I guess having a chance to do 2 damage for 3 mana is okay, but eh. If you have one or two cards in your hand and some mana to burn, it's some easy damage that let's him live. I don't really think he's all that great.
MasterOfEtherium
★☆☆☆☆ (1.4/5.0)(5 votes)
First Of All Its A One Drop That Means Great Late Game Keep A Mountain In Your Hand And Win The Game This Guy Is Great Thats Why The Red Deck Wins Magus Addition Rocked
SavageBrain89
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(5 votes)
It appears to be a beneficial card, but further examination and practice will reveal that it's not as great as it seems. Yes, being a cheap card is excellent, the ability however is too much of a gamble for three mana; even if it does work it only means a small amount of damage can be dealt to something, that usually doesn't make a difference late in the game. In my opinion, it should have dealt three or four damage to target creature or player.
professornutbutter
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Anybody remember Cursed Scroll? And how dominating it was at the time? Sure, this guy is a creature and therefore is susceptible to more removal than the artifact version, but still; I would think he'd still be played quite a bit.
The poor man's Cursed Scroll. Very good alternative for budget players.
Snaxme
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(4 votes)
This card will probly be used in burn decks. And, as we all know, burn deck usually run top deck after a few turns. Ergo: no gambling involved if you wait a while.
HairlessThoctar
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
While being colored and a creature make is marginally worse than it's Cursed predecessor, I'm truly surprised this isn't played more.
Tommy9898
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Why doesn't anyone use him? He is a creature, can be killed, summoning sickness, useless early game when you have a full hand. late game, might as well be a prodigal pyromancer better off just attacking for one.
BrutalJim
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
He's a burn deck card, since burn decks go through their hand quickly. Then you can use this card's ability every time you draw for a guaranteed 2 damage a turn. Not bad. 3.5/5.
Omenchild
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Shoulda had hate. Plus Cursed Scroll sucks now anyways, it was a pretty pathetic card in my eyes anyways, it was just a good way to do damage in a control deck holding a counterspell. Just say go on your turn, and burn on the end of turn
Lateralis0ne
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
SavageBrain, if that was the case, they'd've had to change the original. This is a flavor card; its ability may not be top notch, but it's a throwback to a very, very powerful card. Don't understimate, simply because it looks weak. The entire 15-card cycle was created for flavor reasons. Don't go assuming they can just change this or any of its counterparts willy nilly.
Magnor_Criol
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The fact that he doesn't have any flavor text on him feels...wrong to me somehow. All the Magus cycle are so completely flavorful they just beg for flavor text if they can fit it.
Jaz.
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Just to revisit with some recent sets, there's little reason nobody plays this guy. He misses the colorless damage of his cursed paper, he makes up for it with synergy.
+ Training Grounds makes very efficient payments. Throw in untapping capability for lot's of fun. + Ranger of Eos can tutor this guy in. (For whatever reason you may want). + Sure is susceptible to removal, but so what? Everything is, and with the Scars block released, artifacts are no longer safe either. But there's plenty of ways around removal. But the bonus is that it can be pumped/protected by conventional means.
He seems fun. Definitely budget Scroll, and nothing wrong with that. I'd run it.
Hoonster
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Certainly, not as good as Cursed Scroll. Mainly for summoning sickness, inability to deal colorless damage, and poor body of 1/1 that dies to mass burn such as Earthquake and Pyroclasm. This card, however, avoids artifact removals, has ability to deal one damage when mana is not available (of course, not the safest option), and can be combined with Training Ground.
DarthParallax
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Lowest rated Magus, it looks like. Not bad, not bad. Just not 'WOW!'
jettjj
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
While I love the nostalgia of this cycle, this one disappointments me the most. It would be so awesome if it was just another color. Cursed Scroll was great in U/W control lists as their removal / win condition. If you are already running R, you have such better options than this...
Dabok
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I love using this card in my RDW deck. We can discuss on and on about what's better and what's not. But as a casual magic player, I play with the cards I have and make the best out of it. And this card does it's job well :)
psychichobo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Eh, he's alright-ish, but he's a bit awkward, especially if you're not topdecking. And if you're down to just one card in your hand you kind of don't want to reveal it for an expensive shock, even if it is on a stick.
It's the red that does it. Other colours might've liked the Original, but red, despite topdecking quickly, still wants to bluff a Lightning Bolt where possible.
Plus, there's a couple of red draw cards now - Desperate Wager and that one from M13. I suppose the Wager wants to be the last card in your hand though, so could work.
Missile_Penguin
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
Every card in Time Spiral was a throwback to at least one previously printed card.
@jettjj: While I love the nostalgia of this cycle, this one disappointments me the most. It would be so awesome if it was just another color. Cursed Scroll was great in U/W control lists as their removal / win condition. If you are already running R, you have such better options than this... so, jettjj, are you saying that, since a lot of time ago WU used a broken repeatable source of damages, and now WU can't do it anymore because it lacks said source (since, you know, W and U are NOT colors of direct damages), they should have printed this in blue or white, instead of red, THE color of damages? That makes any sense?
For this card, I love it... It's a little like a Grim Lavamancer, but more for the lategame, that costs instead of ... For me, it's a solid 4.5/5
Comments (21)
better off just attacking for one.
+ Training Grounds makes very efficient payments. Throw in untapping capability for lot's of fun.
+ Ranger of Eos can tutor this guy in. (For whatever reason you may want).
+ Sure is susceptible to removal, but so what? Everything is, and with the Scars block released, artifacts are no longer safe either. But there's plenty of ways around removal. But the bonus is that it can be pumped/protected by conventional means.
He seems fun. Definitely budget Scroll, and nothing wrong with that. I'd run it.
This card, however, avoids artifact removals, has ability to deal one damage when mana is not available (of course, not the safest option), and can be combined with Training Ground.
We can discuss on and on about what's better and what's not. But as a casual magic player, I play with the cards I have and make the best out of it. And this card does it's job well :)
It's the red that does it. Other colours might've liked the Original, but red, despite topdecking quickly, still wants to bluff a Lightning Bolt where possible.
Plus, there's a couple of red draw cards now - Desperate Wager and that one from M13. I suppose the Wager wants to be the last card in your hand though, so could work.
This card references Cursed Scroll and is part of the "Magus" super cycle of rare creatures. The cycle in Time Spiral all reference one of the most powerful artifacts ever; the others are Magus of the Candelabra, Magus of the Mirror, Magus of the Jar, and Magus of the Disk.
The Planar Chaos part of the cycle focuses on powerful lands: Magus of the Tabernacle, Magus of the Bazaar, Magus of the Coffers, Magus of the Arena, and Magus of the Library. The Future Sight part of the cycle focuses on powerful enchantments: Magus of the Moat, Magus of the Future, Magus of the Abyss, Magus of the Moon, and Magus of the Vineyard.
While I love the nostalgia of this cycle, this one disappointments me the most. It would be so awesome if it was just another color. Cursed Scroll was great in U/W control lists as their removal / win condition. If you are already running R, you have such better options than this...
so, jettjj, are you saying that, since a lot of time ago WU used a broken repeatable source of damages, and now WU can't do it anymore because it lacks said source (since, you know, W and U are NOT colors of direct damages), they should have printed this in blue or white, instead of red, THE color of damages? That makes any sense?
For this card, I love it... It's a little like a Grim Lavamancer, but more for the lategame, that costs
For me, it's a solid 4.5/5