This card will make for some interesting games. It'll be like knowledge pool in the pre release because people won't realize how much this card srews up the game.
Tommy9898
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(5 votes)
I like it. It punishes control decks with lots of counters etc and it rewards decks with lots of creatures.
Yay creatures \o/
Tetsu_tora
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Reality ripple and mnemonic wall will net you turns where YOU can draw cards... cavern harpy will let you abuse the walls...what else?
Teferi's Curse-- flip flops the omen machine in and out of play...
Vision charm can be used just like reality ripple... Looks like blue just gained a major 'slow-opponents-down' machine. yay.
Mogun
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
i will probably put this in a burn deck.
Kryptnyt
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
"Players can't draw cards." Well now. That's a sentence I like to start off reading in a text box. Could be fun with Goblin Welder.
danyo622
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
such a griefer card....I love it. I really want to play a game with this out just to see what would happen because I can't even imagine the chaos
TheSwarm
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(7 votes)
Keep your eye on this card, someone is going to break it.
shawnr3150
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(3 votes)
im rebuilding my arcum dagsson edh right now, just gonna have this and lots of huge stuff lolololol. srsly wizards, you made the card name...
sarroth
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
I'm really biased in rating this card, because I recently built a stack for Chaos Magic, and this is perfect for it. I wouldn't put it in a normal constructed deck, but with Chaos Magic, players getting to cast cards for free, but being unable to choose when to do so, is the type of crazy I look for on a card that goes in the stack. And in Chaos Magic all you need is to have this on the top of the Chaos Deck and be put into play; the {6} doesn't matter at all.
Constructed or limited? I wouldn't touch it. But for Chaos Magic it's absolutely perfect.
Sironos
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Eldrazi decks really like this I assume.
NecroticNobody
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Knowledge Pool and this FTW
StephenF
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
OK,it seems that any spell with a variable casting cost -- one with an (X) in the cost (Fireball, Strength of the Tajaru, ...) -- will not be able to be cast, however, a specific cost spell -- Lightning Bolt, Flensermite, White Knight, ... ) should arrive on the battlefield. And remember, this applies only to those cards that are 'exiled' due to the Omen Machine's ability, not to the cards in a player's hand. IMHO.
estranger2000
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
NOTE: you may have to wait for the errata. "if able" means that only lands, instants and flash can be played as players are still in their Draw phase. Creatures, sorceries, artifacts, enchantments and planswalkers may not be a valid play in this phase.
nemokara
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@estranger2000
The "if able" is only restricting you from casting the card if there's an additional cost you can't pay (eg. "as an additional cost, sacrifice a creature" and you don't have one), if there are no legal targets for it (eg. "destroy target artifact or enchantment" and there are none on the battlefield), or if the card has specific timing requirements (eg. "cast this spell only during combat").
I don't expect the errata/rulings for this to be very different from those for Wild Evocation.
DeathDark
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Dear Blue,
F**K YOUR CARD DRAW.
Sincerely,
Red/Green
hedronMatrix
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
"If it's a land card, the player puts it onto the battlefield." Does this count as your land for the turn? Because if not...it is so going in my deck as soon as I get my boxes! Land Ramp! If so then: This + Crystal Ball = land ramp and cast the good cards and screw the bad cards! or if you are a legacy player this +Sensei's Divining Top = even better Also, just to make sure, what happens with something like Green Sun's Zenith? Since it is able to cast, do u cast for x=0?
OneFlame
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Sorry for the Noobie Questions, (2):
Question number "A": I still do not get this card, and have been scouring the internet for an answer, so I guess my question is more general. Is there a site that explains rules via a "scenario", "use case", or "story"?
What I am looking for is something like this:
If such and such scenario exists, (players have certain cards on the table, health, mana, whatever), and player A plays this card, then this occurs ... on the next turn, Player B does this, ...
etc.
Anyhoo. So question number "B". This card is confusing me.
1. Players don't draw cards: Awesome, makes sense. 2. Players exile the top card of their library: (I assume this means all players, and does not exclude the person who played it). But, makes sense for the most part. 3. If it is a land card, play it: What? Okay, I get that you must play it... but, I thought there was no drawing of cards? 4. Otherwise, cast it if possible: WHAT?? "Cast It"? Isn't everything a "cast"? How will anything ever get exiled? Is it the case that only things that can't be cast get exiled? What if this is a creature? Do you put it on the battlefield? Is that considered casting? Or when it says casting, is it only referring to sorceries and instants? AGH.
Anyhoo. I suppose this card prolly make sense, somehow, (without my over complicating things), but if someone could please straighten this out for me, I would appreciate it.
But more importantly, how can I figure this answer out on my own? Where can I go? What is the answer to question number "A"?
Thanks!
Urukabaar
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(3 votes)
@ OneFlame
with omen machine in play players can never draw cards. Instead during the draw step they will exile the top card of their library. weather its a sorcery, creature, or insant doesnt matter. the only restriction is if a card says it can only be cast at a certain time. Also you dont draw the card rather you cast it from exile just like suspend.
So Player A plays omen machine. and ends turn. Player B exiles Llanowar Elves. He then casts it putting it onto the battlefied. He then continues his turn as normal. Player A's turn he exiles Aleatory. since it can only be cast during combat it stays exiled.
RJ.693
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Notice that it only says players can't draw cards. Cards can still be put from your library into your hand via other means, e.g.: Necropotence, Dark Confidant, or Sarkhan the Mad, just to name a few. I can definitely see using this in EDH to shut down opponent's draws.
"I hate how they make cards like this so expensive. If you have access to six mana, you're already at the stage where you can start playing some ridiculous bombs. Why not cut out the middleman and just play cards that end the game by themselves?"
It's a shame, as I'd like to use them sometime -- preferably before the game is over.
KJW123
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(3 votes)
This card plus Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir forms a 2 card lock. Your opponents can't cast any more spells from their deck.
Cardz5000
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Erayo, Soratami Ascendant (Erayo's Essence) makes this win
Teakon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Type your comment here.
MrThallid
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
I was trying to combo the Omen Mine, Phyrexian Unlife, and Melira, Sylvok Outcast. I cannot lose due to Poison, 0 Life, or Milling. Using Rust Tick and Unwinding Clock may allow me to manipulate the Omen Machine, but not yet sure to what effect. Keeping the deck within G/W Scars of Mirrodin block, I could build a little control, but would be fairly weak against fliers.
Thoughts?
tcollins
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Liliana Vess seems made for this card, her +1 ability can help eliminate your opponents hand, while her -2 ability lets you search for whatever you want to cast! Use with cards like Treasure Hunt that 'put cards into your hand', since you aren't technically drawing them, you still maintain a full hand!
I recently made a pretty fast deck using this card. Fabricate + Treasure Mage ensure that you get it in your hand asap. Chrome MoxSilver Myr and Grand Architect make it a pretty common 4th turn play. The rest of the deck is high-cost unblockables, and cards utilizing Scry, such as Cryptic Annelid and Mystic Speculation, which if I am reading correctly, can be brought into the hand after being played with Omen Machine for 2 mana to use again later. I also added Scroll Rack for deck stacking. For defense, I dropped in some Eternal Dominions and Denying Wind to exile any card that might be a major threat and to take some of their other threats and use them against them. This gives me a fun win condition which changes from deck to deck, and also lets me see what every single card in their deck is for the next game in tournaments.
mlanier131
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The land doesnt count as your land for the turn. If it did it would say "you may play the land" notice the wording on crucible of worlds. I play this card in my jhoria EDH, its super fun.
Maelicbod
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Locally there has been a lot of debate about this card. This is the way we've interpreted the card.
The confusion comes from when the card is played and the term "if able". The cards are exiled and able to be played during your draw step. You are not able to play anything but instants, or things with flash, during this step. So creatures, artifacts, sorceries, these aren't "able" to be cast and remain exiled. This card basically locks down the game and is generally only played when you dominate the board.
mem0man
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This card is very niche but I don't see why it is rated so low. In a deck built around it, it can start locking down decks by turn three or four literally turning you opponent into a useless stack of cardboard. Opponents can only cast instants or cards with flash and you can always make enough room in your own setup to deal with things like that should they arise.
Other than that, you just need to support it properly. More deck stacking never hurts. Getting the cards you want (Treasure Mage, Shrine of Piercing Vision) is also important, of course. In the current standard, Grand Architect or Palladium Myr can help you get your Machine out soon and provide another way to play your winner if the main approach goes south. Last but certainly not least, alternate methods of Flashing help, and any spell that allows you to put a useless spell on top of your opponents library eliminates the need. And there you have it: a card that's far from "untouchable" in Constructed; or, if you prefer, a deck of the same species.
@ The Haters and The Lockers: Wild Evocation uses the same wording in the latter portion of the card and ignores timing restrictions. I don't think that's a function of it being Red.
(Originally Posted 5/15/2011 Evening)
sonorhC
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
The "if able" clause doesn't mean "subject to timing restrictions". If that were the case, then nothing could be cast this way, since you can't ordinarily cast a spell while an ability is resolving. It's like cards with suspend: You cast it when the card tells you to cast it, during your upkeep, even though most suspend cards aren't instants.
I think the "if able" is just for the sake of cards which require a target for which there are no legal targets, and the like.
The purpose of this isn't to lock down your opponent; it's to get out your own big expensive spells, hopefully more powerful than the spells your opponent is getting for free. And as a side benefit, it also screws over anyone with a lot of X cost spells, anyone with a lot of extra card drawing, and anyone with spells designed to be played reactively like counterspells.
Lyoncet
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@mem0man "...it can start locking down decks by turn three or four literally turning you opponent into a useless stack of cardboard."
Draw a card cast a spell, that spell goes into Knowledge Pool, where you have access to other players spells. Casting one of those spells (if Instant or Sorcery), feeds Eye of the Storm, and casting things through Eye of the Storm feeds Hive Mind.
sonsofsparda
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
to the guy that made the comment about wild evocation...just make the game go longer by controlling your opponent
Falgorn
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Major Blue Hate? Check.
Makes you the griefer against Blue Control? Check.
Costs less than {6}? Houston, we've got a problem.
Still, an intriguing card.... I'm a fan of effects like this one, or Fatespinner's for example, that completely change the game's flow...
Guest233824152
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I'm not clear when spells drawn Omen Machine can be cast. In a game a judge, who didn't seem sure, said that spells drawn with this in order to be cast must be flash or instant cards as spells can't normally be cast during the draw phrase. Is this true. How does this card work. It is not clear to me and apparently to others.
KRALtheSLAYER
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
SO what happens when you play a card that says draw a card?
pedrodyl
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Yay now you can play Leveler without dying. @MrThallid Crumbling Sanctuary and this get the job done with one card less in the combo.
Misterbiggs
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Isn't this card contradicting itself?
It says you put the top card of your library into the exile pile. If its a land, you put it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, play it without paying its mana cost. How can you play any other card but a land if your exiling it?
languill
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
what happens to cards that cost x?
Moleland
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
There's nothing to complicated about this card. It looks kinda cool. Those of you who are confused, just need to remember the Golden Rule of Magic:
'If a card breaks the rules, go with the card'
So the card says you cast the card without paying it's cost... so you do, regardless of the normal timing restrictions. Of course, if a card has explicit timing restrictions 'Play ABC only when/during XYZ happens..' They cannot be casted with the ability and are remain exiled.
The 'If able' clause refers to the above and if the card requires a specific target (IE a counter spell, a Doom blade) and there are no legal targets, then it also remains exiled.
If a card has an 'X' in the cost; as normal, 'X' is 0.
MagnaLynx21
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I can't remember the combo my friend pulled off, but in EDH a friend of mine locked another of my friends out of drawing or playing any nonland cards for about 10 or so turns I think. It was quite amusing.
Fun in standard casual. Conbine with permission. Counter one spell a turn.
NicodemusCromwell
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
He he he he he , Teferi :D
DoragonShinzui
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's a phyrexianized Gate to the Aether with no flavor.
Gah, I hate Phyrexia...
Psychrates
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Uh, this forces you to place a land, every round. Ankh Of Mishra, Zo-Zu The Punisher.
skorpionrazor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have opened only 2 boosters from New Phyrexia and both gave me this... I hate myself...
Enelysios
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Other than Nix on stix I am not sure how to break this in any meaningful way. Even that is an abuse of Isochron Scepter, not this. You could do better with a Rule of Law and Counterspell on a stick anyway.
Overall a mediocre card, made for Johnny it looks like, but there are cards that do the same in a more interesting way. I sadly pulled a play set of these.
MadManny
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I hate this card, it pwns my shared fate deck! lol
ParallaxtheRevan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Omniscience. Card now broken. Thanks From the Lab! Another Score for Johnnies! :D
RuneChanter
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
All spells must be cast regardless of instant, sorcery, enchantment, creature or planeswalker. The only ones that aren't are ones that don't have a valid target (ie: doom blade when there are no non black creatures, counterspells etc.) Xcost=0 but is still cast. Lands don't count as the land for that turn. Awesome combos include Treasure mage, palladium myr, grand architect all to get it out early, then alloy myr in case it's destroyed, Jace's archivist to empty everyone's hands because yours is the only deck built for topdeck freeplay, flashback is good ie: lingering souls, then drop chunky things like Brutalizer exarch, Sphinx of Uthuun, Sheldreod, Elesh norn, Omniscience, Tamiyo (or any other planes walker), Rune Scarred Demon, Contagion Engine, Army of Damned, Myr Superion, Spine of Ish Sah, Phyrexian Ingester, any titans, Birthing Pod, Volition Reins, Etc..
Superllama12
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
A Timmy gets excited and puts it into his giant creatures deck. A Johnny wets himself as he has finally found another card for his Baneful Omen library manipulation deck. A Spike gets angry and throws this at the fan because it costs and isn't a Primeval Titan. A lone Sensei's Divining Top curses Johnny for squandering its potential with a glorified Howling Mine
I love this card 4.5/5
Bobidge
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Put this with Knowledge Pool, Curse Of Exhaustion and Grafdigger's Cage. Then watch as your opponents cannot play anything.
Deckforge
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
PRIMAL SURGE
LordRandomness
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
There are not many things you can do that force your opponent to cast a given spell. It's often a good idea to run opponent library stacking in case you can find something they really don't want played right now.
If this lands in play somehow, it single-handedly defeats a great deal of Legacy decks.
Osar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
We once had a cube game with this in play, together with March of the Machines and Grip of Chaos , i had made a copy of it with Phyrexian Metamorph, fun times, then one of my friends hit omen machine with a kicked Rite of Replication, while he had Doubling Season, after that everything was just fucked up. Fun times, fun times :P
Hey its strong against counterspell decks if you can manage to cast it.
Kablooie
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Once upon a time on Magic Online, this card would give Omen Machine's controller all of the exiled spells instead of the player who exiled it. It was hilariously broken. And probably unfun for everyone else.
Ohkey
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So my opponent brings out Omen Machine and I understand it as meaning that it's now free to play any card I draw so long as I have the manna to play it already on the battlefield (and I am able to play it). I'm cool with this. My opponent understands it to mean that because Omen Machine makes it so you HAVE TO lay the card down, it is Omen Machine technically playing the card, and not me, I have not paid the manna cost so the card is simply tapped and un-usable to me, and any manna I lay down is like wise useless and I don't gain life from it with my artifact that would other wise have me gain life for this manna. ...how is this card understood?
Comments (63)
Yay creatures \o/
Teferi's Curse-- flip flops the omen machine in and out of play...
Vision charm can be used just like reality ripple... Looks like blue just gained a major 'slow-opponents-down' machine. yay.
Well now. That's a sentence I like to start off reading in a text box. Could be fun with Goblin Welder.
Constructed or limited? I wouldn't touch it. But for Chaos Magic it's absolutely perfect.
The "if able" is only restricting you from casting the card if there's an additional cost you can't pay (eg. "as an additional cost, sacrifice a creature" and you don't have one), if there are no legal targets for it (eg. "destroy target artifact or enchantment" and there are none on the battlefield), or if the card has specific timing requirements (eg. "cast this spell only during combat").
I don't expect the errata/rulings for this to be very different from those for Wild Evocation.
F**K YOUR CARD DRAW.
Sincerely,
Red/Green
Does this count as your land for the turn? Because if not...it is so going in my deck as soon as I get my boxes! Land Ramp!
If so then:
This + Crystal Ball = land ramp and cast the good cards and screw the bad cards!
or if you are a legacy player this +Sensei's Divining Top = even better
Also, just to make sure, what happens with something like Green Sun's Zenith? Since it is able to cast, do u cast for x=0?
Question number "A":
I still do not get this card, and have been scouring the internet for an answer, so I guess my question is more general. Is there a site that explains rules via a "scenario", "use case", or "story"?
What I am looking for is something like this:
If such and such scenario exists, (players have certain cards on the table, health, mana, whatever), and player A plays this card, then this occurs ... on the next turn, Player B does this, ...
etc.
Anyhoo. So question number "B". This card is confusing me.
1. Players don't draw cards: Awesome, makes sense.
2. Players exile the top card of their library: (I assume this means all players, and does not exclude the person who played it). But, makes sense for the most part.
3. If it is a land card, play it: What? Okay, I get that you must play it... but, I thought there was no drawing of cards?
4. Otherwise, cast it if possible: WHAT?? "Cast It"? Isn't everything a "cast"? How will anything ever get exiled? Is it the case that only things that can't be cast get exiled? What if this is a creature? Do you put it on the battlefield? Is that considered casting? Or when it says casting, is it only referring to sorceries and instants? AGH.
Anyhoo. I suppose this card prolly make sense, somehow, (without my over complicating things), but if someone could please straighten this out for me, I would appreciate it.
But more importantly, how can I figure this answer out on my own? Where can I go? What is the answer to question number "A"?
Thanks!
with omen machine in play players can never draw cards. Instead during the draw step they will exile the top card of their library. weather its a sorcery, creature, or insant doesnt matter. the only restriction is if a card says it can only be cast at a certain time. Also you dont draw the card rather you cast it from exile just like suspend.
So Player A plays omen machine. and ends turn. Player B exiles Llanowar Elves. He then casts it putting it onto the battlefied. He then continues his turn as normal. Player A's turn he exiles Aleatory. since it can only be cast during combat it stays exiled.
"I hate how they make cards like this so expensive. If you have access to six mana, you're already at the stage where you can start playing some ridiculous bombs. Why not cut out the middleman and just play cards that end the game by themselves?"
Six seems to be the default mana cost for a permanents that spit out free plays: Knowledge Pool, Gate to the AEther, Lurking Predators, Hellcarver Demon, Intet, the Dreamer, ect.
It's a shame, as I'd like to use them sometime -- preferably before the game is over.
Thoughts?
The confusion comes from when the card is played and the term "if able". The cards are exiled and able to be played during your draw step. You are not able to play anything but instants, or things with flash, during this step. So creatures, artifacts, sorceries, these aren't "able" to be cast and remain exiled. This card basically locks down the game and is generally only played when you dominate the board.
See, proper use of this card has three critical components:
Flash (Shimmer Myr, Leyline of Anticipation),
Deck Stacking (Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Liliana Vess, Scroll Rack, Crystal Ball), and
I Win (Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Blightsteel Colossus).
Other than that, you just need to support it properly. More deck stacking never hurts. Getting the cards you want (Treasure Mage, Shrine of Piercing Vision) is also important, of course. In the current standard, Grand Architect or Palladium Myr can help you get your Machine out soon and provide another way to play your winner if the main approach goes south. Last but certainly not least, alternate methods of Flashing help, and any spell that allows you to put a useless spell on top of your opponents library eliminates the need. And there you have it: a card that's far from "untouchable" in Constructed; or, if you prefer, a deck of the same species.
@ The Haters and The Lockers: Wild Evocation uses the same wording in the latter portion of the card and ignores timing restrictions. I don't think that's a function of it being Red.
(Originally Posted 5/15/2011 Evening)
I think the "if able" is just for the sake of cards which require a target for which there are no legal targets, and the like.
The purpose of this isn't to lock down your opponent; it's to get out your own big expensive spells, hopefully more powerful than the spells your opponent is getting for free. And as a side benefit, it also screws over anyone with a lot of X cost spells, anyone with a lot of extra card drawing, and anyone with spells designed to be played reactively like counterspells.
"...it can start locking down decks by turn three or four literally turning you opponent into a useless stack of cardboard."
Thanks for the (unintentional?) hilarity. :D
Omen Machine
Knowledge Pool
Eye of the Storm
Hive Mind
Draw a card cast a spell, that spell goes into Knowledge Pool, where you have access to other players spells. Casting one of those spells (if Instant or Sorcery), feeds Eye of the Storm, and casting things through Eye of the Storm feeds Hive Mind.
Makes you the griefer against Blue Control? Check.
Costs less than {6}? Houston, we've got a problem.
Still, an intriguing card.... I'm a fan of effects like this one, or Fatespinner's for example, that completely change the game's flow...
@MrThallid Crumbling Sanctuary and this get the job done with one card less in the combo.
It says you put the top card of your library into the exile pile. If its a land, you put it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, play it without paying its mana cost.
How can you play any other card but a land if your exiling it?
'If a card breaks the rules, go with the card'
So the card says you cast the card without paying it's cost... so you do, regardless of the normal timing restrictions. Of course, if a card has explicit timing restrictions 'Play ABC only when/during XYZ happens..' They cannot be casted with the ability and are remain exiled.
The 'If able' clause refers to the above and if the card requires a specific target (IE a counter spell, a Doom blade) and there are no legal targets, then it also remains exiled.
If a card has an 'X' in the cost; as normal, 'X' is 0.
Fun in standard casual. Conbine with permission. Counter one spell a turn.
Gah, I hate Phyrexia...
Overall a mediocre card, made for Johnny it looks like, but there are cards that do the same in a more interesting way. I sadly pulled a play set of these.
I love this card 4.5/5
Then watch as your opponents cannot play anything.