Pointed Discussion

that's a small Promise of Power.

kind of a Sign in Blood

Nice card, drawing 2 cards for 2 mana is always a good deal. But why the hell Black has better draw spell than Blue ?

@True_Smog: gets a lower cc draw spell than because you have to pay 2 life as well.

id play this and sign in blood over divination ANYDAY

Sign in Blood > This in mono Black though.

Sign in Blood,
Pros:
Versatility. It could be used to hit the opponent for that last bit of life OR deck them out.

Cons:
Not as splash-able in multi color decks (such as B/R Aggro or Jund) because it needs 2 specific mana.

One of the few cards I would say is a must have in pretty much any black deck.
5/5

I was about to say strictly better than Sign in Blood until I noticed the "target player" in Sign in Blood...

if it was a small Promise of Power, you would get a 1/1 flying Imp token option and en entwine cost.

I guess this explains were Sheoldred, Whispering One gets her nickname from.

IMO, I would put this almost on par with Sign in Blood - slightly above in that unlike Sign in Blood, the mana cost is 1 colorless, 1 black mana instead of 2 black.

Having said that, I am liking Skulltap better mainly since I run a goblin sacrifice deck - and instead of losing life, I can sac a creature, but if THAT is the avenue you want to take, Altar's Reap all the way - 1 colorless, 1 black, you don't lose life, you sac a creature as part of the cost, draw 2 cards AND *ghasp* at INSTANT speed.

Personally, I'd say it's better than Sign in Blood - sure, Sign in Blood lets you potentially burn an opponent in a monoblack deck, but Night's Whisper is just much more splashable which is typically going to be more useful (when considering the monoblack option, you have to consider how many monoblack decks you'd make with Sign in Blood, and how many would involve a player being on only 2 life without an alternate way to finish the job like a creature - then when considering the splash option, you only need to consider how many Bx decks you'd make with Night's Whisper, and how unlikely they are to have access to BB on turn 2 and still function comfortably afterwards).

However, given that it's been printed recently and in core sets, Sign in Blood is certainly more accessible to players who currently have neither card. :-)

I prefer this over sign in blood, easier to splash. Sign in blood is better for discard strategies and can be used as an optional finisher. Baring format requirements, use sign in blood if your playing mono , use this if your running 2-3 colors.

This let's me consistently draw 2 cards for 2 mana in my control deck. I can't say the same for Sign in Blood. This card is just usually better in that kind of deck.

Of course, my mono black deck runs a play set of Sign in Blood, because it's is much better in that deck than this is.

One of my favorite draw spells. Cheap, efficient, and splashable, with the barest hint of a drawback.

To those saying Sign In Blood is better in mono black, consider Jet Medallion. Fine, you can't force an opponent to draw, but for own drawing purposes I think this is one of the best out there.

Reasons to prefer this in legacy:
-Colorless lands => Wasteland, Dust Bowl, Mutavault, Mishra's Factory

-Multicolor => Same as above, except that you want to reliably cast things. This is why most of the powerhouse creatures in legacy are not only powerful, but color-light.

-It doesn't target; so misdirection can't steal my cards; which can happen.


Yeah, there will be a game now and then where you miss out killing the opponent because you needed 2 life to live or they have 2 life left and you couldn't burn them. However, there will be many more games where misdirection or color screw cause you to lose since you couldn't find the cards you needed.

Again, this is seriously helpful when all you draw is Swamp Wasteland in your opener; as it allows you to crawl out of the mana-screw rather easily.