I love the flavor, but I'm unsure that I want to use a land that may never uptap until you've pretty much won, to say something that benefits my opponent. Is there something that can eat this for an effect just before it back fires on me?
HairlessThoctar
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(12 votes)
Heh. Battle Cry land.
Cute.
If you're scared of the drawback, leave it in your sideboard until you face a control deck.
busdude
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
This fits perfectly into an aggro/swarm deck in a control infested meta, and it's fine against ramp decks as well. U/B control, for example, can't even deal combat damage to you before turn 4, and even that will almost never happen so the chance of this getting stolen are low.
This card is definitely better than the 3/5 it currently has but it needs a specific type of deck and metagame to work well. I wouldn't feel risky playing this at my FNM where 80% of the decks are control, thought I would play 2, not 4.
DoomCanoe
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
ehh...
faisjdas
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(4 votes)
When it works, it's brutal. But it's veeeeery risky.
FragNutMK1
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(8 votes)
Haha! This is perfect against Infect decks; they don't deal combat damage!
Thorsen
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)
Creatures with infect still deal combat damage. You still gain life from lifelink; A creature with infect and deathtouch will only have to deal one "damage" to destroy a creature; A fog-like effect will prevent you from getting poison counters. It is just a different form of damage.
Also, this is a terrible card. Losing control of my lands is not okay with me. All they have to do is sneak in one creature with haste to get through for one and they are a free turn up and you are a turn down- timewalking my opponent just doesn't seem like a good idea, let alone doing it twice.
Kryptnyt
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
need 4 for my Aurochs Tribal deck, hope they lie in the bargain bins at least for long enough for me to get them.
SocialExperiment
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@ LeafWheels:
If you're playuing Green, you could sacrifice it to Harrow if your oppoinent is about to steal it. Then again, if you're playing Green, odds are you'll just trample over them to take it back next turn, but that's what I've got for standard.
J4bb3rwock
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If I get one of these at the Prerelease, I'll probably throw it in as a last-ditch finisher. 1 mana for a battle cry activation is perfectly acceptable (though if something backfires, I'll wish I had just played a plains).
Talcos
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I really love this land. It's brutal, and unless you're going against another aggro deck that focuses on quantity rather than quality, it's pretty advantageous.
SHlT
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
I can't wait to see the look on my friends' faces when I give them extra colorless mana after their combat steps. Boy will they be steemed.
ZombieSnail
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So damn weird, should be uncommon. I guess it works well in some cases, it just isn't at all equal to Inkmoth Nexus
roguepariah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
meh...
I think it's designed to make the game go faster after you've basically already won with elspeth tirel's ultimate. Any other uses are just too much of a gamble for me.
MasterOfEtherium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
No You Take It lol Cool Ass Land Mang! Love The Tattered Lookin Glimmervoid Too Plus This Is Agro At Its Most Unique. : )
GrimjawxRULES
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The idea is awesome, but the card is not ... Maybe if this had been some kind of Plane card - if it entered the battlefield the first time a creature dealt combat damage to a player - then it would have been pretty fun, but as it is, you're risking that your opponent steals your land, which is not a good thing at all ...
Mata-nui3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
actually, this might actually be better if you are swarming with infect, as a +1 to infect is like a +2 if it hits a player. Still a junk rare, though.
Shadoflaam
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Contested war zone is contested.
ajpinton
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I pulled one at prerelease, it sucked so bad. To its defence it helped me swing for 25 on turn 7 or so, with the help of Accorder Paladin, Hero of Bladehold and Rally the Forces. It was great, but you have to hold it like a spell and time when you play it.
tcollins
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Without the drawback, this card would skyrocket in value. As such, i love it's drawback and ability to not burn a hole in my pocket. Runs extremely well in the right deck, any token deck can benefit greatly. As pointed out by other players the key is to play it when you want to use it. The ability is nice in that, as a land it generally cannot be countered outside of very limited effects (i'm looking at you Voidslime)
Zenzei
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This land is such a beating. The nay-sayers all over the internets are lacking vision.
Chamale
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This will definitely cause some fun as players try to work out which of their blockers must be sacrificed to protect the land.
Also, imagine a game where all players have 4 in their deck. Huge, huge shifts in tempo could occur as a result of one Sleep.
OpeeFomenom
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I like this card. Not necessarily for its playability but for its flavor. Its that patch of land in the center of the map. Each effect of this card reflects that in some way.
The first is the control switching. When a creature deals combat damage to a player it went through unblocked. That usually means occupying every area between the two planeswalkers. This means that more of the opposing planeswalker's creatures would occupy the contested war zone than yours and it is now under their control.
The second ability is the mana ability. It adds one colorless mana and the area has no natural features. Everything checks out there.
And the third ability is probably the most important of all. It is the borderland. The area in the very center of the battlefield. Occupying this strategically gives you several advantages. For one, your troops are closer to your enemies. The cut distance could mean the increase of their stamina. Another reason could be the morale from being in a conquering position, which, since battle cry is the ability emulated one would assume is the reason.
And the last reason I enjoy this land for its flavor is the act taken when your opponent claims it. You tap it. So they can't use it right when they take it. When one has to retreat a key strategy is destroying the territory you're giving to your enemies. The slightest disadvantage you can give to them makes all the difference. As your troops abandon the territory and ransack their encampments you absorb the last bit of mana from it and force your enemies to rebuild camp and wait for the mana to recharge.
coyotemoon722
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Keep the rating low on this. I need four.
Shiny_Umbreon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Seriously underrated. For the ones that don't like losing their lands, imagine this against a control deck. Now imagine that this is a few damage every turn that doesn't take a slot (you're using a land before) and can't be countered. The first paragraph it's because it is really that good.
Really. Believe it.
Iduno
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Tunnel Ignus
A free Lava Spike every time the opponent plays a land and hits you as well as the land's normal battlecry type bonus should even up the drawback a bit.
SeiberTross
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is one of those fun constructed cards that you actually don't want to run a full playset of. Really 1 is plenty enough, and also plenty devastating. I run it in a white weenie solider deck.
NoobOfLore
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Oooh. The Melvin in me loves this mechanic. The best part is that if your opponent goes all out in order to get their hands on this, you can just tap it and get it back your next turn before they can use it.
Minus_Prime
★★★★☆ (5.0/5.0)(26 votes)
I find it very hard to believe, given the current state of Mirrodin's plane, that a contested war zone would be "rare".
KnightLord77
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
A few important notes... This card's artwork is great!! It looks like a battle-hardened Glimmervoid! And the idea of it is like the "no man's land" area on a battlefield. So I agree with those that say this card has good flavor. But why in the world would ANYONE want to waste using this card as their one land per turn option??? Not only can it get taken away, but it will also benefit your opponent when it does! And, as we all know, giving your opponent a +1/+0 advantage to ALL of his or her attacking creatures could easily lose you the game! Why take the risk? WHY???
@ Coyote: HILARIOUS! 4/5 but here's a half star that's well earned.
Smauls
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
So I passed up on drafting one of these at a recent booster draft.. Then, that night, I became victim of its power. In an infect deck, this card = murder... found that out first hand.
You've gotta think, boosting up 5 1/1 creatures by +1 only nets an additional 5 points of damage. Sure, you hit for 10, but you still leave your opponent alive and well over there with 10 life AND a card allowing him/her to pump up their creatures by +1. BUT!!! had you put this on 5 1/1 infect creatures, you just won the game.
That being said, this card is heavily undervalued. 4/5
LiXinjian
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If you attack with a creature enchanted by Bear Umbra, you can tap this land a second time for even more hurt. Sounds like fun.
ROBRAM89
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is rated 3.03 and it's an automatic four-of in tournament play.
It would be tempting to conclude that there's a horrifying dissonance between how top-level players approach the game and how the entire rest of the world does, but that's obviously absurd.
N1N7A
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When I first saw this card, I was like "why is this rare?". Then I realized its potential in Kul. Red decks, build myself one, and luckily preorered it only for 6$ for PLAYSET!! And after that (after lot of playtesting - with total 19 lands in deck) I realized that I DO NOT want two of them in opening hand (bc. almost everythink in deck cost colored mana) and reduced their count in deck to two, On top of 19 mountains.
Richard_Hawk
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
okay, i have five of these now, i can rate it honestly as a 4/5 instead of a 0.5, LAWLZ.
Ninjakraken
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One of the most fun cards ive seen. my opponent kept playing them to use his ornithopter to snatch the ones I stole from him. Since I was low on mana, it would have saved my but he kept grabbing them back and because they were tapped, no one actually got the mana. MAKES PERFECT SENSE! BOTH SIDES SNATCHING IT MADE IT USELESS!
chaotickittycat
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When I asked my boyfriend to teach me how to play Magic he told me that mana doesn't matter, should I smack him twice for every card in a deck containing Battle of Wits ?
Demonic_Math_Tutor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Extremely underrated. This card (x4) is in my Kul. Red deck and works wonders. Although, in mirrodin's current state, a "contested battleground" isn't exactly rare...
DacenOctavio
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Hello, Squadron Hawks! Mighty fine day, isn't it? Wait, what's that? You're swinging for 8? In the air? Golly!
*met by a cacophonous chorus of squawks and a rain of bird droppings*
I'd like to see similar things on mercenaries or cards that switch controllers based on who does what or who can do more of what, like damage or paying life/mana.
Artan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ugh. Who on earth decided this works well with Kuldotha red? It doesn't.
Vinifera7
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I don't really understand the benefit of this card. It seems like it would benefit aggressive decks, but as long as both players are getting in for damage, this thing is never going to untap. If someone could explain how this is useful, that would be great.
@N1N7A Good job. They now cost roughly half of what you paid.
Wulfsten
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Simply brilliant flavour. Magic R&D in top form. They made a rare that has an exciting and dramatic effect, perfectly complementing the flavour of the card. They need to do this a lot more.
It could stand to be a little more effective though. It seems like whenever they experiment with a new or unusual mechanic, they err on the cautious side for fear of unleashing a broken combo deck. This could have worked with a +2/+0 bonus or a +1/+1 bonus, or maybe giving attacking creatures first strike. Another idea is that it could have had a Teetering Peaks ETB bonus, so that it's more aggressively playable, but also more directly benefits opponents if they take control of it.
3/5.
jsttu
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
What the majority of people don't seem to get is that if you are not attacking every turn with lots of creatures this card is not for you. You wait to play it before you attack, and in a two person game it should always be tapped before you end your turn. ALWAYS. It gets a little riskier when you have multiples on the field or are facing another quick weenie deck, and it is unfortunate when you have to use it as mana, but when used properly this card is killer and can rapidly annihilate your enemy and allow your creatures to trade up. It is great for multiplayer as well, as it targets attacking creatures, allowing it to be used for either the two-headed giant or emperor formats to help teammates, or even as a diplomatic incentive to attack someone else in free for alls.
My preferred use of this card is in a tempered steel deck, with memnites, ornithopters, myr sires, signal pests, and glint hawk idols, all powered by tempered steel and this card to rapidly kill by turn 5 on average, often quicker if no interference.
tialdfswntta
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Fantastic card in my kuldotha deck. Get out a few signal pests or goblin wardrivers along with this and watch your 3 1/1's deal upwards of 10 damage. i can sort of understand how some may consider it risky though.
4/5
scorpiolegend
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
3 star rating and this card is like in every aggro deck.
Nagoragama
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Oh no, Glimmervoid! Your unblemished, shimmering surface defiled!
Diab0l0
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great card in pretty much any agro deck. I would not run four of it in the same deck though. I'll enjoy using it after a turn 1 Kuldotha Rebirth.
Toddington
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Man up and maindeck 4 in your Aggro/Token deck.
TherealphatMatt
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Nevermind what the card does. The art is AMAZING.
That said, what the card typically does is turn Kuldotha into a flaming onslaught of buttrape.
CuriousThing
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The Scars block had the best flavor since Ravnica. Scars was Mirrodin-heavy, New Phyrexia was Phyrexia-heavy, and Mirrodin Beseiged was perfectly balanced with stuff like the Crusader duo and this.
Hayw00d0909
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Undervalued indeed. Side them out for basics if your playing against heavy aggro and your safe :)
As for card design, I bet this would have sky-rocketed in popularity if it was an "Artifact land". A real shame - it would have done WONDERS for Metalcraft in Scars.
Eddie_Antilles
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Definitely a great card for aggro decks; essentially an uncounterable power boost for your horde of little weenies. Perfect for getting through those final points of damage.
Especially nice with evading infecters (plague stingers, blighted agents, etc).
Jerec_Onyx
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It was always upsetting to me to pull this as my rare but after seeing it in action...I could use a few.
TowerDefender
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This and Loxodon Peacekeeper in multiplayer for amusement value. And in a duel, I gain control of Contested Warzone, you gain Loxodon Peacekeeper! LOL flavour win.
car2n
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card would be fun in a new Battle Royale box set.
Comments (61)
I love the flavor, but I'm unsure that I want to use a land that may never uptap until you've pretty much won, to say something that benefits my opponent. Is there something that can eat this for an effect just before it back fires on me?
Battle Cry land.
Cute.
If you're scared of the drawback, leave it in your sideboard until you face a control deck.
U/B control, for example, can't even deal combat damage to you before turn 4, and even that will almost never happen so the chance of this getting stolen are low.
This card is definitely better than the 3/5 it currently has but it needs a specific type of deck and metagame to work well. I wouldn't feel risky playing this at my FNM where 80% of the decks are control, thought I would play 2, not 4.
Creatures with infect still deal combat damage. You still gain life from lifelink; A creature with infect and deathtouch will only have to deal one "damage" to destroy a creature; A fog-like effect will prevent you from getting poison counters. It is just a different form of damage.
Also, this is a terrible card. Losing control of my lands is not okay with me. All they have to do is sneak in one creature with haste to get through for one and they are a free turn up and you are a turn down- timewalking my opponent just doesn't seem like a good idea, let alone doing it twice.
If you're playuing Green, you could sacrifice it to Harrow if your oppoinent is about to steal it. Then again, if you're playing Green, odds are you'll just trample over them to take it back next turn, but that's what I've got for standard.
I guess it works well in some cases, it just isn't at all equal to Inkmoth Nexus
I think it's designed to make the game go faster after you've basically already won with elspeth tirel's ultimate. Any other uses are just too much of a gamble for me.
The nay-sayers all over the internets are lacking vision.
Also, imagine a game where all players have 4 in their deck. Huge, huge shifts in tempo could occur as a result of one Sleep.
The first is the control switching. When a creature deals combat damage to a player it went through unblocked. That usually means occupying every area between the two planeswalkers. This means that more of the opposing planeswalker's creatures would occupy the contested war zone than yours and it is now under their control.
The second ability is the mana ability. It adds one colorless mana and the area has no natural features. Everything checks out there.
And the third ability is probably the most important of all. It is the borderland. The area in the very center of the battlefield. Occupying this strategically gives you several advantages. For one, your troops are closer to your enemies. The cut distance could mean the increase of their stamina. Another reason could be the morale from being in a conquering position, which, since battle cry is the ability emulated one would assume is the reason.
And the last reason I enjoy this land for its flavor is the act taken when your opponent claims it. You tap it. So they can't use it right when they take it. When one has to retreat a key strategy is destroying the territory you're giving to your enemies. The slightest disadvantage you can give to them makes all the difference. As your troops abandon the territory and ransack their encampments you absorb the last bit of mana from it and force your enemies to rebuild camp and wait for the mana to recharge.
Really. Believe it.
A free Lava Spike every time the opponent plays a land and hits you as well as the land's normal battlecry type bonus should even up the drawback a bit.
The Melvin in me loves this mechanic.
The best part is that if your opponent goes all out in order to get their hands on this, you can just tap it and get it back your next turn before they can use it.
You've gotta think, boosting up 5 1/1 creatures by +1 only nets an additional 5 points of damage. Sure, you hit for 10, but you still leave your opponent alive and well over there with 10 life AND a card allowing him/her to pump up their creatures by +1. BUT!!! had you put this on 5 1/1 infect creatures, you just won the game.
That being said, this card is heavily undervalued. 4/5
It would be tempting to conclude that there's a horrifying dissonance between how top-level players approach the game and how the entire rest of the world does, but that's obviously absurd.
Then I realized its potential in Kul. Red decks, build myself one, and luckily preorered it only for 6$ for PLAYSET!!
And after that (after lot of playtesting - with total 19 lands in deck) I realized that I DO NOT want two of them in opening hand (bc. almost everythink in deck cost colored mana) and reduced their count in deck to two, On top of 19 mountains.
*met by a cacophonous chorus of squawks and a rain of bird droppings*
I'd like to see similar things on mercenaries or cards that switch controllers based on who does what or who can do more of what, like damage or paying life/mana.
@N1N7A
Good job. They now cost roughly half of what you paid.
It could stand to be a little more effective though. It seems like whenever they experiment with a new or unusual mechanic, they err on the cautious side for fear of unleashing a broken combo deck. This could have worked with a +2/+0 bonus or a +1/+1 bonus, or maybe giving attacking creatures first strike. Another idea is that it could have had a Teetering Peaks ETB bonus, so that it's more aggressively playable, but also more directly benefits opponents if they take control of it.
3/5.
My preferred use of this card is in a tempered steel deck, with memnites, ornithopters, myr sires, signal pests, and glint hawk idols, all powered by tempered steel and this card to rapidly kill by turn 5 on average, often quicker if no interference.
4/5
I'll enjoy using it after a turn 1 Kuldotha Rebirth.
That said, what the card typically does is turn Kuldotha into a flaming onslaught of buttrape.
As for card design, I bet this would have sky-rocketed in popularity if it was an "Artifact land". A real shame - it would have done WONDERS for Metalcraft in Scars.
Especially nice with evading infecters (plague stingers, blighted agents, etc).