dome is better.  But, three cards right now, without the risk of having your draw engine disrupted by lighting bolt or a blocker is not totally insignificant. 

[gkraigher]

You don't need to be flooded to play the cards exiled, you could simply have a low average CC deck.  Think glimpse of nature and 0 CC creatures.  I am trying to think outside the box on this card, and it might have some applications.  

How about a shell of

12 kobolds
4 skull clamp
4 glimpse of nature
act on impulse
grapeshot
spirit guides (which unfortunately have no synergy with act)
gaea's cradle

maybe play earthcraft to turn your kobolds into mana.  If you do play multiple earthcrafts, and that is a big if, you should certainly play at least 1 squirrel nest.  


Oh and the artwork is awesome.  

[vaughnbros]

Sorry I forgot we are in 2004 and kobold storm is a deck.

It's not awful.  But, three cards right now, without the risk of having your draw engine disrupted by lighting bolt or a blocker is not totally insignificant. 

It's not actually 3 cards.  They are exiled EoT.  There is a HUGE difference.  Id rather play dangerous wager, faithless looting, or another garbage red draw spell if Im scared of bolt because I can at least use those spells before turn 10.

[gkraigher]

faithless looting is not card advantage in any way, this card can be.  

dangerous wager is one of the worst draw cards in the game.

[vaughnbros]

dangerous wager is one of the worst draw cards in the game.

Exactly my point.

[AmbivalentDuck]

As an interesting oddity, you can theoretically use this in Doomsday to dodge Spirit of the Labrynth. Or you can just Abrupt Decay it.