This is an amazing tempo swing. It's good in aggro and control. It cost 2 blue mana as opposed to Man-o'-War's 1, but it makes up for it by being a Wizard.
Guest57443454
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Wish this was Man O' War instead...but still nice to see back at 3 CMC...
Mode
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(6 votes)
Man-o'-War, is that you? I see you joined the Wizard tribe now.
I just wish they had given you a "may"-clause for the cost, though...
n00bmag1
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(3 votes)
This should work well with Leyline of Anticipation. Glad to see some blue love in the form of a body.
cloneffect
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Woo-hoo. A bounce spell on a 2/2 body. You get a big tempo swing and a future chump blocker. What more could the discerning control player want? Great little card, I'll be having a playset, thank you very much.
A3Kitsune
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Great. Even my father likes her, and he knows zip about Magic. He may just be a fan of her artwork, though.
Guntz1092
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Very playable, very blue, very fun
Donovan_Fabian
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I really liked this card at prerelease, I played it alongside frost titan to tap down one creature and send the other back to their hand. It made for great tempo shifts, and between sleep, the adept, and frost titan, could lock down a lot of decks. The only problem cards I ever faced with aether adept was arc runner (since it doesn't stick around to get bounced), and reassembling skeleton, since it only costs two and then I didn't want to waste my exiling cards on a 2 cmc creature and they never attacked for me to condemn it. All in all a very useful utility card.
Doom_Lich
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Check the artwork. It's like she's channeling the end of the Unsummon guy's body through the vortex. :D
Cheza
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(10 votes)
It feels odd that R&D reduces the color dependencies usually and than increases it for blue cards. I don't feel so happy with this card. As a Wizard, I would expect a tap ability. This is a one-shot on a Bear/Cat.
Troutz
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I'd like this card better if it were a merfolk. As it were though, killer limited card.
benegade
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
you can bounce Emrakul
Mindbend
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
think see saw . one side goes down one side goes up. great card
Selez
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(5 votes)
On constructed: Man-O'-War saw play back in its day, but the UU really limits its deck range. One thing I noticed about this card is that its use drops dramatically when used in convent with Day of Judgment. Think about it. You're losing an extra card, and sometimes saving an opponent's. Wall of Omens avoids this problem because the card advantage it provides actually sticks. This card could easily see play, but it has to go in the right deck.
On limited: Only a few non-rare cards top this in Blue picks: Mind Control, Air Servant, and Foresee (and maybe a Cloud Elemental or Azure Drake in the third pack when you're low on flyers). The tempo advantage this provides is huge; though I guess I don't have to tell anyone else that. This common is just so good.
I love how this card reads along the lines of Flametongue Kavu and Blister Beetle: If it has nothing else to target, it's not going to stay on the battlefield very long. "You summoned me with nothing to bounce?! Just for that, I return myself to the Aether!!"
SoulShatterer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Well-Designed Cantrip Creature.
Clavat99
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great turn 3 card if you have other stuff out. goes well with any blue deck that uses creatures.
allmighty_abacus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
An unsummon on a creature doesn't seem to do too much. Not too thrilled about this card.
I'd like to see a cheap R/B creature with this ability and haste. Imagine early game your opponent cheated out some 5/5 fatty and has a stupid grin on their face as they wait for next turn to start smashing face. But then you bounce it with a 2/1 or something, and then even deal a bit of damage as punishment.
The_Sturm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You are paying that extra blue mana to have a creature type that matters. Any tribal wizard deck would be mono blue anyway.
sly92
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
perfect for bouncing those fourth turn hand of emrakul (or any other early game fatty), just need to find a pace for it in my level deck... not sure how well that would work though
DacenOctavio
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Full points for becoming Venser's Unsummon on a stick.
BlueRock
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The thing i love about this card, is how it works with counterspells. opponent laid a beast of a creature and i had all my mana tapped? no problem, aether adept, it's back in their hand, they use another turns mana to lay it, and BOOM, it's gone. an absolutely insane common
There is a pretty scary blue standard deck floating around with these & mind control. I don't think it will every see play due to peoples fear of creature light decks, but I think it could still be out there and do well. Conundrum Sphinx, Enclave Cryptologist, Crystal Ball, Augury Owl. Use these to bounce whatever they put out.
Lyoncet
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Sure, there's always the threat of creature-light decks, but between being able to sideboard them out and being able to bounce your own CIP creatures, it seems like you'll almost never play this and think "man, there's nothing for me to bounce." It's possible though.
I got 3 of these in my Blue/White deck... LOVE IT!
Sterling_Archer
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This + Mimic Vat= FUN
Laguz
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This has become my favorite common in M11 and it's practically an auto-pick for me at this point. It is absurdly good in draft.
It's not nearly as powerful in constructed, but it's still a solid tempo piece and works great in combination with sun titan and venser, the sojourner.
j0binett
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If I control an Æther Adept when ever I cast a second one will I be able to return two creatures to their owner's hand; since they both have the effect, "When Æther Adept enters the battlefield, return target creature to its owner's hand"? Does it accumulate is what I am asking?
swords_to_exile
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Jobinett. No, when a card uses it's own name in its rules text, it is only referring to itself, not other creatures with the same name unless specifically stated on the card (like Cylian Sunsinger). For all purposes, it reads "When this creature enters the battlefield, return target creature to its owner's hand." This is the same reason why if you control 2 Demonic Taskmasters and no other creatures, you will have to sacrifice both of them during your upkeep.
This, Man-O'-War, Warped Devotion, and a bunch of bounce/flicker/draw spells later = fun, cheap control deck (which actually works quite well)
That said, this is a decent little powerhouse still. It's surprising how good the bounce ends up being as you stall your opponents and get out better things. The pseudo-removal is good enough to really really hamper some decks I've discovered.
Comments (32)
I just wish they had given you a "may"-clause for the
I don't feel so happy with this card. As a Wizard, I would expect a tap ability. This is a one-shot on a Bear/Cat.
On limited: Only a few non-rare cards top this in Blue picks: Mind Control, Air Servant, and Foresee (and maybe a Cloud Elemental or Azure Drake in the third pack when you're low on flyers). The tempo advantage this provides is huge; though I guess I don't have to tell anyone else that. This common is just so good.
I love how this card reads along the lines of Flametongue Kavu and Blister Beetle: If it has nothing else to target, it's not going to stay on the battlefield very long. "You summoned me with nothing to bounce?! Just for that, I return myself to the Aether!!"
I'd like to see a cheap R/B creature with this ability and haste. Imagine early game your opponent cheated out some 5/5 fatty and has a stupid grin on their face as they wait for next turn to start smashing face. But then you bounce it with a 2/1 or something, and then even deal a bit of damage as punishment.
Any tribal wizard deck would be mono blue anyway.
It's not nearly as powerful in constructed, but it's still a solid tempo piece and works great in combination with sun titan and venser, the sojourner.
No, when a card uses it's own name in its rules text, it is only referring to itself, not other creatures with the same name unless specifically stated on the card (like Cylian Sunsinger). For all purposes, it reads "When this creature enters the battlefield, return target creature to its owner's hand." This is the same reason why if you control 2 Demonic Taskmasters and no other creatures, you will have to sacrifice both of them during your upkeep.
Unless you are a person of... divergent tastes.
That said, this is a decent little powerhouse still. It's surprising how good the bounce ends up being as you stall your opponents and get out better things. The pseudo-removal is good enough to really really hamper some decks I've discovered.