No doubt, one of the greatest card in all of MTG. A must have (at least one piece) in every mono-black deck.
But wait, it's got a new art. Yuck.
Tezz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(9 votes)
dont like the new art? i think its nice. but why is this card so good... i dont get it
LeoKula
★★★☆☆ (4.0/5.0)(15 votes)
The Skull is so awesome because it sort of lets you set your own pace in the game at the cheap price of losing life. Exchanging one life for one card is definitely a good bargain. 1st turn, Dark Ritual, Necropotence, lose 5 life, sets aside 5 cards, next turn you might have got your finisher already, and then you can stop drawing, or go for a drain life... with the new Vampire Nighthawk, losing life won't even hurt.
Anyway it's an advanced card... beginners won't understand which is one of the nice things in Magic... the game is not as obvious as it seems at first sight.
Mode
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(15 votes)
It's not that i don't like the art, it's well-drawn and has a dark creepy atmosphere. But i think they should rather have kept the old iconic skeleton necromancer setup and redraw it more nicely, like they did on the Time Spiral suspend cards like Ancestral Vision, Wheel of Fate or Restore Balance. This would have allowed players to recognize the From the Vault: Exiled Necropotence immediately.
Lateralis0ne
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(8 votes)
Definitely one of the better cards in the game. Plenty of combo material with other 'skip your draw phase' cards of all colors.
thelittleupsman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(6 votes)
so do you get the exiled cards you set aside at the end of your turn?
EnV
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Noobs just can't get this card. LOLZ I use it in my casual play mono-B vampires/Zendikar deck. Turn one Dark Ritual, Necropotence then I usually pay four life get four cards off the top and exile them. Wait a turn, till the next one then reap my rewards. One time I got two more dark rituals and a Blood Tribute and Sanguine Bond in my upcoming hand. When I tournament play I have to take this stuff out cause its banned. Anyways I know this stuff gets Counterspelled and countered but, this card provides so much power.
SlackWareWolf
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(10 votes)
How many times have I seen "Do you get the cards at the end?".... WTF are you kidding? Why would anyone pay life if you didn't! READ the card!
I can't believe someone missed the line on the card about getting them in hand... It's like WTF I admit when this thing first came out with Ice Age, it was a little hard to make it work, but now with 5 turn kills being the norm, it's way more powerful now.
I thought long and hard about this thing for years. I've been playing for 16 years and to this day, I still can't give it a 5 because of Bargain. Entire decks have been thought up where they were going to use this, and even back in 1996, people playing Vercursion were trying to come up with a way to make this thing work in that format, but at the time you really couldn't. When Ice Age first came out these were for sale for not even 5 dollars because at the time no one played the way people play now.
Back in 1996, it was common for a tournament game to go into turns 7 or 8, and even turn 10, where today, most people try to win by turn 5 or so if possible, and this makes it easier because you can pay 10 life and start drawing up cards and get what you need to win. Back in those days though this card wasn't as powerful because paying a life to draw something that wasn't going to win as fat wasn't as much of a cool idea.
Combo decks didn't exist yet so you weren't putting together pieces of a card that would win the whole game in one shot.
HippyRei
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(5 votes)
My favorite card in the game. Extremely overpowered, especially when used with Ivory Tower
Sironos
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
So, is this card about playing it when you have few cards left, then paying 7 life to quickly reload your hand?
Kirbster
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(19 votes)
It caused the Black Summer for a reason, kids.
That's the thing about black - pound for pound, it has the strongest card effects in the game. However, they kill you as they are doing it.
UltimaCenturion
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(14 votes)
This thing is amazing. I kid you not, in EDH, this card basically says "You win the game." Why? You get tons of mana to play your stuff, and you get tons of stuff to play. Lifeloss for cards is an excellent deal, because each card you play should have the effect of making your opponent lose more than one life.
Luke_BPC
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(7 votes)
While Runeflare does hurt bad when you play it, it won't let you just pay R for it, because you don't actually draw any cards.
hunter90000
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(9 votes)
Awesome card, especially in a life drain deck where you don't care about spending a few life points. I always tutor for this first. After I get a few more swamps and Cabal Coffers out with it, I usually have enough mana to play 3 or 4 cards per turn, which gives me huge board advantage fast. Not to mention it's great synergy with Vampire Nocturnus.
izzet_guild_mage
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(5 votes)
To anyone out there that wants to make this work casually but hates spending life or discarding to the cleanup step, I have two words: Venser's Journal.
faisjdas
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(23 votes)
You don't need bad Vampire cards to negate the life loss. In fact, you don't need to negate the life loss at all.
@Kirbster: I think you mean Blue when you say that one color has the strongest card effects in the game. If you don't agree, look at the Power 9. It's made of 6 artifacts, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall. Yes, Necropotence is incredible, and lots of Black effects are amazing, but a free turn for 2 mana beats it in raw power.
NARFNra
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(9 votes)
This is one of those cards, like Wrath of God and Psychatog, that works as a skill level detector.
A noob looks at this card, says "But that's my life... And I have to exile discards? And I don't get to draw?! LAMEEEE"
A learning player says "Hmm... does that mean I can draw as much as I want?"
A master: "I didn't need that 19 life anyway."
ratchet1215
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I finally got to play with this firsthand in an EDH game last night. It was ridiculous. I came back from a suboptimal board position after a Wrath of God and ended up drawing through almost two thirds of my deck, keeping my hand completely stocked at seven throughout the game and always having spot removal. I won that game with 6 life. That's the Necropotence way.
Rikiaz
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(7 votes)
Most amazing card ever created. It is perfect. Amazing ability that is hard to use right, excellent flavor of black. Amazing art (I prefer this art though). Name sounds really cool. Interesting ability. I honestly believe this card is better then Black Lotus. I would rather have a single one of these then a playset of Black Lotuses (Barring the fact I could sell the Black Lotuses for these) ;)
Orza
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Since everybody already said that this card wins the game if properly utilized I have nothing to add. 5/5
It's no too powerful in my opinion, tho. Sometimes using it results in death. :)
BloodJunkie
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
This thing is so deviously powerful. If you get it out with Nirkana Revenant, you could easily play half your deck in a couple of turns.
I laugh whenever someone doesn't understand the power behind this machine... And then I put my whole deck on the board...
5/5
But the old art was waaaaayyyy cooler... Can I get an Amen?
DacenOctavio
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Basically a risky quick draw engine. Coupled with lifegain via Vampires, virtually unstoppable, but seeing how it's banned, and will maybe never wiggle its way back into standard, it's not really worth running in any of my decks. Definitely not for beginners, completely incompatible with Zombies, or the titanic Progenitus, or any of the anti-mill eldrazi, (not built for tournament play for those of you still scratching your heads at this card) but it does have its merits. The paying life does put every non-black player off, but that's the cost of speed and power when you play with Black.
Personally, I prefer mono-red, so I'm not into this kind of card. It's a hasty draw engine when you need to reload and keep your pimp-hand strong, basically if crystal meth was a magic card. Necropotence is crystal meth. WARNING: may contain Anna Kournikova.
EDIT: Necropotence is another one of those cards that really separates the 'men from the boys' in terms of experience and grasp of the game mechanics.
New player (probably a Timmy like I used to be): WTF? I have to pay life for my cards!? What kind of crap is this, Wizards!? Casual player (perhaps a Johnny like I sometimes am): Hmm. Maybe with Spellbook to keep me from discarding and/or some cool Consume Spirits, I can regain whatever life I'm paying. Experienced Player (maybe the Spike I wish I was):Ivory Tower. I have nonbasic lands, so I'm also going to copy my artifacts with Copy Artifact so I have so much lifegain my opponent can't keep up.
Tobolococo
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(7 votes)
please reprint this, its not OP by today standards, and classics should always be in a core set, thats why its a core set.
dragonking987
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Tobolococo name one new card that is this broken.
scumbling1
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(10 votes)
"Let's take an iconic card with amazing art -- art so notable that it gave the card it's nickname -- and just ruin it!" said the Art Director, "I think a terrible job at foreshortening and some electric-blue pigtails should do the job."
Duskdale_Wurm
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Why less than 5/5
BlackAlbino
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(13 votes)
@Kirbster i wish it were still that way... *sigh* these days players don't want drawbacks on any card, regardless of what it does
Shadoflaam
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Not like you needed that 19 or 39 life anyway.
Dr.Pingas
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(7 votes)
I agree with BlackAlbino 100%, kids today playing magic want all their combos on one or two cards with absolutely no drawback. I've even seen people turn down a Mana Flare or Heartbeat of Spring just because they, you know, have a little risk attached. Back in my day...
Arachibutyrophobia
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
yep, for whenever you just wanna draw a bunch of cards and win the game.
I wouldn't feel right winning with this card though.
Kitty_the_Kat
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(5 votes)
@jfre81 - Just a correction on what you said, you can use this with Library of Leng because it updated its' oracle text to say "no maximum hand size" and completely removed the "skip your discard step" clause. So Necropotence will give you your cards. Always check up on the oracle text because they do change, and when that happens you go by what that says, not by what the card itself says.
Oh god, if this came back to standard things would get real rediculous. We would probably see another black summer as this would fit right into the mana curve as a drop right before Phyrexian Obliterator. On another copy of this card I read a comment that said you should only play this with Vampires, but I think that having it and Vampire Nighthawk would really throw off your curve. No, you wanna make a powerhouse deck around this card, pure aggro. A deck that lets you grab a bunch of creatures just to drop them, haste them and swing for massive damage. Splashing red would be great for this because you could drop guys like Hero of Oxid Ridge. Shit, Standard would be terrible for this card. Its such low power that anything that offers this much card advantage would become an instant game breaker.
jfre81
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Still winning me games after all these years.
To the "learning players" - if you use a Spellbook and Ivory Tower then yes, you can basically draw as much as you want, no discarding to the exile zone. (Library of Leng works too, contrary to what I had posted - thanks Kitty_the_Kat)
This card defines black like no other in the history of Magic. Win at all costs.
alblast
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(4 votes)
This card is so broken in EDH where you have 40 life. It should be banned. On top of that I've seen people use this with Soul conduit. I thought they learned super efficient draw power is OP. ;=0
sincleanser
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I know this card is good. I know it is one of the best ever made. I know that it was banned/restricted in most every format it was ever considered legal in. But, I have no idea how to use it. I'm no scrub, but I just ... don't understand how to use it. I mean, isn't Phyrexian Arena just as useful? Someone, please it explain it to me...
ICEFANG13
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(6 votes)
I wonder, why did this add this line here: "Whenever you discard a card, exile that card from your graveyard." I understand that overall, its a drawback, but is there a specific reason they put it on Necro, or because they wanted to balance the power of the card with some random negative effect? I can't see that discarding effect being that important.
Totema
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(5 votes)
Beginners don't use or even understand this because they assume that most everything needs to be tapped to use it. An important lesson, kids: never assume.
JackTheStripper
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
this is a card that beginning players see in the same light as channel: but i need my life... besides, my tip for running this card: brush with death.
bfellow
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(6 votes)
If cards weren't exiled for discarding to the graveyard, then reanimating would be broken with this card! Not that this card isn't already broken!
EnderofGames
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
@sincleanser
At the beginning of every turn, with Phyrexian Arena, you lose one life and you draw an additional card. No matter what. With Necropotence, you can draw back a seven card hand, and dig almost to the end of your life for a card that will ensure victory, if needed. Alternatively, you do not need to lose the one life if you have the cards you need in your hand. With a Swamp and a Dark Ritual on turn one, you can get your combo going without the opponent having a chance.
lordof1000mimes
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(7 votes)
Not that the card needs any help, but it is beyond hilarious with Eternity Vessel.
TheShadow344
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I recently played a casual two-headed giant match where the players of the opposing team both played mono-green infect. Played this card first turn (thank you Dark Ritual!) and from then on I always had seven cards in my hand since my team's life total didn't matter. I drew Venser's Journal sometime later and proceeded to draw at least 10 cards every turn (and with Cabal Coffers out I was able to play most of them too).
The opposing team didn't inflict a single poison counter because, between my teammate and I, we always had an answer to whatever they tried. Attacking and we have creatures? Chump block. Attacking and we can't / don't block? You're giving it +whatever/+whatever with how many pump spells? Destroy it.
People aren't kidding when they say this card singlehandedly wins games.
DarthParallax
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(6 votes)
ICEFANG- as it turns out, this a really, really, important line of text. Though back then, it probably didn't make sense at first.
Think, for just a second (only a second or your brain will implode), how much EVEN BETTER this becomes in Reanimator if it didn't exile stuff. :p The discard becomes a GOOD THING :O
Considering how stupid this WITHOUT Reanimator, I say this absolutely needs this line to be even remotely justifiable. When Ice Age was designed, I'm pretty sure they hadn't yet discovered Reanimator. But ever since Reanimator has 'been a thing', this card without that line would be BANNABLE. In. Vintage.
Zom-B
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Use with Naya for some awesome immediate card ploppage. Draw 19 cards, put all of the lands into play, and immediately play everything you need. Even if your opponent is playing red, green, or white, you can far outrace that benefit. Thanks to Cabal Coffers and Dark Rituals, I've used this combo to lay down a second turn 20-point Consume Spirit.
dlgn
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Strictly worse than Yawgmoth's Bargain, and strictly better than every other card in the game except Storm Crow.
BlackAlbino: I'm wondering if we can blame the seemingly breakneck pace of modern-day tournament play. Having to pay a drawback could arguably mean being forced to slow down on some axis. This view, perhaps, was a reaction to how quickly things like Necropotence could find needed weaponry. If it's moving THAT quickly, you may not be able to afford the luxury of sacrificing vitality and/or cards! Now add in the more general, not-coupled-to-Necropotence's-power desire to be ultra-powerful...well, regardless of the net gain, many are going to see sacrificing and life payment as a reduction of power, compared to the possibility of never having to give anything up. I can't exactly say these combined conceits are conducive to a leisurely gaming experience. Of course, tournament play seems to have a low opinion of a leisurely pace...
dberry02
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Some guy combo'ed into this on turn two and drew up to 16 cards. It was hilarious when I cast Runeflare Trap at the end of his turn. :D
As for the card itself, it's pretty sexy. Broken, but sexy!
Salient
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The discard thing is a triggered ability. You can use the instant-speed Reanimate to recover a creature before it gets exiled.
@ICEFANG13: Reanimator, my friend. Imagine the ludicrousness this card would cause if it were combo'd with reanimation spells. The 'exile the cards you discard' is the perfect solution to this. If this line of text didn't exist, reanimation players could simply use this card to fill their graveyard with fatties, and then resurrect them. Better still, they could even choose nasties with lifelink (such as Griselbrand) to quickly offset the life spent to discard the cards.
TheWrathofShane
★☆☆☆☆ (1.4/5.0)(5 votes)
You win the game. Drawback?? What a joke... .5/5 For balancing and development.
Werewolf-
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
One of the loading screens for MTG: Duels of the Planeswalkers says this: "Having one life is fine… as long as your opponent has zero!"
People don't truly understand what that line means until they understand a card like Necropotence. This card is the prime example of a simple truth that all good players know: your life total is nothing more than a resource, and having 1 life means nothing when your opponent has zero.
RecurringMemories
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Necropotence vs. Yawgmoth's Bargain
Why decide? They're both restricted so run both!
Hunter06
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Insanly busted, I want one nearly as badly as I want JTMS.
5/5 Stars
Argionelite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This defines black. It lets you sacrifice life for power. Reminds me of annoyingly long ebay shipping times lol.
TheKazu
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm a little bit mad Yawgmoth's Bargain is on the reserved list while this isn't, and this got the *** reprint art, while Yawgmoth's Bargain didn't. Isn't the reserved list supposed to preserve the iconicness (... whatever) of cards? Isn't this like 10000% more iconic than the Yawgmoth's Bargain anyway, not to mention much better while also being harder to play at the same time? Hell, Yawgmoth's Bargain was a wanabe potence from the start.
Also can somebody explain to me what the *** is going on in this art? To me it looks like some weirdo is having butt sex with a spider while random people from Avatar pray on either side.
demonknight18
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is the way black should be played.
adrian.malacoda
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@TheKazu: The reason this isn't on the reserved list is because it was reprinted in a core set. Things that were reprinted (either in Chronicles or in the core set) didn't get reserved listed.
Dream_Spinner
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(4 votes)
W H A T is happening in this art? Gatherer-sized, it looks like Liliana getting *** from a ghost spider demon.
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think she's lying down on an altar shaped like a pair of hands, getting energy channeled into her, or maybe out of her.
Frogmander
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(5 votes)
Am I missing something here? I don't see the greatness in this card. I see it as this:
"Skip your draw step
When you want to draw a card, pay 1 life, exile it until the next end step."
Seriously, what am I missing???
rolter
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
one of my best cards i cant seem to come up with a good strat with it any more cant even remember what deck i originally had it in, but still 5/5.
jonrds
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@frogmander
You can activate it more than once a turn.
atemu1234
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@frogamander You can use it more than once each turn. Granted, it still costs you life, but that really doesn't matter in the grands scheme of things (Venser's Journal is- while, not living- but proof of that). With other things this card can be broken as hell. For example, lets say you have Soul Warden out, in a W/B deck. You get to DRAW A CARD, AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR NEXT UPKEEP, FOR EACH CREATURE YOU CAST, NOTHING DOWN. Or let's say you cast something like Pelakka Wurm. See what I'm getting at? This card can win games (see Psychosis Crawler for Draw decks in pretty much any color) This card turns gain life spells into draw X spells, and with Psychosis Crawler deal X damage spells.
Once you have both NDE and Necropotence in play, do the following to win:
1. Wait until your untap step, right before the beginning of your upkeep.
2. Pay X life to set aside X cards, where X is your life total minus 1, leaving you at 1 life.
3. Upkeep...GREAT SUCCESS!!!.
The only downside to this approach is if an opponent can somehow deal you 1 damage or get rid of NDE (at instant speed) during the time before your untap step and the beginning of your upkeep, so be wary of what your opponent(s) have untapped. Otherwise, you're golden (unless I'm somehow sorely mistaken).
I like to play this combo in a White/Black control deck based around lowering my own life total, swapping life totals with my opponent, and swooping in for the kill with unblockable creatures. I pay life in increments of 2 with Trespassing Souleater, which makes it unblockable, until I'm down to 2 or 1 and then use either Reverse the Sands or Soul Conduit to swap life totals, and...SURPRISE!!! My opponent has no idea what just happened! Also, Phyrexian Unlife really helps because I can go down to 0 life and not die.
Pipikako
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Why i cant rate this card 6/5 ??
Xineombine
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(7 votes)
I love black magic, Blue can suck it.
FourEx
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
am i on the wrong side of things by thinking that yawgmoth's bargain is strictly better even though it costs more?
comedyguy0411
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
What happens when Library of Leng? The card is discarded, but not to your graveyard. So when it says exile it from your graveyard, specifically, what happens?
Technetium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's pretty good, but Yawgmoth's Bargain is much better. Waiting until the next turn to be able to use all those cards can make the difference between winning and losing, especially in the only major format this card is legal in (Vintage).
Lifegainwithbite
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(5 votes)
I like how this was their attempt to fix Yawgmoth's Will. Spoiler alert: it didn't work. (well they halved the cost and made only a minor drawback so I'm not sure what they were expecting...). They ended up making what is generally accepted as the best black card in the game.
@thepittboss You can attempt to activate Necropotence's ability during your untap step, at which point one of three things will happen:
1. If you are in tournament play, your opponent will call a judge and you will be reprimanded for attempting to activate an ability when you do not have priority. 2. If you are in casual play, your opponent will call you a moron and reprimand you for attempting to activate an ability when you do not have priority. 3. If you are in casual play and your opponent also does not know the rules for priority, one of the passersby will call you a moron and reprimand you for attempting to activate an ability when you do not have priority.
Then the game will most likely proceed to the upkeep step where you will -not- get a trigger from NDE, and if you are in tournament play the judge may rule that you activated Necropotence during your upkeep, dropping you to 1 life, and your opponent will take advantage of your misplay to the best of his or her ability... most likely with a Lightning Bolt to your face.
TL;DR No one has priority during the untap step... do it at the end of your opponent's turn instead.
SAUS3
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(4 votes)
@GrimjawxRULES The thing about necropotence is that it gives you the cards at the end of your turn. If you intend to combo with it, you have to wait at least a turn unless your whole combo can be played at instant speed.
With griselbrand, if you have some mana, you can just draw until you have the cards you need to win on the spot.
AcexSpades
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@comedyguy0411
Library of Leng is a replacement effect, so you can pick to put the card on the top of your library or exile it.
Continue
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
This card is stupid, just bloody stupid. A broken, overpowered mistake of a card, and I hope they never print anything like it again.
For people questioning the banning of Griselbrand vs Necropotence.
Griselbrand is just much easier to cheat into play. You haveDemonic tutor, Vampiric Tutor, mystical tutor, Personal Tutor in order to get your entomb, and Reanimate Pay 14 life, draw 14 cards immediately.
Necropotence from what I know, can really only be gotten to the point where it's efficient is withZur, and with Necropotence, you can't use reanimator, and you draw those cards at the beginning of the next end step, so it's not as immediate as Griselbrand. Still a great card, one of Magic's greatest black cards.
sweetgab
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Imagine if this was in current Standard (Return to Ravnica - Theros), since I want to put its power in perspective. I'm pretty sure "Necropotence-fueled monoblack aggro with a bit of devotion" would have been the only viable deck. Seriously what could possibly beat it? Esper control? Don't make me laugh. The only Standard deck that would have a remote chance of beating it is RDW, the super fast kind that tops out at three for overloaded Dynacharge. Don't even dare playing one copy of Boros Reckoner against that kind of card advantage, and Stormbreath Dragon would be utter garbage. But then the monoblack player has 15 sideboard slots against the one deck (and the mirror match)! It would really be the only deck that remains.
DrJack
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
How can this be rated less than 4.75 stars? Necropotence has to be the 2nd most powerful black card ever printed, right behind Yawgmoth's Will.
Drawing 8-12 cards for paying roughly half your life, within the first few turns... well, once you're beyond the beginner stage, you'll get it. :-)
AffinityILY
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(5 votes)
why do people complain about this card when counterspell is there. Now that card is broken...
radiknight
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ AffinityILY
Necro decks would have healthy hand disruption to make you discard your counters. That or they can first-turn drop necro with dark ritual and you can't counter it unless you have Force of Will.
EGarrett01
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
For those of you who weren't around in the mid-90's...the thing about this card was not only that it was totally broken, but that for some reason, Wizards (the "DCI" as we used to call it) was under some weird spell where they refused to acknowledge it and they reprinted it and talked about it wanting it in every format.
So weird. It was almost like that American Werewolf movie where there's this giant bloodthirsty freak out in the woods that keeps killing the townspeople every night and for some reason all the townsfolk refuse to acknowledge that it's there, even when other people try to point it out.
CFLuke
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ack. I accidentally posted my comment under Dark Ritual. Bottom Line, it's good, but slightly overrated.
Seigmoraig
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have the "Garfield vs. Finkel" special edition of this card and it is FOIL.
Though I'd rather have The Skull as well, the card size doesn't really do the art justice.
SuicideBlackGuy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Like many of you I began playing during the Black Summer. Most of us understand the value of card advantage and what this does. Reading the comments however there are a few people that have yet to grasp the gravity of what this is, to those people I offer you this. At its core Magic the Gathering is a card game and in that context let's look at what Necropotence does in the context of another game poker. Let's say you are playing someone in poker and you get to play 5 card draw and the opponent must play 5 card stud; statistically you will win more hands of poker because you simply have access to more cards to put together a better hand. You will see more pairs, more three of a kinds, and have chances to attempt to capture straights or flushes vs your opponent who gets 5 cards to put together their winning hand and that's it. Now take that concept and apply it to Magic the Gathering; with Necropotence you get more cards to put together a winning hand. Let's say you are a bit conservative with it and only give yourself 2 cards a turn vs your opponent's 1. Mathematically you should have access to double the creatures your opponent will draw, double the answers you have to what your opponent can do, double the lands drawn to what your opponent will. This is the basic concept of card advantage to the few of you who don't get it. Non-believers try it, and you will see that you will begin winning more games then you lose. It defined a generation of players, this card is a Hall of Famer.
Comments (90)
A must have (at least one piece) in every mono-black deck.
But wait, it's got a new art. Yuck.
but why is this card so good... i dont get it
Anyway it's an advanced card... beginners won't understand which is one of the nice things in Magic... the game is not as obvious as it seems at first sight.
But i think they should rather have kept the old iconic skeleton necromancer setup and redraw it more nicely, like they did on the Time Spiral suspend cards like Ancestral Vision, Wheel of Fate or Restore Balance.
This would have allowed players to recognize the From the Vault: Exiled Necropotence immediately.
I can't believe someone missed the line on the card about getting them in hand... It's like WTF I admit when this thing first came out with Ice Age, it was a little hard to make it work, but now with 5 turn kills being the norm, it's way more powerful now.
I thought long and hard about this thing for years. I've been playing for 16 years and to this day, I still can't give it a 5 because of Bargain. Entire decks have been thought up where they were going to use this, and even back in 1996, people playing Vercursion were trying to come up with a way to make this thing work in that format, but at the time you really couldn't. When Ice Age first came out these were for sale for not even 5 dollars because at the time no one played the way people play now.
Back in 1996, it was common for a tournament game to go into turns 7 or 8, and even turn 10, where today, most people try to win by turn 5 or so if possible, and this makes it easier because you can pay 10 life and start drawing up cards and get what you need to win. Back in those days though this card wasn't as powerful because paying a life to draw something that wasn't going to win as fat wasn't as much of a cool idea.
Combo decks didn't exist yet so you weren't putting together pieces of a card that would win the whole game in one shot.
That's the thing about black - pound for pound, it has the strongest card effects in the game. However, they kill you as they are doing it.
I kid you not, in EDH, this card basically says "You win the game." Why? You get tons of mana to play your stuff, and you get tons of stuff to play. Lifeloss for cards is an excellent deal, because each card you play should have the effect of making your opponent lose more than one life.
You play it and win, that simple.
Necropotence
A noob looks at this card, says "But that's my life... And I have to exile discards? And I don't get to draw?! LAMEEEE"
A learning player says "Hmm... does that mean I can draw as much as I want?"
A master: "I didn't need that 19 life anyway."
5/5
It's no too powerful in my opinion, tho. Sometimes using it results in death. :)
I laugh whenever someone doesn't understand the power behind this machine... And then I put my whole deck on the board...
5/5
But the old art was waaaaayyyy cooler... Can I get an Amen?
Personally, I prefer mono-red, so I'm not into this kind of card. It's a hasty draw engine when you need to reload and keep your pimp-hand strong, basically if crystal meth was a magic card. Necropotence is crystal meth. WARNING: may contain Anna Kournikova.
EDIT: Necropotence is another one of those cards that really separates the 'men from the boys' in terms of experience and grasp of the game mechanics.
New player (probably a Timmy like I used to be): WTF? I have to pay life for my cards!? What kind of crap is this, Wizards!?
Casual player (perhaps a Johnny like I sometimes am): Hmm. Maybe with Spellbook to keep me from discarding and/or some cool Consume Spirits, I can regain whatever life I'm paying.
Experienced Player (maybe the Spike I wish I was): Ivory Tower. I have nonbasic lands, so I'm also going to copy my artifacts with Copy Artifact so I have so much lifegain my opponent can't keep up.
i wish it were still that way... *sigh*
these days players don't want drawbacks on any card, regardless of what it does
I wouldn't feel right winning with this card though.
Oh god, if this came back to standard things would get real rediculous. We would probably see another black summer as this would fit right into the mana curve as a drop right before Phyrexian Obliterator. On another copy of this card I read a comment that said you should only play this with Vampires, but I think that having it and Vampire Nighthawk would really throw off your curve. No, you wanna make a powerhouse deck around this card, pure aggro. A deck that lets you grab a bunch of creatures just to drop them, haste them and swing for massive damage. Splashing red would be great for this because you could drop guys like Hero of Oxid Ridge. Shit, Standard would be terrible for this card. Its such low power that anything that offers this much card advantage would become an instant game breaker.
To the "learning players" - if you use a Spellbook and Ivory Tower then yes, you can basically draw as much as you want, no discarding to the exile zone. (Library of Leng works too, contrary to what I had posted - thanks Kitty_the_Kat)
This card defines black like no other in the history of Magic. Win at all costs.
"Whenever you discard a card, exile that card from your graveyard."
I understand that overall, its a drawback, but is there a specific reason they put it on Necro, or because they wanted to balance the power of the card with some random negative effect? I can't see that discarding effect being that important.
besides, my tip for running this card: brush with death.
At the beginning of every turn, with Phyrexian Arena, you lose one life and you draw an additional card. No matter what. With Necropotence, you can draw back a seven card hand, and dig almost to the end of your life for a card that will ensure victory, if needed. Alternatively, you do not need to lose the one life if you have the cards you need in your hand. With a Swamp and a Dark Ritual on turn one, you can get your combo going without the opponent having a chance.
The opposing team didn't inflict a single poison counter because, between my teammate and I, we always had an answer to whatever they tried. Attacking and we have creatures? Chump block. Attacking and we can't / don't block? You're giving it +whatever/+whatever with how many pump spells? Destroy it.
People aren't kidding when they say this card singlehandedly wins games.
Think, for just a second (only a second or your brain will implode), how much EVEN BETTER this becomes in Reanimator if it didn't exile stuff. :p The discard becomes a GOOD THING :O
Considering how stupid this WITHOUT Reanimator, I say this absolutely needs this line to be even remotely justifiable. When Ice Age was designed, I'm pretty sure they hadn't yet discovered Reanimator. But ever since Reanimator has 'been a thing', this card without that line would be BANNABLE. In. Vintage.
EDIT: Didn't notice the CMC. Therefore, equal to Yawgmoth's Bargain and worse than none other than Storm Crow.
As for the card itself, it's pretty sexy. Broken, but sexy!
This art is sweet as hell.
You win the game.
Drawback?? What a joke...
.5/5 For balancing and development.
People don't truly understand what that line means until they understand a card like Necropotence. This card is the prime example of a simple truth that all good players know: your life total is nothing more than a resource, and having 1 life means nothing when your opponent has zero.
Why decide? They're both restricted so run both!
5/5 Stars
It lets you sacrifice life for power.
Reminds me of annoyingly long ebay shipping times lol.
Also can somebody explain to me what the *** is going on in this art? To me it looks like some weirdo is having butt sex with a spider while random people from Avatar pray on either side.
"Skip your draw step
When you want to draw a card, pay 1 life, exile it until the next end step."
Seriously, what am I missing???
You can activate it more than once a turn.
Once you have both NDE and Necropotence in play, do the following to win:
1. Wait until your untap step, right before the beginning of your upkeep.
2. Pay X life to set aside X cards, where X is your life total minus 1, leaving you at 1 life.
3. Upkeep...GREAT SUCCESS!!!.
The only downside to this approach is if an opponent can somehow deal you 1 damage or get rid of NDE (at instant speed) during the time before your untap step and the beginning of your upkeep, so be wary of what your opponent(s) have untapped. Otherwise, you're golden (unless I'm somehow sorely mistaken).
I like to play this combo in a White/Black control deck based around lowering my own life total, swapping life totals with my opponent, and swooping in for the kill with unblockable creatures. I pay life in increments of 2 with Trespassing Souleater, which makes it unblockable, until I'm down to 2 or 1 and then use either Reverse the Sands or Soul Conduit to swap life totals, and...SURPRISE!!! My opponent has no idea what just happened! Also, Phyrexian Unlife really helps because I can go down to 0 life and not die.
Greed is more successful.
You can attempt to activate Necropotence's ability during your untap step, at which point one of three things will happen:
1. If you are in tournament play, your opponent will call a judge and you will be reprimanded for attempting to activate an ability when you do not have priority.
2. If you are in casual play, your opponent will call you a moron and reprimand you for attempting to activate an ability when you do not have priority.
3. If you are in casual play and your opponent also does not know the rules for priority, one of the passersby will call you a moron and reprimand you for attempting to activate an ability when you do not have priority.
Then the game will most likely proceed to the upkeep step where you will -not- get a trigger from NDE, and if you are in tournament play the judge may rule that you activated Necropotence during your upkeep, dropping you to 1 life, and your opponent will take advantage of your misplay to the best of his or her ability... most likely with a Lightning Bolt to your face.
TL;DR
No one has priority during the untap step... do it at the end of your opponent's turn instead.
The thing about necropotence is that it gives you the cards at the end of your turn. If you intend to combo with it, you have to wait at least a turn unless your whole combo can be played at instant speed.
With griselbrand, if you have some mana, you can just draw until you have the cards you need to win on the spot.
Library of Leng is a replacement effect, so you can pick to put the card on the top of your library or exile it.
...and yet they did with Yawgmoth's Bargain and Griselbrand. It's like they learned nothing.
Griselbrand is just much easier to cheat into play. You haveDemonic tutor, Vampiric Tutor, mystical tutor, Personal Tutor in order to get your entomb, and Reanimate Pay 14 life, draw 14 cards immediately.
Necropotence from what I know, can really only be gotten to the point where it's efficient is withZur, and with Necropotence, you can't use reanimator, and you draw those cards at the beginning of the next end step, so it's not as immediate as Griselbrand. Still a great card, one of Magic's greatest black cards.
Drawing 8-12 cards for paying roughly half your life, within the first few turns... well, once you're beyond the beginner stage, you'll get it. :-)
Necro decks would have healthy hand disruption to make you discard your counters. That or they can first-turn drop necro with dark ritual and you can't counter it unless you have Force of Will.
So weird. It was almost like that American Werewolf movie where there's this giant bloodthirsty freak out in the woods that keeps killing the townspeople every night and for some reason all the townsfolk refuse to acknowledge that it's there, even when other people try to point it out.
Though I'd rather have The Skull as well, the card size doesn't really do the art justice.