Honestly, while everyone else here is drooling over the broken applications, can I just take a quick moment to appreciate what this card is at face value.
I mean, this is among THE best reanimation that mono-red has ever received (outside of artifact shenanigans). Even without the obvious combos, this is an obvious staple.
I'm not sure it's necessarily worse. Unlike Yawgmoth's Will, cards that enter the graveyard after it comes into play also get escape. This means that you can potentially do some crazy stuff with cards like Lotus Petal or Lion's Eye Diamond (and obviously Black Lotus), if you can keep your graveyard stocked enough.
Yeah the bit that clinches this as potentially busted is the fact that things don't exile going into the graveyard, I had to do a double take on the card when you mentioned it. I can see this doing something nuts in legacy/vintage/EDH though it's potential outside of those formats is probably limited. I say probably because there are always small interactions that can break cards like this in half but as of yet are just unseen (obviously legacy/vintage/EDH it's fairly apparent what those things are but Standard/pioneer/modern less so at the moment.)
In what universe? If you build a deck like that, and ever draw that hand, I will personally come to wherever you live, perform complicated acts of awestruck ********, then disembowel myself to escape the world that allowed something like this to occur and validate you.
Use it with the artifact that let's you end your turn to avoid the end step, you can use it every turn! That's one advantage of it being an enchantment instead of a sorc.
Unfortunately you would have to sac it at the beginning of the next person's end step. It doesn't say "at the beginning of your end step".
I think making this card an enchantment accomplishes a few things, design wise.
First, it's a cheap red reanimation card. Red is a color that can recur instants and sorceries. If it were a sorcery, at this cost in this color, it would almost certainly self-exile for balance reasons. That's about equally inelegant so it's more or less a wash.
But in return for the loss of elegance, you get to frame the archetypes for this card, most likely RWx to gain access to enchantment recurrence. Any of the other three colors could provide self-mill which is the other critical element. Because of that, I think this card would not be balanced if printed in pretty much any other color.
It gives red a needed boost in power and diversity, helps with the limitations of RW builds.
Use it with the artifact that let's you end your turn to avoid the end step, you can use it every turn! That's one advantage of it being an enchantment instead of a sorc.
Unfortunately you would have to sac it at the beginning of the next person's end step. It doesn't say "at the beginning of your end step".
This is potentially about as breakable as Kethis, the Hidden Hand--it demands similar self-mill, but it can similarly win the turn it ETB. And Kethis had a habit of turning mana bases into junk, anyway.
You know you’re on Theros when I celebrate red cards. Damn I love this set
We get it, you like Theros, you don't have to tell us over and over.
Anyways, card feels like a really inelegant way to justify it as an enchantment because "Theros gotta do enchantments", but there's at least some upsides to doing it this way. It's not Yawgmoth's Will, but it's not bad.
Don't try to figure out how an instant, a sorcery, or a non-creature artifact escapes from the graveyard--just accept it.
I think the flavor is spells and objects that where hidden in the underworld you the plane walker are able quickly grab and escape with them to use.
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I think the flavor is spells and objects that where hidden in the underworld you the plane walker are able quickly grab and escape with them to use.
I concur. Everyone needs to pick up an extra Bedevil on their way out of the Underworld. "Don't worry--you'll like it. The weather there is perfect this time of year."
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I mean, this is among THE best reanimation that mono-red has ever received (outside of artifact shenanigans). Even without the obvious combos, this is an obvious staple.
Yeah the bit that clinches this as potentially busted is the fact that things don't exile going into the graveyard, I had to do a double take on the card when you mentioned it. I can see this doing something nuts in legacy/vintage/EDH though it's potential outside of those formats is probably limited. I say probably because there are always small interactions that can break cards like this in half but as of yet are just unseen (obviously legacy/vintage/EDH it's fairly apparent what those things are but Standard/pioneer/modern less so at the moment.)
Unfortunately you would have to sac it at the beginning of the next person's end step. It doesn't say "at the beginning of your end step".
IDK but at least it is another way to abuse the card imo.
First, it's a cheap red reanimation card. Red is a color that can recur instants and sorceries. If it were a sorcery, at this cost in this color, it would almost certainly self-exile for balance reasons. That's about equally inelegant so it's more or less a wash.
But in return for the loss of elegance, you get to frame the archetypes for this card, most likely RWx to gain access to enchantment recurrence. Any of the other three colors could provide self-mill which is the other critical element. Because of that, I think this card would not be balanced if printed in pretty much any other color.
It gives red a needed boost in power and diversity, helps with the limitations of RW builds.
This and Sun Titan were meant to be friends.
Might be one of those "It's complicated" arrangements but still a good pairing if you want to go that route.
'buster
HR Analyst. Gamer. Activist | Fearless, and forthright | Aggro-control is a mindset.
Elspeth and Jhoira rock my world.
We get it, you like Theros, you don't have to tell us over and over.
Anyways, card feels like a really inelegant way to justify it as an enchantment because "Theros gotta do enchantments", but there's at least some upsides to doing it this way. It's not Yawgmoth's Will, but it's not bad.
UBBreya's Toybox (Competitive, Combo)WR
RGodzilla, King of the MonstersG
-Retired Decks-
UBLazav, Dimir Mastermind (Competitive, UB Voltron/Control)UB
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I think the flavor is spells and objects that where hidden in the underworld you the plane walker are able quickly grab and escape with them to use.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
I concur. Everyone needs to pick up an extra Bedevil on their way out of the Underworld. "Don't worry--you'll like it. The weather there is perfect this time of year."