P.S. I personally think that this card should've been worded "When Homeward Path becomes tapped, each player gains control of all creatures he or she owns." so that to further the righteous cause even more so. (and to force me to take even more drastic measures)
Memnarch could care less. He'll just steal this first.
lorendorky
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(7 votes)
@ Jake: Couldn't care less.
Throw this into the Zedruu deck as a sort of Insurrection.
Splizer
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(7 votes)
Wow, Wizards! Sky Swallower is now playable! Except for all the missing encantments, and noncreature artifacts, and lands....
Latronis
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(9 votes)
Terribly designed card. If they must irrevocably return control of all the critters then it should have an appropiate cost not try to hose valid and fun strategies.
as it is Annex just for the insult to injury thing
metalevolence
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(6 votes)
This was a reasonable effect to create for the Commander product, but that effect should come at some cost.
The way we have it here, with effectively no cost, is rather infuriating.
If you Mind Control a creature and this ability is activated, do you lose the creature? Or does the Mind Control continue to apply? I think the latter.
caldur06
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Personally I think the flavor of this is poignant and clever. Regardless of it's mediocrity, it's still a lovely card.
infernox10
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I'm sort of concerned.
I feel this would have been a reset button in the Zedruu pre-con, and would have belonged there moreso than Riku's.
You know: "Oh, you're betraying my trust. Well give me my stuff back! Here, buddy, wanna help a brother out...?"
PeabodyET
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@infernox: Why are you giving people good stuff that you would need to take back. You should be giving them Steel Golem and trying to screw them over, or giving them useless mana artifacts like Foriysian Totem when they aren't playing red.
OutlawD1
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Will this work on mind control?
Studoku
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(4 votes)
A blight on the format that I really did not like to see printed.
To start with, it's another staple. There is literally no reason not to run this over a basic land. Not a major problem to begin with but as a blatant cash grab Wizards chose to only print this in one of the precons. Congratulations- any deck built by someone who bought that precon is better than the same deck built by someone who hasn't. Saying that Wizards don't profit from rare expensive cards being sold as singles is one thing, but in this case Wizards are actually selling the card.
It also nulifies an entire strategy and renders several cards useless. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of blatant thievery and I'd have been glad to see insurrection banned but there are many other control effects that I enjoyed to see play. Same goes for stealing from other people's graveyards- there's no point when you're just giving that player a creature.
Yes, I see the argument that this can be answered. So can everything else, and there often isn't enough land destruction to go around if you need to destroy 3-4 copies of this (which is easily tutored for) just to play your deck. When all's said and done, you're using deck space to answer a land.
Mode
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I'm glad there's no mana required for the activating the second ability.
That's pretty awesome with cards that exchange control if you have a sac outlet. Ashnod's Altar for instance. Gilded Drake: "I summon that guy. Mind if i exchange control for that fattie on your side? He seems like a decent offering for my altar *sacs*. Good thing my creatures are all loyal and know their *taps* Homeward Path! *sunglasses*" Spawnbroker works the same (but with power restrictions). Confusion in the Ranks enables this for any creature you cast. Puca's Mischief allows you doing it each upkeep (with cmc restriction), Juxtapose and Legerdemain also work, but merely only serve as expensive blue creature removal that way. At first i thought Cultural Exchange might be the best card for this, since that makes it a blue Wrath with the advantage of the abilities you get from sacrificing the creatures. But you have to control at least as many creatures as you opponent for that. In addition, your opponent has to run any creatures in the first place.
Regarding Gilded Drake, a deck that uses bounce or flicker effects with him instead might be more effective since it doesn't require a sac outlet and allows you using your opponent's creatures "normally". Confusion in the Ranks and Puca's Mischief might be better in a Zedruu deck.
TheLionsMane
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Yes! This must be a sign that Wizards is going to begin production of a series of Simon & Garfunkel-themed cards! Finally my dream is fulfilled!
... Yeah it was a stretch, but Homeward Bound is my favorite song, so I had to.
BegleOne
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(6 votes)
"Ever wonder how good your EDH deck would be if you could just design whatever card you needed to make it work?" -Wizards
Justice1337
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Long time EDH junkie on MODO for a while now, and I really can't get behind the design of this card.
First, stealing creatures was never that big of a problem. EDH is multiplayer, after all. When Timmy gets Bribery'ied turn 3 by Spike, that makes Timmy some friends and Spike some enemies. Then, fellow Timmy points removal at it, and they pound the blue Spike into the ground together, jointly offended by his Islands. That's why just about every deck will run Swords to Plowshares, Diabolic Edict - and in the case of things like Progenitus - Wrath of God, Damnation and any number of other sweep spells. There were many good reasons to be running those things before, and stealing creatures didn't change the card-equation much. There's still a threat on the board, no matter how it got there. And so with creature removal so rampant, really the only things on which you could expect a Volition Reins or a Word of Seizing to stick in the first place were key equipments, planeswalkers, enchantments, etc. This card does nothing to redress that at all.
Second, it doesn't stop the theft. Evidenced by the Zedruu, the Greathearted deck where this appears in the first place, less straightworward theft is still greatly available, and even enhanced by this card. Gilded Drake for one is still very abusable, thanks to the can't be countered clause. Decks with Threaten and its clones are still upsetting Timmies because they always did run sacrifice outlets. 2R: kill a fatty is still a broken enough card to make Timmy cry, not to mention all the times Timmy doesn't draw this card. And on the very back of this card itself, exchange control cards are greatly improved, which tends to be just as frustrating.
Third, from my seat, it's not as if every other deck was running Blatant Thievery, Treachery and Bribery. Black, White and green are still more common than Blue on MODO, probably due to the fact that blue players have noticed that all the spells and attacks just get pointed their way every time they play Island. Though that might not dry Timmy's tears when he's on the end of a Bribery, it means that self-interested Spikes will correct the problem themselves by instead playing JokulhaupsObliterate decks and the like, which always were better than counter/steal in multiplayer anyway, and much more frustrating. One more way that this card was a solution to a problem that didn't exist.
Fourth, why make this after you previously released a Commander Pre-con with Rubinia Soulsinger that had the very theme of creature theft? It's not like those decks were just wiping out the competition, and having both decks out at the same time when one just makes a joke of the other is just as bad PR. In fact, most people are upset about this card, if you read the comments.
Which brings me to my fifth point. This card's effect is way too cheap. Sure, it makes sense to add some tools to stop theft decks just as it makes sense to have some cards like Aven Mindcensor that stop tutors and combo. But every narrowly tailored answer card before has at least taken a non-land slot in the deck, and was also much more answerable by virtue of being non-land. And if you're going to make a land with a strong effect, why not at least make the activation cost something? Just tap one land and - boom! - every Mind Control is countered and the ones that haven't been played yet are more worthless than Storm Crow? At least make it cost {4}{T} or something like that so that someone who is actually playing these outdated cards that you sold to us can wait for a time when Timmy's tapped out from playing Sheoldred, then say, hey I can at least remove a blocker this round. Maybe make it sorcercy speed only so that Threaten still works. It's not as if that card was blowing people out. But with this, one Timmy can take down 2 or even 3 Spikes playing theivery decks, absolutely no problem. Too easy.
Very bad design. And we'll have to continue to endure it, because Hell's Caretaker will freeze over before Wiz ever bans a card that it released in a precon.
axiobeta
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
It's about time this guy drew a land. A nice card though, some of my playgroup likes their commandeers and spelljacks, this basically turns them into mana sinks. Control players are generally targeted anyway, but it's nice not to lose your stuff in the process. Also crazy with Goathearted. It's uncounterable too.
Kryptnyt
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
After a while of thinking, I guess this is all right. If you can steal creatures for free with Treachery you might as well be able to get them back for free too.
DarthParallax
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(7 votes)
EDIT: OH MY GOSH I JUST REALIZED THAT FLAVORTEXT IS A WIZARD OF OZ REFERENCE!!!!!!!!
xD
(PS: @the rest of Gatherer- you missed it too! WOW we are all soooo slow..... :p )
IUHoosier
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
I wish this didn't exist.
Stinga
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(1 vote)
The card is meh, 3.5. It is specific and it really hoses one strategy which I never like. That said the flavour of the card leaves me with a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Wow, I'm really surprised at all the hate directed at this card. I had no idea it (apparently) had such far-reaching implications for some peoples' games. Personally I think it's a very well designed card, that second ability could definitely stand to have an actual cost attached to it. But that's not nearly as fun, right? ;D
While the brand ability is such an odd effect to put on a land, the effect against some decks it completely blanks a pivotal removal spell in the game uncounterably, for a single mana, at instant speed, and repeatably. Some decks really do get blown out by a single bribery or treachery or mind control and having just 1 more answer that can be tutored up with expedition map makes it a shoe in for a lot of aggro decks.
Comments (32)
Wizards thinks that they can quash the tremendous theft epidemic in EDH. Well, to them I say, there have been very good reasons to run land destruction in every EDH deck way before now.
Aside from that, this card literally did make me ROFL as soon as I saw it spoiled.
Now I must take more drastic measures.
P.S. I personally think that this card should've been worded "When Homeward Path becomes tapped, each player gains control of all creatures he or she owns." so that to further the righteous cause even more so. (and to force me to take even more drastic measures)
Throw this into the Zedruu deck as a sort of Insurrection.
as it is Annex just for the insult to injury thing
The way we have it here, with effectively no cost, is rather infuriating.
I feel this would have been a reset button in the Zedruu pre-con, and would have belonged there moreso than Riku's.
You know: "Oh, you're betraying my trust. Well give me my stuff back! Here, buddy, wanna help a brother out...?"
To start with, it's another staple. There is literally no reason not to run this over a basic land. Not a major problem to begin with but as a blatant cash grab Wizards chose to only print this in one of the precons. Congratulations- any deck built by someone who bought that precon is better than the same deck built by someone who hasn't. Saying that Wizards don't profit from rare expensive cards being sold as singles is one thing, but in this case Wizards are actually selling the card.
It also nulifies an entire strategy and renders several cards useless. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of blatant thievery and I'd have been glad to see insurrection banned but there are many other control effects that I enjoyed to see play. Same goes for stealing from other people's graveyards- there's no point when you're just giving that player a creature.
Yes, I see the argument that this can be answered. So can everything else, and there often isn't enough land destruction to go around if you need to destroy 3-4 copies of this (which is easily tutored for) just to play your deck. When all's said and done, you're using deck space to answer a land.
That's pretty awesome with cards that exchange control if you have a sac outlet. Ashnod's Altar for instance.
Gilded Drake: "I summon that guy. Mind if i exchange control for that fattie on your side? He seems like a decent offering for my altar *sacs*. Good thing my creatures are all loyal and know their *taps* Homeward Path! *sunglasses*"
Spawnbroker works the same (but with power restrictions).
Confusion in the Ranks enables this for any creature you cast.
Puca's Mischief allows you doing it each upkeep (with cmc restriction),
Juxtapose and Legerdemain also work, but merely only serve as expensive blue creature removal that way.
At first i thought Cultural Exchange might be the best card for this, since that makes it a blue Wrath with the advantage of the abilities you get from sacrificing the creatures. But you have to control at least as many creatures as you opponent for that.
In addition, your opponent has to run any creatures in the first place.
Regarding Gilded Drake, a deck that uses bounce or flicker effects with him instead might be more effective since it doesn't require a sac outlet and allows you using your opponent's creatures "normally".
Confusion in the Ranks and Puca's Mischief might be better in a Zedruu deck.
... Yeah it was a stretch, but Homeward Bound is my favorite song, so I had to.
-Wizards
First, stealing creatures was never that big of a problem. EDH is multiplayer, after all. When Timmy gets Bribery'ied turn 3 by Spike, that makes Timmy some friends and Spike some enemies. Then, fellow Timmy points removal at it, and they pound the blue Spike into the ground together, jointly offended by his Islands. That's why just about every deck will run Swords to Plowshares, Diabolic Edict - and in the case of things like Progenitus - Wrath of God, Damnation and any number of other sweep spells. There were many good reasons to be running those things before, and stealing creatures didn't change the card-equation much. There's still a threat on the board, no matter how it got there. And so with creature removal so rampant, really the only things on which you could expect a Volition Reins or a Word of Seizing to stick in the first place were key equipments, planeswalkers, enchantments, etc. This card does nothing to redress that at all.
Second, it doesn't stop the theft. Evidenced by the Zedruu, the Greathearted deck where this appears in the first place, less straightworward theft is still greatly available, and even enhanced by this card. Gilded Drake for one is still very abusable, thanks to the can't be countered clause. Decks with Threaten and its clones are still upsetting Timmies because they always did run sacrifice outlets. 2R: kill a fatty is still a broken enough card to make Timmy cry, not to mention all the times Timmy doesn't draw this card. And on the very back of this card itself, exchange control cards are greatly improved, which tends to be just as frustrating.
Third, from my seat, it's not as if every other deck was running Blatant Thievery, Treachery and Bribery. Black, White and green are still more common than Blue on MODO, probably due to the fact that blue players have noticed that all the spells and attacks just get pointed their way every time they play Island. Though that might not dry Timmy's tears when he's on the end of a Bribery, it means that self-interested Spikes will correct the problem themselves by instead playing Jokulhaups Obliterate decks and the like, which always were better than counter/steal in multiplayer anyway, and much more frustrating. One more way that this card was a solution to a problem that didn't exist.
Fourth, why make this after you previously released a Commander Pre-con with Rubinia Soulsinger that had the very theme of creature theft? It's not like those decks were just wiping out the competition, and having both decks out at the same time when one just makes a joke of the other is just as bad PR. In fact, most people are upset about this card, if you read the comments.
Which brings me to my fifth point. This card's effect is way too cheap. Sure, it makes sense to add some tools to stop theft decks just as it makes sense to have some cards like Aven Mindcensor that stop tutors and combo. But every narrowly tailored answer card before has at least taken a non-land slot in the deck, and was also much more answerable by virtue of being non-land. And if you're going to make a land with a strong effect, why not at least make the activation cost something? Just tap one land and - boom! - every Mind Control is countered and the ones that haven't been played yet are more worthless than Storm Crow? At least make it cost {4}{T} or something like that so that someone who is actually playing these outdated cards that you sold to us can wait for a time when Timmy's tapped out from playing Sheoldred, then say, hey I can at least remove a blocker this round. Maybe make it sorcercy speed only so that Threaten still works. It's not as if that card was blowing people out. But with this, one Timmy can take down 2 or even 3 Spikes playing theivery decks, absolutely no problem. Too easy.
Very bad design. And we'll have to continue to endure it, because Hell's Caretaker will freeze over before Wiz ever bans a card that it released in a precon.
A nice card though, some of my playgroup likes their commandeers and spelljacks, this basically turns them into mana sinks. Control players are generally targeted anyway, but it's nice not to lose your stuff in the process.
Also crazy with Goathearted. It's uncounterable too.
xD
(PS: @the rest of Gatherer- you missed it too! WOW we are all soooo slow..... :p )
This should be in Zedruu's deck as a failsafe, for when you've donated something and need to pull it back to quickly block something. How odd.
While the brand ability is such an odd effect to put on a land, the effect against some decks it completely blanks a pivotal removal spell in the game uncounterably, for a single mana, at instant speed, and repeatably. Some decks really do get blown out by a single bribery or treachery or mind control and having just 1 more answer that can be tutored up with expedition map makes it a shoe in for a lot of aggro decks.