Turn 3 Forest, Harrow Sac the expedition ( you will have the 8 mana next turn.
Turn 4 Play Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
This is probably a slower method but w/e.
Please if anyone can think of something faster, do tell.
Combolulz
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Vorinclex and Elesh Norn are tied for best praetor art.
Leonidus78
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(4 votes)
This guy and urabrask are friends. Quite a powerful praetor
godmetal101
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
This guy is absolutely mean. You get additional mana from your lands and do a partial shut-down on your opponents' lands. Plus, he's green, peeps! You can get him out wicked early in any green deck.
.Blaze.
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Really wish this was 7/7. Still, more mana is never a bad thing and locking down your opponent's mana is just evil
Tommy9898
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Hmm, he could be primeval titan number 5 for eldrazi decks. And you thought the titan was useful for hard casting Emrakul...
MasterOfEtherium
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(4 votes)
CRUELTY is not an option. geese so WICKED. Awesome Art and sorta game over
the art. its amazingness has blinded me with phyrexia's glory.
Atali
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Possibly the most viable Praetor, solely due to greens mana ramping. Should be showing his ugly mug turn four consistently.
Vividice
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Nice in Casual or EDH Decks. Outside of this he has very little impact and comes far too late. Isn't even viable as revival target.
TheSwarm
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
This guy and Gintaxias are the game enders of the praetors. If you untap with them I cant see you losing very easily.
kiseki
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
How to get him out on turn three with commons: 1) forest, llanowar 2) forest, llanowar, priest of titania 3) forest, Praetor OR 1) forest, arbor elf 2) forest, Utopia Sprawl on the other forest, then use the four remaining mana to get two more Utopia Sprawls and 2 arbor elves. If you went first, you are now out of cards. 3) draw praetor, cast him with 8 of your 17 available mana. (well, play just about any card ever created, including the blue praetor)(The only permanents you can't play are those with more than 4 specific mana of a single color, or all five colors, or those with non-mana costs) To play him first turn without rares, use 3 Elvish Spirit Guide, a swamp and 2 Dark Rituals
Honestly guys, saying what turn a card comes out is ridiculous in this game. Green can ramp anything into play and it depresses me how many decks use green to accelerate non-green monsters into play. R+D needs to make unsolvable crazy efficient green monsters more urgently than any other color. I still want one of these though. 5/5
Beastlygreen
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Mana ramp EDH? I think so!!!
Shiny_Espeon
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
My least favorite praetor. Green for the most part has better things to be doing with 8 mana. (IE Terastodon, Liege of the Tangle, Primeval titan, ect. Green beatdown decks curves usually top off at 8, and this guy has weaker stats than most of the alternatives, and his abilities are largely irrelevant.
Potentially, he MIGHT find a niche in Eldrazi Green or Genesis Wave decks, but those decks would have to become good enough first.
TerraTron
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Protector sleeves - 5$ Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - 4$ War's Toll - half a dollar Playing EDH/Commander with your mates and having both Vorinclex and War's Toll on the battlefield - priceless
WateryMind
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"Sir, Emrakul and his friends would like a word... Something about a combo...."
majinara
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Hm, this guy is so-so. Definately not as good as primeval titan for a lot of reasons. His ability is powerful obviously, but a bit late for turn 8.
Kitty_the_Kat
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Man, if this guy hits the board early (as said before, there are a lot of ways to drop him turns 3 - 5) Such a solid drop, and I may make a green power ramp deck using this guy. Powering this guy to the field actually seems very fun to me. All the Praetors look very fun to me (my least favorite being Sheoldred)
Hell.. I might just make a deck for each of them.
Enchantment_Removal
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Unacceptable.
You can't let it hit the board. Do you know why?
Because the lands you tap in order to deal with this guy stay tapped your next turn- even if you have successfully removed him.
If you use this guy as your EDH general, hope that there are no intelligent players at the table.
LeakyBucket
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You can get him out fast but I don't know how easy it is to keep him on the baord.
1) Forest, exile Elvish Spirit Guide and tap forest to play Gaea's Touch, play a second forest 2) Forest, Llanowar Elves, Natural Order (tap two forest and sac Gaea's Touch)
However: Unsummon, Boomerang, etc. are easy cheap ways to not have to worry about it.
Leshrac_Nightwalker
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(6 votes)
I love all of the praetors in this cycle - they are dripping with flavour, and I've been waiting since they were first hinted at on Scars cards' flavour text to get a glimpse of these legendary Phyrexians. Most of Phyrexia's legendary creatures in the past have been converts from the local populace that's being invaded (Ertai, the Corrupted, Ascendant Evincar, Glissa, the Traitor); Tsabo Tavoc has stood alone in this regard for a long time.
The flavour this cycle shares is an absolute home run in my books. I've heard many times that Vorinclex is the weakest one, as green already has good fatties, and a mana flare is "win-more" when you're at 8 mana already; that may all be true, but even if he is the weakest of the praetors, I still believe his ability is quite strong.
@TerraTron:
While both Vorinclex and War's Toll would be annoying to face down in EDH/Commander, they don't really work any better together than they do individually.
Vorinclex's second ability says "Whenever an opponent taps a landfor mana..."; that "for mana" means that War's Toll won't help Vorinclex lock the extra lands down. If your opponent has 10 lands, casts something by tapping 5 of them, and then gets the other 5 tapped down by the enchantment, those 5 will still untap on his/her next untap step.
Donovan_Fabian
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Vorinclex is just fun for being another rampy giant creature that is a bomb card. I don't see it winning any standard tournaments, but it's straight up fun. As pointed out you can win games a lot easier by any number of cards before 8 mana, but nothing is sweeter than a 20+ mana comet storm. I just want to play it for the insanity that follows with the amount of mana you get from vorinclex. A gelatinous genesis or white sun zenith would be really fun too.
On a more realistic note, if you must try to find a good combo, this goes well with the same card that has his picture on it praetor's counsel. You can play it and still have a giant amount of mana to go crazy with.
Richochet_Shaman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
you know...I had a green/white land lock deck that was great in multiman...perhaps it's time to reconstruct it with the help of a Praetor...
nemokara
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(5 votes)
I just realized each of the Praetors seems to have a "signature spell", a la the M11 planeswalkers.
Elesh Norn - Norn's Annex Jin-Gitaxias - Gitaxian Probe Sheoldred - Reaper of Sheoldred Urabrask - Priest of Urabrask Vorinclex - this is the iffy one. Unlike the other four, nothing else in the block has his name in it ... but guess which green sorcery showed up in Mirrodin Beseiged that actually shows Vorinclex in its art?
That's right. Praetors' Counsel. Which just happens to be much more affordable with the big guy's ramping ability.
Cards like this are what made removal spells a necessity in almost any deck. But that's a good thing. When you have a card that an opponent will need removal for, you know it's good!
He actually is not as great for EDH as you would expect. He dies before you get to untap and brings an enormous amount of hate onto you even after he dies. Every player I have seen play him get killed first or second in our 4-player games at the local store.
That_Odd_guy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
perfect for mana ramp! seriously, perfect in any green Eldrazi Decks, perfect for bringing out Spearbreaker Behemoth, perfect in a mono green with Omnath, Locus of Mana,
Gatsumon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Liege of the Tangle + Quest for Renewal make Vorinclex shake his fist in annoyance.
Khavrion
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
What about pairing this guy up with White Sun's Zenith or Red Sun's Zenith? Neither are in color, to be sure, but they're nice things to do with the mana. You'd get at least 13 2/2 cats, or do at least 15 damage (assuming you paid 8 to get Vorinclex).
Granted, not a tourney quality ability (it takes a while to get this guy out, and if they have any sort of removal at all, you're screwed), but it's nice in casual or EDH to try the sun's zenith combo.
I don't see any reason to print a card like this. If you want fast mana, there are much better choices. And since it doesn't have a combat-relevant ability beside trample, it's overall underwhelming for 7/6.
sonorhC
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
People keep saying that the mana flare is underwhelming on something that costs 8, and they're right. People also keep saying that green has plenty of other beatsticks, and they're right about that, too. But everyone seems to ignore the effect he has on opponents-- Sure, it's not a total lockdown, but it's still extremely brutal. That's the real purpose of the card: The flare and the 7/6 trample body are just nice extras.
Great. Ever since I heard the praetor rap now I hear a weird voice for this card when I play him " http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb3dedoVht0&feature=channel_video_title "
Paleopaladin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Flavor text: "Why wait? Have a snickers!"
AncientTimer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great art! Gives an impression of a really powerful and ferocious creature...
and then you see the high mana cost, underwhelming stats and so-so abilities. Unfortunately Vorinclex is the weakest of the Praetors. I was expecting more after the intriguing flavour texts in the earlier sets.
Justin_55
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Vorinclex Voice of Hunger+Parallel Lives+White Sun Zenith= A WHOLE ARMY OF 2/2's
TheNK
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Best art of the Praetors
dgb
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I hate the praetors, especially this guy. He would have been amazing as a 7/6 trampler that provides mana reflection but then they also stack on the land gimping ability too - I see him way too often in edh. I actually drafted a copy of him too but I feel it would be dirty using him, especially since I also use nature's will - I can imagine people conceding in disgust at that combo and I wouldnt blame them.
PeabodyET
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When you use this guy on Magic Online, how does his ability apply with the "undo" feature? If the opponent taps land, does a triggered ability go on the stack? Or does it just add "doesn't untap" to the land? And can you still undo the land taps after that ability resolves?
languill
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ Boakes
it takes more cards but,
turn 1: Reveal Chancellor of the Tangle play a forest, put down 2 Llanowar Elves Turn 2: play a land, tap both and the elves to play Vernal Bloom Turn 3: play a land, tap 3 and both elves to play this.
LightoRaito
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(11 votes)
My Ramp Beats Yours: The Card
SweetoothTKC
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
To all haters of this giant: He wins games. On his own. Won me a whole FNM a couple weeks ago. How, you ask? I am currently playing Wolf Run Green and was having serious problems against WRR and the mirror-match. Then I found this little dude. Now I board three of them(mainly so I can always get one back after Beast Within). I HIGHLY recommend trying him out if you're running WRG!
ToastRecon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Unrivaled king of the swing, woulda been sweet at 4GGG. Still hilarious win condition.
Half-dead
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Leshrac_Nightwalker: Actually on the Vorinclex/War Toll interaction, there's another thing that matters before that. "whenever an opponent taps a land for mana..." Those lands are tapped by War Toll, not the opponent.
Exender
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@Boakes2047 Got a faster one for ya mate:
Turn 1: Forest, Arbor Elf Turn 2: Forest, Wild Growth on untapped Forest, Tap Forest for 2, Untap with Arbor Elf, Tap again for a total of 4, cast Explosive Vegetation to get 2 more Forests onto the battlefield. Turn 3: Forest (you now have a total of 5 Forests on the battlefield one of which taps for 4 mana thanks to Arbor Elf), Cast Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger and watch you opponent(s) cry!
This card isn't much of a praetor... but it's still one of the best cards I've ever seen.
Diachronos
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(9 votes)
I just love how stupid the main reason for not liking him is: "He's too expensive."
He's also the Praetor for the color whose most prominent feature is ramping the f*** out of your deck's mana base. If you get him in your hand (or use him as a General) but can't cast him by turn 8, one of three things is true: Your deck is absolutely hating you. Your opponents are actively trying to shut down your mana production. You didn't build the deck the right way.
Velociraptors
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(12 votes)
@Everyone saying how fast you can get this guy out
Why even bother? It seems like you're trying too hard to make him useful when he isn't *that* useful. In most of the combos, you use 5+ cards just to get this guy on the battlefield for minimal real benefit. While we're playing make-believe, how about this scenario. Slightly more believable, if you ask me.
(Quoted from Exender, works with any of these "turn 3 Vorinclex" plans though) "Turn 1: Forest, Arbor Elf" Turn 1 - Opponent: Swamp.
"Turn 2: Forest, Wild Growth on untapped Forest, Tap Forest for 2, Untap with Arbor Elf, Tap again for a total of 4, cast Explosive Vegetation to get 2 more Forests onto the battlefield." Turn 2 - Opponent: Swamp
"Turn 3: Forest (you now have a total of 5 Forests on the battlefield one of which taps for 4 mana thanks to Arbor Elf), Cast Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger and watch you opponent(s) cry!" By my calculations, you now have 2 cards left in your hand. I sure hope they're really good and cost enough to make playing this guy worth it... Turn 3 - Opponent: Doom blade. Smiles, watching you cry. This isn't unlikely to occur, either. Most decks have removal - let's be honest. The only good thing you get out of this is that your opponent's lands don't untap on turn 4. That's it.
Hell, if you want to get him out ASAP, why play green? Let's play black. Turn 1: Swamp, Dark Ritual, Entomb, Exhume. Yippee.
Point is, most of these "OMG TURN 3" comments are ridiculous. I could understand if this guy was worthy of the speculation. But he's not. Do the above, as Exender said, but do it for a useful green creature instead.
Late game and with card draw, he is definitely amazing. But, in most early-game cases, there is NO POINT in playing him unless you enjoy casting what will (most likely) be an 8 CMC removal magnet and using up most of your hand in the process.
Enemy_Tricolor
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(10 votes)
@Velociraptors
Any valid point you may have had is negated by your Tolstoy-length "dies to removal" comment.
GolemEmperion
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Vorinclex, dumb muscle of the Praetors. As Beast as they come, but lacking the brainpower god gave a goat. Still, think of all the fun you can have in a beast deck! Or a Red/Green Dragon Deck! By the time Vorinclex is out, the game is basically over, but the fun is just beginning!
Totema
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have to say, I do really like the idea of green manipulating other players' mana. I hope R&D explores that idea in the future.
chetoos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Boakes2047 I know how to get 9 mana on turn 2, but it requires a very specific combo of 7 cards, so no Vorinclex without drawing it. That said, here is the combo: turn 1: Have Chancellor of the Tangle, play forest, sol ring, harrow, get 2 forests, use one to wild growth on other forest, then tap that forest for 2 Arbor Elves. Probably not easy to get, but it works, because next turn you get 6 mana from the wild growth alone.
dberry02
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This reminds me of Consecrated Sphinx. It makes sure you are always ahead of your opponents with mana generation.
kyothine
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
The true blowout is playing EDH and having one of your opponents cast Vorinclex.
"Bro. You sure you want that Vorinclex to resolve?"
"Uh...Yes?"
"Okay. Treachery. My lands untap. Eat sh*t and die."
Turn 1; 21 Mana... no cards in hand... but who cares. :P
Radagast
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(3 votes)
I truly hate this card.
Note only is it an embodiment of "unfun" cards that can turn Commander games into "sitting around watching one guy play with himself... and hit you with a big creature," I truly despise how his effect lingers after he's gone. I know, I get it - that's the way the rules work- but it is such a slap in the face on top of an already stupidly good card.
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOvwc8_QXiY
All rise for the national anthem of Green Phyrexia.
THIS. IS. NECESSARY. THIS. IS. NECESSARY.
LIFE FEEDS ON LIFE FEEDS ON LIFE FEEDS ON LIFE FEEDS ON LIFE
RecurringMemories
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@Boakes2047 - Thats easy...
Turn 1. Swamp, Dark Ritual, Putrid Imp (Discard Vorinclex), Exhume/Animate Dead, Reanimate etc. Done.
At least that's how I try and get out Jin-Gitaxias most games. This guy just means I can use Recurring Nightmare more times each turn(especially when combined with Great Whale!). Win.
Aarkleon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
so... if I use this with boseiju can i cast two spells without them being counterable...
Elnshaw7
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
ShatteredMirror, you think that's op, try this bad boy, with Caged Sunand Keeper of Progenitus out. When your forests tap for 4 green mana, then you have my permission to lol..
demidracolich
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Played an edh game with this guy in my deck and it hurt me more than helped me. Was put into my graveyard bya life's finale and was reanimated by my opponents via sepulchral primordial and clones of said primordial until it was finally evacuationed back to my hand.In the end one player used sorin markov's ulti and used the other guys turn to remove my creatures and kill me with a lightning greaves equipped phage.
SirLibraryEater
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(3 votes)
How is this not 5 stars? The only problem I have with it is that it's only 7/6. There are better cards for around that much. (see Worldspine Wurm) However, the land ability is game-winning. Just imagine, both of you playing mana ramp decks, you get this out turn 5-6, and they have even more mana then you(IMPOSSIBRU). Then, you play this, which is essentially the magic card form of the term "screw you." And it has trample. That's a nice touch.
Stinga
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Turn 1: Forest Arbor Elf Turn 2: Forest, Overgrowth using the elf. Turn 3: Forest, Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger.
He looks a bit fragile, I guess that's why he only has 6 toughness. He needs to get sister Elesh to graft some plates over those holes.
SubstantiaNigra
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Easily the worst Praetor in the cycle. Extremely prone to removal. Shroud would have helped, but by the time you can cast him, his ability is pretty useless. If you have 8 mana to spend, why would you need more lands? What are you NOT casting with 8 mana? So essentially, you're getting a 7/6 with Trample for . Hardly exciting.
2/5
EGarrett01
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The name makes him sound more like an Eldrazi.
EdgarPoeAllen
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One game I cast Vorinclex. Next turn Primordial Hydra.
Also: Progenitus.
Cygore
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If you can mana ramp and get this guy out on turn four, it makes it a pain in the ass for your opponents to recover because he cuts their mana use in half and doubles yours. He's just as vulnerable as any other creature though, so I give him a solid 4/5. Combo his ability with cards like Garruk's Horde and Momentous Fall and he'll seem a lot more useful.
MostlyLost
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Run him as your general if you want everybody to target you from turn one.
SAUS3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@MostlyLost Maybe if you play with a really casual group. It only takes 1 guy with go for the throat to kill him and he is only down 2 mana for 1 turn.
5/5 because he is an epic monster that creates brutal plays in my Mimeoplasm EDH deck. Dance of the Dead him into play, and then spend my mana on some insanely powerful spell (or combination of spells).
If you counter your opponent's spell with this guy in play, it's pretty much game over. Their mana won't untap next turn and your next turn will be ridiculously explosive.
wideyes
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(3 votes)
"7/6 trample. Blah blah blah... blah blah blah you win." This guy is a mana ramper... for 8CMC. It may make sense flavor-wise, but I'm not sure what strategy uses Vorinclex as anything other than the destination, the finisher, it's over! "And for my next trick, Worldspine Wurm!" His other ability seems more devastating, locking your opponents' lands down so they can't very well answer him.
NARFNra
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
At the very least, if he survives until your next turn, he makes an amusing Genesis Wave. I made a deck based around Genesis Wave or Primal Surge and enters the battlefield effects, and Vorinclex is... okay in it. Not really the best card, certainly kind of a boring Praetor, but honestly mana accel is kind of hard to balance.
It's still kind of fun to run Genesis Wave with X=13, though.
Lord_of_Gelectrodes
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
He's great in commander, except for the part where everyone kills you.
Play him, then, in your opponent's turn, have access to like 16 mana or so...
Probably only in EDH, but imagine the hydras you can flash in!!!
Xelris
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
In my experience in EDH games this guy gets removed as soon as it hits the field... more often than not beforehand. He's usually countered immediately with one of the nastier "bottom of the deck shuffle" ones.
If he does it the field, it's practically begging for a Slaughter Pact, or tapping one swamp and artifact mana for a Doom Blade, etc. If he resolves he's usually already in Win-More mode and the game was facked long ago without his help.
dhinge
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is pathetic. It doesn't even have Flying, Deathtouch, Haste, or Infect. I don't know how anybody can expect to win once this card hits the table, it'll be gone before your turn is over and you'll be dead before your next turn. They should have made it Indestructible with Hexproof and Lifelink.
And that kids, is the story of how I lost all my friends.
geniusloci
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Between this, Hokori, Dust Drinker (and the various creatures and stax artifacts - Loxodon Gatekeeper, Blind Obedience, Mana Web, etc), the Seedborn Muse and Prophet of Kruphix, and the tons of "to keep it safe" stuff blue adds, no wonder it's had to beat a good EDH Bant deck even if you have all it takes.
Comments (87)
turn 1 forest, Llanowar Elves
Turn 2 Forest, Khalni Heart Expedition, Llanowar Elves
Turn 3 Forest, Harrow Sac the expedition ( you will have the 8 mana next turn.
Turn 4 Play Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
This is probably a slower method but w/e.
Please if anyone can think of something faster, do tell.
Nice.
1) forest, llanowar
2) forest, llanowar, priest of titania
3) forest, Praetor
OR
1) forest, arbor elf
2) forest, Utopia Sprawl on the other forest, then use the four remaining mana to get two more Utopia Sprawls and 2 arbor elves. If you went first, you are now out of cards.
3) draw praetor, cast him with 8 of your 17 available mana. (well, play just about any card ever created, including the blue praetor)(The only permanents you can't play are those with more than 4 specific mana of a single color, or all five colors, or those with non-mana costs)
To play him first turn without rares, use 3 Elvish Spirit Guide, a swamp and 2 Dark Rituals
Honestly guys, saying what turn a card comes out is ridiculous in this game. Green can ramp anything into play and it depresses me how many decks use green to accelerate non-green monsters into play. R+D needs to make unsolvable crazy efficient green monsters more urgently than any other color.
I still want one of these though. 5/5
Potentially, he MIGHT find a niche in Eldrazi Green or Genesis Wave decks, but those decks would have to become good enough first.
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - 4$
War's Toll - half a dollar
Playing EDH/Commander with your mates and having both Vorinclex and War's Toll on the battlefield - priceless
Hell.. I might just make a deck for each of them.
You can't let it hit the board. Do you know why?
Because the lands you tap in order to deal with this guy stay tapped your next turn- even if you have successfully removed him.
If you use this guy as your EDH general, hope that there are no intelligent players at the table.
1) Forest, exile Elvish Spirit Guide and tap forest to play Gaea's Touch, play a second forest
2) Forest, Llanowar Elves, Natural Order (tap two forest and sac Gaea's Touch)
However: Unsummon, Boomerang, etc. are easy cheap ways to not have to worry about it.
The flavour this cycle shares is an absolute home run in my books. I've heard many times that Vorinclex is the weakest one, as green already has good fatties, and a mana flare is "win-more" when you're at 8 mana already; that may all be true, but even if he is the weakest of the praetors, I still believe his ability is quite strong.
@TerraTron:
While both Vorinclex and War's Toll would be annoying to face down in EDH/Commander, they don't really work any better together than they do individually.
Vorinclex's second ability says "Whenever an opponent taps a land for mana..."; that "for mana" means that War's Toll won't help Vorinclex lock the extra lands down. If your opponent has 10 lands, casts something by tapping 5 of them, and then gets the other 5 tapped down by the enchantment, those 5 will still untap on his/her next untap step.
On a more realistic note, if you must try to find a good combo, this goes well with the same card that has his picture on it praetor's counsel. You can play it and still have a giant amount of mana to go crazy with.
Elesh Norn - Norn's Annex
Jin-Gitaxias - Gitaxian Probe
Sheoldred - Reaper of Sheoldred
Urabrask - Priest of Urabrask
Vorinclex - this is the iffy one. Unlike the other four, nothing else in the block has his name in it ... but guess which green sorcery showed up in Mirrodin Beseiged that actually shows Vorinclex in its art?
That's right. Praetors' Counsel. Which just happens to be much more affordable with the big guy's ramping ability.
Edit: On the other hand, Praetors' Counsel might make more sense as part of an art-cycle with Marrow Shards, Psychic Surgery, Praetor's Grasp, and Act of Aggression, in which case Vorinclex doesn't have a "named" spell.
Granted, not a tourney quality ability (it takes a while to get this guy out, and if they have any sort of removal at all, you're screwed), but it's nice in casual or EDH to try the sun's zenith combo.
and then you see the high mana cost, underwhelming stats and so-so abilities. Unfortunately Vorinclex is the weakest of the Praetors. I was expecting more after the intriguing flavour texts in the earlier sets.
it takes more cards but,
turn 1: Reveal Chancellor of the Tangle play a forest, put down 2 Llanowar Elves
Turn 2: play a land, tap both and the elves to play Vernal Bloom
Turn 3: play a land, tap 3 and both elves to play this.
Those lands are tapped by War Toll, not the opponent.
Turn 1: Forest, Arbor Elf
Turn 2: Forest, Wild Growth on untapped Forest, Tap Forest for 2, Untap with Arbor Elf, Tap again for a total of 4, cast Explosive Vegetation to get 2 more Forests onto the battlefield.
Turn 3: Forest (you now have a total of 5 Forests on the battlefield one of which taps for 4 mana thanks to Arbor Elf), Cast Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger and watch you opponent(s) cry!
Wild Growth can be replaced with Utopia Sprawl.
Explosive Vegetation can be replaced with either Hunting Wilds or Skyshroud Claim. In fact, I think the latter two cards are strictly better than the former.
He's also the Praetor for the color whose most prominent feature is ramping the f*** out of your deck's mana base. If you get him in your hand (or use him as a General) but can't cast him by turn 8, one of three things is true:
Your deck is absolutely hating you.
Your opponents are actively trying to shut down your mana production.
You didn't build the deck the right way.
Why even bother? It seems like you're trying too hard to make him useful when he isn't *that* useful. In most of the combos, you use 5+ cards just to get this guy on the battlefield for minimal real benefit. While we're playing make-believe, how about this scenario. Slightly more believable, if you ask me.
(Quoted from Exender, works with any of these "turn 3 Vorinclex" plans though)
"Turn 1: Forest, Arbor Elf"
Turn 1 - Opponent: Swamp.
"Turn 2: Forest, Wild Growth on untapped Forest, Tap Forest for 2, Untap with Arbor Elf, Tap again for a total of 4, cast Explosive Vegetation to get 2 more Forests onto the battlefield."
Turn 2 - Opponent: Swamp
"Turn 3: Forest (you now have a total of 5 Forests on the battlefield one of which taps for 4 mana thanks to Arbor Elf), Cast Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger and watch you opponent(s) cry!" By my calculations, you now have 2 cards left in your hand. I sure hope they're really good and cost enough to make playing this guy worth it...
Turn 3 - Opponent: Doom blade. Smiles, watching you cry. This isn't unlikely to occur, either. Most decks have removal - let's be honest. The only good thing you get out of this is that your opponent's lands don't untap on turn 4. That's it.
Hell, if you want to get him out ASAP, why play green? Let's play black.
Turn 1: Swamp, Dark Ritual, Entomb, Exhume. Yippee.
Point is, most of these "OMG TURN 3" comments are ridiculous. I could understand if this guy was worthy of the speculation. But he's not. Do the above, as Exender said, but do it for a useful green creature instead.
Late game and with card draw, he is definitely amazing. But, in most early-game cases, there is NO POINT in playing him unless you enjoy casting what will (most likely) be an 8 CMC removal magnet and using up most of your hand in the process.
Any valid point you may have had is negated by your Tolstoy-length "dies to removal" comment.
turn 1: Have Chancellor of the Tangle, play forest, sol ring, harrow, get 2 forests, use one to wild growth on other forest, then tap that forest for 2 Arbor Elves. Probably not easy to get, but it works, because next turn you get 6 mana from the wild growth alone.
"Bro. You sure you want that Vorinclex to resolve?"
"Uh...Yes?"
"Okay. Treachery. My lands untap. Eat sh*t and die."
Turn 1: Play a Mox and a Black Lotus, Break them for 4x Candelabra of Tawnos. Play a Tolarian Academy and tap and untap it 4 times.
Turn 1; 21 Mana... no cards in hand... but who cares. :P
Note only is it an embodiment of "unfun" cards that can turn Commander games into "sitting around watching one guy play with himself... and hit you with a big creature," I truly despise how his effect lingers after he's gone. I know, I get it - that's the way the rules work- but it is such a slap in the face on top of an already stupidly good card.
All rise for the national anthem of Green Phyrexia.
THIS. IS. NECESSARY.
THIS. IS. NECESSARY.
LIFE FEEDS ON LIFE FEEDS ON LIFE FEEDS ON LIFE FEEDS ON LIFE
Turn 1. Swamp, Dark Ritual, Putrid Imp (Discard Vorinclex), Exhume/Animate Dead, Reanimate etc. Done.
At least that's how I try and get out Jin-Gitaxias most games. This guy just means I can use Recurring Nightmare more times each turn(especially when combined with Great Whale!). Win.
And it has trample. That's a nice touch.
Turn 2: Forest, Overgrowth using the elf.
Turn 3: Forest, Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger.
2/5
Also: Progenitus.
Maybe if you play with a really casual group. It only takes 1 guy with go for the throat to kill him and he is only down 2 mana for 1 turn.
5/5 because he is an epic monster that creates brutal plays in my Mimeoplasm EDH deck. Dance of the Dead him into play, and then spend my mana on some insanely powerful spell (or combination of spells).
If you counter your opponent's spell with this guy in play, it's pretty much game over. Their mana won't untap next turn and your next turn will be ridiculously explosive.
It's still kind of fun to run Genesis Wave with X=13, though.
Play him, then, in your opponent's turn, have access to like 16 mana or so...
Probably only in EDH, but imagine the hydras you can flash in!!!
If he does it the field, it's practically begging for a Slaughter Pact, or tapping one swamp and artifact mana for a Doom Blade, etc. If he resolves he's usually already in Win-More mode and the game was facked long ago without his help.
Turn 1: Peat Bog, Entomb, search for Vorinclex -> Reanimate
And that kids, is the story of how I lost all my friends.