In general when compared to Zuran Orb this card is indeed rather second choice.
The effect is by 50% more effective, yet the mana cost claims a lot more effort.
When running deck with Herald of Leshrac, i'd seriously prefer the Orb for example since you can run a mono-colored deck then.
Of course when facing mono-red or mono-black decks, your opponents have a harder time to get rid of an enchantment rather than an artifact, and when you can use the casting cost for your advantage by playing Sanctuary enchantments, Bloom Tender or Bloodhall Ooze, this card will get also more appealing and preferable to the Orb.
But those are generic advantages every card of that type and/or colors has. I'd prefer Sterling Grove for example in an enchantment-based deck with Necra Sanctuary.
A triple-colored card is rather a mess to cast, this effort does i... (see all)
Posted By:
Mode
(8/20/2009 1:25:54 PM)
I built a W/B/G deck! Anyway not a bad card...
Posted By:
Duskdale_Wurm
(6/7/2010 5:54:56 PM)
Lets stop comparing it to Zuran Orb guys. Zuran Orb is...very, very powerful.
For what it's worth, OA is pretty good for its cost, and if you're already using those colors, it might be worth it to put it in. But yeah, you can't compare this thing to a FREE card guys. That just isn't fair.
Posted By:
DoragonShinzui
(8/18/2012 12:43:39 PM)
Combo this with Last Laugh, Second Sunrise and Eternal Witness. Have fun gaining infinite life, dealing infinite damage and taking out every opponent at the table. Oh yea. Infinite mana too, but who cares, you can kill everyone and everything a hundred times over if you want. Fun times. Stand alone 3/5. Combo'd properly, easy 5/5.
Posted By:
Phobeus
(1/7/2013 2:53:52 PM)
This has seen its fair share of tournament play. While on the surface not as good as Zuran Orb, it was actually better at the time of print, for powering up Necra Sanctuary. The late-game trade off of land for life isn't really the point of the card; it's really a surprisingly versatile Johnny card wrapped in the brown envelope of subpar utility.
Posted By:
stygimoloch
(2/14/2009 7:47:21 AM)
It's an ok multiplayer card. I have it in a multiplayer deck with Herald of Leshrac, so I can sac the lands before I have to give them back. Also, multiplayer games tend to be often rather slow and last long, meaning you can easily have 10 or more lands in play in the late game, which means that you have plenty of time to take that player with you, who tries to kill you.
No tournament card, but playable in the right decks.
Posted By:
majinara
(2/4/2009 7:58:12 AM)
They need to print more non-creature wedge cards so I can have more fuel for my Chaos Magic stack, which has a card for each shard, so I want the wedges to be represented as well. This is the only GBW one (and there aren't any for RWU and GUB), but where Fervent Charge and Guided Passage are really cool, this falls really flat.
At least it has cool Flavor Text.
Posted By:
sarroth
(5/6/2011 10:41:09 PM)
A bad Zuran Orb. Do not touch...
Posted By:
bark_at_the_moonn
(11/13/2008 6:51:13 PM)
Fastbond + Overgrown Estate + Cruicible of Worlds = infinate life
Posted By:
spacechaser0001
(11/10/2009 9:39:32 AM)
nice with Necra Sanctuary, but the effect should have been stronger. A version that allows you to sacrifice a land for five life, and sacrifice two lands to draw a card, would have been a more interesting and playable concept.
Posted By:
Wulfsten
(6/29/2011 7:00:29 AM)