locks up the game. you can control an opponent with this one card. if you play artifacts, then you'd know that you can keep below 5 mana and lock you opponent into only being able to have 5, meaning that all those 6 cost or more creatures are unavailable to them, the same is true for all the other things.. like if you can get one single powerhouse on the field you can stop them from getting enough little monsters to kill it.
CrymsonReign
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
What would happen is I had 5 creatures suspeneded, 4 of them would come into play this turn. Both I and my opponent have one creature out, and my opponent played Ward of Bones? Would 1 creature come out and the rest stay suspended? Would they all just come out?
nammertime
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(4 votes)
@CrymsonReign: If you suspended those creatures before Ward of Bones was played, then your opponent would be making a huge mistake by playing his Ward of Bones, since your creatures, all of them, would still come into play.
I believe I understand this correctly: if your opponent tried to play an artifact creature, the would have to have less artifacts and less creatures than you. Sounds fun.
Daerien
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(3 votes)
@nammertime: Wrong. Suspend creatures are "played"/cast from exile (not put into play/put on the battlefield), so @CrymsonReign would only be able to play one of the four, and the other 3 would stay in exile permanently.
mutantman
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I've tried this card in multiplayer and it just doesn't do enough. Sure, it's occasionally good against certain decks, like rampy ones that play lots of lands, but most of the time it's just ineffective. It costs six mana and it can never really lock them out of anything. If you have no creatures, they can just cast their first creature and beat down on your empty board.
I've just never really been happy to draw it. Maybe if you really built around it, you could do something, but at that point you're building your deck for the purpose of stopping anyone from playing anything, which seems...not much fun.
Wormfang
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(2 votes)
I've played against this card, against any swarm deck it pwns, I saw a sliver deck fall to this because the guy using it only ever had 3 creatures in play tops.
heavyterror
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
I'd run this with 4 pithing needles and 4 meddling mages in a deck with ley-lines of anticipation and sanctity. Don't forget lotus petals! Its really aggravating! :D
Ideatog
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Damping Engine costs less, but it can be avoided with a sacrifice and might end up hitting you. Nice reworking.
This card played in multiplayer (EDH, casual, etc.) is one of "those" cards.
You know, "those" ones that make everyone cringe, like Sorin Markov and any of those old banned white cards (Limited Resources, Land Tax, and Balance). Thus is why these cards (minus Sorin) are banned.
I'm surprised this hasn't become banned considering it's terrible way of making a slow game like EDH even slower. Another underrated card that is one of "those" cards is Oppression. It slows play down to such a halt and can be played on turn one (Dark Ritual and this isn't too uncommon) that it makes you one of "those" players who you don't want to play against.
Another one is Contamination: another 3-cost black enchantment. Instead of just slowing play, you could entirely cancel out an opponent with a simple combo using it and Sheoldred, Whispering One.
So, please don't include this (or any of the above) in your EDH deck. You'll do your friends a great favour.
LightToasted
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Someone made the mistake of playing this in a multiplayer match after his blight steel collosus was pathed. I guess it made sense at the time, But considering I was running Mayael as my general, I got a lucky flop into Primeval Titan. A turn or two later got a vorinclex, which allowed me to do a massive genesis wave. Sure someone wrathed after, but with the land advantage I just played praetors council and killed his ward, allowing be to poop out all my goodies.
NoobOfLore
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Run with guys that can sacrifice themselves, and lots of big, splashy permanents. You won't get the most out of the land effects, but you will virtually guarantee a superior field position.
ibanezman88
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(1 vote)
You guys realize how insane this card is with the "loner" mechanic in Avacyn Restored?
sarroth
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@Warlord: Land Tax isn't banned in Commander. It's overpowered and could totally use a fixed version, but it isn't banned.
I like this card for keeping the game in check, which is totally possible without breaking it, but not likely for anyone to show such restraint.
ParishInquisitor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Played against this in EDH once. I didn't have any enchantments, so I was able to play Aura Shards. Then I stuck out Rhys the Redeemed and let the negotiations ensue.
Overall, a pretty neat card. It makes EDH games get really political, but it's definitely not broken. Also, the art is beautiful in a haunting, eerie and unnatural sort of way...
Lord_of_phyrexia
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Mwahahaha!!!¡¡!!!!!
cardraptor6
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love it when rulings are written in a way that reminds you that there's not some rules robot out there making them, but an actual person. In this situation, it's like "Ok, so I know some of you out there have trouble reading, so let me spell it out for you as if you were a child *sigh*"
As for the card itself.... as an aggro player who often plays blitz or token decks, and as someone who gets bored with stalled out EDH matches taking forever, I hate this card with a burning passion.... but as someone who wants to grow and expand as a player, I know I'm going to need to pick one up sometime for future control/lockdown decks. If you can't beat 'em....
IceMetalPunk
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I remember playing a game of Commander once where my friend used this in conjunction with Worldslayer. So first he put the Worldslayer on something. Next turn, he floated 6 mana, hit someone with the Worldslayer-equipped creature, then used his floating mana to drop a Ward of Bones.
For those not already facepalming, this was the result: everything was gone except Worldslayer and Ward of Bones, so everyone could only play 1 land, 3 artifacts, 1 creature, and 1 enchantment. No more. He refused to play anything to give us more stuff...it was insanity. I don't remember how that game ended, but I wouldn't be surprised if we all just rage-quit.
jonrds
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@daerien
Arent all suspended creatures cast at the same time? The last counters are removed at the same time, so you cast all the creatures before any enter the battlefield, allowing you to get around this the same way you do with flash.
PolskiSuzeren
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
No, jonrds, all suspended cards are not cast at the same time. You have to pull counters off individually, and once the last counter is pulled off of something with suspend, the trigger to cast it is immediately put on the stack, then the spell has to resolve. After all of that, the next trigger to pull a counter off can be resolved, and if you now have too many creatures for the Ward, you won't be able to cast the spell, and it will remain in exile.
Comments (24)
This card is good with mono-green and huge beaters, Cataclysm + Empyrial Armor, or Balance. A bit costly, though.
I've just never really been happy to draw it. Maybe if you really built around it, you could do something, but at that point you're building your deck for the purpose of stopping anyone from playing anything, which seems...not much fun.
You know, "those" ones that make everyone cringe, like Sorin Markov and any of those old banned white cards (Limited Resources, Land Tax, and Balance). Thus is why these cards (minus Sorin) are banned.
I'm surprised this hasn't become banned considering it's terrible way of making a slow game like EDH even slower. Another underrated card that is one of "those" cards is Oppression. It slows play down to such a halt and can be played on turn one (Dark Ritual and this isn't too uncommon) that it makes you one of "those" players who you don't want to play against.
Another one is Contamination: another 3-cost black enchantment. Instead of just slowing play, you could entirely cancel out an opponent with a simple combo using it and Sheoldred, Whispering One.
So, please don't include this (or any of the above) in your EDH deck. You'll do your friends a great favour.
You won't get the most out of the land effects, but you will virtually guarantee a superior field position.
I like this card for keeping the game in check, which is totally possible without breaking it, but not likely for anyone to show such restraint.
Overall, a pretty neat card. It makes EDH games get really political, but it's definitely not broken.
Also, the art is beautiful in a haunting, eerie and unnatural sort of way...
As for the card itself.... as an aggro player who often plays blitz or token decks, and as someone who gets bored with stalled out EDH matches taking forever, I hate this card with a burning passion.... but as someone who wants to grow and expand as a player, I know I'm going to need to pick one up sometime for future control/lockdown decks. If you can't beat 'em....
For those not already facepalming, this was the result: everything was gone except Worldslayer and Ward of Bones, so everyone could only play 1 land, 3 artifacts, 1 creature, and 1 enchantment. No more. He refused to play anything to give us more stuff...it was insanity. I don't remember how that game ended, but I wouldn't be surprised if we all just rage-quit.
Arent all suspended creatures cast at the same time? The last counters are removed at the same time, so you cast all the creatures before any enter the battlefield, allowing you to get around this the same way you do with flash.