I enjoy the instant speed of this card, especially for use with black decks- they don't much care about the loss of the life, and they could use it for sacrifice; green decks running Birthing Pod would also find this card useful.
Posted By:
FaltonOV
(5/7/2011 1:15:39 PM)
Awesome card. Colorless Threaten (Or act of treason), and Instant speed. I don't know if this will be standard playable, out side of the odd Rage Extractor deck, but in EDH and some other formats, this will rule.
Posted By:
Amnatto
(5/2/2011 5:00:38 PM)
Not bad. Not awesome either. The comparison to threaten ain't quite true, since threaten is a sorcery, and this is an instant, making it more similiar to ray of command.
Posted By:
majinara
(5/1/2011 3:01:34 PM)
It's easy to overlook the instant speed on this card, since these sorts of effects are almost always sorcery-speed.
The instant speed is what makes this card great, though, that and the Phyrexian mana. It's expensive, but it's potentially really awesome.
Posted By:
Magnor_Criol
(5/8/2011 11:07:47 PM)
I'm not sure how well this really compares to its close cousins in Blind with Anger, Grab the Reins, and Disharmony, at least if you're already running red.
Advantage over Blind with Anger: potential 3-cost if you don't mind paying 4 life, can find legends, impervious to Hisoka's Defiance (not that the last means much)
Advantage over Disharmony: Usable for your own attack
Advantage over Grab the Reins: Actually untaps the target, same 3-cost situation as Blind with Anger
Truth be told, 4 life feels a little excessive for this kind of effect (2 life, no. 4 life, yes). In a red deck with no blue (q.v. Ray of Command), I'd probably pick Blind with Anger or Grab the Reins first. Although if none of the above are options (e.g. Standard), this really is a good scheme for red to play with (alpha strike? What alpha strike?). I'm just leery about the 4 life payment that's implicit in what truly pu... (see all)
Posted By:
SkyknightXi
(5/10/2011 7:39:49 PM)
@EverJohnny
Ehhh... You do realize that it says "...untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn." Don't you?
Yes, you *can* use it for a "minor reduction in damage", but you can also use it for the obvious benefit of hitting someone with their own creature, or taking a potential blocker *and* hitting them with it. Effects like this are usually decent, especially as instants.
Posted By:
cytokin_x
(5/22/2011 4:21:18 PM)
Just about goes without saying, but this is good friends with sac effects such as Viscera Seer, Throne of Geth, or to add insult to injury, Fling.
In a draft one guy managed to drop this on my 8/8 Mycosynth Fiend to block and kill another of my attackers, and then Artillerize it. That hurt.
Posted By:
Toasticus
(5/25/2011 8:23:58 PM)
Would be overcosted and strictly worse than Act of Treason except for the instant speed and splashability without even needing to convert mana.
How about sticking this in your black deck to steal a creature for a free swing? Then sacrifice it for something on the same turn. Paying life to play another color's spell seems right up black's alley anyway.
You can also take one of their weenies with an annoying ability and chump block their creature with it.
Fling is handy too, and can be used on attack or defense. Either way, their creature's toast.
Posted By:
jfre81
(7/27/2011 2:48:19 AM)
If you have Rage Extractor out this card is well worth the 4 life.
Posted By:
AnTzero
(4/28/2011 4:04:32 PM)
This is an amazing tool across many formats. Instant speed colorless steal has great implications in multiplayer and EDH/Commander.
Posted By:
SeiberTross
(10/12/2011 11:56:04 PM)