I don't really understand why all of you just point out weaknesses of cards... yes, almost every card has it's weakness, some way to counter it... and what? Should I bother? Forgot Ball Lightning, this card is just awesome in most situations! It slows your opponent as hell if he don't destroy it... and not just slows, it's really effective in destroying opponent's auras as well and getting rid of counters on creatures...
You're playing blue, if an annoying ball is burning your back, counter it.
Posted By:
Narim
(10/30/2010 12:50:46 PM)
Blue/White lockdown decks get a potentially awesome new toy. Paired with Lightmine Field, anything that makes it through the damage isn't going to stick around much longer.
Posted By:
NecroticNobody
(10/5/2010 6:23:48 PM)
"everyone realizes, of course, that this also works on things like liliana's caress right?"
Loss of life is not damage; damage leads to loss of life. It would not work with Liliana's Caress, but it would work on Chandra Ablaze and Raid Bombardment, etc.
Posted By:
Golly
(10/10/2010 12:28:53 PM)
I thought it might be cool, after all it's repeatable bounce; after I grabbed a playset and played with it, I realized just how many ETB effect there is in the game. It turned every Sylvan Ranger, Liliana's Specter, Malakir Gatekeeper and Triskelion against me. Those become must kills, or all you can do it watch them generate card advantage every turn.
Maybe there is a deck where this might work, perhaps UB with lots of discard and kill; but certainly not something like Jace's Ingenuity that can just go into or out of you deck without a thought.
Posted By:
Gabriel422
(11/24/2010 3:43:45 PM)
Yeah this helps out ball lightning, sure, but if you're playing someone running Ball Lightning in a RDW...it probably doesn't matter what you play on turn 4. So if you can look past everyone's shouting of "OMG BALL LIGHNTNINGZ LOL!", you realize that at even the most basic level, this card is pretty nice.
I run two in a U/W control deck and they prove to be a very frustrating attack deterrent. No goofy johnny combos, no worrying about ball lightning, just play it and enjoy the rage it creates.
Posted By:
surewhynot
(10/17/2010 3:59:34 PM)
this + elspeth + empyrial archangel = you laugh.
Posted By:
Froenx
(10/17/2010 6:47:57 PM)
Not the greatest of cards, and not the worst either.
In standard, it seems pretty bad as it's too slow. I guess the only spot where I can see this do anything is in sideboards against Koth of the hammer, even though that seems a bit loose. It will keep them stuck on land drops, and makes their emblem unusable against you as a player. This is definitely not good enough. Its saving grace is that it also slows down the rush of the red aggro deck. Good enough? I dunno. But it's still an option to consider.
In casual this is one of those rattlesnake cards that screams "leave me alone". There are better options in magic, but in blue? Pretty much only propaganda and its ilk.
Posted By:
Shiizu
(11/11/2010 7:37:21 AM)
No it doesn't work against Liliana's Caress.
But it makes Koth of the Hammer cry.
Posted By:
PhyrexianAdvocate
(2/16/2011 4:34:29 PM)
This + Painful Quandary
Posted By:
Myztical
(3/18/2011 8:03:29 PM)
@SilverSkyz: Yes, very much so, or any creature with a comes into play ability worth the ink on the card. Better just block those creatures then.
@Demon, Gemstone: "Best Friend" to me never meant that it worked in your favor - so yes, I'm aware that if you're running UR with this out dealing damage with Ball Lightning doesn't help you. But I'm agreeing that having this out works well for your opponent's CIP creatures, which is why I said you better block creatures with CIP abilities so it doesn't trigger this. Other than for those types of creatures, I love this card.
Also, the flavor text really comes across as making fun of an old Bush-ism...
Posted By:
sarroth
(9/26/2010 2:30:03 PM)