This entire cycle of lands is broken. I'm glad I wasn't playing when Urza's Saga was in standard.
shoalsuser2004
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(5 votes)
Two words - Elf Decks
ThadeGelna
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Name one game you've played that, when you abused the Cradle, you didn't love?
(run more than 3 in a deck - ever?)
TheLegendary
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(7 votes)
MetalCrisis - say what you will; you missed out on one of the best blocks ever printed.
Laguz
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(8 votes)
The thing about Urza block was that there were so many powerful cards like this that they all didn't really seem that insanely powerful, and only a few of them were truly broken.
The cradle is not nearly as powerful as Tolarian Academy - that unimaginably broken land was banned one tournament after it was released - but it is still legalized speed and perfect for green.
PaladinOfSunhome
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(4 votes)
This card is just awesome. One Green for every creature you control? Very powerfull in any Elf/Saporling deck.
4.5
LeoKula
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(6 votes)
Wicked! Tolarian Academy shouldn't even be considered for comparisons, it's broken and should have never be printed.
Mode
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(3 votes)
A great card by itself which can produce ridiculously high amounts of mana, especially with M10 rulings which erased mana burn. The only drawback is that it won't do anything unless you have a creature in play, but this won't be a problem in creature-based decks most of the time. It's also fun when used along with Land Creatures (currently the only existant one being Dryad Arbor)
spacechaser0001
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
i wish i was playing when urza saga was type 2 legal ='
Lateralis0ne
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(5 votes)
I graduated from the Academy, but I'd like to play in the Mother's Forest for awhile...maybe bring some of my saproling friends along for some fun.
nammertime
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Actually, the reason why cards in the Urza block didn't seem so broken at the time wasn't only because all of them were so good, but I think it was because the number and variety of good cards available to players was incredibly limited back then. You've gotta remember that right before that, there was the Tempest Block (which was good), and then the rest of the earlier sets. Power creep hadn't really happened much, if at all, yet. Remember, Commander Greven Il-Vec was still one of the best creatures at the time.
Motion2Dismiss
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(5 votes)
I run 3 maindeck and 1 in my sideboard (to wish for) plus an Academy. With lots of 0-drop critters (Walkers, Ornithopters, and kobolds), a Mirror Gallery, and some Ley Druids, I can easily generate 50-80 mana in a few turns. The Academy beats the Cradle on power, but not by that much.
izzet_guild_mage
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(5 votes)
I run this in a mono-black rat deck, it's that good...Marrow-Gnawer ensures that your colorless mana costs (on say, Nighteyes the Desecrator) are no object.
BladeManFX
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
My favorite land. Period. 5/5!
reapersaurus
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Wizards should be ashamed for printing cards such as these.
In a creature-based deck your opponent will be crying...
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...
kronos539
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(7 votes)
ELF DECKS!!!! CROP ROTATION!!! OMFG this shit is whack. cause green just didn't have enough mana acceleration??!? sweet mary mother of god, a Priest of Titania that only land destruction can kill. Squirrels. Saprolings. Wolves. Elves. I want to buy a condo in the Cradle of Gaea. Sure, Tolarian Academy is better, but can you use blue mana to play green spells that cost 5+? NO!! And there's no shortage of green cards that let you untap lands, IS THERE? omfg. Elf decks are only the penultimate creature decks if they have THIS CARD. final word, this land makes me want to cuss like a sailor. SHIT!
surewhynot
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This can break a token deck like nothing has been broken before. Wonderful card.
themlsna
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(5 votes)
Oh yeah, and there was still mana burn at the time.
Weary_PSI
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(13 votes)
It says a lot about Urza's Saga that the Cradle here was actually overshadowed by more powerful lands in its day.
You should remember that in those days Green was objectively the worst color in Magic and had been for the entire history. A card like this basically seemed like a gesture of pity.
DlCK
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Anyone who really needs this land either plays with very competitive friends, or doesn't know how to make a deck without broken cards.
AmericanVigor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
YES.
reanimatesucks
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
unbelievable really. I mean how is academy broken and this isn't?
Gabriel422
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Tolarian Academy and Gaea's Cradle: doubly-broken and broken, respectively. Even Cabal Coffers dominated half of a Standard, and that card needed like seven land drops before it could power out vast amounts of mana relentlessly. Cradle did it in like three turns, and Academy did it in like... was it one or two?
ninjaman98
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(4 votes)
The Brothers Serra's Sanctum - Enchantments - White Tolarian Academy - Artifacts - Blue Gaea's Cradle - Creatures - Green
Goblin Happy House - Life total - Red Death Tomb of Ultimate Kill - Card in Graveyard - Black
Joseph_Leito
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Yeah, the big thing to remember that laid a bit (not much, but a bit) of a damper on this and Tolarian was the fact that mana burn still existed. In a token deck, if you tap this, you had better have something to sink a lot of mana into every single turn, or you're going to kill yourself.
Of course, now that mana burn is gone its even more overpowered.
drpvfx
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(2 votes)
This is an awesome card, but not quite as good as Tolarian Academy, IMO.
They *really* need to restrict this one, too. It's only slightly less insane than the Academy.
XTwistedsoulX
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Kicking myself for ever having traded these...
Kragash
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
@Motion2Dismiss - You must be playing with lax rules because you can only have one Gaea's Cradle in play at a time. If you're generating 50-80 many in a few turns with 1 Cradle and 1 Academy in play, you're doing something I've never seen before. Do you have a super secret way of getting 25-40 zero drops artifact creatures and creatures out in "a few turns".
MTGmechanized
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
playable
LunarAvenger
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This used to be restricted in Type 1 along with Tolarian Academy. It was later realized that this wasn't as broken as the academy and unrestricted.
phyrexiantrygon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@Gabriel422 Well, i believe the Academy did it in 0 turns... And thats WITHOUT a God Hand... XP
This is rated higher than Tolarian Academy and is worth roughly twice as much.
HuntingDrake
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/twtw/twtw199_cradle.jpg I'd never looked closely at the art before. Cute!
Enelysios
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
No need to restrict this one, it is very good, but if you have seen Tolarian Academy in action, you know this isn't in the same league. This can be crazy on turns three to five, but Tolarian does it turn one, reliably, and can do it in blue.
A third turn big mean creature like Primeval Titan is impressive, but can be dealt with. A first turn Brain Freeze for your entire deck is a bit harder.
MassiveMassive
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Perfect for any green based creature strategy as just a single tap most often generates three to four mana. The Cradle was even used outside of green decks during Mercadian Masques / Nemesis era, to fulfil the generic mana required for activating Lin Sivvi's searching capabilities. 5/5
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Oh, mana burn. How many things became broken upon your demise.
Anzu-chan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Like this card, along with my Priest of Titania, to pump a Primordial Hydra or a Killer Bee like hell XD.
BongRipper420
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
I'm not saying the Cradle is better than Tolarian Academy, but only specific, probably already broken decks can make Tolarian Academy over the top broken. This card practically breaks itself in half.
Totema
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Though not necessarily better than the Academy, this is a lot easier to use in most cases. Just throw it in your green creatures deck and have a grand old time.
Lifegainwithbite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You have to wonder what they were thinking when they made a card this broken.
sonorhC
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Although, there was that one time I was stuck with a Gaea's Cradle, a forest, a bunch of mana-producing elves that cost 2, and no one-drop creatures or other lands. If I had just gotten a single creature out, or another land, I could have ramped up to about 15 mana, but it didn't happen until turn 5.
Which still doesn't stop this from being a 5 star card, of course, because really, how often does that happen?
Notanoob
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wow, somebody really hates this card. So many .5/5 ratings.
DarthParallax
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
There's a big fat huge dumb reason why there is no equivalent Red Land in this cycle and why the Green one is consistently ranked lower than Tolarian Academy, THOUGH it sounds true to say that the Academy is more niche.
Sounding True and Being True are two different things. There's a keyword you all forgot about that immediately shatters all the illusions.
HASTE. ARTIFACTS HAVE IT, AND FOR THE MOST PART CREATURES DON'T. THE ARTIFACT-CREATURES THAT NEED BUT DON'T HAVE HASTE, ARE HUGE BIG DUMB ROBOTS WITH GIANT ASSES.
it is not that Green Creatures can't generate a huge board and everything with Gaea's Cradle. Compared to normal decks, obviously this card is broken. But those Green Creatures aren't going to be ATTACKING this turn, most likely. If you played an Ambush Commander and then followed up with this in the same turn, you still aren't going to do much of anything because a majority of trample-granters are NOT haste-granters. For a reason.
Since artifacts that don't come into play tapped are actually IMMEDIATELY useful and creatures that don't have haste ESSENTIALLY ENTER THE BATTLEFIELD TAPPED, that is the big huge difference between Gaea's Cradle and Tolarian Academy, that proves that this is actually the more niche card.
Of course, both are absurd and overpowered and this is like debating "Who beats who, Thor or Hulk?" :P Correct Answer: MOVE TO A NEW CITY. o.o
omni8000
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It really does say alot about urza that they could print something this strong and every deck didn't have 4 when it was standard legal.
TheMuffinMethod
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is the most OP card I have ever seen in my years of playing the game. My friend runs this in a deck, and despite only having 1, can still win easily on turn 3:
1. Forest, Concordant Crossroads
2. Forest, Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
3. Tap Rofellos and forests for Spontaneous Generation for 5 saprolings, play Forest, crop rotation into Gaea's Cradle, tap Gaea's Cradle for 5, Coat of Arms, swing for 25
It's gross. I played it without knowing much about it and didn't realize I'd won on my third turn until I swung. There's a reason this land costs way too much.
psychichobo
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Bear in mind, they were probably thinking about this: 'It's Legendary, so if you draw a few you're stuck. Useless turn 1. Too many creatures and you're mana burned.'
Still should've thought a bit harder about this really. Even with the aforementioned drawbacks, it's still obviously breakable.
sheebishere
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I remember when these were a dime a dozen
lukegilmour
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
regarding the new 2013 rulings about this card (now you can have one, tap it, and then play another one and tap it). Im having a discussion with a friend, was this never possible before? i remember a very brief period circa 1999 where you could tap 2 cradles in a single turn, thou it was rapidly changed. anyone remembers this?
Tempted_Johnny
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm really afraid Wizards is going to follow up the Legendary rules change with a list of bannings. If the secondary market spikes, and then bans occur, all they will have accomplished is turn former staples into worthless pieces of cardboard.
atemu1234
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Price of this makes my green decks sad... @thewrathofshane O.5/5 on your comment for being idiotic.
MJ_Berry
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is only better than Tolarian Academy because it's not banned,
Haywood
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I stopped playing magic 14 years ago. I still have the price list from that day. Gaea's Cradle sold for a whopping $7.18 on average. Impressive, certainly, but not as good as Sandals of Abdallah, which would set you back a cool $8.37 on average. Yeah.
That booster box I bought back in the day seems like an increasingly good investment now...
CogMonocle
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@DarthParallax
some overgeneralizations in there, but 5/5 for that last line.
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wouldnt it be great if we made a card where ALL your creatures have llanowar elves ability? Yeah but lets put it on a land and instead of the creatures tapping, the land taps for like 10 mana dude
~Stoned developer during the urza block.
Hunter06
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I picked one of these up for my Karador EDH deck thinking it would be a nice mana accelerator, then I tapped it for 12 mana O.o
Broken beyond belief, 5/5 Stars
gut.gemacht
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Only ever bought one pack of Urza's Saga. Got this. Have no idea where it went :(
car2n
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
As of now, worth $135. Had one in my green saproling deck, and I never knew it's price.
SquirePath
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I bought one of these for my Derevi deck.
Tapped for 19.... with a Kruphix, God of Horizons on the field. I got through one attack phase, and use derevi's untap triggers to untap all my land, and then use the rest of them to add an exorbitant amount of green mana, it turns to colorless because of Kruphix, but, meh. all untapped colored mana, and 130+ colorless. Sounds like a win condition to me.
BlackTroller
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is the true holy grail land for green. It's all about GROWTH. Not combing out turn one, or drawing, or artifacts, or ruining the game. It's about totally unfettered growth. It's the promised land for all Llanowar elves, where the chirps of birds of paradise can be heard night and day. It's the land of giant growth where force of nature is a playable gentle giant.
If you don't adore this land, you're no green mage.
Continue
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Not quite as idiotically busted as Tolarian Academy, but still overpowered as hell. Ten Land Stompy loves this, even though it isn't a forest.
Comments (63)
(run more than 3 in a deck - ever?)
The cradle is not nearly as powerful as Tolarian Academy - that unimaginably broken land was banned one tournament after it was released - but it is still legalized speed and perfect for green.
4.5
The only drawback is that it won't do anything unless you have a creature in play, but this won't be a problem in creature-based decks most of the time.
It's also fun when used along with Land Creatures (currently the only existant one being Dryad Arbor)
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...
It says a lot about Urza's Saga that the Cradle here was actually overshadowed by more powerful lands in its day.
You should remember that in those days Green was objectively the worst color in Magic and had been for the entire history. A card like this basically seemed like a gesture of pity.
Serra's Sanctum - Enchantments - White
Tolarian Academy - Artifacts - Blue
Gaea's Cradle - Creatures - Green
Goblin Happy House - Life total - Red
Death Tomb of Ultimate Kill - Card in Graveyard - Black
Of course, now that mana burn is gone its even more overpowered.
They *really* need to restrict this one, too.
It's only slightly less insane than the Academy.
Well, i believe the Academy did it in 0 turns...
And thats WITHOUT a God Hand... XP
I'd never looked closely at the art before. Cute!
A third turn big mean creature like Primeval Titan is impressive, but can be dealt with. A first turn Brain Freeze for your entire deck is a bit harder.
5/5
Which still doesn't stop this from being a 5 star card, of course, because really, how often does that happen?
Sounding True and Being True are two different things. There's a keyword you all forgot about that immediately shatters all the illusions.
HASTE. ARTIFACTS HAVE IT, AND FOR THE MOST PART CREATURES DON'T. THE ARTIFACT-CREATURES THAT NEED BUT DON'T HAVE HASTE, ARE HUGE BIG DUMB ROBOTS WITH GIANT ASSES.
it is not that Green Creatures can't generate a huge board and everything with Gaea's Cradle. Compared to normal decks, obviously this card is broken. But those Green Creatures aren't going to be ATTACKING this turn, most likely. If you played an Ambush Commander and then followed up with this in the same turn, you still aren't going to do much of anything because a majority of trample-granters are NOT haste-granters. For a reason.
Since artifacts that don't come into play tapped are actually IMMEDIATELY useful and creatures that don't have haste ESSENTIALLY ENTER THE BATTLEFIELD TAPPED, that is the big huge difference between Gaea's Cradle and Tolarian Academy, that proves that this is actually the more niche card.
Of course, both are absurd and overpowered and this is like debating "Who beats who, Thor or Hulk?" :P
Correct Answer: MOVE TO A NEW CITY. o.o
1. Forest, Concordant Crossroads
2. Forest, Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
3. Tap Rofellos and forests for Spontaneous Generation for 5 saprolings, play Forest, crop rotation into Gaea's Cradle, tap Gaea's Cradle for 5, Coat of Arms, swing for 25
It's gross. I played it without knowing much about it and didn't realize I'd won on my third turn until I swung. There's a reason this land costs way too much.
Still should've thought a bit harder about this really. Even with the aforementioned drawbacks, it's still obviously breakable.
@thewrathofshane O.5/5 on your comment for being idiotic.
That booster box I bought back in the day seems like an increasingly good investment now...
some overgeneralizations in there, but 5/5 for that last line.
~Stoned developer during the urza block.
Broken beyond belief, 5/5 Stars
Tapped for 19.... with a Kruphix, God of Horizons on the field. I got through one attack phase, and use derevi's untap triggers to untap all my land, and then use the rest of them to add an exorbitant amount of green mana, it turns to colorless because of Kruphix, but, meh. all untapped colored mana, and 130+ colorless. Sounds like a win condition to me.
If you don't adore this land, you're no green mage.