If this gets countered you're in a world of hurt. Nonetheless a good draw spell and exactly the kind of card black is notoriously known for.
Posted By:
tcollins
(1/11/2011 2:35:49 PM)
This is a really good card, but there are two things that stop me from making this my first choice for black draw:
1) I'm already having to pay x life to draw, so 5 mana is a bit much in the cost. The reason I'm willing to pay life is because I'm getting a bargain in the mana department, usually.
2) The restriction on timing. You can't really use this to get an answer to something your opponent is harassing you with. I'm not saying I think this should have been an instant, but I can't use the cards I draw until the next turn? I can't even flash it in with Lelyine.
Still, if you have good board position and are just looking to draw into combo pieces or win cards, then this is a decent option, but not the best.
Posted By:
themlsna
(1/25/2011 8:59:36 AM)
If you didn't have to discard after drawing the cards this would be interesting... kinda like a slow ad nauseam. Then you could combo it with a final fortune in a storm deck. Unfortunately, comboing with spellbook/anvil of bogardan/reliquary tower and other stuff that takes away max hand size would probably be too clunky in terms of deck space as well as too unreliable (if it wasn't already).
Posted By:
heenaheena
(2/3/2011 10:57:15 PM)
Anybody? Really?
No one has suggested this yet?
I've won 4 games of EDH using this cheap-ass strategy: Necrologia and Psychosis Crawler. Make sure your life is higher than everyone else's (Maybe some help from Venser's Journal?) and then play it. This can call for a turn 6 EDH victory... against EVERYONE.
EG:
Turn 1-4: land.
Turn 5: Psychosis Crawler.
Turn 6: (you draw, then lose 1 life) Necrologia. Pay 39 life, GAME OVER.
Although, my deck has become infamous alongside the people I play EDH with, so they hold onto their counters when I ever consider playing Psychosis Crawler.
Moral of the Story: Don't play Necrologia like a D**k.... or do, whether you want victory or friends.
Posted By:
Ferlord
(11/3/2011 6:12:42 PM)
Risky to use against blue control, though.
Posted By:
Tiggurix
(11/2/2010 9:24:31 AM)
this card seemed breakable, so i typed 'whenever gain life' into Gatherer. lo and behold, pages and pages of things that break this :)
an amusing combination is this + Platinum Angel + Transcendence Broken, no? xD 'you cant lose the game, you have an arbitrarily large life total and you can draw as many cards as you want'
Posted By:
DarthParallax
(4/17/2011 8:45:50 AM)
OH HELLO Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
Posted By:
YellowWalker
(8/10/2012 11:46:28 AM)
Instant win with Phyrexian Unlife and Laboratory Maniac.
The best part is that you can play both of them before turn five!
Posted By:
Lord_of_Gelectrodes
(8/24/2013 9:26:58 AM)
@Lord_of_Gelectrodes: Even with Phyrexian Unlife, you can't pay more life than you have. Ad Nauseam is the card you are looking for (it causes you to lose life, it does not make you pay life). However, you would have to cast it at your upkeep, before you draw, because Ad Nauseam doesn't cause you to draw, so will not trigger Laboratory Maniac.
Posted By:
adrian.malacoda
(4/6/2014 9:22:48 PM)
10 cards is well worth 5 instant speed mana and 10 life, then next turn I can get it back with Sorrin's Vengeance and not discard anything with Reliquary Tower.
Posted By:
TheWrathofShane
(5/19/2014 9:09:38 PM)