Now this is neat... it's like a 1U hard counter for stuff that'll destroy your creature right away (terminate, doom blade) or saves it from stuff like pyroclasm AND protects it going forward in the game. Probably the best totem armor card in the set.
DonRoyale
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
It's a counter to removal, which is really good in Limited and Constructed decks with blue creatur-oh wait.
I love this card, but it demands a second color to be useful in Constructed. Bonkers in Limited, though...:D
SleetFox
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Can be used to prevent a destruction or to protect from future destruction. In addition to avoiding, say, Terminate, there's also the amusement of playing it on your 2/2 after a 3/3 blocks it.
faisjdas
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Probably the best or second best totem armor in the set.
Donovan_Fabian
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Not necessarily the best umbra, but seriously, consider this on a sejiri merfolk.. flash the enchantment on for 2, save the creature by killing the other with first strike, then have a hard to remove 3/2 still around seems like a lot of fun. Virulent swipe thrown in, also awesome.
coyotemoon722
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Yay, removal-counter, plus other uses! Plus it just looks cool 8)
Vines of Vastwood proves that this card should either be green. Protection proves that this card should be white. The +1/+1 makes it a bit odd for blue.
Great little card that can be used as a combat trick, and then a boost if you manage to keep the guy alive.
At its CC, a very reasonable spell for blue with strong applications across the board.
4/5
f_fivefiftyseven
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
A better card than people give it credit for. Not a high pick by any means, but it's one me a few games in draft by protecting a creature from removal or turning a trade into a chump
Leshrac_Nightwalker
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
The "Totem armor" mechanic is probably the bluntest way yet that Wizards has tried to get around the inherent card disadvantage of auras (next to the infamous Rancor and its ilk). On most of the other totem armor auras, this amounts to the confidence to enchant your good creatures, knowing that you're not setting yourself up for a hard comedown.
Eel Umbra, though, plays a little differently because it has Flash. It can function as a counterspell in some cases, it can mess up opponents' combat math in others, and this versatility comes at a very reasonable price. I think that they're really hit the mark with this mechanic.
JFM2796
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have two in my mono blue control deck. Some people just kind of glance over this card. Not only is it a combat trick in blue, but it can also serve as essentially a counter to being destroyed. 4.5*
Comments (16)
I love this card, but it demands a second color to be useful in Constructed. Bonkers in Limited, though...:D
At its CC, a very reasonable spell for blue with strong applications across the board.
4/5
Eel Umbra, though, plays a little differently because it has Flash. It can function as a counterspell in some cases, it can mess up opponents' combat math in others, and this versatility comes at a very reasonable price. I think that they're really hit the mark with this mechanic.
That's a moray