Memory Lapse: The importance of tempo. (OS 95)

Tempo is one of the most complicated, and interesting strategy tactics in Magic. Basically, it's slowing down your opponent, without actually stopping them. When you tap down a land, that is tempo, when you bounce a permanent, that is tempo.

Memory Lapse, is one of the strongest counterspells in Magic, because how disruptive of a tempo advantage it is. I recently played a 95 mono-blue deck, and made the risky inclusion of a play set in the deck.

I never made a smarter deck building decision in my life. As one player said "I hope to never see a memory lapse again in my life".

My mono-blue tempo deck.

It's board, or as I to call it, fuck red.

However, my evaluation of the card goes back further, to the early days of Modern. You see, there is a card in modern called Remand. It works similarly to Memory Lapse.

Both of these cards are similar to each other. They are both tempo based counterspells, which don't remove the spell entirely, just delay it. The argument I've heard that makes Remand better is it cantrips. However, if I may, Memory Lapse delays a draw, which is much more powerful than drawing a card. A turn 2 Memory Lapse can be almost a mini Time Walk (especially in Old School 95) since not only are they losing the spell they cast, they are losing a draw as well.

In addition to this, it's extremely splashable. Something most counterspells have an issue with in the format.

Sure, it's not Mana Drain, but that one isn't a fair comparison. It's easily comparable to Power Sink and Counterspell though. Plus, playing three of them in a row is a feeling you can't describe. Trust me.

Fun Fact: Originally Memory Lapse was on the 'Meanderings' design sheet, which would become Mirage/Visions. When one of the designers saw the card, he liked it so much he asked politely if he could include it in his set Homelands, which they said yes. So that, is that.

Homelands art is better.