This and proliferate for Archmage Ascension? Damit, I will make that card work
lorendorky
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I would have much rather seen reliquary tower printed in M11 BUT the lifegain from this could be incredible for the style of deck that wants no max hand size to begin with.
This card seems boring and bad, which probably means Conley Woods will win a GP with it
MTG_token_collector
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
For say an Ajani's Pridemate, would it get multiple +1/+1 counters for "Each card in your hand" or are you gaining life as one source?
gelleetin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@InternetNinjacy - Eh, "hand size matters" is the next block theme? Hope I am wrong.
@ lorendorky - Not standard relevant, but for extended some decks may want to run both for redundancy and to lower the Reliquary Tower count.
Ace_Rimmer
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
some of my EDH decks have a new friend, Ivory tower and Spell Book for five times the cost of them combined... meh, its EDH, it will be fine
donjohnson
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Yawgmoth's Bargain, Necrologia, Sanguine Bond... Great card in the right deck.
SleetFox
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It can probably be really annoying in a deck that draws lots of cards, but at the same time 5 mana is a lot. It's probably very useful in casual permission or similar decks, but at higher levels, there's just not room in a deck for this.
IshubarashI
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(5 votes)
I can't wait to use this and phyrexian etchings in my monoblack control deck
Someone mentioned this in the discussion page for Necropotence... I can see why.
tantallum99
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
I really like the effect but 5 mc makes it unplayable. Way, way too many better 5 drops for pretty much any deck.
Stray_Dog
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(2 votes)
@ WhiteyMcFly: I'm going to assume that's from CSI Miami and lol. (ass ass ass god I hate this censor thing)
@ token collector: You would gain the life as a single sum, so one counter on the Pridemate.
Note: While it can be hard to justify 'wasting' a card for a single life gain effect, I think that a card like this that creates regular bursts of life gain over time could work great in a control deck with plenty of card draw (such as ones that exploit cards like Howling Mine and Temple Bell). Could be handy for casual mill decks, although I wouldn't have a clue about competitive ones.
Gavrilo
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Looks more like Venser's Emergency Toilet Paper Supply to me.
DacenOctavio
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
So, this is what happens when you combine perfectly harmless Spellbook with that powerful card Ivory Tower. {5} CMC. Which is {4} CMC above where this would be useful.
Yozuk
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
from just the revealed cards from Mirrodin besieged this cards usefulness just shot up!
ROBRAM89
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I did not know this card existed until now.
Gabriel422
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
@ DacenOctavio this would have been broken even if it costed as much as 3. If this could come down on turn 3, an aggro player would have to dump the whole hand only to offset the lifegain around 6 life per turn.
5 is, however, too high for this to see any competitive play.
Artan
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
Should have been Venser's Sideburns.
001011010
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
is there any other cards to make your hand size bigger im making a deck to get rid of every card in the other guys deck it will work as long as i can get some cards to make my hand bigger any suggestions?
Gahoojin
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
This card is very underrated. When it was first spoiled I was hoping that I wouldn't get it in a pack. Off course one of the first packs I get had one of these in it. I traded it to my brother. Now he has two off these and I fear him playing them.
Gaining life at the beginning of your upkeep is a very powerful ability. Even if you have 5 cards in your hand, that means that in order to break even, your opponent has to deal 5 damage to you every turn. In a mono-blue deck, this card will bide you some time and allow you to get out some big tanks.
Conclusion: When used in the right deck this card is super powerful.
thisisnotmyname
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Would rather have a spellbook, but this isn't so bad. In my cloudpost deck these replaced ivory tower and spellbook, but nobody seems to play legacy anymore... :'-(
And made it cost five times as much unfortunately...
Kind of useless in limited, but a must-have in EDH decks that have Jin-Gitaxias in them.
Dr.Pingas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Anyone who says 5 mana is too much is seriously way too narrow-minded. I've lost many a game just to this card, due to the sheer amount of passive life-gain. Sure, it's not competitively-geared, but in casual-play, I groan every time I see the darn thing; it's drastically over-powered in slower formats like any sort of EDH.
Sword or War and Peace is pretty much needed just to what, keep half this card at bay? Assuming you get your hit in each turn. Because now all Storm Seeker and Sudden Impact do against No Maximum Handsize decks are negate a single turn of passive gain.
MasterOfEtherium
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(5 votes)
BIGGEST PIECE OF CRAP EVER
dberry02
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I don't care what deck you're playing, this is some serious passive life gain.
bfugitive
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just want it established I run this card in my Nin, the Pain Artist EDH. I've got nuts card draw, and this just cements my advantage. Not having to discard is awesome.
Kryptnyt
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(20 votes)
Dear Diary, Hi there, Venser here again. I drew a lot of cards again today. I played Fact or Fiction, targeting Garruk of course. He's such a simple guy, always gives me the best choices. I have trouble respecting him sometimes because of that- but we remain good friends. Oh, and guess what! Elspeth looked at me! Well, she was attacking me with a 6/7 flying rhox war monk while she did it, but it counts! I think she was even smiling a bit. Jace has been a huge dick all week, though. He's been bouncing every creature I play. And when I don't play creatures he draws cards for free. He won't bounce anyone else's creatures! Why is he picking on me in particular? I think I hate him. Well, that was today. Oh, and the Plinko disc on The Price is Right got stuck! Twice! Bob Barker told me to write it down here as a historic event, so I am. Whatever. Plinko sucks.
ICEFANG13
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Five 5 mana, I really think if it said "During your draw step, draw an additional card" wouldn't have been too broken.
If you do, then you may be right, perhaps if you have metalcraft, draw an extra card.
I also think it would be loads better if it said, "During your first main phase, gain life equal to the number of cards in hand."
I don't think either would make this card crazy, I know its not the best example, but in M2012 the game, I just pulled this out of Tezz's deck, its just absolute crap. I know it can be great in some decks, but... actually its usually just spending way too much for Spellbook and some lifegain maybe
Ya think pages that contain "lifetimes" of information would be worth... something?
Duddits
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Its an expensive combination, but if you can make the mana available (Dark Ritual)and protect them, this is a terrifying combination with Sanguine Bond.
Harriyama
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I play this in my esper tezzeret, I'm Running this alongside 4 tezzeret, 4 metamorphs,a mimic vat and a prototype portal, also with 2 unburial rights, so once i have one on the field it soon turns to 3 or 4 vensers journal..... then i gain 12 a turn-15 a turn-18 a turn, etc... This looks like a piece of shit at first glance but I've managed to make it successfully work.
democidist
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Great in combination with Well of Lost Dreams and any life gain cards really.
Cloudchaser.Kestrel
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
five mana isn't too much if you combine this with a lot of card gain. Scroll of origins is perfect, Seer's sundial, Niveous whisps, pursuit of knowledge . . . suddenly you're gaining 5 - 10 life per turn. Add a Feldon's cane to stop from running out of cards and a Kitsune loreweaver to take advantage of the number of cards and you've got a deck that uses this card to it's full advantage.
Totema
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Hollleeeeee crap. Either I'm crazy and this somehow doesn't work, or this turns Necropotence from an already-powerful threat into something so broken that it's pure evil. If uninterrupted, you can basically draw your entire library (in segments of course) and gain massive life from it every turn. Want, badly want.
Imperialstonedragon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
lifegain vs infect. because phyrexia doesn't care about your insurance...
Chandra_Beleren
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Don't care what you say about this card. I dropped 2 of these in a multi-duel and got my life total to 148. This card is brutal in a draw deck.
Gareth32
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(7 votes)
I'd like to think that the phrase "OMG Koth is so sexi<3" appears in here at least once.
DoragonShinzui
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Expensive? Yes, but I think it kinda has to be. This is a pretty hefty effect, in the right deck you're looking at major lifegain. Still, I would've liked something else on it. Maybe ", : Draw a card" Or something of the like.
The_Somnambulist
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This would work great in my white weenie soldier deck with the set of Mentor of the Meek
this +Necropotence... I run Zur EDH and this is going to be loads of fun.
Me: swing with Zur. ability trigger. play Necropotence them: blow it up Me: response, pay 20 life Them: what? Me: pass, draw 20 Them: ... land.. spell? Me: counter it Them: ... pass Me: upkeep, gain 25 life Them: I scoop.
NuclearMECCA
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great fun with the artifact Arch Enemy deck. You can sit back and enjoy a large hand and lifegain.
Good card. I played against a person who had 3 of these. It took a lot longer for me to win, but I eventually did.
VirusVescichetta
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
In casual multiplayer the life you can gain off this thing is insane. It's already a slower format and there's always something more scary to attract removal hate while you throw down a pair of Phyrexian Arenas. It more than offsets the life loss.
Comments (54)
YEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
@ lorendorky - Not standard relevant, but for extended some decks may want to run both for redundancy and to lower the Reliquary Tower count.
Great card in the right deck.
@ token collector: You would gain the life as a single sum, so one counter on the Pridemate.
Note: While it can be hard to justify 'wasting' a card for a single life gain effect, I think that a card like this that creates regular bursts of life gain over time could work great in a control deck with plenty of card draw (such as ones that exploit cards like Howling Mine and Temple Bell). Could be handy for casual mill decks, although I wouldn't have a clue about competitive ones.
5 is, however, too high for this to see any competitive play.
Gaining life at the beginning of your upkeep is a very powerful ability. Even if you have 5 cards in your hand, that means that in order to break even, your opponent has to deal 5 damage to you every turn. In a mono-blue deck, this card will bide you some time and allow you to get out some big tanks.
Conclusion: When used in the right deck this card is super powerful.
Not locally any way.
Return all cards from GY, no maximum handsize.
4 Training Grounds
4 Sphinx of Magosi
4 Jace's Erasure
2 Venser's Journal
Viable?
And made it cost five times as much unfortunately...
Kind of useless in limited, but a must-have in EDH decks that have Jin-Gitaxias in them.
Sword or War and Peace is pretty much needed just to what, keep half this card at bay? Assuming you get your hit in each turn. Because now all Storm Seeker and Sudden Impact do against No Maximum Handsize decks are negate a single turn of passive gain.
Hi there, Venser here again. I drew a lot of cards again today. I played Fact or Fiction, targeting Garruk of course. He's such a simple guy, always gives me the best choices. I have trouble respecting him sometimes because of that- but we remain good friends.
Oh, and guess what! Elspeth looked at me! Well, she was attacking me with a 6/7 flying rhox war monk while she did it, but it counts! I think she was even smiling a bit.
Jace has been a huge dick all week, though. He's been bouncing every creature I play. And when I don't play creatures he draws cards for free. He won't bounce anyone else's creatures! Why is he picking on me in particular? I think I hate him.
Well, that was today. Oh, and the Plinko disc on The Price is Right got stuck! Twice! Bob Barker told me to write it down here as a historic event, so I am. Whatever. Plinko sucks.
If you do, then you may be right, perhaps if you have metalcraft, draw an extra card.
I also think it would be loads better if it said, "During your first main phase, gain life equal to the number of cards in hand."
I don't think either would make this card crazy, I know its not the best example, but in M2012 the game, I just pulled this out of Tezz's deck, its just absolute crap. I know it can be great in some decks, but... actually its usually just spending way too much for Spellbook and some lifegain maybe
Ya think pages that contain "lifetimes" of information would be worth... something?
Still, I would've liked something else on it. Maybe "
Because Griselbrand just read Venser's Journal. o.O
Me: swing with Zur. ability trigger. play Necropotence
them: blow it up
Me: response, pay 20 life
Them: what?
Me: pass, draw 20
Them: ... land.. spell?
Me: counter it
Them: ... pass
Me: upkeep, gain 25 life
Them: I scoop.
Ichor Wellspring, Master Transmuter, Mirrorworks, March of the Machines
Underworld Connections
Ivory Tower
Spell Book
4/5 Stars