In Magic: The Gathering, you know how some mechanics just pop up like they're the life of the party? Mechanics like Ninjutsu, Constellation, Landfall, etc., I feel, can all be described to be flexible, powerful, and, dare I say it, even downright fun mechanics to play with or against, right? But what about some of the other mechanics out there? Well... some mechanics simply come on the scene like the hall monitor no one asked for, cramping everyone's style, and more often than not, just killing the vibe for the whole table. Detain is one of those mechanics, and that's what I'll be going over in today's Mechanics Overview Segment.

What Is Detain?

"Until your next turn, that permanent can't attack or block and its activated abilities can't be activated."

Yeah, Detain's a keyword action that's basically a one-turn Arrest, but without all the fun of actually dealing with the problem permanently like a typical removal spell or ability would.

Some Things To Keep In Mind About Detain:

• Detain does not tap the permanent: So, be very mindful before you start thinking you're clever and targeting your opponent's untapped mana rocks.
• Static abilities still apply: Even if your opponent's Ashiok, Dream Render is Detained, you're still not tutoring.
• Triggered abilities can still trigger: If a Detained creature dies, its death triggers will still happen.
• Detained creatures can't activate any activated abilities, including mana abilities: On the brighter side of things, this does mean even the all-powerful Llanowar Elves can get locked up for a turn.
• If a creature is already attacking or blocking when Detained at instant speed, it stays in combat: It just can't start a new attack or block next turn.

The History of Detain

Detain's story begins in the fall of 2012 with Return to Ravnica (RTR), a set that marked a grand celebration of Magic's signature city-plane: Ravnica. This sprawling metropolis is home to ten guilds, each with its own unique identity and mechanics. RTR reintroduced five of these guilds, specifically the allied color pairs, and tasked the design team with creating a fresh mechanic to embody each guild's playstyle and flavor.

For the Azorius Senate, the guild of law, order, and strict bureaucracy, the team initially faced a daunting challenge. After all, how do you properly translate a group of Blue-White enforcers who literally write and enforce the laws of a city into a compelling and functional gameplay mechanic? The first attempt at capturing Azorius' feel was the Forecast mechanic, introduced in Dissension (2006), but it had a lukewarm reception due to its complexity and conditional nature.

Fast-forward to RTR, the designers were determined to get Azorius right this time. They wanted something that screamed "law and order," a mechanic that could metaphorically "handcuff" opponents' threats, effectively putting them in jail for a turn or two. And thus, Detain came into existence and graced us with its presence.

The core idea was elegant on paper: temporarily stop an opponent's permanent from attacking, blocking, or activating abilities. And I'll give credit where credit's due, it fit the theme perfectly: The Azorius Senate arresting a dangerous creature or silencing a Planeswalker's powers until the law could catch up.

But, despite the flavorful premise and clever design, Detain unfortunately fell flat in actual gameplay. It quickly became clear that the mechanic's niche effect of shutting down a permanent for a single turn just wasn't impactful enough in a fast-paced environment.

And to make matters worse, during RTR Standard, the meta was chock-full of aggressive decks and powerful triggered abilities that Detain simply couldn't keep up with. As such, other guild mechanics like Izzet's Overload or Golgari's Scavenge that offered more explosive and versatile effects were what ended up grabbing players' attention and deck slots.

What's the BEST Detain Card?

If you're hunting for the "best of the worst" Detain cards, Lavinia of the Tenth is probably your best bet.

Why Lavinia Can Work (Sometimes)

• Multiple Targets: Unlike most Detain cards that target only one permanent, Lavinia at least Detains multiple permanents at once. This could be a huge tempo swing if your opponents' boards are packed with small creatures or pesky artifacts.
• Protection From Red: This text alone makes Lavinia fairly resilient against the popular Red burn/aggro decks at the time.
• Decent Stats: A 4/4 body for five mana is by no means flashy, but I'd say it's reliable enough to block and trade if needed against non-Red decks.

Okay, So You're Saying Detain Has a Chance?

Well... not exactly. The glaring catch is that Lavinia can only Detain permanents with a mana cost of 4 or less. So, big creatures, planeswalkers, and/or expensive artifacts all get left alone.

Furthermore, five mana is a fairly heavy cost in just about any format where sweepers or straight-up removal spells can do more immediate and/or permanent work in dealing with your opponents' threats. Off the top of my head, cards like Sunfall, Supreme Verdict, or even the infamous Azorius staple Detention Sphere (which outright exiles instead of Detaining) all offer more permanent control over the board for equal or less mana.

Can Lavinia be a good sideboard option against Red Aggro? Absolutely! Can she alone fully overcome the inherent limitations of Detain's one-turn lockdown effect? Don't hold your breath.

The Final Verdict on Detain

Detain certainly had all the right ingredients for a flavorful and thematic mechanic: it fits perfectly with the Azorius guild's identity as the city's bureaucrats, peacekeepers, and relentless arbiters of order. Not to mention, the idea of temporarily "locking down" an opponent's threats so that justice can be served is just so deliciously flavorful. In fact, to this day, I can still picture an Inaction Injunction being placed on a rowdy Foundry Street Denizen or a New Prahv Guildmage standing tall in his confrontation with Vraska the Unseen.

However, at the end of the day, the problem with Detain lies in its execution and power level. Remember, MTG, at its core, is a game about making the most impact with cards and abilities that can shift the momentum decisively. Detain, as flavorful as it is, is always just going to be a temporary inconvenience rather than a solution, as it offers a single-turn pause button that can slow down a threat but rarely removes or neutralizes it permanently.

And in a world where mana-efficient removal spells like Fatal Push, Path to Exile, and Supreme Verdict exist, "one turn of downtime" just isn't good enough. Even in multiplayer formats like Commander, where interaction often tends to be more political and drawn-out, Detain will, more often than not, be seen as a mild annoyance rather than a game-changer by any stretch of the word.

With all that said, I think I've been Detained long enough for this one. As always, happy brewing, and in the event you're a proud member of the Azorius Senate, may you continue to put your opponents in their place, even if only for a turn. Until next time!