MTGNexus

This card is %$#% weird.

Couldn't it just read "Each defending players choose any number of creatures they control. Those creatures each block a different creature attacking that player chosen at random." That way the whole "pile" verbiage goes away as I still am having trouble understanding it after reading it two times. The end result isn't exactly identical since double blocking favorably becomes nigh impossible, but in practice any "pile" of more than one creature only has a random chance of blocking what you want to anyway. Also distills the whole card into two sentences and covers the same idea: You don't know which of your creatures will block which attacking creature.

Looks like a fun card for a single mana, but the errata is somehow more confusing than playing the card as written, and much less fun. I'd probably play is as-written and ignore all the extra steps you have to do to make it fit into the rules as they are today.

Where is the card? I cannot see it.

I (don't) see what you did there.

Serenade wrote: ↑

1 year ago

Where is the card? I cannot see it.

I once had a long discourse about how this and other very old (like, fellow Alpha originals) cards have the issue that they do something that's pretty intuitive (hide your attackers! Nobody knows what's going to block what!) but for various reasons that was really difficult to word when there became such a thing as Oracle.

Maybe it's worth it to pick up the Unlimited printing for a few bucks and use it in a game with other people who know what the card does lol.

Especially when "face down" actually has meaning now compared to back then. Probably half a dozen different abilities or attributes that interact with back-side, flip-side, or face down that could cause issues as written. But everyone knows the spirit of what the card wants. But jeeze, having this type of card and banding being in early Magic had to have been confusion. Though we have our own modern day rules nightmares with all the odd abilites being printed every year.

They should reprint it in an unset.

I have very fond memories of Camouflage in the first build of Xenagos, God of Revels and shell gaming my commander, a couple of mana dorks, and a very lethal Malignus face down for someone to block. I only set it up once or twice before cutting camouflage, and I don't think that it ever outright killed the opponent but it was very funny.

Use with Raging River for maximum mental damage.

I'm not certain whether this card works better as an indictment of the early days of card development (before the color wheel was refined -- this would probably be blue now -- and before rules text was figured out), or an indictment of early Oracle-ization, when they tried to make certain that a card worked precisely the way it was written, whether or not it made sense to just streamline it. There are a couple of cards -- Word of Command and some versions of Oubliette, among others -- where they *did* decide to go with "close enough is good enough," and I wish they had done the same here.

The hardest part of the card is: Random blocks aren't necessarily going to be advantageous to you. It's less expensive than giving all of your creatures evasion or unblockability, I suppose, but if you're into combat trickery, what you'd want is something more like provoke or reassigning blockers.

Lifeless wrote: ↑

1 year ago

Use with Raging River for maximum mental damage.

If only the river wasn't $200. It's so not worth that.

OneAndOnly wrote: ↑

1 year ago

The hardest part of the card is: Random blocks aren't necessarily going to be advantageous to you. It's less expensive than giving all of your creatures evasion or unblockability, I suppose, but if you're into combat trickery, what you'd want is something more like provoke or reassigning blockers.

What I'm hearing is, utilize Sorrow's Path with backup in General Jarkeld, right?

Don't forget Winter's Chill! RUG Word Salad.

kirkusjones wrote: ↑

1 year ago

Don't forget Winter's Chill! RUG Word Salad.

I would play this card. U wrath, doesn't need to be attacking me, either wraths or time walks them.

I mean, it's a mess as a card. Even the Oracle text confuses me, though that may just be sun stroke from my A/C not working.

@Dunharrow Counterspell exists. So do X spells. In fact, those are the signature abilities of the two big "spell" colors. And they both stink with this.

I think I need a play by play explanation of this card

void_nothing wrote: ↑

1 year ago

use it in a game with other people who know what the card does lol.

In order to join my pod, you need to know how this card works

Instructions unclear. I drew two more cards from my deck and added them to my hand.

Only saw this once, when a Zilortha rules problem tribal deck had a Raging River in play then cast this. I don't think he considered us his opponents, he was playing against the rules

This card doesn't look that good, but it's actually incredibly busted. One of the best cards in the format. You can't really tell until you play it for yourself, though.

What? I know none of y'all can prove me wrong.

Igzex wrote: ↑

1 year ago

Instructions unclear. I drew two more cards from my deck and added them to my hand.

Two Explores.

kirkusjones wrote: ↑

1 year ago

Igzex wrote: ↑

1 year ago

Instructions unclear. I drew two more cards from my deck and added them to my hand.

Two Explores.

%$#% Alex Bertoncini, man.

Friday, August 5th, 2022; Arena Rector|j20



My, that's some awfully familiar wording....................

I enjoy the flavor of passing on and leaving behind something great. Reminds me of Sakura-Tribe Elder. The permanence of exile is nice as well. I dislike this version's flavor text.

I thankfully haven't seen much of this. It is just auto-Ugin in every deck? EDH rec says 59% of decks, which is high, but I guess it's not higher because a lot of people throw this in superfriends and Ugin is a bit of a nonbo? I would still play it.