Lobotomy
| Lobotomy | |
|---|---|
| Mechanic | |
| Introduced | Tempest |
| Last used | Avatar: The Last Airbender |
| Text | Search graveyard, hand, and library for cards with a given name and exile them. |
| Scryfall Statistics | |
Lobotomy refers to the act of exiling all (or any) copies of a card generally from target player's hand, library and graveyard. It alludes to the effect of its namesake, the Tempest card Lobotomy.[1]
Description
Lobotomy effects are primarily centered in black—flavored as permanently messing with people's minds. Blue also used to be getting a decent amount, but nowadays it is solely to be found in black.[2] Urza's Destiny had a lobotomy cycle that was reprinted in Betrayers of Kamigawa. The effect is primarily a sideboard anti-combo effect, as against most decks, removing one specific card is ineffectual, whereas combo decks dedicate resources towards finding particular cards. Recently, more aggressively costed Lobotomy effects are accompanied by a clause that grants the target a bonus (usually a card, sometimes a creature) if one of the named cards were in the hand. This design recognizes that the extra mana that it costs is not worth the potential for card parity by catching the card in hand.
The most famous cards are Extirpate and Surgical Extraction.
Look at Me, I'm the DCI (
) "bans" a card of chosen card name for all players. This effect goes further than a simple lobotomy as it also affects sideboards and the battlefield. The exiled cards remain exiled until the match ends.
Partial lobotomies
Haunting Echoes removes all card, other than basic lands, from a graveyard and all copies of those cards from the library. It does not affect the hand.
Legion's End does not affect the library.
Hour of Glory only affects the hand.
Self lobotomies
Grizzled Huntmaster and Unexpected Conversion are unique designs from Alchemy: Innistrad in how they lobotomize one's own library. They allow the player to remove ineffectual cards in hand and replace them with cards in the sideboard, essentially sideboarding mid-game. It does not affect the graveyard, so it does not make it a full lobotomy.
References
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 1, 2017). "Amonkhet Talking, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 5, 2017). "Mechanical Color Pie 2017". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.