The more mana you pay, the more permanents you can put into play, and bigger they would be. However, being sorcery really hurts this card, especially since you might not even get the permanents you need (IF permanents at all). Chord of Calling was an instant and could be casted with convoke.
StoicChampion
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Has much potential. (Yay elves.)
Wraique
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(6 votes)
I'd love to see it grab a shirt load of allies.
DonRoyale
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(4 votes)
What's that? Infinite mana Myr combo, puke my deck into every Myr I have, play a kicked Goblin Bushwhacker, WIN?
Awesome!
Mindbend
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
someone will break this card so hard .......just be lucky it cost 3g so it's 4-5 turns before it gets silly,
cast one of these and even if its a dud you still get a load of land put into play , then next turn cast another one just bigger.
Frozenwings
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(4 votes)
this card will be a bomb in constructed
Theostratus
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(5 votes)
This can do some crazy stuff in EDH.
WhiteyMcFly
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Makes Valakut ramp so much easier.
Colossus_of_Darkstee
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(6 votes)
My question is: is it just me, or does the art look like eldrazi crap?
ninjaduckie
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(3 votes)
This card + Elves= Broken.
Shell_shockkun
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
At first I thought it would've been awesome for Valakut... (cause it get's 0 cmc) But the mana you'd need to make to make it effective would probably mean you're winning the game already... So not the awesome utility card I thought it would be, at least in that deck
Now Elves... With cards like Elvish Archdruid,Joraga Treespeaker, and even the lowly llanowar elf + Arbor Elf, you could easily reach insane amounts of mana while setting up your own win Cause uh... Beastmaster ascention is 3 cmc and a permanent, which this card likes, not to mention Garruk
MTG_token_collector
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think Allies are where this card was intended..... not elves (even though yes it would be VERY POWERFUL in an elf deck) It's like warp world in a RB ally........ (thank goodness that warp world is now out)
teh_Mentat
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You heard it here first
This is a busted engine for a B/G Titan/Ob Nixilis Landfall Ramp deck. Testing has shown it to be just silly. With Ob Nixilis in play they literally just die (You're always paying at least 9 for the 'Wave" to hit all your Titans and Wurmcoil, as well as Rampaging Baloths --- Even Ob Nixilis himself! you pick the order the permanents come down!) and if not, it means your hitting multiple Titans/Nighthawks off the play. The only way it really whiffs is if you hit like
birds birds land cultivate battlement chalice
but its worth the investment - if youre deck can 'Wave for six it can Wave for 9+ pretty easy as well. Seems bulky at first but a playset is the way to go. Don't even get me started on what happens when you resolve two.
tcollins
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Although using this to cast your deck SHOULD win you the game, just in case, run a few Elixir of Immortality so that you don't deck yourself. Reminds me of Warp World, sort of.
Zulp
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is going to get broken wide open. I think green is going to become a force to be reckoned with in the new standard.
Pwnsaw
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Elves! Elves! More Elves!
ZuesAscendant
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Run 4 with 4 Elixir of Immortality. Cast for large sum of mana, crack Elixir. Rinse and repeat until every permanent is on the 'field. Accept handshake.
Mastamune
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Very powerful. On a whim I added it to my green, blue, White Allies deck.
Vs a Scars elf Deck, I dropped it really late game Asceticism helped keep my mana allies alive and hold off hard charging elves.
Thanks to Harabaz Druid and friends, I was able to bomb a Wave for 15.
Tons of allies dropped, pro -greened and swung in for the win.
It can work well in allies, but you need to build around it. There are other applications, but I don't see elves powering out 18 mana turn 6 or 7. This will end the game. Just be sure to pack an Autumns way so you don't get countered.
Sweetnesszero
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So do you choose the order these cards come into play, or is it simultaneous, or does it even matter? what happens if i reveal 2 Lotus Cobra and 4 Forest does that mean i get 12 more mana to play with just like that? someone please let me know.
Pheso
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(4 votes)
Ridiculous in Mon-Green Elves. Tap Llanowar, Arbor, Joraga. Attack with Copperhorn Scout. Do it all again.
Then play this before the end phase.
Sironos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
In ac colour with soooooo much mana ramp, this is just ridiculous. Damn wizards always spoiling green.
Ritius
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This can be good for standard green myr with that infinite combo, both to get the combo out, and then when you have infinite mana, it gets your entire deck out. Fun stuff, really like that it grabs lands too. 4.5/5
vsasntore
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
One of my favorite cards of all time; good in almost any format, and broken in almost every mono green deck.
jamessooy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I guess it took 8 years for this "You make the card" entry to be made. Sorcery version of #6 http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/feature/29
penatbater
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Are the tokens that get into play have summoning sickness?
luckyskin09
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
This card is just too powerful. I added two in my Legacy Elf deck and four in my Standard Elf deck. Everytime I play this card the game ends in either one or two turns. Reveal more elves, attack with Copperhorn Scout, untap all elves, add mana on Omnath, next turn another genesis for like 25... This card should read ''Force your opponent(s) to scoop and win the game''.
ioncloud
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
so if I flip a creature and an aura with this thing... say bear umbra and Hellkite Charger... can I enchant it with the umbra?
Cardz5000
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
Landfall loves this
Boday1
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
So beast in G/W allies. Harabaz Druid + this = win.
MisterG
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Can anyone explain this card to me ?
I have 13 mana, meaning i can see the next 10 cards in my library.
Does this mean I can play all those cards with a mana cost less then 10 ? Or can i play cards for in total 10 mana ?
HPS
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Oooops sorry...
@tazman321
Quite the contrary this card is perfect for elves.
Works perfectly with Birds of Paradise, Llanowar Elves, Arbor Elf, and Fauna Shaman...
coyotemoon722
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
So much fun in that card. It's Cascade on steroids...It really shines in EDH.
armyman65
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
ok explain something because i am not exactly sure on it. does that mean any card including instant and sorcery get played to?
BairnGilder
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@TheSwarm: In the game you described, you could have chosen not to put Emrakul into play. It would have gone to the graveyard with all the non-permanent stuff and shuffled your yard back into your library, sparing you from decking yourself. The more you know!
GracefulInferno
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is stupidly good.
"I'll Genesis Wave for (insert arbitrary number higher than ten)."
That sentence right there is reason to lose hope.
Tovaras
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Played this and pulled out 4 Chimney Imps. Never have I seen someone scoop so hard.
TheHandyman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A smashingly good card. Also have to appreciate the rare reference to Star Trek.
TheSwarm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I can consistently pick up my library and turn it upside down and spread it onto the battlefield with this card, its pretty awesome. Especially when I get like two Rampaging Baloths and two Admonition Angels and a bunch of lands.. Its a really fun deck.
@Bairn Gilder, Yeah! I realized that like a couple days after, and actually I use him to make sure I don't deck myself anymore hahaha
ridiculousricky
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I know it's broken in elves, but am i the only one who imagines this in an eldrazi spawn deck? even if you don't play it big enough to get eldrazi, you'd get a ton of dudes like rapacious one , kozilek's predator, etc. and then be able to play any of your eldrazi in your hand with the spawn they generate.
Froenx
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
this in any ally deck with the druid and mana reflection = monster ally swarm.
and for insult to injury.. overrun!
ChampionofSquee
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
in my elf deck i did this for like 36 or something, needless to say i won that game lol.
cathode01
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This + Channel = HILARIOUS. Combine with some spell replication like Fork for even more fun.
tazman321
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
This card is just wrong with Elves.
@HPS:
I meant wrong in a joking sense, like winning would be too easy with this card.
ToAsTy42o
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
How does this work with something with a kicker?
Also, how do I hotlink cards so I can better explain things?
(example: how does this card work with Wolfbriar Elemental?)
DacenOctavio
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Green Sun's Zenith is cute because you tutor out a dude. This is good because it tutors out your game-winning board state.
C5r1a5z0y
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Nuts with Elves & Allies (when you have Harabaz Druid out). Dropped it for 12 cards in my Allies deck to cause 144 life loss when I flipped 2 Hagra Diabolists. Would have won it there, but we were playing Eemperor, so I couldn't target. Next turn I pulled out the Ghostway for 392 life loss o_O.
Tetsu_tora
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Shouldn't this send lands drawn by the wave to the graveyard? Land isn't a spell on its way in, so it doesn't have a casting cost...
Still awesome, still hate seeing it played for 17+ against me.
ratchet1215
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Cast this three times in a Commander game last night for 8, 13, and 21. At high levels of mana, I honestly believe this might be the strongest spell in the game. The card/board advantage you get off of it is ludicrous, unparalleled by nearly any other card.
micky1960
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Very nice card indeed. My only problem is the rules in general. Land is NOT a spell and can never be assigned a mana cost. EVER.
hatriarch
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Pheso You can't do that. Mana disappears at the end of a phase.
ErikLauer
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(14 votes)
Erik's Random card 6/8/2011 Mike Turian was the lead developer of Scars of Mirrodin. There was a somewhat different green spell in the set, made by Mark Rosewater; Mike wanted it replaced since he thought it was probably broken.
Mike likes to rate cards in terms of their appeal to Timmy, Johnny, and Spike. He love the "triple" which appeals to all three. I tried to do just that.
I started thinking of how to make a green Braingeyser. I thought about green getting permanents, which probably meant putting them on the battlefield. So it wouldn't just be broken, I capped the cost of the permanents at X. All that was left was to cost it, and this was the cost I came up with.
Brady Dommermuth, who manages the creative side of Magic R&D wrote a comment in multiverse saying "Spidey sense tingling." Since I had never seen him make a comment about a card's power before, I didn't think he even thought about it. Maybe all that free stuff is just that jarring?
Sometimes this card is totally crazy. Of course I hope it never breaks; not that I would be shocked.
shmewdog
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The other night I dropped this card while playing my Legacy Elf deck and X was 30. By the end of it all I had about 35 elves in play, 35 Insects, a Coat of Arms and a Beastmaster Ascension. My opponents scooped :)
That_Odd_guy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
okay, play with omnath, powered up to however large you can, put a platinum angel on the field, snd then, play genesis wave to every card in your deck. then, ylou will kill, and your opponents can't win! especially if an indomitable archangel is in your deck, and two other artifacts (i reccomend equipment), then platinum angel has shroud. killer!
SeiberTross
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Now that we have bannings of stoneforge & Jace, this card should assert its rightful place over standard.
Stray_Dog
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Might have been cooler if the art had more stuff happening ie Terramorphic Expanse but with creatures etc.
To be broken this needs really big mana. Cards that require a huge amount of mana to do crazy things don't worry me. Big mana equates to big effects. It's the cards that do things for cheap that get me nervous.
Place
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Combos well with Eternal Witness in the deck.
dark_godzilla2002
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So do you reveal all X cards at once or each one as they come off the top of your library? do you choose the order your permanents enter the battlefield or do they come in in the order they were in when they were on the top of your deck?
shmnion
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@dark_godzilla2002
All the permanents enter the battlefield at the same time and see each other entering. At the same time means that if you pull an aura and a creature with the same wave the aura can't target the creature.
Permanents seeing each other means that relevant abilities trigger for each permanent. For example if you pull 5 allies with this then every one of them gets 5 activations of the ally ability.
I run a Helix Pinnacle urzatron deck with all the locus lands. Ill be running this as soon as I can pick up a playset. Wave for 20 anyone? Mana ramp ftw.
Khultar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
amazing against everything, except mill decks
RJDroid
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I cast this for X=18 and copied it with Riku of Two Reflections. Needless to say, I lost horribly because I got hit with Austere command the next turn and had no haste enablers. But damn if it wasn't fun!
OmegaSerris
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ironically, this is actually pretty horrible in a Rosheen Meanderer EDH. Most of your best creatures will die as they hit the field, being Hydras or similarly costed creatures. Sure, you'll get a ton of land and/or mana bugs, but at what cost?
MTGFreak
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Did anyone answer dark_godzilla2002's question? I'd also like to know if Genesis Wave's revel of X is all at once or one at a time. Because, I'd like to know if you can use Sensei's Divining Top activated ability to look at the three cards while the X is resolving. In essence, you could hypothetically "stack" the order of the cards before each card was reveled if it's one card at a time. This would push the cards you didn't want on the bottom.
But something tells me the X is a single revel and not a card by card revel.
Paleopaladin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card will cost you friends if you spit out multiple Putrefaxes or Primeval Titans with it.
Most of the time, I'd much rather play this for X=5 than play Praetor's Counsel.
Finally, don't run this if your deck has any Protean Hydras. At 1 CMC, they might easily get scooped up and will die as a state-based effect as soon as they hit the board, but I *think* if an Aura also came out, you could save them because state-based effects wouldn't get checked till the wave resolved. Still, not good to include a self pwn possibility in your deck. Thought I'd mention it just because both cards are solid candidates for ramp decks.
EDIT: I'm wrong about being able to save PH if an Aura came out with it. The new aura couldn't attach to the PH since they're coming in at the same time.
mdakw576
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is hilarious in EDH but is way too slow for standard play.
Luke_BPC
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@MTGFreak You always reveal cards one by one, but you can't play spells or abilities while a spell is resolving.
At this point all my elves are dead, then I drop the greaves on Emrakul and swing for the stars. Don't forget you also get an extra turn AND you have everyone's creatures that got Dusted :D.
If this doesn't work out the other common drop is Heedless One, + Ambush Commander, + Greaves.
All my Forests (and the other elves that dropped) usually pump the Heedless one WAY over 20 damage. Trample them for game.
This might be my favorite card in a long time, It doesn't work everytime (not by a long shot) but that gamble when you cast it for 13, so...darn...exciting.
Totema
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I was playing against a Slivers deck and things were looking pretty bad for me. I played this, paying 9 for X and threw down a Rampaging Baloths, 3 lands, and a couple of other creatures. Now I'm a believer.
Kryptnyt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I've been having fun with this and Hive Mind in multiplayer. Games end pretty quickly with lots of smiles.
icedtheater
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just want to verify that if I play this for X=5 and reveal 5 creature cards and each creature was a 3 cost card, that all 5 cards may be put onto the battlefield.
oorazugoku
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ok Question... Assume I cast Genesis Wave with X being (6) and I search for 6 cards and one of them is Ghoultree which has a CMC of 7(colorless) and 1(forest) but I have 3 creatures in my graveyard. Would I still be able to play Ghoultree since it's CMC would be reduced to only 5? Or would I need X to be at least 8?
-Starchaser-
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Mindbend 4-5 turns? Legacy elves ftw xD
DeviousPie
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Is it just me or does that art remind anyone of the Conduit from Mass Effect?
adrian.malacoda
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@icedtheater
Yes, if X is 5 then you reveal 5 cards and you may put each one that is a permanent with converted mana cost of 5 or less onto the battlefield. Since all 5 of them are creatures that have a CMC of 3 they may be put on the battlefield
@oorazugoku
Ghoultree's CMC is always 8, regardless of how much you pay for it when you cast it.
I have a question about a ruling on this card. I was playing a Commander game against someone who was using this card. When he played it, he pulled 13 (paid 13 for X). Now, This is just an order factor etc, but doesn't he have to finish resolving the effect of Genesis Wave before activated the effects of any cards that just came into play from the effect of Genesis Wave, such as cards which state "When enters the battlefield..." or sorts. He can't activate the effects of things in mid-resolving.
wholelottalove
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This card is good and isn't super broken because it costs so much mana to cost and is somewhat random. You have to not be running a bunch of non-permanents to get a really good cast of this. Many times you're likely to spend more on this spell than what you get out of it, although you're also likely to get much more than what you paid for it.
JaxsonBateman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Genesis Wave - because the Elvish answer to "how can I tutor for an Eldrazi Monument in a monogreen deck?" is to 'simply' cast a spell that plays the majority of the deck.
@nelsonngyn0 - having a Primordial Hydra in a Gen Wave deck seems like a bad idea. If you flip into the Hydra from the wave, it can only enter as a 0/0 and die.
@DraculHemming - all the permanents enter the battlefield at the same time, and no triggered abilities get put on the stack until Genesis Wave has completely resolved. As such, if the first card he revealed was, say, War Priest of Thune (when it ETBs destroy target enchantment) and the last card he revealed was an Oblivion Ring, he could target the O-Ring with the War Priest's ETB, and he could target the War Priest with the O-Ring's ETB (though why he'd want to is anyone's guess).
Edit: @JaxsonBateman I know it is kind of silly to keep it in, but I enjoy the times I get to play it, without it coming without any +1/+1 Counters.
BongRipper420
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have a foil one of these as a singleton in my Elf ramp deck. It's absolutely stunning!
swagtusk
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Nasty Edh combo goes like this:
T1: forest tap, play exploration, play second forest T2: play 2 more forests tap 2, play Rofellos T3: play umbral mantle equip to Rofellos and begin infinite mana shenanigans, play genesis wave, play entire library.
If you want to go a little further praetor's counsel your non permanents back to your hand and play those too.
Ligerman30
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like the interaction between this and loaming shaman because it means that you can just wave your entire library and never deck to it. Pretty fun card, and even if you aren't playing a deck that's based around instants and sorceries then milling yourself and ramping a bit can be good with flashback, dredge, or threshold spells and especially alongside spell recursion a la eternal witness for better card selection.
4/5
dhinge
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Turn 20: you've been whittled down to 10 life, your opponent has 40. You finally get rid of his creatures, and a few more swings and he's out. Both hands are empty. You swing for 10. Next draw, he draws Genesis Wave, puts out 20 cards, and the game's over.
This is one of those cards where it doesn't matter what insurmountable odds you've overcome or the impenetrable force you've made; once it's played, favor goes unabashedly to its player. It makes all the turns before it completely meaningless.
I'm the kind of guy that likes building things up and watching cool combos play out. This is like "OK play everything off the top of your deck and see if your opponent can take it". No ingenuity, no cleverness, just a lot of mana. For green, that's easy. Too bad.
LordEibon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Man this card is sweet. I run it in my Omnath EDH deck and on turn five after using a doubling cube I played it for 23 and got an eternal witness and a crap ton of land. This looped for three times with the help of a praetor's counsel. End result two thirds of my deck on the field and an opponent staring the whole time.
jerkoid
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is gonna make my Vorel/Gyre Sage deck so much sillier.
@dhinged "This is one of those cards where it doesn't matter what insurmountable odds you've overcome or the impenetrable force you've made; once it's played, favor goes unabashedly to its player. It makes all the turns before it completely meaningless." Well yeah, but that only makes it balanced, not unfairly good. made specifically to use it. Let me try to explain.
If you play green, you've tried running this at least once. When you do, you realize that to make it good, you have to build your deck around it. It's not one of those cards that you just put it into a deck and start winning (like liliana of the veil, snapcaster mage, tarmogoyf, goblin guide, pack rat, geist of saint taft, etc: cards that are good in literally any deck playing the right colors). There's a unspoken rule in Modern (which is the only sanctioned format this sees any play): if you play a card with a casting cost greater than 4, it needs to win you the game. Well, casting this for 4 gets you a land or a mana dork, if you're very lucky. In fact, at a minimum, you want to cast it for 6, but even that is rarely good enough to win you the game. For this reason, a genesis-wave deck HAS to have tons of permanent-based mana acceleration, because if you run a bunch sorcery/instant-based mana acceleration, your waves have a high probability of coming up dead. Another reason this card isn't great, is that even if you run 4 of these, there is a very high probability that you won't draw one, and with a deck full of mana dorks and land enchantments, that means you will be beaten down while you draw no action whatesoever. Finally, and probably most importantly, the match up with control and jund, the two most popular decks in Modern, is almost a guaranteed loss. Spending your first three turns accelerating just to get this mana leaked, spell-pierced remanded, cryptic commanded, duressed, thoughtseized, inquistioned or liliana'd is game over 98% of the time, not to mention the epitome of frustrating. Seriously, try playing a wave deck in a constructed tournament, it is more fun bashing your head up against a wall than playing in those match-ups. Yeah it can be fun in casual play, when it works, but that happens a lot less than you think. Wave decks mulligan alot, and 5- or 6-card opening hands are almost unplayable with this deck, because green acceleration-heavy decks tend to dump your hand and commit your board uncomfortably fast.
So the statement "It makes all the turns before it completely meaningless." May be true for the other player, but the player that has spent his first 4 turns doing nothing but accelerating his mana sure doesn't feel that way. Plus, this is just the reality of playing against not just wave decks, but combo decks in general. For example, it doesn't matter what you do in the first four turns against splinter-twin or melira-pod if you haven't won the game, and those combos are infinitely easier to pull off.
It is very difficult to find balance between dorks, acceleration, and action in wave decks. If you don't believe me, try it. That's why there are only 1 or 2 builds (nykthos devotion, defender ramp) that have even a chance of winning once in a while, but even then there is almost a zero winning probability when you face either of the two most popular decks in modern.
So in conclusion, I'd give this card a 4/5 for being situationally good (but not great), balanced, and very fun to play casually. Anyone that says this card is "broken," clearly hasn't experienced the reality of playing it.
Comments (94)
Awesome!
cast one of these and even if its a dud you still get a load of land put into play , then next turn cast another one just bigger.
But the mana you'd need to make to make it effective would probably mean you're winning the game already...
So not the awesome utility card I thought it would be, at least in that deck
Now Elves... With cards like Elvish Archdruid,Joraga Treespeaker, and even the lowly llanowar elf + Arbor Elf, you could easily reach insane amounts of mana while setting up your own win
Cause uh... Beastmaster ascention is 3 cmc and a permanent, which this card likes, not to mention Garruk
This is a busted engine for a B/G Titan/Ob Nixilis Landfall Ramp deck. Testing has shown it to be just silly. With Ob Nixilis in play they literally just die (You're always paying at least 9 for the 'Wave" to hit all your Titans and Wurmcoil, as well as Rampaging Baloths --- Even Ob Nixilis himself! you pick the order the permanents come down!) and if not, it means your hitting multiple Titans/Nighthawks off the play. The only way it really whiffs is if you hit like
birds
birds
land
cultivate
battlement
chalice
but its worth the investment - if youre deck can 'Wave for six it can Wave for 9+ pretty easy as well. Seems bulky at first but a playset is the way to go. Don't even get me started on what happens when you resolve two.
Elves!
More Elves!
Vs a Scars elf Deck, I dropped it really late game Asceticism helped keep my mana allies alive and hold off hard charging elves.
Thanks to Harabaz Druid and friends, I was able to bomb a Wave for 15.
Tons of allies dropped, pro -greened and swung in for the win.
It can work well in allies, but you need to build around it. There are other applications, but I don't see elves powering out 18 mana turn 6 or 7. This will end the game. Just be sure to pack an Autumns way so you don't get countered.
Then play this before the end phase.
4.5/5
I have 13 mana, meaning i can see the next 10 cards in my library.
Does this mean I can play all those cards with a mana cost less then 10 ? Or can i play cards for in total 10 mana ?
@tazman321
Quite the contrary this card is perfect for elves.
Works perfectly with Birds of Paradise, Llanowar Elves, Arbor Elf, and Fauna Shaman...
The more you know!
"I'll Genesis Wave for (insert arbitrary number higher than ten)."
That sentence right there is reason to lose hope.
@Bairn Gilder, Yeah! I realized that like a couple days after, and actually I use him to make sure I don't deck myself anymore hahaha
even if you don't play it big enough to get eldrazi, you'd get a ton of dudes like rapacious one , kozilek's predator, etc. and then be able to play any of your eldrazi in your hand with the spawn they generate.
and for insult to injury.. overrun!
@HPS:
I meant wrong in a joking sense, like winning would be too easy with this card.
Also, how do I hotlink cards so I can better explain things?
(example: how does this card work with Wolfbriar Elemental?)
Still awesome, still hate seeing it played for 17+ against me.
You can't do that. Mana disappears at the end of a phase.
Mike Turian was the lead developer of Scars of Mirrodin. There was a somewhat different green spell in the set, made by Mark Rosewater; Mike wanted it replaced since he thought it was probably broken.
Mike likes to rate cards in terms of their appeal to Timmy, Johnny, and Spike. He love the "triple" which appeals to all three. I tried to do just that.
I started thinking of how to make a green Braingeyser. I thought about green getting permanents, which probably meant putting them on the battlefield. So it wouldn't just be broken, I capped the cost of the permanents at X. All that was left was to cost it, and this was the cost I came up with.
Brady Dommermuth, who manages the creative side of Magic R&D wrote a comment in multiverse saying "Spidey sense tingling." Since I had never seen him make a comment about a card's power before, I didn't think he even thought about it. Maybe all that free stuff is just that jarring?
Sometimes this card is totally crazy. Of course I hope it never breaks; not that I would be shocked.
5th turn you play this for six. nice.
All the permanents enter the battlefield at the same time and see each other entering. At the same time means that if you pull an aura and a creature with the same wave the aura can't target the creature.
Permanents seeing each other means that relevant abilities trigger for each permanent. For example if you pull 5 allies with this then every one of them gets 5 activations of the ally ability.
But something tells me the X is a single revel and not a card by card revel.
Most of the time, I'd much rather play this for X=5 than play Praetor's Counsel.
Finally, don't run this if your deck has any Protean Hydras. At 1 CMC, they might easily get scooped up and will die as a state-based effect as soon as they hit the board, but I *think* if an Aura also came out, you could save them because state-based effects wouldn't get checked till the wave resolved. Still, not good to include a self pwn possibility in your deck. Thought I'd mention it just because both cards are solid candidates for ramp decks.
EDIT: I'm wrong about being able to save PH if an Aura came out with it. The new aura couldn't attach to the PH since they're coming in at the same time.
At this point all my elves are dead, then I drop the greaves on Emrakul and swing for the stars. Don't forget you also get an extra turn AND you have everyone's creatures that got Dusted :D.
If this doesn't work out the other common drop is Heedless One, + Ambush Commander, + Greaves.
All my Forests (and the other elves that dropped) usually pump the Heedless one WAY over 20 damage. Trample them for game.
This might be my favorite card in a long time, It doesn't work everytime (not by a long shot) but that gamble when you cast it for 13, so...darn...exciting.
Yes, if X is 5 then you reveal 5 cards and you may put each one that is a permanent with converted mana cost of 5 or less onto the battlefield. Since all 5 of them are creatures that have a CMC of 3 they may be put on the battlefield
@oorazugoku
Ghoultree's CMC is always 8, regardless of how much you pay for it when you cast it.
Rampaging Baloths.
If those are on the field in commander late game and you get this it might be game if you draw enough lands.
T1:Play Forest, tap, play Sol Ring
T2 Play Forest, Play Aluren, flash in Azusa
T3: Play Phyrexian Altar, go infinite, play Genesis Wave
@nelsonngyn0 - having a Primordial Hydra in a Gen Wave deck seems like a bad idea. If you flip into the Hydra from the wave, it can only enter as a 0/0 and die.
@DraculHemming - all the permanents enter the battlefield at the same time, and no triggered abilities get put on the stack until Genesis Wave has completely resolved. As such, if the first card he revealed was, say, War Priest of Thune (when it ETBs destroy target enchantment) and the last card he revealed was an Oblivion Ring, he could target the O-Ring with the War Priest's ETB, and he could target the War Priest with the O-Ring's ETB (though why he'd want to is anyone's guess).
Edit:
@JaxsonBateman
I know it is kind of silly to keep it in, but I enjoy the times I get to play it, without it coming without any +1/+1 Counters.
T1: forest tap, play exploration, play second forest
T2: play 2 more forests tap 2, play Rofellos
T3: play umbral mantle equip to Rofellos and begin infinite mana shenanigans, play genesis wave, play entire library.
If you want to go a little further praetor's counsel your non permanents back to your hand and play those too.
4/5
This is one of those cards where it doesn't matter what insurmountable odds you've overcome or the impenetrable force you've made; once it's played, favor goes unabashedly to its player. It makes all the turns before it completely meaningless.
I'm the kind of guy that likes building things up and watching cool combos play out. This is like "OK play everything off the top of your deck and see if your opponent can take it". No ingenuity, no cleverness, just a lot of mana. For green, that's easy. Too bad.
NO. NO. RELENTLESS RATS!
If you play green, you've tried running this at least once. When you do, you realize that to make it good, you have to build your deck around it. It's not one of those cards that you just put it into a deck and start winning (like liliana of the veil, snapcaster mage, tarmogoyf, goblin guide, pack rat, geist of saint taft, etc: cards that are good in literally any deck playing the right colors). There's a unspoken rule in Modern (which is the only sanctioned format this sees any play): if you play a card with a casting cost greater than 4, it needs to win you the game. Well, casting this for 4 gets you a land or a mana dork, if you're very lucky. In fact, at a minimum, you want to cast it for 6, but even that is rarely good enough to win you the game. For this reason, a genesis-wave deck HAS to have tons of permanent-based mana acceleration, because if you run a bunch sorcery/instant-based mana acceleration, your waves have a high probability of coming up dead. Another reason this card isn't great, is that even if you run 4 of these, there is a very high probability that you won't draw one, and with a deck full of mana dorks and land enchantments, that means you will be beaten down while you draw no action whatesoever. Finally, and probably most importantly, the match up with control and jund, the two most popular decks in Modern, is almost a guaranteed loss. Spending your first three turns accelerating just to get this mana leaked, spell-pierced remanded, cryptic commanded, duressed, thoughtseized, inquistioned or liliana'd is game over 98% of the time, not to mention the epitome of frustrating. Seriously, try playing a wave deck in a constructed tournament, it is more fun bashing your head up against a wall than playing in those match-ups. Yeah it can be fun in casual play, when it works, but that happens a lot less than you think. Wave decks mulligan alot, and 5- or 6-card opening hands are almost unplayable with this deck, because green acceleration-heavy decks tend to dump your hand and commit your board uncomfortably fast.
So the statement "It makes all the turns before it completely meaningless." May be true for the other player, but the player that has spent his first 4 turns doing nothing but accelerating his mana sure doesn't feel that way. Plus, this is just the reality of playing against not just wave decks, but combo decks in general. For example, it doesn't matter what you do in the first four turns against splinter-twin or melira-pod if you haven't won the game, and those combos are infinitely easier to pull off.
It is very difficult to find balance between dorks, acceleration, and action in wave decks. If you don't believe me, try it. That's why there are only 1 or 2 builds (nykthos devotion, defender ramp) that have even a chance of winning once in a while, but even then there is almost a zero winning probability when you face either of the two most popular decks in modern.
So in conclusion, I'd give this card a 4/5 for being situationally good (but not great), balanced, and very fun to play casually. Anyone that says this card is "broken," clearly hasn't experienced the reality of playing it.