Here’s a funny story: Michael kinda sorta didn’t know how Jace, Telepath Unbound works / worked / etc. I mean if you “only” get a Snapcaster Mage you are [still] potentially playing in the big leagues in terms of card power and quality.

… But what if you didn’t have to pay the mana cost on that mid-paragraph [-3]? Well you’d be flipping Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy by dumping Worst Fears or other crazily costed sorceries like Nissa’s Revelaion* and really break the costing rules of Magic: The Gathering.

… Of course, that’s not how Jace, Telepath Unbound works 🙁

All-in-all Patrick isn’t sure where this one will land. I mean: It’s a Jace. But! among other things, you can’t control the flip condition on pre-spark Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy.

If Jace is feeling the spark… He’s going to flip. That puts different conditions on Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy than a regular Merfolk Looter. Besides which, Michael and Patrick seem to disagree about the playability of the classic Merfolk Looter anyway.

Is Jace, Telepath Unbound a powerful card with poor positioning? Well in terms of his [-9] Ultimate…

“It takes forever to get to it, and boy is it not good.”
-Patrick Chapin

A card Patrick finds much more interesting is (much to Michael’s surprise) Disciple of the Ring:

You’ll just have to listen to the podcast to get the full lowdown on this one, but Patrick has an unfettered Disciple of the Ring rated as an Opposition; an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite; and an Iona, Shield of Emeria all wrapped up into a single Aetherling.

Pretty high praise, no?

Both our intrepid podcasters seem to like Harbinger of the Tides best among the Magic Origins blue cards, ultimately.

… But they play a little game about which card is best in the other four colors. Here’s a preview:

• Archangel of Tithes or Kytheon, Hero of Akros?
• Erebos’s Titan or Languish?
• Nissa, Vastwood Seer v. Dwynen’s Elite?

Okay, maybe three of the five; Abbot of Kerl Keep is the whiz-bang winner in red + probably the best card in Magic Origins overall!

Sound fun? It is!

Listen to “Jace, Telepath Unbound (who knew)” now:

Direct Download

* For those wondering last week, yes of course we know Nissa’s Revelation lets you draw cards! It is still hard to use in the current environment, but pending new Eldrazi might become an All-Star in the future. For now, green decks will probably use it to find Dragonlord Atarka… Though we’re still not too keen on it.