a 1/1 flying lifelink on turn 1 for one colorless and 2 life which you will quickly get back with this guy? yes please! amazing common.
AnTzero
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(13 votes)
This is what Phyrexians call a dove.
Volcre
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Excellent Turn 1 creature...
Leonidus78
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(4 votes)
This card is meant to get that life back from the phyrexian mana cost. Also since it will usually be played as an T1 card it can go in a monowhite deck.
.Blaze.
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Will not make up for the life you put into it, odds are it will net you some life.
chinkeeyong
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Lovely, but it'll probably be hated out of Standard. It trades with Hawks and dies to almost every anti-KRed card in the format.
I still think he sucks. I mean come on: a small black creature that cost's some life to cast. What deck does that belong to? Suicide black, right. What does suicide black not care about? It's controllers amount of life. Would suicide black then want a life-link creature in it? Nope. Would suicide black want to have a 1/1 dork in it? Nope.
If it would be awesome on the first turn... but it ain't. In matters of dealing damage to your opponent, it's like a suntail hawk. That one also costs one mana and is a 1/1 flyer. Except that this imp needs to attack at least three times to net you some life, and whether you can do that with a 1/1 creature is questionable. Not to mention that in any time of the game after turn one, this card is horrible.
Of course the idea of costing life when beeing played and evening that out by attacking is cute, but it doesn't change that this card sucks. No matter that if your opponent counters it (quite unlikely since a 1/1 creature is hardly worth countering), you paid 2 life AND got no creature. Or when this guy gets bounced. Want to replay him for two mana, or keep paying life? 0.5/5
kiseki
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is pretty amazing because it give green and red access to a very efficient first turn flier. Sure it is good in the other three colors, but green and red don't generally get deals like this.
Yozuk
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Strengths: 1. Its a early game drop that can give you life advantage. 2. Cheap cost. 3. Cheap Black flier. 4. Playable in any color. 5. Effects that specify creature, color or artifact will trigger for this creature.
Weaknesses: 1. Easily removed, even more so then normal creatures. 2.Effects that specify creature, color or artifact will trigger for this creature.
I think Its strengths out way its weaknesses.
Polychromatic
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guy got better the more I thought about it. Don't dismiss anything in New Phyrexia at first glance, I suppose.
The value of this guy is a turn 1 flier that gets you the life back in no time flat. Early pressure wins games, especially limited. Early evasive fliers can be backbreaking in the right situation. And it's not like he's the only thing you'll ever play - throw an equipment or a pump spell on him, and you're good. Even better, Tempered Steel.
Even if you never do anything with them, he can trade with the Spined Thopter you're prizing so highly and gain you a life in the process. If you hate this guy, shouldn't it be shameful for your thopter to die to him?
Shiny_Espeon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Am I missing something here? Why do you think this is good? A 1 power flyer without a good ability is never good, and this card is no exception. 1 power in general on an offensive creature is never good. It takes this dude 20 turns to kill someone. "Oh, well you get in a couple times and next thing you know they took 5 damage from one card and you gained 3 life." This is assuming that your opponent didn't:
A: Play their own flyer, considering that this card loses to pretty much any half-decent flyer.
B: Interact with it in any way, which is a stretch for them to do I suppose considering that this card doesn't do much.
I find it really wrong that an actually playable limited card like Spined Thopter has half the rating that this card has but is a billion times better. Seriously, this card loses in a fight to Chimney Imp, and that should be embarassing. The card is highly irrelevant most of the time. Compare turn one this verses turn one Thoughtseize. I can tell you which one I would rather be casting. (And conveniently, both cost the same life payment)
Edit: I just attended a 22 man prerelease event and won the whole thing. I was playing this card. Honestly, this was the worst card in my deck. It never did anything. It was quickly outclassed by much better 2 and 3 drops. Out of the 5 or so games I played him, he never did anything. I won games with tumble magnet. I won games with necropouncer. I even won games with Molder beast. This guy never did anything. The only reason why I played him was purely because I had nothing better to play. This guy is strait up bad. He isn't that good of a turn 1 play and he is the worst top-deck ever. I would have much rather had a spined thopter, but he wasn't in my sealed pool. Trading with spined thopter is pretty much the best value you could possibly hope for with this card.
This card is just bad in limited. And if a creature is not powerful enough to do well in an environment where Alpha Tyrrinax is not only playable but a good finisher, then what chance does it have when it plays against actually good cards like Inferno Titan or Stoneforge Mystic or even Squadron hawk.
The comparison I was trying to make was that for 1 mana and 2 life you could do something relevant like taking the opponent's best card from their hand rather than play some dorky 1/1 that is only good when you play other specific cards. If you want a common, fine. How about Duress?
Easily better than Spined Thopter. The life differential is the same, it pays for itself, and hits the board a turn quicker.
oj48
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Seriously, anyone who thinks this card isn't good must have an IQ of lower than 12, great? possibly not, bad? couldn't be further from it, 1/1 for 2 for black. eh, 1/1 flier for 2 for black, maybe, 1/1 flying lifelinker for black for 2? well now i'm interested, "oh dude, instead of paying the 1 mana extra, you can just pay 2 life." "but i'll have that back in 2 turns." "yeah. pretty awesome isn't it." "you fucken know it!"
Donovan_Fabian
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I like this card a lot. It's not a bomb card, one of those I drop it and my opponent goes omg what is that? It is, however, a nice incremental advantage. My opponent wont want to kill it for being a 1/1, it helps me with my phyrexian mana, and I can always just play it for 2 if I draw it a bit later. Otherwise I will just slap a sword on it, maybe sword of vengeance. It's just a decent lifelinking creature, and that's all I can ask of it. I could imagine this being fun with tempered steel obviously, but also caged sun. I think suture priest is better really, but vault skirge is a flying life linking common.
GracefulInferno
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This little dude is fantastic in drafts. The fact that he can be "splashed" into any deck makes him insanely useful.
SleetFox
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Putting this out on turn 1 is rarely a bad play. I'm always happy to see this little guy hit the table, especially if he gets pumped by Tempered Steel, Steel Overseer, etc.
Raszero
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
As close as I can get to flying men in standard.
SpencerDub
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I really like this guy.
First off, I can think of very few cases when you wouldn't want to pay the 2 life to get him out early. As so many others have pointed out, his flying and lifelink mean that within a couple turns, especially early in the game, you'll make up that life, no problem. Add any sort of pump--even something like Tainted Strike or Virulent Swipe for something in color--and he makes it up in a single hit, making him, for all intents and purposes, a one-drop.
Second, as a black artifact creature, he's in the peculiar position of being resistant to both Doom BladeandGo for the Throat. Sure, he'll die to Grasp of Darkness, Spread the Sickness, Glissa's Scorn, or Shatter, but those are all either a little more specialized or more expensive than Doom Blade or Go for the Throat. Even if your opponent does use one of those to take him out, he or she is still down a more specialized removal card.
Sure, he's not end-of-the-world good, but he's a lot of fun, and I think an all-around well-designed card.
LiXinjian
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
The Agent of Bolas likes this little sucker. Almost a Baneslayer. Plus, it can be played on turn 2 after an everflowing chalice.
And who would seriously waste removal on this?
Exactly. That's why it's good, like all those annoying little critters out there that gain you 1 life when a creature enters the battlefield. It seems pointless to waste removal on it, yet if you don't, you're screwed.
Edit: This little Imp also happens to have protection from black's most common removal suite in Standard: Doom Blade AND Go for the Throat. Pretty nifty, huh? Edit 2: Already been mentioned, I see...
roguepariah
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
On its own a very solid one drop. It makes sylvok lifestaff more appealing on turn 2.
Edit: outside of standard, don't overlook the fact that this is a first turn evasive artifact! creature, with lifelink to boot.
Deltraeus
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(8 votes)
Everyone who's complaining about this card should really try playing around with it first and learn a little bit more about how to use it.
1. Amazing first turn, even with the two life loss. It simply means that second turn you should start swinging to regain that life.
2. Flyers are pretty difficult to get around in a lot of popular decks, and even if you're facing something with a flyer, this thing will hit the field faster and start swinging before your opponent can even start blocking.
3. Sure, he's really easy to get rid of, but with the right protection, it'll sit on the field for a good while. Throw a Tempered Steel down and this becomes 3/3, but there's even better options. I run a white Quest deck and this is my first and second choice for Argentum Armor. That makes it a 7/7 with lifelink and opposition destruction. That's hard to beat, no matter how you slice it.
4. And if it does get removed, you should have 3 more. Sure, it costs another 2 life, but chances are that you'll gain all that life back. And if you really want to, you can use it as a distraction. When your opponent sees this hit the field, they'll most likely want it gone, so they might hit it instead of something else useful.
You really just need to know how to play this card to make it work. Before a recent tournament I sorely underestimated the power of lifelink and lost a match because of it, so when I saw a lifelink creature for 1 and 1 Phyrexian, I knew it would work great.
You can't just throw this card in a deck, though, you do need to do some thinking and reorganizing to maximize it's potential.
Ava_Adore
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
wow, some people are off their gourd,
this is a good card,
@Shiny_Espeon comparing this to rare's that define top decks is comparing apples to oranges, the pro's about these cards is they give other colors access to things they might not necessarily have without, they let any color get things cheaper, they let any color splash without ruining their mana curve. they grant this all in one card, a keyword here is utility, this card cannot compete with inferno titan etc, but guess what inferno titan is not a good one drop? do you know why you cannot stick it in a monoblue deck and play it turn one because it costs 4rr. a card doesn't need to be game defining to get 4 stars, it needs to efficiently fulfil its role in many peoples decks, at 4 stars and almost 80 votes, it is obvious that it has
infernox10
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Alright, I think this guy deserves a slot in a number of decks:
1. He's a 1-drop basically, with a payment of 2 life, that is.
2. He gains the life you may pay using him in two swings.
3. He's resistant to two heavily used removal spells: Doom Blade and Go For The Throat. (This is a big one.)
Sure, he isn't the best, but not many early drops need to be.
An 'auto-include' in almost every deck I own. First turn flyer with Lifelink? Any pump spell or equipment works great with it. Evasion. Tells both Doomblade and Go For the Throat to STFU & GTFO. AND he is an Artifact that is Black ... If you do not like this card, stop playing Magic:the Gathering please. If you have any doubts about this little guy, come on over to my crib & face my G/B deck with him in it. You will be leaving teeth behind.
Havrekjex
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Intrigued by the casting cost, I tried putting one of these in my equipment based mono black evasive aggro deck. After seeing it in use a few times, it was an instant four-of. It's like a turn one mini-Nighthawk, and the life always pays off, especially when I equip it with Bonesplitter on turn two (and/or on turn four with Lashwrithe) and attack.
I love you, Vault Skirge.
shotoku64
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Terrific turn one drop. He gets back that life you spent with lifelink too
raptorman333
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I just love the mechanic. You pay the life only to potentially get it back over the next two turns it can attack.
..and after I posted this, I can clearly see I'm not the only one who thinks this.
Pinto331
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Love this guy in my R/W metalcraft deck. These kids today are spoiled by all their Blighted Agents and Invisible Stalkers, but flying and lifelink still make for one heck of a sword holder. I play on a budget so I don't run the Mythic Scars swords, but with just a Piston Sledge this guy can smash face.
Avatar_of_Wurms
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Shiny_Espeon Really? He did terribly for you at the prerelease? That's interesting because at the prerelease I went to he kicked ass for me, helped carry me to second place out of at least 30 people in fact. And furthermore the guy who beat me and got first: also running Vault Skirges. I feel that you weren't running any equipment to put on him, because that, in my mind, is clearly what this guy is for. Also, you prized Spined Thopter also dies to Chimney Imp, so your argument about Vault Skirge doing the same is frankly sad.
On a note directed at those who like him: Not only is he a Skirge from the Vault of Whispers, he is a skirge that vaults at people.
MacBizzle
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Yeah, with Rage Extractor, this buddy isn't half bad late game either. Phyrexian decks really made Solemn Offering and Narrow Escape particularly playable in modern. Life gain is typically a useless mechanic, but when your spells and abilities are treating your life as a currency, paying {1} extra on that disenchant isn't that bad of a deal to get four more life to spend on MORE SPELLS AND ABILITIES.
This guy follows the same method. Absolutely killer in Rage Extractor decks.
TreeWolfPox
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Let me state the obvious, it's a major improvement over Bog Imp.
GolemEmperion
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ Shiny_Espeon I really think you're missing the point of this guy. 1 cost flying and lifelink, that's pretty nasty. 1 cost flying is already pretty impressive, as is 1 cost lifelink, but both? That's remarkable. It isn't meant to win you the game, but it is as helpful a little bugger as you'll ever find. It may be easy to kill, but it's even easier to bring out another one, and if you're opponent is willing to waste burn/destroy cards on a one-drop, let them. He's a good card to keep out if for nothing else besides pinging your opponent and making him waste kill cards.
Dustylou_2
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Meh most of the time, but pretty neat in tempered steel.
Lord_Sauron
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wow, this is something I have been looking for, for quite some years now. Why didn't I find this one? Artifact creatures with attack power that can be played in turn 1 are already not very common. If they have the ability lifelink, than this is awesome since it is very hard to put life gaining in an artifact deck. And with flying on it, this is unbelievable. What about Cranial Plating, Welding Jar or Master of Etherium? And indeed, Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas is a big fan of this one! But also think about Arcbound Ravager that can be used to sacrifice himself to get some counters on this flying Angel...sorry: Imp
Ferlord
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think the hatred for this card comes from the people that also first thought Gut Shot was useless: 2 life for 1 damage? No a chance!
This thinking also under-shot other cards like Birthing Pod and Dismember at first... until the "Dark Confident" came to overtook that.
KnoLawjick
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
This turn 1 for -2 life. Dark Favor turn 2 -1 life. Swing for 4. +4 life.
PsiGooberFish
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I wish they'd had a few more Phyrexian mana cost cards, I can't get enough!
Mangosharingan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
all these permenant buffs are nice and all on a skirge, no doubt, but seriously, one word: Exalted. Okay, Two words, Stonewright; Exalted.
Removing a single low cost creature is usually pretty dumb, or usually a net win for the owner of the creature if you're forced to remove it. Most of the times this card makes efficient damage that helps out the rest of your deck. Heck it's a great way to deal with removal and counterspells too.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Nice with any pump really. He'll net you your life back or cost them a kill spell. He's versatile as a 1 or a 2-drop, making your deck have a smoother curve and netting you tempo for life when you need it. Consider him in graft, modular, with unspeakable symbol, painsmith, or any other free, repeatable/permanent buffs. It really adds up quickly as he gains you evasive damage and life. Even a single swing is a 2 point life swing, which isn't bad on a one-drop who's evasive.
He beats flying men variants by a mile because of his utility and difficulty to kill against fellow black decks.
Continue
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I run Affinity in Modern because I'm an asshole, so this has happened for me before:
@endosiris: It dies to Ultimate Price though, funnily enough.
MHaruspex
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Probably my favorite 1drop flier for Blue. Evasive and on the hard side to remove, being both Black and an artifact. A great target for Shielding Plax and whatever buffs you can stick on it.
Comments (58)
I mean come on: a small black creature that cost's some life to cast. What deck does that belong to? Suicide black, right. What does suicide black not care about? It's controllers amount of life. Would suicide black then want a life-link creature in it? Nope. Would suicide black want to have a 1/1 dork in it? Nope.
If it would be awesome on the first turn... but it ain't. In matters of dealing damage to your opponent, it's like a suntail hawk. That one also costs one mana and is a 1/1 flyer. Except that this imp needs to attack at least three times to net you some life, and whether you can do that with a 1/1 creature is questionable. Not to mention that in any time of the game after turn one, this card is horrible.
Of course the idea of costing life when beeing played and evening that out by attacking is cute, but it doesn't change that this card sucks. No matter that if your opponent counters it (quite unlikely since a 1/1 creature is hardly worth countering), you paid 2 life AND got no creature. Or when this guy gets bounced. Want to replay him for two mana, or keep paying life?
0.5/5
1. Its a early game drop that can give you life advantage.
2. Cheap cost.
3. Cheap Black flier.
4. Playable in any color.
5. Effects that specify creature, color or artifact will trigger for this creature.
Weaknesses:
1. Easily removed, even more so then normal creatures.
2.Effects that specify creature, color or artifact will trigger for this creature.
I think Its strengths out way its weaknesses.
The value of this guy is a turn 1 flier that gets you the life back in no time flat. Early pressure wins games, especially limited. Early evasive fliers can be backbreaking in the right situation. And it's not like he's the only thing you'll ever play - throw an equipment or a pump spell on him, and you're good. Even better, Tempered Steel.
Even if you never do anything with them, he can trade with the Spined Thopter you're prizing so highly and gain you a life in the process. If you hate this guy, shouldn't it be shameful for your thopter to die to him?
A: Play their own flyer, considering that this card loses to pretty much any half-decent flyer.
B: Interact with it in any way, which is a stretch for them to do I suppose considering that this card doesn't do much.
I find it really wrong that an actually playable limited card like Spined Thopter has half the rating that this card has but is a billion times better. Seriously, this card loses in a fight to Chimney Imp, and that should be embarassing. The card is highly irrelevant most of the time. Compare turn one this verses turn one Thoughtseize. I can tell you which one I would rather be casting. (And conveniently, both cost the same life payment)
Edit: I just attended a 22 man prerelease event and won the whole thing. I was playing this card. Honestly, this was the worst card in my deck. It never did anything. It was quickly outclassed by much better 2 and 3 drops. Out of the 5 or so games I played him, he never did anything. I won games with tumble magnet. I won games with necropouncer. I even won games with Molder beast. This guy never did anything. The only reason why I played him was purely because I had nothing better to play. This guy is strait up bad. He isn't that good of a turn 1 play and he is the worst top-deck ever. I would have much rather had a spined thopter, but he wasn't in my sealed pool. Trading with spined thopter is pretty much the best value you could possibly hope for with this card.
This card is just bad in limited. And if a creature is not powerful enough to do well in an environment where Alpha Tyrrinax is not only playable but a good finisher, then what chance does it have when it plays against actually good cards like Inferno Titan or Stoneforge Mystic or even Squadron hawk.
The comparison I was trying to make was that for 1 mana and 2 life you could do something relevant like taking the opponent's best card from their hand rather than play some dorky 1/1 that is only good when you play other specific cards. If you want a common, fine. How about Duress?
First off, I can think of very few cases when you wouldn't want to pay the 2 life to get him out early. As so many others have pointed out, his flying and lifelink mean that within a couple turns, especially early in the game, you'll make up that life, no problem. Add any sort of pump--even something like Tainted Strike or Virulent Swipe for something in color--and he makes it up in a single hit, making him, for all intents and purposes, a one-drop.
Second, as a black artifact creature, he's in the peculiar position of being resistant to both Doom Blade and Go for the Throat. Sure, he'll die to Grasp of Darkness, Spread the Sickness, Glissa's Scorn, or Shatter, but those are all either a little more specialized or more expensive than Doom Blade or Go for the Throat. Even if your opponent does use one of those to take him out, he or she is still down a more specialized removal card.
Sure, he's not end-of-the-world good, but he's a lot of fun, and I think an all-around well-designed card.
And who would seriously waste removal on this?
Exactly. That's why it's good, like all those annoying little critters out there that gain you 1 life when a creature enters the battlefield. It seems pointless to waste removal on it, yet if you don't, you're screwed.
Edit: This little Imp also happens to have protection from black's most common removal suite in Standard: Doom Blade AND Go for the Throat. Pretty nifty, huh?
Edit 2: Already been mentioned, I see...
It makes sylvok lifestaff more appealing on turn 2.
Edit: outside of standard, don't overlook the fact that this is a first turn evasive artifact! creature, with lifelink to boot.
1. Amazing first turn, even with the two life loss. It simply means that second turn you should start swinging to regain that life.
2. Flyers are pretty difficult to get around in a lot of popular decks, and even if you're facing something with a flyer, this thing will hit the field faster and start swinging before your opponent can even start blocking.
3. Sure, he's really easy to get rid of, but with the right protection, it'll sit on the field for a good while. Throw a Tempered Steel down and this becomes 3/3, but there's even better options. I run a white Quest deck and this is my first and second choice for Argentum Armor. That makes it a 7/7 with lifelink and opposition destruction. That's hard to beat, no matter how you slice it.
4. And if it does get removed, you should have 3 more. Sure, it costs another 2 life, but chances are that you'll gain all that life back. And if you really want to, you can use it as a distraction. When your opponent sees this hit the field, they'll most likely want it gone, so they might hit it instead of something else useful.
You really just need to know how to play this card to make it work. Before a recent tournament I sorely underestimated the power of lifelink and lost a match because of it, so when I saw a lifelink creature for 1 and 1 Phyrexian, I knew it would work great.
You can't just throw this card in a deck, though, you do need to do some thinking and reorganizing to maximize it's potential.
this is a good card,
@Shiny_Espeon comparing this to rare's that define top decks is comparing apples to oranges, the pro's about these cards is they give other colors access to things they might not necessarily have without, they let any color get things cheaper, they let any color splash without ruining their mana curve. they grant this all in one card, a keyword here is utility, this card cannot compete with inferno titan etc, but guess what inferno titan is not a good one drop? do you know why you cannot stick it in a monoblue deck and play it turn one because it costs 4rr. a card doesn't need to be game defining to get 4 stars, it needs to efficiently fulfil its role in many peoples decks, at 4 stars and almost 80 votes, it is obvious that it has
1. He's a 1-drop basically, with a payment of 2 life, that is.
2. He gains the life you may pay using him in two swings.
3. He's resistant to two heavily used removal spells: Doom Blade and Go For The Throat. (This is a big one.)
Sure, he isn't the best, but not many early drops need to be.
Turn 1 -> Swamp, Vault Skirge
Turn 2 -> Swamp, Dark Favor, Swing for 4 Lifelink
I am SO making Black Artifacts.
My two favorite things to do with Vault Skirge:
- Drop Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas and make Vault Skirge into a Baneslayer Angel for the cost of a Tombstalker.
- Move Arcbound Ravager's +1/+1 counters onto Vault Skirge and deliver a demoralizing final blow. (Even better if you also have Disciple of the Vault on the table!)
I love you, Vault Skirge.
..and after I posted this, I can clearly see I'm not the only one who thinks this.
Really? He did terribly for you at the prerelease?
That's interesting because at the prerelease I went to he kicked ass for me, helped carry me to second place out of at least 30 people in fact. And furthermore the guy who beat me and got first: also running Vault Skirges. I feel that you weren't running any equipment to put on him, because that, in my mind, is clearly what this guy is for.
Also, you prized Spined Thopter also dies to Chimney Imp, so your argument about Vault Skirge doing the same is frankly sad.
On a note directed at those who like him:
Not only is he a Skirge from the Vault of Whispers, he is a skirge that vaults at people.
This guy follows the same method. Absolutely killer in Rage Extractor decks.
I really think you're missing the point of this guy. 1 cost flying and lifelink, that's pretty nasty. 1 cost flying is already pretty impressive, as is 1 cost lifelink, but both? That's remarkable. It isn't meant to win you the game, but it is as helpful a little bugger as you'll ever find. It may be easy to kill, but it's even easier to bring out another one, and if you're opponent is willing to waste burn/destroy cards on a one-drop, let them.
He's a good card to keep out if for nothing else besides pinging your opponent and making him waste kill cards.
Artifact creatures with attack power that can be played in turn 1 are already not very common. If they have the ability lifelink, than this is awesome since it is very hard to put life gaining in an artifact deck. And with flying on it, this is unbelievable. What about Cranial Plating, Welding Jar or Master of Etherium? And indeed, Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas is a big fan of this one!
But also think about Arcbound Ravager that can be used to sacrifice himself to get some counters on this flying Angel...sorry: Imp
This thinking also under-shot other cards like Birthing Pod and Dismember at first... until the "Dark Confident" came to overtook that.
Dark Favor turn 2 -1 life. Swing for 4. +4 life.
Turn 2: Swamp, Duty-Bound Dead, Unholy Strength, swing with flying 4/3 with lifelink.
Now THAT is how you start a game of pauper.
He beats flying men variants by a mile because of his utility and difficulty to kill against fellow black decks.
Turn 1: Darksteel Citadel, Mox Opal, Signal Pest, Vault Skirge (take 2), Memnite, Ornithopter.
Turn 2: Darksteel Citadel, Cranial Plating, equip to Vault Skirge, swing for 13, gain 10.
Hard to beat a 21-life advantage on turn 2. This guy owns.