One of the most confusing card, in so far, as most players who see it for the first time assume that it got flying, because of the art. Well, it allows you to kill creatures which would normally regenerate or have all damage prevented (like creatures with protection from creatures or something). And it's good for killing creatures you don't want to have in your opponents gy (incarnations, creatures that can reanimate itself or have unearth or whatever).
All in all, having to tap it and pay two mana is too annoying.
RPJesus
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(4 votes)
Nowhere near the most confusing, and not perticularly good, but there's something badass about him. Basically, this 3 oz. bird is going to make sure you stay dead.
Mode
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
I agree with majinara: Of course it's not the most confusing card regarding its effects, yet probably one of the most confusing artworks as opposed to obviously lacking ability you'd a^ssume on such a card. Although the art is nice, hopefully a reprint of this card won't show a singing bird floating in the air with spread wings again.
The card itself is not that bad since it's a 1/1 one drop with an ability which can be quite useful, although it has only a narrow use.
Laguz
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(5 votes)
This little bird is completely situational but is almost perfect when those situations arrive. Trolls fear it.
Obligatory why-doesn't-it-fly statement here
KrosanGardener
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I personally wish green got tiny utility fliers... like birds of paradise! It makes sense: nature mages can't summon drakes and dragons and whatnot, but why not wrens and crows and parrots?
Kryptnyt
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
it can fly, just no higher than two feet off the ground...
Jinx585
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
thats one friggen hardcore little avian... With that art I feel like there needs to be a legendary creature called: "Snow White"- Every time a bird you control is tapped, you may deal 3 damage to target creature... I'd buy that deck
Quang
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Lol WTF xD
A 1/1 bird that prevents regeneration?! O_O
ClockworkSwordfish
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Baffling flavourwise. I dodn't know actual whippoorwills were so nasty.
kitsunewarlock
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Oh he can fly. He chooses not too. He's that badass.
Also, the actual bird species nests on the ground and probably doesn't fly too high...The art is still misleading.
yesnomu
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@ClockworkSwordfish: Whippoorwills are considered psychopomps in some legends, guiding souls to the afterlife. That's where the flavor comes from, the bird's going to make sure this poor creature goes to its final rest.
Paleopaladin
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Why doesn't this get as much sarcastic ridicule as Storm Crow does?
Kirbster
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(5 votes)
Hey guys why doesn't it fly blah blah blah....
His abilities are pretty fearsome. A tiny little birdie that kills things SO MUCH DEAD.
TPmanW
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
So, the single least bird-like bird in all of magic gets art that depicts it doing something it can't do and gets paired up with a very un-green effect on a green card with a baffling name and flavor text apparently derived from the real world and not that of MTG? I'll take 4
A3Kitsune
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Whippoorwill, for when you want to make damn well sure creatures die when they are killed.
ROBRAM89
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Why the hell did they think this ability was green?
ZombieSnail
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
...It does what? But It's just a bird :\
aquariansword
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
i love that its clearly in flight yet doesnt fly
MarlinFlake
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(2 votes)
There are not a lot of creature effects that prevent regeneration so this is pretty cool.
Nessachan91
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
OMFG!! It's so cute~!
land_comment
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Why can't it fly?
I don't think that real Whipperwills are flightless...
jonb86
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
OK, there are people that have laughed at this card for years and years because it's a "bird" with "wings" that doesn't have "flying"; here's the deal. It's an old set from a time when most creatures were often overbalanced for there cost. That being said, it's a 1/1 creature for 1 mana, put on top of that the fact that it's a green 1/1 creature for 1 mana with a pretty decent (and very rare for green) activated ability that stops creatures like River Boa, Silvos and other annoying regeneraters from doing what they do best. That being said, giving this creature flying as a 1/1 for 1 would make it too powerful to the standards of creature balance that existed at that time. Yes, they could have made it one more mana and given it flying, but I think this creature is more playable as a single mana 1/1 then a double mana 1/1 with flying. If this were printed today, due to the increase in average power rating of creatures, they probably would have given this 1 mana 1/1 flying with it's ability, but back in The Dark Days (had to had the pun) of Magic creatures, they decided to not give it flying.
tavaritz
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
They could have made it 0/1 flyer, like Birds of Paradise (why is that card's name in plural?) and balance it that way.
On the other hand Birds of Paradise is an accident, but happy accident as it was realized that the flying counterbalances the all coloured mana by being susceptible to Hurricana. Maybe they wanted Whippoorwill not to be.
Tommy9898
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
When the whippoorwill whippoors in the wind the wind can whippoor back oh nice and chubby baby
BegleOne
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
This is the most badass creature in Magic. It doesn't even kill, it just waits until something's dead and then makes sure it's deader. Hardcore, man. Hardcore.
The flavor is baffling; yet in a surreal, quasi-intentional way, the flavor is so jarring, shocking, creepy and bizarre that it is perfectly effective. Genius, whether intended or not.
I think the Random Card button has given me a new favorite card. They should make a whole block like this, full of first-glance random, second-glance allusive, third-glance deeply-disturbing-yet-coherent cards.
Wudikind
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(2 votes)
This is a bird that likes to chill with Storm Crow and slay planeswalkers at their whim.
Drewsel
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
DAMN! This little guy must sail right through other 1/1 weenies like a bullet. There should be more songbirds in MAGIC.
Asmodi0000
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A bird that can deny a creature life, but even worse it can deny it paradise.
How horrific.
doitpow
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
oh my days.
this card is the scariest creature in magic. It does make sense flavourwise, in folklore, the whip-poor-will will sing when it senses a soul departing, and doing so will capture the soul, preventing it from reaching paradise. HP lovecraft talks about whippoorwill's a lot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dunwich_Horror also jeff bridges http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDAVhdY3H7w
Radagast
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Probably one of the scariest tiny birds in the game. Mostly sideboard tech, but still not that bad.
Psychrates
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
A crunchy lil card from the get go. Gives green a static StP sans life gain.
luca_barelli
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
It's a magical, flightless subspecies, okay? Just pretend that it's sitting on that branch.
swiftlucat
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
having actually found and purchased this card, i've got to say its one very handy little bird. on the first turn, if you play with a green deck, you can get it out, and on the third or fourth turn, bring its ability into effect to knock out early game headaches like drudge skeletons or river boa, the first being one my friends like to pull on me.
Totema
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(5 votes)
I did not read what the card does.
I am only here because its name contains the word "hippo".
Tevish_Szat
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Okay, yeah, it doesn't have flying. That seems like a goof.
Since no one has explained the flavor (lately), I'll take the basic crack at it: Whippoorwills, in New England folklore, are said to know when a soul is departing and capture it when it flees. They get a lot of mentions in literature, including HP Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror.
As for the ability itself... this is deceptively powerful. Making sure something ends up deader than dead and no tricks can save it is fantastically useful. Shuts down Undying, Persist (Even Melira-enabled), and of course explicitly turns off regeneration. Even Haakon, Stromgald Scourge and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn will fail to come back if the Whippoorwill gets them. Good birdie?
HuntingDrake
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Three related effects, all 100% in red's slice of the color pie (see heenaheena's post). I wonder if this was considered as a red colorshift, in Planar Chaos.
Rules Manager! Disintegrate's exile clause was first printed this way, but now it (cleanly!) replaces death like Kumano. It would please me to see this brought in line with that. The interaction with undying and numerous other death triggers would be so much clearer then.
Disintegrate's text took a strange path through "lethal damage" territory, but that ambiguity could have been interpreted either way. In Time Spiral, you opted for the cleaner version.
Why should two cards whose first printings said the same thing have different Oracle effects?
kashonismw
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This bird is awesome! Not only can it "not fly", but it can prevent cleric decks from preventing damage all the time. With this a mono G deck can actually defeat a cleric deck that runs Battletide Alchemist! 1/1 for 1, great! 1/1 for 1 that has an ability, freaking awesome!
SilentOppressor
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
For when you really really really really wanna make sure that freaking Storm Crow won't come back.
As for the reason behind the ability, let's turn to Wikipedia. "Due to its haunting, ethereal song, the Eastern Whip-poor-will is the topic of numerous legends. One New England legend says the whip-poor-will can sense a soul departing, and can capture it as it flees"
So, this thing steals your soul. G'night everybody!
Comments (40)
Well, it allows you to kill creatures which would normally regenerate or have all damage prevented (like creatures with protection from creatures or something). And it's good for killing creatures you don't want to have in your opponents gy (incarnations, creatures that can reanimate itself or have unearth or whatever).
All in all, having to tap it and pay two mana is too annoying.
Although the art is nice, hopefully a reprint of this card won't show a singing bird floating in the air with spread wings again.
The card itself is not that bad since it's a 1/1 one drop with an ability which can be quite useful, although it has only a narrow use.
Obligatory why-doesn't-it-fly statement here
A 1/1 bird that prevents regeneration?! O_O
Also, the actual bird species nests on the ground and probably doesn't fly too high...The art is still misleading.
His abilities are pretty fearsome. A tiny little birdie that kills things SO MUCH DEAD.
I'll take 4
But It's just a bird
:\
I don't think that real Whipperwills are flightless...
On the other hand Birds of Paradise is an accident, but happy accident as it was realized that the flying counterbalances the all coloured mana by being susceptible to Hurricana. Maybe they wanted Whippoorwill not to be.
The flavor is baffling; yet in a surreal, quasi-intentional way, the flavor is so jarring, shocking, creepy and bizarre that it is perfectly effective. Genius, whether intended or not.
I think the Random Card button has given me a new favorite card. They should make a whole block like this, full of first-glance random, second-glance allusive, third-glance deeply-disturbing-yet-coherent cards.
How horrific.
this card is the scariest creature in magic.
It does make sense flavourwise, in folklore, the whip-poor-will will sing when it senses a soul departing, and doing so will capture the soul, preventing it from reaching paradise.
HP lovecraft talks about whippoorwill's a lot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dunwich_Horror
also jeff bridges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDAVhdY3H7w
I am only here because its name contains the word "hippo".
Since no one has explained the flavor (lately), I'll take the basic crack at it: Whippoorwills, in New England folklore, are said to know when a soul is departing and capture it when it flees. They get a lot of mentions in literature, including HP Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror.
As for the ability itself... this is deceptively powerful. Making sure something ends up deader than dead and no tricks can save it is fantastically useful. Shuts down Undying, Persist (Even Melira-enabled), and of course explicitly turns off regeneration. Even Haakon, Stromgald Scourge and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn will fail to come back if the Whippoorwill gets them. Good birdie?
Rules Manager!
Disintegrate's exile clause was first printed this way, but now it (cleanly!) replaces death like Kumano. It would please me to see this brought in line with that. The interaction with undying and numerous other death triggers would be so much clearer then.
Disintegrate's text took a strange path through "lethal damage" territory, but that ambiguity could have been interpreted either way. In Time Spiral, you opted for the cleaner version.
Why should two cards whose first printings said the same thing have different Oracle effects?
As for the reason behind the ability, let's turn to Wikipedia. "Due to its haunting, ethereal song, the Eastern Whip-poor-will is the topic of numerous legends. One New England legend says the whip-poor-will can sense a soul departing, and can capture it as it flees"
So, this thing steals your soul. G'night everybody!