Aaron's Random Card Comment of the Day #34, 11/11/10
Sixth Edition picked up a bunch of mana artifacts from the Mirage set--specifically Mana Prism and five Diamonds (Marble Diamond, et al). Mirage itself had those six plus Lion's Eye Diamond, a suite modeled after the mana artifacts in Alpha. The uncommon Diamonds map to the Moxes, Lion's Eye Diamond to Black Lotus, and Mana Prism to, well, Celestial Prism. (There were no Mirage ánalogues to Sol Ring, Basalt Monolith, or Mana Vault.)
The lineage of Black Lotus is relatively well known, as a bunch of really powerful cards share that icon’s name and/or mechanics, most recently Time Spiral’s Lotus Bloom. The original Moxes, similarly, have a high-powered bunch of offspring, such as Scars of Mirrodin’s Mox Opal. But the most interesting family tree of all Alpha mana artifacts might just be that of Celestial Prism, which includes Mana Prism.
Celestial Prism was so bad compared to the rest of the mana artifacts in Alpha, all of which are far too good to ever be reprinted, that it had to be a “bad-on-purpose” type of card. There’s no way anyone could have believed that Black Lotus was reasonable as a one-shop but the continued filtering of mana should cost two per turn with an initial investment of . So, as with most unique bad cards, later sets improve upon it. Standing Stones from The Dark was hardly a step forward, as it traded one of the activation mana for a life payment, a bad deal on an already inefficient card. Sol Grail from Alliances was the first feel-good attempt, and I remember playing that card. It is not a strict upgrade over Celestial Prism, however--Mana Prism was the first of those, and the card is actually quite reasonable. Years later, more attempts were made to find the right 3-mana five-color mana artifact, many of which were strictly better than Mana Prism:
Of course, the cleanest ending points for these cards’ lineages are Mana Cylix from Planeshift, which is exactly Celestial Prism except it costs and instead of and , and Prismatic Lens from Time Spiral, which is Mana Prism for 1 mana cheaper.
leomistico
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(6 votes)
@Kryptnyt: actually, Mr. Aaron_Forsythe is right: Spectral Searchlight is strictly better than Mana Prism, since Searchlight's ability IS a mana ability. In fact the Searchlight's ability doesn't target anything in way it's worded (: Choose a player. That player adds one mana of any color he or she chooses to his or her mana pool.), so it's a mana ability... And, by the way, Mana Reflection would affect it even if its ability wouldn't be a mana ability...
Edit: style point to those who rated 0.5/5 my comment just because I said something perfectly correct and logical. Extra point because he didn't explain his reasons... Yeah! Way to go!
Bass1987
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I use to think this card is really bad but Ive changed my mind on it. Its awesome in a colorless EDH/Commander deck!!
Kryptnyt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I used it back in the day. When Prismatic lens came out it was probably the first time I sat and looked at two cards and decided that one was definetly better in most situations. Spectral Searchlight is not strictly better or worse than mana prism, though; Searchlight's ability is not a mana ability, so Mana Reflection will not affect it; also, Reroute from an opponent can set you back. @Leomistico Hmm. Yeah, it doesn't target. Nevertheless, the ability goes onto the stack on MTGO. Which means it can be responded to and Stifled.
reapersaurus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Aaron's otherwise-voluminous response forgot the apex of the Prisms: Prophetic Prism
phoenixfire666
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
nice art
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Mr. Forsythe- there's a REALLY low chance of you ever seeing this comment, but I'm responding to it because there's a HIGH chance of many people seeing both of our comments:
What do you think the R&Ds of
Alpha
Mirage
and Time Spiral
would have thought if they could see "Chromatic Lantern" and were told "this is where we went with Celestial Prism"? o.o
I'm assuming that Alpha and Mirage would both have considered the card an almost strict upgrade over City of Brass, and been afraid of it crashing the Color Wheel balance.
Time Spiral's reaction would be interesting though- since they were from a post-Ingots and Signets world, they would understand it very well....but probably think it should be a Mythic Rare like Lotus Cobra, yes?
Comments (9)
Sixth Edition picked up a bunch of mana artifacts from the Mirage set--specifically Mana Prism and five Diamonds (Marble Diamond, et al). Mirage itself had those six plus Lion's Eye Diamond, a suite modeled after the mana artifacts in Alpha. The uncommon Diamonds map to the Moxes, Lion's Eye Diamond to Black Lotus, and Mana Prism to, well, Celestial Prism. (There were no Mirage ánalogues to Sol Ring, Basalt Monolith, or Mana Vault.)
The lineage of Black Lotus is relatively well known, as a bunch of really powerful cards share that icon’s name and/or mechanics, most recently Time Spiral’s Lotus Bloom. The original Moxes, similarly, have a high-powered bunch of offspring, such as Scars of Mirrodin’s Mox Opal. But the most interesting family tree of all Alpha mana artifacts might just be that of Celestial Prism, which includes Mana Prism.
Celestial Prism was so bad compared to the rest of the mana artifacts in Alpha, all of which are far too good to ever be reprinted, that it had to be a “bad-on-purpose” type of card. There’s no way anyone could have believed that Black Lotus was reasonable as a one-shop but the continued filtering of mana should cost two per turn with an initial investment of
* Phyrexian Lens (Invasion) - not strictly better than Mana Prism
* Darksteel Ingot (Darksteel) - strictly better
* Spectral Searchlight (Ravnica) - strictly better
* Coalition Relic (Future Sight) - strictly better
Of course, the cleanest ending points for these cards’ lineages are Mana Cylix from Planeshift, which is exactly Celestial Prism except it costs
And, by the way, Mana Reflection would affect it even if its ability wouldn't be a mana ability...
Edit: style point to those who rated 0.5/5 my comment just because I said something perfectly correct and logical. Extra point because he didn't explain his reasons... Yeah! Way to go!
Spectral Searchlight is not strictly better or worse than mana prism, though; Searchlight's ability is not a mana ability, so Mana Reflection will not affect it; also, Reroute from an opponent can set you back.
@Leomistico
Hmm. Yeah, it doesn't target.
Nevertheless, the ability goes onto the stack on MTGO. Which means it can be responded to and Stifled.
Prophetic Prism
What do you think the R&Ds of
Alpha
Mirage
and Time Spiral
would have thought if they could see "Chromatic Lantern" and were told "this is where we went with Celestial Prism"? o.o
I'm assuming that Alpha and Mirage would both have considered the card an almost strict upgrade over City of Brass, and been afraid of it crashing the Color Wheel balance.
Time Spiral's reaction would be interesting though- since they were from a post-Ingots and Signets world, they would understand it very well....but probably think it should be a Mythic Rare like Lotus Cobra, yes?