Whoa, was that a Memory Lapse you just used?

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Dune Echo

Guest
Well, it's death against combo decks that have to go off all at once. Sucks against card drawing engines. Personally, I like Memory Lapse as a way to slow your opponent down. It works in multiples against speed decks. 3 Memory Lapse in a row (and believe me, it has happened to me before!) can cripple an un prepared player while a blue mage sets up there defense. In 5CG, play Mana Leak or Arcane Denial. You want more permanent removal and those fit the bill nicely.
 
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theorgg

Guest
To quote my friend Chris Treyhand:
It's a F'in Time WAlK!

I think that it's not bad, for the simple reason that it stalls them a turn and stops the spell they wanted to use. it's not too bad.

the only thing you have to do is make sure that you don't want to deck them. then it's bad.
 
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Gumby Khan

Guest
Actually it works great with millstone, clear the land, etc. I liked to use it with land destruction, because the mana curve could be devastating.
First you - land,
First opp - land, votaic key
Second you - land,
Second opp - land, grim monolith (lapse)
Third you - land, stone rain
Third opp - land, monolith, masticore, burn 1
Fourth you - land, stone rain,
Fourth opp - pitch wildfire for masticore, try to attack (you unsummon) play masticore again and burn 1
etc., etc.

"Jane, stop this crazy thing!!!!"
-George Jetson
 

Killer Joe

New member
Hi, my name is Yellowjacket and I belong to 5CG annonomouys (sp?). I have an isane craving for Five-Color decks, both effective and in-effective, it just doesn't matter to me. :)
Anyhow, when I get the itch to make 5CG's and fancy the thought to use counterspells that are very splashable, I almost always think of Arcane Denial, Mana Leak, Sever Soul, Miscalculation, Power Sink, and sometimes Intervene and Annul. But I never consider Memory Lapse. Is this card a piece of crap or is it extremely underrated?
Memory Lapse, sat it, "M-e-m-o-r-y-L-a-p-s-e" it just sounds odd.
I thought i'd give the old boy a go and I'm thinking that I like it. But I don't know if that's because I'm twisted or what. Play one and watch your opponent scratch his head when you say, "No, No, it goes back on TOP of your library."

This is Yellowjacket
"...don't get me started about Spell Blast..."
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
I had a deck with Memory Lapse and Booby Trap. It wasn't well tuned so the actual Booby Trap Kill happened maybe twice out of 10 or so games.

It's also good (well, was) when someone used an expendable resource (Dark Ritual, Gemstone Mine with one counter) to cast something. Then you could M.L. it and hopefully they wouldn't be able to cast it for another long while.
 
D

Duel

Guest
It's actually not bad at all. With a miller out it can be damn effective. And even otherwise, you choose your opponent's next draw phase for them. It might as well read "return spell being cast to owner's hand. He skips his next draw phase." I used it in my mono-color blue for a while, hoping I'd draw an actual counter in time.
 
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Zadok001

Guest
Memory Lapse is a really good card, but not as a counterspell. It is NOT, repeat NOT, a counterspell at all. It's a stalling tactic.

When you cast the Lapse, look at the game from your opponent's perspective; he just tapped out for a spell, and now he gets to do it AGAIN. That's two turns, during which very little was accomplished. That can really piss someone off.

Lapse is probably best in a deck with a clock (Classic Fish style stuff comes to mind), 'cause you get another turn to attack with your clock.

Finally, Memory Lapse is card equality. You lose a card, they lose a draw phase. That's usually a fairly good deal (not to say that Fatigue is good, it doesn't help tap people out by stalling their spells).

Besides, if you Memory Lapse twice, then counter the spell the third time, you'll often get a concession. People turn this dark shade of angry red... :)

"Hi Duel! 'Bout time..."

[Edited by Zadok001 (02-16-2000 at 08:06 AM).]

[Edited by Zadok001 (02-16-2000 at 08:07 AM).]
 
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Gumby Khan

Guest
I agree Zadok and see it the same way. The best advantage with M.L. compared to Counter is the compatability with other colors. Counter is hard to pull off with a black discard deck. Also, if your deck just buys enough time to set up the win, that usually will be enough. Why would you want to counter a Nether Spirit? Ah, but Lapse it and you bought yourself a turn to maybe Stone Rain his swamp! My rule of thumb is:
multi-color deck = Memory Lapse
mono-blue = Counterspell

opp-"Sneak attack"
you-"Memory Lapse"
opp-"okay, cool, go" :)
you-"Devout Witness, go." :)
opp-"Damn" :(
 
R

Rooser

Guest
*stumbles into thread four years late*

I heard that thread necro was the new Jimbot, guys, so I'm gonna put my two cents in.

Memory Lapse is in fact an excellent counter once you understand how counters are supposed to work.

Counters are about gaining tempo on your opponent - not locking them down. Memory lapse forces them to cast the same spell twice, and makes them lose a card draw. Tempo-wise, it's an excellent counter spell. I understand that there are situations where you want the outright denial of some harder counters, but in a deck that can punish your opponent with the tempo swing, Memory Lapse is gold.

However, it's not so great in casual multiplayer. This is because gaining tempo against one player is not nearly as effective when that player only represent 33% of your enemies instead of 100%. Memory Lapse is a very single-minded spell and it's near impossible to abuse in MP outside of comboing hilariously with Isochron Scepter.
 
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Rooser

Guest
Oh, you mean seventh edition? Yeah, seventh edition is the worst set for art and flavor text by a long shot.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Well, no, although I agree with you wholeheartedly on that bit. I was referring to the CoK card that costs an extra mana.
 
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Istanbul

Guest
...and can ALSO send it to the BOTTOM of their library if you just aren't ready to deal with it anytime soon.

Think of it as a Memory Lapse with an optional built-in Counterspell for an extra blue mana.
 
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f-6

Guest
I think Hinder is pretty good as a matter of fact. If your opponent plays an expensive card with little impact on the game, put it on top of his or her library and let them invest heavily in it again and if you don't want it in play at all, send it away kind-of-permanently. Not too bad at all in my opinion.
 
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Rooser

Guest
It's not as good as Dissipate or Forbid, though. Hinder will only see competetive play in Type II.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Okay, so Hinder isn't the total crap that Spell Blast is, but as Rooser points out, there are better counterspells for the same price...

Oh well, at least it is better against Flashback spells, I suppose, although that's not normally enough merit to actually run it in casual decks. Plus Dissipate is just as good there...

Edit: Unless your opponent is running Wishes.
 
T

train

Guest
I'll put my two cents in and say that since it is blue - it shouldn't be played at all...;)
 
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