Well, if you had some use for certain cards in your graveyard this card is pretty helpful - and strong... And the fact that you can even draw as much as you lost makes it fine, I guess.
thaviel
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(7 votes)
I'm sorry this is not as good as it appears at first glance. first upkeep you discard 1 and it have 1 time counter
second upkeep it have 2 counters so you discard 2.
so you don't get to draw as much as you discard.
on the strong side of the card it is a 4/4 flyer for 3 and thats nothing to scoff at.
majinara
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
This guy is actually very nice. I'm using it in a blue-black reanimation deck. Ideally it's turn two lightning greaves, turn three this, equip and swing for 4, turn 4 discard something large, zombify, equip with greaves and swing for 10 or more. Not tournament worthy but solid.
If you just play it, attack for two turns and then let it die, you basically had a 4/4 blocker on turn three, dealt 8 damage, discarded your three worst cards and drew three new ones. That's far from bad.
Now if your deck has a graveyard theme it becomes even better. Discarding cards with madness, flashback, unearth, retrace, incarnations, stuff to reanimate or aquiring threshold in general. Also helps you out if you are mana-flooded, allowing you to discard excess lands and draw other stuff instead.
4/5 ****
BorosArchangel
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(11 votes)
@thaviel
you are completely wrong and undervalue this card. first upkeep PLACE AGE COUNTER then discard one. swing for four. if it is alive for a second upkeep, PLACE SECOND AGE COUNTER and then don't pay the upkeep. it goes to the graveyard with TWO age counters on it and you have only discarded ONE card. two for one and a beefy 4/4 flier for 3 to block and attack for a turn.
EternalLurker
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(7 votes)
This is one of my favorite creature cards, period. Elegant design, powerful effect, quite comboable, and fits beautifully in plenty of BU possibilities.
A3Kitsune
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(5 votes)
When it's about to die, use Gilder Bairn to double the number of counters on it. Even better if you have a Doubling Season out.
Once he's gone through one upkeep phase, you can play an Eon Hub and just build up the Age counters on him without having to discard.
sarroth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
@A3Kitsune: Eon Hub won't actually work with this card. Since Eon Hub has you skip your upkeep, you never actually experience "the beginning of your upkeep," which is when the age counter gets placed on this card. At least that's how I read it.
Morgrath
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
@sarroth: I think A3Kitsune was still referring to the scenario he mentioned, ie Gilder Bairn.
Name_Lable47
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
ok, this card is amazing. it would be great even if it didnt have the upkeep abilities. a 4/4 flyer for 3? uhhh, yes please! in addition, u can discard ONE card for its first upkeep and then the second upkeep put the second age counter on it and sac it to draw TWO cards... so you got a 4/4 flyer for cheaper then you will pretty much ever see and it ends up GAINING you a card. aaaand, as if all that wasnt good enough, u could actually PLAY that card you were supposed to discard for a cheaper price than its normal cost if it has MADNESS or to simply put cards in ur gaveyard to play them from there. im VEXED at the haters of this card, they are blind! One of the best cards ive ever seen in years of playing magic in my opinion.
land_comment
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Okay, I don't understand the cumulative upkeep. Sometimes it seems to help you (like that card that adds to your mana pool) and sometimes it hurts you. Can you please explain?
rawsugar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
just found this, giving it 5/5 cuz im excited:P just hope it doesnt get exiled, but this is GREAT in a deck with akward setup and for getting stuff in gy. holy shit the possibilities!!!!:P its a damn shame bout the double blue cost but still...
Condor_96
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
land_comment: cumulative upkeep was designed to be a drawback, to balance more powerful cards. Braid of Fire is unique in that it is the only card with a cumulative upkeep cost that is beneficial to you.
r3h0ld3r
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
braid of fire is only beneficial now because there is no longer any mana burn. Before that was changed, it was still a somewhat risky card to play.
Technetium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I find this card to work pretty effectively. It's a cheap medium-fatty that doesn't find some way to tie your mana down subsequent turns (like echo or cumulative upkeep). The penalty easily turns into a card advantage bonus if you only use it for a single attack and then let it die for 2 cards. I like to use it with cards like Daze and Gush so I have Islands in my hand to discard. Blue doesn't need a lot of lands in play to work.
Comments (14)
first upkeep you discard 1 and it have 1 time counter
second upkeep it have 2 counters so you discard 2.
so you don't get to draw as much as you discard.
on the strong side of the card it is a 4/4 flyer for 3 and thats nothing to scoff at.
If you just play it, attack for two turns and then let it die, you basically had a 4/4 blocker on turn three, dealt 8 damage, discarded your three worst cards and drew three new ones. That's far from bad.
Now if your deck has a graveyard theme it becomes even better. Discarding cards with madness, flashback, unearth, retrace, incarnations, stuff to reanimate or aquiring threshold in general. Also helps you out if you are mana-flooded, allowing you to discard excess lands and draw other stuff instead.
4/5 ****
you are completely wrong and undervalue this card. first upkeep PLACE AGE COUNTER then discard one. swing for four. if it is alive for a second upkeep, PLACE SECOND AGE COUNTER and then don't pay the upkeep. it goes to the graveyard with TWO age counters on it and you have only discarded ONE card. two for one and a beefy 4/4 flier for 3 to block and attack for a turn.
Once he's gone through one upkeep phase, you can play an Eon Hub and just build up the Age counters on him without having to discard.
Eon Hub won't actually work with this card. Since Eon Hub has you skip your upkeep, you never actually experience "the beginning of your upkeep," which is when the age counter gets placed on this card. At least that's how I read it.
I think A3Kitsune was still referring to the scenario he mentioned, ie Gilder Bairn.
its a damn shame bout the double blue cost but still...