probably the worst card ever, i'm not kidding. this card is ridiculous.
for the total of eight mana, you don't even get the possibility to simply draw a card. no, you have to discard another one - on top of that exactly the latest card you drew.
that means you still have card disadvantage through this card itself.
and for the following turns, you get no more than the same ability again for two mana each?
seriously, there are a lot of cheaper and better cards of this type out there.
anyways, a clearly better version of this card is Jalum Tome. its mana cost are halved compared to this one, besides you get to discard any card.
and if you can afford blue mana, you can get this effect also from creatures like Thought Courier or Merfolk Looter a lot cheaper instead.
further on, Jayemdae Tome, Mind's Eye, Tower of Fortunes a... (see all)
Posted By:
Mode
(12/31/2008 9:29:35 AM)
The cat guy is Jedit Ojanen.
Posted By:
blindthrall
(12/16/2010 12:02:08 PM)
Not only is it weak, it's also terrible design, since it requires keeping track somehow of what your last draw was.
Posted By:
sonorhC
(7/7/2011 9:25:08 PM)
Run with R&D's Secret Lair, a pack of index cards and a sharpie.
Posted By:
GhelmaroftheSimic
(8/27/2010 8:01:19 PM)
Horrible card, and rendered useless soon after thanks to Jalum Tome. I just wonder why this hunk of junk was reprinted even once.
Posted By:
Radagast
(7/21/2011 6:43:56 AM)
Wow... I though the cat guy was bad...
*/2 worst card ever... At least the cat guy was sort of cool...
Posted By:
Zoah
(1/6/2010 6:49:36 PM)
Doesn't this card involve hidden information? Couldn't you draw a card, shuffle your hand, then use this to discard a different card than the one you just drew? Or you could just play better cards and not cheat.
Posted By:
GainsBanding
(3/7/2011 4:28:08 AM)
I like how the rulings flat out admit there's no resonable way to prevent people with cheating with this card.
Oh, wait, they prevented people from cheating by making the card not worth it even if you were cheating.
Posted By:
Tanaka348
(8/10/2011 12:02:05 PM)
So the printed text says "just drew". I wonder if they'll Oracle this to work the same way Miracle does: Once it's in your hand, you've chosen not to use this ability. It'd be closer to the intention, I think.
Posted By:
undergroundmonorail
(4/12/2012 3:45:27 PM)
Library and card draw manipulation was not as common as it is today. The game's developers were extremely cautious in some areas, fearing that these sorts of effects would reduce the element of chance in the game. Cards like Jandor's Ring and Aladdin's Lamp were intentionally costed high to dissuade players from using them competitively. There's a certain irony to the way the developers approached this in Magic's early days, considering cards like Ancestral Recall. But in their thinking, a one-time use spell like Recall wasn't as dangerous as an artifact like these that could be used again and again. Today, we laugh at such imbalance, but to be fair, the developers had nothing to compare it to. It took years and years of research and play-testing to achieve the level of sophistication and balance we have today.
Posted By:
Eppek_the_Goblin
(8/16/2012 8:30:24 AM)