I had a lot of funn with the card in standard when paired with other clue cards and tamiyos journal. Most notably the journal allowed you to sacrefice clues withouth paying mana (to tutor.) The enabeled the mysteries to pump out soldiers every turn. So it is good if you have something that lets you sacrefice cretures and artefact. Sac the original creature, sack the clue, sack the token.
Also the clues are a good way to get a lot of artifacts on the table. Not that many cards make artifact tokens if you somehow needed them.
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I have dyslexia, no I am not going to spell check for you, yes you have to live with the horrors of it.
I think Ulvenwald Mysteries is a great card. As a 3 cost enchantment, its draw compares well in cost and effect to Fecundity, Lifecrafter's bestiary, Dark Prophecy, Grim Haruspex and the like. At the same time it is a token producer, both of artifacts, as well as creatures. 2 mana to create a token (albeit limited and situational) compares well to token makers like Sacred Mesa, Ant Queen, and Mobilization in terms of cost->creature.
Compared to Fecundity - non-symmetrical; non-token only (biggest difference with Fecundity); have to pay 2 to get the draw, but it can be delayed. - But let's admit it, fecundity is kinda broken anyways.
Compared to Lifecrafter's Bestiary - Worst case, it adds a cycle to every creature you have. Both have an initial 3 cost. Bestiary adds a cost of 1 to every creature for the draw, Mysteries adds 2, but again - delayed as to whenever you want/can make the payment.
Compared to Grim Haruspex - 1 life, vs. 2 mana per draw.
Overall, it's slightly worse of a card draw tool, and would fit only in the proper decks for it, but the ability to generate token artifacts (very rare effect), as well as make token creatures at a cheap cost in green (which is rarely seen on such a cheap permanent to put on the board), makes the combined package very appealing.
Decks that are able to generate more than one death per creature, such as Karador, Ghost Chieftain can make good use of unbalancing the 1 draw per creature aspect.
Decks that seek to add both draw and token production power, such as perhaps Rhys the Redeemed
White/Green decks that seek draw and are running Cathars' Crusade could make good usage of it, as it helps multiple aspects of the deck plan.
Decks that run Tireless Tracker can fuel up to get more clues and more tokens out of it.
Decks that run Parallel Lives (or the new Amonkhet white version), can use this to double up on draws. -- and then quad up on the token production.
Shattergang Brothers love this card, as it produces sacrificial artifacts to fuel his ability - and still get 1/1 creatures out of the deal to do more shenanigans!
Not an auto-jam-in into every single green deck, but a piece that can fit into several different puzzles, to be sure.
=====
As another aside - this card singlehandedly won so many pre-release games for me...
Big fatties are always cool, especially when they're 11/11 for only 8 mana. Shame it didn't retain the portal wording (Yes, YOUR creatures return to MY hand...) but alas, that'd have been only ever so slightly broken...
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
I've actually never seen this card before. It's not all that mana inefficient for what you get, and its downside can occasionally be all upside. The art is cool, and I may have to pick up a copy for my eventual mono-blue sea monsters deck. Neat little things like this that I've missed are why I follow this thread.
I think I played Denizen of the Deep in my first deck, which I assume was tenth edition. The new art for it is much greater to me. I love Lovecraftian stuff, and especially undersea gargantuan art.
It's a cute card. Large vanilla beater in blue, which doesn't always care about creatures on board. It's not very useful in EDH but a dear card for me.
If it didn't hit all creatures, I could use it in Animar. But, c'est la vie.
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Shame it didn't retain the portal wording (Yes, YOUR creatures return to MY hand...) but alas, that'd have been only ever so slightly broken...
Not really broken, considering CR 400.3:
400.3. If an object would go to any library, graveyard, or hand other than its owner’s, it goes to its owner's corresponding zone.
Also, there are no control-change effects in the Portal block as far as I'm aware, and since the cards were originally meant to be self-contained and would not mix with other Magic cards, all the creature you control would be creatures you owned at the time the card was printed in the format it was legal in.
Shame it didn't retain the portal wording (Yes, YOUR creatures return to MY hand...) but alas, that'd have been only ever so slightly broken...
Not really broken, considering CR 400.3:
400.3. If an object would go to any library, graveyard, or hand other than its owner’s, it goes to its owner's corresponding zone.
Also, there are no control-change effects in the Portal block as far as I'm aware, and since the cards were originally meant to be self-contained and would not mix with other Magic cards, all the creature you control would be creatures you owned at the time the card was printed in the format it was legal in.
You must be fun at parties
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Could be pretty good in infect or black voltron. Just get in, watch whatever gets unblocked, and then throw this card out of your deck because it's a sorcery.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Strictly worse than Howl from Beyond, almost strictly worse than Endless Scream. I see basically no reason to play this unless you're going really, really deep on the effect.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
No, no indication that Caliman had Phyrexian involvement. People just discovered gunpowder there, no fancy story explanation required.
In fact, the only memorable or distinguishing thing about Caliman as opposed to the rest of Dominaria is "they made guns."
Or perhaps you could say that the people of Dominaria "were too stupid to have invented guns."
Well, there's an argument that a wide availability of magic would retard technological development. Ravnica melds the two together (as far as I'm aware its the only other setting with guns*, but there's are magic based guns). Its a common excuse for why many fantasy settings get stuck somewhere around mid Hundred Years War for thousands of years. Its like, why waste time on researching chemicals in the hope that one will blow up when a wizard can cast Fireball? Also, in the real world, the sciences (and pre-science alchemists and natural philosophers) attracted the smartest people (along with politics). In a magical setting, the smartest people tend to have magical ability and so research magic rather than the mundane. Far fewer top minds dedicated to technological advancement.
*besides the lasers that Urza tricked out his mechs
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
So we got the Common Meld card here. Now I feel that if you play Meld, both sides have to be good. In Brisela's case, both are useable cards, and in Hanweir's case, both sides are serviceable if nothing else. In this case? Midnight Scavengers on its own isn't the worst card you could have and it can pull back a Graf Rats you had before. Chittering Host isn't a bad card either, but unlike Brisela or Hanweir, I don't think this is worth it aside from maybe some oddball Rat-based deck.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Fun in 60-card casual, but lacks a niche in EDH: If only the tribes were consistent across the halves and the melded whole. This could be tech in Marrow-Gnawer?
Add Krark-Clan Ironworks to sacrifice one clue to pay the cost of draw a card with the other
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
Create a clue, play Mech, create 8 clues and wait for the next turn
UBRJeleva, Nephalias Scourge: ...and the storm arrivedRBU
BGHapatra, Vizier of PoisonsGB
WAvacyn, Angel of Hope: Avy, Baby!W
Credit to DolZero for this awesome sig!
Also the clues are a good way to get a lot of artifacts on the table. Not that many cards make artifact tokens if you somehow needed them.
Overall, it's slightly worse of a card draw tool, and would fit only in the proper decks for it, but the ability to generate token artifacts (very rare effect), as well as make token creatures at a cheap cost in green (which is rarely seen on such a cheap permanent to put on the board), makes the combined package very appealing.
Not an auto-jam-in into every single green deck, but a piece that can fit into several different puzzles, to be sure.
=====
As another aside - this card singlehandedly won so many pre-release games for me...
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
Big fatties are always cool, especially when they're 11/11 for only 8 mana. Shame it didn't retain the portal wording (Yes, YOUR creatures return to MY hand...) but alas, that'd have been only ever so slightly broken...
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Its not all that bad for the time honestly.
It's a cute card. Large vanilla beater in blue, which doesn't always care about creatures on board. It's not very useful in EDH but a dear card for me.
On phasing:
Also, there are no control-change effects in the Portal block as far as I'm aware, and since the cards were originally meant to be self-contained and would not mix with other Magic cards, all the creature you control would be creatures you owned at the time the card was printed in the format it was legal in.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
You must be fun at parties
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Even with Torpor Orb help, it's "just" an 11/11 for eight.
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
Could be pretty good in infect or black voltron. Just get in, watch whatever gets unblocked, and then throw this card out of your deck because it's a sorcery.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
On phasing:
No, no indication that Caliman had Phyrexian involvement. People just discovered gunpowder there, no fancy story explanation required.
In fact, the only memorable or distinguishing thing about Caliman as opposed to the rest of Dominaria is "they made guns."
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
(Also: is the chick in Vengeance about to just murder some giant execution-style while he's having a nap? Brutal.)
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
Or perhaps you could say that the people of Dominaria "were too stupid to have invented guns."
Well, there's an argument that a wide availability of magic would retard technological development. Ravnica melds the two together (as far as I'm aware its the only other setting with guns*, but there's are magic based guns). Its a common excuse for why many fantasy settings get stuck somewhere around mid Hundred Years War for thousands of years. Its like, why waste time on researching chemicals in the hope that one will blow up when a wizard can cast Fireball? Also, in the real world, the sciences (and pre-science alchemists and natural philosophers) attracted the smartest people (along with politics). In a magical setting, the smartest people tend to have magical ability and so research magic rather than the mundane. Far fewer top minds dedicated to technological advancement.
*besides the lasers that Urza tricked out his mechs
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
So we got the Common Meld card here. Now I feel that if you play Meld, both sides have to be good. In Brisela's case, both are useable cards, and in Hanweir's case, both sides are serviceable if nothing else. In this case? Midnight Scavengers on its own isn't the worst card you could have and it can pull back a Graf Rats you had before. Chittering Host isn't a bad card either, but unlike Brisela or Hanweir, I don't think this is worth it aside from maybe some oddball Rat-based deck.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝