Mayael is a decent card, though her ability makes her very situational, requiring a deck mainly composed of 5+ creatures to even begin to get use out of her. As for her status as a mythic rare, I think she could do much better if her stats were slightly altered. A 2/3 is too easy to kill, falling prey to cards like Resounding Thunder and Agony Warp, and the differences in her play cost and ability cost means that she has more time to be vulnerable before you can actually pull off her tricks. I think she could do much better as a 2/4, or even a 1/4, as you're very likely to want to keep her around rather than attack with her, and a 4 toughness is sturdy enough to block with as well as tough enough to stave off death from a number of sources. Alas, she's a mere 2/3 with an ability that could make even the toughest player cringe if it happens to land on a huge beastie, provided she survives long enough to begin digging through the library. A must have for a Naya deck, though.
Dingo777
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
she is decent but is very vulnerable, only 3 toughness makes her easier to kill then most in a naya deck
plus you are paying 6 mana for a creature that probally cost about the same anyway, a couple exceptions would be godsire, hellkite overlord, empyrical archangel and progneitus, but it is still an expensive ability
this is one naya card I will not be putting in my naya deck, instead I will be going for the wooly throcater
RobinHood3000
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A pretty potent ability, but you're paying a huge amount of mana for the digging. Unless you've got a Godsire waiting for you, it's hard to say whether it'll be worth it. If you're going to play it, I would say that Knotvine Mystic is an absolute necessity - drops the cost of Mayael's ability to four colorless, much more manageable.
WitcherRage
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(5 votes)
I just want to ask something : Is There ANY combo with her? Can i put all creatures with power 5 or greater or only 1? I use mayael becose i can in 5th turn put progenitus but i got to have luck
liir007
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(12 votes)
Awesome Art!!! Terrible Card!!!
Foodtime
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(5 votes)
I run this in my 5 color agro deck Managed to grab a Darksteel colossus with Maelstorm nexus out, cascading into Maelstorm Archangel. Had my Knight of New Alara out... It was nice ;)
Donovan_Fabian
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(5 votes)
Confused as to why everyone says this cards cost is to high, you look at the top 5 cards and put a creature directly into play, sounds pretty simple. Then again.. its an ability, meaning if you don't use it during your turn, you can use it when your under attack to slap something right on the field to block for you.. say a meglonoth? Your really paying mana for the tutor, and the tutor isn't super expensive if you think about it, as said knotvine mystic helps, most naya decks also have druids of the anima. So, all together, you pay 6 mana for a top of the library tutor that in a naya deck will most likely find something, that can put that creature immediately into play. Thats pretty cost efficient compared to the other cards that do similiar affects or just tutor something into your hand, and some cards cost more than 6 to play. It also has a theme with gift of the gargantuan, and commune with nature, for creature cycling. As for creature removal.. well.. name one creature that can't be removed somehow, there really isn't any.. ex. unmake, resounding silence.. incinerate.. terminate..
Laguz
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(7 votes)
Trash Mythic.
6 mana is way, way, way too much for her ability, and with 3 toughness and no shroud she'll rarely get the chance to use it anyway. Chance of success with her is extremely low. Much too low for serious competition.
HairlessThoctar
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(5 votes)
Oh Mayael. My love/hate relationship with you pains me so.
The fact that this card won't do anything for a turn or two given a second or third turn summoning irks me so much. I really would've liked it better if she herself costed more and had a lower costed activation.
Ah well. An EDH deck with her at the center will always be a fun thing.
Youipt
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
I run this in my Three -color Power of five deck and, if I get it later in the game, i can summon some pretty resounding creatures.
A common problem that I've noticed about green-based creature decks is that they tend to run out of cards with a field full of land. If you don't want to splash blue for card drawing, Mayael can do something about this. If you have an empty hand but spare mana, her ability is an excellent contingency plan. Chances are that if you're playing a deck that's designed to support Naya, you're going to find a card 5 cards into your deck that has power 5 or greater. Mayael doesn't strike me as an offensive card, she seems to be a defensive tool to use when you've run out of resources in the late game. Because of that, she gets a 4/5 from me.
kilovortex
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
With Mayael, I know she is very vulnerable with her cost. Put at least 3 shield of the oversoul auras in the deck. It will strengthen her up to a 4/5 and give her indestructiblity and flying. The added aura will also mesh with the typical naya deck. This is not a horrible card. It just a person have to think when constructing around it.
RaLuna
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
hmmm... I wanna try playing this with the Eldrazi
surewhynot
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When she starts singing though, watch out.
Gaussgoat
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Cough, Eldrazi, cough.
Even with powerhouse creatures, this is a fair-to-middlin card. Awesome art though, and she's an elf which, I guess, could be powerful in the correct construction.
3.5/5
CharonSquared
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If you copy her ability with Rings of Brighthearth, do you get two creatures from the same set of five cards, or does the ability completely resolve once, and then you use it all over again with the next five cards?
izzet_guild_mage
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@CharonSquared, if you copy her activation with Rings of Brighthearth, you will look at the top 5, pick a gargantuan, and put the others on the bottom, then look at the new top 5 cards and pick another gargantuan. Anyway, this card is very fun as an EDH general. I don't know if I'd ever play her in a normal deck, but having her as a general really brings one back to their early magic experiences, where cards like Thorn Elemental and Living Inferno dominate the game. Also, with her at the helm, you'll never find yourself lacking in the huge dude department :D
Belz_
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Okay card. Amazing art.
metalevolence
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
yes, 6 mana is not a huge savings on whatever fatty you dig up... but you don't have to spend a card. Last time I checked that was worth something
Notoriety
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is frustrating. The only Shards mythic I ever managed to pull. I have like 3 copies.
l0k13
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Mayel is one fun general. Her and Scroll Rack helps a lot in making sure you hit one of your 20+ odd targets. As for non-singleton, there are better ways to get stuff out than her.
Pillow676
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Only Mythic Rare elf
iSlapTrees
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
say it with me: ELDRAZIIIIII! :)
dragonking987
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
shes ok...
Ninjakraken
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Is this the only card with art that is a close up of the face?
land_comment
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Emrakul.
The3rdEmpire
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
She is absolutely beautiful but i wish the ability was a little cheaper, maybe 1RGW?
CerealBoxOfDoom
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I have just started making a naya commander deck with her as general. I haven't found any seriously crazy neverending combos but in multiplayer if something like quest for renewal untapping her during each players upkeep she can be very dangerous.
there are several alternatives since you can only have one quest for renewal in a commander deck (normally anyways) but some let everyone untap their stuff. I actually like this fact just because it seems to fit the color philosophies of mayael.
Green says don't try to control others.
Just let nature take its course
on top of its opposition
in a loud grunty rythmic fashion
@King Rusty> You cannot use Mayael as General and include Vorosh the Hunter. Rith is better anyway!
Salient
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
Haunting artwork. Those non-eye eyes are chilling.
xXAwsomesXx
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(4 votes)
She is a dam sexy card. EDH eh its ok. To much cost for her special but its cool.
KingRusty
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Extremely useful once you get enough mana to activate the ability. Waiting a few turns is well worth the payoff in a deck loaded with Doubling Season and stuff like Rith, the Awakener or simply dropping beasts like Kalonian Behemoth or Vorosh, the Hunter. She deserves an alternate artwork reprint.
WarioMan
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Say what you will, I think she's absolutely amazing. I like to think of her as a Quicksilver Amulet from the deck. I mean, at worst, you pull a Wolly Thoctar which in Naya can be done on turn 2. But it gets so much better, you can flash in Primeval Titan, Sun Titan, Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Wurmcoil Engine, or even an Eldrazi Titan. Sure it's not broken in any competitive scene, but if you turn your deck into a toolbox for her to poke through, it's devastating.
Spags
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Let's put it this way: you don't run her in a typical 60 card deck. You run her as an EDH general, and topload the deck with the best Naya colored fatties that the game has, as well as some sweet tech to push her over the top. My most recent five player game saw me putting Mayael, a Seedborn Muse, and a Rings of Brighthearth on the field and flipping over 8 fatties before it was my turn again. 5/5 just for Timmy EDH hilarity.
dooraz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Question: If I use her ability and I either choose not to put a creature on the battlefield or there are no legal creatures to put on the battlefield, do the rest of the cards still go to the bottom?
Otherwise it is an annoying card. To get the expectancy of hitting to 1 in a 60 card deck, she is asking for 12 creatures with a power of 5+, and that is a lot of expensive creatures for a deck. Sure you can run playsets of Woolly Thoctar, Cliffrunner Behemoth and Rumbling Slum type cards, but those are not very interesting to get with a 9 mana investment.
@dooraz: I believe the second part of the ability does trigger even if you don't draw/play a creature. The 5 cards would constitute "the rest" in that circumstance. I may be wrong but that's my interpretation.
Maelstrom_Hobo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Surprisingly effective EDH general. If you've built your deck to take full advantage of her ability you should have no problem dropping a fatty nearly every turn, even if she doesn't stick around. What she gives you is options, options that often come at a discount and at instant speed. I couldn't ask for anything more.
I consider the ability repeatable, not typically countered (except by Stifle) semi-cascade for dinosaurs and huge bots. The non-artifact Dragon Arch for any fatty, not just multicolored.
Works alongside Gaddoc Teeg well.
Tynansdtm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Cream of the Crop. The additional scrying-like effect every time a creature enters seems incredible, since you can keep your favourite of the top X cards, and surprise yourself with the other four when you activate her ability.
MindAblaze
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Cream of the Crop is outdone all day long by Scroll Rack. She's amazing, most fun I have playing magic is when I'm piloting my Mayael toolbox deck.
She's what the mythic Rarity should be, not OP (debatably) but flavorful and fitting. She fits her niche perfectly.
The_Murderauder
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
She may look creepy and demonic here, but she's a regular ol' cutie patootie in her avatar art.
Enelysios
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
She is awfully Timmy for a 2/3 I ran a Naya deck with her back when she first popped up and actually did pretty well. Not always spectacular, but the rest of the deck was solid so she was more for flavor. I can see her being a fun general for more Timmy players than I, and green/white do get to stack the library occasionally.
What really draws me is the art. One of my favorites of all time. The colors are vivid and her iris-less eyes stare right through you. Haunting, and beautiful. I would find myself just looking at the card as I was planning plays. It just drew my eyes, but my opponents were always sure I was up to something with her.
JunkHarvester
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@CerealBoxOfDoom maybe with Breath of Fury and mana dorks making 3GRW you could go infinite. if your top-deck likes you and you always hit with a creature...
Comments (46)
plus you are paying 6 mana for a creature that probally cost about the same anyway, a couple exceptions would be godsire, hellkite overlord, empyrical archangel and progneitus, but it is still an expensive ability
this is one naya card I will not be putting in my naya deck, instead I will be going for the wooly throcater
Is There ANY combo with her?
Can i put all creatures with power 5 or greater or only 1?
I use mayael becose i can in 5th turn put progenitus but i got to have luck
Managed to grab a Darksteel colossus with Maelstorm nexus out, cascading into Maelstorm Archangel.
Had my Knight of New Alara out...
It was nice ;)
6 mana is way, way, way too much for her ability, and with 3 toughness and no shroud she'll rarely get the chance to use it anyway. Chance of success with her is extremely low. Much too low for serious competition.
My love/hate relationship with you pains me so.
The fact that this card won't do anything for a turn or two given a second or third turn summoning irks me so much.
I really would've liked it better if she herself costed more and had a lower costed activation.
Ah well. An EDH deck with her at the center will always be a fun thing.
Pulled this in the same pack as Godsire.
Good to use with Mighty Emergence
8/10, good for later game use.
Even with powerhouse creatures, this is a fair-to-middlin card. Awesome art though, and she's an elf which, I guess, could be powerful in the correct construction.
3.5/5
Anyway, this card is very fun as an EDH general. I don't know if I'd ever play her in a normal deck, but having her as a general really brings one back to their early magic experiences, where cards like Thorn Elemental and Living Inferno dominate the game. Also, with her at the helm, you'll never find yourself lacking in the huge dude department :D
there are several alternatives since you can only have one quest for renewal in a commander deck (normally anyways) but some let everyone untap their stuff. I actually like this fact just because it seems to fit the color philosophies of mayael.
Green says don't try to control others.
Just let nature take its course
on top of its opposition
in a loud grunty rythmic fashion
I also like that she seems to be a big fan of group hug cards, like awakening or Keeper of Progenitus
She deserves an alternate artwork reprint.
Otherwise it is an annoying card. To get the expectancy of hitting to 1 in a 60 card deck, she is asking for 12 creatures with a power of 5+, and that is a lot of expensive creatures for a deck. Sure you can run playsets of Woolly Thoctar, Cliffrunner Behemoth and Rumbling Slum type cards, but those are not very interesting to get with a 9 mana investment.
With any of: Mul Daya Channelers, Oracle of Mul Daya, Sensei's Divining Top, Mirri's Guile...it's not hard to set up a way to plop out: Iona, Shield of Emeria, Akroma, Angel of Fury, Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Darksteel Colossus, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Hamletback Goliath, Worldspine Wurm, Blazing Archon, Bosh, Iron Golem etc
I consider the ability repeatable, not typically countered (except by Stifle) semi-cascade for dinosaurs and huge bots. The non-artifact Dragon Arch for any fatty, not just multicolored.
Works alongside Gaddoc Teeg well.
She's what the mythic Rarity should be, not OP (debatably) but flavorful and fitting. She fits her niche perfectly.
What really draws me is the art. One of my favorites of all time. The colors are vivid and her iris-less eyes stare right through you. Haunting, and beautiful. I would find myself just looking at the card as I was planning plays. It just drew my eyes, but my opponents were always sure I was up to something with her.