It's going to be decent enough in the landfall set, but everywhere else it's downright terrible
Lestat13
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Great I can hit four mana then go nowhere in BLUE deck. Considering landfall if you can't bank on the side effect of ramping which is an alternative win condition you won't win most of your games.
Eggroll
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Yes. Only in this set will this guy be decent. Definitely a late game guy to drop with a few cards with good landfall effects.
Volcre
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
In limited you want to play this very late game... which defeats the purpose of its 4 mana cost. Imagine repeatedly playing Teetering Peaks or Kabira Crossroads. Trust me its not quite as bad as it looks... especially when you some a decent landfall trigger.
MasterOfEtherium
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(8 votes)
Terrible? STFU. Its A 4/4 For A Good Player Can Own With This Card, So If You Dont Like It You Suck At Magic. Great Art By The Way
Owls_and_More_Owls
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This guy loved Green. It can be hard to build up land advantage with this card out, but a properly built deck can totally handle it. 4/5.
GrimjawxRULES
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Awesome card, and great at abusing the new Landfall ability. Landlock? No problem with the reprinting of Harrow and the land searching quest.
Fredin
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
"Flying 4/4 for just four mana? AWESOME!" That's what I'd say if it wasn't for such a terrible drawback, slowing down mana build up is near blasphemy for any control deck, we need that mana to throw all our fancy game-crushing spells. It's not bad but hell, I just don't feel a card with such an aggro strategy is right in blue. I do understand that the ability fits nicely with the whole "landfall" thingy but even then, the price is almost too high unless you've got a deck specially built to deal with the drawback, and in all seriousness, the card isn't good enough to build a whole deck around it. Cool art and nice flavor are cool thought, I'd give the thing a 3/5 just because it can indeed work if you're willing to build up a deck designed for it to work.
koneill
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I think people are under estimating this card.
With the new rules on mana burn it it limits you to five mana, not four, because you can safely tap the land before you return it to your hand, then tap it again after you lay it. That gives you the ability to lay a weenie and still have mana to counter on their turn. Heck, in a pinch it can even help you get a second mana of an off color (converting that plains in a virtual plainsx2). Also, any deck that this is put into should not have huge mana requirements in the first place and should run just fine at 5-6 mana. Add the obvious advantage with landfall and the new lands and I think you have a good choice.
That's not to say that this is the end all and be all. You probably aren't going to want to run four of them, but a 4/4 flyer is a force to be reckoned with and can really shift the balance of power.
mangadan
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Is any card that puts the other side on such a short clock terrible? I doubt he's going to be played in extended or legacy or the like but in Zen limited his land bounce effect is ramping your eels and geopedes every turn. Better than air elemental and that's a very high pick for blue in limited.
Grimn777
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(3 votes)
@koneill, you are wrong. you need to return the land during your upkeep, you do not have the ability to play anything other than instants with that lone floating mana.
Lemurion
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I like this card, especially with Roil Elemental and Grazing Gladeharts. Keeps those landfalls going. :)
Mode
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
According to the flavor text, not paying the upkeep cost should actually result in tapping it, not in sacrificing it.
kitsunewarlock
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Aside from the obvious (landfall triggers), this guy is great with cards like Undiscovered Paradise that bounce at EoT. Its also really REALLY good with Land Equilibrium.
Imagine: 2 Islands + City of Traitors + Land Equilibrium. Your turn you bounce and island. Play it again to kill the city. Use the two blue to bounce an opponent's land (Eye of Nowhere, Hoodwink, Boomerang, etc...). Next turn they should have 3 land out; upkeep bounce another land and return the island. Play with Trinisphere and they are now permanently locked out. Not as good as Stax or anything, but still quite fun.
He is also pretty good with Manabond and he seems good with Gemstone Mine or other land that deplete. Too bad you gotta kill a land to play Gemstone Caverns...
Great with City of Traitors. Can play this guy turn 2 easily with 1 form of accell (Lotus Petal or Mox Diamond come to mind), City + Island. Then bounce the city and only play it when you need the double accelleration to get out of your three mana lock.
Yes, this guy sticks you to 4 mana. He's also a 4/4 flier. And your playing blue. If you resolve this guy and manage to untap, your probably going to win in most casual games if your running enough counter-magic and have board position. There is a chance by turn 6 they can pull double removal and you won't have the mana to counter both...but by then they've taken at least 2 hits from this guy and should be feeling pretty pained.
kylenyu
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(3 votes)
I've been running this card in my UWR sideboard since worlds because of Spread 'em and it's variants. It simply destroys that deck, it's better than their early drops, requires removal (4/4 flying beatstick) and removes enchantments left and right. It's really much better than people think it is. Not to mention this thing is awesome limited, and is an aggressive blue flyer, out of bolt range with enough oomph to go toe to toe with many of the creatures in the format. Don't underestimate this.
Gaussgoat
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Great card, particularly in combo decks with green and/or landfall. It's drawback is a great way to trigger landfall abilities, and you can easily continue to play lands with cards like Untamed Wilds .
Beyond the combo capabilites, a 4/4 flyer for 4 is great, and the artwork is top notch. Add an explorer's scope and you can easily overcome the mana loss in type 2.
4/5
kittyspit
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(4 votes)
i agree with MasterofEtherium 100%.
PaladinOfSunhome
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Good even outside of Zendikar as it's a 4/4 with Flying in Blue for 4, but it's effects are better within the block. Great for landfall.
3.5
daekoaram
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great combo with hedron crab :D
ClockworkSwordfish
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
OM NOM NOM hedron. It's all well and good to insult this creature when you first see it (as I did), but when you lose a few games to it (as I did), you begin to realize that it's not too bad.
brunsbr103
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guy is better than he appears. I just built a deck around it and he tends to work pretty well.
Guntz1092
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
this cards a meh in my blue/green landfall deck
i mean sure, landfall every turn, but if you're running green, shudnt u be playing a land somehow every turn anyways? and blue cards that let me draw or reorganize the top 3-4 cards on my library, i should be dropping lands every turn, even with Azusa, Lost but Seeking in play (okay okay thats an exaggeration)
by the time its good to play him, i already have my win-condition card in play
SorianSadaskan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Landfall mayhem, you gotta admit this card is a welcome to all Lanfall capabilities.
He would be so much better if he had a landfall ability.
Kryptnyt
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
A simple exploration would do this guy a world of good.
Nerven-Qwayzar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guy with Glimmerpost and any other number of loci you have on the battlefield is a great way to annoy your opponent each turn, especially if you have 4 cloudposts and 4 glimmerposts. Every turn you're gaining 8 life!
Duskdale_Wurm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
*splash*
Superllama12
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I originally thought this sucked, and I ended up opening a lot of them...until I realized that it is not only good as an efficient flyer, but it works incredibly well as a landfall enabler every turn! This works great in my U/G landfall deck
Aronomizer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love this card because is goes hand-in-hand with Landfall. Returning a land to your hand every turn gives you the chance to play a land every turn, enabling landfall. 4/5
Hugo1
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Combos great with any landfall card, especially Roil Elemental
A 4/4 flier and you getting one of his blockers every turn. :)
penguinmage25
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
this can be sooooo useful
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If you have more than one in play, do you need to return a land to your hand for each one of them?
enjoy
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
use halimar depths and some thing that lets you play extra land =)
Bobth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Does not need a landfall ability... its ability is to give all of your other creatures constant landfall. That's amazing. The fact that it comes with a super efficient flier with P/T equal to its CMC makes this an easy 5/5. Add sweet picture and it's a no brainer.
Comments (39)
With the new rules on mana burn it it limits you to five mana, not four, because you can safely tap the land before you return it to your hand, then tap it again after you lay it. That gives you the ability to lay a weenie and still have mana to counter on their turn. Heck, in a pinch it can even help you get a second mana of an off color (converting that plains in a virtual plainsx2). Also, any deck that this is put into should not have huge mana requirements in the first place and should run just fine at 5-6 mana. Add the obvious advantage with landfall and the new lands and I think you have a good choice.
That's not to say that this is the end all and be all. You probably aren't going to want to run four of them, but a 4/4 flyer is a force to be reckoned with and can really shift the balance of power.
Imagine: 2 Islands + City of Traitors + Land Equilibrium. Your turn you bounce and island. Play it again to kill the city. Use the two blue to bounce an opponent's land (Eye of Nowhere, Hoodwink, Boomerang, etc...). Next turn they should have 3 land out; upkeep bounce another land and return the island. Play with Trinisphere and they are now permanently locked out. Not as good as Stax or anything, but still quite fun.
He is also pretty good with Manabond and he seems good with Gemstone Mine or other land that deplete. Too bad you gotta kill a land to play Gemstone Caverns...
Great with City of Traitors. Can play this guy turn 2 easily with 1 form of accell (Lotus Petal or Mox Diamond come to mind), City + Island. Then bounce the city and only play it when you need the double accelleration to get out of your three mana lock.
Yes, this guy sticks you to 4 mana. He's also a 4/4 flier. And your playing blue. If you resolve this guy and manage to untap, your probably going to win in most casual games if your running enough counter-magic and have board position. There is a chance by turn 6 they can pull double removal and you won't have the mana to counter both...but by then they've taken at least 2 hits from this guy and should be feeling pretty pained.
Beyond the combo capabilites, a 4/4 flyer for 4 is great, and the artwork is top notch. Add an explorer's scope and you can easily overcome the mana loss in type 2.
4/5
3.5
i mean sure, landfall every turn, but if you're running green, shudnt u be playing a land somehow every turn anyways? and blue cards that let me draw or reorganize the top 3-4 cards on my library, i should be dropping lands every turn, even with Azusa, Lost but Seeking in play (okay okay thats an exaggeration)
by the time its good to play him, i already have my win-condition card in play
Kabira Crossroads
Grazing Gladehart
Felidar Sovereign
Just a thought.
gives you the chance to play a land every turn, enabling landfall. 4/5
A 4/4 flier and you getting one of his blockers every turn. :)