I really appreciate Wizards printing cheap alternatives to the somewhat pricy dual lands from M10. It's almost enough to forgive them for making the walletslayer.
Posted By:
sir_dwar
(12/22/2009 2:36:54 PM)
This is a great twist on the old invasion double-lands. 1 life may not seem like a lot, but in this set, playing a land can do a lot of great things, so the added life is icing on the cake.
It's also very simple and likable. I've known newer players that were more scared of paying life for lands than they were not having the mana they needed. Without a doubt, this card cycle will make developing players enthusiastic to get the colors of mana they need.
Posted By:
vesu_
(9/25/2009 1:48:12 PM)
It's a good mana-fixer for a reasonable price for those of us who don't care to spend a zillion dollars on dual or fetch lands, or even the extra 50 cents to get the arc-taplands.
Posted By:
nammertime
(12/17/2009 7:55:57 AM)
Why run the Invasion duals? EVER??
This cycle is funny in limited. Say you're on the play, and you're upset because your first turn swamp doesn't have a vamp lacerator to go with it. Your opponent draws, plays an Akoum Refuge, say, and you sigh. Why couldn't that have been you? Then you look at your hand, grin, and cast Needlebite Trap. Mwahaha!!
Posted By:
Selez
(11/11/2009 12:26:23 PM)
I'm going to have to agree with vesu. As a newer player, any sort of card that deals damage to myself or a land that requires me to sacrifice it to get the special mana stops me in my tracks. Sure for experienced players that setback is seen as negligible for the bonus, but beginning players do not have the vast knowledge of the full library of possible Magic cards to use those better lands to their advantage. Cards like this Refuge that give you life rather than take it away are a good way of bringing in newer players who are cautious at harming themselves . This card might not find its way into decks of more experienced players, but it certainly has its place in play for others.
Posted By:
sarroth
(12/14/2009 11:24:13 AM)
Awesome, affordable dual lands. I run 'em in most of my 2+ color decks. My Area 51 deck is a 5-color chocked with creatures that cost 1 of every color. These have seriously helped get Cromat out on turn 5 or 6 (earlier, if Fertile Ground or some such is attached to one). I can toss a bunch of these in a deck for not a lot of cash, and spend my limited budget on other powerful cards.
4/5.
Posted By:
TheHandyman
(1/20/2011 7:57:29 PM)
At least Seijiri Steppe and Graypelt Refuge combo with Ajani's Pridemate.
Posted By:
DacenOctavio
(1/22/2011 10:04:14 PM)
People who dislike these probably aren't on a budget or have already saved up and invested in a more expensive set of duals. For those of us playing casually it's nice to have a way to get more than one color of mana in standard out of one land without spending more on the mana base than the rest of the deck.
Posted By:
Dragon_Nut
(1/27/2011 2:35:19 PM)
I like them in my red/black deck to help soften the blow of playing Goblin Artillery x4. Combined with Vampire Nighthawk and Sorin Markov (woot) its a small life gain but can be the difference maker in a close game. It does slow me down a bit but my deck plays a low mana curve (only 3 cards over 3 mana i.e. 2 Flameblast Dragon and one Sorin) so it's not a huge hinderance.
Posted By:
djpraiseadelik
(10/3/2009 8:39:46 PM)
As somebody who has many of the original dual lands and has played them heavily, I think these are at least reasonable substitutes for the original dual lands. I've never been a fan of taking damage from my lands, nor did I care for the "depletion" counter idea from Ice Age. I think these lands, along with the other ones that only come into play tapped if you don't have one of the corresponding basic lands in play, are the first decent substitutes. 4/5
Posted By:
kowrip
(11/5/2009 11:15:27 AM)