Obviously a great card. Don't forget, this combos in-set with Worldfire. Just play Oblivion Ring on your own creature, then Worldfire gets you your creature back and puts your opponent at one life. If your guy has haste, then it's game over.
IMHO, O-ring is the best white removal available. For O-Ring gets rid of not just creatures, but also Planeswalkers, artifacts, other enchantments (including other O-rings!) which is very hard to do with other spells, especially in other colors, without a major drawback. Its cost often messes up your tempo if played early, but if you absolutely have to get rid of something immediately (Wellwisher anyone?) it's well worth it. And, of course, you can always hold it and wait to play it at just the right moment, such as removing that last blocker for the win attack or sending that huge creature your opponent just played to oblivion.
The major disadvantage is that it remains on the battlefield and can get bounced or burned itself, and will trigger any enter-the-battlefield abilities of both the card removed, and other cards already on the battlefield. Also, it's an enchantment, so it can only be cast during your turn, and can't be used in combat or in response to something an opponent does.
I find the versatility of this card overrides any drawbacks. You have to assume your opponent can get rid of it, or even cares to. It also will remove and enchantments or counters on the creature, and the creature can't regenerate to save itself either. Nobody will want to burn an O-ring to recover their removed Joraga Warcaller after the counters are lost, so the creature is as good as dead. Any other similar counter-oriented card will suffer from the O-ring (such as modular/sunburst creatures) Also, any equipment will have to be re-equipped. The tempo loss from that alone plus the enchantment burn will surely mess up your opponent.
Cards like Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares are great 1-drop white removals, but come with drawbacks. Path mana accelerates and land filters your opponent (unless in the rare case that you're landlocked and use it on yourself), which I find to be a significant drawback because now you opponent has an extra land of his color-choice that he didn't draw and is ahead of you mana wise. STP is good if you blast a relatively weak creature (with a special ability or something) but bad if its a fatty because then your opponent gets a lot of life. And, of course, you can blast your own creature if you absolutely need the life.
And then there is Journey to Nowhere, which is less to cast but only targets creatures. Also a very good white removal.
There are plenty of multicolored removal spells, such as the famous Vindicate, which compete for mono-colored removal in a multicolored deck, but that would be a whole different story now.
White removal is abundant in the metagame, but I think that O-ring is one of the best. I typically run 4 in every white deck I build unless I can find an appropriate multicolored spell to fit the deck.
I also like the Lorwyn art better, It just seems more like a "Oh noes! Ive been sent to oblivion!" picture. (and anyone who was wondering the creature in the picture is a Vengeful Firebrand)
TherealphatMatt
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(11 votes)
I love people posting about combos with this card.
it's o-ring. it doesn't need combos. it's the swiss army knife of removal, if swiss army knives were made of swords and apache helicopters.
OmnipotentOne
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
I don't make many white decks without this card anymore. I consider it a white staple in decks.
bowlofgumbo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
O-ring is for sure the Swiss Army Knife, it's been the iconic white removal spell since its inception in Lorwyn, the emphatic answer to nearly every situation in Magic. But that flexibility comes at a price - both a timing restriction price and a converted mana cost price. Maybe I play more than the average bro looking through Gatherer, but I certainly don't run Oblivion Rings in every white deck I make. There's just so many terrific answers in white, many of them situationally more powerful than O-ring.
If you're that guy who's running 4 O-ring as three-mana creature removal maybe it's time to consider the playset of Unmake or who knows even Path to Exile. There's always Revoke Existence and Celestial Purge but those are more likely sideboard cards.
LordRandomness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Remember: In multiplayer, you don't announce the target until AFTER the ring is in play. This can save you from pesky countermagic.
forumbrowser
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Booster draft must have been a total mess when this was common.
The fact that it's any non-land permanent makes this a powerhouse and the fact that it's an enchantment makes people playing red or black die a little on the inside as their is basically gone forever.
EsperHarbinger93
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One of my most favorite cards. I never play a white deck without 4 of these. It'd ticked my friend so many times, he played Thought Hemorrhage and named O ring, which I had 3 in my hand :/
Lotsofpoopy
★☆☆☆☆ (1.4/5.0)(7 votes)
One of the most useful removal spells in the game today. I know this because I am a pro.
EsperIsperia
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i hate it when my opponent oblivion ring my oblivion ring -_- zzzzzzz
wholelottalove
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(10 votes)
Why does everyone think that Worldfire and O-ring is such a good combo? Worldfire is like nine mana and O-ring is three, so that's twelve mana to win the game... If that's all you can do with twelve mana then Standard must be really boring.
I call them Oreos. :3 Anyway, the ring got even better with M13, thanks to Worldfire and, to a lesser extent, Planar Cleansing. Just a shame Raging Goblin was'nt reprinted, it could've gone well with Krenko.
Ferlord
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Although the art isn't bad at all, new art would've been cool.
I wish it said "may". If your opponent has used his Oblivion Ring on your Oblivion Ring, and you want to overload a cyclonic rift, well your oblivion ring is going to end up hurting you, because your forced to target one of your own things.
Xineombine
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Black had spot removal before it was cool
Spockawitz92Y
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Your playing {W}? You better be using this card. I love this thing, 3 cmc says screw your planesy, fat thing, broken artifact whatever if its not a land its gone. Ya its not forever sometimes, but it does its job and then some. This is a truly legendary card, it will used long after it finally falls out of standard, but I dont see it leaving anytime soon. If your splashing blue, meet his cousin Detention Sphere. Removal at its best, 4.5/5
Lifegainwithbite
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Detention Sphere is rated lower than this even though it's much more useful. Strange.
ViashinoWizard
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
While Oblivion Ring is in your hand, Vedalken Masterminds you control have "2WU, T: Exile target nonland permanent."
flare1122
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is excellent by itself but god-like when used in a combo. For instance white blue control deck, have Venser, the Sojourner and Sundial of the Infinite out on the field. Exile a nonland card with O-ring, flicker out O-ring with venser, on the stack of the nonland permanent coming back in end your turn with sundial; then rinse and repeat. Fun little combo that leaves your friends hating you but it's O-ring they already hate you. ;)
Zher0
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(3 votes)
@leomistico
You misread the rules update. The new rule refers to the new template for Oblivion Ring-type cards like Banisher Priest, not Oblivion Ring itself. From the update: "It's important to note that this new style of ability won't appear on older cards. Oblivion Ring will continue to do what it does. No older cards are changing."
EternalPhi
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@leomistico
The 610.3a rule only applies to versions templated with the "until" version such as Banisher Priest, as you can tell form the beginning of the 610.3 rules section where it states that the rule and subrules only apply to the "until" template. Since the enters play and leaves play are part of the same ability, this prevents the new versions from working similar to Oblivion Ring, but does not affect the way Oblivion Ring works in any way. I was somewhat confused about that part after I read your comment, but after consulting with a Judge, he confirmed that Oblivion Ring et al still indeed work the same.
leomistico
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Yeah! Finally, sheningans with bouncing O-Ring before the exile ability is resolved are no longer possible! http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/255c&page=3 It was time!!!
O-Ring, F*CK YOU!
@Zher0, from the same update: To fix this, rule 610.3a says that the initial one-shot effect that moves the object won't move it if the specified event that returns it has already occurred. So, the "stack loophole" doesn't work. In other words: if the effect that exile the object occurs after the one that returns it, it doesn't work. What you reported means that O-Ring and similar cards don't gain any wording update. They continue to do what they did, but the rules has changed... Actually, the Bullettin is quite confusing in this point: I had to read 3-4 times before properly understand it...
What upset me is that they have to create an entirely new rule only for those cards, instead of errata them. Both way, you can't really tell what they do, reading the cards alone, but I think that errata those cards would have been a better choice, over the effort to create a new rule... The effort is totally not worth it! At least because you have to check the rules, instead of look the gatherer for the Oracle text. But overall, because they want a game with less rule, and this one is quite counter-intuitive because the cards work in another way...
Edit @ EternalPhi: Oh yes, you're right! It seems that I was overexcited for the news, that I miss the first line all the time. I still think that that section wasn't totally clear, until I've read it a dozen of times. However, if the Oblivion Ring-like cards don't work like they originally intended, they should errata them. If they actually think that "This "stack loophole" was the worst kind of rules interaction. It baffled players and felt a lot like cheating.", I don't see a reason to keep it... Now they probably have to print another set of O-ring-like cards with the new wording... Or, since they had to create the new rule, they could have create a rule that could handle the old o-ring wording, and make it work the way is intended to work...
Kragash
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
"Detention Sphere is rated lower than this even though it's much more useful. Strange." - Lifegainwithbite
Detention Sphere costs , Oblivion Ring costs . Oblivion Ring wins hands down for the casting cost as it is significantly easier to cast. Detention Sphere can target multiples of the same permanent... Oblivion Ring doesn't. Detention Sphere wins but this use case of being able to target multiples is usually rare (the use case does becomes less rare in multiplayer games though where you have more time to cast a card). Detention Sphere cannot target Detention Sphere... Oblivion Ring can target Oblivion Ring. Oblivion Ring wins for the shenanigans it can create.
Swag_Crow
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Strictly worse than Journey to Nowhere.
-Swag_Crow
Havrekjex
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Come back in M15 please!
JaxsonBateman
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(1 vote)
You're playing white. You want some extra creature removal, with the potential to get rid of other troublesome permanents. Along comes Oblivion Ring to save the day.
It's not too expensive (though not so cheap that it's an auto-include); it hits everything but lands; and it exiles - the best kind of removal. Very lovable. As an additional upside, it can be recurred up by Sun Titan if you happen to have them in your deck (I know it's often the case with me).
In regards to the O-Ring vs Det-Sphere debate, Det-Sphere is arguably better than O-Ring when you can easily account for its multicolor mana cost. Often they'll simply perform the same role, but occasionally you'll get some card advantage out of the equation, which justifies its inclusion. However, Det-Sphere obviously requires a UWx deck. O-Ring doesn't mandate the inclusion of U sources - so it's much more versatile when construction decks.
Comments (32)
Come on, it has another combo.
Use it to exile Near-Death Experience then cast Worldfire. At your next turn... it's instant win.
The major disadvantage is that it remains on the battlefield and can get bounced or burned itself, and will trigger any enter-the-battlefield abilities of both the card removed, and other cards already on the battlefield. Also, it's an enchantment, so it can only be cast during your turn, and can't be used in combat or in response to something an opponent does.
I find the versatility of this card overrides any drawbacks. You have to assume your opponent can get rid of it, or even cares to. It also will remove and enchantments or counters on the creature, and the creature can't regenerate to save itself either. Nobody will want to burn an O-ring to recover their removed Joraga Warcaller after the counters are lost, so the creature is as good as dead. Any other similar counter-oriented card will suffer from the O-ring (such as modular/sunburst creatures) Also, any equipment will have to be re-equipped. The tempo loss from that alone plus the enchantment burn will surely mess up your opponent.
Cards like Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares are great 1-drop white removals, but come with drawbacks. Path mana accelerates and land filters your opponent (unless in the rare case that you're landlocked and use it on yourself), which I find to be a significant drawback because now you opponent has an extra land of his color-choice that he didn't draw and is ahead of you mana wise. STP is good if you blast a relatively weak creature (with a special ability or something) but bad if its a fatty because then your opponent gets a lot of life. And, of course, you can blast your own creature if you absolutely need the life.
And then there is Journey to Nowhere, which is
There are plenty of multicolored removal spells, such as the famous Vindicate, which compete for mono-colored removal in a multicolored deck, but that would be a whole different story now.
White removal is abundant in the metagame, but I think that O-ring is one of the best. I typically run 4 in every white deck I build unless I can find an appropriate multicolored spell to fit the deck.
I also like the Lorwyn art better, It just seems more like a "Oh noes! Ive been sent to oblivion!" picture. (and anyone who was wondering the creature in the picture is a Vengeful Firebrand)
it's o-ring. it doesn't need combos. it's the swiss army knife of removal, if swiss army knives were made of swords and apache helicopters.
If you're that guy who's running 4 O-ring as three-mana creature removal maybe it's time to consider the playset of Unmake or who knows even Path to Exile. There's always Revoke Existence and Celestial Purge but those are more likely sideboard cards.
The fact that it's any non-land permanent makes this a powerhouse and the fact that it's an enchantment makes people playing red or black die a little on the inside as their is basically gone forever.
Yes, no?
Anyway, the ring got even better with M13, thanks to Worldfire and, to a lesser extent, Planar Cleansing. Just a shame Raging Goblin was'nt reprinted, it could've gone well with Krenko.
However, why fix what isn't broken, right?
Right?
Hey, I'm talking to you, Goblin Piker.
If your opponent has used his Oblivion Ring on your Oblivion Ring, and you want to overload a cyclonic rift, well your oblivion ring is going to end up hurting you, because your forced to target one of your own things.
You misread the rules update. The new rule refers to the new template for Oblivion Ring-type cards like Banisher Priest, not Oblivion Ring itself. From the update: "It's important to note that this new style of ability won't appear on older cards. Oblivion Ring will continue to do what it does. No older cards are changing."
The 610.3a rule only applies to versions templated with the "until" version such as Banisher Priest, as you can tell form the beginning of the 610.3 rules section where it states that the rule and subrules only apply to the "until" template. Since the enters play and leaves play are part of the same ability, this prevents the new versions from working similar to Oblivion Ring, but does not affect the way Oblivion Ring works in any way. I was somewhat confused about that part after I read your comment, but after consulting with a Judge, he confirmed that Oblivion Ring et al still indeed work the same.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/255c&page=3
It was time!!!
O-Ring, F*CK YOU!
@Zher0, from the same update:
To fix this, rule 610.3a says that the initial one-shot effect that moves the object won't move it if the specified event that returns it has already occurred. So, the "stack loophole" doesn't work.
In other words: if the effect that exile the object occurs after the one that returns it, it doesn't work.
What you reported means that O-Ring and similar cards don't gain any wording update. They continue to do what they did, but the rules has changed... Actually, the Bullettin is quite confusing in this point: I had to read 3-4 times before properly understand it...
What upset me is that they have to create an entirely new rule only for those cards, instead of errata them. Both way, you can't really tell what they do, reading the cards alone, but I think that errata those cards would have been a better choice, over the effort to create a new rule... The effort is totally not worth it! At least because you have to check the rules, instead of look the gatherer for the Oracle text. But overall, because they want a game with less rule, and this one is quite counter-intuitive because the cards work in another way...
Edit
@ EternalPhi:
Oh yes, you're right! It seems that I was overexcited for the news, that I miss the first line all the time. I still think that that section wasn't totally clear, until I've read it a dozen of times.
However, if the Oblivion Ring-like cards don't work like they originally intended, they should errata them. If they actually think that "This "stack loophole" was the worst kind of rules interaction. It baffled players and felt a lot like cheating.", I don't see a reason to keep it... Now they probably have to print another set of O-ring-like cards with the new wording...
Or, since they had to create the new rule, they could have create a rule that could handle the old o-ring wording, and make it work the way is intended to work...
Detention Sphere costs
Detention Sphere can target multiples of the same permanent... Oblivion Ring doesn't. Detention Sphere wins but this use case of being able to target multiples is usually rare (the use case does becomes less rare in multiplayer games though where you have more time to cast a
Detention Sphere cannot target Detention Sphere... Oblivion Ring can target Oblivion Ring. Oblivion Ring wins for the shenanigans it can create.
-Swag_Crow
It's not too expensive (though not so cheap that it's an auto-include); it hits everything but lands; and it exiles - the best kind of removal. Very lovable. As an additional upside, it can be recurred up by Sun Titan if you happen to have them in your deck (I know it's often the case with me).
In regards to the O-Ring vs Det-Sphere debate, Det-Sphere is arguably better than O-Ring when you can easily account for its multicolor mana cost. Often they'll simply perform the same role, but occasionally you'll get some card advantage out of the equation, which justifies its inclusion. However, Det-Sphere obviously requires a UWx deck. O-Ring doesn't mandate the inclusion of U sources - so it's much more versatile when construction decks.