Every card in Time Spiral was a throwback to at least one previously printed card.
This card is part of a cycle of 3 casting cost mana-producing artifacts that turn into creatures which cannot be reprinted due to the Reserved list. This card is referencing Thunder Spirit. The others in this cycle include Chronatog Totem, Phyrexian Totem, Weatherseed Totem, and Foriysian Totem.
Also, Aaron's comment's got me beat, but I shall post for consistency's sake!
Posted By:
Missile_Penguin
(12/2/2012 12:47:14 AM)
Aaron’s Random Card Comment of the Day #65, 2/16/10
There’s a hidden subtheme in the design of many of the Time Spiral cycles, and that theme is the Reserve List (a list of old rare cards we’ve promised never to reprint). We felt a nostalgia set was a good venue for creating homages to cards we can’t print so that people could enjoy what those cards are capable of in new ways.
Three of the five rare Slivers are modeled after Reserved cards (Avenging Angel, Juzam Djinn, Sedge Troll), as are four of the five Maguses (Memory Jar, Mirror Universe, Cursed Scroll, Candelabra of Tawnos), and four of the six “can only be suspended” spells (Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Wheel of Fortune, Eureka).
All five of the uncommon mana Totems turn into R... (see all)
Posted By:
Aaron_Forsythe
(2/16/2011 11:06:49 PM)
I guess Randy Asplund-Faith was the only Reserved-List creature artist that they couldn't dig up for Time Spiral, so they got another Randy instead.
I always felt like 3 mana was slightly steep to activate this guy. Even moreso since Glinthawk Idol's printing. But I checked the reserved list, and there are almost no other eligible white creatures (non-Legendary, non-tribal, no awkward activated abilities/upkeep costs).
-Veteran Bodyguard was put to good use as Weathered Bodyguards. (Hmm, but maybe if Academy Rector became the morph...)
-Avenging Angel is too similar to Weatherseed Treefolk, but makes a sweet Pulmonic Sliver.
-And that's it! Sidar Jabari is Legendary and became Gustcloak Cavalier. Zhalfirin Crusader is the next best option, but again, rather unwieldy. The picking... (see all)
Posted By:
HuntingDrake
(10/9/2010 6:19:58 AM)
Okay, what's I'm seeing is white mana acceleration (which just doesn't happen) that might later be a creature with flying. That's pretty good to me, yeah, there is better acceleration but considering the $ cost of this card compared to say Sol Ring this isn't that bad.
Plus, when you're in the later game, and don't need the mana as much, just spend the rest of the game making it a flier. Plus, in non-creature form, it survives Wrath of God.
3.5/5 at LEAST
Though, if you don't care about the flying, just use Gold Myr.
Posted By:
InternetNinjacy
(9/5/2010 12:44:38 AM)
A good mana accelerator, and blocker if need be. There aren't many noncreatures that turn into them, but this one happens to be a mana accelerator as well. On the whole, more good than not.
Posted By:
AmericanVigor
(11/30/2010 12:53:05 AM)
I also think the reserved list is unnecessary.
Posted By:
GainsBanding
(2/17/2011 5:17:37 AM)
I too hate the Reserve List; it was a stupid idea and I see no reason whatsoever not to break it. Does anyone still care about making sure that their old collectible card remains unique? If so, give it another 20-30 years, those people's ability to voice a complaint will eventually dissipate. But it occurs to me that the perfect time to have ditched the Reserve List would have been when Hasbro bought Wotco; someone who knew the buyout was coming could have asked Hasbro to hand down a mandate that breaks the Reserve List, and then everyone at Wotco who was kicking themselves about the Reserve List but needed to pretend they weren't could just go "Oh well, it wasn't our decision". If anyone else ever buys Wotco or Hasbro (not that I want that to happen by any stretch, but business is what it is), I hope the buying company gets the idea that reprinting Reserve List cards is a good investment.
Posted By:
willpell
(6/5/2011 5:03:21 AM)
Thunder Spirit
Posted By:
bhunji42
(10/8/2009 5:53:11 PM)
THUN-DER
Owawowoawaoh
Posted By:
Shadoflaam
(5/9/2011 5:09:08 PM)
@ Aaron:
I never was a great fan of cheap good flyers, since evasion often FORCES you into a specific gameplay and it forces R&D to keep up with reach. I also like strategy pc-games more, the less flying creatures they include.
In magic terms, I think a 1/1 flyer for 1 is MUCH less a problem than a 2/2 or 2/1 flyer for cmc2.
I also dislike the fact that R&D is possessed by the idea to make white the main color of flying creatures. In my opinion, this really breaks the "community" and "stand together, fall together" flavor of white, as half of your "comrades" fly above your head. So if you need to print cheap flyer, distribute them more evenly over every color... and this might lead us to the "good old days", where green had the cmc1 slot. The Thunder Spirit however, would be a wonderful black Specter.
@ the totems:
As I always said, it should be the last option to print something as an artifact, since it loses much of it's flavor. Simple effects are ok, but the more... (see all)
Posted By:
Cheza
(8/1/2011 1:05:20 PM)