Pointed Discussion

I have to assume that this card was created in response to cards like Hypnotic Specter and hymn to tourach. It would be much for useful if the cards were returned to hand instead of sent to the graveyard upon losing control of the Scepter. I give it 2 stars because it's a fun idea and 0 casting cost.

Could be used for a number of things:
*against discard, either from opponent or any effect of your own that makes you discard randomly or at end of turn (Recycle)
*to lower your hand size temporarily, to prevent end of turn discard or in combo with Cursed Scroll.

I really really wish that, for mostly innocent cards like this, that Wizards would engineer them to not have stupid bugs in them. There are several cards that are begging for the clause "..., if (this card) is still on the battlefield, ..."

The first activated ability should read like so:

" T: If Gustha's Scepter is still on the battlefield under your control, exile a card from your hand face down. You may look at that card anytime blah blah."

As the wording is now, if you activate the ability, someone can respond by removing the Scepter, causing it's leave-play trigger to trigger. This trigger would happen before you remove a card. After all of that happens, your activated ability happens, which if I read correctly, forces you to remove a card from your hand anyways. If the intervening if-clause were there, then you have a safety net in activating that ability.

Other cards that need the phrase, "..., if (this card) is still on the battlefield, ..."
Oblivion Ring
Faceless Butcher
Actually all of the Judgement and Torment Nightmares except Wormfang Drake
...I may add to this list later...

@Enchantment_Removal: You've understood Magic completly wrong. That effect you describe is acknowledged Magic strategy in many cases.

Not that WoTC isn't known to hose strategies by errating cards or changing rules. Two cases that comes to mind are:

1. Poly and Continous artifacts working while tapped(1). They errated few but not all and ruined many decks.

2. Power Surge made obsolete by eliminating manaburn.

(1) For those who don't know what this was about I repeat it here:

In the begining there were mono-, poly- and continous artifacts. Mono artifacts tapped when used (check Alpha Mana Vault), poly artifacts didn't tap when used (check Alpha Soul Net) and continous artifacts just lied there and affected the game (check Alpha Winter Orb). Now the rule was that you couldn't use tapped poly artifact and tapped continous artifact didn't work (of course you couldn't use tapped mono artifact either because tapping was cost to its use, but more on that later).

Now WoTC removed the definitions mono-, poly- and continous artifacts by strapping the nefangled tap symbol (no, not the existing: check Revised Mana Vault) to mono artifacts in Revised edition and changed the artifact rule to say: non-creature artifacts don't work while tapped. Now the Mana Vault, said the nitpickers, won't ping the controller and they cannot untap it, because it doesn't work when tapped. This of course was ridiculous bull, but the WoTC rules commitee took it into their heart, pondered a while and made the ruling. Instead of returning back to the working mono-, poly- and continous artifacts separation they decided that tapped artifacts work and errated some continous artifacts not to work while tapped (check Howling Mine). Winter orb didn't get that errata and so that strategy is then gone.

Artifact creatures has always worked just like any other creature.

This card kills.

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/arcana/222

Saves you from discard or helps get stuff in the graveyard. cost is always a good thing.

Dang, this would be pretty sweet with windfall and lion's eye

Potentially a Hellbent enabler, in addition to the suggestions already mentioned. This was definitely created to defend against discard, as was Guerilla Tactics from the same set. This could also help defend your best card from Balduvian Horde.