Dark Confidant, affectionately nicknamed B.O.B., has an incredibly prestigious competitive lineage. The card saw extreme levels of success in Modern for years. In terms of game design for Magic, Dark Confidant was also a massive winner. The card offers an incredibly powerful upside attached to a potentially disastrous downside.
As a result, Wizards of the Coast has reprinted Dark Confidant’s effect on all kinds of creatures and enchantments. That said, all of the reprints have paled in comparison to the original. Whether the creature had a higher mana value or the effect wasn’t attached to a body, Dark Confidant has always remained the best.
Now, Dark Confidant is returning to Standard in the Final Fantasy MTG set.
Dark Confidant
Dark Confidant has an incredible history, but it’s been a long time since this guy has seen any real play. Modern is far too fast for it now. This card creates value on your upkeep, but cards now need to create value on impact.
While Dark Confidant has been power crept out of Modern, the card could be strong enough to see Standard or Pioneer play. The card was never legal in either of these formats before, and Final Fantasy gives it a chance to impact the meta.
In Standard, frankly, Dark Confidant might not see play. This card could fit into the Pixie strategy – perhaps as a sideboard card, but as long as Izzet Prowess rules the roost, using a card that costs life is a dangerous affair.
Against slower strategies like Jeskai Control and Zur Domain, however, Orzhov Pixie strategies could use Dark Confidant to great effect. The mana values of these decks are quite low, meaning Dark Confidant shouldn’t cost too much life. Mono Black also sees play currently, but flipping an Unholy Annex would be incredibly painful. This Town Ain’t Big Enough presents a similar issue.
Dark Confidant basically faces the same problem in Pioneer. This card could easily fit into black midrange strategies, but all of those decks have restructured around Unholy Annex since it was released in Duskmourn, House of Horrors. You can play the card anyway, but you will lose some number of games by taking 8 to the face off the top of your deck.
Conflicting Deckbuilding Restrictions
Some players may worry that Dark Confidant may be far too powerful for Standard. Even if it does end up being strong, this is a great card to print into a format where players are worried about Up the Beanstalk. Suddenly, you have two great value engines that conflict with one another. Up the Beanstalk rewards you for playing big spells, and Dark Confidant punishes it.
Up the Beanstalk isn’t really a problem right now, but if Standard slows down after the next ban announcement, Dark Confidant could be the card that lets a bunch of smaller mana value decks tick. From a diversity perspective, Dark Confidant theoretically offers a lot to Standard. As mentioned, Dark Confidant also butts heads with This Town Ain’t Big Enough, another Standard powerhouse that has some people up in arms, encouraging even more deck division.
By extension, if some Pioneer players start tinkering with Dark Confidant, the format’s midrange decks could move away from Unholy Annex. This would mean that Dark Confidant would need to outvalue Unholy Annex, however, which may be rather difficult to do. The Room enchantment doesn’t cost much life in a deck built around it, even turning into a clock. The question is more so if the flexibility of Dark Confidant in comparison to Unholy Annex is worth it.
A Fantastic Reprint
Personally, I would be surprised if Dark Confidant were a problem in the Standard format. The card can be easily removed, and the overall power level of the format is enough that one bad Bob flip could cost the game. Removal has become a lot stronger since Dark Confidant’s heyday, and the old guy might not be able to keep up.
From a financial perspective, Dark Confidant isn’t too exciting. The card is only worth about $5, but this reprint could cause the card to see tons of play compared to now. That said, supply for this card is also going to expand massively, so it’s a bit tough to know exactly how much this card will go for.
At the same time, Dark Confidant is powerful enough to cause some serious consideration for brewing. It’s great to see cards like Dark Confidant and Liliana of the Veil find a home in newer formats after being power crept out of their old homes. Maybe Jace, the Mind Sculptor or Stoneforge Mystic will come to Standard next?
