That is correct- you can't get the spell you attempt to cast without casting yet another spell, since you can only take another spell. It forces you to draw one from the pool- and if the pool somehow became empty (virtually impossible to happen), the next spell you attempt to cast would get 'eaten' and you'd get nothing in return (until the next spell, then you get that first one)
Haha, better hope it doesn't hit a land pocket then.
From how I'm reading Knowledge Pool, once it's out, if you cast a spell and successfully exile it, you can't cast that same spell? It says "...another exiled card...", so you'd have to cast yet another spell to cast the first one you cast?
its 3 to equip and 3 to play so its already 6 mana. granted pro black is great since black has doom blade, but umbra also has 1 turn indestructible.
but yes, blue will sooooo love this
2 to equip, unless they "break the cycle" and make it 3 for some reason.
I think white and red will love this for the untapping. Student of warfare and Kargan Dragonlord, Koth's ultimate, and even the oft forgotten Comet Storm are just a few of the things that are begging to be used with SoFaF.
Love the card. Metalcraft enabler for limited. Crazy Johnny stuff for constructed. Best friends with prototype portal and some sac engine. Excellent Kuldotha Rebirth target. Tezzeret would love to make this guy a critter. Great stuff!
You know what card loves this sword? Blue Sun's Zenith. Tap everything with the untap ability on the stack, tap them again, and bingo! Cards up the wazoo.
I personally love this sword. I hope it's real. If any of you nonbelievers say it's jank, I'll gladly take any you get off your hands.
Uh, you could be right. Maybe something like "Protection form Phyrexian-alligned permanents" and +1/+1 for each Phyrexian permanent your opponent controls
Phyrexian alignment isn't a quality of a card. There's no way any card could look at the number of phyrexian cards. It's just a watermark to remind players.
I kinda disagree with you on not having Koth on your best cards in Scars list. Sure he's great if you are playing mono or heavy red. Mind Sculptor Jace is great if you are playing mono or heavy blue, and yet...
any other reason?
Haha, sorry. I left most Mythics off the list because a ton of them are being overblown right now. I was looking down the visual spoiler while I was making my list and glanced right over him. It's the same reason Venser isn't on the list.
The main difference in your comparison to Jace, is that Jace could go into a deck that splashes blue, but if you tried to slide Koth into a deck that splashes red, he'd outright fail. If your main way to get red in a deck is through duals he wouldn't do a damn thing. But if you slide Garruk, Jace, Ajani V., or the old elspeth into a deck that gets those colors through duals, they still work just fine.
With that aside, Koth is a very good 'walker for red and Venser will creep into ETB abusing decks. They're both really good planeswalkers, but won't be slid into every deck running those colors. As for Elspeth Tirel....I have no love for her. I won't even get started on her.
I love troll shroud and regenerate. So troll shroud and regenerate for all your creatures should be awesome, but bundle it in a 5 mana package and I'm less than wild about it. I do like the card, though. Another detractor is that people will sideboard and maybe main deck artifact/enchantment hate up the wazoo in the coming months.
I forgot about Geth in my mythic list. He's not bad, but he falls into the "6 mana" trap. If a deck running black wants to get up to 6 mana, I feel they'd prefer using the multi-body Grave Titan, or even Wurmcoil Engine, rather than Geth. That's just my opinion, though, and I'm sure someone might want to play with him.
Did you forget all the mythics?? Also, please spell Volition Reins correctly.
Fixed.
The mythics that everyone is already drooling at the mouth for? Since you asked for it:
Elspeth Tirel - I personally don't like her. She's basically a $50 token generator. Indomitable Archangel - Shroud for all your artifacts? That's great, but what's protecting her? Quicksilver Gargantuan - A far too expensive clone? What are you cloning that needs to be a 7/7? Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon - I don't care for infect. Infect made poison just another life total, with far less interactions. There will be a ton of infect decks showing up, but it's not for me. Koth of the Hammer - Great red planeswalker....if you're mono or heavy red. Liege of the Tangle - An 8/8 trampler for 8 with an ability that screams "win more". Venser, the Sojourner - A great planeswalker, but one that needs support. Lux Cannon - Way too slow. A repeatable vindicate is awesome, but it just sort of falls flat on lux cannon. Mindslaver - We all know what it can do. Molten-tail Masticore - People love these cards, but I hate them. I'd rather play the cards in my hand than discard them every turn. Mox Opal - Are you kidding me? You'd need a god hand to have 2 mana on turn 1 and other than that, who cares? I can guarantee this card will be lackluster in practice. Don't buy into the "nostalgia craze" people seem to be having with this. Platinum Emperion - Giant "who cares". Where the hell is trample on this guy? Sword of Body and Mind - Decent equipment. The mill is confusingly bad, but it's still solid. Wurmcoil Engine - I already mentioned it.
Let me start off saying I'm an amateur deck builder for standard. I'm not one of the "pros" that people are claiming will "break so many cards and they'll skyrocket in price". I'm just a casual gamer who derives a lot of enjoyment from building my own decks and winning with something of my own creation. I'm 50/50 Johnny and Timmy, and 0% spike. With that said, here's a list of all the best cards in the set and cards to look forward to in the upcoming standard.
White- Glimmerpoint Stag - Blinking was, is, and will always be relevant. A planeswalker close to an ultimate? Nope. A huge chimeric mass giving you problems? Nope. Semblance anvil or prototype portal has you on the ropes? Nope. And that's not including ETB effects of your own stuff. Kemba, Kha Regent - Better than the Kor lord. WW likes her more than they realize. BFF to stoneforge mystic. Leonin Arbiter - Control might like him, but WW doesn't. Sideboard material most likely. Sunblast Angel - One of the best cards in the set. For all intents and purposes, it's a one sided wrath attached to a decent evasive body. Even at 6 mana, she'll see play. Tempered Steel - That's a no-brainer in heavy artifact creature decks.
Blue - Argent Sphinx - Great card that begs for better, cheaper, non-creature artifacts. Unfortunately, SoM hasn't catered enough to this card for it to truly shine. Look for it to crop up later, though. He'll win you games, I promise. Grand Architect - Duh. I think everyone sees this card's potential. Riddlesmith - Free looter when you cast an artifact. Blue will love this guy. Stoic Rebuttal - Same problem Argent sphinx is in right now. Cheap, decent artifacts are too few and far between right now. Will get better with more sets in the block. Trinket Mage - Always been a fan of this guy. It's a shame the spell bombs suck so hard. Volition Reins - Control any permanent? Yes, please. 6 mana may be too tough to swallow, but maybe not.
Black - Grasp of Darkness - Finally a black removal worth main decking. I hate having Doom blade sit in my hand every time I play against someone running black. Good removal, and one I'm sure to use over the next year. Instill Infection - I'm joking. Scar + cantrip =/= 4 mana. Epic fail of a card. I don't care how much proliferate is in the set. Memoricide - Cranial Extraction is back. It was one of the first cards spoiled, so people are overlooking it, but this card alone will screw with deck's wincons and win you the game in turn. Have 2 MDed and 2 SBed, sit back, and relax. Necrogen Scudder - A 3/3 flier for 3 and a drawback, this is a classic example of what black creatures should look like. It's a splashable 3 mana too, so look for this guy to go into decks easier than Nighthawk. Necrotic Ooze - Build around me. Enough said. Painsmith - If people didn't look at black in scars and say "Infect", they'd realize this is a decent creature. Sadly, this guy will probably be overlooked for quite a while. Psychic Miasma - This won't be fighting duress for any slots in a deck, but this can ruin someone's game plan pretty easily. Either discard a non-land card, or it's coming back to strip your hand. Skinrender - Fantastic card. Not quite Shriekmaw, but I'll take it.
Red- Arc Trail - A slightly bigger Forked bolt. Sorcery speed may be too big a hindrance, but maybe not. Assault Strobe - Double strike for a red mana? Sure, why not? Cerebral Eruption - Since it deals damage to both the player and their creatures, it could be a winner. Better than Chain Reaction, which I tried to use as a sweeper in a Pyromancer deck, so it might be worth checking out. Galvanic Blast - It'll need support that it doesn't quite have yet, but it will be used. 4 damage for a red is pretty nuts. Molten Psyche - Runeflare trap decks will love this. I smell a winner along with Reverberate and temple bell. Just have to figure out what artifacts should go with it to give it metalcraft. Spikeshot Elder - With RDW losing Hellspark and Hell's Thunder, it may turn to goblins. He'll be decent with any amount of pumping.
Green - Bellowing Tanglewurm - I wouldn't overlook giving all your green creatures intimidate. With all the multicolored cards leaving, intimidate is looking a lot better. Ezuri, Renegade Leader - Obviously he's for an elf deck, but those are some nice abilities.
Artifacts - Argentum Armor - Has to be built around, but turns a creature into a pseudo-titan. Great stoneforge mystic target. Chimeric Mass - A wrath-proof hydra that activates for 1. A solid artifact creature that only gets better with proliferate. Contagion Clasp/Contagion Engine - Not as "build around me" as people think. Proliferate engines are nice. Culling Dais - One of the best cards in the set. Hands down. If you run creatures, you'll want to run this. Let's face it, creatures die. This gives you gas late game. Carnage altar wishes it were this good. Darksteel Juggernaut - A house. An absolute house. Golem Foundry - Why is no one mentioning this card? This card is solid and will only get better if more proliferate cards come out in the following sets. Infiltration Lens - Works best on creatures your opponent needs to block. Goblin Guide running into a wall of omens is no longer an issue with this card. Livewire Lash - With pump effects and infect creatures, this could be a game winner. Note that it goes off when anyone targets that creature. Mimic Vat - Everyone can see this thing's potential. Moriok Replica - Night's Whisper on a bear? I'll take 4! Perilous Myr - Trades with a X/3. Sounds good to me. Precursor Golem - His drawback can be an advantage. Yup. Prototype Portal - There's a ton of potential here. You name it, it's got it. Ratchet Bomb - Another one that everybody loves. Steel Hellkite - A one sided pernicious deed if he hits. Problem is, he's 6 mana, and has to survive a turn. Probably not good enough to cut it. Sylvok Replica - It's a 1/3 with naturalize. Multipurpose cards will always see play. Wurmcoil Engine - An outstanding artifact creature that personifies "power creep".
And that's the set's winners. Disagree with me all you want, but there's a metric ass-ton of potential in this set, that will only get better with more sets. Zendikar block was really the odd man out, whose other sets in the block didn't do much to build on the mechanics of the first. This block is back to big-small-small and has nothing but room to grow.
Overall, I'm disappointed with the spellbombs, the trigons, lack of good removal, no planewalker removal, virtually no card draw and how black and green are getting pigeon-holed into infect. I would like to say that my most hated card of the set is Trigon of Thought. Really? 7 mana before you draw your first card? Ugh...
2. Necrotic Ooze
Solid card in a lot of decks. Pushes Infect over the edge. Flying, Infect 4/3 for 2BB is pretty amazing, and that's just with a Plague Stinger. Putrefax in the bin and you have a pretty amazing card.
That's not how necrotic ooze works. He gets activated abilities of creatures in graveyards. Currently, the only way to give necrotic ooze infect is with vector asp in your graveyard. (Besides the equipment and black instant that give it)
1. Mimic Vat- This card snuck in last night, but wow, it is good. First, it's not just your creatures it can imprint. Any creature that gets killed can be exiled (read: your opponent's Vengevine), then for 3 you can send it right back, not to mention ETB effects (the titans). To make it even better, if a new and better creature dies, you can choose to exile that too.
2. Culling Dais - Tap and sac a creature in response to removal? Yes please!
3. Moriok Replica - I've always been a huge fan of black card draw.
This is what I'm talking about. Please, show me your crystal ball that has revealed the other 110 cards in the set and the other 500 cards in the block, and the other 1100 cards in the next core set and block that will be relevant to the usefulness of these cards.
Secondly, no one has argued that these are 'magic' color fixers, so straw meet man. Despite this, it's pretty easy to see exactly what sort of scenarios favor these cards (read the mothership article). At worst they are comparable to the Zendikar uncommon land cycle. At best they enable mana fixing for aggro's first two turns, which is huge.
You don't need a crystal ball to see the mana base for the next 5 months. These, and glimmerpost, are the only lands in Scars. Add these to M11 and Zendikar block and you can pretty easily see what kind of mana base we're looking at until Besieged. Without the support of a solid mana base, decks won't go anywhere.
Haha, better hope it doesn't hit a land pocket then.
From how I'm reading Knowledge Pool, once it's out, if you cast a spell and successfully exile it, you can't cast that same spell? It says "...another exiled card...", so you'd have to cast yet another spell to cast the first one you cast?
Seems like a fun EDH card.
2 to equip, unless they "break the cycle" and make it 3 for some reason.
I think white and red will love this for the untapping. Student of warfare and Kargan Dragonlord, Koth's ultimate, and even the oft forgotten Comet Storm are just a few of the things that are begging to be used with SoFaF.
I personally love this sword. I hope it's real. If any of you nonbelievers say it's jank, I'll gladly take any you get off your hands.
Bonehoard is a colorless Mortivore but equipment too. Seems fun for limited and EDH, but "meh" everywhere else.
Phyrexian alignment isn't a quality of a card. There's no way any card could look at the number of phyrexian cards. It's just a watermark to remind players.
Haha, sorry. I left most Mythics off the list because a ton of them are being overblown right now. I was looking down the visual spoiler while I was making my list and glanced right over him. It's the same reason Venser isn't on the list.
The main difference in your comparison to Jace, is that Jace could go into a deck that splashes blue, but if you tried to slide Koth into a deck that splashes red, he'd outright fail. If your main way to get red in a deck is through duals he wouldn't do a damn thing. But if you slide Garruk, Jace, Ajani V., or the old elspeth into a deck that gets those colors through duals, they still work just fine.
With that aside, Koth is a very good 'walker for red and Venser will creep into ETB abusing decks. They're both really good planeswalkers, but won't be slid into every deck running those colors. As for Elspeth Tirel....I have no love for her. I won't even get started on her.
I love troll shroud and regenerate. So troll shroud and regenerate for all your creatures should be awesome, but bundle it in a 5 mana package and I'm less than wild about it. I do like the card, though. Another detractor is that people will sideboard and maybe main deck artifact/enchantment hate up the wazoo in the coming months.
I forgot about Geth in my mythic list. He's not bad, but he falls into the "6 mana" trap. If a deck running black wants to get up to 6 mana, I feel they'd prefer using the multi-body Grave Titan, or even Wurmcoil Engine, rather than Geth. That's just my opinion, though, and I'm sure someone might want to play with him.
Fixed.
The mythics that everyone is already drooling at the mouth for? Since you asked for it:
Elspeth Tirel - I personally don't like her. She's basically a $50 token generator.
Indomitable Archangel - Shroud for all your artifacts? That's great, but what's protecting her?
Quicksilver Gargantuan - A far too expensive clone? What are you cloning that needs to be a 7/7?
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon - I don't care for infect. Infect made poison just another life total, with far less interactions. There will be a ton of infect decks showing up, but it's not for me.
Koth of the Hammer - Great red planeswalker....if you're mono or heavy red.
Liege of the Tangle - An 8/8 trampler for 8 with an ability that screams "win more".
Venser, the Sojourner - A great planeswalker, but one that needs support.
Lux Cannon - Way too slow. A repeatable vindicate is awesome, but it just sort of falls flat on lux cannon.
Mindslaver - We all know what it can do.
Molten-tail Masticore - People love these cards, but I hate them. I'd rather play the cards in my hand than discard them every turn.
Mox Opal - Are you kidding me? You'd need a god hand to have 2 mana on turn 1 and other than that, who cares? I can guarantee this card will be lackluster in practice. Don't buy into the "nostalgia craze" people seem to be having with this.
Platinum Emperion - Giant "who cares". Where the hell is trample on this guy?
Sword of Body and Mind - Decent equipment. The mill is confusingly bad, but it's still solid.
Wurmcoil Engine - I already mentioned it.
White-
Glimmerpoint Stag - Blinking was, is, and will always be relevant. A planeswalker close to an ultimate? Nope. A huge chimeric mass giving you problems? Nope. Semblance anvil or prototype portal has you on the ropes? Nope. And that's not including ETB effects of your own stuff.
Kemba, Kha Regent - Better than the Kor lord. WW likes her more than they realize. BFF to stoneforge mystic.
Leonin Arbiter - Control might like him, but WW doesn't. Sideboard material most likely.
Sunblast Angel - One of the best cards in the set. For all intents and purposes, it's a one sided wrath attached to a decent evasive body. Even at 6 mana, she'll see play.
Tempered Steel - That's a no-brainer in heavy artifact creature decks.
Blue -
Argent Sphinx - Great card that begs for better, cheaper, non-creature artifacts. Unfortunately, SoM hasn't catered enough to this card for it to truly shine. Look for it to crop up later, though. He'll win you games, I promise.
Grand Architect - Duh. I think everyone sees this card's potential.
Riddlesmith - Free looter when you cast an artifact. Blue will love this guy.
Stoic Rebuttal - Same problem Argent sphinx is in right now. Cheap, decent artifacts are too few and far between right now. Will get better with more sets in the block.
Trinket Mage - Always been a fan of this guy. It's a shame the spell bombs suck so hard.
Volition Reins - Control any permanent? Yes, please. 6 mana may be too tough to swallow, but maybe not.
Black -
Grasp of Darkness - Finally a black removal worth main decking. I hate having Doom blade sit in my hand every time I play against someone running black. Good removal, and one I'm sure to use over the next year.
Instill Infection - I'm joking. Scar + cantrip =/= 4 mana. Epic fail of a card. I don't care how much proliferate is in the set.
Memoricide - Cranial Extraction is back. It was one of the first cards spoiled, so people are overlooking it, but this card alone will screw with deck's wincons and win you the game in turn. Have 2 MDed and 2 SBed, sit back, and relax.
Necrogen Scudder - A 3/3 flier for 3 and a drawback, this is a classic example of what black creatures should look like. It's a splashable 3 mana too, so look for this guy to go into decks easier than Nighthawk.
Necrotic Ooze - Build around me. Enough said.
Painsmith - If people didn't look at black in scars and say "Infect", they'd realize this is a decent creature. Sadly, this guy will probably be overlooked for quite a while.
Psychic Miasma - This won't be fighting duress for any slots in a deck, but this can ruin someone's game plan pretty easily. Either discard a non-land card, or it's coming back to strip your hand.
Skinrender - Fantastic card. Not quite Shriekmaw, but I'll take it.
Red-
Arc Trail - A slightly bigger Forked bolt. Sorcery speed may be too big a hindrance, but maybe not.
Assault Strobe - Double strike for a red mana? Sure, why not?
Cerebral Eruption - Since it deals damage to both the player and their creatures, it could be a winner. Better than Chain Reaction, which I tried to use as a sweeper in a Pyromancer deck, so it might be worth checking out.
Galvanic Blast - It'll need support that it doesn't quite have yet, but it will be used. 4 damage for a red is pretty nuts.
Molten Psyche - Runeflare trap decks will love this. I smell a winner along with Reverberate and temple bell. Just have to figure out what artifacts should go with it to give it metalcraft.
Spikeshot Elder - With RDW losing Hellspark and Hell's Thunder, it may turn to goblins. He'll be decent with any amount of pumping.
Green -
Bellowing Tanglewurm - I wouldn't overlook giving all your green creatures intimidate. With all the multicolored cards leaving, intimidate is looking a lot better.
Ezuri, Renegade Leader - Obviously he's for an elf deck, but those are some nice abilities.
Artifacts -
Argentum Armor - Has to be built around, but turns a creature into a pseudo-titan. Great stoneforge mystic target.
Chimeric Mass - A wrath-proof hydra that activates for 1. A solid artifact creature that only gets better with proliferate.
Contagion Clasp/Contagion Engine - Not as "build around me" as people think. Proliferate engines are nice.
Culling Dais - One of the best cards in the set. Hands down. If you run creatures, you'll want to run this. Let's face it, creatures die. This gives you gas late game. Carnage altar wishes it were this good.
Darksteel Juggernaut - A house. An absolute house.
Golem Foundry - Why is no one mentioning this card? This card is solid and will only get better if more proliferate cards come out in the following sets.
Infiltration Lens - Works best on creatures your opponent needs to block. Goblin Guide running into a wall of omens is no longer an issue with this card.
Livewire Lash - With pump effects and infect creatures, this could be a game winner. Note that it goes off when anyone targets that creature.
Mimic Vat - Everyone can see this thing's potential.
Moriok Replica - Night's Whisper on a bear? I'll take 4!
Perilous Myr - Trades with a X/3. Sounds good to me.
Precursor Golem - His drawback can be an advantage. Yup.
Prototype Portal - There's a ton of potential here. You name it, it's got it.
Ratchet Bomb - Another one that everybody loves.
Steel Hellkite - A one sided pernicious deed if he hits. Problem is, he's 6 mana, and has to survive a turn. Probably not good enough to cut it.
Sylvok Replica - It's a 1/3 with naturalize. Multipurpose cards will always see play.
Wurmcoil Engine - An outstanding artifact creature that personifies "power creep".
And that's the set's winners. Disagree with me all you want, but there's a metric ass-ton of potential in this set, that will only get better with more sets. Zendikar block was really the odd man out, whose other sets in the block didn't do much to build on the mechanics of the first. This block is back to big-small-small and has nothing but room to grow.
Overall, I'm disappointed with the spellbombs, the trigons, lack of good removal, no planewalker removal, virtually no card draw and how black and green are getting pigeon-holed into infect. I would like to say that my most hated card of the set is Trigon of Thought. Really? 7 mana before you draw your first card? Ugh...
That's not how necrotic ooze works. He gets activated abilities of creatures in graveyards. Currently, the only way to give necrotic ooze infect is with vector asp in your graveyard. (Besides the equipment and black instant that give it)
2. Culling Dais - Tap and sac a creature in response to removal? Yes please!
3. Moriok Replica - I've always been a huge fan of black card draw.
You don't need a crystal ball to see the mana base for the next 5 months. These, and glimmerpost, are the only lands in Scars. Add these to M11 and Zendikar block and you can pretty easily see what kind of mana base we're looking at until Besieged. Without the support of a solid mana base, decks won't go anywhere.