Great card.Great in a flood match.I can take all the ice counters off of it the first
turn.Then a world of hurt to my opponent who usually doesnt have a flying creature.
Misfit_138
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(4 votes)
awesome card. use it with aether snap to get all of the counters off at once. also good with lethal vapors because the destroy creature doesnt effect Marit Lage because she is indestructable!
I like it. It's like a mini Helix Pinnicle. However, chump blockers (with flying) are annoying with this card.
Silverware
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(5 votes)
I love the art on this card and the flavor of this card. If I see this come out on to the field on turn one and I am up against it I am going to sweating bullets (thankfully it dosen't have trample). Its not often you see many huge game wining creatures coming out of lands so I liked the idea, its also a lot of fun to try figuring out ways to make it easier to get out.
One word though for when this creature final does come in play Boomerang .
Mode
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(4 votes)
Fate Transfer won't work unless you animate the dephs and can bring up another creature. But Æther Snap will work just fine with that land for sure.
The best choice for this is certainly Zendikar's Vampire Hexmage, though. A simple two card combo that easily gives you a 20/20 indestructible flyer on turn three? At any time!
vinkel
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
you can get the counters out turn 1, dark depths -> chrome mox (remove black card) -> dark ritual -> vampire hexmage-> pray they don't have bounce/path then gg
Jokergius
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just go with Vampire Hexmage. If you're going against a white deck, I assure you you must get rid of all their O-rings and paths (if they have any) and also Journey to Nowhere. I give this card a 4.5/5.
Ruztyz
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(6 votes)
1st turn: chrome mox, remove a black card. Play Dark Depths. 2nd turn: Swamp, Vampire Hexmage. Sac the Hexmage, 20/20 indestructible flyer on turn 2. 3rd turn: Win.
whitewolf5589
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(19 votes)
You could also play Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth on turn 1, then this card and Vampire Hexmage on turn 2. With Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in play, You'd be able to treat Dark Depths as a swamp.
GrimGorgonBC
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Even if they path or boomerang this card....just cast Grim Discovery, and return hexmage and DD to your hand :)
metalevolence
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(10 votes)
this art gives me chills, i love it so much
zeyette
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(7 votes)
Turn 1: Dark Depths, remove Simian spirit guide, play 2 rite of flames, play manamorphos to add 2 Black mana, play Ma ss Hysteria, Summon Vampire Hexmage, sacrefice vampire hexmage to remove the counters from Dark Depths, Play Merit Lage and attack. Win
shady-tradesman
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(9 votes)
Will-o-the-wisp just owns this card.
AbyssalManZero
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
LOL this sure does make Vampire Hexmage a frightning card if someone has both to use together....
White is lucky-- they got removal up the ying-yang but I pity Red, Blue and Green lol...
Zulp
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Am I the only one that has no idea who or what Marit Lage is supposed to be? I feel gloriously stupid for asking this question.
Uthyr
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Æther Snap sounds like a good combo, until you read its fine print. It says "remove all counters from all permanents and remove all tokens from the game." So it would remove the legendary creature token (it states "bring token into play" on the Dark Depths card). Unless this somehow plays on a stack where the token comes into play after the Aether Snap. A ruling by the magic officials would be good on that point. If this works I give it a five, otherwise I give it a three since you would have to get a perfect combo of a few cards or protect the land for a while before bringing it into play.
Nocturno
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(4 votes)
@Uthyr
Æther Snap would have to resolve to take the counters off the land, after it resolves, it no longer affects tokens on the battlefield...
Kryptnyt
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
They need to go back and print creature tokens for things like this.
A3Kitsune
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
From what I can tell from the art, Marit Lage is part fish, part octopus or squid, and all eldrich horror.
And WotC should print a Marit Lage creature token. Unless Marit's appearance is so horific it would destroy the sanity of all who gazed apon it, in which case, just a general 'Avatar' token with no stated P/T.
zombietomb
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Marit Lage! I'll just pay one blue and cast Unsummon or Repeal, now I have a card and tempo advantage.
Does anyone knows whats the story behind Marit Lage? Magic should had made at least a special token card for this one so that i wouldn't have to imagine what Marit Lage looks like.Lol. Is he/she the giant octupus or the man walking in the ice? (As i wrote this i found a special token card of Marit Lage in Magic's archives.hehe)
Wyldblayde
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Turn 1: Swamp Turn 2: Swamp, play Lightning Greaves Turn 3: Dark Depths, Vampire Hexmage, WIN Haste and Shroud, Marit Lage should not have any problem killing your helpless opponent, unless they were lucky enough to drop a flyer on Turns 1, 2, or 3(if they went first). Plus, it would be easy to see if your opponent has a mana to Path to Exile your token in response to the equip ability. Works well and is reasonable to start with the cards in hand.
deep-fried.vengance
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is why will-o-the-wisp was invented, to keep ridiculously big things without trample something to hate
Stu15
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@whitewolf5589
I dont think you would bea ble to tap it for swap, because it still doesnt have the "tap" ability, its a static land that cannont be tapped, it would only make it a legendary snow swamp land, that cannon be tapped.
I like the idea of using this with the vampire hexmage, however this card is £30 to buy on its own, and i dont think thats really worth buying unless your lucky enough to have already a few of these...
spectermonger
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Many peeps seem to be forgetting the most important component of getting this into play---disruption. I learned, that after getting this Pathed so many times, that it NEEDS to be played in in Black or blue (w/ Hexmage/Fate Transfer). Do not cheat this out before you have the means to protect it or you will be out one land and one creature.
@Stu15
if it's turned into a basic land type by any given ability then it automatically taps to produce the given mana color. For instance, Murmuring Bosk taps to add green because it is a forest, otherwise it would just be a worse Caves of Koilos.
EvilCleavage
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I love this art so much!! This is seriously one of my most favorite card art so far! And the flavor is amazing. It's eerie, dark, and creepy! :) Good stuff!
EDIT: Okay, I posted the writing above on 4/9/10 which was four days ago. Today is 4/13/10, and I just got home from work. On lunch I ran to wal-mart because they have these value packs that is a booster with 30 loose random cards. I always buy these because they have older packs that are harder to find, and I'm trying to get back into Magic because I stopped playing for 10 years (unfortunately, I missed soo MUCH!). Anyways, I went in and they had one Coldsnap pack, so I bought it, because I have never gotten one yet. And I SWEAR haha that I was thinking, man wouldn't it be awesome if I could get a dark depths. Well, 50 minutes later after I get through the line haha, I get in my car and rip it open. I slowly went through the loose cards, and read every one, slowly and one at a time (it's just what I do lol, I savor the precious moments). They were all EH, but I broke into the coldsnap. And Yep, you guessed it! A FREAKIN DARK DEPTHS right there in my hands!! I am not joking whatsoever, I was seriously so stoked I could barely contain myself! this was the most excited I've been EVER opening a booster. I just love this card so much! It's awesome and EPIC! So anyways, I went back to work, and the rest of my day was beautiful, and here I am now back on here and just had to let you guys know! Magic is awesome, and there truly is nothing like opening a booster and waiting on that last uncommon and slowly sliding it up to see what you've got under it! And to R&D, if you guys read this, I totally understand why you guys make crummy rares (I read the article by Mark Rosewater, and it opened my eyes to why, everyone should read it)! You guys sure know how to bring me down low, only to lift me back up when I pull something like this! It def. creates a balance. If there was no bad, then we wouldn't appreciate the great as much if at all. Anyways, this is huge, MAGIC ROCKS!
Gilder_Bairn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ Uthyr
Aether snap would work because the sacrifice/token part of the effect is a state based effect, so it doesn't trigger untill after the stack has cleared. You would play aether snap, it would resolve, the counters would be removed, the stack would clear, state-based effects would be checked, and then, and only then, would Marit Lage happen. Also, Stifle would counter the ability, but as soon as stifle leaves the stack, state-based effects would be checked again, and marit lage would come into play. :)
Comradebananahead
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'd suggest using this in combination with both vampire hexmage, as well as whispersilk cloak. That way you have a shrouded, unblockable, indestructible, 20/20 flyer. Yikes! I wouldn't want to face something like that. If somebody got something like that out on me, I would probably just shrug and say, 'good game.' Maybe you could wrath of god, or damnation it away, but that's about all you could do I think.
Sironos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
indestructible, 20/20 and flying, 3 things that souldn't go together ;)
I'm surprised no one has mentioned vampire hexmage ;)
RowanKeltizar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
EPIC!!!!
aba1
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(7 votes)
instead of all these over complications of the same combo ill just put this idea into 3 words
vampire hexmage + dark depths = win
however if you do this that you really are a terrible deck builder with no creativity hell its just a combo you can throw in you vampire deck on the side it makes more sence that way at least
JWolps
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Dark Depths are dark.
Talaxar
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Turn 1: Play - Dark Depths (land). Play a Lotus Petal to add 1 black, cast Dark Ritual twice and you'll have 5 black mana, but 1 Dark Ritual and a Petal or Chrome Mox will do we as we need 2 black, 2 colorless. Cast Vampire Hexmage, and Lightning Greeves (artifact 2 equip 0 for Haste and Shroud). Sacrifice Vampire Hexmage, and equip the 20/20 with artfact and attack FTW. Requires only 6 cards and only 4 are specific (Dark Depths, Dark Ritual, Hexmage, Artifact). Any problems with this?
Nathreet
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think Aether Snap would work because the counter removal is resolved before the land is sacrificed and the token is created.
While technically non-white has removal to counter this, they are way too situational and won't appear in 95% of strong decks. If your opponent does use such narrow cards, then all the better for every single other card you play.
wxnbvq1
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Turn 1: Urborg. Turn 2: Dark depths, tap both lands for dark ritual and 4 floating black mana. Play lightning greaves and vampire hexmage. Sac. hexmage to get out marit lage. Equip marit lage with greaves and swing. Win.
sealcommander
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
wow i got marit large for free and just i order 4 dark depths last night
Chrome_Coyote
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(10 votes)
I remember buying a foil of this a long time ago just waiting for an opportunity to use it. When Vampire Hexmage came out, I ruined my pants.
A powerful sorceress (sorceress of wrath), worshiped by some as a god. She was imprisoned deep within the ice covering Dominaria. The image for "Dark Depths" (Coldsnap) pictures her avatar as a massive Kraken-like creature beneath the ice, and the art for the token produced by Dark Depths shows her as a shadowy, many-tentacled monstrosity, dwarfing the person put in the art for scale. She was not a planeswalker, but did have the ability to travel between planes via another method.
Yes, Fastbond is restricted, at best, but hey - It still works. Even without fastbond, you can fairly easily get the regular urborg-hexmage combo.
rhcjrtoon
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Let them sacrifice vampire hexmage to remove all ice counters, just stifle dark depths ability and extirpate it after countering it. An easy combo
rinoh20
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(16 votes)
this is why ice fishing sucks.
ramaset
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I put green in my dark depths deck for 1 reason...Berkserk. There's nothing like 40 points of flying trample damage to the face to ruin an opponents day...unless you have more than 1 berserk, and it starts getting silly.
I once swung with a 160/20 trample Marit Lage. That was a fun game ender
NeoMint
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Watch out for opponents playing Boros Fury Shield against you!
infernox10
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Assuming you have the mana,
It'd be quite the sight to follow up the T2 Marit Lage combo with a kicked Gatekeeper of Malakir.
ratchet1215
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Best-ever answer to Marit Lage has got to be Repeal. For one mana you blank their 3-card combo, whisk their 20/20 indestructible flier to the brink of nowhere, and draw a card.
Superllama12
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(6 votes)
What a horrible land! Gives NO mana, is legendary, AND gives your opponents snow-covered landwalk AND legendary landwalk! Plus, you have to pay 30 mana to get Marit Lage out! I prefer stuff like Wood Elemental and Chimney Imp! I mean, with Chimney Imp, you essentially ruin your opponent's next draw AND keep them from using that spell (which could be Go For The Throat or another removal that would kill your Chimney Imp
Anyways, 99/5
Also, who knows! Maybe the next set will focus on Marit Lage! That would be SWEET!!!! They brought back poison counters (what used to be terrible), so maybe snow lands will be next!
Edit: Clearly, y'all are lazy and didn't read the rest of the comment, I was being SARKASTIK!!!!!!!
DacenOctavio
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(7 votes)
@ AbyssalManZero:
Why pity Blue? Unsummon! Yes, you can bounce non-card permanents to their owner's hand, where, just like in the graveyard, they'll immediately cease to exist.
It's not destruction. It's like forcing the creature's essence back into your skull, where your mind has to forget about it in order to remain sane due to the incredibly insane power of the creature in question, which I consider wrought with flavor :).
They meant Cthulu Creature - God As this creature comes into play, you win the game. When this creature comes into play, you may turn an opponents land into an island (This effect lasts indefinitely.) When this creature leaves play, you lose the game. Industructible, Shroud, Haste, Islandwalk. 99/99
But it got printed in the wrong block.
Huffytreefolkman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
so you enchant it so it becomes a creteature in addition to other things then training grounds
Hayw00d0909
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(15 votes)
Wouldn't it be epic if that is Vampire Hexmage standing on the ice?
Hex Parasite would just love to eat up all those counters.
nomnomnomnomnom
KirkulesEvans
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is very powerful. My deck has 4 of these, along with Vampire Hex Mage, and Lightning Greaves. The Greaves give it a little bit more speed and protection. It's great to pull out a 20/20 flying, indestructible. Slap on the Greaves to give it haste and shroud. Then its all over. :)
Salient
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I collected a few of these because it was the only Legendary Snow Land in existence, and that was cool. I'm still happier about that than I am about the Hexmage combo (awesome, but hard to pull off, and not my style).
One reason I like the Hexmage combo: it's too fragile to be broken. Creatures get exiled or bounced routinely in Legacy, so it'll never overwhelm the field of decks. It's just a cool option for rogue play, and makes the range of possible opponents more interesting! :)
Crackmore
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hayw00d0909 is right it would be epic if that is a Vampire Hexmage but since you have to sacrefice him for the combo he is more likely to lay down somewhere on the ice instead of standing on it XD
Nagoragama
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(10 votes)
Dread Marit Lage lies dreaming, not dead.
Totema
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Marit Lage vs. Cthulhu! Taking all bets!
Wizard-of-the-Toast
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I play casual only so I'm not going to mention competivity or ease of win with Vampire Hexmage, but I have just swapped away ALL my merfolk for this card. It'll slot nicely into my artifact mana-ramp deck alongside Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and Spawnsire of Ulamog. I do have some Aether Snap 's but the 30 mana will be paid most of the time I think, sometimes in one turn (I've had 34 mana by turn 4 before). Remember I play casual so don't tell me I can just use an Exsanguinate instead; winning is not the point of the deck, I just channelled all my Timmy side into one deck, leaving Johnny to construct my other decks.
On an ironic note one of the cards I traded away was Empress Galina; she may return to haunt me...
P.s - I'm loving the quote Nagorogama!
Stinga
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(5 votes)
Proliferate. *trollface*
GrimjawxRULES
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
From trash rare to top-tier win condition. I cried hard when Hexmage was spoiled - I had traded my Dark Depths away just weeks before.
raptorman333
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Trickbind this when if comes out. You've got a 20/20 flying, indestructible for 2 mana.
PeabodyET
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@raptorman333:
"Enters the battlefield with" is not a triggered ability, it is just the state of the card. It can't be countered with trickbind or any other effect.
@Crackmore:
Vampire Hexmage is definitely a chick.
Shadoflaam
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Marit Lage R'lyeh wgah'nagl ftagn, bitchez.
this + hex parasite... a 20/20 and a 20/1 on turn 1, umadbro?
adrian.malacoda
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@rainbowdash
I think not, unless you have some way (other than 4 Black Lotus) to get 11 mana on turn 1. Hex Parasite would only get +10/+0, because that's how many counters you remove from Dark Depths.
Emperor_Crusty
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
eh possible perfect hand ...first turn chrome mox imprinting a black card (idk maybe a Persecute).. play dark depths. tap the mox for a dark ritual to play hexmage. second turn play mountain and attack with 20/20 then fling it afterwards.
Kragash
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Part of one of the least disruptible combos in MTG, it being a Land. Fast, easy to set up and/or rebuild if disrupted. Difficult to counter if Vampire Hexmage managed to get onto the Battlefield.
With only a couple disruptions of your own such as Thoughtseize and/or Duress, and few uncounterable tutors such as Shred Mind and Tolaria West, this is probably the easiest combo to resolve or rebuild.
PhyrexianFryCook
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Hmmm, maybe Marit Lage is an eldrazi.
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
If THIS isn't in From the Vault: Realms, then they REALLY don't know what they're doing. :p
I. it's Legendary, and from Time Spiral block. Built-in Nostalgia Guaranteed.
2. It makes a Flying/Swimming Spaghetti Monster of Doom
3. The part where it was actually used in an effective deck is nearly irrelevant after the first two points, but definitely pushes it over the top because of how powerful that combo was.
pedrodyl
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
These cost twenty dollars since because hexmage :(
And of course this will be in FTV: Realms. Did you see the preview art? It was cold looking glaciers next to a giant black chasm. If that's not Dark Depths than I don't know what it would be.
CallmeMerry
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Heh, I had an opponent trying to use this, but he didn't expect my Gilder Bairn to completely ruin his plans...
Lord_of_Tresserhorn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So. Absolutely. Epic. One of my favorite cards in the entire game.
Couldn't you also Stifle the trigger of the counters being put on and also have a turn 2 Marit Lage ?
DoragonShinzui
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The fact that the token punches out all of the Eldrazi without flinching makes it probably the most awesome land ever.
Art for both it and the token are superb as well. I have no doubts that Marit Lage could destroy cities in one fell swoop. I mean, it's like the size of a small island in and of itself.
Tantudo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
my friend used this with the Vampire Hexmage turn two, I untapped and played Geth's Verdict and he gave up, the first time I got to see this card I was like wow, now? meh
Mike-C
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Are you ***ing ***ing me??!
7he7rooper
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@zeyette That's a Magical Christmas Land hand if I ever heard one.
Gcrudaplaneswalker
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Because giant sea monsters don't slip tragically and die...
Sezerata
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So when I first saw this land, I was like, "Ooh, a nice icy lake with a big imposing shadow ON TOP of the ice, and it makes a giant black monster card! Neat ^_^"...And then I realized that the monster was actually BELOW the ice looking UP at the surface, and I immediately became overcome by my crippling fear of fantastical watery leviathans. 5/5 for being just so wonderfully full of flavor, and for scaring the crepes out of me.
Arachnos
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
A special honor goes to Marit Lage for being what I believe is the beefiest creature with a determined amount of power and toughness. Sure, creatures with X/X and other growing abilities can get even bigger, but in terms of already determined power you just don't go above 20.
Hexmage busted this thing open. It went from 5 cents to 10 dollars, now its sitting somewhere around 20. Bonus points to the patient trader who stocked up on these things, knowing one day they would be busted open.
psychichobo
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
'Hah, I care not for Marit Lage! Eat my Swords to Plowshares! Aw, do you miss your little creature now?'
'... you just gave me 20 life.'
'... Oh.'
wholelottalove
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Giving your opponent twenty life doesn't matter much in a game. I would much rather him not have a 20/20 indestructible with flying.
Jerec_Onyx
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
I found this card and decided it would be fun to have one on hand. I went out and bought one for $16 at my local game store. I was just thinking to myself, "20/20, legendary, INDESTRUCTABLE...but wait...what about chump blockers?" So I came here to rate this a 4/5 but just as I was about to solidify my position, I came upon this one little word, "flying". Yeah, flying kraken. Woot. 5/5.
nemokara
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I suppose in hindsight it was inevitable that a card like Vampire Hexmage would be printed someday. Aether Snap had already set the precedent for the mechanic, so a cheaper, single-target version was the next logical step.
JaxsonBateman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@RevShad: why couldn't that just be a turn 3? T1: Uborg T2: Dark Depths, Hexmage T3: Mountain, create Marit, Fling
It's a surprisingly valid turn 3 win that can only be stopped by a counter or premoval like duress. Of course, it does require 4 specific cards + any red producing land. I guess with the turn 4 it goes down to 3 cards, as long as you get two black producing lands.
In any case, as for the rest of the deck - yes, Marit is easily stopped by exile and bounce. But the point of a 20/20 creature with indestructible and flying is that you *have* to stop it, or quickly lose. That's the reason why the Thopter Depths deck was so good in extended - besides having a couple of powerful combos within it, players would often get Marit out on turn 2 or 3, and force their opponent to answer it, or lose. It doesn't matter how much potential there is to stop a creature, making your opponent answer your questions gives you much more of an edge than the other way around.
If it was all about how easy a creature is to stop then virtually every creature would be bad, and that certainly isn't the case.
AH_Asathon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Apparently if you search for Type: Land and Format: Modern, this still turns up, despite it's still saying it's banned in Modern... weird glitch...
Pantheon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love this card. It is incredibly flavorful. Then, as others have pointed out, you can get Marit Lage out on turn 2 if your draw includes Vampire Hexmage and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. Play as follows:
Drop Dark Depths on turn 1
Drop Urborg on turn 2 then cast the Hexmage
Sac the Hexmage to remove all the counters from Dark Depths.
Hope your opponent doesn't have any spot removal!
azure_drake222222
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Populate as much as you can. Especially with this.
Smoke_Stack
★☆☆☆☆ (1.3/5.0)(3 votes)
only snow covered thing still worth playing...
tehsquirrely
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
There is something eminently horrifying about this card to me. Maybe it's my fear of deep water, combined with a crazy lovecraftian horror. The art itself is pretty scary though.
Pick15
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(11 votes)
Tokens AND counters! It MUST combo with Doubling Season! ...Wait.
weathersong
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Am I missing something obvious? Comments suggesting token doublers (Doubling Season, Growing Ranks) will just confiscate Marit Lage due to the Legend Rule, yes?
myownworst
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Always great to block Marit Lage with Fog of Gnats. Watch your opponent get more and more frustrated, especially if you play B/U and can Undermine any creature destruction card s/he tries.
As long as you put out a Doubling Season after you play this card, you can still get double the Avatars without having to pay double the mana to remove double the counters first.
cadencetoarms
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
In regards to the new legendary ruling coming this summer, I was just made aware of this. Somebody verify? - Thespian's Stage - Dark Depths (ETB w/counters) - Copy Dark Depths with Thespian's Stage (already on field, no counters!). Original Dark Depths (with the counters) goes to the 'yard to satisfy legendary rule. Sac Thespian's Stage/Dark Depths and enjoy your 20/20 indestructible flyer! This also works if your opponent has the Dark Depths and you have the Thespian's Stage, but there will be two indestructible avatars on the field. Yours will probably hit first!
Pendulous
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think that's a Brine Shaman way up there
TheChosenRat
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@cadencetoarms As far as I understand you are correct my friend, how awesome/random is the new Legend rule! Shame you cannot use the Stage to "Legend out" your opponents Depths anymore, but as you say your Marit Lage will hit instantly.
Traius
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Can you just Stifle the citp trigger? And then you immediately have a 20/20 flying indestructible....
EDIT: Looked it up elsewhere, and no. Vampire hexmage would allow you to have it on turn 2 with a dark ritual though.
T1: Swamp or this. (Swamp disguises it a bit better, and allows you to cast either a 1 mana thing the first turn, or to just dark ritual and get the hexmage on T1. Pretty much, swamp is better first.) T2: This or swamp, dark ritual + hexmage if you didn't do it T1,sac the hexmage, and voila.
DaLucaray
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
As of Theros, ol' Marit Lage is no longer the only 20/20! See: Colossus of Akros
The Stage - Depths combo next to Primeval Titan is a nasty surprise for grindy games. 6/6 trample isn't enough? How about a 20/20 Flyer you can't kill?
Also, if you want a sweet token; I made one out of this art: http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/330/1/5/ice_monster_by_detmills8-d4hcj6i.jpg
Giant avatar looking creature bursting from the ice; used a "promo-style" full art; pretty sweet for being free.
With Vorel of the Hull Clade I can double the amount of ice counters on my Dark Depths EVERY TURN!!!
.......wait......
Snoof
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Doubling Season works just fine provided you cast it after you drop Dark Depths. Parallel Lives is probably a better choice, though.
Gib_Cram
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
She's not an Eldrazi, but sort of looks like one. She's not a planeswalker, but sort of acts like one. She's not a god, but is worshipped like one. WHAT IS SHE?
Aelvr
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Snoof Read the card again. The token is legendary.
Comments (128)
turn.Then a world of hurt to my opponent who usually doesnt have a flying creature.
simple and hell, affective
I like it. It's like a mini Helix Pinnicle. However, chump blockers (with flying) are annoying with this card.
One word though for when this creature final does come in play Boomerang .
But Æther Snap will work just fine with that land for sure.
The best choice for this is certainly Zendikar's Vampire Hexmage, though. A simple two card combo that easily gives you a 20/20 indestructible flyer on turn three? At any time!
2nd turn: Swamp, Vampire Hexmage. Sac the Hexmage, 20/20 indestructible flyer on turn 2.
3rd turn: Win.
White is lucky-- they got removal up the ying-yang but I pity Red, Blue and Green lol...
Æther Snap would have to resolve to take the counters off the land, after it resolves, it no longer affects tokens on the battlefield...
And WotC should print a Marit Lage creature token. Unless Marit's appearance is so horific it would destroy the sanity of all who gazed apon it, in which case, just a general 'Avatar' token with no stated P/T.
Turn 2: Swamp, play Lightning Greaves
Turn 3: Dark Depths, Vampire Hexmage, WIN
Haste and Shroud, Marit Lage should not have any problem killing your helpless opponent, unless they were lucky enough to drop a flyer on Turns 1, 2, or 3(if they went first). Plus, it would be easy to see if your opponent has a mana to Path to Exile your token in response to the equip ability. Works well and is reasonable to start with the cards in hand.
I dont think you would bea ble to tap it for swap, because it still doesnt have the "tap" ability, its a static land that cannont be tapped, it would only make it a legendary snow swamp land, that cannon be tapped.
I like the idea of using this with the vampire hexmage, however this card is £30 to buy on its own, and i dont think thats really worth buying unless your lucky enough to have already a few of these...
@Stu15
if it's turned into a basic land type by any given ability then it automatically taps to produce the given mana color. For instance, Murmuring Bosk taps to add green because it is a forest, otherwise it would just be a worse Caves of Koilos.
EDIT: Okay, I posted the writing above on 4/9/10 which was four days ago. Today is 4/13/10, and I just got home from work. On lunch I ran to wal-mart because they have these value packs that is a booster with 30 loose random cards. I always buy these because they have older packs that are harder to find, and I'm trying to get back into Magic because I stopped playing for 10 years (unfortunately, I missed soo MUCH!). Anyways, I went in and they had one Coldsnap pack, so I bought it, because I have never gotten one yet. And I SWEAR haha that I was thinking, man wouldn't it be awesome if I could get a dark depths. Well, 50 minutes later after I get through the line haha, I get in my car and rip it open. I slowly went through the loose cards, and read every one, slowly and one at a time (it's just what I do lol, I savor the precious moments). They were all EH, but I broke into the coldsnap. And Yep, you guessed it! A FREAKIN DARK DEPTHS right there in my hands!! I am not joking whatsoever, I was seriously so stoked I could barely contain myself! this was the most excited I've been EVER opening a booster. I just love this card so much! It's awesome and EPIC! So anyways, I went back to work, and the rest of my day was beautiful, and here I am now back on here and just had to let you guys know! Magic is awesome, and there truly is nothing like opening a booster and waiting on that last uncommon and slowly sliding it up to see what you've got under it! And to R&D, if you guys read this, I totally understand why you guys make crummy rares (I read the article by Mark Rosewater, and it opened my eyes to why, everyone should read it)! You guys sure know how to bring me down low, only to lift me back up when I pull something like this! It def. creates a balance. If there was no bad, then we wouldn't appreciate the great as much if at all. Anyways, this is huge, MAGIC ROCKS!
Aether snap would work because the sacrifice/token part of the effect is a state based effect, so it doesn't trigger untill after the stack has cleared. You would play aether snap, it would resolve, the counters would be removed, the stack would clear, state-based effects would be checked, and then, and only then, would Marit Lage happen. Also, Stifle would counter the ability, but as soon as stifle leaves the stack, state-based effects would be checked again, and marit lage would come into play. :)
I'm surprised no one has mentioned vampire hexmage ;)
vampire hexmage + dark depths = win
however if you do this that you really are a terrible deck builder with no creativity hell its just a combo you can throw in you vampire deck on the side it makes more sence that way at least
While technically non-white has removal to counter this, they are way too situational and won't appear in 95% of strong decks. If your opponent does use such narrow cards, then all the better for every single other card you play.
Turn 2: Dark depths, tap both lands for dark ritual and 4 floating black mana. Play lightning greaves and vampire hexmage. Sac. hexmage to get out marit lage. Equip marit lage with greaves and swing. Win.
Found this on wikipedia:
Marit Lage
A powerful sorceress (sorceress of wrath), worshiped by some as a god. She was imprisoned deep within the ice covering Dominaria. The image for "Dark Depths" (Coldsnap) pictures her avatar as a massive Kraken-like creature beneath the ice, and the art for the token produced by Dark Depths shows her as a shadowy, many-tentacled monstrosity, dwarfing the person put in the art for scale. She was not a planeswalker, but did have the ability to travel between planes via another method.
and there is a token for her.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/arcana/1119
Turn one: Forest, Fastbond, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Dark Depths, Vampire Hexmage. Sack hexmage, get Marit Lage.
Yes, Fastbond is restricted, at best, but hey - It still works. Even without fastbond, you can fairly easily get the regular urborg-hexmage combo.
I once swung with a 160/20 trample Marit Lage. That was a fun game ender
It'd be quite the sight to follow up the T2 Marit Lage combo with a kicked Gatekeeper of Malakir.
Anyways, 99/5
Also, who knows! Maybe the next set will focus on Marit Lage! That would be SWEET!!!! They brought back poison counters (what used to be terrible), so maybe snow lands will be next!
Edit: Clearly, y'all are lazy and didn't read the rest of the comment, I was being SARKASTIK!!!!!!!
Why pity Blue? Unsummon! Yes, you can bounce non-card permanents to their owner's hand, where, just like in the graveyard, they'll immediately cease to exist.
It's not destruction. It's like forcing the creature's essence back into your skull, where your mind has to forget about it in order to remain sane due to the incredibly insane power of the creature in question, which I consider wrought with flavor :).
*SIGH*
Fling.
Cthulu
Creature - God
As this creature comes into play, you win the game.
When this creature comes into play, you may turn an opponents land into an island (This effect lasts indefinitely.)
When this creature leaves play, you lose the game.
Industructible, Shroud, Haste, Islandwalk.
99/99
But it got printed in the wrong block.
nomnomnomnomnom
One reason I like the Hexmage combo: it's too fragile to be broken. Creatures get exiled or bounced routinely in Legacy, so it'll never overwhelm the field of decks. It's just a cool option for rogue play, and makes the range of possible opponents more interesting! :)
On an ironic note one of the cards I traded away was Empress Galina; she may return to haunt me...
P.s - I'm loving the quote Nagorogama!
"Enters the battlefield with" is not a triggered ability, it is just the state of the card. It can't be countered with trickbind or any other effect.
@Crackmore:
Vampire Hexmage is definitely a chick.
I think not, unless you have some way (other than 4 Black Lotus) to get 11 mana on turn 1. Hex Parasite would only get +10/+0, because that's how many counters you remove from Dark Depths.
With only a couple disruptions of your own such as Thoughtseize and/or Duress, and few uncounterable tutors such as Shred Mind and Tolaria West, this is probably the easiest combo to resolve or rebuild.
I. it's Legendary, and from Time Spiral block. Built-in Nostalgia Guaranteed.
2. It makes a Flying/Swimming Spaghetti Monster of Doom
3. The part where it was actually used in an effective deck is nearly irrelevant after the first two points, but definitely pushes it over the top because of how powerful that combo was.
And of course this will be in FTV: Realms. Did you see the preview art? It was cold looking glaciers next to a giant black chasm. If that's not Dark Depths than I don't know what it would be.
In her frozen prison in the icy wastes, dread Marit Lage lies dreaming, not dead.
Art for both it and the token are superb as well. I have no doubts that Marit Lage could destroy cities in one fell swoop. I mean, it's like the size of a small island in and of itself.
5/5 for being just so wonderfully full of flavor, and for scaring the crepes out of me.
And isn't it just awesome that this thing can make a snack out of Emrakul, the Aeons Torn?
(Okay, fine, there's the Big Furry Monster with 99/99 but that's Unhinged/Unglued)
just to be a jerk start with Leyline of Punishment
turn 1: Mountain
turn 2: Mountain
turn 3: Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and Vampire Hexmage
turn 4: Dark Depths, Sac VH for Marit Lage then Fling Marit Lage
'... you just gave me 20 life.'
'... Oh.'
T1: Uborg
T2: Dark Depths, Hexmage
T3: Mountain, create Marit, Fling
It's a surprisingly valid turn 3 win that can only be stopped by a counter or premoval like duress. Of course, it does require 4 specific cards + any red producing land. I guess with the turn 4 it goes down to 3 cards, as long as you get two black producing lands.
In any case, as for the rest of the deck - yes, Marit is easily stopped by exile and bounce. But the point of a 20/20 creature with indestructible and flying is that you *have* to stop it, or quickly lose. That's the reason why the Thopter Depths deck was so good in extended - besides having a couple of powerful combos within it, players would often get Marit out on turn 2 or 3, and force their opponent to answer it, or lose. It doesn't matter how much potential there is to stop a creature, making your opponent answer your questions gives you much more of an edge than the other way around.
If it was all about how easy a creature is to stop then virtually every creature would be bad, and that certainly isn't the case.
Drop Dark Depths on turn 1
Drop Urborg on turn 2 then cast the Hexmage
Sac the Hexmage to remove all the counters from Dark Depths.
Hope your opponent doesn't have any spot removal!
...Wait.
"I'm Dominaria's reckoning..."
- Thespian's Stage
- Dark Depths (ETB w/counters)
- Copy Dark Depths with Thespian's Stage (already on field, no counters!). Original Dark Depths (with the counters) goes to the 'yard to satisfy legendary rule. Sac Thespian's Stage/Dark Depths and enjoy your 20/20 indestructible flyer! This also works if your opponent has the Dark Depths and you have the Thespian's Stage, but there will be two indestructible avatars on the field. Yours will probably hit first!
EDIT: Looked it up elsewhere, and no. Vampire hexmage would allow you to have it on turn 2 with a dark ritual though.
T1: Swamp or this. (Swamp disguises it a bit better, and allows you to cast either a 1 mana thing the first turn, or to just dark ritual and get the hexmage on T1. Pretty much, swamp is better first.)
T2: This or swamp, dark ritual + hexmage if you didn't do it T1,sac the hexmage, and voila.
I would just do it my self, but seriously? $30 for one card on Card Kingdom?
Yeah, but hindsight is 20/20. Coincidentally, so is Marit Lage.
Also, if you want a sweet token; I made one out of this art:
http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/330/1/5/ice_monster_by_detmills8-d4hcj6i.jpg
Giant avatar looking creature bursting from the ice; used a "promo-style" full art; pretty sweet for being free.
.......wait......