Come on...this card isn't half bad! You can use it to gain quite a lot of life, perhaps buying yourself enough time to win the game...
Posted By:
TheSuperbloop
(7/2/2010 1:37:22 AM)
Nothing spectacular. Gives a nice boost against aggro decks.
Posted By:
NeedADispenserHere
(5/13/2011 7:08:37 AM)
Nourish is kinda stupid good for lifegain, comparing everything to it is like comparing all burn spells to Lightning Bolt.
The advantage to Vital Surge is its replayability. You leave it in your hand and convert extra mana into life, or use it to trigger other Arcane spells. And in that sense, it's pretty handy.
Posted By:
DoragonShinzui
(10/31/2012 1:26:31 PM)
Nourish.
You'd have to splice this card twice to get the same effect. Or once, and then hardcast it. Or hardcast two. Whatever, you get the idea. Although, if you're depending on pure lifegain cards to save you in green (when you should be overrunning your opponent with an army of tokens or elves or beasts), I got news for you...
If you really want to gain some life, at least do something like respite in response to your opponent's alpha strike, or net yourself some card advantage with momentous fall once a creature has outlived its usefulness.
This card is rated low because it's just not very good. It does nothing but net you a measly 3 life. Some would say "oh but it splices and is arcane so you can splice onto it!" To that I I just yawn in your face. It sounds like it would be a fun mechanic, but like the whole rest of the block it was just too underpowered. I really wouldn't be ever be impressed by tacking 3 life on... (see all)
Posted By:
allmighty_abacus
(9/21/2010 7:59:05 AM)
This does have a place in arcane-based green decks that are looking for a way to slow the game. Yes there are lots of spells with more efficient life gain, but you can't look at Splice spells strictly from a cost-effect point of view. Over time, you can gain vastly more life with this spell than with other, more efficient spells.
That said, if you are playing a deck that this will fit well in, I have to ask: why are you playing an green Arcane combo deck!?!
Posted By:
Atali
(10/29/2010 10:50:51 PM)
why an earth is this card rated so porly?, it has won me games i should have lost by keeping me alive for an extra few turns, and the splice on it is awsome. there may be better options but not in kimigawa and defenintly not in arcane.
Posted By:
bijart_dauth
(6/20/2010 9:20:31 PM)
mediocore nuff said
Posted By:
Imperialstonedragon
(3/29/2011 5:12:19 AM)
Nice.
Posted By:
A3Kitsune
(1/13/2010 3:55:48 AM)
I use it in a silly Arcane deck that involves heavy mana acceleration.
In the right deck, its a great utility card that gives you a lot of life, but its very niche.
Posted By:
Galgus
(9/15/2013 12:46:02 PM)
This card is pretty awful. Healing Leaves is the same, plus the ability to protect a creature, for half the cost. Does the splice make up for that? Meh, not really. They should have given this Splice 
. Still I use it in my green spiritcraft EDH because there are only 13 arcane spells in green, and only 4 have splice. Of all of them this is probably 3rd from the worst, but hey, at least its not Nourishing Shoal? Honestly I plan on taking it out of that deck evevntually, but I get so few chances to use splice that I have been stubbornly keeping it in. I have spliced both it and Kodama's Might onto a spell a few times, and that does play out pretty neatly.
Splice is another example of a cool mechanic that Kamigawa ruined by being under-powered and parasitic. (Having no support or interactions outside of the block.) Splice is incredibly unique and a lot of fun to play with for the same reason that people love enchanting and... (see all)
Posted By:
Enelysios
(1/28/2014 7:56:34 PM)