i like the card, nothing like sacking creatures to draw cards or pumping up creatures and drawing cards when they die.
Squigles
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(16 votes)
Banned in Legacy? Are you serious?
Do you guys understand that this card is not very good in vintage, and is only average at best in legacy?
Remove the ban on this card please.
stager87
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(12 votes)
Lol @Squigles if yor asking for a card to be unbanned in legacy or vintage and then stating its not very good in those types then your either not a good liar or just a terrible player.
Subtle
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(7 votes)
This card just makes the game more fun. It puts the focus more on decks with creatures, and having more cards simply gives you more plays, it makes more things happen and makes the game feel more interactive. Unless this becomes part of a ridiculous combo deck, It should not be banned.
Let us try it in legacy. It can't be as bad as Oath of Druids.
LeoKula
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(7 votes)
Best equipment by a mile 5/5 OWNS Jitte.
leeroy418
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Card is insane no matter what and the banning seems fine even in legacy because affinity can be played there because disciple of the vault is unbanned in that realm.
littlebeast
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It IS part of some fairly easy combos, with Arcbound worker.
This deserved its ban at the time 100%, but still deserves it for the most part. Any weeny deck , white or otherwise, benefits hugely from this.
ChaoticDarkness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great card. Deal some extra damage to either creatures or your opponent, and draw 2 if the creature dies. And that for a really cheap cost.
AXER
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(9 votes)
This card is that freaking good? Am I missing something? Can you attach this to creatures you DON'T control? Otherwise, it can just be a common card.
GooberSnotpants
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@axer
imagine this: you equip skullclamp to an artifact creature with 2 toughness, like an ornithopter, then sacrifice it for a shrapnel blast or any of the numerous cards that allow you to sacrifice an artifact. Imagine you also had a disciple of the vault out. For 2R an ornithopter, you draw two cards, and deal 6 damage to your opponent... Banhammer, so hard.
The above example doesn't even include half the other ridiculous stuff you can do with this in affinity (ravager) or a token deck.
CatsAreCthala
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Any deck can use this. I use a playset in my goblin deck and I can turn a Siege-Gang commander into 10 cards.
AXER: Drawing cards is GOOD. Remember that.
SorianSadaskan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You pay a small price for more knowledge gained. This card has its reasons to be banned, it's considerable power and potential is understandable.
ArtBell
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(6 votes)
Anyone that doubts this card is a fool, it is five stars all the way.
I threw together some crap deck with garbage one-drop goblins and burn, 4 skullclamps, and just smoked people casually. There is nothing like it, and it allows colors to do things that they really shouldn't be able to do. If you're running weenie, and your friends will tolerate it, there is nothing like Skullclamp.
Omenchild
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
If this is banned, so should fore of will and some of the other staples in the format- just makes everything too stagnant. This card can be countered by any deck splashing blue so easy, blue any disenchant works srsly, people just don't want to work around yet another powerhouse. But now that entomb is legal, why the hell is this not.
spectermonger
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
In the Darksteel Pre-release my friend and I both a got good uncommons. I got Isochron Scepter and he got skullclamps. Seeing how I didn't get any good 2CC instants, guess who won--every game.
Undead_Warrior
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
If this card was to be legalized in Legacy, then I could definitely see Merfolk, in particular, abusing the SNOT out of this card. Think about it, first turn, land drop, Aether Vial. Next turn, drop a Cursecatcher with the Vial and drop Skullclamp, and probably some other 1-drop. Then, turn 3 Standstill. Right there, it seems that the course of the entire game is decided. The advantage that could be generated from this would be INSANE! Keep it banned.
Gear61
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(6 votes)
Pay 1, draw 2.
Seems good to me.
onepartmissing
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(11 votes)
Now that's what i call Mythic Rare.
MrQuizzles
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(12 votes)
It is difficult to describe just how broken this card is. One would have to watch a Mirrodin-block deck draw through the entirety of its library in a single turn and then watch as almost every card drawn gets played thanks to affinity and summarily sacrificed to both kill you and draw more cards to truly appreciate it.
izzet_guild_mage
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
At first, I was skeptical about this card. It took seeing it in action literally one time for me to change my mind. It's sooooooo stupid. Imagine, say, a goblin deck eating their mans one by one with mana from a Prospector, then, after drawing, say, 10 cards off of this, casting Patriarch's Bidding and restoring their board to everything it was before, and possibly more.
reapersaurus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
what moron at Wizards thought this equipment was a good idea?
Who actually said - "Wait - one card isn't good enough - we need to make it 2 cards or it will be unplayable."
Name any other card in magic that can repeatedly gain even a one-mana for one carddraw advantage. Not even close.
Lateralis0ne
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I went and bought four of the Exiled version of this card, put them into my Artifact deck, and I wreck shop by turn five repeatedly, sometimes as early as turn three. People say that turn five kills are common...but how many times does it happen by INFINITE milling? Myr Moonvessel loves putting this hat on all day long.
And the flavor text is one step down from godly.
Vedalken_Arbiter
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Would this have been broken if it only drew one card.
Sironos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wow, if you have 0/1 tokens to spare, this is basically: "sac a 0/1 token reature, Pay 1 colouless mana and draw 2 cards", amazingly powerful!
Silk_Blitz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Can you imagine THIS being in standard today? Eldrazi spawn would wreck in the most beautiful way. This would turn Awakening Zone into a truly scary beast.
This truly a legendary card, simply beautiful. My guess is they print an homage in scars, maybe only drawing one card and/or making it legendary.
Enchantment_Removal
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I doesn't matter what you play this card with- as long as you have creatures. It doesn't matter. Really. Your opponent had better have a lot of Swords and/or Paths. Why are your creatures netting you more cards?! Come on and kill my dude. No really, I need the cards.
Ok, so this doesn't win the game; your deck has to do that. This just........ well........ keeps you hand nice and full. heh heh
Rifick
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I could just imagine this in a creature heavy eldrazi elf deck. +1/+1 indestructable flying and at the begining of your next upkeep sac your worst creature for 2 additional probably creature cards! Sign me up.
boneclub
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
For the longest time I didn't see how this was broken. That is, until I saw the MINUS one. ^_^
Also, if you are a casual player, buy 8 playsets of this, and stick them in each of your aggro decks. Trust me.
Duskdale_Wurm
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
F**king good.
Rundvelts_Raiders
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Scary good in any deck. I run it in a goblin deck. Card advantage is just unfair with warren instigators, lightning bolts and goblin lackeys.
SleetFox
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(4 votes)
This is a very well-designed card. It's also a very poorly-balanced card. It could have been so much, but instead it got the crap banned out of it.
I love playing it so much casually, but I think it's best to be honorable about it and, for example, pay an additional 2 mana or so to cast it.
Revelation666
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Whoever says this card is not worthy of being banned was not playing magic when the Mirrodin block came out, that set was filled with so many broken cards and this was right there at the top.
Luke_BPC
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Cards like this, Cranial Plating, Arcbound Ravager, Cranial Plating, Affinity creatures, Myr, Disciple... They were so darn broken, and so even more broken together they had to go and ban Tree of Tales because it still sounded unfair. Mirrodin wrecked so much damage in T2 people didn't see the good cards in Kamigawa until the dust settled. Still, I have most of old Ravager Affinity deck saved, just in case :D
RareCardHunter
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
I bet players were shocked that this card was only uncommon.
donjohnson
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I bought Skullclamp some time ago for casual play.
1 Skullclamp + 1 Ashnods Altar and a deck full of token generators = insanity. If the token deck I have isnt stopped by turn 5-6, and I mean entirely shut down with something like Bloodseeker, the game is going to be mine.
I can understand why this got banned, but I am confused why its not at least restricted in Vintage.
i've been playing since fallen empires and stoped from about 2000-2009 and i can't beleive this was ever printed, whoever designed this card most have known he/she was making arguably the greatest draw engine ever for , it makes no sense that this got through, other cards i can understand , disciple of the vaults is a inverted soulwarden for artifacts , atifact lands are lands which can be shattered but boost affinity. but this was like nothing that had been before and hopefully after.
The truly ridiculous thing about skullclamp is that even if you aren't using it in some degenerate way whatsoever, it is still a 5/5 powerhouse. No deck with creatures has any reason not to play 4 of them.
Even in something like a casual green ramp fatty deck, which is definitely not optimal for skullclamp, it is still going to translate into extra damage and many, many extra cards. From a 1 colourless to cast artifact, no less. I only own 1 and it is in an equipment themed deck (where it is semi optimal but nothing degenerate - very few 1 toughness creatures for instance) but out of the 60 or so decks I own, I can only think of maybe 3 decks that wouldn't be improved by getting that 1 skullclamp.
Ominous
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(16 votes)
The story of Skullclamp's creation and banning can be read here for those who may be interested: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/af17
Sometimes things slip through the cracks; though, quite a bit slipped through the cracks when it comes to Mirrodin.
Back when we played Mirrodin (casually), I won almost if not simply every game when I had one of these out. Think it was a white weenie deck with 3 copies of Skullclamps; since each of my creatures became 2 more cards, I could always plow through my library and amass a huge army plus a full hand, in a way that white weenie decks should never have known.
Reveilark can eventually achieve a card advantage as massive as this too, but it did so with the aid of blue and took way more turns. Costing five times as much as Skullclamp, Reveilark was competing as one of the best cards in Lorwyn block.
TheGodOfWar91
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Jeez, R&D. You sure know where to get good drugs.
DacenOctavio
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Myr Enforcer and 4 of these. Under ideal conditions, you paid no mana for him, just {4} for the total equipping cost, and you got 8 cards out of it.
Back when I was new, I didn't realize that you could equip only to your own cards. Not knowing that rule took this card from "crazy broken" to "oh god why."
RecurringMemories
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Works well in my Gate deck with Bloodghast and Bitterblossom. So beautiful, so broken, so great.
Comments (58)
Do you guys understand that this card is not very good in vintage, and is only average at best in legacy?
Remove the ban on this card please.
Let us try it in legacy. It can't be as bad as Oath of Druids.
For example, Soul Foundry the worker, and have two Dross Scorpions and an Ur-Golem's Eye. And that's all in its block.
, white or otherwise, benefits hugely from this.
imagine this: you equip skullclamp to an artifact creature with 2 toughness, like an ornithopter, then sacrifice it for a shrapnel blast or any of the numerous cards that allow you to sacrifice an artifact. Imagine you also had a disciple of the vault out. For 2R an ornithopter, you draw two cards, and deal 6 damage to your opponent... Banhammer, so hard.
The above example doesn't even include half the other ridiculous stuff you can do with this in affinity (ravager) or a token deck.
AXER: Drawing cards is GOOD. Remember that.
I threw together some crap deck with garbage one-drop goblins and burn, 4 skullclamps, and just smoked people casually. There is nothing like it, and it allows colors to do things that they really shouldn't be able to do. If you're running weenie, and your friends will tolerate it, there is nothing like Skullclamp.
Seems good to me.
Who actually said - "Wait - one card isn't good enough - we need to make it 2 cards or it will be unplayable."
Name any other card in magic that can repeatedly gain even a one-mana for one carddraw advantage.
Not even close.
And the flavor text is one step down from godly.
This truly a legendary card, simply beautiful. My guess is they print an homage in scars, maybe only drawing one card and/or making it legendary.
Ok, so this doesn't win the game; your deck has to do that. This just........ well........ keeps you hand nice and full. heh heh
My favorite cards to abuse this with is the Thopter Foundry/Sword of the Meek combo and Myr Servitor. Throw in a Disciple of the Vault and for funnsees :D
Also, if you are a casual player, buy 8 playsets of this, and stick them in each of your aggro decks. Trust me.
I love playing it so much casually, but I think it's best to be honorable about it and, for example, pay an additional 2 mana or so to cast it.
1 Skullclamp + 1 Ashnods Altar and a deck full of token generators = insanity.
If the token deck I have isnt stopped by turn 5-6, and I mean entirely shut down with something like Bloodseeker, the game is going to be mine.
I can understand why this got banned, but I am confused why its not at least restricted in Vintage.
Even in something like a casual green ramp fatty deck, which is definitely not optimal for skullclamp, it is still going to translate into extra damage and many, many extra cards. From a 1 colourless to cast artifact, no less. I only own 1 and it is in an equipment themed deck (where it is semi optimal but nothing degenerate - very few 1 toughness creatures for instance) but out of the 60 or so decks I own, I can only think of maybe 3 decks that wouldn't be improved by getting that 1 skullclamp.
Sometimes things slip through the cracks; though, quite a bit slipped through the cracks when it comes to Mirrodin.
Reveilark can eventually achieve a card advantage as massive as this too, but it did so with the aid of blue and took way more turns. Costing five times as much as Skullclamp, Reveilark was competing as one of the best cards in Lorwyn block.
Because I am a bad person.
Not quite, Salvaging Station says noncreature artifact. Myr Moonvessel is an artifact creature. Almost though!
OH WAIT! IT DOESN'T!
5/5