Oh man, so broken. Even twiddle makes an awesome combo, let alone voltaic key. Online EDH will never be the same.
Eternal_Blue
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
and so the degenerate combos begin...
Kryptnyt
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Damn you broken card damn you to hell!
NetHwarang
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
and yet Waylay is gimped... and yet this got reprinted in masters edition. Do we really needed another broken combo in vintage/classic?
ZirilanoftheClaw
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(8 votes)
umm voltaic key for infinite turns?
--Nate--
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(11 votes)
May be even better than Time Walk, since it's so easy to abuse this multiple times.
Sironos
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(9 votes)
voltaic key.
2CMC!!!! WTF! Should have been 8 at least, and would still be broken.
mlanier131
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(14 votes)
this is the reason people dont play vintage. I went to my first vintage tournament last night and lost in one turn to this, second game I lost turn 2. In my third match I also lost to it.
apollogod
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Simply one of the best cards in all of Magic history.
Good and useful in builds without untap effects. Best card in the game in builds with untap effects.
Superb art. Amazing history.
5/5
Rikiaz
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(6 votes)
5/5. With Tezzeret 20000000000/5. Infinate turns ftw.
jsttu
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Words cannot even begin to describe how utterly broken this card is. I think all copies should be burnt and the entire card forgotten.
Either that or errata to make it work like it was supposed to.
GainsBanding
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
It does work like it's supposed to. Garfield wanted it to combo with Twiddle in Alpha. He said so once, or he thought that maybe he remembered thinking that. But I'm sure he didn't dream of Voltaic Key when it was made. Yes, it's a totally broken game-ender in Classic and Vintage. But that's why you run things like Pithing Needle, Nature's Claim, Qasali Pridemage, Null Rod, Force of Will, Mana Drain, and your own Vault/Key combo. It's slightly less broken online because your opponent can always be a jerk and make you take the turns, thus running down your time and increasing the chances of you misclicking.
ParaDox420
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
What!? Why am I just finding out about this card??? So many ways to untap it and break the game... I already have panoptic time walk but this is so much quicker... Best deal I can find for it is $35... tempting. Very tempting.. clock of omens
landboysteve
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(10 votes)
This card is the poster boy for "decks that you never play against your friends if you want to keep them as friends."
Arguably the best magic card that should have never been printed.
tavaritz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
The original wording of Time Vault is:
Tap to gain an additional turn after the current one. Time Vault doesn't untap normally during untap phase; to untap it, you must skip a turn. Time Vault begins tapped.
It clearly states that you must skip a turn to untap Time Vault.
Why not word it so that no other untapping won't work. This is my take of the Oracle wording:
Time Vault enters the battlefield tapped. Time Vault doesn't untap unless you skip your turn. (You can only skip your turn when your turn is about to begin.) If you would begin your turn while Time Vault is tapped, you may skip that turn instead. If you do, untap Time Vault. Tap: Take an extra turn after this one.
VarteDod
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(5 votes)
Use it with Voltaic Key. Never such a silly combo's been so damn powerful.
TheRedwolf12
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
everyone who says voltaic key obviously hasn't seen unbender tine. far more effective. no mana to pay, and you can do things besides artifacts.
ScissorsLizard
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
TheRedWolf, Unbender Tine costs 4 mana in two colors. That makes it completely unusable in the fast, powerful Vintage decks that use Time Vault. In Vintage, by the time you have four mana, you have almost certainly either won or lost. Costing just one mana, Voltaic Key is much, much faster.
BlackAlbino
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
what a failure of a card, infinite turns shouldn't be anywhere CLOSE to this easy
GoblinNaysayer93
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
I've never seen a card as easy to break as this one. It takes almost no effort to find a means of untapping this each turn, whether it's Voltaic Key or any of hundreds of other options.
It's just a broken card. Wasn't meant to be, but new mechanics just made it unfair. Simple as that. Besides, completely rewording cards to make them work better with modern cards just ruins the Block format.
Dr.Pingas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Blech. Give it shroud. Fix'd.
zenitramleirdag
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
yes, its very easy to break it indeed..
voltaic key is probably the obvious..
there's probably a lot more if researched..
how about mind over matter? (at the top of my head..)
Blue_mana
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
@ Dr.Pingas I think it would work quite well with shroud, but now we have Unwinding Clock :/
there's no way to reprint this for two mana to make it un-broken. There will always be made a key to brake it.
Time Vault 2CMC Artifact Time Vault enters the battlefield tapped. You may choose not to untap Time Vault during your untap step. If Time Vault becomes untapped, skip your next turn. t: Take an extra turn after this one.
It doesn't combo with anything I can think of right now, not even Amulet of Vigor. You would have to Stiffle it, or build your deck around loosing a turn or two.
warpig527
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
give it shroud and it is a little more balenced
asmallcat
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
They should just errata it to have shroud. Problem solved.
UncreativeNameMaker
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
They should add something like "Time Vault cannot be untapped by any other spell or ability." to the end of the untap ability. Shroud would make it harder to destroy, and still leave it open to untap effects that don't target. Like Unwinding Clock.
They should just make a ruletext errata and be done with it.
Time Vault enters the battlefield tapped.
: You take an extra turn after this one.
If Time Vault would become untapped, you may skip your next turn. If you don't, Time Vault remains tapped.
So you won't be doing anything funny with it cheaply (replacement effect can't be responded). It can still be exploited by copying the activated effect. Infinite turns is still possible with Myr Welder. As far as there are so many 2 cards kill combo in vintage this may be considered acceptable. There are far more ridiculous two-card combo such as Painter+Grindstone or Stuffy Doll+Guilty Conscience that would kill you for 6 mana (*cough* Mishra's Workshop+Black Lotus *cough*).
I've always loved magic because there are always ways you can counter any combo if you have the right card. And if you are against someone who gets Voltaic Key out on turn 1 and this out on turn 2, you can do something... as long as you drew that something in your opening hand or one of your first 2 (or 3 if you went first) turns. Then you are screwed.
This is so unbelievably broken that it should be banned in EVERY game. Not even every format. You shouldn't even be allowed to use this in casual games. It is ridiculously broken. I'm sure when it came out it wasn't so bad, but nowadays untapping artifacts is fairly cheap and easy. The idea that by turn 3 someone could turn any game into a goldfish game is profoundly disquieting...
I like infinite combos. But making the game a solitaire game where just you are playing in three turns is an incredibly dickish infinite thing to do...
(Just remembered that with a 0 cost card that can provide 3 mana this is actually a turn 1 infinite turns combo card. That's even more disgusting)
kazenpaus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm very surprised we don't call them the Power Ten with this one around... Then again, before Volataic Key this was not as broken. Still, what were they thinking when they made this?
Salient
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Oath of Druids + this + Myr Welder would be really funny, if you flipped the Vault before the Welder.
ScaryKoolaid
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The wording of the card seems to indicate to me that no matter what trick you can think up i.e. twiddle or Voltaic Key you still have to skip your turn to untap it. It says "to untap it, you must skip a turn"- to me that says simply there is no way around skipping a turn to untap it. However, these old wordings are weird, it doesn't specify it has to be your NEXT turn?? In other words can I take 3 turns and then skip 3 turns with something like twiddle?
I'm further confused by this: "10/1/2008 This wording means that you no longer end up skipping multiple turns if you find a way to activate the ability multiple times. "
That seems to say tricks work with it favorably to the player, but it's worded even more strangely than the card itself and seems to contradic the key word "must" in the card.
Fireballmage
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"Look ma, no errata!"
TheManakinTransfer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Phasing maybe? Makes it so that it isn't just the straight up lockout with two cards.
imsully2
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Holy shit, I don't think I've ever seen anything this broken, you can have infinate turns without ever letting you opponents play and this is the only card you need that costs 2$ or more (Still a 350$ combo but with good reason)
Swamp Memnite/Ornithopter/Phyrexian Walker/Shield Sphere Culling the weak Time Vault Voltaic Key
or 2 dark rituals or Mountian Memnite/Ornithopter/Phyrexian Walker/Shield Sphere Infernal Plunge Pyretic Ritual/Seething Song
and many many more, this is probably the most broken card of all time, it should be banned in everything, lol, if you cast it and keep it out and don't win, you should quit magic, N/O
Penguin_Master
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
no funny rulings for untapping this thing are necessary. Just let it untap as normal and skip your next turn, then tap it to activate it's ability and just simply have rings of brighthearth in play to copy the activated ability. Voila! Clean. Simple. No arguing over whether if you skip your turn if it untaps or not, because you just did. You merely net gained an extra turn by copying the ability.
Arachnos
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Holy crap. Even without any shenanigans with untap it's like a better Time Walk that fits in every deck, and TIME WALK IS A MEMBER OF THE POWER NINE ALREADY!
Infinite turns for one mana with Voltaic Key? That's so broken it's not even funny!
The only way to make this not broken is by removing the "doesn't untap" effect and make it "take an extra turn after this one. On their next turn, every opponent takes an extra turn after that one."
amberbock
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card used to not be broken. They fixed it for awhile where it put counters on it when you skipped a turn. To gain a turn you had to remove a counter. It made the card worthless and easily stopped if it was untapped without skipping a turn. They reverted back to the original intent of the card making it one of the most powerful in the game. Glad I bought one when it was no good, just wish I got more of them then.
Iasonas
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@amberbock ...until someone abused that "fix" in order to skip multiple turns. The opponent was in some bind, dealing with painful upkeep shenanigans and lost to it. Whatever fix they do, it would still be abused. They should never have printed this card.
If this gets to be a broken card, better be old broken card than new broken card. At least it's honorable to the card.
Ihateworking
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I will be damned if anyone tries to convince me the new art is better than the old after looking at something like this. But maybe you just have to see it in person to understand?
OrangeAir
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If they would just give it shroud, it would be a lot more balanced. And see a lot less play, of course.
Samhain01
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
To everyone saying that shroud or errata woud fix this, it wouldnt. Even with errata or shroud you could use Rings of Brighthearth and still get easy infinite turns. Get over it people or better yet, get one yourselves.
It was a neat concept, back when cards didn't really untap other cards. Now, it's really easy to untap another card. If only they could have forseen this, and printed it with a rule like "Cannot be untapped by any other card or ability" on it.
Xycolian
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
this card is so annoying when its paired with voltaic key... whenever I see someone play this I just roll my eyes and think "That's a really unique, original, and amazing combo you got there".
CyanCentaur
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The current wording "to untap it you MUST skip a turn" means a Voltaic key doesn't work.
edit: oops, just noticed the official text differs radically from the card text... nevermind!
Lifegainwithbite
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@thewrathofshane: In a tournament, yes doing well is everything. Casual is for fun - it's in the name. And I'd rather spend 10 grand on a hobby (if I was that into magic and had that much) than be an annoying jerk. Plus what about the people that have played since Alpha/Unlimited and never actually bought the cards? Going around whining and complaining on every card you don't like is much worse than spending money on something you enjoy doing or have enjoyed for a long time.
Hashbeth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Such a simple turn one victory:
Dark ritual + this + mox opal (or any other 0 cost mana producer) + voltaic key = victory.
Let's make it a Haiku:
Cast Dark Ritual, voltaic key, mox opal; Vict'ry from a swamp.
Cyberium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hidden Strings
Aquillion
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@non1337 : They actually errataed it once before to make it non-broken (for a while, it used Time counters, so untapping it couldn't cheat it.)
They decided to switch it back because nowadays errata are only supposed to make a card work as it originally worked, not to change its functionality.
(Hmm, even when it first came out, long before Voltaic Key, you could break it with Animate Artifact and Instill Energy. That was a more complex combo and opened it to creature removal, though, so it was probably considered acceptable.)
Technetium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I thought they errata'd this thing years ago so that you had to tap and remove a "time counter" to get an extra turn, and in order to put a time counter on it you had to skip your turn. Did they change their mind at some point or did that never happen?
Callahan09
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Honestly, I think the Oracle text broke this card more than anything. They basically completely removed the condition that any sort of untapping forces you to skip a turn. In the original wording, "To untap it, you must skip a turn", it means you would have to skip a turn even if you used Voltaic Key or Twiddle... The Oracle revision to the text seems to have completely misunderstood the mechanic and broken the card by trying to get fancy with the wording.
That all said, somebody else was right when they said Myr Welder would still break this card, giving you infinite turns.
Even if you don't bother combo'ing it, an extra turn for is ridiculously good.
SirLibraryEater
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Turn 1: Sol Ring, this. Turn 2: Invisible Stalker Turn 3: Hidden Strings, untapping Time Vault, encoded on Invisible Stalker Turn 4: Attack, extra turn, attack, extra turn, etc.
Slyfox7777777
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Turn 1: Any basic land, sol ring, time vault, take an extra turn. Turn 2: Voltaic Key: GG
Stupid card. it shouldn't be this easy to win without giving your opponents EVEN ONE TURN TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!
0/5
NoobOfLore
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think this card could be reprinted with some minor modifications.
---- Time Reservoir
Artifact
Time Reservoir enters the battlefield tapped.
If Time Reservoir would become untapped, instead you may skip your next turn. If you do, untap Time Reservoir. Otherwise, Time Reservoir remains tapped.
Comments (64)
2CMC!!!! WTF! Should have been 8 at least, and would still be broken.
Good and useful in builds without untap effects. Best card in the game in builds with untap effects.
Superb art. Amazing history.
5/5
Either that or errata to make it work like it was supposed to.
Yes, it's a totally broken game-ender in Classic and Vintage. But that's why you run things like Pithing Needle, Nature's Claim, Qasali Pridemage, Null Rod, Force of Will, Mana Drain, and your own Vault/Key combo.
It's slightly less broken online because your opponent can always be a jerk and make you take the turns, thus running down your time and increasing the chances of you misclicking.
Arguably the best magic card that should have never been printed.
Tap to gain an additional turn after the current one. Time Vault doesn't untap normally during untap phase; to untap it, you must skip a turn. Time Vault begins tapped.
It clearly states that you must skip a turn to untap Time Vault.
Why not word it so that no other untapping won't work. This is my take of the Oracle wording:
Time Vault enters the battlefield tapped.
Time Vault doesn't untap unless you skip your turn. (You can only skip your turn when your turn is about to begin.) If you would begin your turn while Time Vault is tapped, you may skip that turn instead. If you do, untap Time Vault.
Tap: Take an extra turn after this one.
Then that could be abused with Magosi, The Waterveil, or worse Chronatog
It's just a broken card. Wasn't meant to be, but new mechanics just made it unfair. Simple as that. Besides, completely rewording cards to make them work better with modern cards just ruins the Block format.
voltaic key is probably the obvious..
there's probably a lot more if researched..
how about mind over matter? (at the top of my head..)
there's no way to reprint this for two mana to make it un-broken. There will always be made a key to brake it.
Time Vault 2CMC
Artifact
Time Vault enters the battlefield tapped.
You may choose not to untap Time Vault during your untap step.
If Time Vault becomes untapped, skip your next turn.
t: Take an extra turn after this one.
It doesn't combo with anything I can think of right now, not even Amulet of Vigor. You would have to Stiffle it, or build your deck around loosing a turn or two.
...Of course, still could be broken in team formats...
Time Vault enters the battlefield tapped.
If Time Vault would become untapped, you may skip your next turn. If you don't, Time Vault remains tapped.
So you won't be doing anything funny with it cheaply (replacement effect can't be responded). It can still be exploited by copying the activated effect. Infinite turns is still possible with Myr Welder. As far as there are so many 2 cards kill combo in vintage this may be considered acceptable. There are far more ridiculous two-card combo such as Painter+Grindstone or Stuffy Doll+Guilty Conscience that would kill you for 6 mana (*cough* Mishra's Workshop+Black Lotus *cough*).
I've always loved magic because there are always ways you can counter any combo if you have the right card. And if you are against someone who gets Voltaic Key out on turn 1 and this out on turn 2, you can do something... as long as you drew that something in your opening hand or one of your first 2 (or 3 if you went first) turns. Then you are screwed.
This is so unbelievably broken that it should be banned in EVERY game. Not even every format. You shouldn't even be allowed to use this in casual games. It is ridiculously broken. I'm sure when it came out it wasn't so bad, but nowadays untapping artifacts is fairly cheap and easy. The idea that by turn 3 someone could turn any game into a goldfish game is profoundly disquieting...
I like infinite combos. But making the game a solitaire game where just you are playing in three turns is an incredibly dickish infinite thing to do...
(Just remembered that with a 0 cost card that can provide 3 mana this is actually a turn 1 infinite turns combo card. That's even more disgusting)
I'm further confused by this: "10/1/2008 This wording means that you no longer end up skipping multiple turns if you find a way to activate the ability multiple times. "
That seems to say tricks work with it favorably to the player, but it's worded even more strangely than the card itself and seems to contradic the key word "must" in the card.
Swamp
Memnite/Ornithopter/Phyrexian Walker/Shield Sphere
Culling the weak
Time Vault
Voltaic Key
or 2 dark rituals
or
Mountian
Memnite/Ornithopter/Phyrexian Walker/Shield Sphere
Infernal Plunge
Pyretic Ritual/Seething Song
and many many more, this is probably the most broken card of all time, it should be banned in everything, lol, if you cast it and keep it out and don't win, you should quit magic, N/O
Infinite turns for one mana with Voltaic Key? That's so broken it's not even funny!
The only way to make this not broken is by removing the "doesn't untap" effect and make it "take an extra turn after this one. On their next turn, every opponent takes an extra turn after that one."
If this gets to be a broken card, better be old broken card than new broken card. At least it's honorable to the card.
edit: oops, just noticed the official text differs radically from the card text... nevermind!
Dark ritual + this + mox opal (or any other 0 cost mana producer) + voltaic key = victory.
Let's make it a Haiku:
Cast Dark Ritual,
voltaic key, mox opal;
Vict'ry from a swamp.
They decided to switch it back because nowadays errata are only supposed to make a card work as it originally worked, not to change its functionality.
(Hmm, even when it first came out, long before Voltaic Key, you could break it with Animate Artifact and Instill Energy. That was a more complex combo and opened it to creature removal, though, so it was probably considered acceptable.)
That all said, somebody else was right when they said Myr Welder would still break this card, giving you infinite turns.
Play 1 mana, play Black Lotus. Cast Time Vault and Voltaic Key then tap Voltaic Key to untap Time Vault. Now tap Time Vault rinse and repeat. Isn't vintage fun?
This turns twiddle into time walk, and voltaic key into you win the game.
There are exactly 15 cards right now with vault in their name that are vault related (ie. Not using vault as a verb)
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?output=spoiler&method=visual&sort=color+&action=advanced&name=++!+!
Turn 2: Invisible Stalker
Turn 3: Hidden Strings, untapping Time Vault, encoded on Invisible Stalker
Turn 4: Attack, extra turn, attack, extra turn, etc.
Turn 2: Voltaic Key: GG
Stupid card. it shouldn't be this easy to win without giving your opponents EVEN ONE TURN TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!
0/5
----
Time Reservoir
Artifact
Time Reservoir enters the battlefield tapped.
If Time Reservoir would become untapped, instead you may skip your next turn. If you do, untap Time Reservoir. Otherwise, Time Reservoir remains tapped.
----