An old card to be sure and I have seen some doubters and some supporters. Assuming IT IS worthy of consideration, what type of deck? I have seen it in aggro which was a bit of a surprise (Rakdos Madness). I would expect it in control decks. What is the current valuation of Alms of the Vein because I am seeing it enough to have noticed it. Not just versus but in 2HG as well.

In essence in reality cast with madness it is in effect 6 power (+3 / -3) for 1 mana. However at 3cc native and single black what would be a better card and in which decks? For sure it's great to have if facing an aggro mirror. Even UD with removal can net 3 but it's conditional for the same native cost.

I love to hear Timh's opinion on the card. On curve it's amazing for discard decks.

It's literally only valuable in hyperfast Radkos discard which use it as 5-8 Fiery Temper for face burn. It's worthless to control. It can't hit creatures and control cares very little about face damage to the opponent until the game has basically swung.

Handy Flow Chart:

Is your deck running notable number of discard sources (not incidental, but part of theme)? If no, do not use. If yes, go to Q2

Is your deck aggro or control? If controly, do not use (doesn't interact with opps board, control DGAF). If aggro, go to Q3.

How aggro are you - balls to the wall or more aggressive midrange? If midrangey, do not use (run extra creatures or removal/versital-burn instead). If balls to the wall, go to Q4.

Do you need some extra cheap reach that can put you ahead in the aggro mirror? If no, do not use. If yes, ok to put in deck.

I use it for burn and I love it

TIMH, now THAT is an answer .

this card doesn't belong to any deck that cares about card advantage or mana sink. it belongs to a <20 land hellbent aggro deck, and duels doesn't have a reliable <20 land hellbent deck, just because duels doesn't have untapped dual lands.

so i have never successfully built a good duels deck using this card.

2 of the best ladder decks I've played have been hellbent aggro. During SOI era I modified Vert's Rakdos suicide list (mostly his build with a couple swaps I believed were more optimal) and dominated the ladder with it. This season my Rakdos Hellbent list has the best record of things I've played. I think my manabase still needs work (it's been fine for me in testing but after struggling some games with Sjokwaave's similar build during challenge play I think maybe I've just been really lucky and should up my count). I'm somewhere around 30-3 with it, and 2 of the losses were to Gems Bant Midrange deck that's just a bad matchup (and the one game I beat him was thanks to Alms).

In the challenge I'm 5.5-1 with hellbent (only loss to the aforementioned landscrew with Sjokwaave's list), and 6-1 with vehicles. The only list I've played with Alms in the challenge so far, I'm a perfect 3.5-0 (half game was a T3 landscrew concession, so not counting it as a full win). Videos up in thread for proof.

I am using it in my new madness/discard deck using Amonkhet cards. It is a gem of a card in that deck. Its great to combo with Miasmic Mummy and Bloodrage Brawler. I don't think it belongs in any deck that can't madness it out consistently.

I feel even in balls to the walls aggro it's a sideboard card for the mirror match at best.
besides that I would rather another threat or shock.

What TIMH said. It's great in the Rakdos VampBurn deck. That deck relies on damage to the face to close out after it's early creature advantage. That deck runs at least 15 instant/sorceries that burn to the face and this is the only one that can't kill creatures. It's a player only Lightning Bolt and that card is too good. With Fiery Impulse, Exquisite Firecraft, Avacyn's Judgment and Unliscensed Disentigration (the only one that could be a dead card) able to interact with creatures, having 4 of your burn not be able to is okay.

Outside of that deck I wouldn't suggest this card. Any deck with enough discard outlets to reliably cast this for 1, is probably using Red and Black. If you're going to run a Rakdos madness/cycle/discard/whatever deck then you might as well scrap the idea and just run VampBurn because it's probably going to be faster and more consistent than any other deck in that theme is. Outside of Rakdos you're probably going to be paying 3cmc and playing this as a Sorcery too often and you won't be happy about that.

You can of course make a good Rakdos aggro deck without it. I've played 7 of the 10 decks in the current deckbuilders challenge so far, and they've all been pretty good with or without Alms in their particular lists. In the lists that do run it, you can check my recaps in the thread to see how often that card wins games (might surprise some peeps who think it's bad). I also have gameplay video if peeps think I'm BSing.

I personally prefer it to other threats or shocks, etc in my build. It has advantages over creature threats by being faster than a non-hastey creature. Hastey creatures are going to cost you 3 mana at least, but you can madness Alms for 1 (getting additional benefits via the discard source - giving evasion to Dragoon, making something unblockable through Key, drawing cards with Copter, casting an undercosted 4/3 beatstick, etc) and don't need to worry about spot removal or blockers keeping damage from getting through. In balls to the wall aggro all this matters cause you're trying to win THIS turn.

In regard to something like Shock - similarly costed to Alms madness - 3d kills faster than 2d, and the card effectively reads 'you win this mirror match'.

It seems like every other week someone wants to discuss this card around here...

I should make a Combustible Gearhulk thread.