HELL YES!!!!!!!!! PHYREXIAN ARENA FTW!!!!!!!! Who cares that it essentially has an upkeep cost of , this is awesome!
.Blaze.
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Control decks just got a new friend.
SyntheticDreamer
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
For the low cost of , you too can have your very own Phyrexian Arena. Well, you really could. But that's not in Standard anymore, so have this almost-as-good substitute.
General Naga- Why stop there? Let's go Vintage! NECROPOTENCE! Griselbrand! Yawgmoth's Bargain! Sign in Blood! Skeletal Scrying! I pay twenty billion life to draw twenty billion cards! I still have 5,999,999,999 life left and I drew my BATTLE OF WITS! I win because I have over 2,999,999,999 cards in my library! (I shuffle my library with the Force, thus circumventing the two-hands ruling on BoW)
A lot of players in my draft group don't seem to believe me when I tell them how good this card is. In most games, if I get this guy out early, I overwhelm them with raw card advantage. And since Rakdos and Golgari are both aggressive creature-based guilds, the life payment is rarely relevant.
fibonacci112358
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The flavour text is fantastic!
The cost you're "willing to pay" does not refer to mana or card advantage.
It refers to dollars at your local MTG shop.
Purplerooster
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Half a Sign in Blood continually sounds very nice. 4/5
InfernalPyre
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I like to think that Underworld Connections is just Dark Confidant's house
miilkshake
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(1 vote)
One way this is better than Phyrexian Arena is that the draw comes at instant speed at any time of your choice. In response to your opponent's spells or in the middle of combat. Dig for those answers at the exact moment you need them.
Continue
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
It's a poor man's Phyrexian Arena. Good stuff. Costs you a land and 1 life, but you get an extra card. 4.5/5
don_miguel
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
strictly worse than phyrexian arenaBUT even if your opponent has a disenchant or similar you can still draw one card to replace. unless he has a krosan grip and you missplay.
ZursApprentice
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
It's actually not strictly worse than phyrexian arena because it has interactions with things like arbor elf and Garruk. Also, you don't have to do the ability if you don't want to. In a small percentage of games, the forced life loss from phyrexian arena would kill you. That draw back was the only thing that justified a card that powerful. This doesn't have that drawback. Of course, it essentially costs 1 to activate. However, it's not strictly worse thanphyrexian arena and is very good.
handoflazav_414
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
heheh. we'll pay, all right... we'll pay handsomely...
chrome_dome
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
4/5. One of the best if not the best land enchantment in the set. Great for limited and possible constructed play.
@ phabio357 Not much of a reason to compare the two... different colors, mono colored to multi, Modern legal to not so... Quicksilver Dagger and this are going to be going into very different decks.
Now, as far as some sort of Legacy red/blue/black deck... yeah, Quicksilver's probably the better card. Though have to note this being on a land makes it harder to get rid of since land destruction is more rare than ways to get rid of creatures.
majinara
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Well, it's nearly always worse than phyrexian arena. But phyrexian arena is pretty darn good, so this is still good. Not pretty darn good, but good. Beware of redirects though. :D
Oh, and this is great in team games, where you can cast it on the lands of teammates.
SAUS3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Don't forget that this can be activated the turn you play it as well. Phyrexian arena has to wait a turn to do anything. If you have 4 mana and pick this up, you can draw a card right away.
And as some people have pointed out, you can combo it with untap affects like Seedborn Muse.
In my Vish Kal EDH deck, I use it in combination with Sword of Feast and Famine to generate even more card advantage.
RiftenBlack
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
In Modern, I don't see a reason to play this card, and it's obviously not getting much love in Standard.
I really don't want to give up a land drop just to draw cards in Modern. I need my mana, so Phyrexian Arena is much better, even if I can't always decide to turn it off.
And if a deck is running something like Acidic Slime or Bramblecrush - rare I know, but can happen since I've seen it - I'd rather they get rid of Phyrexian Arena as opposed to my land with Underworld Connections on it to create a 2-for-1 for them. This is very bad.
Zylo-
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
In the right deck this is better than Phyrexian arena as you can untap a land and draw more than 1 card each turn... Arena isn't "better"... They are different cards using a similar effect, each better in a different type of constructed deck.
This card is very good.
Quicksilver Dagger is Legacy/Vintage... Not really a fair comparison to modern cards. You might as well compare Mox Pearl to Mox Opal and tell me how bad Mox Opal sucks..
YuriLove333
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You can still tap the land for mana right?
Does this card stack? Can I put two of it on one land, tap it and pay 2 life for two cards?
Dankirk
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@YuriLove333 You can use the land for mana or card drawing. Abilities with activation costs never stack that way. They are seperate abilities that must be paid for exclusively.
sweetgab
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This is most of the time a worse Phyrexian Arena. This is also part of what makes mono-black so good right now, and the number one reason why mono-black does not auto-lose to Azorius control. Without this in Standard, I don't care how many Pack Rats, Nightveils or Desecration Demons you run, mono-black would not have dominated. Not even with Thoughtseize. Because any control deck can one-for-one your early threats and then draw an enormous amount of cards via Divination, Jace and Sphinx's Revelation. If it weren't for this card, that is.
An extra card a turn is this good. We didn't seem to realize this in the days of 9th edition, but those who knew better played Phyrexian Arena and watched their opponents hopelessly trying to answer two of their cards with each card.
RamenAwesome
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It works really well with Arbor Elf I've had a lot of success with it in my Golgari Deck so far.
Also, if you look reeeealllly closely at the art. There is literally a guy getting stab with a giant sword right in front of everybody.
Comments (36)
Also, this is the only card that street sweeper remotely gives a crap about. Crap giving a crap, lol what a good joke.
BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!!!!! CARDS!!!!!!!!!! BEAUTIFUL, GLORIOUS CARDS!!!!!!!
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
DarthParallax, Nicely done sir.
The cost you're "willing to pay" does not refer to mana or card advantage.
It refers to dollars at your local MTG shop.
we'll pay handsomely...
Now, as far as some sort of Legacy red/blue/black deck... yeah, Quicksilver's probably the better card. Though have to note this being on a land makes it harder to get rid of since land destruction is more rare than ways to get rid of creatures.
Oh, and this is great in team games, where you can cast it on the lands of teammates.
And as some people have pointed out, you can combo it with untap affects like Seedborn Muse.
In my Vish Kal EDH deck, I use it in combination with Sword of Feast and Famine to generate even more card advantage.
I really don't want to give up a land drop just to draw cards in Modern. I need my mana, so Phyrexian Arena is much better, even if I can't always decide to turn it off.
And if a deck is running something like Acidic Slime or Bramblecrush - rare I know, but can happen since I've seen it - I'd rather they get rid of Phyrexian Arena as opposed to my land with Underworld Connections on it to create a 2-for-1 for them. This is very bad.
This card is very good.
Quicksilver Dagger is Legacy/Vintage... Not really a fair comparison to modern cards. You might as well compare Mox Pearl to Mox Opal and tell me how bad Mox Opal sucks..
Does this card stack? Can I put two of it on one land, tap it and pay 2 life for two cards?
You can use the land for mana or card drawing. Abilities with activation costs never stack that way. They are seperate abilities that must be paid for exclusively.
An extra card a turn is this good. We didn't seem to realize this in the days of 9th edition, but those who knew better played Phyrexian Arena and watched their opponents hopelessly trying to answer two of their cards with each card.
Also, if you look reeeealllly closely at the art. There is literally a guy getting stab with a giant sword right in front of everybody.