Pointed Discussion

Oddly enough, if you give this to a creature with 3 counters on it already, all you need to do it attack with it to pop this.

However, this, by no means, will replace Incinerate or Searing Spear. It just isn't immediate enough.

Recall that Auramancer and Sun Titan are also in this deck. For those of you who think: delayed searing spear+ a couple of +1/+1 counters over a few turns, remember that this very well may turn up several times.

Apparently it also causes Gatherer Oracle text to lose line breaks. Well, its own. It's too slow for aggro strategies, especially when we have Madcap Skills still hanging around.

If the cost was , I would have praised this as red-flavored, backwards Unstable Mutation.

Auratogs pass the Ordeals easily, but they don't get as much permanent reward.

Seems like it would take too much effort. I'll stick with Madcap Skills.

edit: Now that Theros is out and Heroic has been revealed in its entirety, I see that I was completely wrong about this card.

Interesting on Stormblood Berserker and Oona's Blackguard. Blackguard because it allows you to swing for discard early, Berserker because it's a Bolt + +1/+1 counter, making it a Volt Charge in some situations; allowing for 7 damage T3 no problem.

Later revealed to be part of a cycle also containing:
Ordeal of heliod (gain 10 life)
Ordeal of nylea (search for 2 basic lands and put them into play tapped)
Ordeal of erebos (target player discards 2 cards)
and Ordeal of thassa (draw 2 cards)

I like this. Getting tons of efficiency for a two turn delay (2 mana for +3 and 3 dmg.). On a first turn drop with a decent ability, or 2 toughness, this can be pretty devastating. Quickly takes you out of the range of efficient removal, and the finisher allows you to remove some pretty big threats or potential blockers on the fourth turn. Admittedly, if you've got Aurelia you've probably already won, but becomes super efficient with anything that gives extra attacks or counters.

Also works nicely with cards that natively give counters for attacking/dealing damage (Stromkirk Noble or Curse of Stalked Prey for example) that can often stall out to a good early blocker.