Mind's Desire Unbanned in Legacy: Analysis

Legacy: Mind's Desire is unbanned.

With these words above, Wizards stated that they are not only satisfied with the format's situation but also believe it's ready to welcome a card that was banned even when Legacy was created from the Type 1.5 format back in September 2004: Mind's Desire!

Considered the strongest card of one of Magic's most broken mechanics, Storm, Mind's Desire never had the chance to shine in Legacy. Therefore, most players' experience with the card comes from its version in the now-defunct Extended format.

So, what will its impact be on the format? It's a true enigma, but we can speculate a bit.

Before we delve deeper into the topic of Mind's Desire, let's first make some comments about the absence of bannings in this latest announcement.

Firstly, I would like to say that I agree with the decision and believe that nothing should be removed - the format, up to this point, finds itself in a good degree of balance and diversity.

That being said, it's undeniable that the Orcs and, to a lesser extent, the Ring have made their presence felt in the format. The Black creature has shifted the power center of Aggro-Control from the ubiquitous Izzet Delver to Grixis Delver and Dimir Shadow lists, attacking one of the format's pillars - Brainstorm and Ponder - with unparalleled efficiency.

The Ring has appeared more modestly but has already generated a hella of a deck that combos with Paradox Engine, and it's increasingly becoming a staple in 4-Color Control lists. It's possible that one of the two might escalate to a more oppressive dominance in the format in the future, but for now, it's just a matter of keeping an eye on them without taking any drastic action.

When a card of Mind's Desire's caliber is released into the format, the first question is: where will it fit? It's open season for testing to find a new home (or homes) for the spell.

Naturally, the first idea that comes to mind is slotting it into a Storm deck, like Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT) or The Epic Storm (TES), but would it make a significant difference? These lists are already well-rounded with a mix of acceleration, tutors, and disruption, featuring key cards like Ad Nauseam or Past in Flames to seal the deal. There's no consensus that a 6-mana spell will find space in the main deck, even if it means immediate victory in most cases - but that doesn't prevent the possibility of bad card sequences. Lists with Burning Wish will likely have it as an option to fetch from the sideboard.

Another natural fit is in High Tide decks, which have been somewhat subdued in the current format, especially when the deck can be picked apart by Orcish Bowmasters while attempting to use its cards that draw 7 cards at once.

Multi-champion Reid Duke has already fielded an archetype list, going 4-0 in an Online Magic Preliminary. It's worth noting that Candelabra of Tawnos is much more accessible on Magic Online than in real life, but some players are advocating for using Cloud of Faeries in its place as a more feasible option.

There's a new deck on the horizon (to be covered in a future article) called Mississippi River, based on the interaction between the spell Creative Technique and various Cascade mechanic cards. I've already come across some enthusiasts adding Mind's Desire to this mix since the unbanning announcement.

And let's not forget the possibility of something entirely new emerging, a list that generates enough spells to enable free plays of cards like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or Omniscience!

Clearly, until it's determined whether the cage has released a monster or just a rusty promise, many players will try to make the card work, temporarily inflating the deck's presence in the Meta until we understand its rightful place. And this affects decks that will benefit or not.

Winners

Prison Decks: These decks run an arsenal of nightmare cards for anyone whose game plan involves casting multiple spells at once - Chalice of the Void, Trinisphere, Archon of Emeria, Boromir, Warden of the Tower - and should benefit from a larger Storm presence in the format.

Tempo Decks: Decks like Delver and Shadow tend to prey on combo decks, and when many of them rely on multiple draw effects, Orcish Bowmasters can swiftly end the game.

8-Cast: With access to both Force of Will and Chalice of the Void in the main deck, it has the tools to control the Desire.

Stable

Non-Blue Combo Decks: Generally, mere discard is not a guarantee of stopping the opponent's combo, so these two archetypes play a game of solitaire and roll the dice. Some of these decks can close their combo faster than Desire and might benefit, while others could find themselves in a more hostile environment, caught in the crossfire of decks preparing for a new metagame.

Losers

Lands: Even all the Sphere of Resistance cards in the world don't make the life of a Lands deck easy against combos, and an increase in their numbers is not a good sign.

Fair Decks: Decks like Burn, Maverick, Death and Taxes, Slivers, and Goblins don't have an easy time against a combo-heavy environment, even if they have cards to try to slow down the opponent's shenanigans (Eidolon of the Great Revel, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Thorn of Amethyst).

Control: Even with access to Counterspells, these decks generally provide opponents with enough time to gather resources for the Combo, especially if cards like Defense Grid come into play.

As I mentioned earlier, I believe it was the right call by Wizards not to remove anyone from the format; the Meta is in an interesting place. The return of Mind's Desire concerns me less than the release of the card Creative Technique on Magic Online, which has exposed to many another potentially oppressive combo that's challenging to counter in the format. The fact that this deck has already incorporated the new old blue spell speaks more against that card than against Desire itself.

In the other lists, I believe that Mind's Desire will become just another combo deck among many combo decks and will be adequately answered once the Meta stabilizes. However, its presence will sway the pendulum towards combo decks for a while.

Best regards and until next time!