Pointed Discussion

this card got better when soulshift came to town.

Much more significant than soulshift is reanimation schemes--you pretty much need something like this in first 2 turns or you're dead. Also, Ichorid decks.

Still, I think it's been a bit overshadowed by the Relic of Progenitus.

This is preferential over Relic of Progenitus if you're planning on using your graveyard.

Chicken Feet. Demigod, Vengevine, Ichoroid, Genesis

This card looks very similar to one of the new equips with living weapon. i wonder if it was foreshadowing?

This just screams card advantage and I want a playset.

Look! its the hand from Adam's Family!

Is there a difference between this and Phyrexian Furnace? I guess they couldn't have used that name in this setting. At least, not then.

This thing reminds me of the Floormasters and Wallmasters from the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

I suppose the only significant difference between this and phyrexian furnace is the fact that phyrexian furnace exiles from the bottom, not on the choice of the opposing player, so if you think about it, this is actually worse yet is rated the higher card. What's going on??? Oh I get it. People are trying to make phyrexian furnace playable in gatherer terrible format!

In regards to this and Phyrexian Furnace: Phyrexian Furnace is better when dealing with your opponent's graveyard because they don't get the choice on what to exile (it has to be the bottom card). However, this is better when you're trying to get things out of your OWN graveyard to thwart your opponent, e.g. getting rid of a creature if they're trying to target it with Animate Dead; Phyrexian Furnace won't let you take it out unless it's the bottom card.

you mean "thing"? ha ha ha..

Although Scrabbling Claws and Phyrexian Furnace are better because they can stay in play and keep on doing hurting graveyards (as well as getting rid of stuff in your own graveyard if your opponent happens to cast Rise From the Grave targeting something in your graveyard), Nihil Spellbomb is superior because it takes it out in one free activation and also has the possibility of cycling.

Looks like Krark lost more than a thumb this time!

Legend of Zelda anyone? lol

@Tigt The biggest difference between this and Phyrexian Furnace is that this always takes their worst card and Phyrexian Furnace removes the bottom card every time.

@Tigt
The reason they didn't use phyrexian furnace is because the furnace cares about graveyard order - something that has been removed from the game for being annoying to keep track of. You can't organise your graveyard because someone's card might care about it. If something in the graveyard has to be chosen randomly, you can't shuffle it. If someone looks at someone's graveyard, you have to tell them to not rearrange it. It's just a nuisance to keep track of.

The reason this card is not worse than other graveyard hate cards is because it is not a 1-time use. If you play this early, your opponent won't have a graveyard. If you play it late, you can still threaten their reanimation spells by leaving 1 mana open. If they go to reanimate something, just exile it. If you blow a relic of progenitus now, what are you going to do next turn when they dump a new threat into the graveyard? The relic is actually better later in the game, while this is better in the early game.

A cool thing about this card that makes it actually not worse than phyrexian furnace, just different, is that if you target yourself, you can remove a card that an opponent is targetting in your graveyard. Geth, lord of the vault trying to grab your sol ring? Cya sol ring!