Trading an abundant resource for a much more powerful, harder-to-come-by resource? I mean, I guess that's okay...
Gilgamesh3000
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Wicked engine. What's happening in the art?
MasterOfEtherium
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(15 votes)
Insanely Powerful, Awesome Art. And Who Doesnt Love Drawing Cards
TheFlamingoKing
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(7 votes)
Necropotence is so broken, MaRo couldn't even fix it by doubling the CMC. So we got "second Necro". All made possible, however, by the most broken black card ever, Dark Ritual.
raptorman333
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
What commodity does Yawgmoth crave?
Kryptnyt
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(5 votes)
nooo... he eats draw steps.
Gear61
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(5 votes)
Lol, it's still broken.
A3Kitsune
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
MaRo designed this card with an activation cost of 2 life. Maybe if that cost hadn't been halved, this wouldn't have been a broken card. If it still would have been broken, it wouldn't have been as broken.
bijart_dauth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(5 votes)
if evryone sais that this is way worse than necropotence than why is it rated higher.
bijart_dauth: 1) Nobody said this card is "way worse" than Necro.....
2) Ratings don't always mean that much. I mean, Necro is a 5/5 card no matter who you are; it broke the entire '96 Pro Tour. If it isn't rated 5, it's because new players who aren't used to the game (not saying they're n00bs or stupid or anything, just not familiar) aren't seeing the potential and have never read about Magic history.
even with 2 life it still would've been broken. Drawing cards need to require something less plentiful or else it's way to easy to fix your hand. That is probably the reason why we don't have a draw spell that say something along the lines of, "you may pay 3 life instead of paying this cards mana-cost..."
Wizards finally learned that paying life isn't so much of a drawback in good decks--take putrid leech. If they didn't add the second clause it would be yawgmoth's bargain all over again.
benzensulfonic
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Ok, let's say I'm a noob who just got into MTG.... How is this card (and Necropotence for that matter) helpful to you?
DoctorKenneth
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(11 votes)
It's time for commenting on the comments again! Huzzah! Lets dip into the mailbag and see what we have...
Gilgamesh3000 asks: "What's happening in the art?"
Well, Gilgamesh, thanks for taking the time away from ruling ancient kingdoms to comment on this card. Taking a look at the art, I'd wager it's some kind of bargain. Some kind of bargain with Yawgmoth.
benzensulfonic writes: "Ok, let's say I'm a noob who just got into MTG.... How is this card (and Necropotence for that matter) helpful to you?"
Let me put it like this. Your life total is generally the primary obstacle your opponent must overcome in order to win the game. Knowing this, new players feel it's important above all else to protect this life total. In effect, they are mostly correct. But there is a saying among the more experienced players that "the only life point that matters is the last one." That is to say, while it is more perilous to be at 3 life than 20 (what with Lightning Bolts flying around), if you are in a position to defend yourself, it shouldn't matter. What I'm getting at here, is that life is a semi-expendable resource. Experienced players gladly take the hits from their painlands (lands that deal damage to you) to fix their mana. Since early on in the game, players poured their life into Channel and its ilk to win just a little bit faster. The concept is a little more in-depth than that, but you get the point.
The most valuable resource in this game is card advantage. Lets say you have a spell that reads "Counter target spell. Draw a card". This means that, when using it, you have used one of your cards to negate one of your opponents cards. Plus, you have replaced the spell you just played with a new card. You have lost nothing, in effect, but your opponent has lost something. You have then gained card advantage over your opponent. Spells like Blightning and other discard effects have always been popular because they create this advantage; and card drawing effects are popular for the same reason. When a player has run out of spells in their hand, their options are vastly reduced. The player with more cards available has more control over the state of the board, while the top-decking player has to rely more heavily on the state of the board they have already set up. So in effect, Yawgmoth's Bargain creates a huge amount of this card advantage. You lose nothing of great value, but you get a card. With that, you can be sure that you have a steady flow of creatures, removal, and other such things, when your opponent(s) are "out of gas", so to speak. The bargain doesn't "win you the game" on it's own. It's what's called an "engine"- a card that enables other cards to work more effectively for you. When played early with Dark Ritual, this will undoubtably get you the means of winning the game. It will draw you more cards than many new players would expect. More cards equals stronger position.
Hope that helped!
boneclub
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(8 votes)
Yawgmoth's New Bargain 4BB Sorcery As an additional cost to cast ~, pay 19 life. Draw 19 cards.
--Nate--
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
One of the best parts about this card is that it's fairly cheap because most people don't understand why it's good.
KingCody77
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
a personal edh, funny as hell when someone makes your life 10 and you draw in responds by milling your self
ChampionofSquee
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
lol Psychosis Crawler get 1 life ahead of your opponent and draw like crazy.
land_comment
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I was one of the few people when I started playing magic in my group that was actually willing to take a lot of damage to save my creatures. I also worshipped spellbook. When I saw this, I started drooling.
VarteDod
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(9 votes)
They tried to fix Necropotence. They failed miserably.
Cheza
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
I think 2 life per card would have been the better balanced bargain effect on both Necro and this.
leomistico
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
To the people thinking that paying 2 life per card should fix this and necro I say: "You are Greed!" ;-) I think is the {B} in the activation cost that ruin Greed, because it could be the definitive Necro-fix...
jtwhat87
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
favorite card from one of my favorite sets, favorite artwork, favorite flavor text. awesome.
Mattmedia
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Ferlord, Phyrexian Arena is a great card, but way too slow, this card on the other hand is turbo'ed, usually playing card will mean you can win this turn or next turn, where as phyrexian arena is only for boosting for the rest of the game
Rezzy64
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Love this enchantment! IMO it's better than Necropotence, I'm playing a very mean and nasty deck that uses underhanded tactics to get this out by often turn 4 or 5. Then I draw like my life depends on it (literally!). Then discard everything I have as fast as I possibly can for an immense power up and then swing for the kill. I love it. Try playing this card with Wild Mongrel or Psychatog. Swing for a kill by turn 4 or 5.
jfre81
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(8 votes)
Necropotence vs. Yawgmoth's Bargain.
Necropotence can get played on first turn with Dark Ritual Yawgmoth's Bargain could get out on first turn with two Rituals plus something that gives you at least one free mana, e.g. Lotus Petal or Mox Jet. Advantage: Necropotence. I'd prefer to save the Rituals for playing something drawn with it rather than getting the enchantment out on first turn.
Necropotence is not card drawing - the cards are coming from the exile zone - so it does not work with Archmage Ascension. Yawgmoth's Bargain is card drawing, so it does work with it, and you can hit it on someone else's turn to rack up the counters. Soon, it's pay one life for Demonic Tutor. Wicked. Advantage: Yawgmoth's Bargain.
Necropotence and Yawgmoth's Bargain both fall to any enchantment removal and black doesn't have much of an answer for it. This is why I've never considered either one truly broken, just highly powerful and highly characteristic of black. Advantage: Draw.
You can't go wrong with either one.
JFM2796
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This is completely broken. The fact that you can do it at instant speed pushes it over the top.
CornIsTasty
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@ Belz_
Just throw a Confessor in with that combo and you pretty much have free black mana.
Paladin85
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Now thats a real bargain!
Think paying 1 life for a card is a 'big drawback'? You haven't seen the true power of this card
5/5
001010011100101110
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
Yawgmoth made a good bargain, wrote a good will, and even his tomb is a piece of treasure. However, his edict was too specific, his agenda too slow, his demon too greedy, not too bad of a priest, maybe gave a bad order, but really, no one ever wanted to look into his eye.
Reliquium
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(16 votes)
Is it pecan pie? I'll bet it's pecan pie. I don't blame him.
bfellow
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Words of Worship? Really!?!
How about just win the game like his will?
dlgn
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The funny thing is, this is rated lower than Necropotence.
Superllama12
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Damn right it's a bargain!
WanderleiSilva
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
The most powerful permanent in the history of MTG.
erm... if i resolve a yawgmauth's bargain, you're going to have to worry about more than a piddly 7 damage from griselbrand.
griselbrand is "strictly worse" than bargain because bargain always wins the game when it resolves... have you not heard of storm? tendrils of corruption? dark rituals?
griselbrand pretty much has to be cheated into play, but yawg's bargain is relatively easy just to hardcast with enough acceleration from cabal ritual and dark ritual...
Dubbios
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Some people just dont understand power.
Morgaledh
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Skip my draw step. How is that good? I don't draw a card... and then I have to pay 1 life to draw a card??? What am I missing here?
Oh wait....
Pay 2 life = draw 2 cards this round. Pay 7 life = draw 7 cards this round.
Just wait until the end of your opponent(s) turn, draw cards equal to all but one of your life total. If the Crawler doesn't kill them, then you get back all but four of your life at the beginning of your turn, then discard every card in your hand but Exsanguinate with Skirge and cast for the win. Works every time. If you want a laugh then pair this card with Mycosynth Lattice and Darksteel Forge to let people freak out at how their enchantment removal is now worthless. Best engine ever for us combo-happy Johnys out there.
MassiveMassive
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Personally, I think this card is the greatest mistake Wizards ever made... yet it saw print. Broken in every format even at six mana, an auto-win if it lands on the table. 5/5
TheWrathofShane
★☆☆☆☆ (1.4/5.0)(5 votes)
You win the game...
.5/5 for balancing and development, like the rest of the Urza Block.
BongRipper420
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is a damn good reason for me to consider splashing black in my Elf Ramp deck.
Legendary Creature versus Enchantment...interesting. He's the kind of creature you'll really want to give some kind of equipment to anyway, so he's probably LESS removable than Bargain, since he already has 'poor man's protection from Black' (being Black), so adding, say, Sword of War and Peace...yeah that'll be good :)
The life loss is 1/3 of Standard starting lifetotal, but ~1/6 of Commander starting total. And you pay it all at once, rather than 1 at a time. In 60-card play, Bargain MIGHT seem more versatile....
LIFELINK. 7 POWER. ACTUALLY, YOU SHOULD BE DRAWING THE CARDS "FOR FREE". oh. OH.
Damn.
Griselbrand isn't 'strictly' better than this card---except in Kaalia of the Vast.
In Kaalia of the Vast, Yawgmoth's Bargain costs you 0 mana and 0 life and you don't have to skip your draw step, but you do get to smash for 7 in the air. Griselbrand is probably more powerful than Necropotence in Kaalia's Deck.
adrian.malacoda: So Yawgmoth's Bargain and Griselbrand are both Banned in Commander. I think this simply proves my point that Griselbrand is at least as mighty if not more than Yawgmoth's Bargain. And Griselbrand is not Banned in Legacy, yet, and is makng lots of noise over there. Wierdly, it would be easier to get Griselbrand into play than Bargain, even if Bargain were Legal there. Being faster to get on the battlefield AND much more powerful with the lifelink thing, it must be just a stupidly huge deal in Legacy that Griselbrand Dies To Plowshares.
From now on, I'm giving every card spoiled that doesn't Die To Plowshares an extra 1.5 Stars, and an extra .2 Stars after that if it doesn't Die to Bolt. So every noncreature is an automatic 1.7 Stars, and a creature that doesn't Die to either gets 2 full stars of 'bump'.
Demonic_Professor
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Griselbrand costs {2} more than this. Griselbrand is easier to cheat into play via reanimation.
Griselbrand has to draw in groups of 7 paying 7 life at a time. Griselbrand heals you if it survives out there a turn.
Griselbrand is a creature so its easier to kill. Griselbrand is a creature so it deals damage.
Not saying Griselbrand is better, because it isn't. Not saying this is somehow balanced, because it isn't. Just saying that Griselbrand is pretty damn broken too. I'm surprised it doesn't see more legacy play.
donjohnson
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great combo with Sickening Dreams. Draw a bunch of cards then clean house with SD's.
Claytoon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Double the mana cost? Nope, still broken. Try again.
DlCK
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
What you say: "Wow Yawgmoth, you drive a really hard bargain, but I accept, here's 1 life," draws a card.
What you think: *Haha, sucker, I easily would have paid twice that amount*
Goatllama
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
That certainly issome bargain. Yawgmoth, you rascal, you!
Nasferot2
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
swamp,lotus petal,Academy Rector kill him off boom
Xineombine
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Daibolic combo with Eternity Vessel !!!!
Lifegainwithbite
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
The reason this card can be much better than Griselbrand is that with this out you can cycle through your entire deck till you find something you're looking for and it won't even cost you very much life.
Pay 1 life. Nope didn't find it. Pay 1 life. Nope. Pay 1 life. Nope. Pay 1 life. Oh there it is!
With Griselbrand, you can only draw in lots of 7 so you can't do that as easily.
Aquillion
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
It's amusing that Necropotence was so broken that they could double its cost and it was still broken.
swagtusk
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Well at least until they update the sets and legalities tab I'm going to sneak this into my commander deck next to its Darth Vader looking brother Necro.
Flarhoon
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
This is banned in EDH, not legal as Gatherer shows. http://mtgcommander.net/rules.php
Enelysios
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This isn't just a necropotence that costs twice as much. It has some advantages in that you actually just draw the cards at instant speed and more importantly you can discard to fuel Yawgmoth's will or reanimation or whatever else you need a graveyard for.
As for Bargain Vs Griselbrand, yes, Bargain is better, but not 'strictly better'. Griselbrand is a creature, a rather meaty creature that is useful whenever creatures are useful. He is easier to reanimate for a dredge deck, he works as a way to kill your opponent. Plus, you don't skip your draw step. On the downside, he costs more and you have to buy your draws in batches of 7. He is a different card and both are good. Hell, both are exceptional. There is no reason that both can't be useful.
WILL SOMEONE PLEASE CHANGE THE LEGALITY IN THE COMMANDER SECTION?????????????
and why is Necropotence not banned but this is? cuz you have to exile card when you discard?
nunyaJs
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This and Cadaverous Bloom gets out of hand quick. Bargain plus Rhystic Siphon and Skirge Familiar is a solid game plan, or you can just play it the way Necro used to be played and simply out pace the other guy. Tweaked versions of old broken cards often nets new broken cards.
On an different note: I notice a lot of people talking about how broken Urza's block was... That's not ENTIRELY accurate. Urza's had a HANDFUL of broken cards that warped the game. the vast majority of the block were very "meh".
blurrymadness
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@jfre81 The reason they're broken isn't because they can be destroyed; it's that in destroying them your opponent responds by paying life, drawing cards, and winning next turn anyway. The only counters to this card are counterspells.
Combo cards like this aren't there to slowly increase your draw like a Dark Confidant, they explosively draw the top huge-amount of your library and allow you to win on the spot. The idea that this is balanced by enchantment removal implies that Ad Nauseam is better; which is hard to swallow. That card is awesome; but mostly because it's the best in the format at what it does; and not because it's a non-enchantment.
Not all of the cards I mentioned are bad, but none of them are overpowered. Some people may consider Yawgmoth's Agenda overpowered, but others might not.
Lazrbeams
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
First, accelerate into it with rituals, then, draw more rituals, then cast more rituals, then win with tendrils of agony
Yawgmoth really like storm decks, (as seen in his will)
TheKazu
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Please look at this.
People talk about the {B}{B} difference between this and griselbrand. It seriously doesn't even matter. Nobody ever hardcasts griselbrand. It just means that rather than requiring (another) Dark Ritual as a combo piece to get this thing out at a reasonable point in time, you're going to be needing a Reanimate or the like.
What you're giving up with griselbrand is the ability to incrementally draw, which is kind of a big deal. But you're getting something which is just as big of a deal, and that is a win condition that on the very next turn will make up for your loss of life. They need to try this card in Legacy again.
gunkookshlinger
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
it says this is legal in commander here but then it's on wizards' banlist, why? slow to update gatherer?
Comments (71)
2) Ratings don't always mean that much. I mean, Necro is a 5/5 card no matter who you are; it broke the entire '96 Pro Tour. If it isn't rated 5, it's because new players who aren't used to the game (not saying they're n00bs or stupid or anything, just not familiar) aren't seeing the potential and have never read about Magic history.
"How do we guarantee a powercard in the ridiculous format that is Urza's block?"
"I know! Make a black card and put 'Yawgmoth' in the name!"
"Oh, yeah!"
Wizards finally learned that paying life isn't so much of a drawback in good decks--take putrid leech. If they didn't add the second clause it would be yawgmoth's bargain all over again.
Gilgamesh3000 asks: "What's happening in the art?"
Well, Gilgamesh, thanks for taking the time away from ruling ancient kingdoms to comment on this card. Taking a look at the art, I'd wager it's some kind of bargain. Some kind of bargain with Yawgmoth.
benzensulfonic writes: "Ok, let's say I'm a noob who just got into MTG.... How is this card (and Necropotence for that matter) helpful to you?"
Let me put it like this. Your life total is generally the primary obstacle your opponent must overcome in order to win the game. Knowing this, new players feel it's important above all else to protect this life total. In effect, they are mostly correct. But there is a saying among the more experienced players that "the only life point that matters is the last one." That is to say, while it is more perilous to be at 3 life than 20 (what with Lightning Bolts flying around), if you are in a position to defend yourself, it shouldn't matter. What I'm getting at here, is that life is a semi-expendable resource. Experienced players gladly take the hits from their painlands (lands that deal damage to you) to fix their mana. Since early on in the game, players poured their life into Channel and its ilk to win just a little bit faster. The concept is a little more in-depth than that, but you get the point.
The most valuable resource in this game is card advantage. Lets say you have a spell that reads "Counter target spell. Draw a card". This means that, when using it, you have used one of your cards to negate one of your opponents cards. Plus, you have replaced the spell you just played with a new card. You have lost nothing, in effect, but your opponent has lost something. You have then gained card advantage over your opponent. Spells like Blightning and other discard effects have always been popular because they create this advantage; and card drawing effects are popular for the same reason. When a player has run out of spells in their hand, their options are vastly reduced. The player with more cards available has more control over the state of the board, while the top-decking player has to rely more heavily on the state of the board they have already set up. So in effect, Yawgmoth's Bargain creates a huge amount of this card advantage. You lose nothing of great value, but you get a card. With that, you can be sure that you have a steady flow of creatures, removal, and other such things, when your opponent(s) are "out of gas", so to speak. The bargain doesn't "win you the game" on it's own. It's what's called an "engine"- a card that enables other cards to work more effectively for you. When played early with Dark Ritual, this will undoubtably get you the means of winning the game. It will draw you more cards than many new players would expect. More cards equals stronger position.
Hope that helped!
Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast ~, pay 19 life. Draw 19 cards.
I think is the {B} in the activation cost that ruin Greed, because it could be the definitive Necro-fix...
Necropotence can get played on first turn with Dark Ritual
Yawgmoth's Bargain could get out on first turn with two Rituals plus something that gives you at least one free mana, e.g. Lotus Petal or Mox Jet.
Advantage: Necropotence. I'd prefer to save the Rituals for playing something drawn with it rather than getting the enchantment out on first turn.
Necropotence is not card drawing - the cards are coming from the exile zone - so it does not work with Archmage Ascension. Yawgmoth's Bargain is card drawing, so it does work with it, and you can hit it on someone else's turn to rack up the counters. Soon, it's pay one life for Demonic Tutor. Wicked.
Advantage: Yawgmoth's Bargain.
Necropotence and Yawgmoth's Bargain both fall to any enchantment removal and black doesn't have much of an answer for it. This is why I've never considered either one truly broken, just highly powerful and highly characteristic of black.
Advantage: Draw.
You can't go wrong with either one.
Just throw a Confessor in with that combo and you pretty much have free black mana.
Think paying 1 life for a card is a 'big drawback'? You haven't seen the true power of this card
5/5
How about just win the game like his will?
U mad darthparallax?
griselbrand is "strictly worse" than bargain because bargain always wins the game when it resolves...
have you not heard of storm?
tendrils of corruption?
dark rituals?
griselbrand pretty much has to be cheated into play, but yawg's bargain is relatively easy just to hardcast with enough acceleration from cabal ritual and dark ritual...
Oh wait....
Pay 2 life = draw 2 cards this round.
Pay 7 life = draw 7 cards this round.
Oh God....
Just wait until the end of your opponent(s) turn, draw cards equal to all but one of your life total. If the Crawler doesn't kill them, then you get back all but four of your life at the beginning of your turn, then discard every card in your hand but Exsanguinate with Skirge and cast for the win. Works every time. If you want a laugh then pair this card with Mycosynth Lattice and Darksteel Forge to let people freak out at how their enchantment removal is now worthless. Best engine ever for us combo-happy Johnys out there.
5/5
You win the game...
.5/5 for balancing and development, like the rest of the Urza Block.
Why decide? They're both restricted so run both!
LEGENDARY DEMON
7/7 FLYING LIFELINK
PAY 7 LIFE: DRAW 7 CARDS
let's review:
Legendary Creature versus Enchantment...interesting. He's the kind of creature you'll really want to give some kind of equipment to anyway, so he's probably LESS removable than Bargain, since he already has 'poor man's protection from Black' (being Black), so adding, say, Sword of War and Peace...yeah that'll be good :)
The life loss is 1/3 of Standard starting lifetotal, but ~1/6 of Commander starting total. And you pay it all at once, rather than 1 at a time. In 60-card play, Bargain MIGHT seem more versatile....
LIFELINK. 7 POWER. ACTUALLY, YOU SHOULD BE DRAWING THE CARDS "FOR FREE".
oh.
OH.
Damn.
Griselbrand isn't 'strictly' better than this card---except in Kaalia of the Vast.
In Kaalia of the Vast, Yawgmoth's Bargain costs you 0 mana and 0 life and you don't have to skip your draw step, but you do get to smash for 7 in the air. Griselbrand is probably more powerful than Necropotence in Kaalia's Deck.
adrian.malacoda: So Yawgmoth's Bargain and Griselbrand are both Banned in Commander. I think this simply proves my point that Griselbrand is at least as mighty if not more than Yawgmoth's Bargain.
And Griselbrand is not Banned in Legacy, yet, and is makng lots of noise over there. Wierdly, it would be easier to get Griselbrand into play than Bargain, even if Bargain were Legal there. Being faster to get on the battlefield AND much more powerful with the lifelink thing, it must be just a stupidly huge deal in Legacy that Griselbrand Dies To Plowshares.
From now on, I'm giving every card spoiled that doesn't Die To Plowshares an extra 1.5 Stars, and an extra .2 Stars after that if it doesn't Die to Bolt. So every noncreature is an automatic 1.7 Stars, and a creature that doesn't Die to either gets 2 full stars of 'bump'.
Griselbrand is easier to cheat into play via reanimation.
Griselbrand has to draw in groups of 7 paying 7 life at a time.
Griselbrand heals you if it survives out there a turn.
Griselbrand is a creature so its easier to kill.
Griselbrand is a creature so it deals damage.
Not saying Griselbrand is better, because it isn't. Not saying this is somehow balanced, because it isn't. Just saying that Griselbrand is pretty damn broken too. I'm surprised it doesn't see more legacy play.
Draw a bunch of cards then clean house with SD's.
"Wow Yawgmoth, you drive a really hard bargain, but I accept, here's 1 life," draws a card.
What you think:
*Haha, sucker, I easily would have paid twice that amount*
Pay 1 life. Nope didn't find it.
Pay 1 life. Nope.
Pay 1 life. Nope.
Pay 1 life. Oh there it is!
With Griselbrand, you can only draw in lots of 7 so you can't do that as easily.
As for Bargain Vs Griselbrand, yes, Bargain is better, but not 'strictly better'. Griselbrand is a creature, a rather meaty creature that is useful whenever creatures are useful. He is easier to reanimate for a dredge deck, he works as a way to kill your opponent. Plus, you don't skip your draw step. On the downside, he costs more and you have to buy your draws in batches of 7. He is a different card and both are good. Hell, both are exceptional. There is no reason that both can't be useful.
and why is Necropotence not banned but this is? cuz you have to exile card when you discard?
On an different note: I notice a lot of people talking about how broken Urza's block was... That's not ENTIRELY accurate. Urza's had a HANDFUL of broken cards that warped the game. the vast majority of the block were very "meh".
The reason they're broken isn't because they can be destroyed; it's that in destroying them your opponent responds by paying life, drawing cards, and winning next turn anyway. The only counters to this card are counterspells.
Combo cards like this aren't there to slowly increase your draw like a Dark Confidant, they explosively draw the top huge-amount of your library and allow you to win on the spot. The idea that this is balanced by enchantment removal implies that Ad Nauseam is better; which is hard to swallow. That card is awesome; but mostly because it's the best in the format at what it does; and not because it's a non-enchantment.
Yawgmoth's Bargain 4BB
Sorcery
You win the game.
Not all of the cards I mentioned are bad, but none of them are overpowered. Some people may consider Yawgmoth's Agenda overpowered, but others might not.
Yawgmoth really like storm decks, (as seen in his will)
People talk about the {B}{B} difference between this and griselbrand. It seriously doesn't even matter. Nobody ever hardcasts griselbrand. It just means that rather than requiring (another) Dark Ritual as a combo piece to get this thing out at a reasonable point in time, you're going to be needing a Reanimate or the like.
What you're giving up with griselbrand is the ability to incrementally draw, which is kind of a big deal. But you're getting something which is just as big of a deal, and that is a win condition that on the very next turn will make up for your loss of life. They need to try this card in Legacy again.