Mana Maze

  • Thread starter Thallid Ice Cream Man
  • Start date
T

Thallid Ice Cream Man

Guest
Mana Maze (IN)
1U
Enchantment
Players can't play spells that share a color with the last spell played this turn.

This card was largely ignored for the past year, but I think with the slight movement away from three color decks (most of the decks people were using a few months ago were either fires, counter or two/tri-color) it might be more useful.
Of course, it is only useful for dealing with tempo, so maybe this card was justifiably avoided.
Maybe it's useful in Extended?
 
L

Lotus Mox

Guest
IIRC The main use for Mana Maze was making blue spells (or other spells if you respond with a blue instant) uncounterable.
It's a neat sideboard card in the right deck.
 
T

Thallid Ice Cream Man

Guest
Of course (I'm posting again because I only realized this just now) the question must be asked: When would it be better to have this than it would be to have Arcane Lab?

In multicolored decks, or those that use artifacts, of course. That way, you can cast multiple spells per turn, and the other player can't.

It works in strange ways with multicolored spells; Coalition Victory can't be countered by spells, for instance, but if something bad happens, you can't deal with it for a turn.

This might also see use in Extended.

Am I making sense?


I had an idea for a weird U/B/R deck using Mana Maze, some burn, some discard, and just random stuff. Is there any chance of it working?
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
I think it has possibilities and is worth delving into (the use of Mana Maze in general). It seems it would also stop mono color decks that use their mana and spells as much as possible (like Sligh).
 
K

Killerbob

Guest
play capsize (with buyback) in opponents upkeep, use blind seer to make capsize right collor :)
 
K

krichaiushii

Guest
Speaking more from a MP point of view, Mana Maze looks to be much better than Arcane Lab, simply because its easier to work around it - especially for the deck playing it.

Once Arcane Lab resolves, it sits there and becomes an annoyance to all players - generating ill-will and poor fortune for the soul that played it. Mana Maze, while annoying, would not draw the ire of the whole table at once, unlike Arcane Lab.

Artifacts would be best, though I seem to recall an older card that changes the color of spells cast - is it Alchor's Tomb? Or does the Tomb just affect permanents?

Just a thought.
 
R

rkoelsch

Guest
tomb just affected permanents. Sorry to show off my knowledge of newer cards but Blind seer belongs with Mana Maze. They cast a blue spell you want to counter use the seer to change there spell and cast your counter.
 
K

krichaiushii

Guest
No apologies necessary. If it weren't for you and TICM, I would be at a real loss as to which card does what.

Especially lately, it seems...

Anyway, Blind Seer looks very good, indeed. Would playing BEB in such a deck be a bit too much?
 
R

rkoelsch

Guest
that would be henious but it would make maindecking them worthwhile.
 
Z

Zadok001

Guest
Actually, IF and only IF I remember my rulings correctly, Mana Maze will "lock in" the color that is banned when a spell is played.

If a spell's color was changed while on the stack, use the color at the time it was when you started announcement, not as it currently is on the stack or as it was at the time it resolved. [D'Angelo 2000/10/14]

So Blind Seer + Mana Maze is a no-combo.
 
L

Lotus Mox

Guest
Zadok, you rememebered the rules correctly :)

Mana Maze + Blind Seer doesn't work, because Mana Maze looks at the spell's color when it's cast, before you have time to change it with Blind Seer.
 
Top