It just goes on and ON! Anywho, each activated ability is supposed to be a season.
+1/+1 counter- Spring, the time of growth
2 damage to flyer- Winter, what with snowstorms and whatnot?
You gain 3 life- Summer harvest.
Graveyard- Fall, with... falling leaves?
I'm not really sure of any of these. Graveyard could be spring, time of rebirth, as could lifegain. +1/+1 counter might be summer? I guess it's up to you. Still, this is a versatile card...
.Blaze.
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Saying the 4 effects are for the seasons really feels like a stretch. I mean I'd say its
Spring: Rebirth, get stuff from the grave Summer: Exercise, +1/+1 Fall: Harvest, Gain life Winter: Not good flying weather
But I can easily be wrong. Either way those effects really feel disjointed. I guess its nice that this things deathtouch plays well with Nylea's trample.
master_biomancer
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
The death touch ability is very good, Green doesn't have large quantities of death touch, this also works well with tokens. Each of the artifact abilities are very sideboard like. The flying one is particularly useful giving green flying hate and removal.
Cyberium
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
Like our beloved Jaya, this is like a Planeswalker for enchantment :D
Lord_of_Tresserhorn
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(5 votes)
Swiss Army Knife of Nylea.
NARFNra
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
In all honesty, holy shit. The tokens. THE TOKENS.
Just imagine. Every single Saproling, deathtouch.
Also, it's cheap, and has a ton of usable activated abilities. Gaining life is always a good thing to dump extra mana in.
James_Kernaghan
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
Enormously cluttered design, but a nice swiss army knife for EDH either way.
OrgasmandTea
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
Interesting. It strikes me that Wizards are experimenting more and more with versatility over power. We've seen things like Crushing Vines in Innistrad and all of the charms in RtR. Two options, then three, then this one makes four. It's like they're subtly pushing the experiment to see how far it'll go. Next time round we'll get a mythic with five options.
Fenix.
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(2 votes)
This card is a design mess.
HotHit
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Supposed to represent the seasons... I don't think it was captured well. Primarily because I disagree with DaLucaray and .Blaze.'s answers. Does it not make more sense for the bow's abilities to be printed in the same order as the seasons? But, I'm not just spouting nonsense.
Spring: The season of growth, birth and beginning. I dunno about you, but to represent it as anything but +1/+1 counters in this set would be horrible. Most heroes grow to match the monsters by +1/+1 counters, the monsters grow to create an intense challenge by +1/+1 counters and Simic last set grew their mutants by +1/+1 counters. Summer: Flying near the Sun will get you burned? Meh summer is prime hunting time. The least flavourful of the abilities really, since the rest can all be linked to trees, but this is pretty much just firing the bow. I honestly would rather it not be there. Autumn: The Season of Harvest and the falling of the leaves. Could have been card draw, but lifegain seems much better as a repeatable, option for a 2 mana ability on a 3 mana card in green. Winter: The Season of death, hibernation and renewal. It doesn't quite fit but at least unlike summer it can be linked to trees, winter is the time when the dead leaves rot back into the soil from whence they came.
Purplerooster
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Love the options, one of them will always be relevant even if it just gaining life at the end of your opponent's turn, and really puts a players skills to the test. 4/5.
Ataraxiom
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(17 votes)
I think the abilities are actually listed in seasonal order, actually.
+1/+1 Counter: Spring (For growth and new life)
2 Damage To Flier: Summer (For "The Hunt", you know, like hunting birds and things)
Gain 3 Life: Autumn (For the harvest, which does happen in the Autumn, after all)
Four Graveyard Cards To Library: Winter (For giving honour to ancestors and lost friends, usually in hopes of blessings or good luck in the next year)
It's not bad as a mana sink. It doesn't quite have the versatility of being able to create card advantage or snap blockers like Trading Post. It also doesn't directly activate Angelic Accord. At the same time, it makes blocking a hard decision and can slow and outright stop some mill. It is well priced. The base and first tap ability alone makes it great in big Green creature decks.
pedrodyl
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Damn I wonder what the quiver does? /sarcasm
snakeman830
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@HotHit: Summer represnts storms, I think. Given that green already has Windstorm, Corrosive Gale, and other flyer-hate on storm-themed cards, and the most violent storms are during the summer, I think that is what it is supposed to be.
Great card, though. Plays well with pretty much every green deck from aggressive to tokens to big fatties (that usually have trample). The activated ability choices are likewise always going to be doing something useful.
Fro66er
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Got this and played it at pre release and l won every game l got to play this. it was TOO useful! so many options! so many answers!
TheBringer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Play this the turn Scalding Salamander attacks.
BloodCrank
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Lost Thragtusk and got this. Not a bad trade. Midrange is still a thing. We just have to play Primeval Bounty and Scavenging Ooze.
rollinsclone
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Options are good, options plus free deathtouch is even better.
EGarrett01
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This to me is the most interesting and potentially powerful card in the set. I mean, there are some interesting weenies, and some new mechanics that are somewhat X-Factors, but this is basically like a poor man's Jitte that must be killed on sight whenever it's played.
I honestly would consider it very good without the death touch and +1/+1 abilities, as it's a repeatable Elixir of Vitality that also shoots down fliers.
Definitely a card to watch.
GhostCounselor
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Oh the fun for Enlightened Tutor decks. The utility this provides is absurd.
Ability #1: Pump a creature. This will probably be the least used of the abilities in an ET deck, but in standard should see plenty of work.
Ability #2: Kills Delver. Who doesn't want to kill Delvers?
Ability #3: Serious time gain and stabilization. End of turn gaining three and then potentially gaining three more during your own turn, this means you've gained time do whatever it is you need to do.
Ability #4: Probably the most underrated. You can take away your graveyard to be used as fuel for your opponent's Deathrite Shaman and shrink their Tarmogoyf. The potential also remains to just get your own spells back in your hand, but mostly you're using this to prevent your opponent from abusing your graveyard.
The biggest negative against this is that it is vulnerable to Abrupt Decay. However, that vulnerability should absolutely not preclude you from using this. It has serious utility, even without the deathtouch clause (which should only apply to standard).
haxblade
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The 4th ability is very good with Deadbridge Chant, you can take away lands from graveyard which you definitely don't want it to hit.
SubstantiaNigra
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The best weapon, imo. Want to test it in my Standard BUG with things like Swan Song. Counter a spell with Song, shoot down token with Bow.
ubravoxes
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
No, I don't think it's season based at all. I think it has more to do with the hunt itself. Step 1: arm the bow (+1,+1) Step 2: fire the bow (2 dmg) Step 3: gather your food (+3 life) Step 4: celebrate the hunt and scavenge what is left(graveyard ability).
Zefyrus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'd say it's an averagely good card in general, but in drafts, is pretty cool! It practically won me 3 games!
doitpow
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I really resent 's co-opting of deathtouch at the expense of . Seiously, this gives green deathtouch for one less mana than Whip of Erebos, which grants...lifelink. urgh. It also has a far more flexible, cheaper, ability (though whether it's more powerful is debatable I guess). In terms of flavour Deathtouch makes so much more sense in black than green. Green is about strength and the overwhelming power of the natural order. Would green really allow a 1/1 to beat a 7/7?
Black_Sun28
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's like if druidic satchel was legendary. Just a bunch of great abilities on one card, but this time you have control over them!
@doitpow I can't help but think you're missing a crucial point on this card, it only gives deathtouch to Attacking creatures. On a 1/1 that essentially means it is unblockable whenever you don't need it to be and probably will never see that 7/7. Mechanically, if not flavourfully this means that Green is better served by using this with its big creatures that it is known for, or more specifically: big creatures with Trample. (Which Nylea herself provides)
Coolclaytony
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A Simic deck using this and Hidden Strings would be so fun.
orzhov20
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Something for each green guild from rtr. The plus 1 plus 1 for Simic, the 2 damage to a flying creature for gruul, the life gain for Selesnya, and returning cards from your graveyard for Golgari.
Equinox523
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
It looks like the developers were very careful about ensuring this did not become Umezawa's Jitte. They did this in a number of ways:
1. Double green in the cost and colored activation This ensures that it isn't used willy-nilly in any deck like Jitte was. By forcing green, it discourages splashing green just to use it. 2. A mana activation cost One of the most devastating things about Jitte was its ability to be activated for no additional mana cost. 3. It only allows you to damage a flyer Jitte was devastating because it could kill regenerators, and could hit just about any creature. 4. It has to tap to activate Jitte could be activated multiple times a turn since you got two counters, and only needed one to activate its abilities. Having it tap, and giving it a mana cost to activate, makes it much less broken. 5. It gives deathtouch only to attackers While this is a pretty nice ability, it is less devastating than Jitte on defense.
All in all, its a respectable toolkit kind of card, though it remains to be seen how good this will be in constructed formats. Personally, I like it, and would be happy to play it in a variety of decks.
Continue
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This set's Jitte. Any card with more than two options is usually worth a look.
thaviel
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
has no one mentioned sisay? Captain Sisay loves this card more then it's own god does.
HuntedWumpusMustDie
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The best limited card you could ever hope for. Just go green. You won't regret it. It is so versatile that there is always something somewhat helpful for it to be doing.
I realize the synergy is not immediately relevant, but 3/3 wolves are a fast enough problem before deathtouch. After it they're just instant death machines pushing extreme board control (combined with this eating small flyers) or massive damage.
In casual, I'd recommend a trample deck instead; Garruk's Companion into this means fast damage an a shock when they finally have a 2 power guy to block with. The myriad abilities ensure it's never a dead drop in casual either; eating weenies, helping you last in your mp game via life or cards, and slowly growing your guys to ensure a non-stalled board state.
Kariuko
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
By reading the comments it seems like a lot of people are forgetting it gives deathtouch to all your attackers. That is perfect for a green deck with a lot of big tramplers, it means they'll be killing a few blockers and getting more damage through. The double green cost also means Primalcrux doesn't mind it at all. The charm-like abilities are just extras
Stuflames
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Note that there are 4 arrows in the quiver - one for each activated ability. The fletching is actually leaves of different color, and to me the color choice and order lends credibility to the "season" analysis other poster have mentioned.
KaloTabano
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I believe this is the best of the God's weapons. Much more versatile. And, screw the choose one abilities, attacking creatures get death touch? SAY WAH!? I think it's a pretty cool card, now all I need is Nylea. Considering I have Elspeth, Sun's Champion, I don't really need Heliod, but if I could get my hands on Nylea... 5/5
So the Theros block has the theme, "Yo dawg, I heard you like supertypes, so I put supertypes in your supertypes so you can have a legendary permanent while you have an artifact while you have an enchantment."
Brawler_1337
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like this card. It has a lot of utility, and deathtouch is a powerful effect.
I'd consider this for voltron EDH decks. Why? Well, for one, it has recursion built in. Recursion is great in EDH, considering it's a singleton format. But it also gives your attackers deathtouch, which makes your opponent think hard about blocking. Not to mention, if you give your general trample, they aren't going to block anyway, since blocking would only prevent one damage. (You assign 1 to the blocker to kill it and the rest to your opponent's face.) Plus, if you're one damage off and your opponent has no blockers, you can give your general the +1/+1 counter to seal the deal.
MCcreator
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The only Monogreen artifact that requires green mana to play. One of four green artifacts that need green mana to be cast.
deep_shadow
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is an incredibly versatile and efficient card. I love it against Delver of Secrets decks, which would usually have between six thousand to twenty-two million Delver of Secrets on the board at any given time. But with this on the field? It's clear skies, my friend. Not only that, but you can use it to get key cards that they've removed back into your library, you can use it to stall the board by gaining life, and it gives your guys deathtouch, which speaks for itself.
Vastator
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
wow. just wow. Considering what this does for how much it costs, its pretty near broken - the fact that its legendary makes it a bit more understandable, but imagine if this wasn't?!
I'm surprised this only has 3.7stars. It has 5 abilities, last time I checked, charms, planeswalkers and deathrite shaman have 3, jace tms, the command cycle (cryptic command, because who uses the others) Aetherling and Morphling have 4, I can't think of another card with that sort of utility. They should have named it Swiss Army Knife of Nylea
Admittedly, the abilities are a little bit less powerful, however there are an enormous number of possibilities here. The deathtouch largely equates to making creatures unblockable. The archery ability is often really solid, able to kill delver, vendillion clique, fog bank, some of black's discard oriented specters, Inkmoth nexus... Pushing a creature right out of range for spot destruction or manipulating combat is solid enough, but it's just 1 at a time. Gaining 3 life is quite solid for races and when you are going into time. The weakest ability is the recycle, but that has occasional uses, mostly for keeping certain cards out of the grave (against DRS and Goyf for instance)
It's strong in standard and has benefits in other formats.
future_natty
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I can't vouch for the bow's utility at the pro level but in casual play this swiss army knife wins games for me again and again. There are so many times when I thought I was in a bind and then one of those little 2-mana abilities turned the game in my favor. A staple in my green decks
Hunter06
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wow, its the first truly mono green artifact ever printed, so the novelty is neat. its weird to see a Green card that gives so many options, I think this is the most versatile Green card printed since Primal Command
Comments (52)
+1/+1 counter- Spring, the time of growth
2 damage to flyer- Winter, what with snowstorms and whatnot?
You gain 3 life- Summer harvest.
Graveyard- Fall, with... falling leaves?
I'm not really sure of any of these. Graveyard could be spring, time of rebirth, as could lifegain. +1/+1 counter might be summer? I guess it's up to you. Still, this is a versatile card...
Spring: Rebirth, get stuff from the grave
Summer: Exercise, +1/+1
Fall: Harvest, Gain life
Winter: Not good flying weather
But I can easily be wrong. Either way those effects really feel disjointed. I guess its nice that this things deathtouch plays well with Nylea's trample.
Just imagine. Every single Saproling, deathtouch.
Also, it's cheap, and has a ton of usable activated abilities. Gaining life is always a good thing to dump extra mana in.
Spring: The season of growth, birth and beginning. I dunno about you, but to represent it as anything but +1/+1 counters in this set would be horrible. Most heroes grow to match the monsters by +1/+1 counters, the monsters grow to create an intense challenge by +1/+1 counters and Simic last set grew their mutants by +1/+1 counters.
Summer: Flying near the Sun will get you burned? Meh summer is prime hunting time. The least flavourful of the abilities really, since the rest can all be linked to trees, but this is pretty much just firing the bow. I honestly would rather it not be there.
Autumn: The Season of Harvest and the falling of the leaves. Could have been card draw, but lifegain seems much better as a repeatable, option for a 2 mana ability on a 3 mana card in green.
Winter: The Season of death, hibernation and renewal. It doesn't quite fit but at least unlike summer it can be linked to trees, winter is the time when the dead leaves rot back into the soil from whence they came.
+1/+1 Counter: Spring
(For growth and new life)
2 Damage To Flier: Summer
(For "The Hunt", you know, like hunting birds and things)
Gain 3 Life: Autumn
(For the harvest, which does happen in the Autumn, after all)
Four Graveyard Cards To Library: Winter
(For giving honour to ancestors and lost friends, usually in hopes of blessings or good luck in the next year)
/sarcasm
Great card, though. Plays well with pretty much every green deck from aggressive to tokens to big fatties (that usually have trample). The activated ability choices are likewise always going to be doing something useful.
I honestly would consider it very good without the death touch and +1/+1 abilities, as it's a repeatable Elixir of Vitality that also shoots down fliers.
Definitely a card to watch.
Ability #1: Pump a creature. This will probably be the least used of the abilities in an ET deck, but in standard should see plenty of work.
Ability #2: Kills Delver. Who doesn't want to kill Delvers?
Ability #3: Serious time gain and stabilization. End of turn gaining three and then potentially gaining three more during your own turn, this means you've gained time do whatever it is you need to do.
Ability #4: Probably the most underrated. You can take away your graveyard to be used as fuel for your opponent's Deathrite Shaman and shrink their Tarmogoyf. The potential also remains to just get your own spells back in your hand, but mostly you're using this to prevent your opponent from abusing your graveyard.
The biggest negative against this is that it is vulnerable to Abrupt Decay. However, that vulnerability should absolutely not preclude you from using this. It has serious utility, even without the deathtouch clause (which should only apply to standard).
Counter a spell with Song, shoot down token with Bow.
Step 1: arm the bow (+1,+1)
Step 2: fire the bow (2 dmg)
Step 3: gather your food (+3 life)
Step 4: celebrate the hunt and scavenge what is left(graveyard ability).
In terms of flavour Deathtouch makes so much more sense in black than green. Green is about strength and the overwhelming power of the natural order. Would green really allow a 1/1 to beat a 7/7?
I can't help but think you're missing a crucial point on this card, it only gives deathtouch to Attacking creatures. On a 1/1 that essentially means it is unblockable whenever you don't need it to be and probably will never see that 7/7.
Mechanically, if not flavourfully this means that Green is better served by using this with its big creatures that it is known for, or more specifically: big creatures with Trample. (Which Nylea herself provides)
1. Double green in the cost and colored activation
This ensures that it isn't used willy-nilly in any deck like Jitte was. By forcing green, it discourages splashing green just to use it.
2. A mana activation cost
One of the most devastating things about Jitte was its ability to be activated for no additional mana cost.
3. It only allows you to damage a flyer
Jitte was devastating because it could kill regenerators, and could hit just about any creature.
4. It has to tap to activate
Jitte could be activated multiple times a turn since you got two counters, and only needed one to activate its abilities. Having it tap, and giving it a mana cost to activate, makes it much less broken.
5. It gives deathtouch only to attackers
While this is a pretty nice ability, it is less devastating than Jitte on defense.
All in all, its a respectable toolkit kind of card, though it remains to be seen how good this will be in constructed formats. Personally, I like it, and would be happy to play it in a variety of decks.
Captain Sisay loves this card more then it's own god does.
T3 this
I realize the synergy is not immediately relevant, but 3/3 wolves are a fast enough problem before deathtouch. After it they're just instant death machines pushing extreme board control (combined with this eating small flyers) or massive damage.
In casual, I'd recommend a trample deck instead; Garruk's Companion into this means fast damage an a shock when they finally have a 2 power guy to block with. The myriad abilities ensure it's never a dead drop in casual either; eating weenies, helping you last in your mp game via life or cards, and slowly growing your guys to ensure a non-stalled board state.
I'd consider this for voltron EDH decks. Why? Well, for one, it has recursion built in. Recursion is great in EDH, considering it's a singleton format. But it also gives your attackers deathtouch, which makes your opponent think hard about blocking. Not to mention, if you give your general trample, they aren't going to block anyway, since blocking would only prevent one damage. (You assign 1 to the blocker to kill it and the rest to your opponent's face.) Plus, if you're one damage off and your opponent has no blockers, you can give your general the +1/+1 counter to seal the deal.
They should have named it Swiss Army Knife of Nylea
Admittedly, the abilities are a little bit less powerful, however there are an enormous number of possibilities here. The deathtouch largely equates to making creatures unblockable. The archery ability is often really solid, able to kill delver, vendillion clique, fog bank, some of black's discard oriented specters, Inkmoth nexus... Pushing a creature right out of range for spot destruction or manipulating combat is solid enough, but it's just 1 at a time. Gaining 3 life is quite solid for races and when you are going into time. The weakest ability is the recycle, but that has occasional uses, mostly for keeping certain cards out of the grave (against DRS and Goyf for instance)
It's strong in standard and has benefits in other formats.
3.5/5 Stars