What’s the most life you have ever spent with this card?
I killed one of the Kozileks with it. Wasn't worth it, died the next turn. I cost myself a total of 35 life that game then just lost. Unspeakable Symbol is a hell of a drug.
the flavor text explains everything that should be said about this card. It kills everything
You can't pay life you don't have... ChallengeAccepted! Or to be more precise, you can't pay life you can't get without effectively ending the game via a loop first (and I think the rules doesn't allow the loop to even happen by requiring a declared number and since infinity is a loop number declaration declared invalid by the rules...)
I mean, it was technically legal in the format once before... (and it still dies to almost everything else, but hey the challenge was to dodge solely Toxic Deluge).
In all seriousness though, I'd think this is a card we could more or less call a Staple. Even the most creature-congested decks should pack some mass-removal (and in fact the flexibility in size makes it more attractive to some creature-based decks) and this is among the top of the list.
The existence of this card makes me always heavily prioritize players in black with Mindslaver effects, as well as the odd chance of having an unconditional tutor or Necro or something that makes them sacrifice their board.
the flavor text explains everything that should be said about this card. It kills everything
You can't pay life you don't have... ChallengeAccepted! Or to be more precise, you can't pay life you can't get without effectively ending the game via a loop first (and I think the rules doesn't allow the loop to even happen by requiring a declared number and since infinity is a loop number declaration declared invalid by the rules...)
I mean, it was technically legal in the format once before... (and it still dies to almost everything else, but hey the challenge was to dodge solely Toxic Deluge).
In all seriousness though, I'd think this is a card we could more or less call a Staple. Even the most creature-congested decks should pack some mass-removal (and in fact the flexibility in size makes it more attractive to some creature-based decks) and this is among the top of the list.
More direct answer: Angel of Jubilation. You can't pay life if you can't pay life!
Also, in normal (non-silver bordered) magic there ain't no such thing as infinite. If you can gain say an arbitrary amount of life, you must pick how much you want.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Hail to the speaker, hail to the knower; joy to he who has understood, delight to they who have listened." - Odin
Hexproof exists, though. As do shroud and protection. And they block anything that uses the T-word, which is a big reason you need boardwipes. Protection also stops Spontaneous Combustion.
@Lithl:
I use them early on. I've acquired a bit of a reputation for "If you don't kill me now, you won't be able to for the next 40 turns." Plus, they're really good in, e.g., Grand Arbiter Augustin IV.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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!
One of my favorite Stupid Morphling/Pemmin's Aura Tricks! Not a good card for sure but cool in how it foreshadowed Vehicles and a jank wombo-combo gem.
Ok I've subscribed to this thread 5 times now and have been automatically kicked. What's going on?
EDIT: I'm sorry, I know this probably don't belong here. Please redirect me somewhere. I'm very confused.
There's a known display bug with subscriptions. If you click "Subscribe" once, it subscribes but gives no feedback. Click again and the button toggles to "Unsubscribe," but it really unsubscribed. Click "Unsubscribe" and it subscribes again. Basically, it's all messed up, but you can subscribe. If that doesn't help, try Forum Software Feedback and Bug Reports under Community Discussion.
Seems like a bad Timmy card at first blush, really a bad Johnny card. Others have mentioned untap shennanigans to make it a huge trampler with only a little support, but it doesn't have to attack to get the boost. that makes it a way to break through stalemates with a Fling end of turn. There's a few cards that are repeatable based on a creature power as well. This plus Elemental Mastery plus intruder alarm is infinite for instance, though lots of things are with intruder alarm.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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!
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!
Second best, Fire Covenant is a card (instant speed and totes malleable around what you actually need to kill). Usually this is better than Last One Standing, but perhaps not always, then with
Spontaneous CombustionPhyrexian Purge rounding out the bottom four.Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
(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'
I'm sure someone has me beat with killing Marit Lage.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
I killed one of the Kozileks with it. Wasn't worth it, died the next turn. I cost myself a total of 35 life that game then just lost. Unspeakable Symbol is a hell of a drug.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
(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'
But anyway, yeah, great card. Cheap, scalable, gets round indestructible and we're in a format with life to burn.
possibly the best board wipe in black..? i can't think of any major downsides to it aside from the typical "dies to a disrupt et al" argument.
Legacy - Solidarity - mono U aggro - burn - Imperial Painter - Strawberry Shortcake - Bluuzards - bom
You can't pay life you don't have... Challenge Accepted! Or to be more precise, you can't pay life you can't get without effectively ending the game via a loop first (and I think the rules doesn't allow the loop to even happen by requiring a declared number and since infinity is a loop number declaration declared invalid by the rules...)
I mean, it was technically legal in the format once before... (and it still dies to almost everything else, but hey the challenge was to dodge solely Toxic Deluge).
In all seriousness though, I'd think this is a card we could more or less call a Staple. Even the most creature-congested decks should pack some mass-removal (and in fact the flexibility in size makes it more attractive to some creature-based decks) and this is among the top of the list.
The Unidentified Fantastic Flying Girl.
EDH
Xenagos, the God of Stompy
The Gitrog Monster: Oppressive Value.
Marchesa, Marionette Master - Undying Robots
Yuriko, the Hydra Omnivore
I make dolls as a hobby.
More direct answer: Angel of Jubilation. You can't pay life if you can't pay life!
Also, in normal (non-silver bordered) magic there ain't no such thing as infinite. If you can gain say an arbitrary amount of life, you must pick how much you want.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
Hexproof exists, though. As do shroud and protection. And they block anything that uses the T-word, which is a big reason you need boardwipes. Protection also stops Spontaneous Combustion.
@Lithl:
I use them early on. I've acquired a bit of a reputation for "If you don't kill me now, you won't be able to for the next 40 turns." Plus, they're really good in, e.g., Grand Arbiter Augustin IV.
On phasing:
Here we go, back to form. Sort of a proto-vehicle, might actually be cool with haste if you wanna Soulblast someone with less sacrifice.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
oh, prophecy
I'd argue hollow warrior is a closer progenitor to the crew mechanic. Interesting they're both from the same set.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
EDIT: I'm sorry, I know this probably don't belong here. Please redirect me somewhere. I'm very confused.
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!
On phasing:
I don't know if this thread is about to get controversial, or if every post is just a reply asking "Did you pay 1 for that?"
lolololol
(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'
We're on a roll of staples at the moment.
Clearly awesome value, one of the few bits that has held its value from Prophecy, too.
This vs Mystic Remora - jury is out/context dependent.