Curse of the Bloody Tome

Hey guys. Time for another review, and this one is about the blue enchantment aura-curse from the Innistrad set known as Curse of the Bloody Tome. I know, I know two Innistrad cards in a row, but I'll review cards from the other standard blocks as soon as my terrible infatuation with Innistrad ends (wait 'till Dark Ascension comes out...).

Just one look at Curse of the Bloody Tome and it's clear that its motives are mill, self or otherwise, and ever since Millstone was phased out of standard, mill was never the same. If Millstone and Curse of the Bloody Tome were brothers, the curse would be the devilishly handsomer and wittier sibling.

Yes Millstone may be cheaper, but the tap/mana cost to activate it will leave your early mana pool empty. Being an artifact also makes it easier to send to the graveyard. Curse of the Bloody Tome only asks one more mana to put into play and doesn't have any activation costs. This makes it possible to play multiple curses without the worry on how your going to use that mana leak later. Curse of the Bloody Tome is also very consistent when compared against other mill cards from the Scars block and the M12 core set, such as Jace's Erasure.

With the release of the Innistrad set, self-mill became a huge thing. With flashback and an emphasis on graveyard play, it became obvious that it's not a bad thing to have cards in your graveyard. A blue/black deck with motives on graveyard play and maybe mill as a second win option would benefit from having this in their decks. This would work well with Ghoulcaller's bell which if used on yourself could bolster your graveyard resources, or be two additional cards in your opponents bin. On the topic of self-mill, Laboratory Maniac now makes it possible to win if you mill yourself out of cards.

Curse of the Bloody Tome also complements other mill cards such as Jace's Erasure or Merfolk Mesmerist, sharing their love of mill. In two turns, the  ability of the curse, Jace's Erasure and the activation of the mesmerist's abilty has your opponent down five cards. I've also messed around with Grasp of Phantoms and Curse of the Bloody Tome. Nothing hoses down your opponent's confidence when they have to put their beloved 9/9 creature with trample on top of their library, with the sudden realization that its going to be milled next turn. Grasp of Phantoms is a great way of getting rid of tough creatures that pose a threat to the mono-blue miller.

I love the flavor this card brings to table. The flavor text is the most interesting, and hilarious part, because it's exactly whats running through the opponent's mind at the time. They carefully constructed and built their deck and now they have to mill it away (man I'm evil). The artwork is also very well done. It really feels like some wizard or scholar was studying and experimenting then they dun goofed and went nuts.