Pointed Discussion

So, can you activate it while it's in your deck? If so, do you have to reveal it? Or can you just bluff it?

Besides that, this card is cool with Brothers Yamazaki.

i can do that anytime? sweet, i go change its name to black lotus

The name is the only thing that changes. So, calling it a Black Lotus, doesn't make it one. You just now have a 1/1 creature called Black Lotus that has the ability to change it's name and flavor text.

Haha! The hilarious posibilities run rampant in my mind. lol

He kills legendary permanents, doesn't he?

_____ + Wordmail = A most terrifying combo...

Did you say Infernal temporary part-time libraries North-West inter-library loan business unit administration assistant former known as part-time healthcare team foot health gain facilitator Johnny??!.......FOR 26 WHAT???

Now I Know My ABC's and this card make a 3rd turn win.

This guy has excellent synergy with the Grandeur cycle from Future Sight.

Great card design regarding flavor - the fake-IDs of famous legends are awesome! :D
and it'spossibly the only card to have flavor as well as rules and reminder text at once.

By the way, this duplicate does a good job with Retraced Image...
The only question arising here is: Who is the real retraced image in this case?

Does anyone see any resemblance of this artwork to a Chevy Chase movie? Fletch

I play the ability outside of games.

Haha, I never thought of this as a mana sink back when mana burn existed...epic :P
Love this card, though, it has much potential.

Has anyone thought of combining this card with wordmail?

Does the name have to be a card name? If not, then wordmail could make him somewhere in the range of 8001/8001. You could just look up a short novel's wordcount and call that his name is the entire text of the novel.

Fun policing time!

The Unhinged FAQ says that it has to be the name of a creature that exists in Magic. That said, you CAN change it to Our Market Reasearch ...etc etc... Elemental. The quote that proves it:

"To save us some space, maybe I should let you know what it can become. You may change this card to have the name of any _Magic_ card in existence. The reason for this is that there's this picky little rule that only allows you to change items into things that exist in the game. (Stupid comp. rules.)"

Also, it cannot kill legendary permanents. If two legendary permanents with the same name are in play, both of them die as a state based effect. But both permanents must be legendary (Clone copies the legendary status), which our dear nameless friend is not.

Sorry, folks. Now I'm off to ruin someone else's day. Twirling my handlebar mustache menecingly, no doubt.

"Agent Mulder, FBI."

Gets rid of pesky shrouded creatures (or anything really) if you Maelstrom Pulse him.

Relentless Rats!!! ...Sorry couldn't resist.

I'm using his first ability right now.

Doesn't the game define the abilities based on the name though? So calling it a Black Lotus /should/ make it a Black Lotus. But that would be ridiculous. ... I think I understand why the rules guys pretend Un doesn't exist.

i don't get it

so you can use his ability even while you're not playing? in that case paying the mana cost might be kinda hard... maybe if you just put an island on a table and turn it sideways...

This + Wordmail + The Major-General's Song = win.

Combos well with Squadron Hawk for even more card draw (at 1 extra mana per card, but that's reasonable :P)

Cool, you could actually name him Mountain or whatever and Maelstrom Pulse him to one-sided Armageddon!

This + Retraced Image + Eldrazi = T3 win.

On an unrelated note, I wonder how much thought went into making his Oracle name five underscore characters. Anyone searching with five or less will get this card (because it's the only card in oracle with any), but anyone putting in six or more will see no results. Of course, if you required many more, say 26 underscores, a direct AutoCard link would be a tiresome thing to write (and difficult to do correctly).

Actually, the second ability DOES do something with Tainted Monkey

You are WRONG, WotC

and now I play STORM CROW!

Sorry, guys. He can only change name to an already existing card. Wordmail will still work, if you change the name to Our Market Research Shows That Players Like Really Long Card Names So We Made this Card to Have the Absolute Longest Card Name Ever Elemental, but thats probably everything.

EDIT: I don't see why I'm getting downrated. Look it up in the Unhinged FAQTIWDAWCC, if you don't believe me.

"Can I change it to be Siamese Pygmy Pole-Vaulter?
No. To save us some space, maybe I should let you know what it can become. You may change this card to have the name of any _Magic_ card in existence. The reason for this is that there's this picky little rule that only allows you to change items into things that exist in the game. (Stupid comp. rules.)"

@yesnomu, along similar lines to Maelstrom Pulse would be Phyrexian Revoker. No tapping Forests for mana for you! And the best thing about both these combos is you don't even need to have this guy in play, or probably not even in your deck (since it says "anywhere", not "in any game zone").

All of the pictures in his wallet represent real creatures:
Tahngarth, Talruum Hero
Phage the Untouchable
Gerrard Capashen
Kamahl, Pit Fighter
Akroma, Angel of Wrath
Squee, Goblin Nabob

What a combo, play this along with the new Innistrad clone variant, Evil Twin. Turns the Evil Twin into 1UB, tap: destroy target creature.

Change it's name to The Comprehensive Rulebook, then use Look at Me, I'm the DCI on it. the DCI JUST BANNED THE COMPREHENSIVE RULEBOOK. I just blew up all the cards. :)

(Since you can only use it to change things that exist in the game, then either this works, or
The Comprehensive Rulebook doesn't exist in the game. Wrap your heads around THAT ONE.)

Once you've Banned the Freaking Rulebook, you can TECHNICALLY do whatever the hell you want, but my personal favorite is to use Richard Garfield, PhD, R&D's Secret Lair, and Gleemax. All of their abiities fight with each other. To resolve this, you have to remember that Gleemax controls R&D, R&D trumps Richard Garfield and Richard Garfield has power over Gleemax (and all other cards).

The end result of this is that Surgical Extraction becomes subjected to so many replacement effects, it melts and then somehow or other gains the ability to Surgically Extract Chains of Mephistopheles' Oracle Text from the nature of the card. Then you throw the Oracle Text (JUST the Oracle Text, not the rest of the card) into a Knowledge Pool.

Then everyone else ragequits because their brains are completely fried.

Copy him with Evil twin.

Player 1: his name is... My giant dong and i attack you for 1!!!

Player 2: okay ill take the 1 damage?

Player 1: one so your going to lit my giant dong hit you?

Player 2: i dont want to block that ill take it O_0... okay ill block with STORM CROW!!!

Player 1: i use giant growth my giant dong beats down your STORM CROW >=)

Player 2: (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Combos with Now I Know My ABC's.

It's name is now ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ. I win.

@ Dante80

Just bring a dictionary. If your opponent actually makes you read out his entire name, they'll wish they hadn't by the end... >:D

@yesnomu: Better yet, Donate and Eradicate. Now where have I heard that before?

EDIT: Drain Power/Mana Short to make sure it works.

I just go to an island resort and tap it when I want to have a card named Squidward Testicles.

How'd you get on a card, Liam Neeson?

This card is the REAL reason Wizards took out mana burn. They just assumed that everyone had one, and could sink any extra mana into instead of taking mana burn.

Also, Combos with (especially in EDH)
Pyromancer Ascension and Locket of Yesterdays
Tarox Bladewing, Korlash, Heir to Blackblade, Baru, Fist of Krosa, Linessa, Zephyr Mage, and Oriss, Samite Guardian and
Leyline of Singularity
and probably quite a few more that I can't think of at the moment.

Name it this:

GENERAL:

I am the very model of a modern Major-General,
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;
I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,
About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.

ALL:
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotepotenuse.

GENERAL:
I'm very good at integral and differential calculus;
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous:
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

ALL:
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
He is the very model of a modern Major-General.

GENERAL:
I know our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's;
I answer hard acrostics, I've a pretty taste for paradox,
I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus,
In conics I can floor peculiarities parabolous;

I can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies,
I know the croaking chorus from the Frogs of Aristophanes!
Then I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din afore,
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore.

ALL:
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore.
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore.
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore.

GENERAL:
Then I can write a washing bill in Babylonic cuneiform,
And tell you ev'ry detail of Caractacus's uniform:
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

ALL:
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
He is the very model of a modern Major-General.

GENERAL:
In fact, when I know what is meant by "mamelon" and "ravelin",
When I can tell at sight a Mauser rifle from a javelin,
When such affairs as sorties and surprises I'm more wary at,
And when I know precisely what is meant by "commissariat",
When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern gunnery,
When I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery--
In short, when I've a smattering of elemental strategy,
You'll say a better Major-General has never sat a gee.

ALL:
You'll say a better Major-General has never sat a gee.
You'll say a better Major-General has never sat a gee.
You'll say a better Major-General has never sat a gee.

GENERAL:
For my military knowledge, though I'm plucky and adventury,
Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century;
But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

ALL:
But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
He is the very model of a modern Major-General.

Add Wordmail

You can get him with Sphinx's Herald, Dragon's Herald, Angel's Herald, Demon's Herald, or Behemoth's Herald!
(A very pointless thing to do as the tap ability itself costs more than him, but you can!)

@Negated, in case you were wondering, that would give it +496/+496. Plus, that's a great campfire song.

Change its name to Peer Through Depths, or Reach Through Mists (not Sift Through Sands though, you need its second effect to go off) while in your hand, and you only need one of the mentioned cards and Sift Through Sands to pull off the combo.

If you also have Urza's Hot Tub on the field, you only need two of the cards at all, even if they're the same. You can search another one using the word "through."

Come to think of it, Urza's Hot Tub and this card work beautifully together no matter what you're doing with them.

behold my "mickel jacksonn" guys

This card is next to impossible to look up and buy online

Use with My First Tome. You can't change _____'s flavor text in your hand, but you can name it something completely random.

People SERIOUSLY need to learn how this card actually works. As a rules lawyer, it makes my skin crawl when I see all of you come up with crazy names for it.

Lets take a look at the official Mark Rosewater ruling for "____" in the FAQTIWDAWCC (Frequently Asked Questions That If We Didn't Answer Would Cause Chaos) http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=magic/faq/unhinged)):

"_____...

... Can I change this card to be Jojo, the Dog-faced Lizard Boy?

No.

Can I change it to be Solar-Powered Ninja Penguin?

No.

Can I change it to be Siamese Pygmy Pole-Vaulter?

No. To save us some space, maybe I should let you know what it can become. You may change this card to have the name of any _Magic_ card in existence.

So, you can only change it to an actual printed card's name. You can't change it to a 4,922,084 word name. Scroll further down in the FAQTIWDAWCC and it says the same thing about the flavor text. It must be flavor text actually printed on a card in MAGIC: The Gathering. So all your crazy Wordmail combos only work with a card that already has a really long name (which I'm not going to bother to type but you all know what is is).

I hope this ruins everybody's fun ;)

The card is still 5/5 for awesomeness and humor

MAKING STORM CROWS

Just like any other activated ability unless otherwise stated it can only by activated when it is in play.
So...

@GladiusLucix
Pyromancer Ascension and Locket of Yesterdays don't work since the cards name will always be _____ when it's in your graveyard
grandeur doesn't work since the cards name will always be _____ when its in your hand

@KokoshoForPresident
None of the heralds can tutor this card into play since its name will always be _____ when its in your library.

Who ever came up with evil twin that does work and is awesomely funny congrats to you on actually knowing how activated abilities work.

This card is the second card alphabetically ("Ach! Hans, Run" is first).

@YertleTheTurtle
You clearly missed the "Play this ability anywhere, anytime." part of his first ability.

You can only play the flavor text ability when it is on the battlefield.

I activated this ability before I was even born. Great card! 5/5

Something I just noticed, the rules state you can't have more than four of any one card with the same name in your deck, but this ability can be played anytime, and doesn't end. Therefor, simply name them all different things (or all of them relentless rats) before the game, and you can play as many as you want!

Use with Biovisionary.

1. Opponent plays Eldrazi Consc ription
2. Change _____'s name to "enchanted creature"
3. （￣ー￣）

If you change its name to "enchanted creature" or "equipped creature," he can piggyback off a lot of nice effects, even ones not attached to him!

i choose the name 9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999.
pygmy giant.

I want to name it "a 0/1 colorless Eldrazi Spawn creature token," just to play it outside of blue.

This + Evil Twin = Infinite destroy spell.

Step 1: Make the flavor text "TO INFINITY, AND BEYOND!"
Step 2: Use Pygmy Giant to throw him at your Stuffy Doll
Step 3: Profit!

BEST USED WITH 4 SNOTS and 4 Shapeshifters DAMAGE

@Kirbster
That doesn't work
For the same reason creatures with an ability that grants them a bonus as long as () or whenever/when () don't give that bonus to other creatures with the same name
"enchanted creature" doesn't mean creature with name "enchanted creature" as obviously that wouldn't work, "enchanted creature" simply means whatever creature the enchnatment is enchanting.