This card BREAKS the game. Just when almost all the cards in magic did something when they came in. Now they don't.
bfugitive
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
The hell with Standard, the first thought of mine was, as previously mentioned, Phyrexian Dreadnought. And I LOVE standard.
Unfortunately, really only viable against Caw-blade with a T1 Inquisition, so in a B/x control sideboard.
Jedijoe
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@InternetNinjacy I laughed when I saw your remark. And I totally agree. My Ally deck is now rendered useless. I better carry some Naturalizes around...
K9black
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Really? No impact on standard? Caw-Blade: Stoneforge and Hawk Valakut: Primeval RUG: Any titan, Massacre Wurm Vampires: Gatekeeper, Vandal, Scrapmelter Kuldotha: Bushwhacker Green Inf: Corrupter
It's only downside is that its a non-creature artifact and not a... colorless enchantment? It fits into every board. For two mana it is well worth it.
MrBarrelRoll
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(8 votes)
Won't have an impact on standard. Really don't know why people to expect to see it all the time, few if any players will actually run it. Doesn't advance your board position, barring some niche decks using metalcraft. Plus, drawing multiples sucks, and it's only good if you get it out turn 2, so there's no good number to try and play in any given deck.
Has more potential in eternal formats, if more as a combo card that also has a chance of screwing with your opponents. Other than the aforementioned Phyrexian Dreadnought, this could work great with the Hunted cycle from Rav for those of the more budget variety (like myself)
@TheDudeWhoRespondedWithoutReadingMyPost: What happens to benefit you when you play this? Nada. It just sits there. If you draw it late, it sucks. If you draw multiples, it sucks. Plus, all of those (tournament viable) decks you listed already have two drops they want to play, where does this fit into their curve? Answer it doesn't.
Blackwatch_00
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(5 votes)
time to make a deck without cards that say: When ______ enters the battlefeild....lol...5/5
Mogun
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Does it really destroy alles deck? I mean putting melee allies still trigger the allies already on the field.
Gabriel422
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I already hate this card. My Venser deck is gonna hate it too.
HairlessThoctar
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Not as good as you think it is. You need two run 4 for full effect, and drawing one late game is all but worthless.
surewhynot
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"Hey CAW-Blade, go **** y'self!" -- Torpor Orb
Japicx
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(17 votes)
I guess it shows how bad I am at this game, but my first thought on seeing this card was "Phage the Untouchable EDH is now possible!"
Seriously, though, I didn't expect Wizards to keep printing cards like this one that just turn the whole game upside down. It can mightily interfere with your opponents' combos, help with your own combos... Torpor Orb does it all. Johnnies are going to be abusing this puppy for years. Bravo, R&D.
ElMikkino
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
If you have this in your deck and you're facing Caw-Blade, you better hope you win the roll.
Yozuk
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I would really like to see the ruling on this one. Something about it is a little wonky. Does this mean that a creature can't trigger effects at all? Like if an enchantment says that when a creature enters the battlefield something happens. Would it not work because of this? or is it just creature effects? What about something like another creature saying when another creature enters the battlefield? The text on it suggests that not just creatures are effected by this, but anything that has effects based on creatures as well. I would much like clarification for this one please.
BonniePrinceCharlie
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Could fit in your Muraganda Petroglyphs deck. If you can't have any creature abilities, then Torpor Orb helps to nerf some of your opponents abilities.
AlunJaceImpostor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
now don't have to splash for Phyrexian Dreadnought! Loads and loads of Legacy decks to be made from this.
What an interesting card! There are probably thousands of good uses for this thing.
I've seen some comments about how this would hose a Venser deck, and it certainly could, as they're built now. May I suggest, instead, pairing Venser and the orb to abuse leaves the battlefield effects? The first card that comes to mind is Wormfang Manta...
Why, yes; I do like taking turns... especially if they're all my turns.
Kruggles
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Problem, Allies?
Todzik
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Phyrexians created Torpor Orb. Phyrexians created splicers. Then Phyrexians realised that something went wrong.
Ava_Adore
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
well there goes my clone deck out the window
clone enters play, as a 0/0 creature ^^
ManaDrainIt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Smother just became THE MAN... PD, TGyf, DC, etc, etc.
blindthrall
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm so glad I just gave Wizards all that money to make my ally deck viable. And Tuktuk Scrapper was such a fine hoser, too.
Easily one of my favorite cards from the set just for the ability to negate the initial ETB effect from the titans. @ava_adore Clone should still work. Its not an ability that triggers from it entering play, its a decision you make as the card is being cast. If you decide to clone a Phyrexian Dreadnaught with this in play however, the cloned dread's new ETB ability (sacrificing creatures) would not trigger, where normally it would. Its the same with Phyrexian Metamorph, if you want to go that route.
What's that? Phyrexian Dreadnought got a chew toy? Wait, whad ya say? You can Dark Ritual both out turn 1? That may be a probbum...
Ixael
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
So after going through some cards to see how they would interact with this beauty, I have a couple questions that might be newbish,but . . .
Doesn't this affect champion? What about evoke? I'm just going by the Lorwyn FAQ, but the exile/sac are both triggered based on the permanent entering the battlefield. No 12/12 for 1, but more possible shenanigans.
InternetNinjacy
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Screw you, Allies.
EverJohnny
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(4 votes)
You have creatures in your deck? I'm sorry to hear that.
Makes CawBlade worse and DeceiverTwin useless.
Teakon
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This card doesn't break the game. First off its 2 mana for cast. Very Nice. Stops those pesky Blood Seekers.
Most Red spells that kill artifacts are 1 or 2 mana. They play this on turn their second turn you CRUSH it. If not Crush your second turn just Shatter it.
Then there is Green, Naturalize is one of the most common green artifact removals to date.
For Blue, Steel Sabotage is the cheapest Blue anti-Artifact counter.
Shadoflaam
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
i needed one for EDH. I got one in 5 of the 7 New Phyrexia packs I bought. The other cards were Elesh Norn and Caged Sun. FML I'm waiting for m12 to buy packs now.
"Doesn't this affect champion? What about evoke? I'm just going by the Lorwyn FAQ, but the exile/sac are both triggered based on the permanent entering the battlefield. No 12/12 for 1, but more possible shenanigans."
As for champion, it looks pretty simple: this stops championing. Nothing is exiled, whether you want it to be or not.
As for evoke, I think it lets you play cards with evoke for their evoke cost as if they were vanilla creatures - no ETB ability, also no sacrifice, just a lower mana cost. Cloudthresher, for example, is normally a 7/7 with reach, flash and ETB: 2 damage to each creature with flying for 2GGGG, which is a pretty fair price considering the colored mana requirement or maybe just a little undercosted. With Torpor Orb out, it's a 7/7 with flash and reach for 2GG. Wow. That might be the real way to break this card.
Judgemaster_Rolan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
After seeing this card, I went through my deck to see how many of the 21 creatures would be affected. The number that would be affected is 2, and one of those is Cloudthresher. This could fit in quite nicely...
Clearly, the Phyrexians invaded Mirrodin just so they could cast their Dreadnoughts on turn 3 without any mana ramping.
(Yes, I know Stifle is quicker, but it's also around $70 for a playset.)
bluemaxx
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
correct me if i'm wrong. but does this card make Graft and Modular creatures enter the battlefield with nothing?
Twinsuit
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
For those of you looking for drawbackless fatties under the Orb, think of Wormfang Manta too. Now he can combo with Mimic Vat for infinite turns! I'm also looking forward to the new awesome power of Ovinomancer (who would just love to get stuck in a Vat as well).
divine_exodus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
For when you you don't have stifle in your hand, but you really need it.
Dr.Pingas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Oh, lovely.
I can actually play my Jokulmorder efficiantly now. =)
Also, since Evoke was mentioned, I believe it would just send the creature straight to the graveyard; the orb would only stop the enters-the-battlefield trigger; the evoke ability still resolves completely, including sending the card in question to the graveyard.
My question is, how does this work with Quicksilver Gargantuan and/or Mimeoplasm? Just based on the wording, I'm not sure if their abilities are technically triggered; or if the orb would just stop the triggered abilities of the creatures they copy.
Malnourished_Student
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Woot! I can use my Eater of Days now!
I'm thinking:
T1. Land, Sol Ring, Torpor Orb
T2. Land, Eater of Days.
T3. Profit!
fissionessence
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Andrew's Occasional Random Card of the Day #5 - 7/1/2011 - Torpor Orb
Torpor Orb is interesting in that it is two kinds of cards at once.
When it was first spoiled, the talk of it was all about its role as a sideboard card against things like Primeval Titan. With the recent banning of Jace, and the possible resurgence of Valakut, we might see this appear in some sideboards, though I think the general opinion has settled on 'not good enough,' which was my opinion from the start. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few people try it, though, so it could pop up in some sideboards of recognizable deck lists.
So, it's an awkward sideboard card. The other type of card it is is a strange Johnny trick card. Ohh, no drawback from my Phyrexian Dreadnought or Lord of Tresserhorn? Very nice! I think it could be tough to actually make a deck around this synergy, but I can imagine that there's some sequence of cards that could create some kind of infinite combo by ignoring a creature's ETB trigger. Besides, my Lord of Tresserhorn plan has always been to sideboard it in against someone with an Ivory Mask. That would be nuts (Maybe).
Paleopaladin
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(9 votes)
50 years from now there will be a memorial museum for the Ally genocide that this card created.
JaxsonBateman
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
How is this not above 4? It's a brutal card. You can tune your deck to take advantage of lack-of-ETBs (Phyrexian Dreadnaught), or you can absolutely hose an opponent's strategy (a lot of creatures that provide card advantage do so via beneficial ETBs). And for how much? 2 mana. Of any color.
An absolute hoser or enabler depending on your deck, I'm surprised this isn't closer to the 4.5 mark.
@DrPingas - you're wrong about evoke. Evoke represents two different abilities - one that modifies the cost that you can pay to cast the card, and the other is an ETB that says "when this creature enters the battlefield, if it's evoke cost was paid, sacrifice it". Torpor Orb stops that ETB from occuring, so it doesn't get sacrificed - however, a fair amount of evoke creatures are played for their nice ETBs (Mulldrifter, Shreikmaw etc), and Torpor Orb also stops those, so you're basically just paying for a 'cheap' creature.
@Fissionessence - while not quite good enough against Primeval (it doesn't stop the attack triggers, so they're still going to go off even if they don't get their ETB), it does hose a lot of creatures that you'd usually consider good, like Solemn Simulacrum, Acidic Slime, Wall of Omens, Blade Splicer, etc. It won't be a sideboard card for every meta, but some metas will play enough creatures with ETBs that it's warranted. So the "it's not good enough" comment is incredibly dependant on meta.
My_Name_Is_Kaz
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(11 votes)
That shady duder in the background totally just tried to trigger an ability when he entered the battlefield and doesn't know what went wrong.
God_Of_The_Smurfs
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Cawblade just took a REALLY hard shot to the gonads. Fantastic. :) 4/5 EDIT: Birthing Pod decks just took a REALLy hard shot to the gonads as well.
I just got my first taste of the post-Innistrad metagame, and I will now be keeping a playset of these next to my heart in a silver container, wherever I go.
Two words: Snapcaster Mage. These go in the sideboard of every Standard deck I have.
carcinogen
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Does this counter 'enters the battlefield with +1 or -1 counters'? What about 'enters the battlefield tapped'? Thanks
OmegaSerris
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@carcinogen Check the rulings: Abilities that apply "as enters the battlefield," such as choosing a creature to copy with Clone, are unaffected.
I believe that is a no, it doesn't effect those examples you gave. The best rationalization I can give is this: those abilities are AS they enter, not 'When' or 'Whenever' ('At' being the third word that signifies a triggered ability). I guess you could also think of the fact that it isn't a creature (permanent) until it is already ON the field (when the abilities Torpor Orb stops normally trigger).
fun to build decks around, fun to ruin decks that abuse EtB effects. 5/5
Russian.Thunder
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ha! Sorry Ally decks!
xxLeviathanxx
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My friend played a Blue/Black Torpor Orb Deck. Kills me in 3 turns with Phyrexian Dreadnaught. Makes me cry lmao
OneFishTwoFish
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wait a sec, doesn't this stop creatures with evoke from being sacrificed when they enter the battlefield? 7 of the 19 evokers have leaves-the-battlefield abilities, so that seems cool.
If you thought this card was good at hosing a neat array of strategies, The new Grafdigger's Cage in Dark Ascension completely shuts down a variety of decks, most notably YawgWin.
Tynansdtm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Abilities worded as "This enters the battlefield with..." or "This enters the battlefield as..." are static. They're simply statements of fact. Examples: Phyrexian Metamorph, Diregraf Ghoul. Triggered abilities are worded "If/when condition do action." These don't happen. Your creatures don't activate their own abilities ("When this enters the battlefield..."). They don't activate abilities that trigger on creatures entering the battlefield (you won't gain life from Soul Warden), and it won't trigger abilities that trigger on other things (artifact creatures won't untap Grinding Stations).
PeabodyET
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@blunt_shark: Sorry, but it won't work out that way. Undying is a triggered ability that triggers when the creature dies. "Undying (When this creature dies, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a +1/+1 counter on it.)"
The dying trigger is put on the stack, and if the creature had no +1/+1 counters on it, then it returns to the battlefield with a counter on it. There is no trigger when it enters the battlefield.
This can still be a good sideboard card against Snapcaster in standard, but that's probably about it. In modern, you can abuse the Hunted Creatures, which is a fun deck that I've built. Playing the orb on turn 2, followed by Hunted Phantasm on turn 3 is pretty fun.
blunt_shark
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
good lookin, PeabodyET. thats quite unfortunate. i guess ill have to use hex parasites to get those pesky counters off.
DarthParallax
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Guest1281794618: it's Timmy that likes creatures, not Johnny. Timmy isn't stupid, and knows that creatures with abilities are giving him free value, so it doesn't feel wrong for him to play 'smart' cards. Some people fail to realize that Timmy hates Craw Wurm. Timmy hates Craw Wurm not so much BECAUSE it's a vanilla, but because as a vanilla, the rest of it's stats are not impressive. Timmy LOVES Wooly Thoctar, because even as a vanilla it's stats are great.
Timmy is about building the most effective Battle Deck possible- sometimes that means using abilities, sometimes it doesn't.
Johnny is about doing the DIFFERENT thing. The offbeat path. The road less travelled. Johnny likes to look at cards and think 'what is the ultimate maximum potential I can get out of this?' Because of this, Johnny is comfortable with control, aggro, AND combo strategies-- a 'combo' that simply puts a giant creature onto the battlefield way to early is really more of an aggro deck, not a combo deck. A 'control' lock that features 4 or 5 different pieces that all had to be searched out, whose individual parts would not be maindeckable, but together create a win, is really more of an 'Evil Combo'. And a 'mana ramp' deck that doesn't settle for JUST a Progenitus, preferring instead, say, Mind's Desire...well, a Mind's Desire on ANY turn is going to be a combo.
Johnny looks at this and thinks....'Hm, maybe it's time to break out Evil.Deck. I think I'll put this, Stranglehold, and Grafdigger's Cage and every other 'screw you' card into the same deck. I'm going to assemble the ultimate Combo of Hate and prevent anyone from doing anything except me.
Guest1381794618
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Dear Torpor Orb,
As a lover of all my spells having legs, @#$% YOU!
Sincerely, Johnny (and Timmy)
Seriously though, this thing hoses so many of my decks it's not even funny. Unless you're the one playing it, of course, then it's hilarious.
@DarthParallax: In my opinion, Johnny is more likely to be interested in the kind of creatures that Torpor Orb turns off than is Timmy. Consider a Venser deck, if you will. However you want to build it, Venser decks tend to end up creature based, sure. But they're not Timmy decks. Consider also, U/W ally decks, who are by nature creature decks, but are bouncy control contraptions that don't often win by going sideways.
On the other hand, Timmy does like his spells with legs on too, but they are more of the flashy big variety. Stuff like Titans, Iona, Massacre Wurm and that ilk. This hurts him too, but not as much as it messes with Johnny. Timmy's stuff can get by without the extra rider, his deck isn't absolutely riding on it the way Johnny's is, but it still sucks his kill spell with legs on or whatever ins't fully up to snuff.
In the end, nobody really likes playing against this thing, especially not my particular brand of Johnnyness, which I'll freely admit has a certain twinge of Timmy in there.
yyukichigai
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I have no idea what this card is supposed to do exactly, but I'm a Johnny and therefore must have four of them.
Seriously, there are entirely too many combos to be made with this. I'd be hard pressed to settle on one deck based on this card.
Would this counter Parallel Lives? Cause if it doesent, I will never be afraid of decks running Massacre Wurms anymore
dingophone
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Talk about a workhorse of a card. Slows down Wolf Run Ramp decks a ton and makes Geralf's Messenger so much worse. If you're running a slower deck and need to slow the game down against a quicker deck, Torpor Orb gets the job done in most cases. 5/5
WhoWatchesBigBrother
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
With the new undying ability, this card gets even more broken, as it prevents undying from applying a +1/+1 counter...
Nice card that I pulled from a booster. Fits perfectly to my modified Carnival of Blood intro deck.
On the other hand (no pun intended), I learned to use this the hard way when me and my friends were playing a 2vs2-match and my teammate had my mono black deck. Quite early I cast this and realized too late that my teammate's Ravenous Rats', Rune-Scarred Demon and Geralf's Messenger were shot in the leg. Needless to say we lost, and I've been playing less while drinking since.
wolfvf18
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Take this Avacyn Restored and Innistrad block. No more Soulbound or Geralf's Messenger and things like that.
Toquinha1977
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(4 votes)
If flicker effects really takes off in Standard, this card is gonna be vital. Get 'em now while they're cheap!
steev
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Oh man, the duder in the background is Entomber Exarch. They're even by the same artist. SNEAKY
adrian.malacoda
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Should have printed something like this: Blightsteel Dreadnought Trample, infect CARDNAME is indestructible When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, sacrifice it unless you sacrifice any number of creatures with total power 12 or greater. 12/12
It's different so it circumvents the reserve list.
@steev
Entomber Exarch is Phyrexian... so the Phyrexians created an artifact that stops the abilities of their own dudes?
Just looked it up and this does not affect undying. The creature would still come back with a +1/+1 counter as undying is triggered when the creature dies, not when it reenters the battlefield. The counter is a replacement effect and is not prevented by the orb. Correct me if I'm wrong.
SyntheticDreamer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Thanks to blink effects, this card is going to be a sideboard staple in Standard for as long as Scars block is still in it. There is so much it stops, and for only two mana. Get it while you can.
EDIT: Yes, this does stop soulbond. Soulbond is a triggered ability that triggers when either the creature with soulbond enters the battlefield, or another creature enters the battlefield and an unpaired creature with soulbond is already on the battlefield. Torpor Orb stops it from triggering.
Basically, you can read soulbond as "When ~ enters the battlefield, you may pair it..." and likewise for when your soulbonder's already on the battlefield and another creature enters.
Xeromus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Oh, I see.. it's a difference between "when" a creature enters and "as" a creature enters.
Soulbond triggers "when" and not "as", so Torpor Orb stops it.
I stand corrected.
Dream_Twist
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
5/5 because now with Innistrad block all out, this card totally blows up Standard.
It makes all of your fancy creatures do very little for aside from being creatures. I think that's great and it should definitely find a place in many sideboards until it rotates out.
Seems like this is always used offensively to drop creatures that were otherwise not intended to be easy to play instead of defensively, preventing opponents from playing creatures with beneficial ETB effects.
El_Pared
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
wait wait wait wait.... Doesn't this card make make the Evoke ability go off the chain? With Torpor Orb out, wouldn't an evoked Mulldrifter stay in play since evoke's "sacrifice this" is triggered when the thing comes into play? Granted, you wouldn't get to draw the cards either, but still.
also sounds amazing with Mimic Vat and anything with a symmetrical ability like Wormfang Manta
RocketLobster
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
"I was going to kill this guy with my deathtouch, but I don't feel like it." -Phage the Untouchable
StoneColdheart
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Oh look your Blade Splicer is now a 1/1 vanilla creature for trollolololol
GlintKawk42
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
JOHNNY! JOHNNY! JOHNNY! 5/5
Earthdawn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I feel like they didn't need to use a contraction on the ability. Spelling out "do not" would have been fine... they had plenty of space to fill.
jbump75
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I understand that this card only works on ETB effects, but does it also effect additional casting costs of cards such as Skaab Ruinator?
MagicCritic
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Nullify Goblin Guide's ability. Nullify Vexing Devil's ability. so much $wag
DiamondFlavor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I just run it in Commander as hate in decks that don't have many ETBs. Suddenly so many creatures are nerfed.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Torpor Orb stops the Chronozoa from entering with any vanish counters... just keep saccing him over... and over... and over.
(Rules Excerpt: 702.62a - Vanishing is a keyword that represents three abilities. “Vanishing N” means “This permanent enters the battlefield with N time counters on it,”...) etc.
j_mindfingerpainter
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@El_Pared: Yeah I was wondering the same thing. According to the rules, the sacrifice part of evoke is stopped by this card. The relevant part says:
"When this permanent enters the battlefield, if its evoke cost was paid, its controller sacrifices it."
EDIT: @Fenizrael: For an ability to be considered a triggered ability, it has to begin with "when," "whenever," or "at." So although your rules excerpt says things with vanishing enter the battlefield with counters, the ability would have to say something like, "When Chronozoa enters the battlefield, put 3 time counters on it," for Torpor Orb to affect it.
When I first saw this card, I was a little skeptical at first; then I took a look at a bunch of cards I had back home and realized the potential this thing has.
Boldwyr Heavyweights and Eater of Days are just some decent examples for a great modern deck. Even when Avacyn Restored came out, I quickly acquired a playset of Vexing Devils. At least that way I could keep them and my opponent's only choice was to either get rid of the artifact, or the creature.
MostlyLost
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is proof that Wizards knew exactly what the consequences would be of putting Deceiver Exarch in standard with Splinter Twin. Also that they had a slight idea of how powerful Snapcaster Mage would turn out to be.
I also want to point out that this, for Phyrexian Dreadnaught, can be faster than stifle! If you Dark Ritual it (which you can't with stifle) you can have a T1 Dreadnaught. Given that the Orb allows a repeatable effect; that can be pretty good.
volkiteSerpenta
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
So this is how the Phyrexians beat the Mirrans. The resistance was really counting on their Arcbound murder machines that had been so feared under Memnarch's reign.
It came as a nasty surprise to the Mirrans when one Thrummingbird armed with one Torpor Orb made every Arcbound construct on Mirrodin fall apart.
Comments (107)
Unfortunately, really only viable against Caw-blade with a T1 Inquisition, so in a B/x control sideboard.
I laughed when I saw your remark. And I totally agree. My Ally deck is now rendered useless. I better carry some Naturalizes around...
Caw-Blade: Stoneforge and Hawk
Valakut: Primeval
RUG: Any titan, Massacre Wurm
Vampires: Gatekeeper, Vandal, Scrapmelter
Kuldotha: Bushwhacker
Green Inf: Corrupter
It's only downside is that its a non-creature artifact and not a... colorless enchantment? It fits into every board. For two mana it is well worth it.
Has more potential in eternal formats, if more as a combo card that also has a chance of screwing with your opponents. Other than the aforementioned Phyrexian Dreadnought, this could work great with the Hunted cycle from Rav for those of the more budget variety (like myself)
@TheDudeWhoRespondedWithoutReadingMyPost: What happens to benefit you when you play this? Nada. It just sits there. If you draw it late, it sucks. If you draw multiples, it sucks. Plus, all of those (tournament viable) decks you listed already have two drops they want to play, where does this fit into their curve? Answer it doesn't.
You need two run 4 for full effect, and drawing one late game is all but worthless.
Seriously, though, I didn't expect Wizards to keep printing cards like this one that just turn the whole game upside down. It can mightily interfere with your opponents' combos, help with your own combos... Torpor Orb does it all. Johnnies are going to be abusing this puppy for years. Bravo, R&D.
I've seen some comments about how this would hose a Venser deck, and it certainly could, as they're built now. May I suggest, instead, pairing Venser and the orb to abuse leaves the battlefield effects? The first card that comes to mind is Wormfang Manta...
Why, yes; I do like taking turns... especially if they're all my turns.
clone enters play, as a 0/0 creature ^^
Eater of Days.
@ava_adore
Clone should still work. Its not an ability that triggers from it entering play, its a decision you make as the card is being cast.
If you decide to clone a Phyrexian Dreadnaught with this in play however, the cloned dread's new ETB ability (sacrificing creatures) would not trigger, where normally it would.
Its the same with Phyrexian Metamorph, if you want to go that route.
Doesn't this affect champion? What about evoke? I'm just going by the Lorwyn FAQ, but the exile/sac are both triggered based on the permanent entering the battlefield. No 12/12 for 1, but more possible shenanigans.
Makes CawBlade worse and DeceiverTwin useless.
Most Red spells that kill artifacts are 1 or 2 mana. They play this on turn their second turn you CRUSH it. If not Crush your second turn just Shatter it.
Then there is Green, Naturalize is one of the most common green artifact removals to date.
For Blue, Steel Sabotage is the cheapest Blue anti-Artifact counter.
Wait wait wait.
Wait.
Phage?
As for champion, it looks pretty simple: this stops championing. Nothing is exiled, whether you want it to be or not.
As for evoke, I think it lets you play cards with evoke for their evoke cost as if they were vanilla creatures - no ETB ability, also no sacrifice, just a lower mana cost. Cloudthresher, for example, is normally a 7/7 with reach, flash and ETB: 2 damage to each creature with flying for 2GGGG, which is a pretty fair price considering the colored mana requirement or maybe just a little undercosted. With Torpor Orb out, it's a 7/7 with flash and reach for 2GG. Wow. That might be the real way to break this card.
(Yes, I know Stifle is quicker, but it's also around $70 for a playset.)
I can actually play my Jokulmorder efficiantly now.
=)
Also, since Evoke was mentioned, I believe it would just send the creature straight to the graveyard; the orb would only stop the enters-the-battlefield trigger; the evoke ability still resolves completely, including sending the card in question to the graveyard.
My question is, how does this work with Quicksilver Gargantuan and/or Mimeoplasm? Just based on the wording, I'm not sure if their abilities are technically triggered; or if the orb would just stop the triggered abilities of the creatures they copy.
I'm thinking:
T1. Land, Sol Ring, Torpor Orb
T2. Land, Eater of Days.
T3. Profit!
Torpor Orb is interesting in that it is two kinds of cards at once.
When it was first spoiled, the talk of it was all about its role as a sideboard card against things like Primeval Titan. With the recent banning of Jace, and the possible resurgence of Valakut, we might see this appear in some sideboards, though I think the general opinion has settled on 'not good enough,' which was my opinion from the start. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few people try it, though, so it could pop up in some sideboards of recognizable deck lists.
So, it's an awkward sideboard card. The other type of card it is is a strange Johnny trick card. Ohh, no drawback from my Phyrexian Dreadnought or Lord of Tresserhorn? Very nice! I think it could be tough to actually make a deck around this synergy, but I can imagine that there's some sequence of cards that could create some kind of infinite combo by ignoring a creature's ETB trigger. Besides, my Lord of Tresserhorn plan has always been to sideboard it in against someone with an Ivory Mask. That would be nuts (Maybe).
An absolute hoser or enabler depending on your deck, I'm surprised this isn't closer to the 4.5 mark.
@DrPingas - you're wrong about evoke. Evoke represents two different abilities - one that modifies the cost that you can pay to cast the card, and the other is an ETB that says "when this creature enters the battlefield, if it's evoke cost was paid, sacrifice it". Torpor Orb stops that ETB from occuring, so it doesn't get sacrificed - however, a fair amount of evoke creatures are played for their nice ETBs (Mulldrifter, Shreikmaw etc), and Torpor Orb also stops those, so you're basically just paying for a 'cheap' creature.
@Fissionessence - while not quite good enough against Primeval (it doesn't stop the attack triggers, so they're still going to go off even if they don't get their ETB), it does hose a lot of creatures that you'd usually consider good, like Solemn Simulacrum, Acidic Slime, Wall of Omens, Blade Splicer, etc. It won't be a sideboard card for every meta, but some metas will play enough creatures with ETBs that it's warranted. So the "it's not good enough" comment is incredibly dependant on meta.
EDIT: Birthing Pod decks just took a REALLy hard shot to the gonads as well.
Two words: Snapcaster Mage. These go in the sideboard of every Standard deck I have.
What about 'enters the battlefield tapped'?
Thanks
Check the rulings:
Abilities that apply "as enters the battlefield," such as choosing a creature to copy with Clone, are unaffected.
I believe that is a no, it doesn't effect those examples you gave. The best rationalization I can give is this: those abilities are AS they enter, not 'When' or 'Whenever' ('At' being the third word that signifies a triggered ability). I guess you could also think of the fact that it isn't a creature (permanent) until it is already ON the field (when the abilities Torpor Orb stops normally trigger).
Also cool with Tempting Wurm and Eater of Days.
And that's just in standard...
The new Grafdigger's Cage in Dark Ascension completely shuts down a variety of decks, most notably YawgWin.
The dying trigger is put on the stack, and if the creature had no +1/+1 counters on it, then it returns to the battlefield with a counter on it. There is no trigger when it enters the battlefield.
This can still be a good sideboard card against Snapcaster in standard, but that's probably about it. In modern, you can abuse the Hunted Creatures, which is a fun deck that I've built. Playing the orb on turn 2, followed by Hunted Phantasm on turn 3 is pretty fun.
Timmy is about building the most effective Battle Deck possible- sometimes that means using abilities, sometimes it doesn't.
Johnny is about doing the DIFFERENT thing. The offbeat path. The road less travelled. Johnny likes to look at cards and think 'what is the ultimate maximum potential I can get out of this?' Because of this, Johnny is comfortable with control, aggro, AND combo strategies-- a 'combo' that simply puts a giant creature onto the battlefield way to early is really more of an aggro deck, not a combo deck.
A 'control' lock that features 4 or 5 different pieces that all had to be searched out, whose individual parts would not be maindeckable, but together create a win, is really more of an 'Evil Combo'.
And a 'mana ramp' deck that doesn't settle for JUST a Progenitus, preferring instead, say, Mind's Desire...well, a Mind's Desire on ANY turn is going to be a combo.
Johnny looks at this and thinks....'Hm, maybe it's time to break out Evil.Deck. I think I'll put this, Stranglehold, and Grafdigger's Cage and every other 'screw you' card into the same deck. I'm going to assemble the ultimate Combo of Hate and prevent anyone from doing anything except me.
As a lover of all my spells having legs, @#$% YOU!
Sincerely,
Johnny (and Timmy)
Seriously though, this thing hoses so many of my decks it's not even funny. Unless you're the one playing it, of course, then it's hilarious.
@DarthParallax:
In my opinion, Johnny is more likely to be interested in the kind of creatures that Torpor Orb turns off than is Timmy. Consider a Venser deck, if you will. However you want to build it, Venser decks tend to end up creature based, sure. But they're not Timmy decks. Consider also, U/W ally decks, who are by nature creature decks, but are bouncy control contraptions that don't often win by going sideways.
On the other hand, Timmy does like his spells with legs on too, but they are more of the flashy big variety. Stuff like Titans, Iona, Massacre Wurm and that ilk. This hurts him too, but not as much as it messes with Johnny. Timmy's stuff can get by without the extra rider, his deck isn't absolutely riding on it the way Johnny's is, but it still sucks his kill spell with legs on or whatever ins't fully up to snuff.
In the end, nobody really likes playing against this thing, especially not my particular brand of Johnnyness, which I'll freely admit has a certain twinge of Timmy in there.
Seriously, there are entirely too many combos to be made with this. I'd be hard pressed to settle on one deck based on this card.
On the other hand (no pun intended), I learned to use this the hard way when me and my friends were playing a 2vs2-match and my teammate had my mono black deck. Quite early I cast this and realized too late that my teammate's Ravenous Rats', Rune-Scarred Demon and Geralf's Messenger were shot in the leg. Needless to say we lost, and I've been playing less while drinking since.
No more Soulbound or Geralf's Messenger and things like that.
Blightsteel Dreadnought
Trample, infect
CARDNAME is indestructible
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, sacrifice it unless you sacrifice any number of creatures with total power 12 or greater.
12/12
It's different so it circumvents the reserve list.
@steev
Entomber Exarch is Phyrexian... so the Phyrexians created an artifact that stops the abilities of their own dudes?
Demonlord of Ashmouth
EDIT: Yes, this does stop soulbond. Soulbond is a triggered ability that triggers when either the creature with soulbond enters the battlefield, or another creature enters the battlefield and an unpaired creature with soulbond is already on the battlefield. Torpor Orb stops it from triggering.
Basically, you can read soulbond as "When ~ enters the battlefield, you may pair it..." and likewise for when your soulbonder's already on the battlefield and another creature enters.
Soulbond triggers "when" and not "as", so Torpor Orb stops it.
I stand corrected.
It makes all of your fancy creatures do very little for aside from being creatures. I think that's great and it should definitely find a place in many sideboards until it rotates out.
T1: Swamp
T2: Swamp, Torpor Orb
T3: Island, Phyrexian Dreadnought
T4: Island, Phyresis, Artful Dodge, win.
Also shuts down those easy to play ally-decks.
also sounds amazing with Mimic Vat and anything with a symmetrical ability like Wormfang Manta
-Phage the Untouchable
Nullify Vexing Devil's ability.
so much $wag
4 of this
16 swamps, 8 mountains,
4 hunted horror,
4 eater of days,
4 phyrexian dreadnought,
4 hunted dragon,
4 hidden horror,
4 shivan wumpus,
4 demonic tutor,
and 4 diabolic tutor.
5/5
Torpor Orb paired with Carrion Feeder OR Bloodflow Connoisseur
and... Chronozoa
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Torpor Orb stops the Chronozoa from entering with any vanish counters... just keep saccing him over... and over... and over.
(Rules Excerpt: 702.62a - Vanishing is a keyword that represents three abilities. “Vanishing N” means “This permanent enters the battlefield with N time counters on it,”...) etc.
"When this permanent enters the battlefield, if its evoke cost was paid, its controller sacrifices it."
EDIT: @Fenizrael: For an ability to be considered a triggered ability, it has to begin with "when," "whenever," or "at." So although your rules excerpt says things with vanishing enter the battlefield with counters, the ability would have to say something like, "When Chronozoa enters the battlefield, put 3 time counters on it," for Torpor Orb to affect it.
Boldwyr Heavyweights and Eater of Days are just some decent examples for a great modern deck. Even when Avacyn Restored came out, I quickly acquired a playset of Vexing Devils. At least that way I could keep them and my opponent's only choice was to either get rid of the artifact, or the creature.
I also want to point out that this, for Phyrexian Dreadnaught, can be faster than stifle! If you Dark Ritual it (which you can't with stifle) you can have a T1 Dreadnaught. Given that the Orb allows a repeatable effect; that can be pretty good.
It came as a nasty surprise to the Mirrans when one Thrummingbird armed with one Torpor Orb made every Arcbound construct on Mirrodin fall apart.