A very useful keyrune that pros like me will be making good use of for card advantage.
DoragonShinzui
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Much like the old Totem cycle from Time Spiral, an interesting card, but ultimately, not worth the cost to maintain. Could be useful though, and if you're running Izzet, it'll do all you need it to, and more.
Glech
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Since when did rules text become flavor text?
LordRandomness
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Unfortunately, this is highly unlikely to actually get through for damage. It's way too easy to trade with and has no evasion, and giving it evasion is just not worth it.
...as much as I hate giving up my 5-star rating, something just occurred to me: The damage to a player effect does NOT depend on Izzet Keyrune animating itself. If, for instance, Karn, Silver Golem or March of the Machines turned it into a creature, it would still give you the effect. This makes it an excellent choice of mana artifact in such decks.
Magnor_Criol
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
A 2/1 will get blocked by anything, this one doubly because they both want to stop the looting effect and to kill your mana rock. I realize that repeatable card drawing/filtering is quite strong, but since the others are all reasonably strong while not being overly so, it really feels like they could have either given this guy evasion, a bigger butt, or an Ophidian effect instead of the loot to bring it closer to par without unbalancing the cycle.
All that aside, it's still a reasonably-costed mana rock for its colors, and the ability to make your utility spells attack or block when you need them to is always going to be a useful function. I do like this guy, he just feels underwhelming when compared to the others.
DacenOctavio
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This cycle is the closest UR will get to the manland cycle the allied colors in Worldwake got.
Vyandor
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
If it turns into a creature to block a creature more powerful than it, say a 4/4, would the Keyrune be destroyed?
Salient
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This was a lot of fun to play with Goblin Tunneler. Not tournament material or a limited bomb, sure, but neat and very new-Izzet.
Hiinst1
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Shouldn't this card have a Dragon head instead of an Elemental head? Everything else in the guild (The guild's name, the guilds symbol, the guilds inventions and the guilds titles) are all crafted in the image of Niv-Mizzet... ...but this is done in the shape of a random elemental? Why?
Would synergize with an enchantment that operates like Zhur-Taa Druid ~ something that makes your mana rocks or producers deal damage to an opponent when tapped for mana. I don't know of any cards that do this, but if anyone does, feel free to chime in. This card will be much better for it ( and quite possibly turn it into the best in the cycle - just sayin).
@Vyandor It will be destroyed unless you can remove its board presence, play a combat trick, or remove its status as a creature before the damage resolves.
sojourner202
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@WrathofShane
Just making it do damage to an opponent won't do the trick. The card specifies combat damage, and so it requires an attack. direct damage will not make this into a source of card draw. Something else that turns your artifact into a creature, Tezzeret the Seeker, for instance, will allow it to still have its ability intact. This also gives you a much stronger creature than a 2/1 and allows you better opportunity to keep your keyrune if it is blocked.
Cyberium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I was hoping the Keyrune would turn into a Weird.
N3wtn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ DacenOctavio Not necessarily. MaRo has said in an article(http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/mm/110) that Zendikar had shown that a land-themed block could work and is something he's confident they'll be exploring again. Should that happen and they go forward with another block or set with a strong land theme, then enemy colored manlands are such an obvious inclusion they'd be pretty much guaranteed.
My bet is we'll see them when we get to the block that explores the plane of Muraganda. Muraganda seems to be a prehistoric setting, so a land theme and manlands especially would fit quite well, given that the plane would be a largely unsettled and likely widely unexplored wilderness. The Mimeoplasm, a Muraganda resident, also sets precedence for an enemy color or even wedge-themed block, which I've been dying for since Shards of Alara. Time will tell.
Comments (16)
...as much as I hate giving up my 5-star rating, something just occurred to me: The damage to a player effect does NOT depend on Izzet Keyrune animating itself. If, for instance, Karn, Silver Golem or March of the Machines turned it into a creature, it would still give you the effect. This makes it an excellent choice of mana artifact in such decks.
All that aside, it's still a reasonably-costed mana rock for its colors, and the ability to make your utility spells attack or block when you need them to is always going to be a useful function. I do like this guy, he just feels underwhelming when compared to the others.
Everything else in the guild (The guild's name, the guilds symbol, the guilds inventions and the guilds titles) are all crafted in the image of Niv-Mizzet...
...but this is done in the shape of a random elemental?
Why?
@Vyandor It will be destroyed unless you can remove its board presence, play a combat trick, or remove its status as a creature before the damage resolves.
Just making it do damage to an opponent won't do the trick. The card specifies combat damage, and so it requires an attack. direct damage will not make this into a source of card draw. Something else that turns your artifact into a creature, Tezzeret the Seeker, for instance, will allow it to still have its ability intact. This also gives you a much stronger creature than a 2/1 and allows you better opportunity to keep your keyrune if it is blocked.
Not necessarily. MaRo has said in an article(http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/mm/110) that Zendikar had shown that a land-themed block could work and is something he's confident they'll be exploring again. Should that happen and they go forward with another block or set with a strong land theme, then enemy colored manlands are such an obvious inclusion they'd be pretty much guaranteed.
My bet is we'll see them when we get to the block that explores the plane of Muraganda. Muraganda seems to be a prehistoric setting, so a land theme and manlands especially would fit quite well, given that the plane would be a largely unsettled and likely widely unexplored wilderness. The Mimeoplasm, a Muraganda resident, also sets precedence for an enemy color or even wedge-themed block, which I've been dying for since Shards of Alara. Time will tell.