Pointed Discussion

I always felt that Giant Growth was the single most underrated card in all of magic, and this is potentially better. It basically reads "deal 4 damage to target blocking creature, or deal 4 damage to target player if an unblocked creature gets through" which are two great effects for one mana. Sure, a land has to drop, but that's not exactly an uncommon occurrence.

Giant Growth is a better, more stable spell. I don't like the idea of kicking it with a fetch land on Opponent's turn to get +4/+4. If I really needed the extra +1/+1 I'd just cast Vines.

they have done this strategy of smaller at one time, and bigger at another, and i don't think the other cards like this were ever played. but i love the art, total waste of good art.

Reminds me of Might of Old Krosa. That was a good card; I imagine this will be pretty nice too.

Since the only possibility to get a land at instant speed in order to surprise your opponent with this spell is normally either by casting Harrow or by saccing a fetchland, i think Might of Old Krosa would in general do a better job than this one.
It's not a bad pick in draft i guess, and at least it's far superior to this set's red alternative, Bull Rush.

Not bad, but it comes with all of the fundamental weaknesses of a spell that does nothing but pumps.

Vorthos, take note, as that appears to be Miss Nissa Revane encouraging the ground to swell.

Groundswell is actually the old name for a band now called Three Days Grace. This card makes me start a riot!

It's not bad, it's just that Vines of Vastewood is so much better

If you were to have had 2 land drops would the Landfall activate twice, giving the creature +8/+8?

giant growth is still better you cant stop a lightning bolt on turn 1 with this card.
its blah to me . 1\5 and wont see play.

I like the idea of this card, although my favorite is Gather Courage, but that's just my personal way to play magic.

>>> It basically reads "deal 4 damage to target blocking creature, or deal 4 damage to target player if an unblocked creature gets through" >> giant growth is still better you cant stop a lightning bolt on turn 1 with this card. <<<
How do you do this with a Giant Growth? You should have no unused mana when you've played a creature that turn. In any other case, a fetchland would lead to the same result.

However there are some minor issues with that card. I have a R/G weenie+pump highlander deck, using all I can get to threaten my opponent early. It's good to have an early 2/2 and then, when he plays his 4/4, cast my Giant Growth) for a 1:1 trade, losing only my pump spell. And this is or should be the main issue... using it as an alternative to a Lightning Bolt or Terror. Lower casting cost, but with a combat situation requirement.

1) So the biggest thread are any terror-like spells that aren't limited to power or toughness. A Last Gasp isn't such a problem, but a Doom Blade is.

2) The next issue - timing. Since I want to cast it on my attack, maybe increasing the damage to a player, my opponent can wait until I've casted it and then react with a Last Gasp in return. So I'm losing 2 cards.

3) And the last issue: All these pump spells do not solve problems caused by any noncombat effects or by any special creature ability.

So a Stonewood Invocation solves the second problem, but the cmc is to high. A 1GG version might have been seen in more decks. Trample might solve the regenerating blocker problem, the Vines of Vastwood might solve the problem with Terror or tap-effects (in a defensive way). But to really create good green pump spells, there should be a mechanic like regenerate or persist, that keeps the creature in game and attacking at least once even against a terror and there should be more additional side effects on a card like Giant Growth. Without that change, I would rather play a Groundbreaker or Giantbaiting.

Having two lands drop as opposed to one doesn't make any difference. Anyway, I like this card. Vines of Vastwood is only better if you're playing mono-green and even then, the difference between leaving one or two mana open is often the difference between being able to cast a spell that turn or having to wait. The main disadvantages it has compared to Giant Growth are that you can't get the full effect during your opponent's turn (which is not that big a deal, since green usually plays offensively anyway), and that you need a land drop to use it effectively on your turn (which is also not a big deal - early game you should be putting a land out every turn anyway, and late game you can afford to hold one for when you need to cast this). I run two of these and two Giant Growths in my red/green aggro allies deck and it has never failed me.

Not too flashy, but very effective. I'd take this over Giant Growth in most cases. If you're playing green, dropping a land is hardly a rare occurrence. Great in limited.

In constructed, however, the risk of getting two-for-one'd by some removal spell makes this usually a poor choice compared to Vines of Vastwood.

This card has potential to produce turn two wins with Assault Strobe and Blight Mamba. For a common, this card is beast.

@TDCornelius

So ... how exactly would you get Blight Mamba out before Turn 2? The only way to do so currently in Standard is a clunky combo using Mox Opal and Memnites/Ornithopters on Turn 1 - but that would mean it's a 6-card combo. Not very reliable.

TURN ONE WIN IN STANDARD:
opening hand: 2 Chancellor of the Tangle , 1 Chancellor of the Forge , 1 Tainted Strike , 1 Swamp and 2 Groundswell.

Gameplan: Reveal all 3 chancellors, get a 1/1 haste goblin and 2 {G} your first turn.
Drop Swamp, and than play both groundswells with your mana from Chancellor of the tangle (making goblin a 9/9) swing with goblin, tap swamp and cast Tainted strike, you now have a 10/9 infect haste.

probably not gonna get this as your opening hand and it can be stopped but the fact its possible is still scary. stuff like this is why they made gut shot and mental misstep .

Once cast this on a pelakka wurm (with the landfall ability) then copied it twice with echo mage. Good times!

T1: land, Glistener Elf
T2: land, this, Assault Strobe, game.

This does work as surprise since you can drop a land precombat and attack and your opponent won't know whether you've got +4/+4 ready or not. Naturally, cracking fetchlands can do the same thing.

Better than Might of Old Krosa IMO because you can't use that one as a combat trick at all. It's more reliable if you're just using it to deal more damage, but you won't be killing any creatures by surprise, which is the main use of pump spells to me, especially when Green has few other ways to do it.

A few reasons why I think this is better then might of old korsa.

~During your turn, you can surprise cast this after blockers are declared and get the +4/+4 pump. With might if you want the +4/+4 there can never be a surprise.

~With fetchlands you can easily cast this on opponents turn for a surprise +4/+4 block/combat trick. You can never get a +4+/+4 on opponents turn with might.

Question: if you were to play 2 of these in one turn, would the one land entering trigger both landfalls?

This card is an absolute 5/5.
Turn 1: Forest, Glistener Elf
Turn 2: Mountain, Assault Strobe, Groundswell. GG.

Anyone rating this lower than 5 is fundamentally wrong and should be punished.