Hello folks! In Batch 4.17, these two cards split the voters with 665 votes each (yes, that’s the exact same number that caused tie #11).

Previous tiebreaker posts & an explanation of the format are here. Only thing to add is that, as both cards involved have multiple printings, I’ll be taking the best score for each of the Art and Flavour categories.

Let’s go!

Blatant Thievery

Design

Blatant Thievery takes a simple and classic blue effect - stealing things - and dials it up for multiplayer. Not only can it take any permanent (which is rarely seen), and not only is the effect unlimited in duration and not tied to a permanent, but it also scales for multiplayer!

This is a neat way of adding power in multiplayer without costing the two-player version much (and it’s very, very unusual for Wizards to print cards with this sort of phrasing in regular booster sets). The simplicity of the text and the power on offer are both appealing.

Personally, I’m not such a fan of theft on spells, rather than Auras, because it’s a bit harder to remember (especially if you are stealing lands or other noncreature permanents), and can be a bit frustrating as there’s almost nothing you can do to get your permanent back. Of course, the scaling requires that this isn’t an Aura, but it’s a bit of a nuisance.

(all scores are at the bottom of the post)

Power level

The costing here is perfect - a little more than Confiscate (4UU), but only a little more - and what’s more, an extra blue mana symbol to really sell that this is a spell for dedicated blue mages. Unfortunately, by its very nature, this effect has to be priced out of Competitive for two-player games. But it’s a potent effect in multiplayer games, and costed just right for a powerful, swingy effect. The scaling nature for the number of players was premiered here and is just a great idea.

Flavour

The name is pretty straightforward - and wryly amusing, as much as “blatant” was overused slang in my youth. It does what it says and doesn’t mess about with subtlety in either the name or the effect. Can’t help but wish it was called Crime Spree, though.

The original Onslaught flavour text is likewise both slightly amusing and direct to the card’s effect. I kind of wish this was either a statement or a quote from a named person, but I can buy it as a quote from the grabby aven shown in the art.

The Explorers of Ixalan printing does a great job stitching the effect into the fabric of the Ixalan setting, and connecting it to a particular Ixalan faction. It’s slightly marred by choosing to tie in to the dinosaurs and the Sun Empire faction, who are RGW, on a very blue spell. A missed opportunity for some fun Pirate theming here.

Art

Ron Spencer’s style is something of an acquired taste, and I haven’t acquired it. He has a very particular approach to strong border lines and overall feel that I just don’t quite sit with. This particular piece has some strong posing from the aven thief, but the victim’s pose is ridiculous and their outfit doesn’t seem to make sense for either the Otaria setting or this particular illustration. There also isn’t a great sense of the swiping motion to my eye.

Victor Adame Minguez’s version, however, is superb - the colourful, bright feel to it, the great framing of the action, the use of the sun to draw the viewer’s eye to the victim, the dinosaur, and the stolen item, and the sheer sense of mobility on display are all excellent. There are loads of great details here and it all comes together perfectly.

Place in Magic history

Blatant Thievery was the first ever “each opponent” card in a normal booster set, and one of the first cards explicitly designed for multiplayer Magic. That’s an important decision that heralded later efforts such as the “summer multiplayer” products and an overall broadening of Wizards’ focus when designing cards.

Nightmare

Design

One of the Alpha classics, Nightmare offers a simple deal: Play a lot of Swamps, and you get a lot of Horse. The simplicity of this deal has done a lot of work over the years, and the card is still in Standard now (via being the black intro deck rare). It’s also playing the same cute trick that Corrupt players, of having an apparently splashable mana cost, but in actual fact being very not-splashable. I actually like this, because it helps the player learn an important lesson about how well (or not) effects like this work in two-or-more coloured decks and lets them figure out for themselves how to maximise the effect.

Nightmare (and Frozen Shade) also established the long-standing mechanical theme that a lot of black cards like you to be really, really black. This lead to the BBB cost on Necropotence, the heavy-black theme of Torment, and indeed mechanics like chroma/devotion.

Variable toughness creatures can be a little tricky sometimes, and lead to awkward play, but Nightmare nicely cares about something that you generally only will increase (the number of Swamps you have), and so gets around the tricky stuff that happens if it survives combat and then shrinks later on.

While a larger flier than black usually gets (or indeed than normally exists at all), the mechanical simplicity and directness just work really nicely here, and the fact that Nightmare has been almost constantly in print since 1993 shows that Wizards believe in the card.

Power level

While a casual and new-deck stomper, Nightmare is simply too simple, and too fragile, to really see any play. It’s not so weak as to be an embarrassment, but it’s definitely something for the casual table only.

Flavour

Superb work here on the name, of course - a great pun and the creation of a creature type that continues to this day. Incidentally, Nightmare is both the last surviving Nightmare in the Bracket, and the last surviving Horse.

The original Alpha flavour text (and the shorter version of it used in Sixth Edition) is ominous, but super literal. I also find the capitalised “Nightmare” kind of strange, but then again we hadn’t invented legendary creatures back then so it’s not too big a mark against it.

The 7th Edition onward flavour text is more poetic, and more to the point, but still connects well to the art and mechanics of the card. I much prefer this implementation.

Art

Melissa Benson’s iconic image is one of Alpha’s true gems. While a bit rough around the edges, the striking image of a flaming black horse is immediately recognisable and memorable. The yellow glow surrounding the creature fades to a deep black, and the overall impression is striking.

Carl Critchlow’s update to the piece pays homage to the original, depicting a similar (albeit slimmer) horse flying through an inky and murky background. The demonic feel is again sold very well.

Finally, the modern Vance Kovacs art is almost just a high-fidelity reimagining of the original, with the oily smoke of the Nightmare blending into the atmospheric background. It’s a huge testament to Melissa’s creature design that the other two arts follow the posing and atmosphere so closely, and I think many a new player has been enticed by the terrifying appearance of Nightmare over the years.

Place in Magic history

Alongside Serra Angel, Mahamoti Djinn, and Shivan Dragon, Nightmare is one of the original flying fatties that shaped the way that larger creatures would come to work. It also laid the groundwork for mechanics that tie into lands, set the standard for variable P/T creatures, and sold the story that of all the colours, black is the one that demands the most commitment.

Final verdict

Blatant Thievery

Design - 8/10

Power level - 4/5

Flavour - 3/5

Art - 5/5

Place in Magic history - 4/5

TOTAL - 24/30

Nightmare

Design - 9/10

Power level - 2/5

Flavour - 4/5

Art - 5/5

Place in Magic history - 5/5

TOTAL - 25/30

Good luck to Nightmare in Round 5!