I've faced this card many times in my friend's U/B mill deck. It's a decent card for dedicated mill decks, but it doesn't usually mill for all that much after the target has already been hit by Hedron Crab, Tome Scour(s), Glimpse the Unthinkable(s), Mind Funeral(s), and/or Archive Trap(s). It also has to compete with Haunting Echoes, Nemesis of Reason, and hardcast Archive Trap for 5 mana drops. The best use I've ever seen for this card is using it on yourself in a graveyard based deck. However, there are easier ways to mill yourself, such as Cephalid Illusionist + Nomads En-Kor, which was common in legacy back in 2007.
Posted By:
iUseBreakOpen
(1/7/2012 12:23:51 AM)
Milling is fun, but some cards and combos make it too easy to mill -- Traumatize isn't as bad as Painter's Servant + Grindstone, but it will destroy your library no matter what size it is, and for that reason, it's a very silly card that shouldn't scale the way it does.
Posted By:
igniteice
(1/8/2012 2:45:42 PM)
Wow I just thought of an amazing late game combo for this in a blue-green deck. You play this on yourself, and next turn you play preators council and you have a huge ass hand. Also because you are running green, you will be able to get alot more lands to play stuff with cards like rampant growth.
Posted By:
Jaceevoke
(7/30/2011 2:42:07 PM)
Great card! Especially for milling. It usually just takes 2 archive trap's to finish them off.
It takes a while to process the actual effect, but it's not as bad as Haunting Echoes. Many times have I seen people take a break to get a beer or go to the bathroom once either one of those cards were played. That seems to be too much work at certain points :-/
Posted By:
Redeemer707
(9/5/2011 3:53:48 PM)
Kind of naughty when paired with Haunting Echoes from the 2011 set.
Posted By:
xRegent
(10/31/2011 7:15:17 AM)
ECHO MAGE
Posted By:
Areps
(11/21/2011 10:18:24 PM)
@OmegaSerris:
That wouldn't fly in a tournament at all. Or in a lot of play groups.
It doesn't say "half of their library", it says "the TOP half of their library". That's very important due to topdeck manipulation effects, and spells/effects that put cards on the bottom of libraries. If you played something like Long-Term Plans, Enigma Sphinx or Worldly Tutor, I want to be damn sure that card is in your graveyard. Your method gives a 50/50 chance of it still being in the library. Same applies to if I played Condemn on your Anger or Brawn. I want to make sure that card is on the bottom of your library, not in your graveyard.
Posted By:
lukemol
(6/15/2012 12:28:43 PM)
@T20Mad
If you play this card with Consuming Aberration out, then they will mill until they find a land, and then this effect happens, which is when the deck will be counted and halved.
Posted By:
senken12
(5/10/2013 6:24:45 AM)
thankyou wizards for giving me mill victories on pre-release night.
Posted By:
flipsyalec
(7/12/2010 5:12:38 PM)
hello, Keening Stone ^.^
Posted By:
andoroth
(1/12/2011 12:22:34 PM)