It's a cheap cantrip, but it doesn't really do anything...
ClockworkSwordfish
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(8 votes)
You would be better off not having this in your deck at all, since then you will just draw what this spell would have made you draw when you cast it without your needing to sacrifice anything. That's right; this card is worth less than nothing. Good only for filling a slot if you desperately need it.
There are uses for this card. Mostly as a way of sacing one of your creatures if you need to get rid of it.
Dregrage
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Sharing name with one of the most funny decks evah... SHAME ON YOU!
notable4
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Not terrible, One casting cost black is easy to maintain. This card is particularly good against Control decks playing Control Magic or Treachery. Could also save your life against a "Slave of Bolas" or "Mark of Mutiny". Similarly, If your creature or land is about to be exiled, you could sac it in response if you have some res tech available later. Finally, if your opponents creature has an ability like lifelink. You can use this card to sac your creature after you declare it as a blocker. This way your creature will be removed from combat, and you will prevent your opponent from gaining the life. It's a very versatile card, but also very reactive. Could be a dead card in your hand in many occassions.
Ladnarud
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
It's excellent against things like Nettlevine Blight to get rid of an enchantment, or in response to things like Hideous End or Molten Rain to negate negative effects to you via your creatures or lands. Drawing a card helps to make up for the card disadvantage. There are also a few other uses i'm sure (Grave Pact, Deathgreeter, Abyssal Persecutor, etc.)
A very situational card, but useful in the right circumstances.
3/5
metalevolence
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I HAVE A USE FOR THIS! in my child of alara edh deck. pretty tech, imho. i mean, we're talking about the card dredge here.
Kurraga
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
So it can counter spells like Tendrils of Corruption or canp pump a Tarmogoyf/Knight of the Reliquary slightly (sometimes) or if you need to you can stop their Swords from exiling your dude by sending to the graveyard instead (but you won't gain life from it) as well as being useful with Act of Treason or similar by eater Saccing the guy you steal or denying a steal., So... Yeah it still sucks, but it's not as completely useless as it first seems, 1.5/5
Tommy9898
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
But it is an instant, you could use it in response to a kill spell to get some extra use out of your critters.
InternetNinjacy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Since nobody has said it, if you're willing to sac creatures it actually thins your deck out. It is certainly not worth less than nothing, it's just very circumstantial.
wxnbvq1
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
First of all, you would never use this is constructed. If your deck was based around saccing creatures/permanents, say using carrion feeders and whatnot with rotlung reanimator to trigger bridge from below or grave pact, this card is redundant, as well as being worse than filler. As others have mentioned it can be used situationally as a cantrip while blocking a creature, but then again why not use other cards like carrion feeder, bloodthrone vampire or nantuko husk/vampire aristocrat, all cheap permanents which fulfil the same purpose while actually incurring a bonus. 2.5/5 for this card.
I would rather have Jace's inginuity in my deck, even if i was running mono black
Salient
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Sack to cantrip? There's only two creatures that deserve that kind of abusive treatment: Stinkweed Imp and Golgari Thug. (I can't imagine a Dredge deck having a Golgari Grave-Troll in play but needing it as a dredger instead.)
In a good Dredge opening hand, this card is very nearly a Time Walk. Too bad it's complete junk in the graveyard (it doesn't even feed Ichorid!), which renders it unusably bad even for a hardcore mono-black Dredge deck -- a reasonable Flashback cost could have made this card a solid four-star wonder alongside Putrid Imp.
luca_barelli
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
ehh, there are better sacificial outlets and better uses for one mana.
Purple_Shrimp
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
this effect is pretty bad but at least it cantrips so it's not card disadvantage
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nemokara
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I find it strange that this is rated so low (1.610) yet Altar's Reap is currently rated just above 4. Yes, one extra mana/card makes them quite different, but still similar enough that I wouldn't expect such a discrepancy.
doombladez
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@nemokara Normally cards such as this are what are called cantrips; you get some effect and then draw a card, thus maintaining card advantage. With Dredge however, all you get is sac a creature or land and then replace this card, thus all you get is a card that replaces Dredge in your hand, one less mana, and whatever you sac'ed. While there are times when you would want to sac something, there are better ways to do so than this. Altar's Reap on the other hand gives you card advantage with the sac option, which can be an extra good effect in the right deck. So whereas Dredge is a cantrip that doesn't necessarily have a real advantage, Altar's Reap at least gives you one more card than you had before you played it. Thus the huge ratings difference.
atemu1234
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ironically, it's the opposite of the keyword dredge where you discard to draw the card in the discard pile.
Did anyone else get auto-taken here while looking for the mechanic?
LordRandomness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Child of Alara commander appreciates this card: most sac outlets are either nonland permanents and therefore destroyed, lands that produce colorless and therefore hard on the Child's casting cost, or spells where you sac a creature to destroy the opponent's stuff...which is somewhat redundant.
raptorman333
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
the level of combo-ability is so high and the rating is so low, and it makes me so sad. plus, OMG the FLAVOR!
Gandlodder
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Very interesting that the sacrifice isn't an additional cost; its the actually point of the card, and the cantrip is extra. While I don't believe that any card is absolutely without a purpose, this one's uses are pretty damn narrow.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Sometimes a deck is desperate for a sacrifice effect. Altar's Reap is usually a worthwhile replacement.
iandustrial
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love the flavor text for this because it illustrates how differing philosophies can exist within the same color.
Chilli_Axe
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's an instant-speed sac outlet that cantrips and costs B. Obviously it doesn't fit into every deck, but this card is far from bad. 4/5
Comments (29)
A very situational card, but useful in the right circumstances.
3/5
in my child of alara edh deck. pretty tech, imho. i mean, we're talking about the card dredge here.
2.5/5 for this card.
In a good Dredge opening hand, this card is very nearly a Time Walk. Too bad it's complete junk in the graveyard (it doesn't even feed Ichorid!), which renders it unusably bad even for a hardcore mono-black Dredge deck -- a reasonable Flashback cost could have made this card a solid four-star wonder alongside Putrid Imp.
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