I've heard talk of this guy being playable in Vintage.
I can't say personally whether or not this is a legitimate claim, but the fact that it's being discussed speaks volumes for the kind of power a Revoke Existence on legs has.
Vividice
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Very nice in Death & Taxes Decks.
Beside that possibly useful as annoyance/pseudo removal in T2 with an ok body. E.g. Eldrazi Green/Monument Elves Decks normally have no removal. Thus a exiled Eldrazi Monument is hard to get back. Vs any Decks with Artifact Creatures as Threats it could give you a few more turn which could be enough to win with White Aggro Decks.
Magnor_Criol
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
He's pretty great in Limited. At the very worst he's a 2/2 for 2, which is good on its own. But he also provides either an answer to that really threatening artifact that's leering ominously at you from your opponent's side, or a handy way to remove blockers for your aggro weenie deck to swing in unmolested.
He's just a differently keyed O-Ring or Journey to Nowhere with legs. Not a bad little dude.
Incidentally, the idea of stealing a Blightsteel Colossus with him is pretty hilarious. "What's that behind your back? That gigantic, hulking mammoth thing under the blanket behind you?" "It's nothing. Move along."
i don't think this will get much play outside the scars block, but maybe as a sideboard for white decks with no removal options..
Kidromeo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Does the Artifact or Enchantment need to be in your hand, or does this card actually SEARCH for Ratchet Bomb from your deck?
chaoticlivi
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Don't underestimate him. He might not be the cream of the removal crop, but he fits very nicely in creature-dependent white decks and if you're not ready for him, he'll annoy the crap right out of you.
And with O-Ring... yo dog, we heard you like exiling, so we exiled your exiling enchantment so you can exile the creature that's exiling your exiling enchantment.
Paleopaladin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
SOLID card! Think about the "bounce/cheat" trick with O-Ring (check its rulings if you don't know what I mean). Combine this card with Escape Routes to make that trick REPEATABLE.
Basic format of this would be, LR-W ETBs, and it's ETB trigger goes on the stack. You interrupt that with an activation of Escape Routes's activated ability. Escape Routes's activated ability resolves and bounces L R-W, causing L R-W's LTB ability to trigger, hit the stack on top of its ETB ability, and fizzle when it resolves since nothing has yet been exiled. Finally the ETB trigger resolves and exiles the artifact or enchantment you targeted.
Need some help here. Maybe this has already been discussed? This card is used in an infinite life combo that relies on the idea that "enters the battle field" and "returns to battle field" are the same thing.
When a card "enters the battle field' it is first cast as a spell, then resolves, and then, finally, "enters" the battle field.
When a card "returns" to the battlefield it is NOT cast as a spell nor does it resolve: it is already a permanent and is returning.
Therefore: you CANNOT create infinite loops with this card. If you cast a Phyrexian Metamorph as a copy, it will bounce and return, but it's return will NOT count as "entering the battle field," so it cannot exile anything nor can any other card gain life on its RETURN.
Am I off on this? Seems like this deck has been allowed to play in standard based on a misreading of the card.
@williamj35: "enters the battliefield" abilities are triggered whenever the specified permanent is put onto the battlefield from any other zone, including from your hand, graveyard, exile, etc... A card does not have to be cast to "enter the battlefield" as any good Corpse Connoisseur can tell you.
Dabok
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A Revoke Existence on a creature. One could say that it's enough for the opponent to just kill it and get his artifact/enchantment back, but hey, the bright side is that it takes the heat off of your other creatures.
I still haven't experimented on this to tell if it's better to just simply have a Revoke Existence or this in a White Weenie deck. Although I think I'm gonna opt for this guy, since, as someone said previously, it can just be a vanilla 2/2 if you've got nothing to remove anyway, not "the best" option in a White Weenie, but it's better than a sitting Revoke Existence in hand staying "useless" I guess...
igniteice
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Kidromeo Neither. You don't exile an artifact/enchantment from your hand, and you don't search your deck for an artifact/enchantment. If either of these were the case, it would tell you to exile an artifact/enchantment card from your hand, or it would tell you to search for one in your library. The way it is worded can only mean that it refers to artifacts/enchantments on the battlefield.
@williamj35 Play Soul's Attendent. Next play Leonin Relic-Warder. Now play Phyrexian Metamorph and have it come in as a copy of Leonin Relic-Warder. When it enters the battlefield, have it target itself. The ability will resolve, exiling the copy. Then the leave-the-battlefield will trigger, returning it to the battlefield. Repeat for infinite life.
Lord_Sauron
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One might ask himself, why would you play this one instead of Revoke Existence
It leaves you with a 2/2 creature on the battlefield and you still exiled the artifact or enchantment.
Hercynian
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
How this guy magically throws my darksteel colossus to oblivion is beyond me. I've affectionately dubbed him the relic-wh0re.
Saraneth888
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@HairlessThoctar - perhaps as sideboard material for some version of hate-bears? I don't really play eternal formats, and hate-bears has Kataki, War's Wage already... but perhaps in an artifact-heavy metagame, the Relic-Warder might find a home...
Regardless, the relic-warder is a really solid dude... at worst he's a bear, but being able to jam another bear into your deck in place of something like a Revoke Existence or Disenchant is really nice... There's a soft spot in my heart for creatures like this that are totally balanced and really fun to play with, but are also top notch cards that fill multiple roles.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The idea of using this next to a Rotlung had already crossed my mind; simply for a nice on-curve way to eat stuff; while being able to benefit from Rotlong. The idea of adding Animate Dead for an infinite-condition makes me certain I should try it in Legacy.
Clerics already have some very strong synergies with Rotlong, Whiteclay, Skirsdag High Priest, and sac outlets. Add in Mother of Runes and you have a sturdy creature base. Going further with a possible T3-T4 infinite condition while having a reasonable mid-range deck just seems juicy; with a bonus that you can main-deck him without issue.
Comments (18)
I can't say personally whether or not this is a legitimate claim, but the fact that it's being discussed speaks volumes for the kind of power a Revoke Existence on legs has.
Beside that possibly useful as annoyance/pseudo removal in T2 with an ok body.
E.g. Eldrazi Green/Monument Elves Decks normally have no removal. Thus a exiled Eldrazi Monument is hard to get back. Vs any Decks with Artifact Creatures as Threats it could give you a few more turn which could be enough to win with White Aggro Decks.
He's just a differently keyed O-Ring or Journey to Nowhere with legs. Not a bad little dude.
Incidentally, the idea of stealing a Blightsteel Colossus with him is pretty hilarious. "What's that behind your back? That gigantic, hulking mammoth thing under the blanket behind you?" "It's nothing. Move along."
And with O-Ring... yo dog, we heard you like exiling, so we exiled your exiling enchantment so you can exile the creature that's exiling your exiling enchantment.
Basic format of this would be, LR-W ETBs, and it's ETB trigger goes on the stack. You interrupt that with an activation of Escape Routes's activated ability. Escape Routes's activated ability resolves and bounces L R-W, causing L R-W's LTB ability to trigger, hit the stack on top of its ETB ability, and fizzle when it resolves since nothing has yet been exiled. Finally the ETB trigger resolves and exiles the artifact or enchantment you targeted.
Fun times!
....wait, what?
When a card "enters the battle field' it is first cast as a spell, then resolves, and then, finally, "enters" the battle field.
When a card "returns" to the battlefield it is NOT cast as a spell nor does it resolve: it is already a permanent and is returning.
Therefore: you CANNOT create infinite loops with this card. If you cast a Phyrexian Metamorph as a copy, it will bounce and return, but it's return will NOT count as "entering the battle field," so it cannot exile anything nor can any other card gain life on its RETURN.
Am I off on this? Seems like this deck has been allowed to play in standard based on a misreading of the card.
@williamj35: "enters the battliefield" abilities are triggered whenever the specified permanent is put onto the battlefield from any other zone, including from your hand, graveyard, exile, etc...
A card does not have to be cast to "enter the battlefield" as any good Corpse Connoisseur can tell you.
I still haven't experimented on this to tell if it's better to just simply have a Revoke Existence or this in a White Weenie deck. Although I think I'm gonna opt for this guy, since, as someone said previously, it can just be a vanilla 2/2 if you've got nothing to remove anyway, not "the best" option in a White Weenie, but it's better than a sitting Revoke Existence in hand staying "useless" I guess...
Neither. You don't exile an artifact/enchantment from your hand, and you don't search your deck for an artifact/enchantment. If either of these were the case, it would tell you to exile an artifact/enchantment card from your hand, or it would tell you to search for one in your library. The way it is worded can only mean that it refers to artifacts/enchantments on the battlefield.
@williamj35
Play Soul's Attendent. Next play Leonin Relic-Warder. Now play Phyrexian Metamorph and have it come in as a copy of Leonin Relic-Warder. When it enters the battlefield, have it target itself. The ability will resolve, exiling the copy. Then the leave-the-battlefield will trigger, returning it to the battlefield. Repeat for infinite life.
Quite simple: take it with Parallax Wave before the second ability resolves. Or simply use an Otherworldly Journey or even just end the turn with Sundial of the Infinite.
It leaves you with a 2/2 creature on the battlefield and you still exiled the artifact or enchantment.
Regardless, the relic-warder is a really solid dude... at worst he's a bear, but being able to jam another bear into your deck in place of something like a Revoke Existence or Disenchant is really nice... There's a soft spot in my heart for creatures like this that are totally balanced and really fun to play with, but are also top notch cards that fill multiple roles.
Clerics already have some very strong synergies with Rotlong, Whiteclay, Skirsdag High Priest, and sac outlets. Add in Mother of Runes and you have a sturdy creature base. Going further with a possible T3-T4 infinite condition while having a reasonable mid-range deck just seems juicy; with a bonus that you can main-deck him without issue.