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very useful card. you can use to return opponent's creatures when he has no mana to pay.
Also, the best way to use it, you can use it to return your own creatures, specially "when it comes into play" ones. very nice card.

When playing blue, i advice using Crystal Shard instead.
(It costs only and has the same ability, yet the activiation cost will either require or .)

I don't understand what WotC where thinking. Why was this in the same pre-con as Equilibrium? Equilibrium has a better bounce ability and the only cost is . I just don't get it :S

And with this :
Gilded Drake
Take an opponent 's creature per turn for 3 .

my favourite card of all time, the combinations are endless and since it's an artifact it's effective for any color of deck.

Great for saving your own creatures, can get problem creatures your opponents control out of the way. Blue has better options, so put this in non-blue decks. Say, a black deck with new 2011 creature Phylactery Lich or some other big black creature that has a drawback that can hurt you if you can't get rid of it at the right time.

Nah not for me. I feel there are better ways of doing what it does, most are blue, agreed, but there's no suprise about it, its gonna sit on the board and your opponent won't play creatures or leave mana tapped out. You have 4 out to play the thing, its likely your opponent has a similar amount of mana out.

Priest of Gix or Ball Lightning maybe?

@MojoVince: I think you may be misunderstanding the rules of the verb "exchange". An exchange can only take place if both permanents are on the battlefield at the time the ability would resolve. So if you are suggesting to play the drake, bounce it in response to it's trigger, then get your opponent's creature without giving him anything, that won't work. If you're saying bounce the drake once your opponent gets it, that would work but would require your opponent to not have any mana available.

@John-Bender: Equilibrium's ability costs plus the cost of the creature and can only be used (most of the time) when you can cast a sorcery. Erratic Portal can be used any time, can save your own guys, and forces your opponent to keep mana up. Equilibrium is good, but so is this card.

Combos nicely with Mystic Snake

Even if you never use it, you threaten to punish those that tap out during their turn. That is kind of like a four mana card that destroys a land of each of your opponents.
Capitalize on that with Avalanche Riders, Invader Parasite or Acidic Slime. Which, incidentally, combo with the portal...

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Unless you tap out, this is a great way to dodge removal. It also combos really, really well with control card classics like Propaganda and Icy Manipulator.

Goes great with: cards of yours that have "when this card enters the battlefield" and tapped out opponents.

Interesting card. It seems worthless at first glance if you let yourself be fooled by the "unless its controller pays 1" clause and take it to be an offensive ability. Not at all - the offensive applications of it are just a bonus over the real purpose - protecting your own creatures and abusing "enters play" abilities.

Best used to bounce your own things back. Save creatures from removal or re-abuse ETB effects. The fact that it can seriously annoy your tapped out opponents is just icing on the already wonderful cake.