This card is very underrated. 2 mana and then 2 mana is not at all equal to 4 mana (probably closer to 3).
The Sphere is designed for longer games: hitting your land drops each turn is important for control decks, but also for any deck with expensive bombs. And deck thinning is more powerful the longer the game lasts.
If you're not in green (for better mana building) and don't have awesome card drawing, a couple of these can go a long way!
Posted By:
rage4lifebj
(7/29/2009 1:53:44 PM)
Having used this card in a draf, this card is immensly helpful. Yes, it takes time and mana, but in limited? Greatness. Particuarly great if you're playing 5-color.
Posted By:
HarDHarKoopa
(2/22/2009 2:16:20 PM)
Good to increment Domain effect.
Posted By:
Cupim
(7/11/2009 9:48:42 AM)
I've got one and it is a good backup in case I don't draw into a swamp or Savage Land for my red/green/black deck since I run twice as much red and green land as swamps.
Posted By:
djpraiseadelik
(9/5/2009 4:57:05 PM)
4 mana to balance your base, thin your deck, and fill your hand? My instinct is to call this junk, but it just feels really good!
Posted By:
ZEvilMustache
(1/31/2009 8:25:07 AM)
this card is real pretty, i like artifacts that use all five colors. also, i imagine the card works well too.
Posted By:
Eternal_Blue
(1/30/2009 4:50:20 PM)
Naya...
Posted By:
Neutralion
(2/5/2010 7:36:01 AM)
Wayfarer's Bauble
Posted By:
DragonLord132
(9/1/2009 12:23:39 PM)
Four mana is kind of steep for what this card does, but I wonder if Esper can possibly break this card through recursion. My instincts say no. Deck thinning is a great tactic when it can be done at 0 mana cost (through the various Baubles), but it rarely is worth much more than that. Compare this to Knight of the Reliquary, for example, as a means to thin your deck and you'll see that the Armillary Sphere is vastly inferior. Armillary Sphere is a decent mana-fixer, and might be useful in multi-colored decks that don't use green. But if I had to choose between Armillary Sphere and one of the shard Obelisks (i.e. Obelisk of Grixis), I think I'd go with the Obelisk.
Posted By:
Eppek_the_Goblin
(2/16/2009 1:42:50 PM)
Love the flavor text.
Posted By:
NeoKoda
(10/9/2011 7:04:33 PM)