Pointed Discussion

Why wasn't this the gold standard against affinity?

This wasn't that useful against affinity because by the time this hit the table, turn 4 or 3 with acceleration you would already be dead or close too it.

Too slow. By the time you could pay for this, the Ravager deck would have 10 artifacts on the field. Game Over.

Anti-Affinity, but too slow to be played.

So it negates affinity effects and makes other artifacts without it rather unplayable in accordant decks.

I like the idea, an effect like this could have been that response to Ravager Affinity that was needed back then to keep it from dominating the boards.
Sadly, the mana cost made this card even unappealing for the sideboard, leaving Oxidize and Viridian Shaman as the only useful response one could ask for...if this card would have had a cost for the early game like or , thinks could have turned out differently during Mirrodin.
Wizards, please remember next time to make cards which are especially intended to find use against certain archetypes of decks actually playable ;)

Wait, you say this isn't any good because your opponent's mana acceleration will let him field too many artifacts, but couldn't you do something to pull this out early? Isn't mana generation one of green's specialties?

In the same format Llanowar Elves has been in for ages, this is turn 3 at least. Not terribly slow, but great for multiplayer.

A better answer to artifacts, especially affinity, is Kataki.

Combos with Frito-Lay products.

True story.

I was playing extended tourneys and a great deal of the player base was running affinity (about 8 of the 13 there) so I made an artifact hate deck on the assumption that in the 4 rounds the tourney would take place in, I would have a fair chance of playing only against affinity. So I filled the deck with anything that could take out artifacts either singly or en masse. Then slapped in 4 Hum of the Radix. It was a massacre, over the course of 3 tourneys (3 weeks) I forced all the affinity players to play something else, because their decks just couldn't do anything against mine.

Yay for having brains.

In a nutshell, this card is not solely designed to stop Affinity all by it's lonesome, it needs support to really shine.

Run it in your affinity deck to give your opponent a fair shot.

-Swag_Crow