Pointed Discussion

Off color, costly skulltap...no thanks.

Twice in this set, a worse concentrate.
At least this one has its perks over concentrate, though, and I'd rather compare this one to sift. Which I also think is better.

If you actually use the sacrifice part instead of seeing it as a cost this could be a nice card.
E.g. getting rid of Abyssal Persecutor or just turning eot stealing effects into removal (-2 from Sarkhan Vol, Act of Treason).

From a flavor point of view it fits very well into blue phyrexian "science" specialisation.

So let me get this strait. The biggest complaint of scars of mirrodin was that there was almost no pure card advantage drawer. Now in the next set, they have a common that can draw three cards and you say.. "no thanks"?

You all really are entitled brats. You can't think that maybe drawing 3 cards is worth sacrificing your creature that is now a 0/1 from battling infect creatures. Or that it is a god like topdeck late game where the board is stalled and your mana myr are sitting there useless. You can't think that it goes well with myrsmith, or carrion call or trigon of infestation. Or how you can use it on the germ tokens from the living weapon cards and not have any card disadvantage at all.

No. All you see is, strictly worse than Concentrate. You need every card completely spelled out for you, you need it to just tell you how to use it and you need other people to tell you which creature is good and what isn't. Well good luck ever winning a draft with that mindset. It takes more than just knowing whats good and whats not, you need to think about synergy, how you can get the most from what cards you have to work with. Using cards in new and unexpected ways is what separates you from just an algorithm that can pick cards based on a pick order. Using cards like this to win is what real deck-building and playing skill is all about.

I don't want to compare this to concentrate, since that hasn't been printed in quite some time. However, even looking at Jace's Ingenuity in comparison, in exchange for the 1CMC difference, you now have to sacrifice a creature and give up the instant speed for sorcery. If this were an instant, so in response to Go For The Throat or Doom Blade, I could sac the creature or even just keep the mana open for counterspells, I'd like it a hell of a lot more. I'm glad to see some card advantage in the set, but this is still a little disappointing.

Getting that thing countered is surely annoying, you lose then 5 cards: The creature you sacced, the spell you played, and the three cards you'd have drawn. Compared to recent card drawers is alright, but the more you go back in magics history, the more powerful carddrawing becomes.

When you're REALLY desperate for some card draw, look no further.

But hey, some things do work with this, like Core Prowler, Viridian Emissary, Gruesome Encore or Metallic Mastery (swing with the creature then sac it, it never gets old), or Oculus (for that one extra card!)... just a few things.

Ya know what? I like this card. I really like this card, actually. Sac a Perilous Myr to it! Or a Oculus! Or a Myr Sire! Or if you want, some stupid Eldrazi tokens you aren't using. This card fits very nicely into the Mirrodin Besieged set. I was quite glad to open two of these and some copies of Oculus in my pool for 2HG sealed. When my partner is playing the aggro, and me the control, using the two cards together netted me some great card advantage to draw me into my burn and counter-spells.

I like it! 4/5 !

Oh c'mon this isn't so bad. Really!

Have Psychosis Crawler and Oculus out when you play this and take a 4 card lead all while dealing 4 points of damage to your opponents. Not to mention if you're playing Psychosis Crawler as it is, you probably have a lot more cards allowing you to draw cards so you can deal damage (Consecrated Sphinx anyone?). So drawing 4 cards only means you're probably drawing a card that allows you to draw even more cards!!

What's with the hate for this card? In drafts you just include a few wimpy 1/1s for sacrificing if you play this card. I played this along with Myr Sire and Oculus the other day and it devastated the opposition.

In constructed imagine this in a Arcbound deck alongside Skeleton Shard and Grave Pact.

"I'll play Vivisection, sacrifice my Arcbound Worker, move the counters to another artifact creature, you lose a creature due to Grave Pact. I'll draw my 3 cards and then I'll pay B and return the Worker to my hand with Skeleton Shard, then play it out again."

Great possibilities for this card.

@Tommy9898 I totally agree with you. This card is amazing, i haven't exactly played with it yet, but this entire block, and shoot, even zendikar if you go back to rise have cards that when they go to the graveyard, they do things. This card makes me want to turn my red/black sacrifice deck into a grixis colors. why? because this card has many useful aspects, i can turn my perillous myr into a bomb with Furnace Celebration and get three cards for only 6 mana. and even better, turn my magma phoenix into something worth wild too, and I can turn blister grub into some fun :D. you guys who are hating it don't see the potential in the right deck its not a weakness more a theme.

@Tommy9898 Did you design this card or something? It sucks, get over it. All those o-so clever uses you thought up for it? Yeah they only apply to every other sacrifice engine ever printed, and some of them you can EVEN USE MORE THAN ONCE. Stop the presses! Phyrexian Plaguelord, now there is a sacrifice engine. This is shite.

If you use this in the right deck it's awesome. You have to think like blue. Manipulate the "drawback" into an advantage.

Stirring words, Tommy.

This is from the same set with living weapons, people. Sacrifice the germ, go up 2 cards in card advantage (-1 from Vivisection, but the germ was free since it came with the equipment.)

Plays nicely with Myr Sire and Bonehoard, too. I like this card, and find it very useful. It's even in a casual Myr deck of mine using Myr Sire as mentioned above. Between this and Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, I can dig 8 cards deep into my deck!

People seem to quickly be learning that this is one of the best (non-Jace) card draws in standard. Especially if you sac an Oculus or Runed Servitor for it.

I kind of wish it was Instant-speed. Oh well. There are some fun cards to use with this from the same set though.

Throne of Empires as the only piece in the puzzle you have right now? No worries! Pop it on turn 4 and sac the Soldier token on turn 5! Available in Standard for 2 more years, see fliers for more details.

Want an instant version? Altar's Reap.

One less card, but half the mana and twice (?) the speed. Also ... whatever, I tried. :-P

Strong, very strong. Oculus and this are going to get married after the war ends.

EDIT: I'm surprised this hasn't come up in many casual Innistrad-based decks, it works so well. Bitterheart Witch with this thing, especially with more curses on there way in DKA? Angel Of Flight Alabaster returns the sacrificed Spirit, and in W/U its in-colour in a tribal sense. Hell, pair it up with Murder Of Crows around, or use it on Moldgraf Monstrosity! And don't forget the ton of token generators in this set, like Gutter Grime!

Dang Vivisection, you interestin'.

I run this in my artifact deck. My deck tends to enjoy moving artifacts to the graveyard (there's Myr Welder and Mimic Vat loves when my Filigree Angel goes away.. and comes back). If those options are not available I have Myr Retriever, Myr Moonvessel to at least give me a little something something extra for the sac. It's just a casual deck but I've found this card to be brilliant in it since I love to draw cards. Who doesn't.

Perilous Research is just all around what I'd rather use. 2 mana, 2 cards, instant, can be combo'd easier.

I actually think the mana cost is fair, they just needed to make it instant speed so you could sac a chump blocker during combat. That's where Altar's Reap succeeds and this fails.

its meant to be used to sac a card that has a die ability, not a free three cards.

Run with oculus.

Oculus, Darkslick Drake.

And that's just in block. So many good sacrifice triggers.

When you look at this as a common, Concentrate is not a fair comparison at all. And when you see that it's a sorcery that draws 3 cards (which instants rarely do especially at common level)

I would also say Altar's reap, perilous research and other 2-draw instants aren't a fair comparison either.

sift, amass the compounds are perfect comparisons and in most cases, they're better.. but you can play into the sacrificial sideffect to some profit, as other posters have pointed out.