Pointed Discussion

Magic's first attempts at equipment were so bad, it's no wonder no one wanted to see them until Mirrodin. Still, it's better than Rakalite.

It's like Sword of Kaldra only awful.

Seeing one of these really crappy attempts of creating creature enhancements, i'm pretty glad we got equipment these days.
At least the sword's art is pretty cool.

The funny thing flavor-wise is that this card tried to simulate the idea of equipment by disappearing if the creature died, whereas modern equipment does the exact opposite. Seems to me the original way was more realistic (and more balanced, considering how insanely powerful some of the new equipment is). I think there were a few more cards using this mechanic, though I can't remember which. Then they changed it to tapping the artifact and keeping it tapped, as with Ashnod's Battle Gear and Spirit Shield. Is there anything else in the History of Equipment that I'm missing?

@achilleselbow: the reusability is the whole point of equipment, and what distinguishes them from auras. if equipment didn't function the way they do, they vast majority of them would be hideously overcosted.

how in the world did this get more then half a star...

WOW this is terrible.

that is one epic looking sword,

@achilleselbow i dont see how equipment dissapearing would be more realistic, the creatures die on the battlefield, they leave their possessions behind, although when flavour calls for it wizards will make cards that get rid of equipment/enchantment, in fact those are some of my favourite spells, practical or no

@achilles
Some proto-equipment uses the falls away method, some doesn't (like Tawnos's Weaponry). I think the earliest use was Sandals of Abdallah, and in flavor terms it makes a lot of sense for them to disappear: they let you walk on water, and if you die while doing so, you and they both sink. Similarly, Flying Carpet was lost in the user's fatal plummet, until Classic Sixth Edition when they tried to fix the card by removing that stipulation. (Sixth is the only set I know of to deliberately change card text to make cards better than originally intended.)

@Ava
When a white knight dies, you don't get to keep the horse and armor for someone else. Pretty much every creature brings all the necessary equipment it can use, and it's lost when they fall (and still with them if they get resurrected). Equipment actually says something about the much glossed-over qualities of time and distance in a round of magic. Is a player's turn a minute? a wave of an attack? A skirmish in a long battle? A battle of a small war? There are cards to support any of those interpretations. At the same time, how small is the battlefield? Implicit in equip rules is the assumption that the battlefield is small enough and time between turns long enough that you can pick up equipment from wherever your friend fell and use it for yourself. (But then again, also implicit is the notion that a Craw Wurm can wear a pair of Trailblazer's Boots, so it's not something anyone should spend too much time worrying about.)

this poor card...great name, awesome art, and its a Christopher Rush, of Black Lotus fame & fortune!

I know he sucks, but the little guy needs a bit more love. 2 stars.

Wow, even with the updated card text, its still confusing as hell! XD

If you could use this on any creature at any time - it would be more useful on a blocking creature than an attacking one - it wouldn't have been that bad. At least in its time.

Always liked the art on this though.

Does this belong to Ihsan's Shade, by any chance? can't see much reason to bother equipping him with it, though.

By the way, this is now somewhat useful with Bludgeon Brawl. Wait, no, not "somewhat:" "almost."

Kind of looks like the the master sword in skyward sword but after 1st or 2nd flame added

I remember even when I was a total noob and thinking, " If you don't have anything better to do with nine mana then to give a creature +2/+0 and risk losing the expensive sword, yer doing it wrong!". Awful piece crap... One of the worst cards ever! 0.5 stars is generous.

It was almost a downright devastating weapon. Had it not been for the sacrifice clause people would likely play it. It can be activated at instant speed onto any of your attacking creatures and basically boost thier power as well as gives them the ability to disintegrate a Hexproof Regerator like Thrun. Paired with first strikers it's a fairly potent way to deter blockers as your opponant has no idea which one you are going to boost.