This isn't setting up a reprint for Liliana in Innistrad, it's setting up a new version of Liliana, also it fits the apparent gothic theme of Inn, the returning vampires, and his + ability works well with Bloodthirst.
angelheartvial
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(6 votes)
I like how all the planeswalkers in this set have 2 other cards to correspond with them.
Astraea
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Just pulled him today at the launch party.
I left a happy man =)
ZX-XZ
★☆☆☆☆ (1.9/5.0)(4 votes)
My favorite planeswalker. But more importantly MasterOfEtherium actually said something that made sense! The world does end in oh'12!but I can still play m12 lol
@Deco_y True, Sorin does curve into his vengeance nicely, but unless your afraid your opponent will do 4 damage to sorin before the next turn, I'd use turn 6 to ping a critter with his +2 turn 7 is for the -3, then cast Sorin's Vengeance. No point in giving your opponent a whole turn to come up with some kind of life gain.
ObsceneMartyr
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Good for the vamp theme. I'm just a little curious as to how he would have turned out of he was revamped like jace, garruk and chandra...
Arachibutyrophobia
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(4 votes)
in soviet russia, vampires control YOUR turn!
Tellion12
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Extremely powerful, especially now with bloodthirst tribal vampire decks.
On a side note; is this guy 'common' compared to other mythic rares? I've gotten a playset of him through three fat-packs (:
TherealphatMatt
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(4 votes)
My favorite game-winner to date:
Guy opposite me had Mana Barbs out, 9 mana, and 8 life (you can see where this is going), and I had a Sorin with 8. Took control of him and tapped all of his mana for the win.
Sorin has saved my ass dozens of times. I have two in my vampires deck, and I love having him there.
acescope
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I want to use his last ability to make an opponent kill themselves with something like Door to Nothingness. That would be incredible.
TheRealOak
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(2 votes)
-7, more like Sorin, the Mindfuck = wish i had this card :\
LordTaco
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You know whats funny? I was facing a guy who had an infect deck, and I stalled long enough against him to top deck win with him (he had 20 life, i had the worse hand ever.) and the sad part was it only took me a few more turns before i started bashing him with this and getting rid of almost all of his cards to the point that he had a select few cards out. Did i mention i was also running the Empires set? so basically some how i managed to win that round against an infect deck that normally would of kicked my butt so hard i think Urza felt it in his grave.
Dr_Fletchers
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Sorin is a bit of a dick....he is always killing us in a glorious fashion and then boasting about it around the watercooler.
TheHandyman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Can you say "Jedi mind trick all turn long"?
Ferlord
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Currently the lowest rated planeswalker? Impossible. He's not banned in Commanders yet. Consider his second effect when everyone starts with 40 life instead of 20. Maybe it's because his ultimate is not up to snuff, but really, could you ask for something else? I had an argument as to why Sorin is terrible, obviously i defended him.
My last argument was, "Well... i guess in a couple of turns i could control you. Now you like him! I win!" Then i got slapped.
Well deserved... FYI this was posted in the middle of August, just in case he DOES get banned :(
deadeye1387
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Interesting third ability... I think I could have some fun with this card...
eskan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guy is most definitely Mortva Nesreca.
RisingSeraph
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Up until now I didn't know Drizzt Do'Urden was a vampire. That just makes him more badass.
Zandl
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Sorin Markov is one of the only Planeswalkers that can directly kill other Planeswalkers (and the only to do it effectively, not counting Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker). Fantastic flavor, massive power level, and huge board presence. Gotta love Black Planeswalkers.
DarthParallax
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(37 votes)
Dear Wizards- Because You Reprinted Sorin Markov....
and are planning to make another version of him in Dark Ascension. Please. God. Dear Lords of the Multiverse. Do. Not. Print. Sorin2. in foil.
I will not forgive you if you do. Because you have 2 printings of Markov out there already, a third printing of Sorin (in a new form) in foil would be just too much.
It's not because he's a Planeswalker, or a Mythic Rare, or the posterboy of the set that concerns me. Money is usually not that bad an issue for Planeswalkers.
It is because
V A M P I R E S!
D O! N O T!
S P A R K L E!
chainsmoker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
im not sure why but every walkers got their personalized rare creatures:
chandra - phoenix jace - archivist garruk - horde gideon - avenger except sorin but he got vengeance!
Jimmy_IzUndead
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(7 votes)
Im not sure if this is legal but this is what just happened:
*brings out sorin with 5 4/4 monsters on feild* *next turn i use is "+2" ability.* *i repeat the same thing* *I take over my opponent and make him sac all his cards in play, discard his hand, and then secede.*
Oh how i <3 sorin
10Fold
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(9 votes)
@jimmy
I highly doubt that was legal for three reasons: 1) if by secede you meant concede, you're not allowed to do that. Check the rulings. 2) if that player didnt have anything that allowed him to sac his creatures, you couldnt do it. You vcant just say ''i'm saccing this creature for the hell of it.'' 3) unless he had a hand modifier or cards that allowed him to discard at will, you couldnt have made him discard his entire hand for the same reason you cant sac a creature to nothing.
frankly, I'm astounded the defending player let you do that. I find it tricky to believe that both of you were that clueless about the rules, and didnt think to call over someone who knows them.
drpvfx
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(6 votes)
Maybe not the most usable planeswalker in competitive play, but his Ultimate ability is incredibly fun in casual.
EDIT- And now, meet the new Sorin from Dark Ascension, clearly tweaked for faster formats:
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad Planeswalker - Sorin (3 base loyalty) 2WB
+1 - Put a 1/1 black Vampire token with Lifelink onto the battlefield -2 - You get an emblem with "Creatures you control get +1/+0" -6 - Destroy up to three target creatures and/or other Planeswalkers. Return each card put into a graveyard this way to the battlefield under your control.
Interesting. His first two abilities seem *quite* useful. Again, his Ultimate seems mostly for fun, but I could certainly see it creating some great stories. All in all a total upgrade for Mr. Markov, IMO... too bad he's *already* going for $55 :-P
It's also cool to see another enemy-colors Planeswalker. Hopefully we'll get an Izzet Planeswealker eventually- maybe even Niv-Mizzet himself?
phyrexiantrygon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I guess i'm not the only one who wishes Gatherer would be updated as the spoilers are released. But that background story is really cool. Kinda awesome how Sorin CREATED Avacyn to keep the balance of Innistrad. I wonder if he'll be remade AGAIN in Avacyn restored... fingers crossed! >.<
And the art on the new one is pretty cool...
infernox10
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
@DarthParallax You win the intornetz. <3
Shadoflaam
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(6 votes)
ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL
SgtSwaggr
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My Life was at 20. My opponent's life was at 10. My Shrine of Burning Rage was at 9. He had a Grave Titan out with 2 zombie minions. There was no way he could kill me. Then he played Sorin. I watched as my life total instantaneously was cut in half, and then reduced to zero after the zombies attacked. Damn you Sorin.
His ultimate is basically AT WORST: -7 Your opponent draws a card, taps all their lands, then you take an extra turn after this one. If that isn't good I don't know what is. His +2 is pretty good too
Dr.Pingas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I absolutely hate this guy, he's WAY too powerful.
His +2, not 1, but 2, is only one point shy of Ajani Vengeant's -2 ability, while his -3 is wicked powerful - it pretty much says "hay, all my guys have infect", but is in many ways much, much worse. His ultimate is mostly meh, it's not as abusable as Mindslaver, but even then, it's still more than enough to be game-winning, because at that point you've probably knocked them down to 10, and have gained at least 6 life.
tcollins
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(4 votes)
Why is he legal in EDH?!???
Splizer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Who has the more badass coat; Sorin or Tibalt?
Deadhandlord7777
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is by far one of the best planeswalkers. The only problem with it's last ability is that most of the time, the player doesn't have cards to damage themselves (Unless they are playing a red deck). I really want one of these.
D34D2R1T35
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(2 votes)
I love how 50% of all the ruling's on sorin involve his mindslaver ultimate and how you can't use it to force the opponent to throw the match in one way or another...at first I wanna be upset that those kind of dumb rulings ever needed to take place...
But then I wanna be mad that sorin ever got to use his ult, that should never happen outside of casual games.
When Ive been able to pull my mascot i use his -3 ability out the gate and i have ***ed my friends off many many times by doing that!! it's awesome!!
ayuperfect
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Sorin: -7. Now go get me some pudding.
j_mindfingerpainter
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@ Splizer: IMO, Sorin. Tibalt's coat is just stylish.
Gcrudaplaneswalker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Ahhh, the good ol days when mana burn was legal :(
Sootoo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(5 votes)
Pretty much the most broken card in EDH.
Sometimes, it really seems as if WotC actually don´t give the slightest shit about EDH rules, and just don´t feel the need to adjust their cards to this format, instead, just do as if a multiplayer game with 40 life points would be same as a 1vs1 with 20 life points (Serra Ascendant is another great example for this).
It´s cards like which really make me lose interest in this game, and this card is so broken in EDH, it´s just pathetic... People who use this in EDH immediately get put on my ignore list, and IMO, they are not real players, just clowns who search for a cheap win.
0,5/5 `cause he made me reply.
wholelottalove
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Six mana to make someone's life total 10? That's broken in commander and I block anyone that does it. The worst part is that using it on the first turn leaves the Sorin with one loyalty when it should have killed it. Wizards screwed up when they made the ability -3 instead of -4.
Shredmonster
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
His -3 ability is out of this world in commander / EDH formats!
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@DarthParallax: I wish I could somehow favorite comments.
On the subject of the card itself, well let's just say he may be pricey to cast, but he's worth his weight in gold if you do.
First ability: compare to Chandra Nalaar's +1 to see just how awesome it is. 2 loyalty, 2 damage to either a creature or a player and you gain 2 life (4 net life advantage for you).
Second ability: a bit more situational and useless against opponents who already have under 10 life, but still a nice boost for vampires with "as long as opponent is below 10 life..." effects, and a huge middle finger to lifegain decks, expecially those using something like Felidar Sovereign as a win condition.
Ultimate: at WORST, it's essentially Time Warp, and Time Warp is pretty damn good. At best, use the opponent's own spells to damage and kill their own creatures and themselves, or simply waste the spells at an irrelevant moment.
Blackhawk9000
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(13 votes)
Now this is the story all about how My life got flipped, turned upside down And I'd like to take a minute just sit right there I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-air
In west Stensia born and raised In the graveyard where I spent most of my days Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool And all shooting some zombies outside of the school When a couple of vamps, they were up to no good Started making trouble in my neighbourhood I created avacyn and my gramps got scared And said "You're going to the multiverse with your stylish hair!"
I went to zendikar and when it came near the Eldrazi screamed "fresh" and had dead stuff in the mirror If anything I could say that this place was rare But I thought nah, forget it, yo homes to Al-air!
I pulled up to a plane about seven or eight And I yelled to the vamps "Yo, homes smell you later!" Looked at my kingdom I was finally there To sit on my throne as the prince of Vamps everywhere!
The_Challenge
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(10 votes)
Did anyone notice that Zendikar says "Next Turn" whereas M12 says "player during next turn" ?
Sorin:-7 GET MEH BEER
ChidyDog
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I recently put him in a Lazav, Dimir Mastermind EDH mill deck and used his -3 ability on a lifegain deck for hilarious results. This was due to having Mindcrank out at the time since they still actually lose life. ;) The lifegain deck was at about 350 life then when put to 10 by Sorin, they had to mill their whole deck (340 cards technically) due to Mindcrank haha. Then just wait for their draw step or for another card draw effect.
Osuasheuatl
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(5 votes)
Markov is Russian for "carrot" :3
Avorna
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
House rules of my playgroup set the -3 to 20 life in EDH. Fits with the intended spirit of the card. Same goes for all the other cards that name a fixed life cost, like Serra Ascendant, Felidar Sovereign, etc. Either multiply or divide by two to get the same ratio with 40 life.
Lifegainwithbite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This upsets my lifegain/tokens multiplayer deck :(.
Tsagaglalal
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(7 votes)
It seems kind of sad when you're playtesting two of your own decks against each other, and you use sorin's -7...
psychichobo
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Ugh, that middle ability. Soryn guy gets hate in EDH.
I'm actually amazed looking at this guy - he has the traits of the original planeswalkers in that he's expensive but comes out in very durable form. His abilities are also all very nasty - +2 to shoot something and gain life?
He's actually a bit too powerful, I'd say. You really have to hit him hard when he comes out or he'll get back up from his -3, and if he doesn't need to do that then you're really in trouble. This is one of the nastier planeswalkers by far.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
That +2 is really powerful and if you can cheat this guy out earlier in the game with Cabal Ritual (say, Turn 2*) you basically win. Weenie decks can't do much about it and if you're out of targets you can drop them to 10 and start pinging them to death.
This guy could be super-fun in an unconventional MBC deck that relies on him for most of the win condition instead of beaters. Would it work? Meh, not in the long run without seriously good spell support, but it'd be fun in casual.
That said, it surprises me he's still at $10; I was hoping he'd be more affordable than Obliterators..
*Example: T1 - Putrid Imp T2 - Discard Grave-Troll, Dredge it, discard it again, play a swamp and Cabal Ritual
People seem to overlook the fact that his -3 activates all those Worldwake vampires. Maybe not the best use for it, but pretty cool from a flavor standpoint.
Rifts980
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
it is odd indeed that this is legal in edh, especially when looking at the ban list. Quite a few cards that set life totals make the list ie biorythm, worldfire, sway of the stars. Kinda odd that this doesn't make the list.its powerful, but in the most degenerate way in edh.
MrMonday
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I'm just waiting for someone to play Ajani, Mentor of Heroes' ultimate (-8: You gain 100 life).
"I gain 100 life."
"I play Sorin. -3. Your life is now 10."
"What?"
"10. Deal with it."
TheCrimsonPXL
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is the best plains walker. combine his middle effect with Sorins vengeance and you are in for a win
LordRandomness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The Unhinged version of Sorin Markov gives you control over the player, not just the player's actions in the current game.
Comments (66)
He is my favorite Planeswalker (next to Karn). If you can ramp him out, he'll do a fair amount of damage before they can deal with him.
Also, this sets up Liliana for a reprint in Innistrad.
Turn 5: Monomania to rid your opponent of anything that will stop you.
Turn 6: Sorin Markov, use his -3
Turn 7: Sorin's Vengeance
Vampire decks just got janky.
I left a happy man =)
True, Sorin does curve into his vengeance nicely, but unless your afraid your opponent will do 4 damage to sorin before the next turn, I'd use turn 6 to ping a critter with his +2
turn 7 is for the -3, then cast Sorin's Vengeance.
No point in giving your opponent a whole turn to come up with some kind of life gain.
On a side note; is this guy 'common' compared to other mythic rares? I've gotten a playset of him through three fat-packs (:
Guy opposite me had Mana Barbs out, 9 mana, and 8 life (you can see where this is going), and I had a Sorin with 8. Took control of him and tapped all of his mana for the win.
Sorin has saved my ass dozens of times. I have two in my vampires deck, and I love having him there.
wish i had this card :\
He's not banned in Commanders yet. Consider his second effect when everyone starts with 40 life instead of 20.
Maybe it's because his ultimate is not up to snuff, but really, could you ask for something else?
I had an argument as to why Sorin is terrible, obviously i defended him.
My last argument was, "Well... i guess in a couple of turns i could control you. Now you like him! I win!"
Then i got slapped.
Well deserved...
FYI this was posted in the middle of August, just in case he DOES get banned :(
and are planning to make another version of him in Dark Ascension. Please. God. Dear Lords of the Multiverse. Do. Not. Print. Sorin2. in foil.
I will not forgive you if you do. Because you have 2 printings of Markov out there already, a third printing of Sorin (in a new form) in foil would be just too much.
It's not because he's a Planeswalker, or a Mythic Rare, or the posterboy of the set that concerns me. Money is usually not that bad an issue for Planeswalkers.
It is because
V A M P I R E S!
D O! N O T!
S P A R K L E!
chandra - phoenix
jace - archivist
garruk - horde
gideon - avenger
except sorin but he got vengeance!
*brings out sorin with 5 4/4 monsters on feild*
*next turn i use is "+2" ability.*
*i repeat the same thing*
*I take over my opponent and make him sac all his cards in play, discard his hand, and then secede.*
Oh how i <3 sorin
I highly doubt that was legal for three reasons:
1) if by secede you meant concede, you're not allowed to do that. Check the rulings.
2) if that player didnt have anything that allowed him to sac his creatures, you couldnt do it. You vcant just say ''i'm saccing this creature for the hell of it.''
3) unless he had a hand modifier or cards that allowed him to discard at will, you couldnt have made him discard his entire hand for the same reason you cant sac a creature to nothing.
frankly, I'm astounded the defending player let you do that. I find it tricky to believe that both of you were that clueless about the rules, and didnt think to call over someone who knows them.
but his Ultimate ability is incredibly fun in casual.
EDIT- And now, meet the new Sorin from Dark Ascension, clearly tweaked for faster formats:
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Planeswalker - Sorin (3 base loyalty)
2WB
+1 - Put a 1/1 black Vampire token with Lifelink onto the battlefield
-2 - You get an emblem with "Creatures you control get +1/+0"
-6 - Destroy up to three target creatures and/or other Planeswalkers. Return each card put into a graveyard this way to the battlefield under your control.
Interesting. His first two abilities seem *quite* useful.
Again, his Ultimate seems mostly for fun, but I could certainly see it creating some great stories.
All in all a total upgrade for Mr. Markov, IMO... too bad he's *already* going for $55 :-P
It's also cool to see another enemy-colors Planeswalker.
Hopefully we'll get an Izzet Planeswealker eventually- maybe even Niv-Mizzet himself?
And the art on the new one is pretty cool...
You win the intornetz. <3
-7 Your opponent draws a card, taps all their lands, then you take an extra turn after this one. If that isn't good I don't know what is.
His +2 is pretty good too
His +2, not 1, but 2, is only one point shy of Ajani Vengeant's -2 ability, while his -3 is wicked powerful - it pretty much says "hay, all my guys have infect", but is in many ways much, much worse. His ultimate is mostly meh, it's not as abusable as Mindslaver, but even then, it's still more than enough to be game-winning, because at that point you've probably knocked them down to 10, and have gained at least 6 life.
But then I wanna be mad that sorin ever got to use his ult, that should never happen outside of casual games.
Sometimes, it really seems as if WotC actually don´t give the slightest shit about EDH rules, and just don´t feel the need to adjust their cards to this format, instead, just do as if a multiplayer game with 40 life points would be same as a 1vs1 with 20 life points (Serra Ascendant is another great example for this).
It´s cards like which really make me lose interest in this game, and this card is so broken in EDH, it´s just pathetic... People who use this in EDH immediately get put on my ignore list, and IMO, they are not real players, just clowns who search for a cheap win.
0,5/5 `cause he made me reply.
On the subject of the card itself, well let's just say he may be pricey to cast, but he's worth his weight in gold if you do.
First ability: compare to Chandra Nalaar's +1 to see just how awesome it is. 2 loyalty, 2 damage to either a creature or a player and you gain 2 life (4 net life advantage for you).
Second ability: a bit more situational and useless against opponents who already have under 10 life, but still a nice boost for vampires with "as long as opponent is below 10 life..." effects, and a huge middle finger to lifegain decks, expecially those using something like Felidar Sovereign as a win condition.
Ultimate: at WORST, it's essentially Time Warp, and Time Warp is pretty damn good. At best, use the opponent's own spells to damage and kill their own creatures and themselves, or simply waste the spells at an irrelevant moment.
My life got flipped, turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute just sit right there
I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-air
In west Stensia born and raised
In the graveyard where I spent most of my days
Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool
And all shooting some zombies outside of the school
When a couple of vamps, they were up to no good
Started making trouble in my neighbourhood
I created avacyn and my gramps got scared
And said "You're going to the multiverse with your stylish hair!"
I went to zendikar and when it came near the
Eldrazi screamed "fresh" and had dead stuff in the mirror
If anything I could say that this place was rare
But I thought nah, forget it, yo homes to Al-air!
I pulled up to a plane about seven or eight
And I yelled to the vamps "Yo, homes smell you later!"
Looked at my kingdom I was finally there
To sit on my throne as the prince of Vamps everywhere!
Sorin:-7 GET MEH BEER
I'm actually amazed looking at this guy - he has the traits of the original planeswalkers in that he's expensive but comes out in very durable form. His abilities are also all very nasty - +2 to shoot something and gain life?
He's actually a bit too powerful, I'd say. You really have to hit him hard when he comes out or he'll get back up from his -3, and if he doesn't need to do that then you're really in trouble. This is one of the nastier planeswalkers by far.
This guy could be super-fun in an unconventional MBC deck that relies on him for most of the win condition instead of beaters. Would it work? Meh, not in the long run without seriously good spell support, but it'd be fun in casual.
That said, it surprises me he's still at $10; I was hoping he'd be more affordable than Obliterators..
*Example:
T1 - Putrid Imp
T2 - Discard Grave-Troll, Dredge it, discard it again, play a swamp and Cabal Ritual
Maybe not the best use for it, but pretty cool from a flavor standpoint.
"I gain 100 life."
"I play Sorin. -3. Your life is now 10."
"What?"
"10. Deal with it."