Pointed Discussion

Not that bad a card, provided you don't read the mana cost...

This card sucks.
I'd rather Wing Snare the flyer.

While it is overpriced and way over-"raritied", pound for pound not terrible. Still... I don't look forward to seeing it reprinted, but the more recent entangling flavor from M10 definitely lines up with this.

This is bad. Awful. Horrendous. It's almost unspeakably terrible. For 4 mana and one card, the flying creature better be dead. Not unable to attack, or block, or given -X/-0, or anything like that -- DEAD. What, you say? Not in green? Green doesn't do creature removal?

Whirlwind. Kill that pesky flier. Hell with it, kill them ALL. For 4 mana and one card. (Same rarity too I might add.)

0.5/5, would be negative if that were possible.

This card removes the two biggest challenges to killing a Baneslayer Angel. Fortunately Plummet cuts out the middle man.

Wow, ANOTHER one where they completely screwed up the casting cost. This thing should cost 1 mana and even then would only be MARGINALLY useful. (0.5/5)

interesting but very drawn out

Oh Homelands... you're cute like the kid no one will play with because he's retarded. Still cute though.

On the other hand, you can use this on a non-flyer. Just sayin.

The wordiest card that I own. 0.5/5

So.... Enchanted creature loses flying and has Last Strike? Sure. Why not.

This is just preposterous. plus if i was a wizard and i had some flying thing after me, like a baneslayer angel or something, I would not think to simply put a mammoth harness on her when shes not looking. what a silly card. and crappy.

Very ornate for what is essentially a death-day suit. Mammoths were equally revered and despised in Ulgrotha?

I guess it was either this or another visit to the bloody Aviary!

I know that a lot of you commenting are 16-ish and haven't developed your reasoning well enough, but let me help you out. You are comparing the card to cards printed many years later, after the game has changed significantly. Stop complaining that WotC doesn't know what they are doing. There was a point, before Baneslayer Angel existed, you know, and the cards were less powerful. But here's the thing, they were ALL less powerful, so it evened out. There were still better rares than others, but try to imagine a time before everything had to win you the game in 2 turns to be playable. Personally I liked the more thematic designs, like this one, better than the "i created a creature... it's flying, white and has deathtouch. hmm, we'll call it deathtouch angel" days.

Dude, while admitting I am 16, I know people who were there, and it was underpowered and hilarious even then. So just quit. Go draft some Urza's.

As terrible as this is, it was one of few ways green had to "remove" a creature (sort of) for its time. Oh, wait - there was Roots from the same set. Nevermind!

Nice flavor, ridiculously overpriced.

What does this card do? It hates on fliers, but isn't worthless on non-fliers. It isn't great at any specific task, but it has versatility. I agree that this card is unplayable in most competitive games. We are so used to power creep, when we pay four mana, the creature needs to be dead or we say the card is over-costed. However, back in Homelands, this card was not only appropriately costed, but it was an appropriate rarity, too. Here's why:

This card is GREEN removal that targets ANY creature and additionally HATES ON FLIERS!

In the old days, green didn't really disable creatures without flying. I did a gatherer search including all green cards printed before and up to Alliances, and here's your options: Desert Twister or Tornado (if you wanted the versatility to kill any creature), otherwise you could use a card like Roots (disables a non-flier) or Snowblind (disables any creature, but defensively requires you to have snow lands and offensively requires the opponent to have snow lands).

Those cards were all 4 CMC and higher. Rarity-wise, Desert Twister and Roots were the only uncommons, the rest were rares. Since Mammoth Harness is 4 CMC and a rare, this is not surprising. Remember, I am not saying Mammoth Harness is good, I am saying it is appropriately costed and of appropriate rarity. It might even be useful in a casual -- scratch that, very casual -- mono-green, creature-based deck.

What? Harnesses are something you tend to put on your own animals, not your rivals'. So these harnesses were designed so that your mammoth loses it's first strike and flying when you saddle him up? That... there is so much wrong with that.

Also it's a $#!TTy card.

One of the worst cards ever printed, by far. If it cost G and was a cantrip, it would be cool. As it is, you're better off doing creative things with Sorrow's Path. C'mon, darnit, Sorrow's Path is *begging* you!!

I didn't know Mammoths could fly...

@Three_toe,

Okay, let's compare this to cards printed BEFORE this. You'll see that even by those standards this is quite bad.

Earthbind costs just one mana, is a common and can double as a sorcery speed Shock.

Vertigo is identical to Earthbind except that it is uncommon and an instant.

Whiteout costs just two mana, is an instant, is an uncommon, affects ALL creatures with flying and can be recurred indefinitely assuming you aren't mana-screwed and have built your deck with snow lands.

Gravity Sphere costs three mana, and affects all creatures.

Combo with Roots to remove a flying creature for only 8cmc and two cards.

Yay Homelands!

Something that is intended to go on an elephant makes things not fly? Well, of course........

A mammoth with blue eyes. Did mammoths have blue eyes? Do elephants have blue eyes?

....or did some poor idiot find himself turned into a mammoth?

Who knows.

Odd that they went to all that trouble to give the opposing creature first strike, but didn't see fit to tack "and first strike" onto the first line.

That mammoth looks as unimpressed about this card as everyone else here does.