Because when you play Sword of Fire and Ice in EDH, everyone tries to point a Return to Dust at it. Mother of Runes is no substitute for this, and neither is Sylvan Safekeeper. I just wish one of the three was useful against Aura of Silence.
Posted By:
Justice1337
(8/4/2011 7:57:30 PM)
Of course Mother of Runes is better than this... Mother of Runes is quite possibly the best white 1-drop ever printed. But that doesn't mean this card is bad; in fact, it's quite good. A 1/2 body with a very useful ability for just one mana is well above the curve, especially for its day, which was before creature power-creep. I give it a 4.5/5.
Posted By:
wstonefi
(8/16/2011 12:15:57 PM)
It's true what Callipsa says about tight mana curve. I often find myself gambling whether I should cast a cleric or do nothing to protect the few already on field. Which is kinda counter-productive in just about any tribal deck.
The other thing is enchantment and creature based removal, which are huge today. Nevertheless, it's a great card in the late game. Mother of Runes just takes the first place most of the time.
Posted By:
Dankirk
(9/30/2012 4:07:52 PM)
Devoted Caretaker also protects your land from LD, Mother of Runes cannot.
That said, Mother of Runes is still better in most cases since it safeguards creatures free of charge and most dangerous (and fragile) permanents tend to be creatures.
Posted By:
Cyberium
(11/3/2012 7:37:12 PM)
Mother of Runes only targets creatures where this targets all permanents
Posted By:
Bass1987
(4/1/2011 11:05:25 PM)
At least a 4. Useful ability on a great body for one mana. Normally a 1/2 one drop is vanilla. And not very good as a result...
Posted By:
Kryptnyt
(10/21/2010 12:38:30 AM)
Mother of runes is also no mana to activate for essentially the same effect, since A) Cleric decks run very very few non clerics, there heavy creature based
B) It costs no mana to use the ability. Good cleric decks run a very tight mana curve. You don't often have mana to chuck away
C) the toughness usually isnt a huge perk, since cleric decks run infinite toughness or health combos (since thats there biggest gimmick, other then maybe scion of darkness)
This is a great card though
Posted By:
Callipsa
(5/2/2011 11:28:25 AM)
Good, but mother of runes is just plain better. Get a couple of these (1-2) if you want a little more early game cleric protection while you get the shield up. I'll give it a solid 3.5
Posted By:
Dischade
(12/2/2009 10:12:40 PM)
For once, it's nice to have a card with fine art that also works rules-wise.
Posted By:
Redaspect
(2/21/2011 9:36:40 AM)
These work for enchantment or artifact decks, which is nice. They also work against non-targeted damage still, which is nice. The toughness is a nice boon; really helps if you run any pestilence effects (I ran plague spitter next to her)
This is best in a non-tribal control deck, where you want to establish battlefield control via instant-speed destruction/exile, but you want to maintain your board. Use her next to cycling, instant speed spells/abilities, and such; that way you can always have her ready to go without wondering how to move forward.
Posted By:
blurrymadness
(11/7/2013 11:32:04 AM)