RCotD #21

Random Card of the Day #21:

Rag Man - 2BB

Creature - Human Minion

{B}{B}{B}, {T}: Target Opponent reveals his or her hand and discards a creature card at random. Activate this ability on during your turn.

2/1

Initial thoughts:

A little bit overcosted. A 4-cost 2/1 better have a really nice effect to go with it, but the activation costs is BBB. That's hardly splashable. Not to mention you can only discard a creature card, and it's at random.

I don't really like this card at all. I feel like they tried to make a card with targeted discard on a tap ability but felt that it was too powerful and dumbed it down, but took it too far. For this same cost you can get Shimian Specter. It's difficult to compare these two because of both rarity and function though. Shimian Specter has to do combat damage, and exiles all copies of that card. It would be far easier to compare it to Cunning Advisor (an already weak card that sees very little play). For less mana intensiveness and no mana for it's activation cost but the ability to discard any card (not just creatures), you lose: 1 power and the ability to see the rest of your opponent hand.

Now seeing your opponents hand is quite awesome actually. Knowing all the tricks your opponent will play is very handy.

How to fix this card:

Instead of changing it's costs around to make it useful, change it's abilities. Make it a Coercion on tap effect. And increase it's power. Maybe giving it haste gives it too much of an edge, but I'll leave that out for now.

Rag Man - 2BB

Creature - Human Minion

{B}{B}{B}, {T}: Target opponent reveals his or her hand. You choose a card from it. That player discards that card. Activate this ability only on your turn.

3/1

Now there's a card that has a niche role. It's not useless half the time and it can attack! Of course it's a prime target for something like Arc Trail or Forked Bolt with only one toughness. But it still has great use. I'm still wondering why wizards dislikes discard effects on instant speed. I guess it would be too abusable to stop your opponents at their draw step.

But without changing it so the card is useful, it is pretty lacking. Too mana intensive, and it's already pretty costly for something that doesn't outright win games. Almost every Specter out there is better than this card. 2/5

I also find it funny for the difference in creature type between the printed and Oracle text of this card. Would be pretty funny with R&D's Secret Lair. "Today I will playing my friend's Merfolk Wizard's with my Rag Man tribal deck..."