Pure beauty. This thing elegantly destroys several good spells, turning them into unplayable at worst, mediocre at best.
Also the basis for one of the most beautiful prison archetypes ever, the infamous Stax.
Omenchild
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
I think that the art is so beautiful; if i saw it holo... (please refer to Adam Samburg)
Lateralis0ne
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(6 votes)
I bought this version as a gift for a good friend for Christmas. He already had the original. This version is now sitting framed in his house, because the art and foil and flavor text alone made him cry a little when he saw it.
I bought another version for myself, to use in my Artifact Deck. It wasn't the right deck for it, however, so now my copy is sitting framed on my desk, waiting for when I can get together four Force of Wills, a Stasis, and several other cards on my list for a new take on the Stax model.
Happy Ruling, my friends.
Sironos
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Take that bolt!
Uhhsam
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
does this force your opponent to pay 3 mana if he has something that allows him to cast a spell without paying its mana cost?
ParadOxymoron
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(6 votes)
@Uhhsam No. You cast it without paying its mana cost at all. This just raises the mana cost it does have. If you were trying to play a spell that cost 0, however, that would be a different story, because that's just a manacost with a value of 0 (and would be raised to 3), as opposed to no manacost at all (in which case it would make no difference if the mana cost were 0, 3, or 3000000). Does that make sense?
Wraique
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Hmm, I dunno about that FreakyM. The rulings for this card seem to suggest otherwise. I'm still not clear >.<
Internet_decks_lame
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(7 votes)
I think I speak for most players, and I am sure many would debate that perhaps I am utterly and completely wrong. But this card is far too playable on turn 1. Infact it is so easy to play turn 1, that if I choose to play anything other the blue (via Force of Will or Daze, my experience of Magic becomes pointless. A lock of this magnitude should not be coming from a single source alone. If you really want to debate this card, just test it yourself. Put together any deck that optimizes a turn 1 Trinisphere drop. Now run it against any other deck that doesn't use Force of Will or Daze. If the player with Trini draws an opening hand sphere, their chances of winning that game shoots up by 75% instantly. That shit is faster then Split Second! Now lets factor in getting hosed for mana. If your playing against trinisphere and you get stuck at 2 mana or less for whatever reason, the 75% jumps to almost 90% for the Trini player. The simple fact this card disrupts the disruption something is horribly wrong.
0/5
This card doesn't deserve a good rating at all. Running a card like this allows magic players to remain as intelligent as a door knob. This card is that of parallel to a God-Mode cheat in a video game. It wouldnt surprise me if you take someone who uses a card like this, and put them into olympic training. The same individual would likely not even blink hesitation at the opportnity for an anabolic to guarantee victory.
Its gross but so are assault strobe and rite of flame. FIRE IS FOR CAVEMEN. To enjoy this game and ensure all players get to use their preferred style of play, don't use 4 of everything you choose like a sad little sandbawx hawg. RATIOS.
stille_nacht
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
evil-est card ever printed xD
or, if you are into prison, and a sadist, one of the best cards ever.
Purple_Shrimp
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i have 3 of these but I don't remember ever buying/trading for/opening any of them
yesnomu
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The easy way to remember is: Nothing escapes the sphere. Alternate casting cost, like Force of Will? Nope. Phyrexian mana? Nope. Nothing gets out of it. If you're casting a spell, you WILL pay three mana for it. The card is the real deal.
Salient
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Wow, a lot of misinformation about Trinisphere in the comments. Let me try to help.
Trinisphere literally has its very own layer, in the Comprehensive Rules for determining the cost of a spell. After every other cost modifier is processed, Trinisphere says, "if the cost for the spell at this point does not include at least three mana, increase an additional mana cost of or or , the least amount necessary to ensure at least three mana have been spent."
Alternative cost: Trinisphere introduces an additional cost on top of whatever alternative costs the spell requires. You can cast Force of Will by paying and 1 life and exiling a blue card from your hand. You can cast Deep Analysis from your graveyard (using flashback) by paying U} and 3 life. If you cast Bloodbraid Elf, you can cast the spell by paying . (This also means you can't use cards like Aluren to get around paying ; with Trinisphere in play, Aluren lets you flash in Tarmogoyf for , if you prefer that to playing Tarmogoyf for ...)
Suspend: You can suspend cards, like Ancestral Visions, for their normal suspend cost. When you remove the last suspend counter and attempt to cast the spell, you will need to pay in order to have the spell resolve. So Ancestral Visions would cost to suspend and would cost to play four turns later.
Phyrexian Mana: Paying life for is not paying mana, even though is a mana cost. So, for example, casting Dismember with a Trinisphere in play costs you , or + 2 life, or + 4 life.
SereneChaos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is in the top 5 most broken cards in Magic. It is NOT symmetrical, it is NOT easy or even viable to play through, and it is NOT difficult to build around.
In Vintage tournaments, I've had people pitch Time Walks and Ancestral Recalls to Force of Will my turn 1 Trinisphere. If they hadn't, they would've lost right then and there.
Thanato5
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Strongest turn1 1-card play ever?
Kryptnyt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Damn you, Trinisphere, for making every Dream Chisel I play downright useless.
Recino
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You know, if every vintage/legacy started with this in play, black louts would be legal.
Megapossum
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Favorite use for this card: Stopping Force of Will and Daze in my Stax deck. Soooooo good. Don't have 3 mana open? I'm all set to do as I please.
BorosGeneral
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Whose idea was it to bring this thing back...
WarioMan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
How does phyrexian mana work with this?
talcumpowder0046
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card gives the finger to black lotus!
Axelle
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Legal in Modern.
Think about it.
roguepariah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
For non-broken usage, I find that this actually works fairly well with Innistrad's werewolves.
Reckless Waif on turn 1 followed by Trinisphere on turn 2 or 3 can make it incredibly difficult for your opponent to cast 2 spells a turn. Yes it makes subsequent Waifs more expensive, but you usually want to cast only one spell a turn anyway.
TheWrathofShane
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Its an interesting card that broke vintage.
cone8d
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
How has nobody mentioned/realized the potential in this card when combo'd with Unwinding Clock?
This card is definitely great on its own, but with both out, you can put your opponent(s) under incredible pressure.
BongRipper420
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card looks unfun for all parties involved.
Necr0lyte
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think most people cry about Trini because everyone has gotten used to playing incredibly cheap spells to try and overrun the game and win as fast as possible. This card is totally symmetrical and fair because the deck you most likely are using is one with already high (3 or more) cmc cards, so if you don't play this on the first couple of turns, or if it get's blown by one of the myriad cards that deal with artifacts, you are at a great disadvantage. Agains't decks with good ramp and spells that cost on average more than 3 cmc this is completely useless.
5/5 for being an aggro stopper (most of the time) and i hope it gets to see more play. Maybe then MtG won't be about who can win by turn 3.
Hmmm im thinking of a mono black LD deck with Dark Rirual and maybe Chrome Mox. Maybe something along the lines of Pox... OMG I HAD A PRISONGASM!
Trygon_Predator
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Turn 1: Mishra's Workshop, tap for , play Trinisphere. Your opponent will hate you.
Lifegainwithbite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When something is restricted in Vintage, you know it's serious...
mtgraptor
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@ParadOxymoron actually yes it does raise its cost to 3. No matter how you cast a spell, you will have to spend at least 3 mana doing it.
Artifact Aggro Control. This, Mishra's Workshop, all your affinity cards.
So many ways to use it. 4.5/5 because no one likes losing friends.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I kinda hope they take the design of this and make a new version that also reduces the costs of other spells; making it a mix between this and Fist of Suns. Something like: Septisphere {7} each spell that would cost less or more than seven mana to cast costs seven mana to cast. If a spell's converted mana cost is {b} it is instead {7}
The funny thing is; that'd probably make Stax in legacy quite competitive again while looking semi-unplayable.
Either way; this is great in artifact decks, control decks, or even some aggro decks that simply top out and want to slow/stall the game; or who ramp and simply want to beat face freely (such as Stax and Moon decks.)
amberbock
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love the flavor text on this version. It hints at what happened when they printed it not thinking it was that big of a deal until it broke vintage. Turn 1 Mox Sapphire, Sol Ring, Mishra's Workshop, Trinisphere meant that for 3 turns you could do anything you wanted often winning before they could play a single spell.
Comments (37)
Also the basis for one of the most beautiful prison archetypes ever, the infamous Stax.
I bought another version for myself, to use in my Artifact Deck. It wasn't the right deck for it, however, so now my copy is sitting framed on my desk, waiting for when I can get together four Force of Wills, a Stasis, and several other cards on my list for a new take on the Stax model.
Happy Ruling, my friends.
I think I speak for most players, and I am sure many would debate that perhaps I am utterly and completely wrong. But this card is far too playable on turn 1. Infact it is so easy to play turn 1, that if I choose to play anything other the blue (via Force of Will or Daze, my experience of Magic becomes pointless. A lock of this magnitude should not be coming from a single source alone. If you really want to debate this card, just test it yourself. Put together any deck that optimizes a turn 1 Trinisphere drop. Now run it against any other deck that doesn't use Force of Will or Daze. If the player with Trini draws an opening hand sphere, their chances of winning that game shoots up by 75% instantly. That shit is faster then Split Second! Now lets factor in getting hosed for mana. If your playing against trinisphere and you get stuck at 2 mana or less for whatever reason, the 75% jumps to almost 90% for the Trini player. The simple fact this card disrupts the disruption something is horribly wrong.
0/5
This card doesn't deserve a good rating at all. Running a card like this allows magic players to remain as intelligent as a door knob. This card is that of parallel to a God-Mode cheat in a video game. It wouldnt surprise me if you take someone who uses a card like this, and put them into olympic training. The same individual would likely not even blink hesitation at the opportnity for an anabolic to guarantee victory.
or, if you are into prison, and a sadist, one of the best cards ever.
Trinisphere literally has its very own layer, in the Comprehensive Rules for determining the cost of a spell. After every other cost modifier is processed, Trinisphere says, "if the cost for the spell at this point does not include at least three mana, increase an additional mana cost of
Alternative cost: Trinisphere introduces an additional cost on top of whatever alternative costs the spell requires. You can cast Force of Will by paying
Suspend: You can suspend cards, like Ancestral Visions, for their normal suspend cost. When you remove the last suspend counter and attempt to cast the spell, you will need to pay
Phyrexian Mana: Paying life for
In Vintage tournaments, I've had people pitch Time Walks and Ancestral Recalls to Force of Will my turn 1 Trinisphere. If they hadn't, they would've lost right then and there.
Think about it.
Reckless Waif on turn 1 followed by Trinisphere on turn 2 or 3 can make it incredibly difficult for your opponent to cast 2 spells a turn.
Yes it makes subsequent Waifs more expensive, but you usually want to cast only one spell a turn anyway.
This card is definitely great on its own, but with both out, you can put your opponent(s) under incredible pressure.
5/5 for being an aggro stopper (most of the time) and i hope it gets to see more play. Maybe then MtG won't be about who can win by turn 3.
Hmmm im thinking of a mono black LD deck with Dark Rirual and maybe Chrome Mox. Maybe something along the lines of Pox... OMG I HAD A PRISONGASM!
Your opponent will hate you.
So many ways to use it. 4.5/5 because no one likes losing friends.
Septisphere {7}
each spell that would cost less or more than seven mana to cast costs seven mana to cast.
If a spell's converted mana cost is {b} it is instead {7}
The funny thing is; that'd probably make Stax in legacy quite competitive again while looking semi-unplayable.
Either way; this is great in artifact decks, control decks, or even some aggro decks that simply top out and want to slow/stall the game; or who ramp and simply want to beat face freely (such as Stax and Moon decks.)