The "slowing poison" effect that this card has was common to many of the snakefolk in the Kamigawa block, and it gives green a tapdown ability that the colour doesn't typically get. Still, this ability is tied to combat damage, so it's fairly "green" in how you get it applied (note: see Matsu-Tribe Sniper for an interesting exception to the rule). It's also an interesting variation on how Magic depicts poisionous creatures (see poison creatures, deathtouch and infect for other examples).
Flavour and mechanics aside, BrutalJim is pretty much dead-on. This card is very underwhelming, and anybody building a Snake tribal deck would be unlikely to pick this.
Posted By:
Leshrac_Nightwalker
(12/9/2010 8:32:13 AM)
Pretty bad... mabye if it was a 2/4 or 3/3 with actual reach instead of having to activate it. As it is, awful, 1/5.
Posted By:
BrutalJim
(3/29/2010 5:39:49 PM)
Creepy ass bird stalker D:
Some toughness would have made this thing playable. but alas, Kamigawa
Posted By:
axiobeta
(9/1/2011 7:07:17 AM)
This and Mercurial Kite is even more embarrassing than Giant Spider and Azure Drake.
I had fun applying the same transformation to...
Aven Fisher, Aven Fleetwing, Silver Erne, Torch Drake, Windrider Eel, Wind Drake, Air Elemental, Sturmgeist, Cerulean Wyvern, Sky Ruin Drake, Spire Monitor, Tattered Drake, Goliath Sphinx, Primoc Escapee, Ringskipper
E.g. Sky-Ruin Drakestalker, 
, 2/5, : gains reach until end of turn.
Posted By:
HuntingDrake
(11/6/2011 9:51:35 PM)
Niiiice loincloth.
Posted By:
Ideatog
(8/17/2012 3:12:01 PM)