I like cards that cater to multiplayer. At 7, this card will only really be used to push through the last four damage. The life gain? For the other opponents?
Eppek_the_Goblin
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(8 votes)
Absorb Vis is definitely over-costed. If it could target creatures, it might be slightly more playable. The basic landcycling keyword ability is neat, and certainly useful in a set like Conflux (which begs players to play many colors at once), but it doesn't compensate for such a high casting cost. These basic landcycling cards might be good with some of the cycling mechanics of yesteryear, like Astral Slide and Lightning Rift.
HarDHarKoopa
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(7 votes)
Actually, as someone you just came in 4th out of 11 in a Conflux Draft, this card helped my 5-color deck not only with the landcycling, but that 4 life helped me win 2 games that were near unwinnable.
Opant1
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(7 votes)
This card is almost as useful as Touch Of Death! It even had a better picture than this card!
Atrues
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(6 votes)
For 7 mana i want something game winning or unstoppable, this... this is not it. Black has always been more about thhrowing your life at the other player than absorbing it, not that black doesn't do the absorbing thing, i just think the "I throw my soul at you" approach to be much funnier and, for black, usually more effective.
As for cost, well... its priced EXACTLY right, so its useless..
SavageBrain89
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(12 votes)
Pure Garbage. Nothing this mediocre should ever cost seven mana. If you really wanted to steal four life and gain four, then Soul Feast from tenth edition would be the better choice at five mana, not seven. As for the landcycling, it fails in comparison to every painland, shadowmore land, and creature mana source out there. Why waste a turn just to get a basic land card that doesn't even automatically come straight into play?
deadguyred
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(7 votes)
gaaaaaaarrrrrrbaaaaaaaggeeeeee
inmypants22
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(15 votes)
hey master... stop being a boob
ICEFANG13
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(4 votes)
It's not bad just too expensive, but it is a powerful effect and in the multicolored Alara cards things like Tendrils of Corruption are less effective, it would be much better saying target creature or player, and/or if the landcylcing had a do one damage like Complicate. The art is nice but that doesn't make it just a good.
A3Kitsune
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(6 votes)
Most of you are looking at this card wrong. It's landsearching, in black. For 2 mana. At instant speed. Yea, the other ability costs too much, but it's not the main ability.
DlCK
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(14 votes)
@ masterofetherium,
Stfu retard. learn how type before you going around calling people retarded.
Btw, click on masterofetherium's name and see his average comment rating of 1 star.
Please, just write your lame, poorly written critiques in a journal somewhere where no one will see them.
RafiqTheMiststalker
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
It goes well in a deck where you need to fill slots to make up 60 cards but without it really being like 60 cards. Like a Protean Hulk deck where you need him and the land to play him but need to keep the rest of the cards in the deck to be summoned by his effect. These, Krosan Tusker, Verdant Catacombs, Worldly Tutor all work together to guarantee the Hulk and some land. It's not THAT terrible in that respect. Hard casting this for the drain 4 is absolute balls though.
Ace8792
★☆☆☆☆ (1.9/5.0)(10 votes)
@MasterOfEtherium... Stop Capitalizing The First Letter Of Every Word That You Type. Its Annoying And Makes You Sound Unintelligent. If Your Reading This And Also Find It Irritating, Copy And Past This Whenever You See His Comments (Which Are On Almost Every Card I Look Up :/)
CeremonialBathory
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It would have been neat if it also had "When you cycle Absorb Vis, target player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.", but it doesn't. I don't see why the landcycling ability brought down it's ability (and/or raised it's converted mana cost). You can only use one or the other, so they really shouldn't have a bearing on the other.
Baconradar
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
The point of this card is clearly the cycling ability, which is instant speed, cheap and black.
For that it gets 3.5
Rikiaz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card isn't that bad really. Use it's land cycling to find lands when you need it and if you draw it late game and have extra mana you can hardcast it to get an 8 point life swing.
JaxsonBateman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Also keep in mind it's a definite limited card, in a set where color fixing was more important than most thanks to plenty of gold cards.
It'd actually be included in many a black deck, not because of the lose 4/gain 4, but the landcycling. A land tutor at instant speed for 2 that fixes color... and isn't even green? Sure, why not. I can think of plenty of worse cards to take. The heralds for example... I mean, you can't expect much more than a 1/1 from a 1 drop, but at uncommon with an ability that would only prove relevant in the rarest of circumstances... Absorb Vis is 100 times better.
no_body
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
on the other hand, i'd rather pay 7 and exsanguinate to drain 5 from each player.
MasterOfEtherium
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(48 votes)
What A Great Card. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
TPmanW
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This whole cycle is kind of lame. Basic landcycling is cool but the effects it's paired up with are always so overcosted I feel bad using them. Honestly, even if it's the right call I'd feel a little stupid paying 7 to drain for life. 6, maybe, but as is? No way.
Shoe2
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Mono-black landfetch seems pretty good to me for EDH, Colored STar and really, just any deck that wants black to do some mana fixin
Dr.Pingas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I absolutely hated these cheap excuses to give each color crappy Giant Growth by disguising it with over-costed effects. I mean, I get the intention, but at this point, why not just make a colorless instant that says "search for a basic land, put it in yo hand", since that's pretty much what they did, but worse. Don't insult the average player's intelligence by slapping on a "DONT BOTHER USING THIS" effect.
Salient
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Absorb vis, or absorb vat? Vhy can I not decide?!
Niner9
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Cards like this are an inverse kicker, where the optional effect is what you use it for, and the obviously underpowered choice represented in the main card is a "meh, why not, nothing else to do"choice
rspitzy
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
absorb this
DoragonShinzui
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
While the card itself is horrendously overcosted, it's still handy, and the black mana fixing is vital in any five color Conflux deck.
Eluem
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
The basic landcycling is all this card is useful for...... if I was going to pay 7 to drain life.. I'd do it with Sorin's Vengance
LordRandomness
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Huh, it's an Evolving Wilds that costs {1}{B} to activate but brings the land out untapped. So it costs {1} more than Wilds to use, basically. Which is why the effect is terrible, you're not actually paying much in terms of deck space to get it. (The effect has to be bad because it is in a very meaningful sense a free card to put in the deck)
asskicker123456789
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Expensive, but ok effect....
DwightHoward
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
All the basic landcycling cards from Alara block should really be rated higher, as their all basically split cards.
gatherer132
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great when you don't think about the cost.
Drecon84
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Vis is actually the Dutch word for Fish... Can't stop thinking about that now.
Comments (33)
As for cost, well... its priced EXACTLY right, so its useless..
Stfu retard. learn how type before you going around calling people retarded.
Btw, click on masterofetherium's name and see his average comment rating of 1 star.
Please, just write your lame, poorly written critiques in a journal somewhere where no one will see them.
For that it gets 3.5
It'd actually be included in many a black deck, not because of the lose 4/gain 4, but the landcycling. A land tutor at instant speed for 2 that fixes color... and isn't even green? Sure, why not. I can think of plenty of worse cards to take. The heralds for example... I mean, you can't expect much more than a 1/1 from a 1 drop, but at uncommon with an ability that would only prove relevant in the rarest of circumstances... Absorb Vis is 100 times better.
Can't stop thinking about that now.