It's like Grease! Lets you just shift gears so well some times. Always keep a p/s of these handy.
Bezman
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(9 votes)
I don't understand why more people don't use this!
It's essentially a free cantrip - helping thin down your deck and giving you access to the cards you want WITHOUT costing you any mana! And that's even before we start to consider its colour-fixing qualities!
Having played it a fair bit and drafted it highly in Shadowmoor/Eventide, I realise the issues with having it in your opening hand - basically having less 'known information' - and in possibly missing an early 1-drop because we drew this card. Not to mention the problems with having this in-hand and no card we can definitely cast with our potential mana - to draw is to risk mana burn and a missed opportunity to mana-fix later; to not is to risk a missed opportunity to cast a spell that turn.
Regardless, in limited, I'd rather play this card than a merely average one - helping me draw my great cards - and in constructed, it's been a great boon to my 5-colour scarecrow deck and can help out in standard Naya/Jund decks.
True_Mumin
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(8 votes)
@ Bezman Well it's not like it fits in every deck out there, you know. But it's absolutely amazing in Storm!
Jodry
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(3 votes)
I am putting these into my mono-green Treefolk deck so I can play Doran, the Siege Tower.
Ziquallx
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(4 votes)
finally a card with no adverse affect!!!
Sooku
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(5 votes)
On top of being useful, it has some great flavor text.
Mode
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
As Bazeman said, it's an effectively free card, given that you can afford two mana. Might find some good use in multicolored decks. You can also benefit from this free cantrip if you have cards that profit from drawing. And it certainly works awesome in storm decks, too!
Although not the best combo imaginable, it does a nice job on the stick as well.
voodoolime
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(4 votes)
I run four of this in my casual Dragonstorm deck. A technically free spell to up the storm count, AND sweet cantrip gravy. Awesome card.
Arachibutyrophobia
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
LOL...no matter what plane you're on, goblins will always be silly!
cadenblade
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
4.5/5 (not full five because it can't be in every deck) definitely more useful than before since mana burn is no longer in effect.
What to do with that mana? Why copy Lightning Bolt infinitely with the Guildmage!
Daikoru
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Even when not using Storm stuff or any other combo, in a red or green deck, this card basically lowers your deck to 56 cards, giving you even more chance to get the cards you need.
allmighty_abacus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
one time I was playing monogreen beast tribal (think legions, but tweaked with a few of the newer cards) against saprolings. Saprolings were always slightly ahead of me from the beginning of the game, but for some reason not attacking me. Then they hit like 30+ sap tokens, dropped overrun and a few others and decided to go all out.
I manamorphosed into batwing brume, which I had included 1 of almost as an afterthought. That poor fool was utterly dumbfounded.
Another time I was playing monored goblin tribal against an affinity deck. Guy drops two darksteel colossi, I respond by manamorphosing into double path to exiles.
I love this card for the sheer amount of unexpected plays you can make. Grixis can run (a kicked!) vines of vastwood, naya can run false cure... if your deck can produce either red or green, you can sideboard any card in magic that costs 2 mana (or up to 8, if you're feeling lucky).
cheesechimp
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(3 votes)
@Maximillini86 That combo is not actually infinite. Under optimal conditions, you can only get about 50 mana before you deck yourself with Manamorphose's card draw. Don't get me wrong, you SHOULD be able to win with 50 mana of any colors and your entire deck in hand, but strictly speaking the combo is finite.
@TheSwarm As I understand it, You pay two mana to play manamorphose, and you have to invest a third mana not from the combo to make the first copy while manamorphose is still on the stack. Now, you let the copy resolve but not the original, and use the mana from the copy to active the ability to copy the, still on the stack, original.
keikun332
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(6 votes)
I would really love to be corrected and shown other cards that meet the following criteria...
but I beleive, this is the only card in magic the gathering that DOES NOT impact you in a postiive or negative manner at all in terms of card/mana use (besides deck thinning, storm counter and mana fixing)
It replaces itself card wise and mana wise without adding or subtracting anything from the field at all.
It is the absolute equivalent to draw a card for 0 mana if you we're to discount the fact that this game requires mana to play.
Very interesting card and is very transparent in terms of how to use it. You just..... Use it if you run red/green and have access to it. It has no draw back at all and all you have to gain is a new card and fixed mana.
masonthekiller
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Great with Thunderscape or Thornscape Familiar, or any mana cost reducing spells.
Mana filter + cantrip. I see no problems, officer.
+ It enables torm combos and can be used w/ Izzet Guildmage and Training grounds to draw your deck and add 50 some mana to your pool.
5/5
Nathreet
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If it's in your draw hand it might hide future cards you'll draw, which is a drawback. If you draw into this card there is absolutely no drawback whatsoever. At the very least you can immediately replace it for free. That's free deck thinning. I can see why this should be in every red OR green deck.
AvatarOfHOE
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@keikun332: It's not the only card of its kind. See also Time Spiral.
Elegant beauty. Thins decks, fixes colors, builds storms, and is easy to splash. Can't really argue with that. 4.5 from me.
TheSwarm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Actually is the Izzet combo infinite at all? You are copying the spell before it resolves, and you dont get the mana from the resolution. Its greeeat mana accel and card draw but not infinite.
Actually, when I think about it, this card is kind of broken. Its free and takes up no card advantage whatsoever
SeiberTross
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(12 votes)
Shadowmoor: Flipping tables since 2008.
Superllama12
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's essentially nothing-you get back the mana you spent, and you replace it! Amazing deck thinning, plus color fixing, and crazy combo potential, especially with Izzet Guildmage and Training Grounds...the epitome of a card that works for Johnny for his comboing needs, Timmy to play his fatties, and Spike because, well, it's freaking awesome!
5/5
Tynansdtm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Cheesechimp: I have a one-of Elixir of Immortality in my Thopter Foundry+Sword of the Meek+Time Seive infinite turn combo. Infinite to the Elixir, and recycle. Though that takes 3 mana to activate, so you need at least two other card in the graveyard (some sort of free sac/spell drop like Ashnod's Coupon (heh), Black Lotus (yeah right) Lotus Petal (you'd only need one of these, not two cards) Dark Sphere, Delif's Cone, Shifting Wall, Phyrexian Maurader, Tormod's Crypt, Mishra's Urza's Bauble, any Pact) for the Manamorphose combo, or else you'll be losing one mana per cycle. A lot of options, and when you have your deck in your hand they should be easy to get. Still, though, the Elixer adds life gain to this infinite combo, albeit very slowly.
Fictionarious
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Hey look, it's a Gitaxian Probe that costs mana instead of life, requires red or green, doesn't give you a look at your opponent's hand, and doesn't have an alternate cost of one blue mana!
Amazing card in it's colors nonetheless.
Corey_bayoudragonfly
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@cheesechimp - Not to call you out or anything, since you're not wrong, but I'd like to add that, while the combo to which you're referring (Manamorphose + Izzet Guildmage + Training Grounds) is not infinite from the standpoint of a built deck, as the deck has a determined side, and this cantrips, it is infinite from a potential standpoint, in that the potential size of a deck has no upper bound, so the possible amount of mana/card draw is also without an upper limit (not that it is at all advisable to make a thousand-card deck or so). Also, @Fictionarious, this does have the (not insignificant) boon of being an instant.
Nukeleo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
An absolutely beast card. Red decks choose not to run it only when they just honestly can't fit it in. All combo and storm decks consider if not auto-include it.
The only thing it could do to be better, besides more mana, is tutor instead of draw and at that point we're encroaching on power nine territory.
On top of all that: It's a wicked fun card to play with!
__Silence__
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Due to Innistrad Training Grounds, Izzet Guildmage, Manamorphose AND Laboratory Maniac you can win extremely easy. Oh and for those wonder where to find the Innistrad spoilers go here:
I absolutely love this card. I have a deal with a local gamestore that stockpiles these for me whenever they get them, and I buy them. I put them in every red, green, or red/green deck I build. I've never been at a disadvantage when casting them, and the drawn card is almost always useful. I probably have close to 40 of these things running through my current decks right now. Training Grounds + Izzet Guildmage + Manamorphose + Grapeshot has become the primary combo in my most recent Izzet deck. Also runs Banefire for staving off counterspell decks.
Edit: To see how the combo works, just look at the comments for Izzet Guildmage. Someone does a similar trick with Lava Spike and Desperate Ritual. Same concept, different cards.
igniteice
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's frightening when you can't stop this + Izzet Guildmage. They just respond to whatever you do with more mana and more card draw. Thank god for Sudden Spoiling.
Amorgan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card pretty much says: Fix 2 mana, Draw a card. Straight up Cantrip with a little bonus, or a big one depending on what you're playing
And there is a reason this card costs 4 dollars.... It's a COMMON!!!
Snafinturtle
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It was all going so well until some of the most recent comments...
@Endersblade: When you copy a spell on the stack, you are not casting a spell, therefore it does not add to storm count, Nice try though. the desperate ritual + lava spike combo works wonders though and is a wincon for my Modern deck.
@Jsttu: Djinn Illuminatus gives your spells replicate, which is an Additional Cost to casting the spell, not a "copy this by spending its mana cost while its on the stack" it is impossible to go infinite with this card and the Djinn, Unless you already have infinite mana. Pact of the Titan works because it costs 0 so you can replicate it infinitely. The copies do not count as spells cast, so don't count towards Grapeshot's storm count.
As for Me, my current Modern Deck runs this, Mishra's Baubles, Street wraiths, and Gitaxian Probes along with two Serum powder for optimal efficiency with the combo, considering you only need two or three land in that style of deck.
Psychrates
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have waited for WoTC to make this card for years, and they even added a cantrip. Now with a lil help, I can play ANY 5 CMC spell 1st turn(not just red).
Ulixes_Pyr
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I just realized... having a playset of this card in a deck does not really affect your deck size at all, because when it is cast it replaces itself with a card and two mana. Fantastic in any deck that runs two or more colors including green/red for the color correction.
The only problem with it from a design viewpoint is that it is one of those cards that simply makes a deck with those colors more efficient, no matter what, like a black lotus.
If you at any point have Metalcraft with the Paladin, Sunforger, and the Wheel on the board, you can whip the Sunforger for infinite Manamorphoses, which offers a variety of win-cons: draw your whole library, then cast infinite rituals; or alternate Manamorphoses and rituals to generate ~50-100 mana while drawing only about half of your library (probably a little safer)..., or just Manamorphose until you draw a Grapeshot and fire away, or... heck, it's infinite mana and infinite card draw, do whatever you want with it.
MithosFall
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The great part about this card is that it completely replaces itself plus changing your mana to what you need it to be.
The_AC
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I don't always play gruul, but when I do, I play with what is basically a 56-card deck.
Stay deck-thinned, my friends.
Xineombine
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
HAHA Suck it Blue!!!
Continue
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Getting a Modern Masters reprint (as an uncommon, thankfully).
chainsmoker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
plays a gruul deck and still can cast counterspell. thats value for you.
Totema
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"Ugh, I can't figure out these iron rings puzzles. Here, you try them."
Comments (53)
It's essentially a free cantrip - helping thin down your deck and giving you access to the cards you want WITHOUT costing you any mana! And that's even before we start to consider its colour-fixing qualities!
Having played it a fair bit and drafted it highly in Shadowmoor/Eventide, I realise the issues with having it in your opening hand - basically having less 'known information' - and in possibly missing an early 1-drop because we drew this card. Not to mention the problems with having this in-hand and no card we can definitely cast with our potential mana - to draw is to risk mana burn and a missed opportunity to mana-fix later; to not is to risk a missed opportunity to cast a spell that turn.
Regardless, in limited, I'd rather play this card than a merely average one - helping me draw my great cards - and in constructed, it's been a great boon to my 5-colour scarecrow deck and can help out in standard Naya/Jund decks.
Well it's not like it fits in every deck out there, you know. But it's absolutely amazing in Storm!
Might find some good use in multicolored decks.
You can also benefit from this free cantrip if you have cards that profit from drawing.
And it certainly works awesome in storm decks, too!
Although not the best combo imaginable, it does a nice job on the stick as well.
5/5
Oh, and nice deck-size reducer.
What to do with that mana? Why copy Lightning Bolt infinitely with the Guildmage!
I manamorphosed into batwing brume, which I had included 1 of almost as an afterthought. That poor fool was utterly dumbfounded.
Another time I was playing monored goblin tribal against an affinity deck. Guy drops two darksteel colossi, I respond by manamorphosing into double path to exiles.
I love this card for the sheer amount of unexpected plays you can make. Grixis can run (a kicked!) vines of vastwood, naya can run false cure... if your deck can produce either red or green, you can sideboard any card in magic that costs 2 mana (or up to 8, if you're feeling lucky).
@TheSwarm As I understand it, You pay two mana to play manamorphose, and you have to invest a third mana not from the combo to make the first copy while manamorphose is still on the stack. Now, you let the copy resolve but not the original, and use the mana from the copy to active the ability to copy the, still on the stack, original.
but I beleive, this is the only card in magic the gathering that DOES NOT impact you in a postiive or negative manner at all in terms of card/mana use (besides deck thinning, storm counter and mana fixing)
It replaces itself card wise and mana wise without adding or subtracting anything from the field at all.
It is the absolute equivalent to draw a card for 0 mana if you we're to discount the fact that this game requires mana to play.
Very interesting card and is very transparent in terms of how to use it. You just..... Use it if you run red/green and have access to it. It has no draw back at all and all you have to gain is a new card and fixed mana.
Mana filter + cantrip. I see no problems, officer.
+ It enables torm combos and can be used w/ Izzet Guildmage and Training grounds to draw your deck and add 50 some mana to your pool.
5/5
I accidently just Gelectrode.
I accidently just ???
I accidently just Profit.
4.5 from me.
Actually, when I think about it, this card is kind of broken. Its free and takes up no card advantage whatsoever
5/5
Amazing card in it's colors nonetheless.
Also, @Fictionarious, this does have the (not insignificant) boon of being an instant.
The only thing it could do to be better, besides more mana, is tutor instead of draw and at that point we're encroaching on power nine territory.
On top of all that: It's a wicked fun card to play with!
http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/innistrad/cig#
Laboratory Maniac is blue by the way .
Training Grounds + Izzet Guildmage + Manamorphose + Grapeshot has become the primary combo in my most recent Izzet deck. Also runs Banefire for staving off counterspell decks.
Edit: To see how the combo works, just look at the comments for Izzet Guildmage. Someone does a similar trick with Lava Spike and Desperate Ritual. Same concept, different cards.
Straight up Cantrip with a little bonus, or a big one depending on what you're playing
And there is a reason this card costs 4 dollars.... It's a COMMON!!!
@Endersblade: When you copy a spell on the stack, you are not casting a spell, therefore it does not add to storm count, Nice try though. the desperate ritual + lava spike combo works wonders though and is a wincon for my Modern deck.
@Jsttu: Djinn Illuminatus gives your spells replicate, which is an Additional Cost to casting the spell, not a "copy this by spending its mana cost while its on the stack" it is impossible to go infinite with this card and the Djinn, Unless you already have infinite mana. Pact of the Titan works because it costs 0 so you can replicate it infinitely. The copies do not count as spells cast, so don't count towards Grapeshot's storm count.
As for Me, my current Modern Deck runs this, Mishra's Baubles, Street wraiths, and Gitaxian Probes along with two Serum powder for optimal efficiency with the combo, considering you only need two or three land in that style of deck.
The only problem with it from a design viewpoint is that it is one of those cards that simply makes a deck with those colors more efficient, no matter what, like a black lotus.
Sunforger + Puresteel Paladin + Wheel of Sun and Moon with this and Desperate Ritual and/or Seething Song (or any Ritual effect, really) in your deck.
If you at any point have Metalcraft with the Paladin, Sunforger, and the Wheel on the board, you can whip the Sunforger for infinite Manamorphoses, which offers a variety of win-cons: draw your whole library, then cast infinite rituals; or alternate Manamorphoses and rituals to generate ~50-100 mana while drawing only about half of your library (probably a little safer)..., or just Manamorphose until you draw a Grapeshot and fire away, or... heck, it's infinite mana and infinite card draw, do whatever you want with it.
Stay deck-thinned, my friends.