I liked the original flavor text. I still love this cad though! Freaking epic!
SavageBrain89
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
This card is good in every way imaginable; gives you extra cards every turn, combos with other cards like Sages of the Anima and Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, and can bounce itself before it gets killed. Arcanis is also good in a variety of formats, from standard to EDH.
SlackWareWolf
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(7 votes)
Don't forget that new deck with Coatl! It's a great way to pump that too.
MasterOfEtherium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.9/5.0)(12 votes)
Draw Power Gallore Plus Beautiful Art 5/5 No Doubt
thelittleupsman
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(4 votes)
at least they gave him decent p/t all the other wizards are like 1/1 or 1/2... i like the idea of using him with Minamo, School at Water's Edge
inmypants22
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(8 votes)
Draw Power Gallore Plus Beautiful Art 5/5 No Doubt
Plantboy81
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(5 votes)
A walking, reusable Ancestral Recall that can bounce him/herself when in trouble! Definitely a 5 out of 5! Card drawing is one of the most powerful effects in this game.
LeoKula
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
How cool is tapping to draw three? Ancestral Recall every turn is a 5 out of 5, for sure!
Oh, Arcanis. Arcanis, blue needs you. Please come back.
Pwnsaw
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Use with Merrow Reejerey they feed each other, and with enough bannerets and or reejereys out, you are droppin cards from your deck for almost free, sometimes gaining mana in the process. Your opponent will likely be so disheartened that they will scoop.
DoctorKenneth
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(41 votes)
I bet this guy hate philosophy majors.
"So if you're really omnipotent, how can any of us have free will? How can YOU have free will?"
"Well, that's up for deb-"
"And is your knowledge limited to one train of possibilites, or all of them? One universe? If so, it may, in fact, be finite, not infinite. Therefore, it might just be great potence, not omnipotence."
"You see, that-"
"And you didn't state if you were omnipresent. Without omnipresence, omnipotence is all the more suspect. Not impossible, but certainly more implausible."
"Look, I picked the name because it sounds cool, okay? Just take your cards and go."
Jokergius
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Niv-Mizzet, anyone??? Also to get it out a little bit faster, you may want to try High Tide...just a sugestion...
jumpenrun
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(5 votes)
So prettey! and so damn cool is arcanis. 5 out of 5
faisjdas
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(5 votes)
Back when counters were actually useful this guy was usually one of blue's few creatures . . .
gongshowninja
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(9 votes)
Very cool, art, 5/5 for that.
Not bad for a blue card, either. I've always hated blue. Taking delight in playing cards on your opponent's turn and not letting them resolve a single spell on theirs reeks of sociopathy, but I digress. Card draw is solid, for sure, and is indicative of blue's nigh-overwhelming strength of the time.
This point brings me to my next. A lot of blue players I know are quick to cry that white is now overpowered, and that blue has "died".
Yeah. Okay.
A lot of people forget that white was weak for a long time before the Shards block, when I believe the power creep began (Elspeth vs. Tezzeret). Look at the "boon" cycle- Ancestral Recall vs. Healing Salve. Which one is on the Power 9? Hint: not the white one.
All I'm saying is that blue isn't dead. It lost a lot of awesome cards, yes. Even I can appreciate Cryptic Command. Arcanis, above, rocks. But white getting Baneslayer (which is a pretty broken card for its cost, and in my opinion, should have been more balanced) and Elspeth does not mean that white is a good colour, nor does it mean that blue has died. Pass this on to those that play either colour, and maybe it'll put things into perspective.
Sorry for kinda ranting.
VoidedNote
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Archmage Ascension and this are a deadly combo. Archmage LITERALLY removes probability from drawing cards, the only draw back is you have to draw two or more cards a turn a few times. Arcanis thrives off this, enabling you to put ANY 3 cards you need into your hand once a turn. A MUST FOR CONTROL DECKS!
ALONSO666
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(8 votes)
Favorite Creature. Period.
LArgrew
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.9/5.0)(7 votes)
I have got a combo with Arcanis and another blue card that has... so far, been unstoppable. Wouldn't you like to know what it is.
Tiggurix
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(4 votes)
The Crab Umbra seems like another good card to use with Arcanis. Not that it's hard to find cards that are good to use with Arcanis. Almost any "untap target creature" effect will break this guy.
And to top it all of, Arcanis is perfectly useable by himself.
Kirbster
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(7 votes)
Mana intensive, but he can be an Ancestral Recall each turn. Plus, his name is cool, even if "Arcanis" is open to unfortunate nicknames.
mrbgddy
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Just another reason why all other colors are playing for 2nd compared to blue. An Ancestral Recall with legs and a bounce ability. Try him with cards like Murkfiend Liege and, yes, Archmage Ascension is pretty unfair, too.
Just think, Arcanis could beat up Jace and take his lunch money. Combat-wise. Otherwise, he's just an ordinary superman. Fun with Jace's Erasure, though.
Demonic_Math_Tutor
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(4 votes)
Love the card, love the art, love the ability but its just slightly expensive. His mana cost is well worth it for his ability.
bijart_dauth
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(4 votes)
I want him as an EDH general, that would be epic though, so its probably banned
I'm quite sure there's another combo for this. A better one too. Y u good card?!
EternalLurker
★☆☆☆☆ (1.4/5.0)(6 votes)
DoctorKenneth: You have confused omnipotence with omniscience. Try again, with a little less failure next time.
Superllama12
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(5 votes)
My friend has him, it is absolutely RIDONCULOUS!!! Incredibly powerful if you have an answer to removal...oh wait, this guy has a built in answer!!!!!! If it was printed today, it would be mythic rare, hands down
42/5
SiegeofTeddyBears
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
I love this guy! A recurring Ancestral Recall is awesome! It's ability to protect it's self from being killed or exiled or anything like that is great as well. It also has good stats as well! This is a great legend! It is also my EDH general and he is so awesome!
Kryptnyt
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Legendary Creatures in core sets was a great idea, but the idea of a core set being set on a plane kind of reeks. They have switched over from this idea to having a cycle of planeswalkers to fix that.
SeiberTross
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(4 votes)
Amongst many many things I want to abuse with Necrotic Ooze
bfugitive
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(17 votes)
5/5 just for the fact that Arcanis' flavor text indicates HE'S A *** CAGE FIGHTER.
You know…and for the fact that he's really well-designed.
Axelle
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(13 votes)
Premium Deck Series: Wizards. It must be done.
Shadoflaam
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(4 votes)
In our playgroup he's known as Charlie Sheen because he's a total bitchin rockstar from Mars (well think of a better race for him!), he's tri-winning, and his ability is so awesome your face will melt off. Love him 5/5 for winning and having tiger blood.
dberry02
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
What's the best thing about this card?
I personally like to use his second ability because everyone I play with seems to forget that it's there lol
candyapplecorn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
He's my favorite wizard
Huffytreefolkman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
favorite guy off the old school video game.
humor_love
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
EternalLurker:
What's to stop a person with omnipotence from having omniscience?
But yeah: fun card.
NatalyNeeSama
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
My favorite wizard of all time!
He is not cute as Jace (I presume, because we never see his face), but, by far, he is the coolest!
Gabriel422
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Comboes quite nicely with Thousand-Year Elixir. Actually, it's one of the best creatures to use with the Elixir.
God_Of_The_Smurfs
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Probably the "First planeswalker." A.K.A, he's overpowered as hell.
Arachibutyrophobia
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
this guy is SO much cooler than jace. they should've made this guy the planeswalker.
undoubtedly my favorite blue card.
badmalloc
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
We'll see Aracanis as a planeswalker some day.
Salient
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(4 votes)
Arcanis the Omnipotent + Mind Over Matter enables some amazing plays.
You can draw as many cards as you want, discard to tap down the opponent, tap your lands for mana repeatedly (again by discarding excess cards), and then play any spells you want. A single Simian Spirit Guide powers a lethal Banefire, a High Tide powers a lethal Braingeyser.
iamludo
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(5 votes)
Barrin ain't got sh*t on Arcanis.
netog121
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great casual card
OmegaSerris
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Yeah, and a hell of a cage fighter at that. In fact, back in the day (before M10 rules), he not only could survive Kamahl, Pit Fighter's bolt, but kick his ass in a fight. Just stack the damage and bounce him.
One more thing the M10 rules have ruined... -sigh-
LordRandomness
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(8 votes)
Why are we bothering with combos? Here's one for you: combos with being turned sideways.
jhjohns
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
He recalls your ancestors.
TheWrathofShane
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Hes not overpowered at all. He costs 6 cmc so unless your playing with ramp in a blue heavy deck, hes sitting in your hand for a while. His "defensive" ability costs 4. When he hits the board, your opponent either has a nuke and deals with it, or they don't. And if they don't, that obviously means they have no way of dealing with this monster. So his 2nd ability is really just top deck defense. Yeah you could throw a lightning grieve on him, but then if they have a nuke they could nuke him before its attached. Hes the blue equivalent to Force of Nature (speaking in terms of old). Either you had an answer or you lost the game.
DarthParallax
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(7 votes)
Arcanis the Omnipotent: "I have a high converted mana cost but I need cards now!"
"Call J.T. Mind Sculptor! 877-BAN NOW!"
Yep. I just made a J.G. Wentworth reference...on Gatherer...world is crazy, man, xD
pedrodyl
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@ DarthParallax: You're the man. @ card: Needs moar draw.
Ferlord
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Tap and draw 3 cards... huh.
Immunity from death (although a little costly)... double huh.
It is fair that he costs 3 blue, but... perhaps that fourth one would've been too "You are playing him in JUST mono-blue deck. Deal with it."
Although, Black Reanimation is all like, "B**ch, I'ma dig you up, playa!", and just forgets about CMCs.
syrazemyla
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(8 votes)
I enjoy the fact that his subtype is just "Wizard". Not even the game knows his race.
GrimjawxRULES
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I am shocked to see that no one else has mentioned Pemmin's Aura. ": Draw three cards." is nothing short of mind blowing. Also, in most cases you can just spend to give Arcanis shroud instead of bouncing him for 4 and losing the aura. The exception is, of course, board sweepers, but even if you have to bounce him, you'll have gained so much card advantage that losing a single card isn't going to affect your game a great deal.
The most powerful combo in all of Magic. Once it is out you can rearrange all the cards in your hand and library in any order you wish; untap any artifact, land, or creature you control an infinite number of times, and tap any artifact, land, or creature your opponents control an infinite number of times. Short of your opponent drawing Crash, its checkmate.
If you have an Island: you got infinite mana. If you got Prodigal Sorcerer, you can deal infinite damage among any number of targets you choose as many times as you choose. If you got a Patron Wizard, you can counter any number of spells unless the cast pays an infinite amount of mana as many times as you choose. Though with all their land constantly tapped, your opponent will have trouble even paying 1 mana. A Wall of Kelp can summon an infinite number of creatures, turning a Beast of Burden into an infinity/infinity creature. Of course at this point, you're just showing off.
Ketchi
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
In my honest opinion, this card is even more necessary in any blue deck than Rhystic study. 3 cards per turn, minimum, from a flip effect at the cost of 6 mana? How could you say no?
KnexWiz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i came here to say "strictly beter than jace", but i can see alot of people beat me here :)
Dabok
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I just wanted to point out that they "haven't" errata'd him into "human". Which makes him even more mysterious than he already is. Although it is possible that they simply "forgot" to errata him. - PS : I discovered this because I wanted to make a reanimator deck with Angel of Glory's Rise, so that she brings back all other humans from my graveyard. And since Arcanis was one of my best cards that, I thought was human...
j_mindfingerpainter
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@ DarthParallax: I feel so bad for the people who haven't seen that commercial. That was hilarious.
Also, he's got the same body and almost the same mana cost as Teferi. ... and they're both Wizards. Not that they should be used together or anything...
Bob111634
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Niv-mizzet and mind over matter... i think ive said enough.
Hermeezey
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Pro-tip: the more cards you draw, the higher chance you have of winning.
Factor in the fact that blue is all about counter and countrol, trading card-for-card against your opponent and those three extra cards suddenly become game changing. Not to mention that blue is naturally a slow, reactive, and defensive archetype so stalling until you have enough mana for Arcanis should have been pre-built into most Control decks anyway. More importantly, I usually would never tap-out and throw Arcanis out there without protection.
The only real downside to Arcanis is it cost 4-mana to bounce him back to safety. Not to mention since combat damage doesn't stack like it did in onslaught, the effect loses some of its versatility. Even after you save Arcanis, you have to sink another 6-mana to drop him again and wait another turn before you can start tapping for cards, which drastically slows down the tempo if you are trying to come from behind or racing a tight clock. If his ability cost UU instead of 2UU, it would have been much more playable. Or if it was 2UU for a phase out effect. But I guess in the end, you just have to play smart with him. If you can't, then maybe you shouldn't be playing Blue-control anyways.
@Dabok: Wizards didn't forget to errata Arcanis to human and actually left only the wizard type on purpose. This is due to the flavor text on the card.
That said, i found this odd as Onslaught block is suppose to be the creature-type block like Lorwyn.
Ancestral Recall-man, Ancestral Recall-man, does whatever Ancestral Recall can.
mono_blue_forever
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My FAVORITE person in magic! Naturally, he is a top dog in my mono blue permission/control deck!
Blasphemale
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
How about putting it into your grave with a Necrotic Ooze out, putting a Horseshoe Crab in your grave then cast a Psychosis Crawler and draw 21 cards for 6 mana and kill every opponent in the process.
Majora_13
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@Maninred
That combo doesn't work. Library of Leng makes effects that force you to discard put those cards to the top of the library. The discard aspect of Mind Over Matter is a cost and is therefore unaffected.
Of course, Arcanis and MoM together is semi infinite draw, and the only reason it's semi infinite is because of deck size. Include one elixir of immortality and suddenly you've got an infinite life, infinite draw, infinite mana combo.
I feel sorry for whatever unsuspecting player tries to remove Arcanis from play.
Player A: I cast doom blade, targeting Arcanis Player B: In response.....
BongRipper420
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Even though I've never had the chance of using him, this guy is one of my favorite cards. Simply for flavor, mechanics, and especially the art. 5/5 in my book.
On a side note, facing off against this guy in the pits would seem pretty unfair.
UPDATE: Love this guy so much, I made my first EDH deck around him. It's amazing so far. Also even though it has a win ratio of 4-0, I've never actually killed a player with it. It controls so hard, most people just concede before I even touch them. And it's all thanks to this fella. Arcanis is such a boss.
Jackzorz
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This card is amazing. Training grounds causes his bounce to be UU. Illusionist Bracers? Draw 6. Mind Over Matter + Tamiyo + Acanis = Infinite control. 5/5.
Incanur
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This is perhaps the worst flavor text change ever. The Onslaught version evokes mystery and grander, while here Arcanis sounds like a simple gladiator.
The flavor text should be "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."
flare1122
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Honestly think that if WOTC really wanted to make an omnipotent wizard they should have made him better then this. Blue is only one color you still have four more I think arcanis should have been the first 5 CMC 5 color hybrid with a five powerful abilities one for each color.
Example could be:
1U tap: Draw 3 cards, each oppenent puts the top card of his/her library into their graveyard for twice the amount of cards drawn this way.
XB tap: Search your graveyard and deck for a nonland permanent with converted mana cost X or less and put it on the battlefield, you lose life equal to 1.5 times the amount of X rounded up.
2W tap: Name 2 colors or colorless (can be any combination of 2 colors or 1 color and colorless) permanents you control gain protection from chosen color (or colorless) until the beginnig of your next turn.
4G tap: Creatures you control get +3/+3 and trample until end of turn. If any creature where to die this turn put 1/1 green saproling creature tokens onto the battlefield under your control equal to that creature's power.
X XXR tap: For each time you paid the first X choose an opponent (each opponent can be chosen multiple times) each chosen opponent is dealt XX damage to them and each creature they control, copy this ability for each opponent that was chosen more than once for each time they were chosen.
simarn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wow, this guy with Illusionist's Bracers... -_-
gollygeegod
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
@Death-Shinobi LOL Y U THINK U CAN PUT ISOCHRON WITH TIME WALK
DeaTh-ShiNoBi
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ManInRed Define "most powerful combo in all of Magic". I mean, sure, it's a powerful combo that ensures victory once it's complete, but there are many, many combos in Magic that can ensure victory for far less mana and only two cards. I would argue that those are "more powerful combos". To name a few obvious ones off the top of my head:
The levels of card advantage this guy can create are beyond human comprehension.
MattLynn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
We may never know of Arcanis's origins or anything more than his profession.
novanaut
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The first time I ever heard of Arcanis was in a video game called Magic the Gathering: Battlegrounds on the X-box. It wasn't until Tenth edition launched 4 years later that I ever thought to check out the actual card, ever since then Arcanis has been my favorite blue legendary card.
SilentNondoer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Not omnipotent enough to draw 4 cards, but fairly omnipotent.
PoetheSchizo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Simic Manipulator ? From Otaria, A mutant wizard, mutated by the Mirari.
OlvynChuru
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I have two possible theories about why he is called "omnipotent." One is that he is not omnipotent, and that is just what he is called (similar to how the flavor text for Eron the Relentless says that he is "immortal" even though he is not completely immortal). Perhaps Arcanis has so many abilities that no one has seen the full extent of his powers (considering that he can now draw over 14000 different cards), so characters feel like he can do so many things that he may very well be omnipotent (even if he isn't). The other theory is that he IS omnipotent, and he merely lends you a fraction of his power.
Comments (87)
"So if you're really omnipotent, how can any of us have free will? How can YOU have free will?"
"Well, that's up for deb-"
"And is your knowledge limited to one train of possibilites, or all of them? One universe? If so, it may, in fact, be finite, not infinite. Therefore, it might just be great potence, not omnipotence."
"You see, that-"
"And you didn't state if you were omnipresent. Without omnipresence, omnipotence is all the more suspect. Not impossible, but certainly more implausible."
"Look, I picked the name because it sounds cool, okay? Just take your cards and go."
Not bad for a blue card, either. I've always hated blue. Taking delight in playing cards on your opponent's turn and not letting them resolve a single spell on theirs reeks of sociopathy, but I digress. Card draw is solid, for sure, and is indicative of blue's nigh-overwhelming strength of the time.
This point brings me to my next. A lot of blue players I know are quick to cry that white is now overpowered, and that blue has "died".
Yeah. Okay.
A lot of people forget that white was weak for a long time before the Shards block, when I believe the power creep began (Elspeth vs. Tezzeret). Look at the "boon" cycle- Ancestral Recall vs. Healing Salve. Which one is on the Power 9? Hint: not the white one.
All I'm saying is that blue isn't dead. It lost a lot of awesome cards, yes. Even I can appreciate Cryptic Command. Arcanis, above, rocks. But white getting Baneslayer (which is a pretty broken card for its cost, and in my opinion, should have been more balanced) and Elspeth does not mean that white is a good colour, nor does it mean that blue has died. Pass this on to those that play either colour, and maybe it'll put things into perspective.
Sorry for kinda ranting.
And to top it all of, Arcanis is perfectly useable by himself.
This + Intruder Alarm + Prototype Portal + Memnite + March of the Machines.
I'm quite sure there's another combo for this. A better one too. Y u good card?!
42/5
You know…and for the fact that he's really well-designed.
I personally like to use his second ability because everyone I play with seems to forget that it's there lol
What's to stop a person with omnipotence from having omniscience?
But yeah: fun card.
He is not cute as Jace (I presume, because we never see his face), but, by far, he is the coolest!
undoubtedly my favorite blue card.
You can draw as many cards as you want, discard to tap down the opponent, tap your lands for mana repeatedly (again by discarding excess cards), and then play any spells you want. A single Simian Spirit Guide powers a lethal Banefire, a High Tide powers a lethal Braingeyser.
One more thing the M10 rules have ruined... -sigh-
"Call J.T. Mind Sculptor! 877-BAN NOW!"
Yep. I just made a J.G. Wentworth reference...on Gatherer...world is crazy, man, xD
@ card: Needs moar draw.
Immunity from death (although a little costly)... double huh.
It is fair that he costs 3 blue, but... perhaps that fourth one would've been too "You are playing him in JUST mono-blue deck. Deal with it."
Although, Black Reanimation is all like, "B**ch, I'ma dig you up, playa!", and just forgets about CMCs.
The most powerful combo in all of Magic. Once it is out you can rearrange all the cards in your hand and library in any order you wish; untap any artifact, land, or creature you control an infinite number of times, and tap any artifact, land, or creature your opponents control an infinite number of times. Short of your opponent drawing Crash, its checkmate.
If you have an Island: you got infinite mana. If you got Prodigal Sorcerer, you can deal infinite damage among any number of targets you choose as many times as you choose. If you got a Patron Wizard, you can counter any number of spells unless the cast pays an infinite amount of mana as many times as you choose. Though with all their land constantly tapped, your opponent will have trouble even paying 1 mana. A Wall of Kelp can summon an infinite number of creatures, turning a Beast of Burden into an infinity/infinity creature. Of course at this point, you're just showing off.
Which makes him even more mysterious than he already is.
Although it is possible that they simply "forgot" to errata him.
-
PS : I discovered this because I wanted to make a reanimator deck with Angel of Glory's Rise, so that she brings back all other humans from my graveyard. And since Arcanis was one of my best cards that, I thought was human...
Also, he's got the same body and almost the same mana cost as Teferi. ... and they're both Wizards. Not that they should be used together or anything...
Factor in the fact that blue is all about counter and countrol, trading card-for-card against your opponent and those three extra cards suddenly become game changing. Not to mention that blue is naturally a slow, reactive, and defensive archetype so stalling until you have enough mana for Arcanis should have been pre-built into most Control decks anyway. More importantly, I usually would never tap-out and throw Arcanis out there without protection.
The only real downside to Arcanis is it cost 4-mana to bounce him back to safety. Not to mention since combat damage doesn't stack like it did in onslaught, the effect loses some of its versatility. Even after you save Arcanis, you have to sink another 6-mana to drop him again and wait another turn before you can start tapping for cards, which drastically slows down the tempo if you are trying to come from behind or racing a tight clock. If his ability cost UU instead of 2UU, it would have been much more playable. Or if it was 2UU for a phase out effect. But I guess in the end, you just have to play smart with him. If you can't, then maybe you shouldn't be playing Blue-control anyways.
Card isn't broken at all....
He just looks like such a badass.
Wizards didn't forget to errata Arcanis to human and actually left only the wizard type on purpose. This is due to the flavor text on the card.
That said, i found this odd as Onslaught block is suppose to be the creature-type block like Lorwyn.
That combo doesn't work. Library of Leng makes effects that force you to discard put those cards to the top of the library. The discard aspect of Mind Over Matter is a cost and is therefore unaffected.
Of course, Arcanis and MoM together is semi infinite draw, and the only reason it's semi infinite is because of deck size. Include one elixir of immortality and suddenly you've got an infinite life, infinite draw, infinite mana combo.
I feel sorry for whatever unsuspecting player tries to remove Arcanis from play.
Player A: I cast doom blade, targeting Arcanis
Player B: In response.....
On a side note, facing off against this guy in the pits would seem pretty unfair.
UPDATE: Love this guy so much, I made my first EDH deck around him. It's amazing so far. Also even though it has a win ratio of 4-0, I've never actually killed a player with it. It controls so hard, most people just concede before I even touch them. And it's all thanks to this fella. Arcanis is such a boss.
The flavor text should be "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."
Example could be:
1U tap: Draw 3 cards, each oppenent puts the top card of his/her library into their graveyard for twice the amount of cards drawn this way.
XB tap: Search your graveyard and deck for a nonland permanent with converted mana cost X or less and put it on the battlefield, you lose life equal to 1.5 times the amount of X rounded up.
2W tap: Name 2 colors or colorless (can be any combination of 2 colors or 1 color and colorless) permanents you control gain protection from chosen color (or colorless) until the beginnig of your next turn.
4G tap: Creatures you control get +3/+3 and trample until end of turn. If any creature where to die this turn put 1/1 green saproling creature tokens onto the battlefield under your control equal to that creature's power.
X XXR tap: For each time you paid the first X choose an opponent (each opponent can be chosen multiple times) each chosen opponent is dealt XX damage to them and each creature they control, copy this ability for each opponent that was chosen more than once for each time they were chosen.
LOL Y U THINK U CAN PUT ISOCHRON WITH TIME WALK
Define "most powerful combo in all of Magic". I mean, sure, it's a powerful combo that ensures victory once it's complete, but there are many, many combos in Magic that can ensure victory for far less mana and only two cards. I would argue that those are "more powerful combos". To name a few obvious ones off the top of my head:
Time Vault + Voltaic Key
Panoptic Mirror + Time Walk or Time Warp
Painter's Servant + Grindstone
Protean Hulk + Flash
Show and Tell + Omniscience
Candelabra of Tawnos + High Tide
Dark Ritual + Yawgmoth's Will
The list goes on.
From Otaria, A mutant wizard, mutated by the Mirari.