Very good when returning your own legendaries to save them/use them again, also good when returning opponent's legendaries to his hand. This sometimes-very-helpful-ability also doesn't cost anything, it's like a plains addon.
Ritius
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Banned in EDH, i think, maybe even just banned in general. Why not run a Karakas in all of your white decks? There's no reason not to in casual. Other than being a nice person, I guess....
Gaussgoat
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Loved the artwork on this card for a long time, and with the emergence of more Legends/EDH format this card is now really helpful as well :D
Hard to see any drawbacks here, especially as it isn't a plain and it gives W so it will avoid things like Flashfires
4.5/5
GradiustheFox
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
What a bizarrely random effect for a Land. Instills Legendaries with the unstoppable urge to frolic through the fields! The only reason I can imagine this not being 5/5 is being Legendary itself. It insta-gibs things that have the highest tendency to be hard to kill conventionally, for basically 1 mana.
spectermonger
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
If somebody used this against me in EDH, I'd pick in and turn it into chaos confetti. With Vendilion Clique this is just a headache.
LightningWombat
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I use Karakas with Sneak Attack and Emrakul.
Gilder_Bairn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hey, if you enchant it with a zendikon, you can tap it to return it to your hand.
Because that is definitely a winning move, right there.
channelblaze
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I think this is one of the best of this cycle (pendelhaven, urborg, tolaria, hammerheim, and this) since it's ability might not be that useful all the time, but when it is, it's really good. and it comes into play untapped and has a colored mana ability, so it seems like it beats a plains (although it is legendary, which is a little drawback). And yeah, this would be epic in an edh deck
Exuberance
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Completely shuts down most Polymorph decks, because they like to put out Iona and Emrakul these days. Imagine your opponent with U/G Polymorph, getting Iona out and you just putting it back in their hand. How are they supposed to cast it now? Hahahaha.
allmighty_abacus
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This should have been reprinted and renamed in the legend-saturated kamigawa set. It might have prevented that set from failing quite so hard then.
Uncounterable answer to Iona and Emrakul (but not Progenitus)! And has a beautiful, tricky, sneaky combo with Mangara of Corondor! And a great example of the difference between online and paper economies... It's about 1/10 of the price online! Just don't forget it's Legendary!
sarroth
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(3 votes)
@Ritius: Check the EDH rules website; it isn't banned. Though EDH is social so players could determine that the card is banned in their playgroup, there is no specific rule against it.
And turning it into chaos confetti? Just build your deck so it doesn't require your general to run. This would shut down my general and would have only 1 card (Oblivion Ring) as an answer, but I wouldn't consider the game lost then.
Rainyday2012
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
Karakas is banned in EDH, as much as any card. Under "Social" on the EDH page there is a banlist, even if it's not called that. If you think Karakas is legal in EDH, then Black Lotus, Time Walk, Ancestral Recall and their friends are as well, and your EDH is very different from real EDH indeed.
This is in my legacy g/w eldrazi ramp deck. I have primeval titan to fetch this, ramp up with eldrazi temples and bring out Ulamog, the infinite gyre. Bouncing Ulamog, and casting him out my second main phase, allows for some crazy permanent destruction. Enjoyable to say the least.
tavaritz
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Why was this Oracled to affect creatures only. We used this to boomerang opponents Urborg before playing ours when Legends was new.
Arachibutyrophobia
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
no drawback? nice!
A3Kitsune
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@tavaritz: Because it has always affected creatures only. "Legend" was a creature type, and thus was only used on creatures. Urborg and co. were "Legendary", which was a completely seperate term.
Lueseto
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So you play Karakas... Well, I'll play karakas to send your Karakas to your hand!! oh wait...
Dr.Pingas
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
@Sarroth, Oblivion Ring says non-land, so it can't hit this. That, and the EDH "suggested ban-list" was made official when the format was adopted as Commander. EDH is meant to be casual, social, and creatively stimulating. This card is in all facets detrimental to such a play-style, and can easily be deemed "degenerate" as defined on the EDH website. You -can- agree with your playgroup to run it, but that seems like it would lead to a poor parody of the true intentions of the format.
Play EDH because you enjoy it, not because you want to argue and break it.
WarioMan
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
It's very nice when the only question for a card is how many of them should you run.
drpvfx
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@ Ritius- it's not officially banned in anything other than Commander. It isn't even restricted in Vintage.
It *is* absurdly powerful, but it was overshadowed by other powerful cards when it was in print (especially considering most Legendary permanents from Legends were actually quite bad- the fact this is easily one of the best in the set is rather ironic).
Goatllama
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Hmmm, I just WONDER if this card's rating jumped after EDH became popular....... though it's good with ETB legends anyways.
neongecko06
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Caracas, Venezuela?
Laguz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is one of the few cards left that I really NEED. It's basically required in a legacy deck at the moment. Not paying seventy dollars for it though! Need someone to trade with!
pzbw7z
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
We called it "Crack House" back in the day. I remember playing it, but I don't remember why. Probably just because it was fun saying "Crack House" when I played it.
Lifegainwithbite
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
This is the reason edh has a banlist.. Come on. How dumb do people have to be to think this is a legitimate and mutually fun strategy in edh? Player 1: Yay I got out my Commander! End turn. Player 2: Send the commander back to your hand or command zone. Player 1: Wait what? Counterspell Player 2: Can't be countered. Player 1: Fine I'll Naturalise it... Player 2: It's not an enchantment or artifact. Player 1: Then I Doom Blade it. Player 2: It's not a creature. Player 1: Then what the hell is going on? Player 2: I just completely wrecked your game with one card that you can't stop just cause my dad lets me waste more cash than yours does.
I can understand people using this in Legacy tournaments but Edh is supposed to be a fun casual format. And don't make the land destruction argument cause unless they have the maybe one or two cards that can do that in their whole deck, they're still doomed.
Comments (32)
This sometimes-very-helpful-ability also doesn't cost anything, it's like a plains addon.
Hard to see any drawbacks here, especially as it isn't a plain and it gives W so it will avoid things like Flashfires
4.5/5
Because that is definitely a winning move, right there.
Also fun against those goddamn eldrazi legends or with leyline of singularity
And turning it into chaos confetti? Just build your deck so it doesn't require your general to run. This would shut down my general and would have only 1 card (Oblivion Ring) as an answer, but I wouldn't consider the game lost then.
Play EDH because you enjoy it, not because you want to argue and break it.
It isn't even restricted in Vintage.
It *is* absurdly powerful, but it was overshadowed by other powerful cards when it was in print
(especially considering most Legendary permanents from Legends were actually quite bad-
the fact this is easily one of the best in the set is rather ironic).
Player 1: Yay I got out my Commander! End turn.
Player 2: Send the commander back to your hand or command zone.
Player 1: Wait what? Counterspell
Player 2: Can't be countered.
Player 1: Fine I'll Naturalise it...
Player 2: It's not an enchantment or artifact.
Player 1: Then I Doom Blade it.
Player 2: It's not a creature.
Player 1: Then what the hell is going on?
Player 2: I just completely wrecked your game with one card that you can't stop just cause my dad lets me waste more cash than yours does.
I can understand people using this in Legacy tournaments but Edh is supposed to be a fun casual format. And don't make the land destruction argument cause unless they have the maybe one or two cards that can do that in their whole deck, they're still doomed.
Gatherer says legends include The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Akroma's Memorial, Dark Depths, Pendelhaven, Elbrus, The Shining Blade, Eye Of Ugin, Flagstones Of Trokair, Gaea's Cradle, Gemstone Caverns, Tolarian Academy, Grimoire of the Dead, Hammerheim, Helvault, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Mirari, Volrath's Stronghold, Umezawa's Jitte, Mindslaver, Thrumming Stone, etc. when sorted by type.
Shouldn't you just spam-bounce Emrakul for infinite turns instead? :v