Pointed Discussion

If U/R is a deck, this will be a big player in it.

@Blaze I agree 100%... I've heard people at my local magic shop talking about some sort of URW miracles concoction too...

This is my favorite of the utility lands.

Flashback support? Miracle enabler? Reanimator? Weird possibilityfor dredge? This seems better every time I look at it.

Niv-Mizzet spends the summer here.

LOVE IT.
I'm already building a new Izzet deck for Standard,
and this is a very key piece.

The elegance and utility are just perfect.

This seems overcosted for the effect but at then end of your opponents turn who cares!?

Loothouse!

Trygon_Predator: So does this mean RTR decks that are primarily UR will get called "Niv-Mizzet's Yearly Travels" or thereabouts?

Yeah, I think I'll be putting this in my Niv-Mizzet EDH deck. It's so perfect and beautiful.

Loothouses gonna Loot!

Great card. The effect seems pricey, but the price is definitely right if Izzet decks start popping up.

They forgot Leviathans.

Miracle could go nuts with this card. It's in two great Miracle colors, it lets you draw on your opponent's turn (giving you twice the opportunities to cast for miracle cost), and if you end up with a Miracle in hand you can't cast, you can toss it and grab something else. Plus it's in Faithless Looting colors.

Most looters are lackluster because they're card disadvantage. The fact that this is also a land almost entirely nullifies this drawback. Not as flashy as Alchemist's Refuge (see what I did there?), but still. Good card is good.

I don't get people loving miracle with this....any card that would let you draw would work with that mechanic so let's calm down. i mean divining top....

This is probably the 2nd best of the 4 rare lands in the set. Caverns being the first.

Desperate Loothouse!!! Not Library of Alexandria, but I'll take it.

i can't wait for RtR, when RU decks will be a thing and this card's price will probably rise, good thing im getting a play set while they are cheap :)

Obvious 4-of in my Lighthouse-themed deck.

I've been playing this in my Niv-Mizzet EDH deck, and found that... it hasn't been that useful.

I say this because each turn, I draw 3+ cards. I now have 3 more things to work with, especially with Niv- Mizzet out.

"Well, I'll then play Memory Jar to deal 7 damage to something... and then I'll equip Curiosity to Niv, and then I'll tap him to draw a card, starting the inevitable "infinite draw" combo. That's game"

I dunno. I know it's good, but 4-mana for Merfolk Looter's effect?... I dunno.

A whopping just to loot? This card would've been fine at uncommon with the effect costing . Creature or not, Enclave Cryptologist loots more efficiently at uncommon.

Errata'ed extra ability: "Sacrifice Desolate Lighthouse when a Leviathan enters the battlefield under an opponent's control."

Izzet so hard to imagine this synergizing nicely with the next set?

Instant Speed Draw 1, Discard 1 for that can be repeated whenever you don't happen to have Izzet Charm....? Why haven't I seen this in more Izzet decks?

@MANABURNWASGOOD - there are a few reasons why this is good in a miracle deck. Like you say, there are lots of ways to draw cards, but this does not take up a non-land space in your deck. Being a land, it is also far harder to get rid of than something like merfolk looter. And then there is the synergy between this, miracles and noxious revival. Got an entreat the angels in hand and only 4 mana? No problem, activate the lighthouse, discard entreat and draw something more useful. Then Revive entreat later (hopefully next turn).

The "tides of homicidal spirits" part cracks me up.

why you all wet baby? - shutter island

Oh, so this is the place Leviathan's been eating for the last twenty years.

I just saw the video when PV predicted it (Magic TV #112. 10:57)

Instead of my usual attempts at wit, I'd like to provide some analysis for this intriguing megacycle of lands from Innistrad, namely how said lands fit into the overall design of the block.

Analysis: is associated with instants and sorceries above all else, and in Innistrad the two primary IS mechanics are Flashback and Miracle. Desolate Lighthouse supports both, though it may not be immediate as to how in the latter case. Flashback spells are of course cast from the graveyard and has cards that reward this, such as Secrets of the Dead and Burning Vengeance. The Increasing spells from Dark Ascension double in strength when cast using Flashback. The Lighthouse's discard side effect can work in your favor and at the very least Flashback gives you a chance to use your spells even after they've been discarded, milled, or even countered.

Miracle allows you to cast a spell for a significantly cheaper cost when you draw that card if it's the first card you drew that turn. Now normally the Lighthouse's card draw wouldn't seem helpful since you've already drawn a card on your turn, right? Well, the Lighthouse doesn't have to be activated on your turn and Miracle doesn't care whose turn it is when you draw the card, only that it's the first card drawn that turn. This means you can activate the Lighthouse on an opponent's turn, draw your first card for that turn, and possibly cast a big spell like Thunderous Wrath or Temporal Mastery for cheap.

I don't get why so many people are calling this ability over-costed. Abilities on lands are always over-costed, otherwise the lands are way too good. Its a land, it comes out untapped and taps for mana. When you are building a deck, it uses a land slot. In exchange for not making colored mana, you get an ability. Remember Library of Alexandria? That land with a free but awkwardly conditional ability? How useful could that be?

Desolate Lighthouse has served me well. In a control deck, if you can afford to have some lands not producing color (Use cards like Mana Leak), it lets you loot at the end of your opponent's turn. Anything that can dig up your win con card is good in my book. It does that without using a spell slot. As others have said, it works great with Miracles and flashback. Its not the best land out there, but its a really solid one.