Pointed Discussion

Limited slam pick.

Hot dang! A 3/3 flier for 3? Unfortunately, Nightveil Specter has no life payment and adds more devotion to black, all for the cost of a mealy power and no bestow, so I doubt this guy' will see much competitive play. I'll be running him in my semi-casual monoblack, though.

This is a great card for limited as well as for Standard. Once Nightveil Specter is out this guy will likely fill that spot, and it works well with heroic creatures, such as Agent of the Fates if you feel like doing that sort of thing. Nice card overall, and the 1 life payment a turn is usually going to be worth it.

@DaLucaray Bestow +3/+3 flying is very useful for an aggro deck. This card fits in a different deck than Nightveil Specter.

Aggressive on the curve evasion. Life loss will be irrelevant in the flow of the game when a truly aggressive deck takes advantage of this.

This is INCREDIBLY good. When you play with it, you will understand. I opened TWO of these at the pre-release tonight, and they won me games -- period. The life loss is minor compared to the huge advantage of having a 3/3 flier for 3 mana in mono-black (or LARGELY black as the case may be, and was).

I saw someone on FB say that "the Born of the Gods demons suck"... what the HEYELL was that guy talking about?! Trust me, this thing is amazing in Limited -- and I will be very surprised if it does not see Constructed play.

I'll be playing black control after rotation and this will get in there super hard.

For now, slam it in draft. You won't be unhappy with it by any means.

@TheMentalProdigy
Vampire Nighthawk is playable in standard and modern, while it DESTROYS drafts and other limited formats. Nighthawk was, is and will always be a mistake.

Never, ever compare anything to the Vampire Nighthawk. that thing is broken as heck and was a complete mistake. It's the Baneslayer of 3 drops.

Slap him onto Tormented Hero, just for lulz.

This is the rare I'm going to watch out for from Born of the Gods. I think he's got potential many aren't going to realize till later.

Don't get me wrong, he's cool and all. I guess I just was having bad luck when I lost every game I got him out at the pre-release. I really like the bestow on this guy though. It can be used to make a big creature bigger and give it quasi-evasion. That's the good news. The bad news is that Vampire Nighthawk was a thing, and that as an uncommon, it (in my opinion) vastly outstrips this rare. Herald of Torment could've been uncommon as well.

I seem to have ruffled some feathers by mentioning the super-charged nighthawk. It is overpowered, that was never in question. The problem is that it exists, and it's playable in every format but Standard. This guy is also playable in every format, and I am definitely slapping him into a devotion deck. I'm just biased because he never got me anywhere in the pre-release.

Wizards of the Coast is conserving design space: there are still no bestow creatures intended to go on your opponent's creatures. (That's always been a possibility, one time I bestowed onto an opponent's Keepsake Gorgon to kill it with Vanquish the Foul.) The life loss happens only to the owner of Herald of Torment, not the enchanted creature if it is an aura.

It's also notable that every bestow creature has exactly the same colored mana symbols in its casting cost and bestow cost. This is probably so newer players won't make a mistake counting devotion if the creature was bestowed.

For all those saying that Nightveil Specter is better for Black Devotion than this:
You're right, it certainly is.
But did you ever think of using them(stay with me now) TOGETHER?
I'd be alright with Nightveil Specter turn 3, Erebos, God of the Dead turn 4, bestowing this turn 5, and Gary for 8 turn 6.
Let's see, 8 life lost from Gary, and assuming you attack every turn with the Specter, that's 20 damage on turn 6 provided your opponent has nothing that flies to block with. Oh, and you gain 8 life and you have a turned-on Erebos.
That seems like at least a 2-of in a black devotion strategy.

Card is good. :)

Has anyone else noticed that this is on the curve directly before and after moroii

This guy looks awesome but Master of the Feast looks so much better.

Even compared to Vampire Nighthawk (one of the most overpowered cards ever printed) this card isn't too bad. The difference between 2 power and 3 power can sometimes be significant, especially with an evasion creature (where your goal is to end the game as fast as possible.)

And the option to play it via Bestowal in the late game is a big deal -- it can turn one of your early-game 2-power whatevers into a game-ending 5-power flying death machine, which can use that boosted power and evasion to attack immediately and will survive removal. A nighthawk on turn 5 or 6 isn't bad, but it's not as big of a deal as casting this on a decent creature can be.