Last Thoughts

Sorcery

Draw a card.

Cipher (Then you may exile this spell card encoded on a creature you control. Whenever that creature deals combat damage to a player, its controller may cast a copy of the encoded card without paying its mana cost.)

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Pauper Duel Commander	Legal
Pauper EDH	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (40)

DreadKhan on The Friendmaker | Talrand, Sky Summoner [PRIMER]

1 week ago

I did some fiddling around with my Talrand and Proteus Staff, I found that I preferred it to Polymorph because I could throw a Sphinx of the Second Sun in, and if Proteus Staff hits Sphinx first it's amazing because I get to untap and draw an extra card before I hit my end step, meaning I can likely Staff again to get Jin just in time (and still have mana up for interaction). I guess it boiled down to me trying to raise the ceiling on Jin, and that was the best I could come up with! The other nice thing about an artifact plan is Blue has tons of relevant tutors, and if you clear all of the creatures out of your deck and Proteus Staff away another Drake you get to put your library in whatever order you want... meaning Jin can then draw you the actual 7 cards you want most. It's very, very degenerate when it works, but I was aiming for a budget cEDH list rather than something suitable for casual play.

I'm not sure if you need blockers, but Metallurgic Summonings can generate a bunch of them for you, and Shark Typhoon can generate attackers (or flying blockers if you're desperate), they're handy if your playgroup likes to 'deal with' Talrand, these Enchantments tend to be very sticky, people neglect Enchantment removal in my experience.

If you're aiming for a more casual Talrand, I might have a few ideas for you that are budget to boot! Hands of Binding and Hidden Strings offer two very low to the ground repeatable spells that can generate Drakes if you can Cipher them onto something evasive and get in, Hidden Strings can untap your stuff fwiw, and Hands of Binding can lock down the most problematic thing if you want. Last Thoughts isn't as good IMHO, but repeated card draw tends to be very good if you don't need to input more resources. Stolen Identity can be a solid win con, if what you take has evasion you can keep getting in and getting copies, it can get pretty out of hand, even as a 6 MV spell.

If you like politics and/or combat tricks I might have a few that are worth looking into, Mass Diminish is a true budget gem, the effect lasts long enough to be truly crippling late game, and it has Flashback for no discernable reason, very good at making one opponent dead, and then another opponent dead because their board is tiny. Polymorphist's Jest is much more of a surprise since it's an instant, but the effect can turn an opportunistic attack into a bloodbath (in either direction).

In any deck that's not in the ideal colours for removal I often end up looking hard at Transmogrifying Wand, this can deal with 3 creatures if it sticks around, 2/4s are basically trash vs your 2/2s in the air. Even if all you do is force someone with a low MV Commander to keep recasting to raise the tax it's very little resources to do it.

It's not a nice thing to do to someone, but I've always thought of Talrand as a real man of culture, perhaps you'd want to send some Drakes on a Cultural Exchange?

Best of luck, hope some of these ideas are relevant

FormOverFunction on Void Shatter's Thousand Virulent Cuts

1 month ago

It’s an odd effect, but Last Thoughts might be a cypher answer to card draw. Cypher doesn’t get a lot of play, but if getting attacks through isn’t a problem, and you can protect the creature it’s on, maybe it’s worth considering.

TheOfficialCreator on Scarab God Zombie Bowl

1 year ago

Vengeful Dead --> Blood Artist/Zulaport Cutthroat?

Last Thoughts--> Ponder/Preordain/Serum Visions/Gitaxian Probe?

Dazard on Izzet - Cipher Deck

2 years ago

I am reanimating this deck and made some changes. I swapped Last Thoughts with Trait Doctoring. So instead of that low 4 mana spell i have a quick "cipher one drop" that can also fix my mana base.

dropped the two Niv-Mizzets, because they weren't a real finisher after all. i added Sentinel Tower and Firemind's Research instead which support my overall cipher theme better.

Dragonshift for some (defensive or offensive) suprises, Mizzium Mortars for some boardwipes.

What do you think?

Hybrow on Daxos - Voltron - C&C Welcome

3 years ago

Because Daxos will sometimes get smoked a couple times, or simply chump blocked, i recommend at least 1 or two other unblockables... Like Lu Xun, Scholar General, Ferropede or even Deep-Sea Kraken. If you are playing a group of 3 or 4, the Kraken is a good choice, he comes into play pretty quick.... or if 1v1 games, True-Name Nemesis could also be an option.

I love my Daxos deck. I have also found that cards that have Cipher on them are pretty good Hidden Strings, Last Thoughts and Stolen Identity... Hidden strings is especially nice, you can untap the two lands you just used to cast it.. then when he attacks you get to untap/tap 2 more lands every hit. with doublestrike thats 4 untaps.. good to play for those spells you are stealing.

jakeelephant006 on its too late they are already under your bed

3 years ago

This deck performs very well with some decently large deficiencies. I think you need to cut some weaker cards (sorceries and creatures mostly) and add in more Ninjas and ninja synergies.

Cards to Cut: Creatures: Definite cuts are Jeskai Infiltrator, but I'd also heavily consider trimming Dark Impostor, Deathcult Rogue, Etrata, the Silencer, and Nezumi Cutthroat.

Sorceries: Definitely cut Hour of Eternity, Kefnet's Last Word, Paranoid Delusions and consider trimming Ghostform, Slip Through Space, or Stealth Mission.

Artifacts, Enchantments, Instants, Planeswalkers, and Lands: I would definitely cut Briber's Purse, Fatal Push, and Vraska, Scheming Gorgon while also giving thought to the merits of including Skygames, Bontu's Monument, Forge of Heroes, Unclaimed Territory, and of, or at least the Amonkhet, cycling lands.

The cards I have recommended are either slow, have low to zero synergy with the rest of the deck, or are typically weak in commander.

Cards to Add Creatures: Ninjas, ninjas, and more ninjas (plus some cheaper unblockables for good measure). There are 19 Ninjas in mtg history (excluding changelings). You have 11 in this deck. I think you ought to have more. The cheapest are Mistblade Shinobi, Okiba-Gang Shinobi, Skullsnatcher, Throat Slitter, and Walker of Secret Ways. Higure, the Still Wind and Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni are both reasonable splurges in terms of powerful Ninjas to acquire. Now for other creatures to enable Ninjitsu. First off, I could have included Changeling Outcast in the last section since it is also a Ninja and you should absolutely be running it in here. Other small unblockables for you to Ninjitsu into are Gudul Lurker, Slither Blade, Tormented Soul, Faerie Seer, Mothdust Changeling, Gingerbrute, Dimir Infiltrator, Baleful Strix, Invisible Stalker, Augury Owl, Sage Owl, Spire Owl, and Cloud of Faeries. All of these cards are less than 3 cmc, and are either entirely unblockable or have good etb/ltb or dealing combat damage synergy (and are mostly pretty cheap too). I'd recommend adding at least 3 or 4 of them in addition to the above ninjas.

Other cards: This section is mostly for general things that you could do to make this deck more consistent and enjoyable to pilot, but there are a couple specific synergies I think you're missing out on. They're both pretty intertwined so I'll just address them together. I think you could be putting in a few more cards that are good to reveal off of Yuriko's trigger and ways to manipulate the top of your library so you get those card when they are most impactful. I am referring to cards like Treasure Cruise, Sibsig Muckdraggers, Temporal Trespass, Dig Through Time, Draco, Consign / Oblivion, Murderous Cut, Far / Away, Curtains' Call, Into the Story, Submerge, Commandeer, Commit / Memory, Discovery / Dispersal, Rags / Riches, In Garruk's Wake, and any other high cost card that has an alternate mana cost, mana reducing ability, split card, or is a high impact card. Then you could also throw in a few ways to manipulate the top of your library like Brainstorm, Ponder, Serum Visions, Tamiyo's Epiphany, and Crystal Ball. The only other synegystic thing you could put in here is making your other creatures Ninjas as well with Conspiracy, Xenograft, Arcane Adaptation, and Amorphous Axe.

Otherwise, you could probably add in some more ramp (Sol Ring, Mind Stone, Star Compass, etc.), card draw (see cantrips above and Last Thoughts), board wipes (could probably replace Bontu's Last Reckoning with some of the ones from the last section or just add those ones or some other good boardwipes) and spot removal or counterspells (I don't see a lot of good ways to deal w/ non-creature permanents in here).

ZendikariWol on A Hellish Crusade | Edgy Specter Tribal

5 years ago

1) I was in the Addams Family (the musical) and I still love it.

2) Kindred Discovery , Vanquisher's Banner , Metallic Mimic , Curious Obsession , and some cipher spells (good ones include Last Thoughts , Mental Vapors , Midnight Recovery , Stolen Identity , and Undercity Plague ).

Daedalus19876 on Thousand Cuts: Tetsuko EDH [PRIMER]

5 years ago

TheRedGoat: Honestly, Scroll Thief and Smuggler's Copter SEEM bad, but they consistently draw me into my lands and my control pieces. I'm never ever disappointed when I see them in my opener. Inundate isn't a bad idea XD but I'd rather just play Merchant Scroll / Spellseeker to grab Cyclonic Rift for example, in that slot. The other rattlesnakes are... okay? But I'd usually prefer outright control or counters in that slot (I don't like giving my opponents choices when I punish them). I tested Hidden Strings , Last Thoughts , and Hands of Binding , but they all got cut :( Last Thoughts is strictly worse than Scroll Thief in this list, and the other two were too low-impact overall. The issue with Sakashima's Student and Ninja of the Deep Hours is that they're only unblockable ONCE in this list (they have too large of a P/T to be unblockable here). Teferi's Veil and Siren Stormtamer might have a home here, avoiding removal? Honestly unsure, I've definitely considered both. Prying Blade ups my power, which I actively want to avoid XD Verity Circle might make it in here, it's been really REALLY good in The Locust God , though Rhystic Study would get that slot first. Murmuring Mystic could be cute I suppose (paired with Bident of Thassa ? wooooooo that seems hilarious). But Time Stop really isn't my jam in multiplayer: it makes me tap out and be unable to answer anything :( Thanks for the thoughts!

TJFNIJ: Oh, that's cute XD I like that, but it's 10 mana before I get the pump effect (assuming I want to pay echo), so I think I may have to skip it for now.