This is the SUNDAY SPELL SPECIAL...
There is a popular cliche that maintains "the best things in life are free."
So like true OGs, we're gonna talk about casting spells without paying mana costs today, but I want to let you in on a little secret.
It's like my favorite historical genius, aka the OG of economics and therefore master wizard, Milton Friedman, would say:
"THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH SPELL."
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| This is Uncle Milty. He's helping me drop knowledge bombs today. |
FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW THIS CARD:
Instead of making you read the block of text in the card, I'll give you my quick ALTERNATIVE summary of the rules text:
It counters a spell. Instead of paying 3UU, you may pay 1 life and exile a blue card from your hand.
Yes. If you're thinking, "Hey, this card is good," well, you're right on the money. This card is $90 good. It sees far more Vintage play than anything else these days.
So I'm telling you most people in your group probably won't have this.
Still, there are plenty of cheaper spells with alt-costs, and if you're willing to pay the "Troll Toll," as they do in Sunny ol' Philadelphia, you're on your way to free spell bliss.
Characteristics of Good Alt-Cost Spells
In true Landdrops fashion, I've compiled a short list of Landdrops-Approved Alt-Cost Spells to share with you.
Before we talk about some my favorites though, we're gonna delve into three major categories that demonstrate how to tell if an alt cost spell is any good. It's economic breakdown time.
1) Good Alt Cost Spells Have A Good Effect
HOWEVER- what it does is pretty significant. "4 damage divided as you choose" at Instant speed gets some of the more offensive Commanders at the table, and can ping utility dudes and tokens players use to chump block.
No, this isn't Lightning Bolt value, but it's a handy spare copy that gives you more incentive to cast for free in several situations that Red decks often get themselves into. Mostly we're talking pure Mono-Red decks for this guy. In fact, Monocolored decks are really the optimal place to play most alt-cost spells anyway. There are some exceptions, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
2) Good Alt Cost Spells Have A Good Alternative Cost
Going down a couple cards may sound like a bummer, but the thing you have to consider when you play alt-cost spells is that they really stretch the boundaries of what your opponents think you might do.
Most alt cost spells you're going to obviously want to play when you're tapped out, so you can maintain the illusion that you're "all alone with no mana to save you." So going down an extra card in most instances, is an okay trade for the bigger value, which is the control of the heartbeat and flow of the game. If you have that, victory's a lot closer than you think.
3) Good Alt Spells May Have A Good CMC Too
Mindbreak Trap can be free, which is sweet, but entirely opponent dependent. Sometimes that's more difficult if you're playing in metagames with less counterspells.
So while it's not always relevant, having the option to pay full price for alt-cost spells can be valuable too.
Mindbreak Trap's ability at full price is good in a tight spot, and even better in tighter spots, like big counter wars or against people who play a lot of RELEVANT can't be countered stuff.
I like to play this card on occasion if I know someone's bringing heavy counter Magic to the table. Or Maelstrom Wanderer. This is a pretty sweet way to handle him.
It is important to know though, that this third quality is not nearly as relevant as the other two. It's just a handy bonus.
This is because there are some spells you never want to cast for their normal cost, even if it's possible. Pyrokinesis is one of those for me. I'd just as soon pitch it to something else before hard-casting it.
Still, having this third quality makes your free spells a little more worthy of a spot on your starting 99, and provides the sort of promise I like to have along all my spells, which is the idea that in a game situation, I would have the mana and want to cast it.
Anywho, here's the Landdrops-Approved List with some notes that I think will help you on your way to playing more stuff without mana.
Good Luck Zoners. May Value Be Ever By Your Side.
Abolish
-I will play it for free or hardcast. It's been really reliable.
Archive Trap
-I recommend this to people playing Wrexial/Lazav style decks where you're trying to hose your opponent. And never hardcast it. You really won't have to worry about that, and the beauty is you can really hose people with the old "top of the library tutors." It's fun.
Daze
-I don't like picking up lands much, but when I do- I do it for Daze. No other exceptions. No better punz.
Disrupting Shoal
-I'll be honest. Not a lot of experience with this one, but I like it because it adds a fun element to the game. It makes me feel like I'm playing Uno and counting numbers again, and I was quite good at Uno back in the day.
Foil
-Little on the hefty side, but I like it. Blue decks can dig themselves out of card disadvantage situations regularly, so there's really no need to fret over lost Islands or other counterspells. I've hard-casted this before too.
Force of Will
-The Counterspell Supreme. Good card is good. Never pay full price.
Land Grant
-An interesting pick, because a Green player will probably have land and not want to show off their hand to opponents, but I'd be willing to try it. I guess I'm just a little too confident when it comes to those situations though. Might be better just to pay full price.
Mindbreak Trap
-Is as good as advertised. One of the most underrated cards. I plan on playing a little more of this around the table.
Misdirection
-Too good for us probably. If you see it, someone's trying to play real Magic with you most likely. It's another one of those cards you don't want to pay full price for.
Pyrokinesis
-Been surprisingly good in the couple decks I've seen it in. I'm playing it. Card isn't great, but not great cards are mostly Red, so- it's fine.
Sickening Shoal
-If you don't want to play Dismember, or you need something that can scale to bigger creatures, Sickening Shoal is good for that. I like the art on this one more than what it does, even though its function is solid.
Snag
-Like Red, Green alt-costs aren't that great. Sacrificing a Forest is worth a Fog though. I can get behind a desperate TurboFog deck that likes Tempo and trickery. Don't underestimate the sneakiness.
Snapback
-Probably the most well-rounded alt-cost spell. Most times, you'll want to hard cast, but this card can still put on a cape and save your ass from harm if you need it to. I do work with it in Braids.
Snuff Out
-I've been playing this card for a couple months now. It's really good in Glissa T's. I don't feel pressured when I tap out for Eggs and all the other nonsense I play in that deck. Paying 4 life isn't always the best scenario, especially when the game is on the line, but I usually have enough land by then if I want to hard cast it.
Summoning Trap
-Green Decks like Dudes. Blue Players don't like it when Green Decks play dudes. So why not have a way to protect the Green deck? It's a good one. One of the many unused ways this card can be abused is on your opponent's turn, even during combat. A little expensive to hardcast, but it can be a poor man's Chord of Calling if you need it to be.
Anyway I'm about done, which is good cause this article had everything in it. Milton Friedman, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, a list of things I like. Do you need anything else?
I feel I
JC and I will be switching up days next week, so look forward to his article on Tuesday, and I'll go on an 88-hour break so I can ride off into my next big adventure-
I'm gonna planeswalk back to Ravnica and beat Jace over the head with a Billy Club.
Hashtag, Return to Ravnica 2: The Search For More Money
Hashtag, If You Need Me I'll Be Mind Sculptin'
-Ya Boi Unc Landdrops
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