As if Animate Dead didn't cause Oracle enough hysterics, now the effect is on one of the "flash and sac" cards that caused horrible "at end of turn" abuse!
Not that it's a bad card.
Vampire96
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(4 votes)
I want a reprinting for this card. Even a lesser version like w/o flash but is like; 2B or 3B "enchant creature put onto the battlefield with Necromancy." Put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control and attach Necromancy to it. When Necromancy leaves the battlefield, that creature's controller sacrifices it."
Superllama12
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I actually prefer the original wording to the Oracle wording!
Polychromatic
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The Oracle wording for this hurts my head.
BuffJittePLZ
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
For once, I find the Oracle text much more awkward than the original text.
tavaritz
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Hey guys, the Oracle wording is such that they can make Online program for this card. The main problem IMHO with oracling today is that the templates is made programmable. Reading programming code, even if it is translated to english, is cu_mberson as you need to follow the control structure.
There is at least one good thing about templating: Everything before colon is cost, everything after colon is part of the resolution.
Max_Glycine
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(3 votes)
@Vampire96- Necromancy w/o flash... Like Animate Dead?
LTJZamboni
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Love this card, though I do wish it had actual Flash so I could tutor it up with Mystical Teachings.
Pigfish99
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
my god, this has more text than a CTRL+ALT+DEL comic.
LordRandomness
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@heenaheena: It would then interact differently with Mystical Teachings, so it would be a functional change.
TheKazu
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
"When Necromancy enters the battlefield, if it's on the battlefield" WOOOOOOOO
adrian.malacoda
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@TheKazu: The strange wording for that effect is because when Necromancy ETB, it puts a triggered ability on the stack. When that triggered ability resolves, it may or may not actually still be on the battlefield (for example, if you responded to the ability by bouncing the enchantment). This is sort of a reverse situation of the Fiend Hunter/Oblivion Ring trick that involves flickering or bouncing the Fiend Hunter/Oblivion Ring in response to its ETB trigger. The net effect of doing so is that its LTB ability actually happens BEFORE the ETB one does, causing the target to be permanently removed.
In Necromancy's case, were it not for the "if it's on the battlefield" clause, you could cast Necromancy and then bounce it in response to the ETB. The LTB goes on the stack, resolves, and does nothing (since you have not reanimated anything yet) and then the ETB resolves and you get to permanently reanimate a creature (This also conveniently sidesteps the disadvantage to casting this at instant speed, consequently).
DacenOctavio
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I don't think anyone really plays this card for the Flash ability. The main appeal is that it's another Animate Dead.
EGarrett01
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
The guy in the art isn't being reanimated...he's just been shown that rules text for the first time.
@heenaheena: Actually, if the card was errataed to have Flash, it wouldn't play the same.
This thing is part of a cycle of enchantments from Visions (Mystic Veil, Parapet, Relic Ward and Spider Climb) that were designed to be modal - more versatile. You have two options with any of these cards:
->Play the card "at sorcery speed" - you're playing the enchantment as an enchantment. You get the card's intended effect, and it sticks around until it is destroyed or the permanent it is attached to is destroyed. ->Play the card "at instant speed" - you get the effect at instant speed, but it is only good until the end of turn. If you play one of these as an instant, you have to sacrifice it at the end of the current turn.
With these enchantments, you could opt to play them as normal enchantments, with the same timing restrictions, OR you could opt to play them as nasty surprises for your opponent - say, using Mystic Veil to effectively counter a Terror, or using Necromancy here to sneak a surprise blocker into play. If you choose to go for the "Gotcha!" option, they are only meant to last until the end of the turn.
Think of them as cards that you can either play as an enchantment or as an instant, and hopefully the convoluted wording will make more sense.
EDIT: I realize that you may not have needed all that... I guess my point is really just that "You may play this as though it had flash" is not its own line on the card - it's part of the "if you cast this spell at any time that you couldn't have cast a sorcery" rule, and I think it's supposed to provide clarity. Functionally, though, I do see your point, and one of the only differences (as far as I can tell) is that as worded now, the cards in this cycle can't be fetched with Mystical Teachings.
EDIT EDIT: @heenaheena - Your wording would be less wordy, but it would also make for some very strange interactions with other cards that allow you to cast spells as though they had flash (Vedalken Orrery, Leyline of Anticipation, Alchemist's Refuge). As written, Necromancy could be cast at instant speed like any other nonland permanent in your deck; with your version, none of the three cards I've linked above would actually provide any benefit to Necromancy.
heenaheena
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'd been ignoring this card for a while in favor of the cheaper mana-cost alternatives animate dead and dance of the dead but I'm going to give this one a try and I think in the long run it will be better than dance of the dead which is kinda clunky.
on another note, the Oracle says this card may be cast as though it had flash. Flash is the ability to be cast any time an instant could be cast. so Necromancy may be cast as though it had the ability to be cast any time an instant could be cast? Why not just give it flash?
EDIT: @Leshrac_Nightstalker the top portion of the card could simply read:
Flash If you cast Necromancy any time a sorcery couldn't have been cast, the controller of the permanent it becomes sacrifices it at the beginning of the next cleanup step.
All the cards in this cycle should, imho, be errata'd this way. They would still play the same but, yes, other cards that care about whether or not they have flash (which is extremely few) would interact differently with them... but so what? In fact, these cards (like mystical teachings, as you mentioned) should interact with Necromancy because Necromancy actually DOES have flash when you think about it. Flash says: "You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant." Can you cast Necromancy any time you could cast an instant? yes.
EDIT: EDIT: @Leshrac_Nightstalker yea, i guess you're right about vedalken orrery and whatnot.
Ferlord
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"I play Necromancy" "Oh? What's that? I've never seen it before. Let me read it..." (2 minutes later) "Okay, so... what does it do?"
EVERY. GOD-DAMNED. TIME.
OlvynChuru
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Forgetting about the flash ability for a moment, I think that the whole reanimation ability would be a lot less wordy if it didn't make Necromancy an Aura (I know that Wizards isn't going to ever errata this card that significantly; I'm mainly just giving an idea for a new card). Here is the reanimation ability (for a normal enchantment):
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. When either card leaves the battlefield, the other's controller sacrifices it.
I am aware that this wording has some flaws (for example, you can sac CARDNAME in response to the triggered ability to permanently reanimate a creature), and the wording might not be completely correct, but I think it's a good idea.
Comments (20)
Not that it's a bad card.
2B or 3B
"enchant creature put onto the battlefield with Necromancy." Put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control and attach Necromancy to it. When Necromancy leaves the battlefield, that creature's controller sacrifices it."
There is at least one good thing about templating: Everything before colon is cost, everything after colon is part of the resolution.
WOOOOOOOO
In Necromancy's case, were it not for the "if it's on the battlefield" clause, you could cast Necromancy and then bounce it in response to the ETB. The LTB goes on the stack, resolves, and does nothing (since you have not reanimated anything yet) and then the ETB resolves and you get to permanently reanimate a creature (This also conveniently sidesteps the disadvantage to casting this at instant speed, consequently).
This thing is part of a cycle of enchantments from Visions (Mystic Veil, Parapet, Relic Ward and Spider Climb) that were designed to be modal - more versatile. You have two options with any of these cards:
->Play the card "at sorcery speed" - you're playing the enchantment as an enchantment. You get the card's intended effect, and it sticks around until it is destroyed or the permanent it is attached to is destroyed.
->Play the card "at instant speed" - you get the effect at instant speed, but it is only good until the end of turn. If you play one of these as an instant, you have to sacrifice it at the end of the current turn.
With these enchantments, you could opt to play them as normal enchantments, with the same timing restrictions, OR you could opt to play them as nasty surprises for your opponent - say, using Mystic Veil to effectively counter a Terror, or using Necromancy here to sneak a surprise blocker into play. If you choose to go for the "Gotcha!" option, they are only meant to last until the end of the turn.
Think of them as cards that you can either play as an enchantment or as an instant, and hopefully the convoluted wording will make more sense.
EDIT: I realize that you may not have needed all that... I guess my point is really just that "You may play this as though it had flash" is not its own line on the card - it's part of the "if you cast this spell at any time that you couldn't have cast a sorcery" rule, and I think it's supposed to provide clarity. Functionally, though, I do see your point, and one of the only differences (as far as I can tell) is that as worded now, the cards in this cycle can't be fetched with Mystical Teachings.
EDIT EDIT: @heenaheena - Your wording would be less wordy, but it would also make for some very strange interactions with other cards that allow you to cast spells as though they had flash (Vedalken Orrery, Leyline of Anticipation, Alchemist's Refuge). As written, Necromancy could be cast at instant speed like any other nonland permanent in your deck; with your version, none of the three cards I've linked above would actually provide any benefit to Necromancy.
on another note, the Oracle says this card may be cast as though it had flash. Flash is the ability to be cast any time an instant could be cast. so Necromancy may be cast as though it had the ability to be cast any time an instant could be cast? Why not just give it flash?
EDIT:
@Leshrac_Nightstalker
the top portion of the card could simply read:
Flash
If you cast Necromancy any time a sorcery couldn't have been cast, the controller of the permanent it becomes sacrifices it at the beginning of the next cleanup step.
All the cards in this cycle should, imho, be errata'd this way. They would still play the same but, yes, other cards that care about whether or not they have flash (which is extremely few) would interact differently with them... but so what? In fact, these cards (like mystical teachings, as you mentioned) should interact with Necromancy because Necromancy actually DOES have flash when you think about it. Flash says: "You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant." Can you cast Necromancy any time you could cast an instant? yes.
EDIT: EDIT:
@Leshrac_Nightstalker
yea, i guess you're right about vedalken orrery and whatnot.
"Oh? What's that? I've never seen it before. Let me read it..."
(2 minutes later)
"Okay, so... what does it do?"
EVERY. GOD-DAMNED. TIME.
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. When either card leaves the battlefield, the other's controller sacrifices it.
I am aware that this wording has some flaws (for example, you can sac CARDNAME in response to the triggered ability to permanently reanimate a creature), and the wording might not be completely correct, but I think it's a good idea.