If you cast it early it effectively becomes a discount arrest until later into the game, awesome card and I see a lot of potential for fast-paced competitive decks.
Purplerooster
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
One of the few cards that is much better in constructed than limited. IN limited there will be time and mana to negate this. A nice one drop for Sphere of Safety decks.
The 1 cc really makes this an extremely effective control card. The paying part is hardly a problem because the purpose of the card is to buy you time, and buy it it will.
Card can also be used by, and against, targets not named Ray.
Dabok
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
At first I thought that this was a conditional, albeit much cheaper Arrest. Now that I think more about it, maybe the 1 cmc does outweigh the fact that your opponent can do something to negate the effect. Why? Because of opportunity cost. If your opponent decides to pay the cost of this, while having a limited mana pool and having cards in hand, chances are you've made him choose between utilizing the creature for the turn and casting a (or several other) spell/s. Which isn't all that bad for 1 mana.
Personally, I would just run a straight-up removal. But then again, I've never played around things like this too much to attest their effectiveness (for me, same type of card as Soul Tithe; in that there's a cost if your opponent wants their creature, which can be at your advantage or "not so much")
Cloudchaser.Kestrel
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Interesting subtheme here. This and Banishing light both depict light as a constraining force. The Nyxborn are of course creatures of dream, and thus also creatures of the night. As Theros moves into consciousness of their capacity to destroy their gods they also they move towards day. Out of the dream that is their world. Into the light.
RedJaron
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think I'd rather use this than an Arrest. If your opponent has no way to deal with the arrest, they just ignore the creature outright. This one keeps them thinking" Well maybe it's worth the ," and just twists the dagger. This is also cheap enough that I can play it later game and still easily play something else as well.
sweetgab
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Good answer to turn one Elvish Mystic. What are they gonna do about it?
Make no mistake; this card is the real freaking deal, especially in extremely fast formats like Legacy.
Flyheight
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This card is pretty freaking nuts. I had it played against me and it was basically a pacifism unless I wanted to take a turn off from curving out the rest of my deck. Solid removal. Not just in limited, but probably elsewhere as well.
@Flyheight, it's almost better than Pacifism as you put a stop to the activated abilities until turn 3 as well.
Sorxores
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
what happen if you cast 2 of them on the same creature? do you need to pay the 3 mana twice to block/attack? does activated abilities cost 6 more to cast?
At first, I was worried it wouldn't help me much when it was the 23rd card at the pre-release..
then, i saw targets such as mana elves, or better yet, sigiled starfish..
Seeing a guy desperately paying 3 mana a turn to scry an answer to my godsend on fabled hero.. I've never felt so evil before..
Wraique
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This is a little power-house in limited.
In addition to screwing with blockers and attackers, it also messes up monstrous and a number of utility creatures. Mana dorks fail. Many inspired gets a whole lot harder to use. Scryers like Sigiled Starfish and Stormchaser Chimera don't like it. The cards that give creatures tap abilities suffer. Creatures enchanted with Fearsome Temper are a great target. I love you Oppressive rays.
SAUS3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So good. I put it in an EDH deck and I wasn't quite sure how it would perform, but putting it on Olivia Voldaren was so satisfying and so effective.
At mana to counteract the arrest, it is just enough to be too annoying to bother with most of the time. If your opponent runs out of cards to spend mana on so that they can pay for it, they're already in a really bad position anyway.
Comments (18)
Now that I think more about it, maybe the 1 cmc does outweigh the fact that your opponent can do something to negate the effect.
Why? Because of opportunity cost. If your opponent decides to pay the cost of this, while having a limited mana pool and having cards in hand, chances are you've made him choose between utilizing the creature for the turn and casting a (or several other) spell/s. Which isn't all that bad for 1 mana.
Personally, I would just run a straight-up removal. But then again, I've never played around things like this too much to attest their effectiveness (for me, same type of card as Soul Tithe; in that there's a cost if your opponent wants their creature, which can be at your advantage or "not so much")
...Oppressive Rays.
Make no mistake; this card is the real freaking deal, especially in extremely fast formats like Legacy.
and do the cost increase stack with other similar card (Ghostly Prison, sphere of safety)?
then, i saw targets such as mana elves, or better yet, sigiled starfish..
Seeing a guy desperately paying 3 mana a turn to scry an answer to my godsend on fabled hero.. I've never felt so evil before..
In addition to screwing with blockers and attackers, it also messes up monstrous and a number of utility creatures. Mana dorks fail. Many inspired gets a whole lot harder to use. Scryers like Sigiled Starfish and Stormchaser Chimera don't like it. The cards that give creatures tap abilities suffer. Creatures enchanted with Fearsome Temper are a great target. I love you Oppressive rays.
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