If you can find a way to cheat this onto the battlefield, it might be good. In late-game, there are so many other ways to kill the opponent, especially in RoE. Might be good in an Esper deck withMaster Transmuter though.
RedArcher
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A pretty decent option for a draw/go deck. Stall until turn 7 then start dishing out damage while just defending yourself. 3/5
SleetFox
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(6 votes)
I like the flavor of this. It also might be playable in a red/blue deck, or even just a blue deck with a lot of countermagic. This is basically a win condition that doesn't require you do change much. Just keep reacting, and then people get hurt! Yay! But 7 mana is a lot; I'm not sure I wouldn't rather just wait another turn or so for an Eldrazi.
AngelxLegna
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
This is a rare I would hate to open.
BobTheBuillder
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(11 votes)
costs way too much
wolfbear2
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(5 votes)
before people go holding out on instants and sorcerys to us this with lets brake it down.
spells: damage
1:1
2:3
3:6
4:10
5:15
6:21
So only 6 to kill, but any decent deck will have been chipping away little by little, so that's realy only 5, maybe 4. That number shrinks even more with rebond spells. Or if those spells are burn...
Simply replacing Eye of the Storm with this will be game. So yeah, kinda worth it in those type of decks.
lukemol
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
The only ways to make this worthwhile would be to play it in a deck that words off of counters, throwing in a few each of Coretapper and Power Conduit.
Mode
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(3 votes)
@strigen: "This should've cost 4 at most." Well, i'm glad that you are not a card designer^^ Up to a cost of four mana this artifact would be rather ridiculous, at least in a control deck. I think 5 mana would have been ok since this starts very slowly afterall, but as wolfbear said the damage can be considerable nontheless. An effect like this always have to be treated with care. Although the high cost sometimes merely kills such cards, you have to think about it: The true power of this card lies in control decks, when you prevent your opponent from getting any further while you can deal an increasing amount of damage while accúmulating charge counters with your spell counters. And since it can also target creatures you might be able to get even rid of further threats this way.
SolidSoldier
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ex-pen-sive. Do not want.
anhkheg
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This has to be one of my favorite limited cards, I swept more than one eldrazi off the field with this and a few rebound spells. And I may be wrong, but cascade from Reborn give the wand multiple triggers in constructed.
TehFREEMAN
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
bought one eldrazzi booster pack today.. pulled this.........FML
Gaussgoat
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Outstanding little artifact that keeps getting bigger and can dish significant amounts of damage in the right deck.
There are tons of ways to get this out for less than it's stated cost. The most obvious one is still Type 2 legal, the Master Transmuter. It is also and Eldrazzi artifact, so there are about 100 new cards that create the spawn you will need to get this thing out early.
The final mechanic that makes this thing devastating is Rebound... every time you cast an instant or sorcery with this mechanic, you're getting a 2-for-1 with this item. Toss a Staggershock at an opponet with the wand on the table, and you're hitting for 7 points of damage; not bad for a 3CC instant.
It IS expensive, but I am glad it isn't any cheaper or it could be ridiculous.
4/5
blindthrall
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's almost a reprint of Alladin's Ring.
Sironos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It costs 7 COLOURLESS mana, meaning every single eldrazi spawn will help you get this out in no time. In a red dmg or blue counter deck, this is devastating.
An opponent played this against me and it quickly got painful, but luckily i had my vampire hexmage to hamper it (Know it would have been better with artifact removal, but that's hard to come by in mono black).
XTwistedsoulX
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
There is such a thing as artifact reanimator decks... but usually they use darksteel colossus
Jake1991
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Even if you get this card out early, you still need spells to fuel its damage. Meh...
ArkReaver
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This card is so underrated. I run this in a U/R deck which, out of the 40 nonland cards, 32 are either instants or sorceries, most of them costing 1 or 2 mana. Blue library manipulation, in this case ponder (x4), keepsenough land coming as well as keeping the wand away until I can cast it. Djinn of Wishes, with the help of ponder, can cast this earlier and leave some mana spare. Once it's out, It quickly becomes crazy especially with 1 or 2 activated Pyromancer's Ascension. With this, a single ascension, some lightning bolts and a couple of grapeshots, I've manage to do away with three players in a single turn, all on around 20 life. And in advance, I realise that the ascension doesn't actually add counters to the wand, just gives more burn.
And I agree that it would've been stupid to print this any cheaper.
Gezus82
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
EDH ftw, well priced and dangerous in a multi-player game I would have liked it at 5 for 1 on 1
IshubarashI
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
I agree the card is a bit difficult to play but it can be truly devastating once it's out. In a multiplayer game, I had this and my Cast Through Time out, then that coupled with multiple low cost blue spells allowed me to deal 50-60 damage in two turns, wiping out all of my opponents. I had 8 life left at the end of that second turn, and the other players were starting to team up on me so this wand essentially saved me and won that game for me. If it only cost 5 it would be broken, if it had cost 6 it would be amazing, but it costs 7, which is kind of the thresh-hold for making this card hard to use which I think is kind of appropriate considering this thing is definitely a game ender. I give it a 4/5
Bucket365
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I got this today in a pack. It is my new favorite card ever since i have begun playing Magic. I have yet to lose a game with this deck.
benegade
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
"i'll mana leak your baneslayer... and you take 6 damage."
might not be the greatest card, but you can win with it. and it's a satisfying win.
@Mode: I stand by what I say. 7 casting cost is in the realm of Cruel Ultimatum or All is Dust or Avenger of Zendikar. This, however, is a piece of crap and waste of a rare slot.
It's been six months and this card has seen zero play. What a surprise for a 7 CMC card that does absolutely nothing on its own.
sungkwon
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Between proliferate and metalcraft, this might not be a bad card now. Too bad Clone Shell can't hit other Artifacts. Might be a little tricky to try to sneak this in... or you might just have to hardcast it. But with cheap proliferate like Steady Progress and Contagian Clasp we could see a faster win condition for the new U/W Artifact control.
Actually I'm thinking of using this in my B/G Rock deck... hm...
Jackal_Master_FTW
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I'm Putting mine in my fire and lightning along with my chandra ablaze
coyotemoon722
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(2 votes)
@wolfbear2, I don't understand your math on this. It should be an increment ratio of 1:1, 2:2, 3:3
Either way, this thing seems like the definition of high-cost, low-return. Although I could see ramping to the cost, any type of artifact hate neutralizes your plan and it wasn't like you were going to do that much damage with it anyway. I can't think of a single format in which this thing would shine.
specs808
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(2 votes)
I've been toying around with this card and shape anew in standard. It's the only artifact in my deck. By using tuktuk the explorer and stone idol trap, i can use shape anew to pull out the wand every time. Best of all, it makes a U/R deck which is perfect.
Eric1618
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.7/5.0)(3 votes)
This card is a just a tragic accident.
It SHOULD have cost 2 generic mana and said:
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, put a charge counter on sphinx bone wand
Tap: Sphinx bone wand deals damage equal to the number of charge counters on it to target creature or player.
TheHandyman
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Mmm...proliferate.
Nighthawk42
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I love the idea, but cost is too high to actually play this.
Arghh! If this was cheaper I would definitely use it as the win condition of my counterspell deck. Why could it not have cost ? Maybe even target only players? Or only activate on Instants?
Dr.Pingas
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Wolfbear's math is perfect, just poorly explained.
1 spell = 1 damage, making the current total 1. 2nd spell = 2 damage. 1, plus 2 new, makes 3 damage TOTAL. 3rd spell = 3 damage. So, 3, plus 3 from before, makes a total of 6. 4th spell = 4 damage, plus 6 from before, so now we've done 10 damage, total, with 4 spells.
I know everyone has an issue with it's cost, but as it's been said, anything lower would be outrageous. Consider that you can drop a Inexorable Tide as a 5-drop, and that red DOES have some ramp in the form of various rituals here and there; which aren't a waste of a card even late-game when they still score charge counters, while providing mana for other spells. It's not a perfect card, probably not tournament-worthy, but not every card has to be, in order to be good. This card has it's place.
kiseki
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
So much fun! And it stacks nicely with additional copies! Build a deck with nothing but this, sorceries and instants!
I encountered an interesting red-blue-green deck that utilized both Ancient Stirrings and Seer's Sundial to maximize their cantrips and set this card up. I died to it very quickly when it hit play.
marmaris74
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Cool math fact: Total amount of damage done by this= (Number of Counters)x(NoC+1)/2 So, 1 -> 1x2/2 = 1 2 -> 2x3/2 = 3 3 -> 3x4/2 = 6 4 -> 4x5/2 = 10 etc...
Therefore, to do 20 damage, you need only 6 spells (6x7/2 = 21) If you want to do 1000 damage, you need to cast only 45 spells (45x46/2=1035) Sure, 45 spells is a lot, but if your opponent has 1000 life it's never going to be easy to win with only one card.
Comments (35)
3/5
spells: damage
1:1
2:3
3:6
4:10
5:15
6:21
So only 6 to kill, but any decent deck will have been chipping away little by little, so that's realy only 5, maybe 4. That number shrinks even more with rebond spells. Or if those spells are burn...
Simply replacing Eye of the Storm with this will be game. So yeah, kinda worth it in those type of decks.
Well, i'm glad that you are not a card designer^^ Up to a cost of four mana this artifact would be rather ridiculous, at least in a control deck. I think 5 mana would have been ok since this starts very slowly afterall, but as wolfbear said the damage can be considerable nontheless.
An effect like this always have to be treated with care. Although the high cost sometimes merely kills such cards, you have to think about it:
The true power of this card lies in control decks, when you prevent your opponent from getting any further while you can deal an increasing amount of damage while accúmulating charge counters with your spell counters. And since it can also target creatures you might be able to get even rid of further threats this way.
There are tons of ways to get this out for less than it's stated cost. The most obvious one is still Type 2 legal, the Master Transmuter. It is also and Eldrazzi artifact, so there are about 100 new cards that create the spawn you will need to get this thing out early.
The final mechanic that makes this thing devastating is Rebound... every time you cast an instant or sorcery with this mechanic, you're getting a 2-for-1 with this item. Toss a Staggershock at an opponet with the wand on the table, and you're hitting for 7 points of damage; not bad for a 3CC instant.
It IS expensive, but I am glad it isn't any cheaper or it could be ridiculous.
4/5
An opponent played this against me and it quickly got painful, but luckily i had my vampire hexmage to hamper it (Know it would have been better with artifact removal, but that's hard to come by in mono black).
And I agree that it would've been stupid to print this any cheaper.
I would have liked it at 5 for 1 on 1
might not be the greatest card, but you can win with it. and it's a satisfying win.
It's been six months and this card has seen zero play. What a surprise for a 7 CMC card that does absolutely nothing on its own.
Actually I'm thinking of using this in my B/G Rock deck... hm...
Either way, this thing seems like the definition of high-cost, low-return. Although I could see ramping to the cost, any type of artifact hate neutralizes your plan and it wasn't like you were going to do that much damage with it anyway. I can't think of a single format in which this thing would shine.
It SHOULD have cost 2 generic mana and said:
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, put a charge counter on sphinx bone wand
Tap: Sphinx bone wand deals damage equal to the number of charge counters on it to target creature or player.
Seems like it needs to be cheated into play with Trinket Mage+Everflowing Chalice or Inkmoth Nexus and Shape Anew. Then again if you're doing that, Blightsteel Colossus is a better target.
1 spell = 1 damage, making the current total 1.
2nd spell = 2 damage. 1, plus 2 new, makes 3 damage TOTAL.
3rd spell = 3 damage. So, 3, plus 3 from before, makes a total of 6.
4th spell = 4 damage, plus 6 from before, so now we've done 10 damage, total, with 4 spells.
I know everyone has an issue with it's cost, but as it's been said, anything lower would be outrageous. Consider that you can drop a Inexorable Tide as a 5-drop, and that red DOES have some ramp in the form of various rituals here and there; which aren't a waste of a card even late-game when they still score charge counters, while providing mana for other spells. It's not a perfect card, probably not tournament-worthy, but not every card has to be, in order to be good. This card has it's place.
Build a deck with nothing but this, sorceries and instants!
Get more bang for your buck with:
Buyback: Sprout Swarm, Fanning the Flames
Flashback: Chatter of the Squirrel, Elephant Ambush, Past in Flames
Retrace: Spitting Image (turns even your land draws into charge counters!)
Etcetera: Arc Blade, Tezzeret's Gambit
Of course, you need some acceleration: Search for tomorrow, rampant growth
And I like that Gilt-Leaf Ambush helps you get a Wand earlier.
It is my dream to cast overrun with no creatures and get a Wand kill.
So, 1 -> 1x2/2 = 1
2 -> 2x3/2 = 3
3 -> 3x4/2 = 6
4 -> 4x5/2 = 10
etc...
Therefore, to do 20 damage, you need only 6 spells (6x7/2 = 21)
If you want to do 1000 damage, you need to cast only 45 spells (45x46/2=1035)
Sure, 45 spells is a lot, but if your opponent has 1000 life it's never going to be easy to win with only one card.
Isn't math fun?