actually it wouldn't work like that it doesn't go by types it just goes by name of the card. But you can really f-up a mono-colored deck. For example, if he's playing green, name forest because its ability is not a mana ability it is a TAP ability that PRODUCES mana. Pretty sweet huh.
Schlappi
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Hi,
I just meant that if you use it targeting a Sliver no activated abilities can be used because all Slivers have the same. Since it goes by all abilities that one permanent can use (the names of the abilities, the name of the permanent just to target something in the first place) no Sliver can use those abilities any more 'cos the ability is banned - and every Sliver's got it. This goes for all activated abilities all Slivers have 'cos everyone is an ability of each Sliver in play...see what I mean?^^
And I'm sorry to disappoint but a forest's ability IS a mana ability (I mean come on - how unfair would that annoying needle be?! ;D). I quote:
"Q: What's a mana ability? A: A mana ability is a special kind of activated or triggered ability, either an activated ability that doesn't have a target and could produce mana, or a triggered ability that doesn't have a target, could produce mana, and triggers off of another mana ability. A mana ability is not "an ability which costs mana to play" (though some mana abilities do cost mana to play).
Mana abilities, unlike regular activated or triggered abilities, don't use the stack--they produce their effect immediately. As such, they cannot be responded to or countered.
Examples of mana abilities:
* The Basic Lands (Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, Forest)"
Best regards from Hamburg (again)
TheAviator
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(5 votes)
1) Generally, maybe even always, when cards say "mana abilities" read it like this "mana PRODUCING abilities". 2) Basic Lands don't have activated abilities, or any abilities for that matter (as far as i know). Regardless, it's exempt because it produces mana. And for most all cases tapping is one type of cost to activate an ability. 3) Billpasdmf is right. The named sliver card still has it's abilities, it just can't use them (That specific card name). So all other slivers would still benefit from that card being on the field.
(this was my first posting on here, it's fun!)
majinara
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(5 votes)
The guy saying that basic lands have no activated abilities is wrong. Of course they have activated abilities. Just check out the templates of the old lands, where they still read "tap: add somemana to your mana pool". But they're mana abilities (obviously) so naming "forest" won't help here. Well, unless someone put a squirrel nes or something on a forest. Then the ability granted to the forest by the nest can't be played anymore.
Anyway, this is a nice card all in all. Good to shut off planeswalkers or whatever annoys you.
Forgeling
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(12 votes)
C C COMBO BREAKERRR!
JacksJokeShop
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Slivers, lands, etc aside, this card is one of the most versatile sideboard cards ever. I have trouble thinking of another card that can be sideboarded in any deck like this card.
The only problem i have with it is the art, it reminds me of Kamigawa block, which was a block that got a big "meh" from me.
billpasdmf
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(10 votes)
I got a lot of cards for my snake deck from Kamigawa. So, I think its a good set.
And how dare a card originally from Kamigawa have art that makes it look like its from Kamigawa.
What an atrocity.
N84M09
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I just got this card in a booster pack and had a great time reading all your opinions on it
Thanks.
Sporny
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
an activated ability is an ability which you have to pay for in order to use it (i.e., tap, pay X, sac a creature...)
mana abilities are abilities that produce mana
Let's say you target a forest with the needle
forest says: T: add G to your mana pool
now, this is an activated ability, as you have to pay (tap) in order to use it, but it's a mana ability as well, as (obviously) it produces mana
therefore, the forest is unaffected by the needle
but let's say that forest is an Oran-Rief The Vastwood
the mana-producing ability can still be used, while the put-a-counter-on... ability can't be used, as it doesn't produce mana
I think it's clear now :)
LemonKeith
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have a question, is echo or cumulating upkeep a activated ability? can I stop card that need them by the needle?
Llandner
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wow it can work with Karona, False God 0.0
Kryian
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So this card can be used to shut down a fetchland if you so desire, correct? Like if I were playing against Boros and wanted to stop the landfall shenanigans I could just throw it down and name Arid Mesa???
sinanata
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
dont you guys know anything?
first of all: a mana ability cant be targeted as you already know fx Graven Cairns it cost mana to play but even if it didnt it is still a mana ability.
second of all: you cant target slivers wall of reverence and many more cards cuz they're static abilities this card block and Activated ability activated abilities are abilities you need to pay or do something for fx. Tap, Pay mana, if the card says you need to tap or pay its an activated ability, if it doesnt its just static and it happens even if you try to block it. ("Target" is a static ability unless you need to pay/tap something).
third of all: really nice card though even if it cant target static abilities it can still target the stupid naya abilities with power 5 or greater and much else, and the mana cost is 1.. COLORLESS!
if i had it i wouldnt use it as sideboard, but as a card IN the deck.
Gako
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(4 votes)
@Forgeling, epic comment XD
This card is pretty fricken sweet most of the time. I still keep one or two in my sideboards :)
CatsAreCthala
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
Why are Kamigawa artifacts crazy?
ClockworkSwordfish
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
The guy in the art clearly decided to disable Brain Stem's ability : Cogitate.
pearldrums
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Its also wrong to say a sliver cant use it's abilities, depending upon what the ability is. Remember there are Activated, Static, and Triggered abilities. So for example a sliver that says "all slivers have: tap deal one damage to attacking or defending creature" has only a static ability printed on it. It also inherently has an activated ability granted by said static ability that it could not use if pithing needle was on it, but other slivers would still be granted the same activated ability as the static ability ("all slivers have____") is not being prevented in any way.
mlanier131
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(3 votes)
If you used this card to name "Oblivion Ring" , would players be able to play oblivion ring? It has a cost, so is it possible.
VoidedNote
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Maybe I will make that anti-creature deck with Aetherstorm :)
NeoSin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(5 votes)
Baneslayer? Buh bye! Iona? See ya! All those other pesky angels you know you hate to have played on you! BYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYE!
averyoftheelves
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(5 votes)
planeswalker=pwnt
P-Slice
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(5 votes)
That Master Transmuter was pithing me off!
jumpenrun
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
It stings when you see it in the first turn(the illustration is just right).lol Then in the second turn you'll see meddling mage...wtf
mdakw576
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Baneslayer? Buh bye! Iona? See ya! All those other pesky angels you know you hate to have played on you! BYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYE!
...those aren't activated abilities.
Activated abilities are denoted by the colon (or is a planeswalker). If the text doesn't have a colon, it's not an activated ability.
This is a great sideboard card, many decks I run have 4x in it.
blitzer090909
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i love this card for sideboards in standard...
Goodbye...
1. Planswalkers,
2. Time Sieve
3. Fetch Lands
yeah find someone playing a Time Sieve combo deck and play this card 1st turn and watch them cry a little inside lol
You could name Oblivion Ring, but it wouldn't do anything. Oblivion Ring doesn't have an activated ability. It's just an ability... if you could name just abilities this card would be absurd. It's really good, but it's not absurd.
I just realized this can hit fetch lands =) But yeah, this is pretty obscene. And sorta randomly, it's also good against all the gy hate in legacy...crypt, relic...
Faildini
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.7/5.0)(3 votes)
@sinanata: Don't start a post with a patronizing comment if you don't know what you're talking about.
The card affects abilities, not the actual card you named. If you name a sliver, none of its activated abilities can be played, by it or any other creature which, for some reason ;), may have the same ability. That ability doesn't exist anymore, regardless of which sliver activates it.
So yes, in short, this card can and will shut down your average sliver deck, at least until you get rid of it, or the named sliver.
The art for this card always makes me squirm. Great ability though, can get crazy when used with master transmuter. You can block a ridiculous amount of potential threats. 5/5
Hovercraft
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Why is this being played in sideboard? I play 2 main deck 2 in side. If you're playing a mono color deck especially without any fetch lands automatically there you have alone a whole bunch of fetch lands your opponent might play you could name. Even first turn casting this and having no idea what they're about to play and naming Umezawa's Jitte is not a bad play. A fetch land does not have a mana ability - it adds no mana - you could name it and they won't be able to fetch with that fetch land. Combine this with Wasteland on other non basic lands and it will make it difficult for your opponent to play the game for sure.. In fact why not throw 4 in a deck you think it wont get 4 targets throughout a game?
Snafinturtle
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@Faildini: I think you should take a look at the rulings yourself. Pithing needle does not remove abilities, it simply disallows permanents with the chosen name from using their activated abilities.
In the case of the sliver thing, we'll say you name Necrotic Sliver. It has a static ability which gives all slivers in play the activated ability "3, Sacrifice this permanent: Detroy target permanent.". The only creature that would be unable to use this ability is the Necrotic Sliver itself. All the other creatures are not named "Necrotic Sliver", and thus, can still use that activated ability.
Along with this scenario, we'll say you have Crypt Sliver, and Gemhide Sliver in play. The only ability that Necrotic Sliver would be allowed to use is the one given to it by Gemhide Sliver, because it's the only activated ability it would have at that point that is a mana ability.
@divine_exodus: Sad to say, but no. The art printed on this card is from Saviors of Kamigawa, a set printed long before Zendikar. It may be the other way around, but it's more likely that it was simply another "needle in the head" type art, such as the "Tempest" set's art for Lobotomy.
kothsapprentice
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(10 votes)
This actually doesn't make a specification on what you can name. Let's say your opponent is running mono-black. I name Swamp. Game.
Lord_of_Tresserhorn
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@kothsapprentice: Did you even read the card?? *rolls eyes*
Err why? I guess it'd be nice if your opponent had that card to stop him from using that ability, but it's not exactly a very major one.
Using this on your own pridemage would simply cause his activated ability to not work at all. It's not a mana producing activated ability, so the whole ability is negated (sans the Exalted part obviously).
This card stops ALL activated abilities, except ones that produce mana. That's what "mana abilities" means, apparently. Not abilities that cost mana to activate. And even if it did, the "sacrafice" part of the pridemage would still kick into effect since it would fall under that whole ability.
Spideredd
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This card will deal with Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
If they put that bar-steward in m12, they'd better put this in.
I think I traded this for something bad in my noob days. I think it might have been for another Filigree Angel. Still kicking myself for that one.
Zacklar
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@kothsapprentice good move, you just wasted one Pithing Needle, you can waste the other 3 by naming Plains, Island, Mountain or Forest
Eliteninjasauce
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ok I have a question about a possible situation. Say you play Pithing Needle on Necrotic Ooze, since Pithing Needle shuts down the activated abilities of the source and since Necrotic Ooze doesn't actually have any activated abilities of its own, would this end up being useless?
NoobOfLore
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Plays well with Meddling Mage, curves right into it. We have the makings of a deck that is no fun to play with or against!
Superllama12
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Besides for the cmc and creature vs. non-creature, this has some important differences from Phyrexian Revoker. While this cannot hit mana dorks, it can hit fetchlands, which can be very important depending on the format (Legacy, I'm looking at you). However, I personally prefer the Revoker, because my playgroup doesn't run fetchlands, but it all depends on the metagame
Shadoflaam
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Pissing Needle Artifact -- Catheter When ~ enters the battlefield, oh dear god whyyyyyy
LordRandomness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like to think it deals with enemy 'walkers by becoming lodged in their brain.
Purple_Shrimp
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i prefer Phyrexian Revoker's ability, but both are good
muggtonp
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Stop doing that bro, you're pithing me off
zenitramleirdag
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
yup feralsymphony, i use it to disable jace in my mono-black mid range deck..the gate!..
Totema
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
I like to call this Constipation Needle, because it stops things that have a colon.
j_mindfingerpainter
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
That was hilarious Totema
LegoLeonidas
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@ Eliteninjasauce Actually, that is EXACTLY the kind of thing you should pick! Congratulations, you just turned what was probably your opponent's favorite evil little creature into a vanilla 4/3, AND as a bonus, he's really regretting saccing all those creatures with sweet activated abilities!
Here's how the thing works: You pick a card. That card can no longer use activated(non-mana) abilities. That's it! I don't see why there's so much confusion on the rulings here, as it seems pretty obvious to me!
Also, here's a bit of trivia for you: Pithing is the act of destroying part of the brain/brainstem, usually by the use of a needle or small rod inserted into the base of the skull, resulting in paralysis and/or brain death. As you can see, this fits the art, as well as the flavor, of the card...
Probably going to be in Core Set M14 instead of Oblivion Ring as the go-to Planeswalker-Hater.
I'm interested in Dreadbore as a card that eventually needed to probably be made for the larger card pool formats, but I wouldn't want Terminate in Standard all the time, and I wouldn't want Dreadbore all the time either. Pithing Needle is an awesome way to balance Planeswalkers without feeling too much like overkill-hate. Ravnica is connected enough with the rest of the Multiverse that Dreadbore makes sense- Pithing Needle though, is the kind of card I could see anywhere/everywhere that just happens to be lucky against Planeswalkers. Great Design from Kamigawa, and good reprint instincts from the Return to Ravnica team :D
ZerioctheTank
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Sorry I'm still a noob here but will this card stop Cavern of Souls?
alphagprime
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ ZerioctheTank: No. Cavern of Souls abilities are mana and static, not activated.
Kaleidostorm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
WARNING: SURFACE-TO-PLANESWALKER MISSILE INBOUND.
DacenOctavio
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is roughly how Yawgmoth betrayed and incapacitated poor, gullible Dyfed, the Dominarian planeswalker who took him to the artificial, 8-layered metallic plane that would become the Phyrexian homeworld. When Dyfed was mercifully slain during the Thran rebellion, Yawgmoth had her dissected and her tissues cataloged for future study. Presumably, such processing led to the development of artificial planeswalking technology used by the Phyrexians to infiltrate plane after plane.
velkaarn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I haven't really used this one as I've only a single copy but I suppose I'll throw it in my EDH deck. There's plenty of activated abilities I don't want to see on single cards too.
Comments (64)
I just meant that if you use it targeting a Sliver no activated abilities can be used because all Slivers have the same. Since it goes by all abilities that one permanent can use (the names of the abilities, the name of the permanent just to target something in the first place) no Sliver can use those abilities any more 'cos the ability is banned - and every Sliver's got it. This goes for all activated abilities all Slivers have 'cos everyone is an ability of each Sliver in play...see what I mean?^^
And I'm sorry to disappoint but a forest's ability IS a mana ability (I mean come on - how unfair would that annoying needle be?! ;D). I quote:
"Q: What's a mana ability?
A: A mana ability is a special kind of activated or triggered ability, either an activated ability that doesn't have a target and could produce mana, or a triggered ability that doesn't have a target, could produce mana, and triggers off of another mana ability. A mana ability is not "an ability which costs mana to play" (though some mana abilities do cost mana to play).
Mana abilities, unlike regular activated or triggered abilities, don't use the stack--they produce their effect immediately. As such, they cannot be responded to or countered.
Examples of mana abilities:
* The Basic Lands (Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, Forest)"
Best regards from Hamburg (again)
2) Basic Lands don't have activated abilities, or any abilities for that matter (as far as i know). Regardless, it's exempt because it produces mana. And for most all cases tapping is one type of cost to activate an ability.
3) Billpasdmf is right. The named sliver card still has it's abilities, it just can't use them (That specific card name). So all other slivers would still benefit from that card being on the field.
(this was my first posting on here, it's fun!)
Anyway, this is a nice card all in all. Good to shut off planeswalkers or whatever annoys you.
The only problem i have with it is the art, it reminds me of Kamigawa block, which was a block that got a big "meh" from me.
And how dare a card originally from Kamigawa have art that makes it look like its from Kamigawa.
What an atrocity.
Thanks.
mana abilities are abilities that produce mana
Let's say you target a forest with the needle
forest says: T: add G to your mana pool
now, this is an activated ability, as you have to pay (tap) in order to use it, but it's a mana ability as well, as (obviously) it produces mana
therefore, the forest is unaffected by the needle
but let's say that forest is an Oran-Rief The Vastwood
the mana-producing ability can still be used, while the put-a-counter-on... ability can't be used, as it doesn't produce mana
I think it's clear now :)
first of all: a mana ability cant be targeted as you already know fx Graven Cairns it cost mana to play but even if it didnt it is still a mana ability.
second of all: you cant target slivers wall of reverence and many more cards cuz they're static abilities this card block and Activated ability activated abilities are abilities you need to pay or do something for fx.
Tap, Pay mana, if the card says you need to tap or pay its an activated ability, if it doesnt its just static and it happens even if you try to block it. ("Target" is a static ability unless you need to pay/tap something).
third of all: really nice card though even if it cant target static abilities it can still target the stupid naya abilities with power 5 or greater and much else, and the mana cost is 1.. COLORLESS!
if i had it i wouldnt use it as sideboard, but as a card IN the deck.
This card is pretty fricken sweet most of the time. I still keep one or two in my sideboards :)
Then in the second turn you'll see meddling mage...wtf
...those aren't activated abilities.
Activated abilities are denoted by the colon (or is a planeswalker). If the text doesn't have a colon, it's not an activated ability.
This is a great sideboard card, many decks I run have 4x in it.
Goodbye...
1. Planswalkers,
2. Time Sieve
3. Fetch Lands
yeah find someone playing a Time Sieve combo deck and play this card 1st turn and watch them cry a little inside lol
You could name Oblivion Ring, but it wouldn't do anything. Oblivion Ring doesn't have an activated ability. It's just an ability... if you could name just abilities this card would be absurd. It's really good, but it's not absurd.
you: pithing needle
opponent:(
The card affects abilities, not the actual card you named. If you name a sliver, none of its activated abilities can be played, by it or any other creature which, for some reason ;), may have the same ability. That ability doesn't exist anymore, regardless of which sliver activates it.
So yes, in short, this card can and will shut down your average sliver deck, at least until you get rid of it, or the named sliver.
Great ability though, can get crazy when used with master transmuter. You can block a ridiculous amount of potential threats. 5/5
I think you should take a look at the rulings yourself. Pithing needle does not remove abilities, it simply disallows permanents with the chosen name from using their activated abilities.
In the case of the sliver thing, we'll say you name Necrotic Sliver. It has a static ability which gives all slivers in play the activated ability "3, Sacrifice this permanent: Detroy target permanent.". The only creature that would be unable to use this ability is the Necrotic Sliver itself. All the other creatures are not named "Necrotic Sliver", and thus, can still use that activated ability.
Along with this scenario, we'll say you have Crypt Sliver, and Gemhide Sliver in play. The only ability that Necrotic Sliver would be allowed to use is the one given to it by Gemhide Sliver, because it's the only activated ability it would have at that point that is a mana ability.
@divine_exodus:
Sad to say, but no. The art printed on this card is from Saviors of Kamigawa, a set printed long before Zendikar. It may be the other way around, but it's more likely that it was simply another "needle in the head" type art, such as the "Tempest" set's art for Lobotomy.
Err why? I guess it'd be nice if your opponent had that card to stop him from using that ability, but it's not exactly a very major one.
Using this on your own pridemage would simply cause his activated ability to not work at all. It's not a mana producing activated ability, so the whole ability is negated (sans the Exalted part obviously).
This card stops ALL activated abilities, except ones that produce mana. That's what "mana abilities" means, apparently. Not abilities that cost mana to activate. And even if it did, the "sacrafice" part of the pridemage would still kick into effect since it would fall under that whole ability.
If they put that bar-steward in m12, they'd better put this in.
good move, you just wasted one Pithing Needle, you can waste the other 3 by naming Plains, Island, Mountain or Forest
We have the makings of a deck that is no fun to play with or against!
Artifact -- Catheter
When ~ enters the battlefield, oh dear god whyyyyyy
Here's how the thing works: You pick a card. That card can no longer use activated(non-mana) abilities. That's it! I don't see why there's so much confusion on the rulings here, as it seems pretty obvious to me!
Also, here's a bit of trivia for you: Pithing is the act of destroying part of the brain/brainstem, usually by the use of a needle or small rod inserted into the base of the skull, resulting in paralysis and/or brain death. As you can see, this fits the art, as well as the flavor, of the card...
I'm interested in Dreadbore as a card that eventually needed to probably be made for the larger card pool formats, but I wouldn't want Terminate in Standard all the time, and I wouldn't want Dreadbore all the time either. Pithing Needle is an awesome way to balance Planeswalkers without feeling too much like overkill-hate. Ravnica is connected enough with the rest of the Multiverse that Dreadbore makes sense- Pithing Needle though, is the kind of card I could see anywhere/everywhere that just happens to be lucky against Planeswalkers. Great Design from Kamigawa, and good reprint instincts from the Return to Ravnica team :D