If it were based on the art I'd give it 5/5 hands down! I must say it doesn't help you fast and isn't as gamechanging as some other cards of the same rarity, it still allows the opponent freedom of choice. I had to give it a 4/5. Still amazing though!
Yozuk
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(4 votes)
This has to be the most dull looking legend of the set in terms of abilities. But when you really think about it, she is a interesting in her simplicity. I already Have Jarad, thanks to the dual deck. And out of the other Legends in the set, She and Niv-Mizzet Dracogenius are the 2 I'm most excited to be able to get my hands on. The reason I want her is because I want to make a defensive Siren style commander deck.
Totema
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I thought Isperia was a normal-sized Sphinx? Either she grew massively, or she somehow shrank all of Ravnica.
Ferlord
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(4 votes)
I both do and don't like Isperia.
On one hand, the card is drawn when you are attacked, not dealt damage, which can lead to many "In response" situations where you play something like Fog.
On the other hand, drawing cards doesn't win you the game. It's good for EDH, but unless Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind is out, you still won't win from drawing cards. It's hard to play down (expect for in limited), and when it is, you'll probably be under extreme heat.
Cyberium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
6/4 for six is good, but the ability isn't impressive. White/Blue decks tend to have ways to either remove creatures or prevent them from attacking, while you draw card with Isperia it doesn't solve the immediate threat unless you luckily draw something that'd help. For that matter, there are other more efficient spells to use.
Avensai
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
I would argue that drawing spells does win you the game, albeit not is as flashy a manner as casting a bomb of a creature or resolving a killer spell. Draw gives you access to the resources you need to win the game in the first place, which most opponents will hesitate to allow if they can help it. Isperia makes an aggressive opponent think twice before swinging with his army because what are the odds that one of the three, four, five, or possibly more cards you draw as a result of his attack give you exactly the spell you need to either buy yourself more time or completely turn the tables on him? That said, I agree that she has a degree of anti-synergy with both her guild and her colors, as Azorius' detain mechanic stops creatures from attacking anyway, and blue and white have things like Sleep and Pacifism or Arrest. All in all, not my favorite guild leader, but as someone else pointed out: 6 power in the air for 6 mana is still a pretty good deal if nothing else.
WoWbolt17
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
she's got great potential synergy with safe passage, draw a bunch of cards, take no damage for the turn and counter with at least 6 in the air.
Trygon_Predator
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
How big is Isperia anyway?
Even if her ability never comes into play, you can still swing for 6 in the air.
General_Naga
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
The best WU Legend IMO.
Tiggurix
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Have everyone forgotten the notion of card advantage or something? She gives you very good compensation for being attacked, as Detain can't hold the opponent off forever, and she's a flying Craw Wurm. She's a fine legend, simply put.
Comrade_Alexei
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Isperia makes me feel terribly conflicted. On one hand, 6 for 6 in the air is a beautiful thing. And for U/W, which can use stuff like safe passage to fog, bounce effects to remove from combat, you can take attacks without being hurt. On the other hand, considering this essentially tops out the curve it may come too late to deliver the beats as well as some intense card advantage in the right deck. This would really need a build around to be fully functional and it doesn't play nice with detain really.
A0602
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Seems like the perfect UW turbo fog win condition. If you don't attack with all your creatures, I will render them harmless. If you do I fog and have drawn a lot of cards (perhaps even another fog).
Lotsofpoopy
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(7 votes)
The non-pros saying this card isn't that good make me laugh. I am a pro and I can assure you that card advantage wins games and this legend not only gives you card advantage, but card advantage in a big way. And detain actually does work well with this because detain only lasts a turn and it prevents your opponent's nastiest creatures from attacking. The card-drawing effect isn't so great when you are taking massive damage so detain gives you more control with your card draw. Awesome legend.
Mowagh
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Nice to see Isperia's come a long way since we last saw her.
shotoku64
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Oh hello Isperia, didn't expect to see you again. With much less narrow abilities I might add.
rollinsclone
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I can see this having a spot in a lot of UW decks, especially with Consecrated Sphinx and the titans rotating out.
Gcrudaplaneswalker
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
This card is just incredible. 6/4 flying in UW AND card advantage is huge. However, it might not be THE best UW Legend... We can't forget the Geist!! (:
Pinto331
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
@Ferlord On the other hand, drawing cards doesn't win you the game.
Sorry man, but you could not be more wrong about this. Drawing cards absolutely wins games. It's the reason why Goblin Piker is bad in every constructed format but Dark Confidant is one of the best creatures ever printed.
Now Isperia here is a bit of a mixed bag. She leaves the option open to your opponent, which is usually not viewed favorably, but she is very much something that must be dealt with or you lose. Of course her real downside is her 4 toughness, there are a lot of ways to deal with that even in limited.
At the prerelease I cast her about 5 times, once she got countered, once she got hit with Auger Spree, twice my opponent just stopped attacking me (I won a turn or two later), and in only one instance did I actually draw cards from her (again, winning soon after). It's a powerful ability if it can basically make your opponent give up, but she's very vulnerable.
Overall I like her a lot, she's fun, she's a bomb in limited, and a 6/4 flier is a nice beater.
Domak
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I must agree with our friend "lotsofpoopy" that the draw ability is synergetic with detain. You detain their biggest threat, and they'll be even less likely to actually hit you because the weaker attack they can pull off has drawbacks. Detain also slows them down so that you get to actually use the cards you draw.
Any aggressive-many-creature deck gets boned unless they can take you down in one or two swings. Either that, or your deck is bad because you can't make anything happen with your several shiny new cards.
Zoah
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
How odd... This Isperia is actually rated lower than the other one... I guess she is the only guild master so far to have gotten harder to play though.
While card advantage is very important it will help a lot less in this situation. In general, if an opponent is still attacking you after they have a massive 6/4 sphinx staring back at them... then you've probably lost anyway. She's also impossible to combo with and generally won't save you in a bad spot and isn't any better at ending the game than any other big flyer. Overall, Admonition Angel ends it faster, Sunblast Angel is more likely to reverse things, and Bruna, light of alabaster protects you better and, most importantly, all three of them survive flame slash
RAV0004
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
Going right into my Isperia the Inscrutable EDH.
Oh jesus what did she eat to get so damn big. She's the size of an Eldrazi titan.
TherealphatMatt
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Grossly underestimated. At the prerelease today, she saved my butt over and over again. Once, particularly memorably, I drew Druid's Deliverance and populated another 4/4 trampling rhino. tons of fun.
Not sure how she'd perform in standard, but drawing cards is always good.
RJ.693
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I'm saddened that she's not a sphinx advisor. C'mon, Wizards. I feel like my advisor tribal deck is never going to get off the ground!
Lord_of_Gelectrodes
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Isperia, now with 20% less scrutableness.
Barjin-N-Blastum
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I want the 'last' sphinx to look something like this:
The Last Sphinx (7)WUBRG
7/10 flying, trample, haste, hexproof
When opponents do 'stuff,' you may draw two cards.
Stuff includes: starting their turn, looking at you, reading a card, inhaling, arguing with you, touching their cards, rolling dice, checking life totals, drawing cards, talking, eating, saying "damage, counter, gotcha, Phyrexia, etc.."
Probably should be mythic too.
talcumpowder0046
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Dies to Dreadbore.
IUHoosier
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Most of the time, this is essentially a Blazing Archon for three fewer mana.
DarthParallax
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Much better in EDH than 60 Card decks. Or, rather, much much better if there are more and more people playing. I'd wouldn't feel comfortable running Isperia w/o 5 players and I'd be thrilled to play her against 7 other opponents. (8 player game)
There aren't a lot of ways to swing the game in your favor against more than 1 opponent at once that don't present such an immediate threat that they MUST be destroyed. In EDH, there are going to be more powerful sources of damage or resources that people will be trying to rid the board of before they feel they have time to devote to Isperia. This will either mean they are just not attacking you and you get to play things and build up a 'castle', or they will send all their spare attacks your way in the hope that you die to all the 'incidental' damage that 3+ players can afford with the end of each of their turns- but you will get to draw many, many cards, giving you the chance to recoup your position every time it comes around to your turn, since none of them will want to do so much to you that you decide to fly in for 6 at them. 6 is a lot of damage, on a General it's 1/3 of thier life total.
In a duel, she presents a THREAT. It is usually considered rude to present a threat to your opponent. In a duel, the common response is to SMASH you for doing so.
Alright, it's not QUITE that simplistic, but she IS a long-term, grinding type of gal, and those ARE stronger in slower games where you have more of a chance to manipulate whether you get attacked or not. In a duel it's not like they have a choice to not attack you and somehow hope they can win. She is no deterrent in 2-player, only an insult that results in escalation of arms used. They might even decide it's worth Worldfireing you over it.
Radagast
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Yeah, that's powerful! If anyone goes after you, it's free cards! Oh, and it's a 6/4 flyer, too... yeah.
Laguz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like her! She may not be a constructed staple but she fits my purposes...namely, the synergy with my favorite planeswalker, gideon jura, who happens to be in my blue/white control deck. And thanks to the 'may' word, i can avoid decking myself.
MyrBattlecube
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wait, Isperia? I thought Leonos II took over the Azorius?
Ezuna
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Looks like she will die in RTR block, compare the artwork of the new Putrefy and her picture below
I hope wizards decides to kill her off and bring her back in black mana like Mikaeus, the unhallowed or Balthor the defiled It would be nice to see a her as an undead dimir lich sphinx
Kelptic183
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Guys, she's not huge. She just has a scale model of Ravnica, like on the art of Bottled Cloister.
I think everyone is underestimating this card. The purpose is with all the detaining an arresting, if someone even manages an attack, at least youll still get to draw a card!
DacenOctavio
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm not sold on why this has any flavor connection to the original Isperia, but it's still a good card. I just drew 21+ cards off of a Farsight Mask and took over an EDH game tonight. The ability is a swift deterrent.
Osprey_93
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Its funny how Bruna, at the same cmc but easier to play is more compatable with azorius as a guildleader than Isperia is
Arachnos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Easily towers over buildings, but only swings for 6?
Onyx488
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Question: say you have this card out with Stonehorn Dignitary. if they attack and you cast Cloudshift on Stonehorn Dignitary is there a way to both draw your cards for each creature attacking and skip their combat step?
hot4boys
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
THE LE REDDIT MEME ARMY LEEJUN LOVES THIS CARD! 5 STARS IF YOU AGREE LOL XD!
Smoke_Stack
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Played this card for a while but never actually got me in a better position. Used to play her in my U/W control deck but swapped her out for better, cheaper cards. Most of the time I won using her, I just smacked my opponent for 6 a few times and called it GG.
I find it bizarre that the most defensive color combination, UW, gets a guild leader with higher power than toughness. Would have been far better as a 4/6, out of range of more blockers and removal spells.
IceSki13
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think the best way to use this card is to have a field of creatures to defend with and cast righteous authority on Isperia which gives it +1/+1 for each card in your hand. With this combination you can defens any attack and all cards you draw add to its power until you have to discard down to seven at the end of your turn. I almost beat a couple of my friends this way.
raptorman333
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
when compared to the old art... i just don't know what i'm looking at here...
DoragonShinzui
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Can't help but feel someone got her Power and Toughness mixed up. I mean, lets look at old Isperia: 3/6. Very WU, very Azorius.
6/4 isn't Azorius. I would've gladly had, say, 4/6 Flying Vigilance for her, as it'd make much more sense for both her colors and her guild.
zipec
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Correct me if I am wrong, but this triggers for every attacking creature. Not bad at all. DoragonShinzui: Her 6/4 body doesnt discourage attacking you as much as 4/6 would. (Actual statement from R&D) I also like it this way, because she can both help you when under siege and finish the game fast.
aqing0601
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Bident of thassa, anybody?
Kontrah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think this is a really good card but one that might not also have the effect you want at the time (i.e. stalling attackers or drawing cards). Would love to find a way to gain the benefit of her card draw more easily. I really want to build a deck around her somehow, involving lure effects and such.
Selesnya222
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
combos well with bident of thassa
Cloudchaser.Kestrel
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Onyx488 - No. Stonehorn makes them skip their combat step, that is, it never begins. Once begun, a combat step cannot be skipped. That said, there are lots of ways to both draw the cards and avoid the damage. There's a reason Isperia is on riot control!
I've noticed others have mentioned Bident of thassa, but no one seems to have linked it. It really is an awesome combo. Sphinx of the chimes shifts the overdraw into super overdraw, and I've drawn my whole deck with those three.
Azorius_Council
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
.Isperia is the ruler of all lands of Ravnica and protector of The Azorius
nnattt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A great political general in multiplayer EDH, particularly in an offence-oriented metagame. Isperia is all about striking a balance between threat and deterrence. When she is in play, stuff like Fog Bank, Guard Gomazoa, and Ith, High Arcanist can significantly deter opponents from attacking you, especially with the looming threat of Holy Day, Wing Shards, or Aetherize. This gives you the freedom to build a good board position while remaining largely above the fray. As with all political generals, she becomes much, much better if you know how to play the table.
Comments (57)
On one hand, the card is drawn when you are attacked, not dealt damage, which can lead to many "In response" situations where you play something like Fog.
On the other hand, drawing cards doesn't win you the game. It's good for EDH, but unless Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind is out, you still won't win from drawing cards. It's hard to play down (expect for in limited), and when it is, you'll probably be under extreme heat.
Even if her ability never comes into play, you can still swing for 6 in the air.
With much less narrow abilities I might add.
On the other hand, drawing cards doesn't win you the game.
Sorry man, but you could not be more wrong about this. Drawing cards absolutely wins games. It's the reason why Goblin Piker is bad in every constructed format but Dark Confidant is one of the best creatures ever printed.
Now Isperia here is a bit of a mixed bag. She leaves the option open to your opponent, which is usually not viewed favorably, but she is very much something that must be dealt with or you lose. Of course her real downside is her 4 toughness, there are a lot of ways to deal with that even in limited.
At the prerelease I cast her about 5 times, once she got countered, once she got hit with Auger Spree, twice my opponent just stopped attacking me (I won a turn or two later), and in only one instance did I actually draw cards from her (again, winning soon after). It's a powerful ability if it can basically make your opponent give up, but she's very vulnerable.
Overall I like her a lot, she's fun, she's a bomb in limited, and a 6/4 flier is a nice beater.
Any aggressive-many-creature deck gets boned unless they can take you down in one or two swings. Either that, or your deck is bad because you can't make anything happen with your several shiny new cards.
While card advantage is very important it will help a lot less in this situation. In general, if an opponent is still attacking you after they have a massive 6/4 sphinx staring back at them... then you've probably lost anyway. She's also impossible to combo with and generally won't save you in a bad spot and isn't any better at ending the game than any other big flyer. Overall, Admonition Angel ends it faster, Sunblast Angel is more likely to reverse things, and Bruna, light of alabaster protects you better and, most importantly, all three of them survive flame slash
Oh jesus what did she eat to get so damn big. She's the size of an Eldrazi titan.
Not sure how she'd perform in standard, but drawing cards is always good.
The Last Sphinx (7)WUBRG
7/10 flying, trample, haste, hexproof
When opponents do 'stuff,' you may draw two cards.
Stuff includes: starting their turn, looking at you, reading a card, inhaling, arguing with you, touching their cards, rolling dice, checking life totals, drawing cards, talking, eating, saying "damage, counter, gotcha, Phyrexia, etc.."
Probably should be mythic too.
There aren't a lot of ways to swing the game in your favor against more than 1 opponent at once that don't present such an immediate threat that they MUST be destroyed.
In EDH, there are going to be more powerful sources of damage or resources that people will be trying to rid the board of before they feel they have time to devote to Isperia.
This will either mean they are just not attacking you and you get to play things and build up a 'castle', or they will send all their spare attacks your way in the hope that you die to all the 'incidental' damage that 3+ players can afford with the end of each of their turns- but you will get to draw many, many cards, giving you the chance to recoup your position every time it comes around to your turn, since none of them will want to do so much to you that you decide to fly in for 6 at them. 6 is a lot of damage, on a General it's 1/3 of thier life total.
In a duel, she presents a THREAT. It is usually considered rude to present a threat to your opponent. In a duel, the common response is to SMASH you for doing so.
Alright, it's not QUITE that simplistic, but she IS a long-term, grinding type of gal, and those ARE stronger in slower games where you have more of a chance to manipulate whether you get attacked or not. In a duel it's not like they have a choice to not attack you and somehow hope they can win. She is no deterrent in 2-player, only an insult that results in escalation of arms used. They might even decide it's worth Worldfireing you over it.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1081
It would be nice to see a her as an undead dimir lich sphinx
ACTUALLY she flies right over him while that butt-pirate screams "ERMAHGERD!"
6/4 isn't Azorius. I would've gladly had, say, 4/6 Flying Vigilance for her, as it'd make much more sense for both her colors and her guild.
DoragonShinzui: Her 6/4 body doesnt discourage attacking you as much as 4/6 would. (Actual statement from R&D) I also like it this way, because she can both help you when under siege and finish the game fast.
I've noticed others have mentioned Bident of thassa, but no one seems to have linked it. It really is an awesome combo. Sphinx of the chimes shifts the overdraw into super overdraw, and I've drawn my whole deck with those three.