I have to say, that bright red skull looks really, really awesome on this card.
Shadoflaam
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Wow, a Mythic in a non-Commander precon. Isn't that a first? 5/5
chainsmoker
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(5 votes)
as if red and green has an easy answer to it.
DarthParallax
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Jace, Chandra, Liliana, and Garruk were all once rares in Lorwyn though. Ajani Vengeant was the Pre-Release foil. Unfortunately, I'm afraid Nicol Bolas wins again.
Nicol Bolas ALWAYS wins xD Seriously, it's getting kind of scary now. Bolas, Bolas, Bolas...what will we do with you? :p
chainsmoker: actually yes, they would have, without the Protection clause: Naturalize and Shatter. There's still Disenchant though.
EDIT: My mistake. Elspeth Tirel and Tezzeret the Seeker I believe hold the true record.
Lateralis0ne
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(7 votes)
SHIT.
I don't know where I left my Big Book o' Riddles.
Yozuk
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Very hard to kill. White removal can get the job done on this thing most the time. But even then its very likely that this think will be smacking you in the face.
RJDroid
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(4 votes)
I decided to pit the Fire and Lightning premium deck against the Graveborn deck. Graveborn trounced F&L 4 out of 5 games. The lost game was due to mana flood. Guess which card was my number one Entomb target?
MyrBattlecube
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I just kinda locked in on Steel and Wind and now I can't unthink this as a sphinx version of Kushala Daora.
Goatllama
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(4 votes)
Behold, the sphinx of the bloody skull.
Ezuna
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(5 votes)
@brunsbr103 I understand chainsmoker's comment as "red and green has no easy answer to this creature so why bother give it protection from those colors", I'm merely reminding him that red/green has the most artifact hate cards and that is what makes this sphinx's protections relevant.
brunsbr103
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Erm, Ezuna, neither of those would take care of him. And he does have protection; it's part of the card. That's like saying tht if he didn't have flying i could block him with my phyrexian colossus.
EDIT: k bro
Chainsmoker's right; i'd have to pack mass removal or some colorless cards in a red/green deck if I wanted to get rid of him.
Sure other artifact creatures can easily be taken care of by red and green, but not this guy. Which in part is why it's relevant that he DOES have protection from red and green, aside from them being not part of Esper's color scheme.
also there is a possible reference to The Birds here. The film has a theme of colors, specifically green and red. A sphinx is also usually not as aggressive as the flavor text suggests, similarly to how the birds in the film are more aggressive to normal. Plus a Sphinx is basically a giant bird-woman-lion, so...
although I'm probably just making connections in my head
NoobOfLore
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(7 votes)
Baneslayer who?
drpvfx
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(4 votes)
Super powerful, yet also well balanced (unlike Ms. Baneslayer)- three mana colors makes *all* the difference.
Of course, that's kind of irrelevant when the idea here is to cheat it into play ;-)
EDIT- Incoming Dark Ascension card could potentially dethrone/supplement this card in some decks, including reanimator:
Drogskol Reaver 5WU Creature - Spirit 3/5 Flying, Double Strike, Lifelink Whenever you gain life, draw a card.
Color me impressed- it's not as hardy as the Sphinx here, but drawing one or two cards pretty much every time it attacks or blocks (thank you, Double Strike!) is a HUGE plus. The CC is steep, but this is clearly great for reanimation- now I'm even more curious what new types of reanimation we might see.
Kryptnyt
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(7 votes)
@Sphinxofthesteelwind Because I have cookies and I share.
BlackFlameAshura
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(4 votes)
I'm normally not a huge fan of the Premium Deck Series foils but I really like how this card looks.
Also, I'm kinda surprised that it's not legendary. Not because of Commander (I'd still prefer playing it in Sharuum instead) but just because of her power level. It's more or less a color-shifted Akroma, for crying out loud!
atemu1234
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(4 votes)
No one I've played has answered that question yet either...
Totema
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wildslayer Sphinx.
htgtmd
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This thing is always crucial when going up against my friend's Akroma in his blue/white deck.
It can't stop her alone, but with the use of Alter Reality some amazing things begin to happen.
ElCarl
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(4 votes)
NOT ENOUGH KEYWORDS.
talcumpowder0046
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Dies to murder :D
JadedTemplar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Tips And Tricks: Use this with Glamerdye for some good laughs and protection from, well, anything. Cast once on Sphinx, Pro White, Retrace immediately to change Pro Black on Akroma. Also insanely useful against any color's removal.
Exclaimer999
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You'll find the answer on Strangehold.
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Now that's a badass sphinx. Not only does it kick all kinds of ass, but I like it from a flavor standpoint. It's a sphinx with a thirst for blood, and her riddle is completely unsolvable and basically more a formality than anything.
My second favorite reanimation target, right behind Mr. Taxis. 4.5/5 Stars
MICKEY.KNOX
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
This cards creature type should be Sphinx BEAST. 5 stars for sheer power.
Captain_Sisay_2591
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Akroma Sphinx
ax_morph
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Disenchanting one of these after Reanimate is always fun.
SirLibraryEater
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
"Hey guys, let's see how broken we can make a 3-colored creature!" "Dude, we should print this!" "DUUUUDE!" That's what really happened.
insolentdentist
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Love the card. But why do i think the answer is "You shouldn't."?
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The protections, while flavorful, are not good at protecting this thing at all. Yeah red and green cannot use there artifact removal, but its white and black which are best at destroying creatures.
Tolaria23
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The more relevant riddle in this case being "How the hell do you kill this thing?"
Comments (38)
Nicol Bolas ALWAYS wins xD Seriously, it's getting kind of scary now. Bolas, Bolas, Bolas...what will we do with you? :p
chainsmoker: actually yes, they would have, without the Protection clause: Naturalize and Shatter. There's still Disenchant though.
EDIT: My mistake. Elspeth Tirel and Tezzeret the Seeker I believe hold the true record.
I don't know where I left my Big Book o' Riddles.
Graveborn trounced F&L 4 out of 5 games. The lost game was due to mana flood.
Guess which card was my number one Entomb target?
I understand chainsmoker's comment as "red and green has no easy answer to this creature so why bother give it protection from those colors", I'm merely reminding him that red/green has the most artifact hate cards and that is what makes this sphinx's protections relevant.
EDIT: k bro
Chainsmoker's right; i'd have to pack mass removal or some colorless cards in a red/green deck if I wanted to get rid of him.
Sure other artifact creatures can easily be taken care of by red and green, but not this guy. Which in part is why it's relevant that he DOES have protection from red and green, aside from them being not part of Esper's color scheme.
also there is a possible reference to The Birds here. The film has a theme of colors, specifically green and red. A sphinx is also usually not as aggressive as the flavor text suggests, similarly to how the birds in the film are more aggressive to normal. Plus a Sphinx is basically a giant bird-woman-lion, so...
although I'm probably just making connections in my head
three mana colors makes *all* the difference.
Of course, that's kind of irrelevant when the idea here is to cheat it into play ;-)
EDIT- Incoming Dark Ascension card could potentially dethrone/supplement this card in some decks,
including reanimator:
Drogskol Reaver
5WU
Creature - Spirit
3/5
Flying, Double Strike, Lifelink
Whenever you gain life, draw a card.
Color me impressed- it's not as hardy as the Sphinx here,
but drawing one or two cards pretty much every time it attacks or blocks
(thank you, Double Strike!) is a HUGE plus.
The CC is steep, but this is clearly great for reanimation-
now I'm even more curious what new types of reanimation we might see.
Because I have cookies and I share.
Also, I'm kinda surprised that it's not legendary. Not because of Commander (I'd still prefer playing it in Sharuum instead) but just because of her power level. It's more or less a color-shifted Akroma, for crying out loud!
It can't stop her alone, but with the use of Alter Reality some amazing things begin to happen.
4.5/5 Stars
"Dude, we should print this!"
"DUUUUDE!"
That's what really happened.
But why do i think the answer is "You shouldn't."?