Wait, now wizards thinks they were so far off on its original rarity that the Exiled made it MYTHIC?
OutlawD1
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(7 votes)
it was borken
broken cards get reprinted (or printed) as mythic
Raveknight
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(11 votes)
loved this card so much from the moment I saw it my mind was instantly blown
thank you Wotc for letting this one happen
better then black lotus in my opinion
I will never trade my playset
Still_a_Newb
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Yeah i really liked this one too, loved kamigawa. I didnt think its block had good card advantage at all, when i saw it i started hording it lol Went to the local convention and cleared them out of all the .50 bins. Put them in all those decks and still put them in just for fun decks. I must have like 14-15 of them at least lol
makochman
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(7 votes)
This must be the most annoying card in the game. I've watched an opponent 'top' some thirty times today in two games.
bigrig69
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(7 votes)
this card was bad for 3 reasons:
1 it was just way too good. 2. the synergy it had with counterbalance was way too controlling. also it was very good with dark confident. 3. the amount of time it sucked out of a game was incredible
nekosan
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(4 votes)
makochman this card is great! and as any other "draw" card that stay permanently on the table, it's just too cheap not to use its ability each turn! Of course ur opponent used it 30 times!
CatsAreCthala
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(10 votes)
This card is so good it makes me want to play Beyblades again.
TolarianAcademic
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(5 votes)
Is this card really that good? I mean, if it is, then it wouldn't have been reprinted, right? The main reason cited for it being banned was for logistical purposes (games taking too long). It was a nuisance, and excellent in CounterTop decks in Extended, but wouldn't even be that great in Legacy, never mind Vintage. Notice that for example, Lotus Petal was reprinted, not Black Lotus (indeed, none of the Power Nine were reprinted). This card in particular I find is more of an annoyance than a real threat; sure, sets up a few combos, but nothing too broken, unlike cough * time vault* cough *voltaic key*
And one more thing: how exactly do you set up card advantage with this card? Sure you draw a card, but then you have to put the Top back on the library: 1 + (-1) = 0 i.e. 0 card advantage gained. You come slightly ahead in card quality advantage (and that comes at a cost of 1 mana per turn), but technically speaking card advantage only refers to quantity, not quality.
getz19
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(5 votes)
This card is bad, so bad... So bad for the other player, hahahahaha!!
Got a playset and I'm keeping it for good! Good thing i bought 4 while they were cheap. 5/5
LeoKula
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Amazing
Silk_Blitz
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
@tolarianacademic
You really have to play this card and play it with the cards it had available to it to understand its monstrosity. Counterbalance and Dark Confidant did ugly terrible things with this. And this would be yucky in extended now with the new fetches to shuffle away what you don't want.
As for everyone else who's whining about it's mythic status, this card is mythic in its existence, not as what it would be reprinted as. It will never be reprinted and if it was, mythic rarity would be the only thing keeping it from being the card that you absolutely play so that you don't lose.
Luke_BPC
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
@Tolarian Academic clearly doesn't see you can CHOOSE which of the three top cards you buy with it's first ability, while choosing also what's it you're buying next without using it's second ability. And it can be tapped anytime to evade artifact removal and giving you an extra card for your pains, while your opponent loses one. Also it started it's life back when there was a whole set made for artifacts like it, and saw play before Mirrodin bit the dust. Everyone who played Kamigawa dropped this right away and always left an untapped land to use it at the end of opponent's turn.
Aradimar
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@Silk_Blitz mythic rarity does not excuse overpoweredness, just because somethings mythic doesnt mean competitive players wont have to go get it to stay competitive
thrallallmighty
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
wow!
i got this in camigava years ago =) now my brother haves it in his modular deck sohate it when he plays it for arcbound crusher
and...how much is it worth??
001010011100101110
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(8 votes)
On a scale between Bad and Epicly Insane, I'd say Epicly Insane.
channelblaze
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I love how you can't kill it since it's last ability protects it from removal.
"Smash to smithereens it!" "Ha, I don't even take three damage!"
Guest513736147
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@thrallallmighty:
www.blackborder.com lists it as around 8 dollars each right now. Judging by the other prices I've seen, that's not inaccurate.
My favorite use for this is Cloud Key. Play two of these and a Key, naming artifact. Then cycle them between top of library/hand/battlefield until you have a storm count of 20, Grapeshot for the win.
Baconradar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This hasn't been reprinted really, it's just in the special from the vault set. The reason the power nine are not reprinted is because of the agreement wizards made to not reprint a whole load of cards so they would keep their value.
There is no denying this is a cast iron 5/5 card. It isn't a card that 'breaks' the game in an obvious way, but it is a card that you could in basically every deck ever and it would improve them. It has a VERY powerful effect for a low low price. I mean it allows every deck one of the major strengths of blue,re-useable, for 1 colourless mana.
Lateralis0ne
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Ace_Rimmer:
ALL those cards were printed as Mythic for that mini-set. This is not an exception; the theme of the From The Vault: Exiled list is that they were all printed as Mythic Rare status with a special expansion symbol.
TolarianAcademic:
This card did terrible things to Vintage. Think Dark Confidant: Set it up so you only lose 1 life each turn (activate the top at the beginning of your upkeep, drawing the card you want out of three, then putting the Top back on top, and thus drawing the top with the Confidant's ability), and still get two cards before each main phase. Think about being able to play it for FREE each turn with Helm of Awakening. This isn't, as you say, 'not even that great in Legacy, never mind Vintage'. It's worse than you could ever imagine, and I doubt that you have played in those settings enough to come close to being an authority on the matter. And what I've listed here is just the tip of the iceberg. I've used two to draw through my entire library in a single turn. There is a combo there, but in the interest of keeping my decks confidential, I won't post it here. But it's not hard to find the two other cards that allow you to play artifacts for free, and draw off them as well.
shocker300
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
8$!? man I remember when this card came out I bout 8 of them for .14 cents each. Oh how times change (:
zk3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It was good in standard/extended. It is utterly broken in eternal formats. Besides being the obvious engine to the Countertop lock in legacy: You can tutor (or dig) for a Force of Will and draw it right away, and rearranging your next draw as well (use the stack). You can keep your key card out of hand and out of Cabal Therapy/Duress range, but just within reach to stop the crucial opponent's Yawgmoth's Will You can take the guesswork out of Dark Confidant - allowing no life loss or, at the very most, 1 life by tapping itself - as well as see one card deeper every time. T1 Top T2 Bob (or both T1 via via mana crypt/lotus) is card advantage that is hard to beat.
In a deck full of land search effects, this almost feels like repeatable tutors (that is, something along the lines of an activated Archmage Ascension). Instead of getting any card you get the best one out of four cards once per deck shuffle, but that's still a pretty good deal at just 1 mana per turn.
I would've destroyed a Top on sight if it weren't for the second ability, which makes it nearly unkillable. This caused me a lot of frustration, so I do believe this were costed too little, for how much it does and how persistent it is.
MasterOfEtherium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Spin It Ni GG eR
persecutor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'll spin my top.
desolation_masticore
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(30 votes)
...Still not as popular as Abraham's Divining Dradle.
iSlapTrees
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I remember a multiplayer game where my friend tried repeatedly to kill this with harmonic sliver.
good times :)
donjohnson
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is off the charts. I finally played it today and cant believe it hasnt been banned or restricted. When I need a land, it makes it so I can almost certainly get one. When I dont want to pull any more land, bury them under a card or two. I purposefully took a crappy draw that had one land and a Top just to see what would happen. First turn drop the Top, next upkeep use it to rearrange to insure a land is on top, draw and put the land in play. Rinse, lather, repeat. Then when I dont need land any more, just keep them down with the Top. Three or four hands I won today was strictly due to being able to manipulate the top 3 cards. On a scale of 1-5 this one is 6 stars easy.... ============================== "And one more thing: how exactly do you set up card advantage with this card? Sure you draw a card, but then you have to put the Top back on the library: 1 + (-1) = 0 i.e. 0 card advantage gained." ============================== You dont see the unbelievable advantage of rearranging your top 3 cards to control what youre drawing ? EVERY turn ? If so, Id think you havent actually tried it out.
ZirilanoftheClaw
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
anyone ever thaught of playing it with counterbalance to counter anything your opponent plays?
Guest1381794618
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
It just occurred to me after a brief glance at this that because of where the colon is, you can put the Top's ability on to the stack, then using any one of the millions of way to bounce an artifact to your hand, such as Vedalken Mastermind to return it to your hand you will still draw a card and not have to put on top of your library. Yet another way to make this thing even more exploitable than it is on the surface.
Practically unkillable. Combo Enabling. Card advantage in the sense that it allows you to sift your topdeck, and Card advantage in the sense that it takes very little work to turn it into pure card advantage with some bouncing shenanigans. Vastly undercosted.
This card really is almost like a Black Lotus in that there are very few decks that wouldn't benefit from a playset of these. Gotta be careful of those 1 drop uncommon artifacts Wizards, you've got a dangerous track record with them.
vh_2k
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Unless there's a way to shuffle your library, all you're really doing is digging one card further down and then stalling your progress once you put this back on top. Not as good as everyone thinks I say.
@ZirilanoftheClaw "anyone ever thaught of playing it with counterbalance to counter anything your opponent plays?"
Since there's an entire deck archetype called "Countertop" (exactly what it sounds like), I'd say yes, someone has thought of that.
Unlike most cards with non-tap abilities, having two actually gives you some great benefits – it can get you into some mean combos for Storm enablers or draw combos with Vedalken Archmage. And since you can search it with Trinket Mage (giving you an extra shuffle to take advantage of if you already have one down), you can run 2-3 and not have to feel like you're gimping yourself. Or you could just run four anyways.
igniteice
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@vh_2k You're looking two cards down, reordering them (if necessary), and drawing a card whenever you want. It doesn't matter that you draw a card and put this back on top. You'll draw this on the next upkeep, then play it, look at the next three cards (you haven't seen the third one down yet), reorder them if necessary, and have the option to draw it. If you remember the order of the cards (not difficult), and you don't care about the third possible card, you can draw this, play it for 1 mana, tap it, and draw your next card.
This card also allows you to escape Honden of Night's Reach. End your turn with 0 cards in hand. During your opponent's upkeep, you'll have nothing to discard. After their upkeep, tap Diving Top to draw your card. When opponent's turn is over, you'll draw Diving Top like normal on your turn, but have your extra draw already in your hand. Repeat turn after turn to escape having to discard (so long as you always play the card you draw).
GengilOrbios
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Awesome synergy with Etherium Sculpteur and Glassdust Hulk. Anyway, really, really good card, I'll rate it 5/5 any time!
Shadoflaam
★★★★☆ (5.0/5.0)(30 votes)
If it's still spinning after 20 seconds, it's all a dream.
luca_barelli
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I remember when this was still a budget card. I guess people began to realize how broken it really is.
bobothegoat
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
it pretty much increases your current handsize by 3. From here out any of the last 3 cards you've "drawn" will cost 1 extra mana for a few turns, but that's on the 3 cards you wouldn't have had access to anyway. It's a higher cost, colorless ancestral recall. Only real downside is, if you get another one it doesn't do anything by itself, but even so, a deck has to already be incredibly powerful to not be made better by at least a single copy of this card.
And two tops can be backbreaking with the right other pieces to combo with. And then it also helps with the "top card of your library" cards too. It's sick though. Since it's pretty much a weaker, colorless ancestral recall, any combo deck that uses top gets the advantage of having a combo-piece that is amazing by itself... and also finds the other combo pieces. Trick is to only use the tap: draw ability when you actually need a certain card or if you need to save your top. Tapping it for stuff you're not casting right now is usually a waste of 1 mana
And even if you're not running a deck that abuses a top, you can get around the 2-top problem pretty easily by simply running fetch lands, and most decks benefit from running those anyway on account of them making a more consistent manabase and thinning your lands out so you get better draws in lategame even if you never see top. If you do, shuffle away the cards you don't want so you get a new set of cards to ancestral recall into. If you do get that extra top, you can use it's tap ability to draw a card, then shuffle with it on top of your library so it at least cantrips for 1 mana. You can do similar things with anything that has scry, so for example, this card is actually really good in a mono-red burn deck with magma jets, because what red deck wouldn't want to cast ancestral recall?
This is, without question, the best card to come from kamigawa block.
scumbling1
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(14 votes)
The best use of the Top: at the end of each of your opponent's turns, dump all your untapped mana into it's ability. Stare, ponder, and scratch your head as you take as long as possible to look at the same three cards four or five times. Put them in a certain order, then change your mind upon a different activation. If you have a notepad, right down the order of cards after each peek. Make sure the opponent knows that you end up with the cards in the same order they ultimately began in. It's even better if you stop to think about whether or not you even want to use the top's ability each time.
Gormaol
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
STDs are kewl.
Boday1
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Dies to removal! Oh wait...
TherealphatMatt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
What IS it with uncommon artifacts, anyway?
WannabeJedi1337
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
rating it 3 stars because i'm a jerk. just kidding, i'm rating it 3 stars because Wizards should never have made this.
I wonder how many people connect this with Sensei Golden-tail? Is it even his top? Surely there are other famous "sensei"s in Kamigawa, plane of japanese stuffs. EDIT; More likely to be Hisoka's top.
mononegator
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Errata: Player using this owes opponent a cup of coffee
NicodemusCromwell
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
The funny thing is , this is an Uncommon XD
LunarAvenger
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great with shuffle effects and can play in just about any deck. 5/5
Yoktes
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
In response to that...
Zokorad
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Fail Card Crystal Ball is soooo much better!!
JB_Xyooj
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I'm so glad I got these for cheap when Kamigawa came out lol. Now I look at the Power of this card and I just smirk.
CJM2
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This is...just godly with Miracle.
MechaKraken
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's like a colorless Ponder that can be put into any deck. The sheer fact of that alone is amazing, enabling card advantage in colors and decks that otherwise would not have it.
> Playing blue > Play top, rearrange cards on top of deck > Have no cards in hand at the end of your turn > Opponent sees no cards in your hand, plays their bomb > Tap top, draw Mana Leak you put on top > Counter spell > Opponent lunges across table and decks you
Ferlord
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I don't think there's anything that hasn't been said yet, but truly, this is one of the few artifacts that almost doesn't die to removal
The only ways I know is by targeting the Top in response to it being tapped, or Krosan Grip.
That being said, it may be wise for Green EDH players to use Krosan Grip instead of Naturalize: The extra mana is an annoyance, but... then again, so is the Top.
P.S. - Whenever I play the top, it becomes a tongue-twister to say my order of actions: "I tap the top to put the top on top on my top... I mean tap... I mean.... DAMMIT!"
goodlyknight
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like it with Words of Wind... Add high tide engine and locus lands, clear their board. Great synergy... 5 for sure...
Mode
★★★★☆ (5.0/5.0)(15 votes)
The top is broken, that's why you don't see it spinning in the artwork.
Hermeezey
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I started playing magic just as the Kamigawa block came out. Everyone was so preoccupied with Darksteel Colossus, Vedelkan Shackles, Disciple of the Vault, and Arcbound Ravager decks that they skimmed over so many Kamigawa gems. I remember buying a few packs of Kamigawa and opening 3 of these and none of my friends even looked at them.
Same thing happened with Betrayers and Jitte. Point is, Mirrodin was so overwhelming with affinity and combo-hard locks that it took awhile for everyone to re-adjust there perceptions of what was overpowered.
Marlo12345
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's 3 basic land... choices...
Superllama12
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My friends have voted that putting this into an Omen Machine deck is both the funnest use for this card and the most trifling use ever of an otherwise broken card.
@Mode: That was bad and you should feel bad
twiddleman12
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Me thinks this should be banned. 5/5
DarthParallax
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
An artifact that didn't have the first ability, cost 3 mana, and came in tapped would be a card I'd still love to find in a booster as an uncommon.
If all of those changes were made, it would compare favorably with the Jayemdae Tome family of cards that simply give you an extra card. The digging and stacking is what got it banned, not even really on Power. This card is perfectly fine if not many people have it and you aren't trying to kill each other for $1000's of dollars- just play a bit more quickly, and it's really not the same kind of "Horrible Problem" card like other Banned Cards.
It's in the same league as Ponder, Preordain, and Brainstorm. None of those cards generate much hate, just impressive admiration for quality. Tons of people play those blue spells, and so they played this card. It bogged down Tournaments badly. Counterbalance wasn't the kind of deck people should be aspiring to build, and if Counterbalance got reprinted in Standard, Ponder would get banned fast for the same reasons Top did. This type of card is healthy for the game though when Counterbalance types do not get made.
azure_drake222222
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I read it as Sensei's Diving Top.
pedrodyl
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card would have been a damn solid card, if it weren't for that last ability. With it, it's just broken. @azure_drake222222: Sounds like a new Un-card to me!
rith_the_legend09
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I understood why they banned it not only is this card broken in Control decks it was also effective in other non control decks I used to run this card in my Nephilim deck and with it I would enable myself to get all the mana pull plus know I would have the colors necessary to play any nephilim long before turn 5 if the top stayed true like most of the time it did on turn 3 I would have all 5 colors on the field and at least 2 to 3 nephilims I could play like my Dune-Brood Nephilim or even my Glint-Eye Nephilim
I didn't realise this soon enough but the top is impossible to get rid of unless your opponents use Krosan Grip. You can respond to any artifact removal by simply tapping it and drawing your card. Then you redraw it and put it back. There is no way to stop it if it's already out so it's just insane.
5/5.
LordRandomness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Amusingly, the Top makes Madblind Mountain look pretty good if you've got the red permanents to trigger it. If all three cards are bad, you can just try again!
TheWrathofShane
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(3 votes)
I hate this community for rating only on power alone, this card deserves a .5/5 for being stupidly unbalanced.
Winhert
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
That makes combo decks way stronger.
Xineombine
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's like the energizer bunny, It keeps going and going and going and going....
Aggro_Red
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A highly powerful card, no matter what format you play. I feel its a serious EDH staple, especially if you can't find a Scroll Rack. (Though both together is insane card knowledge). The fact alone that its a 1 drop, and can allow you to essentially Ponder, minus the automatic draw, every turn for one additional mana is great. And the added bonus that it can save itself by sending itself back to the deck in response to an artifact kill is just nuts.
If you really want to have fun in EDH, run with a Voltaic Key so you can draw a card, then redraw the top right after so you don't 'dead draw' the top next turn. Pretty fun really!
Dragonshoredreamz
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Insanely powerful artifact. This thing is hyper-evasive and that makes it so much more exciting to play with. I'm not convinced a tonne of people will just happen to have Krosan's Grip in each deck so a bigger threat to me would be if my opponent could mill it.
The artwork is great and it's a really neat concept for a top. I imagine myself travelling through a strange land and coming to a market-village at the base of some great, mist-capped mountain. Upon searching one booth, I come across the top laying on its side. Resting silent. The vendor doesn't seem to realize just what he has in his possession and moments later I leave with it - having payed a few silver pieces.
Definitely a worthwhile addition for any deck! Glad I bought 400 play-sets while they were cheap.
ScissorsLizard
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I don't like this, and not just because I don't own any (though that's probably part of it).
In my opinion, it's just too quick, too cheap, and it's colorless. The existence of this one card blows the entire "look at the top and rearrange" mechanic completely out of the color pie. Nothing else even comes close.
I think we're looking at this card's name the wrong way. It isn't a divining top that belongs to a sensei, it's actually an action. Sensei is looking at the top of the library. AKA, Sensei Is divining the top. AKA. Sensei's Divining Top. Enjoy your verb based artifact, Sensei.
gman92
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My favorite card. I run it in EDH and also try to squeeze it into any Legacy deck I play.
Lord_of_Gelectrodes
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Love it in Melek edh, especially with the instant speed triggering. Hilarious combos with Leyline if Anticipation.
The art is kinda lopsided though...
Hunter06
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Strange question, but how large do you suppose it is, dose it fit into the Sensei's hands or does he use magic to spin a massive top?
on the card, This is absolutely amazing and should be at least a 2 of in any deck that can run it.
5/5 Stars
Technetium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Most powerful card made since Urza Block at least. The only kind of deck that doesn't strongly benefit from having this is the sort that is loaded with cheap synergistic creatures, where it doesn't really matter which of them you draw.
Sonserf369
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Giving the phrase "Rip off the Top" a whole new meaning since 2004
Kadaver666
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Prototype portal, so you can set up and draw and maintain card advantage. Muahahhahahahhahah
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Fun tech with the top? Darkblast Mill the 3 if they suck by dredging darkblast with the draw function. At the same time it can be used to surprise-load removal into your hand causing miscalculations. My favorite? Floating something huge on top of the library when they get ready to Show and Tell.
Grakling
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Two of these bad boys and Helm of Awakening gets you an infinite number of card draws for free without actually milling yourself down (You just keep drawing the tops). Use Niv-Mizzet or similar effects.
Totema
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I spent a long time wondering what makes this so powerful. And I finally figured it out, so if you're also having a hard time yourself, listen up.
It essentially adds any one of your top three cards in your library to your hand. Or, if you prefer to think of it this way, it extends the reach of your hand three cards into your library. Because, if you look at your top three and rearrange them every turn, you're always free to tap this and add that card to your hand for no mana cost. And, to boot, it keeps recurring itself.
That is disgusting. I can imagine countless past games where a lucky topdeck could have meant the difference between victory and defeat. Having access to that topdeck at all times can make you all but impossible to outmaneuver. And that's just with this card by itself!
Yes, I completely understand why it was banned now.
Comments (87)
broken cards get reprinted (or printed) as mythic
thank you Wotc for letting this one happen
better then black lotus in my opinion
I will never trade my playset
1 it was just way too good.
2. the synergy it had with counterbalance was way too controlling. also it was very good with dark confident.
3. the amount of time it sucked out of a game was incredible
And one more thing: how exactly do you set up card advantage with this card? Sure you draw a card, but then you have to put the Top back on the library: 1 + (-1) = 0 i.e. 0 card advantage gained. You come slightly ahead in card quality advantage (and that comes at a cost of 1 mana per turn), but technically speaking card advantage only refers to quantity, not quality.
Got a playset and I'm keeping it for good! Good thing i bought 4 while they were cheap. 5/5
You really have to play this card and play it with the cards it had available to it to understand its monstrosity. Counterbalance and Dark Confidant did ugly terrible things with this. And this would be yucky in extended now with the new fetches to shuffle away what you don't want.
As for everyone else who's whining about it's mythic status, this card is mythic in its existence, not as what it would be reprinted as. It will never be reprinted and if it was, mythic rarity would be the only thing keeping it from being the card that you absolutely play so that you don't lose.
i got this in camigava years ago =)
now my brother haves it in his modular deck
sohate it when he plays it for arcbound crusher
and...how much is it worth??
"Smash to smithereens it!"
"Ha, I don't even take three damage!"
www.blackborder.com lists it as around 8 dollars each right now. Judging by the other prices I've seen, that's not inaccurate.
My favorite use for this is Cloud Key. Play two of these and a Key, naming artifact. Then cycle them between top of library/hand/battlefield until you have a storm count of 20, Grapeshot for the win.
There is no denying this is a cast iron 5/5 card. It isn't a card that 'breaks' the game in an obvious way, but it is a card that you could in basically every deck ever and it would improve them. It has a VERY powerful effect for a low low price. I mean it allows every deck one of the major strengths of blue,re-useable, for 1 colourless mana.
ALL those cards were printed as Mythic for that mini-set. This is not an exception; the theme of the From The Vault: Exiled list is that they were all printed as Mythic Rare status with a special expansion symbol.
TolarianAcademic:
This card did terrible things to Vintage. Think Dark Confidant: Set it up so you only lose 1 life each turn (activate the top at the beginning of your upkeep, drawing the card you want out of three, then putting the Top back on top, and thus drawing the top with the Confidant's ability), and still get two cards before each main phase. Think about being able to play it for FREE each turn with Helm of Awakening. This isn't, as you say, 'not even that great in Legacy, never mind Vintage'. It's worse than you could ever imagine, and I doubt that you have played in those settings enough to come close to being an authority on the matter. And what I've listed here is just the tip of the iceberg. I've used two to draw through my entire library in a single turn. There is a combo there, but in the interest of keeping my decks confidential, I won't post it here. But it's not hard to find the two other cards that allow you to play artifacts for free, and draw off them as well.
You can tutor (or dig) for a Force of Will and draw it right away, and rearranging your next draw as well (use the stack).
You can keep your key card out of hand and out of Cabal Therapy/Duress range, but just within reach to stop the crucial opponent's Yawgmoth's Will
You can take the guesswork out of Dark Confidant - allowing no life loss or, at the very most, 1 life by tapping itself - as well as see one card deeper every time. T1 Top T2 Bob (or both T1 via via mana crypt/lotus) is card advantage that is hard to beat.
This card embodies control
I would've destroyed a Top on sight if it weren't for the second ability, which makes it nearly unkillable. This caused me a lot of frustration, so I do believe this were costed too little, for how much it does and how persistent it is.
good times :)
I finally played it today and cant believe it hasnt been banned or restricted.
When I need a land, it makes it so I can almost certainly get one.
When I dont want to pull any more land, bury them under a card or two.
I purposefully took a crappy draw that had one land and a Top just to see what would happen.
First turn drop the Top, next upkeep use it to rearrange to insure a land is on top, draw and put the land in play. Rinse, lather, repeat. Then when I dont need land any more, just keep them down with the Top.
Three or four hands I won today was strictly due to being able to manipulate the top 3 cards.
On a scale of 1-5 this one is 6 stars easy....
==============================
"And one more thing: how exactly do you set up card advantage with this card? Sure you draw a card, but then you have to put the Top back on the library: 1 + (-1) = 0 i.e. 0 card advantage gained."
==============================
You dont see the unbelievable advantage of rearranging your top 3 cards to control what youre drawing ? EVERY turn ?
If so, Id think you havent actually tried it out.
Practically unkillable.
Combo Enabling.
Card advantage in the sense that it allows you to sift your topdeck, and Card advantage in the sense that it takes very little work to turn it into pure card advantage with some bouncing shenanigans.
Vastly undercosted.
This card really is almost like a Black Lotus in that there are very few decks that wouldn't benefit from a playset of these. Gotta be careful of those 1 drop uncommon artifacts Wizards, you've got a dangerous track record with them.
"anyone ever thaught of playing it with counterbalance to counter anything your opponent plays?"
Since there's an entire deck archetype called "Countertop" (exactly what it sounds like), I'd say yes, someone has thought of that.
Unlike most cards with non-tap abilities, having two actually gives you some great benefits – it can get you into some mean combos for Storm enablers or draw combos with Vedalken Archmage. And since you can search it with Trinket Mage (giving you an extra shuffle to take advantage of if you already have one down), you can run 2-3 and not have to feel like you're gimping yourself. Or you could just run four anyways.
You're looking two cards down, reordering them (if necessary), and drawing a card whenever you want. It doesn't matter that you draw a card and put this back on top. You'll draw this on the next upkeep, then play it, look at the next three cards (you haven't seen the third one down yet), reorder them if necessary, and have the option to draw it. If you remember the order of the cards (not difficult), and you don't care about the third possible card, you can draw this, play it for 1 mana, tap it, and draw your next card.
This card also allows you to escape Honden of Night's Reach. End your turn with 0 cards in hand. During your opponent's upkeep, you'll have nothing to discard. After their upkeep, tap Diving Top to draw your card. When opponent's turn is over, you'll draw Diving Top like normal on your turn, but have your extra draw already in your hand. Repeat turn after turn to escape having to discard (so long as you always play the card you draw).
And two tops can be backbreaking with the right other pieces to combo with. And then it also helps with the "top card of your library" cards too. It's sick though. Since it's pretty much a weaker, colorless ancestral recall, any combo deck that uses top gets the advantage of having a combo-piece that is amazing by itself... and also finds the other combo pieces. Trick is to only use the tap: draw ability when you actually need a certain card or if you need to save your top. Tapping it for stuff you're not casting right now is usually a waste of 1 mana
And even if you're not running a deck that abuses a top, you can get around the 2-top problem pretty easily by simply running fetch lands, and most decks benefit from running those anyway on account of them making a more consistent manabase and thinning your lands out so you get better draws in lategame even if you never see top. If you do, shuffle away the cards you don't want so you get a new set of cards to ancestral recall into. If you do get that extra top, you can use it's tap ability to draw a card, then shuffle with it on top of your library so it at least cantrips for 1 mana. You can do similar things with anything that has scry, so for example, this card is actually really good in a mono-red burn deck with magma jets, because what red deck wouldn't want to cast ancestral recall?
This is, without question, the best card to come from kamigawa block.
just kidding, i'm rating it 3 stars because Wizards should never have made this.
Is it even his top? Surely there are other famous "sensei"s in Kamigawa, plane of japanese stuffs.
EDIT; More likely to be Hisoka's top.
Trinket Mage can search for it, and when your done with it, Tinker or Master Transmuter it into a Blightsteel Colossus or Steel Hellkite.
> Play top, rearrange cards on top of deck
> Have no cards in hand at the end of your turn
> Opponent sees no cards in your hand, plays their bomb
> Tap top, draw Mana Leak you put on top
> Counter spell
> Opponent lunges across table and decks you
The only ways I know is by targeting the Top in response to it being tapped, or Krosan Grip.
That being said, it may be wise for Green EDH players to use Krosan Grip instead of Naturalize: The extra mana is an annoyance, but... then again, so is the Top.
P.S. - Whenever I play the top, it becomes a tongue-twister to say my order of actions: "I tap the top to put the top on top on my top... I mean tap... I mean.... DAMMIT!"
Same thing happened with Betrayers and Jitte. Point is, Mirrodin was so overwhelming with affinity and combo-hard locks that it took awhile for everyone to re-adjust there perceptions of what was overpowered.
@Mode: That was bad and you should feel bad
5/5
If all of those changes were made, it would compare favorably with the Jayemdae Tome family of cards that simply give you an extra card. The digging and stacking is what got it banned, not even really on Power. This card is perfectly fine if not many people have it and you aren't trying to kill each other for $1000's of dollars- just play a bit more quickly, and it's really not the same kind of "Horrible Problem" card like other Banned Cards.
It's in the same league as Ponder, Preordain, and Brainstorm. None of those cards generate much hate, just impressive admiration for quality. Tons of people play those blue spells, and so they played this card. It bogged down Tournaments badly. Counterbalance wasn't the kind of deck people should be aspiring to build, and if Counterbalance got reprinted in Standard, Ponder would get banned fast for the same reasons Top did. This type of card is healthy for the game though when Counterbalance types do not get made.
@azure_drake222222: Sounds like a new Un-card to me!
5/5.
If you really want to have fun in EDH, run with a Voltaic Key so you can draw a card, then redraw the top right after so you don't 'dead draw' the top next turn. Pretty fun really!
The artwork is great and it's a really neat concept for a top. I imagine myself travelling through a strange land and coming to a market-village at the base of some great, mist-capped mountain. Upon searching one booth, I come across the top laying on its side. Resting silent. The vendor doesn't seem to realize just what he has in his possession and moments later I leave with it - having payed a few silver pieces.
Definitely a worthwhile addition for any deck! Glad I bought 400 play-sets while they were cheap.
In my opinion, it's just too quick, too cheap, and it's colorless. The existence of this one card blows the entire "look at the top and rearrange" mechanic completely out of the color pie. Nothing else even comes close.
AKA, Sensei Is divining the top.
AKA. Sensei's Divining Top.
Enjoy your verb based artifact, Sensei.
The art is kinda lopsided though...
on the card, This is absolutely amazing and should be at least a 2 of in any deck that can run it.
5/5 Stars
Mill the 3 if they suck by dredging darkblast with the draw function. At the same time it can be used to surprise-load removal into your hand causing miscalculations. My favorite? Floating something huge on top of the library when they get ready to Show and Tell.
It essentially adds any one of your top three cards in your library to your hand. Or, if you prefer to think of it this way, it extends the reach of your hand three cards into your library. Because, if you look at your top three and rearrange them every turn, you're always free to tap this and add that card to your hand for no mana cost. And, to boot, it keeps recurring itself.
That is disgusting. I can imagine countless past games where a lucky topdeck could have meant the difference between victory and defeat. Having access to that topdeck at all times can make you all but impossible to outmaneuver. And that's just with this card by itself!
Yes, I completely understand why it was banned now.