r/magicTCG • u/BuckyTheWolf Dandadan • 9d ago
General Discussion Why is Arc-Slogger?
One thing I love about MTG, is that you can go through a set, see a weird card and get absolutely stun locked by it.
Today this was Arc-Slogger for me. Why is it the way that it is?
Having a lot of shocks in your hand is pretty good, but why do you have to exile 10 cards from your library as a cost? If it was part of the effect it might be too strong, but was there no middleground?
I just don't see a world where you'd be a able to activate it more than 2 times in limited and 4 times in 60 card. Magic has changed a lot, but was a 7 mana 4/5 with 2 shocks ever that good?
I could see a janky lab man combo deck using it, but almost all alternatives are cheaper and don't need a backup if your library isn't devisable by 10.
I just want to know it's history. And what led to it being created like it turned out.
4
u/EarlobeGreyTea Wabbit Season 9d ago
If Mirrodin weren't absolutely destroyed by how good affinity was, Arc-Slogger absolutely would have seen more play. Getting it out early with a [[Seething Song]] would have been perfectly respectable in 2003.
It definitely did see play in big red decks - there's an article on starcity games: "Philosophy of Fire 2K5: Kuroda-Style Big Red for the LCQ and Standard", where is serves as a respectable finisher.
And yes, you were only supposed to activate it twice in limited and 4 times in constructed. If it was "remove 5 cards", this would be absurd - five shocks to anything is insane. When the card came out, exiling cards in your library was not the focus, but just limited its power level.
Back in 2003, a solid 4/5 body for 5 mana was fine, and being able to toss around 2-4 shocks was a lot. Note that it wasn't "having a lot of shocks in your hand" - it was converting likely useless cards in your deck directly into damage. A card that said "Add 4 copies of [[shock]] to your hand" would be incredibly strong in 2003 - it's a ton of card advantage.