First off: it should say Cumulative Upkeep: Draw a Card Seems pretty bad to me. to the people who said EDH is the place for this, shame on you. Not every bad rare for 6 mana is an edh staple. If you want to draw cards, cast Mind Spring, Blue Sun's Zenith, Stroke of Genius, Prosperity, Minds Unbound, Windfall, Breakthrough, ect. If you proliferate the living jesus out of it, then it might work, but that also works with a walking archive, which also gives you a big blocker.
Deco_y
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
With standard slowing down and blue the color to draw out games with... This could get abused.
HolyCause
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Seems very odd that it doesn't use the cumulative upkeep keyword, but I guess it is more flavourful to have "lore" counters than "age" counters. Still an odd decision.
The so-so mechanics of this card aside, the art and flavour text are absolutely spectacular, more so due to their union.
ray_juped
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(8 votes)
Cumulative upkeep would be pretty different, since it would allow you to sacrifice the enchantment when you want to stop drawing cards.
don_miguel
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
don't like. at 6 mana i would prefer draw 4 cards at instant speed, some of them will let me draw more cards.
Jesseman
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Proliferate. You can thank me later when your hands are abundant.
sonorhC
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
They already made the cümulative upkeep version: It's called Psychic Vortex. Yeah, it's got drawbacks, but it's also cheaper, and gives you the option of sacrificing it instead of decking yourself. And even if you need other combo pieces to work around the drawback, you'll be drawing enough cards that you'll get those soon enough.
ridiculousricky
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
What I can see this doing is being run with Kozilek, Butcher of Truth (ore one of the other legendary eldrazi, but he's the cheapest) in a Jin-Gitaxias Commander deck, with the one eldrazi being so you don't deck yourself.
WarioMan
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This + Archmage Ascension + Venser's Journal = awesome abuse maybe? I don't play competitive so that's all I see it as.
Tantudo
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
this+Jace's Erasure+Venser's journal, room for abuse but lots of mill.
tcollins
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(8 votes)
The artwork reminds me of
MIND = BLOWN
That aside, use it with proliferate mechanics, just make sure you run Venser, The Sojourner too...that way if it's counters get too high you can exile it.
Claybird
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I used this combined with Elixir of Immortality, worked great for stalling at pre-release. 3-4 Elixir of Immortality combined with just one of these is a deal breaker if your opponent has no mill abilities.
It wasn't until I saw an enlarged shot of the art that I realized how awesome it is. I'm not an art major, but I find it to be well rendered and has a nice use of color and contrast; "crisp" is the best adjective for what I'm seeing. Plus, it's not easy to illustrate abstract concepts, yet it's pretty straight-forward what is going on in the picture.
As was said, it's probably best used in EDH. As a six-mana permanent that only helps you out the turn after you cast it, the card needs a slower format to shine.
KitaFer
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Combine this with Praetor's Counsel... Like it, but don't love it. 4/5
ALTERATION:
Now I've tried the card in action, and it's awesome!!! I busted the crap out of an opponent using this and 3 Jace's Erasure cards... "Put 3 cards into your graveyard" "Okay, now put 6 cards into your graveyard" "Let's try with 9 cards now" etc. got to a point where I wasted her by forcing her to put 24 cards into her graveyard, where only 5 remained... SO AWESOME! Now it's 5/5 for me!
DacenOctavio
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
A brief comparison of enchantment-based draw engines:
Psychic Vortex costs less mana, can be turned off during the upkeep, and has an otherwise manageable drawback.
Phyrexian Etchings costs the least mana to cast, can be turned off during the upkeep, and really sucks to have Naturalized. Oh, and it eats all of your mana. However, if you can get some counters on it and then skip your upkeep, it's broken. You just get a ton of free cards, as long as you keep pitching your hand before your upkeep with something crazy like Zombie Infestation.
Dragon Appeasement, unappealing on its own, is pretty sweet with Eldrazi Spawn tokens. I've picked up my whole deck with a couple of these in play and didn't have to deck myself because of the handy "skip your draw step" clause.
Coastal Piracy is fun if you're Merfolk and do lots of attacking.
And Kavu Lair is cantrip card draw for green decks.
Null Profusion is just amazing. It's probably meant for combo decks.
Greed is a very weak Necropotence, but still a powerful card. Infernal Tribute is arguably weaker, but it's a sacrifice outlet, and those conform to special rules. Sometimes you really want something in your graveyard.
Phyrexian Arena isn't nearly as fast as any of these, but is still pretty great.
Dark Tutelage is a worse Phyrexian Arena if you play big cards. Dark Confidant beats for 2 and is a removal magnet superstar. Both are still great sources of card advantage.
Treasure Trove is horrible unless you somehow have infinite blue mana. The decks that already make infinite blue mana just run Blue Sun's Zenith and deck their opponents. Azure Mage however is the Standard equivalent of Dark Confidant.
Armistice is a completely horrible Treasure Trove and you should never play it. If you do, I will have to come to your house and shoot you.
TwoStars
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Niv-Mizzet EDH deck.
Do it.
R_O_L_E_S
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I can see this card being right at home in a deck with some of the new Innistrad cards. This, Mirror-Mad Phantasm , Laboratory Maniac and a bunch of Deranged Assistant and Merfolk Looters.
Super self-mill
Alienspider1
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I dunno LOL ¯\(°_o)/¯
TripleFisted
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
R_O_L_E_S said it best:
I can see this card being right at home in a deck with some of the new Innistrad cards. This, Mirror-Mad Phantasm , Laboratory Maniac and a bunch of Deranged Assistant and Merfolk Looters.
So I want to use a this with Rooftop Storm and play all of the zombies...
majinara
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Might be fun with the words enchantment cycle. You know, words of waste, words of wilding, words of war, words of wisdom and words of wind. Duh, I just noticed for the first time, that the abbrevation for each of it is WoW... That prevents the mind unbound from making you draw your library, while at the same time giving you discard, creatures, removal, life and combo stuff.
Dennoire
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I played a lengthy game of Commander today, and dropped this on turn 4 after the guy before me cast that Join Forces everyone searches for basic land spell, putting us on 7 lands. The guy after me kicks a Desolation Angel I managed to win 9 turns later, with 9 counters, drawing a total of 45 cards. Awesome for 6 mana. Of course, it drew me enough counterspells to protect it and keep drawing everything I needed.
Into Paradox Haze.dec you go. Also, why is this rated lower than Honden of Seeing Winds? Come on, no one plays that stupid 5 color honden deck.
DM3921
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This card can make Psychic Spiral lethal, vis a vis Psychic Spiral keeps you alive while using this.
Kind of appropriate, like a kamehameha of mill...just takes time to charge up.
Also, Proliferate.
Mosstone
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You could follow the advise of most of the other comments which involves massive combinations and a likelihood of one of the necessary cards dying and you losing the game.
OR, you can just wait to draw Bazaar Trader with it, then hand it to an opponent when you're about done to make them lose. With Venser, the Sojourner, you can do this to any number of opponents, assuming you have enough cards in your library to survive a few draws
GFauxPas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I used to have this in my R/U deck
Then I lost an EDH game without taking a single point of damage against a deck that had no mill because I ran out of cards to draw
Majora_13
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Pretty fun in Zedruu EDH. Once it gets to that point where you can't handle all the draw any more, just make it someone elses problem. Get's even funnier with Pyromancer's Swath.
metalevolence
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
EDH player's analysis
Why did this have to be SO slow? Did it really have to be 6 mana? This enchantment has to survive through a turn cycle before you even get your first card. It has to survive another before you get the same amount of cards that the 2UU concentrate would have given you right on the spot.
Consecrated sphinx, recurring insight, braingeyser, mind spring, tidings. At 6 mana this card is just so sadly outclassed. Yes, if it survives you get a jillion cards, but you still have to wait several turns. There's really no reason to use this over other card drawing spells that are more reliable and give you cards faster. Would have been worth a look at 5 mana, but alas.
Effectively reduces your outrageous card count by half (the half you don't need) in return for reducing all mana costs to zero. Hmmm... I'll take it! If you can keep the hate off for a few turns, this gets really stupid, to the point where the only way you will lose is by drawing yourself to death. You will need a few counterspells, because people start to panic pretty fast under these conditions I can tells ya!
Admittedly a bit awkward, too expensive, but for this combo alone I give it 4/5.
Comments (40)
MANY
CARDS
Seems pretty bad to me. to the people who said EDH is the place for this, shame on you. Not every bad rare for 6 mana is an edh staple. If you want to draw cards, cast Mind Spring, Blue Sun's Zenith, Stroke of Genius, Prosperity, Minds Unbound, Windfall, Breakthrough, ect. If you proliferate the living jesus out of it, then it might work, but that also works with a walking archive, which also gives you a big blocker.
The so-so mechanics of this card aside, the art and flavour text are absolutely spectacular, more so due to their union.
MIND = BLOWN
That aside, use it with proliferate mechanics, just make sure you run Venser, The Sojourner too...that way if it's counters get too high you can exile it.
Kinda like it.
As was said, it's probably best used in EDH. As a six-mana permanent that only helps you out the turn after you cast it, the card needs a slower format to shine.
ALTERATION:
Now I've tried the card in action, and it's awesome!!! I busted the crap out of an opponent using this and 3 Jace's Erasure cards... "Put 3 cards into your graveyard" "Okay, now put 6 cards into your graveyard" "Let's try with 9 cards now" etc. got to a point where I wasted her by forcing her to put 24 cards into her graveyard, where only 5 remained... SO AWESOME! Now it's 5/5 for me!
Psychic Vortex costs less mana, can be turned off during the upkeep, and has an otherwise manageable drawback.
Phyrexian Etchings costs the least mana to cast, can be turned off during the upkeep, and really sucks to have Naturalized. Oh, and it eats all of your mana. However, if you can get some counters on it and then skip your upkeep, it's broken. You just get a ton of free cards, as long as you keep pitching your hand before your upkeep with something crazy like Zombie Infestation.
Dragon Appeasement, unappealing on its own, is pretty sweet with Eldrazi Spawn tokens. I've picked up my whole deck with a couple of these in play and didn't have to deck myself because of the handy "skip your draw step" clause.
Coastal Piracy is fun if you're Merfolk and do lots of attacking.
And Kavu Lair is cantrip card draw for green decks.
Null Profusion is just amazing. It's probably meant for combo decks.
Necropotence is restricted in Vintage and banned in Legacy. It's just too good. Yawgmoth's Bargain is also too good.
Greed is a very weak Necropotence, but still a powerful card. Infernal Tribute is arguably weaker, but it's a sacrifice outlet, and those conform to special rules. Sometimes you really want something in your graveyard.
Phyrexian Arena isn't nearly as fast as any of these, but is still pretty great.
Dark Tutelage is a worse Phyrexian Arena if you play big cards. Dark Confidant beats for 2 and is a removal magnet superstar. Both are still great sources of card advantage.
Treasure Trove is horrible unless you somehow have infinite blue mana. The decks that already make infinite blue mana just run Blue Sun's Zenith and deck their opponents. Azure Mage however is the Standard equivalent of Dark Confidant.
Armistice is a completely horrible Treasure Trove and you should never play it. If you do, I will have to come to your house and shoot you.
Do it.
Super self-mill
I can see this card being right at home in a deck with some of the new Innistrad cards. This, Mirror-Mad Phantasm , Laboratory Maniac and a bunch of Deranged Assistant and Merfolk Looters.
Super self-mill
* Don't forget your Jace's Erasure, Back from the Brink and/or Phantasmal Image and/or Cackling Counterpart (incase they get fresh on your Laboratory Maniac)...oh and did I mention Mindshrieker and a Sturmgeist to work towards a legit win if your maniac(s) die?
**Edit: Mindshrieker to self when Laboratory Maniac is on the field, then attack =P.
Oh wait, Laboratory Maniac says it's fine to do that.
That prevents the mind unbound from making you draw your library, while at the same time giving you discard, creatures, removal, life and combo stuff.
4/5
Also, why is this rated lower than Honden of Seeing Winds? Come on, no one plays that stupid 5 color honden deck.
Kind of appropriate, like a kamehameha of mill...just takes time to charge up.
Also, Proliferate.
You could follow the advise of most of the other comments which involves massive combinations and a likelihood of one of the necessary cards dying and you losing the game.
OR, you can just wait to draw Bazaar Trader with it, then hand it to an opponent when you're about done to make them lose. With Venser, the Sojourner, you can do this to any number of opponents, assuming you have enough cards in your library to survive a few draws
Then I lost an EDH game without taking a single point of damage against a deck that had no mill because I ran out of cards to draw
Why did this have to be SO slow? Did it really have to be 6 mana? This enchantment has to survive through a turn cycle before you even get your first card. It has to survive another before you get the same amount of cards that the 2UU concentrate would have given you right on the spot.
Consecrated sphinx, recurring insight, braingeyser, mind spring, tidings. At 6 mana this card is just so sadly outclassed. Yes, if it survives you get a jillion cards, but you still have to wait several turns. There's really no reason to use this over other card drawing spells that are more reliable and give you cards faster. Would have been worth a look at 5 mana, but alas.
Two words: Dream Halls
Effectively reduces your outrageous card count by half (the half you don't need) in return for reducing all mana costs to zero. Hmmm... I'll take it! If you can keep the hate off for a few turns, this gets really stupid, to the point where the only way you will lose is by drawing yourself to death. You will need a few counterspells, because people start to panic pretty fast under these conditions I can tells ya!
Admittedly a bit awkward, too expensive, but for this combo alone I give it 4/5.