Yeah, if you have no card that prevents drawing cards you are quite dead.
tsunamikitsune
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(4 votes)
I was thinking about making a deck around this and Maralen of the Mornsong. If you can't draw, you don't lose!
I also thought Mossbridge Troll and Mosswort Bridge would help use the Leveler's power to its fullest. Probably a pretty silly deck idea, but I might have fun with it around the kitchen table.
mithal
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(2 votes)
i love this card. Nothing is more fun then removing your lib from the game, then giving it as a gift to your opponent :)
Gwoemul
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Colfenor's Plans would work nicely here.
mtgranai101
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I can't believe that you have to remove your Library from the game when Leveler comes into play. I only play this if my opponent(s) are are about to loose.
spoonish
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(2 votes)
well, there are ways to put this into play without the trigger to occur...
creatures like cemetery puca, volraths shapeshifter, dimir doppelganger can be in play as they copy leveler, so the 'comes into play' trigger never happens
or say have endless whispers and colfenor's plans in play as you destroy leveler, giving it to your opponent! i kinda doubt these would work in competitive play though
Kosis
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
You are looking at this all wrong...the turn before you play this drop a Shared Fate...then Drop Leveler...they never have anywhere to take cards from and you get their library to enjoy...
Fokman
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I've been considering trying this in a deck with Mirror of Fate. Could make for some funny looks from across the table.
P3t3r133
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I thoguht of mirror of fate for this card too the other day when i drafted it, they are cheep to since no one wants them, i think im gunna make a deck for this now with 4 mirrors of fate and some parallel thoughts
Studoku
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Looks like a giant lawnmower.
Dark_Raider
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
If you could just somehow force your opponent to play this, it would be cool.... Telemin Performance gone horribly wrong xD
"Comes into play", is the same as "comes into play under your control"? cause if that's the case you could play it and then pass the control to another player and the game is done, one free kill before free suicide...but it looks too easy if it works this way.
Megrimage
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
play a feldon's cane on turn 1, play a painter's servent on turn two, play a grindstone on turn 3, mill yourself entirely in order to play that and feldons cane your library back... that is assuming you dont have mana excell in there... library of leng with a funeral charm can get a card from your hand onto your library also...
and that is not even an easy way to pull that off. you can counter the ability for an extra U with.. forget the card name.
spacemunky
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Parallel Thoughts... Once you've got seven killer cards you can drop Leveler, then Parallel Thoughts' draw-replacement effect will keep you from decking yourself. Now you've thinned your deck out to exactly what you need to optimize your cheap 10/10.
Ciddy
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Would you be able to continue the game if you had Platinum Angel out?
DanTheCardMan
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
could you use pithing needle on it?
Gwafa_Hazid
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
@DanTheCardMan
First off, to autocard you just select the card name, not the whole sentence. Secondly, no. Pithing Needle works on a creature already in play. By the time Leveler is in play, it's already to late.
Personally I enjoy the Shared Fate idea. Throw in 5 color mana fixing and play the two, your opponent is on pure lockdown and you're playing with his library. Fun stuff.
ROFLS, with the new card from Worldwake that Bazaar Trader which is just a Donate but on a creature..... still hax.
Mode
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(14 votes)
I think overall this is not that intimidating since it does neither have trample, nor haste, nor shroud. Nontheless there are a lot of combos available for this guy:
1. Prevent the cip/etb effect with Stiftle or Trickbind: These could be used to get a 10/10 artifact creature for or . But this also means card disadvantage, and doing this with a Phyrexian Dreadnought who will be a 11/11 trampler for or instead sounds far more appealing.
2.Use draw replacement effects: - Obstinate Familiar: A 1/1 one-drop which can let you refuse drawing will prevent leveler's biggest drawback, but nontheless this still means you won't be able to draw any cards anymore, which leaves you largely unable to proceed - while your opponent is still able to draw responses: not only will he/she try to shatter your juggernaut, because once the Lizard is hosed, so are you. - Shared Fate: Likely the best card to use with Leveler. This will prevent you from losing while effectively still being able to draw since you're using the cards from your opponent's libary instead - while your opponent won't be able to get new cards anymore and therefore won't get a response to this enchantment or leveler if he/she didn't already have the right card in hand by the time leveler hits the table with this enchantment out. - Island Sanctuary: It's the Lizard in enchantment form for which even keeps non-flyers, non-islandwalkers from attacking. - Words of X: This cycle of enchantments will replace the carddraw when you pay and either provide 2 damage, a discard, a 2/2 bear, bounce, or 5 life. - Enduring Renewal: Twice the Sanctuary's cost, but allow you to return destroyed creatures. - Forbidden Crypt: If you have accúmulated a bunch of cards in your graveyard by the time you cast leveler, maybe consider using this. - Parallel Thoughts or Mangara's Tome: Also quite expensive but these can fetch the cards you want to prevent from getting exiled beofre getting rid of your library. - Pursuit of Knowledge: A more costy alternative for , yet still preferable to Abundance for your intentions and on top of that it can provide huge card advantage once you can afford to draw cards again. - Sages of the Anima or Tomorrow, Azami's Familiar: Similar to the Pursuit these can help with their abilities by the time you have refueled your library.
3. Refuel your library: - Rishadan Pawnshop and Tel-Jilad Stylus can get your permanents back into your library. - Mirror of Fate can fill up your library with the seven best cards exiled this way. Riftsweeper can put a single card into your library this way. - Use cards which get shuffled back with an inherent effect: The Beacon sorceries will always be shuffled back when they resolve, Blitz Hellion will be shuffled back at end of turn. These can be a solution to your drawing problems. But note that even when one of these is in your hand, you still have to find a way to circúmvent the draw until you are able to pay them, which is normally at least once - the turn after casting leveler. - Feldon's Cane, Thran Foundry, Dwell on the Past, Loaming Shaman and Paradigm Shift and Reminisce can shuffle your graveyard into your library. The first mentioned cards will likely work best for similar reasons as the Beacons and the Hellion. - A bunch of powerful creatures like Serra Avatar or Progenitus get shuffled back when they hit the graveyard, Pull from Eternity can be used to let this happen. Discarding these cards each turn can also prevent you from losing - you could also consider adding a Polymorph here. - Pull from Eternity can also be used to put cards with flashback in your graveyard - including Krosan Reclamation.
Could you use this in conjunction with Willbender's redirect ability?
Tezz
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@ ciddy ofc
ClockworkSwordfish
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Are there any ways around the library removal other than Maralen or Parallel Thoughts? If you could just bypass the drawback, a 10/10 for 5 would be pure fun to romp-a-domp with. EDIT: Found Stifle.
zeyette
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Brown Ouphe works just fine if you want a quick 10/10. Especially with Green's mana accel.
A3Kitsune
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like the shuffle-your-graveyard-into-your-library trick.
Or, only shuffle a select few cards into your library. Research and Gaea's Blessing, maybe Jotun Grunt as back-up.
altheuser
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
@Gwafa_Hazid / @zeyette
First off, you can name any card when you play Pithing Needle, not just creature cards or cards in play ('target' does not appear anywhere on the card). Second, there is a difference between an activated ability and a triggered ability.
602.1. Activated abilities have a cost and an effect. They are written as “|Cost|: |Effect.| |Activation restriction (if any).|”
This here is a triggered ability, so Brown Ouphe would not apply here either. Stifle is the card you want to be playing with this.
nammertime
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(5 votes)
Why not just have a Pandemonium in play, and then, on the upkeep of the turn after you play this guy, Fling him?
Guest2125211648
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
A fun combo deck I designed around this card involved Summoning Egg and Donate. Drop him face down with summoning egg then send him over with donate and destroy with a shatter effect, pass the turn and allow them to lose. Obviously works well with Phage, but Leveler was a solid budget option that got the job done. Fun deck, try it out.
omggeesterliciousman
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This could end the game with brion stoutarm, but it's not too good other than that
Luke_BPC
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Discard it in response of your opponent activating Liliana's third ability XD
achilleselbow
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(6 votes)
Ok, really weird idea: fill your sideboard with your most powerful cards, or some crazy combo that you can get off fairly quickly. Then put Research//Development on Isochron Scepter and play the Leveler. Then cast Research from the scepter, and it's like 4 card decks are legal again!
CityofAs
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(6 votes)
It's a Juggernaut now?? Badass!! those silly bitches
KikiJikiTiki
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
If you want a sweet fattie for cheap without using stifle or trickbind, try Auratouched Mage with an Eldrazi Con***ion in your deck. Pretty much a straight-up 6-cost 13/13 trampler with annihilator 2.
Kirbster
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
Leveler really levels the playing field between you and your opponent. You have a 10/10, but he has a library.
Andon_A
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
If your graveyard's empty and you have 3 mana every turn, you can just play and activate Elixir of Immortality each turn, drawing it every time. Plus you get 5 life for it.
Superllama12
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Nammertime: Awesome idea, but at the beginning of your next upkeep, you die because you try to draw a card from an empty library...but that Pendemonium idea is awesome, cuz in a good red aggro deck you should have dealt a lot of damage by turn 5...I'll try that (when I get my hands on both of these)!
In Big Box this card is a 5-star. Since players share one deck of each color, you can exile a color you aren't playing. Meanwhile you have a penalty-free 10/10 for 5. Everywhere else though, it isn't terribly ideal.
Zetan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love the original wording of this card. It's not "remove the cards in your library," it's "remove your library." That's right, the entire library zone is gone now.
Sironos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Biggest drawback in game? Obviously a Johnny card. I like my drawbacks to be painful, but not gamelosing.
BlackFlameAshura
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One of my favorite decks when I was younger during Mirrodin block was definitely Leveler + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Endless Whispers. So many game wins.
All you looking for a piece to combo with Innistrad's Laboratory Maniac, leave this page right now and click this link. Please. You'll be doing yourself a huge favor.
jbrsci1
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Should find new value when Laboratory Maniac comes out in Innistrad.
001010011100101110
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
According to the interpretation of "library", this guy goes around Mirrodin destroying brains.
Tanaka348
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card isn't showing up in Modern unless the decks want redundancy. Mirror of Fate does the same thing at the same cost, but you can choose when to activate it, rather than having it activate right away. Very important when the combo's failure spells your doom.
EDIT: Doh, I should read other people's posts more. Although at least my posts spells out everything right here.
ZestuXIII
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
@Lyoncet. You have no clue, aye? Labroatory Maniac WANTS your deck gone, ALL OF IT!
This guy is the guy for job. Noel DeCordova already said that in his Lab Preview article. Hell, I'm going to try and run THAT deck (which some tweaks) in a Modern event soon.
Even with Stifle or Laboratory Maniac, I'm just not feeling this card. There are more effective combos that you can get out just as easily. Even for Johnnies, this isn't that great a card.
AvatarofBro
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Was a waste of a rare until May 2011. Now he's chilling out in my Torpor Orb deck with my Phyrexian Dreadnoughts and Hunted Phantasms/Horrors.
Millinyaface
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
So, I'm playing this really ***y guy who goes to FNM all the time and gets owned, he claims everytime that if he had drawn his stupid jace the wallet sculptor he would have won (He plays blue/black "control") he throws out lilianna vess, I'm playing my artifact deck I made a few weeks ago, I threw this in there for lols. I draw this and try not to grin wickedly, he's one turn from her final ability, he makes me discard, I discard this. Next turn he uses her final ability and I'm like "Exile your library." He asks why and I show him what he got from me. He scoops. XD
Chosenne
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
How about Laboratory Maniac? first card to applaud self mill decks everywhere.
thexmanlight
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Leveler. For when burning yourself with a fireball for 20 just isn't enough anymore.
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This was printed in the same block as Mass Hysteria and Lightning Greaves. Of course it has no evasion, but if you find an opening this could easily win you the game. Heck in some cases this can remove a blocker if you got winning damage with everything else. Great power comes with a great drawback. Nothing wrong with the card at all, even before Torpor Orb and Laboratory Maniac.
But sadly, if the above is your strategy with this thing, Eater of Days is much better at it. Cheaper to get out with 2 forms of evasion and your not forced to win right away, with only -1 power difference. They both have a ton of style, but this thing has more imo.
ZaisConsultant
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Jace, you left your car here.
Chandra_Beleren
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Laboratory Maniac. That is all.
IUHoosier
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is VERY flavorful. Your library represents your mind; to play Memnarch's war machine, you have to lose your mind - to make yourself as insane as he was.
Arcel
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Huh, good card to exile from your hand if an opponent has Karn Liberated, would prevent them from using his ult xD
Arachnos
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Memnarch? Screw him, Levelers were obviously created by a Laboratory Maniac.
Ferlord
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
"... To think the Mirran Resistance left this amazing machine behind. Obsolete, they say? Useless, they say? Worthless, they say? Nay, I can not see what they're speaking of! In fact, I can only think the absolute opposite! Oglor! Start this mechanism up! We're going to see who's truly Worthless and Obsolete!"
Torpor Orb. FINALLY! You can play a cheap 10/10 for only 5! And before it, you play Eater of Days. >_< So looking forward to this...
Mike-C
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Give it infect! Ye-e-e-SSS! POISON! Mahahahaha! POOOOISON!!!!!
RunedServitor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card can in fact be devastating in a deck built around it. What gives it 3.027 stars as of now is the fact that in any other deck it is worse than useless, and that in its field of devastating but extremely specialized use, it is completely overshadowed by Phyrexian Dreadnought.
Crash21
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Absolute greatest use of this card: Redirect on your opponent's Bribery.
"You better check yourself before you deck yourself."
I guess Feldon's Cane is the obvious old school countermeasure, but you could also follow with Doomsday. It fits the flavor text, too. :)
KyotoKarakuchi
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I believe that there is one easy way to use this thing. Start off before you play him with a phyrexian card called "Topor Orb". That will kill your opponent because you won't lose your library.
Yukikah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Salient Feldon's Cane and Doomsday wouldn't work of course seeing as this guy exiles your library rather than putting it into your graveyard...
But anyways, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Illusionary Mask; I'll admit I like Topor Orb better with this, but have a soft spot the Mask.
Frogmander
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I would give it a 4.5/5 if it was unblockable and has hexproof/shroud. I'll give it a 2.5/5 instead, as it does have some pretty great uses. Poisoning someone who doesn't have anyone to block with, Laboratory Maniac (albeit there are some much, much better ways to get rid of your entire deck), someone using a bribery and you redirecting or them just seeing that it is a 10/10 and taking it without reading (IE being stupid).
Still, it's a nice card, but it lacks the umph that it needs to be amazing. 2.5/5
Totema
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
...Did they forget to give this haste? How is it supposed to smack face before you lose from lack of a library?
Myr_MasterMind
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Laboratory Maniac, next turn drop this dude, gives your opponents one turn to get rid of Laboratory or you win. and then they still have to deal with a 10/10
XaiviarNightwing
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Somehow get the effect of void maw on this guy now!
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Etched Monstrosity is a brilliant card to compare to Leveller. They are each ultimately the same thing:
How Johnny do you have to make a card to give Colorless a 10/10 for 5?
Phyrexian Dreadnought: Is it truly better or worse than which of these? Basically, the hoops are very clear, and pretty much fair, Dreadnought and Monstrosity.
This wants you to set up your battlefield with Anger in the grave, An Artifact that can grant Double-Strike, and an Aura in your hand to grant it infect on top of that. Or it wants R&D to make an Entomb that lets you plant it into an opponent's graveyard to Phage-it. There are a lot fewer ways and they are harder, to use this, than to use other similar cards both before and after is what I'm saying.
It's OK to call this a bad card. What it needs to make it really good, would be bad for the game. There are better options, both before and after. Like Draco if you're desperate.
Tamerlein
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think it would be super fun to make a Torpor Orb deck with a bunch of cards like Phyrexian Dreadnought and this dude which have major ETB drawbacks, but have a really giant body.
Comments (95)
I also thought Mossbridge Troll and Mosswort Bridge would help use the Leveler's power to its fullest. Probably a pretty silly deck idea, but I might have fun with it around the kitchen table.
creatures like cemetery puca, volraths shapeshifter, dimir doppelganger can be in play as they copy leveler, so the 'comes into play' trigger never happens
or say have endless whispers and colfenor's plans in play as you destroy leveler, giving it to your opponent!
i kinda doubt these would work in competitive play though
Telemin Performance gone horribly wrong xD
/thread
and that is not even an easy way to pull that off. you can counter the ability for an extra U with.. forget the card name.
First off, to autocard you just select the card name, not the whole sentence. Secondly, no. Pithing Needle works on a creature already in play. By the time Leveler is in play, it's already to late.
Personally I enjoy the Shared Fate idea. Throw in 5 color mana fixing and play the two, your opponent is on pure lockdown and you're playing with his library. Fun stuff.
Nontheless there are a lot of combos available for this guy:
1. Prevent the cip/etb effect with Stiftle or Trickbind:
These could be used to get a 10/10 artifact creature for
2.Use draw replacement effects:
- Obstinate Familiar:
A 1/1 one-drop which can let you refuse drawing will prevent leveler's biggest drawback, but nontheless this still means you won't be able to draw any cards anymore, which leaves you largely unable to proceed - while your opponent is still able to draw responses: not only will he/she try to shatter your juggernaut, because once the Lizard is hosed, so are you.
- Shared Fate:
Likely the best card to use with Leveler. This will prevent you from losing while effectively still being able to draw since you're using the cards from your opponent's libary instead - while your opponent won't be able to get new cards anymore and therefore won't get a response to this enchantment or leveler if he/she didn't already have the right card in hand by the time leveler hits the table with this enchantment out.
- Island Sanctuary:
It's the Lizard in enchantment form for
- Words of X:
This cycle of enchantments will replace the carddraw when you pay
- Enduring Renewal:
Twice the Sanctuary's cost, but allow you to return destroyed creatures.
- Forbidden Crypt:
If you have accúmulated a bunch of cards in your graveyard by the time you cast leveler, maybe consider using this.
- Parallel Thoughts or Mangara's Tome:
Also quite expensive but these can fetch the cards you want to prevent from getting exiled beofre getting rid of your library.
- Pursuit of Knowledge:
A more costy alternative for
- Sages of the Anima or Tomorrow, Azami's Familiar:
Similar to the Pursuit these can help with their abilities by the time you have refueled your library.
3. Refuel your library:
- Rishadan Pawnshop and Tel-Jilad Stylus can get your permanents back into your library.
- Mirror of Fate can fill up your library with the seven best cards exiled this way. Riftsweeper can put a single card into your library this way.
- Use cards which get shuffled back with an inherent effect:
The Beacon sorceries will always be shuffled back when they resolve,
Blitz Hellion will be shuffled back at end of turn.
These can be a solution to your drawing problems. But note that even when one of these is in your hand, you still have to find a way to circúmvent the draw until you are able to pay them, which is normally at least once - the turn after casting leveler.
- Feldon's Cane, Thran Foundry, Dwell on the Past,
Loaming Shaman and Paradigm Shift and
Reminisce can shuffle your graveyard into your library. The first mentioned cards will likely work best for similar reasons as the Beacons and the Hellion.
- A bunch of powerful creatures like Serra Avatar or Progenitus get shuffled back when they hit the graveyard, Pull from Eternity can be used to let this happen. Discarding these cards each turn can also prevent you from losing - you could also consider adding a Polymorph here.
- Pull from Eternity can also be used to put cards with flashback in your graveyard - including Krosan Reclamation.
put 2 levelers and a Sutured Ghoul in your graveyard and exhume.
20/20 zombie with trample turn 1.
ofc
EDIT: Found Stifle.
Or, only shuffle a select few cards into your library. Research and Gaea's Blessing, maybe Jotun Grunt as back-up.
First off, you can name any card when you play Pithing Needle, not just creature cards or cards in play ('target' does not appear anywhere on the card). Second, there is a difference between an activated ability and a triggered ability.
602.1. Activated abilities have a cost and an effect. They are written as “|Cost|: |Effect.| |Activation restriction (if any).|”
This here is a triggered ability, so Brown Ouphe would not apply here either. Stifle is the card you want to be playing with this.
"I will now use Jace's ultimate and exile your library."
"Yeah? Well two can play that game! I'll do it first!!"
"....."
Cultural Exchange
EDIT: Doh, I should read other people's posts more. Although at least my posts spells out everything right here.
This guy is the guy for job. Noel DeCordova already said that in his Lab Preview article. Hell, I'm going to try and run THAT deck (which some tweaks) in a Modern event soon.
Now he's chilling out in my Torpor Orb deck with my Phyrexian Dreadnoughts and Hunted Phantasms/Horrors.
But sadly, if the above is your strategy with this thing, Eater of Days is much better at it. Cheaper to get out with 2 forms of evasion and your not forced to win right away, with only -1 power difference. They both have a ton of style, but this thing has more imo.
Obsolete, they say?
Useless, they say?
Worthless, they say?
Nay, I can not see what they're speaking of! In fact, I can only think the absolute opposite!
Oglor! Start this mechanism up! We're going to see who's truly Worthless and Obsolete!"
- Laboratory Maniac, "My Grand Plan"
And before it, you play Eater of Days. >_< So looking forward to this...
It's not fun unless your walking the edge.
I guess Feldon's Cane is the obvious old school countermeasure, but you could also follow with Doomsday. It fits the flavor text, too. :)
But anyways, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Illusionary Mask; I'll admit I like Topor Orb better with this, but have a soft spot the Mask.
Still, it's a nice card, but it lacks the umph that it needs to be amazing. 2.5/5
How Johnny do you have to make a card to give Colorless a 10/10 for 5?
Phyrexian Dreadnought: Is it truly better or worse than which of these? Basically, the hoops are very clear, and pretty much fair, Dreadnought and Monstrosity.
This wants you to set up your battlefield with Anger in the grave, An Artifact that can grant Double-Strike, and an Aura in your hand to grant it infect on top of that. Or it wants R&D to make an Entomb that lets you plant it into an opponent's graveyard to Phage-it. There are a lot fewer ways and they are harder, to use this, than to use other similar cards both before and after is what I'm saying.
It's OK to call this a bad card. What it needs to make it really good, would be bad for the game. There are better options, both before and after. Like Draco if you're desperate.
5/5