This card's effect is insaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaane. Basically, every spell you play, you generate 3+ mana by the midgame. EVERYTHING IS A DARK RITUAL. This is the most obviously broken effect I've seen Wizards print in a long time. The combo possibilities are bonkers, the ability is powerful, the thing is just busted as all hell. Imagine tearing through your deck with Ponders, Brainstorms, and Preordains with this lovely bastard out there.
Okay, but coming down to Earth, it's a 5cc artifact so we're talking about playing it in three contexts:
- Tezzerator-style big mana artifact deck.
- As a Tinker target.
- In Shops.
- In a Ritual deck.
Let's look at each one.
In Tezzerator, this really pushes your mana production to 11, but once you've hit five, it's not clear to me that you need any more mana. I'm skeptical.
As a Tinker target, this may have some advantages over stuff like Blightsteel. Say you're playing Drain Tenrils or something like that. Engine can be hardcast reasonably, so it sort of plays like Dramoka does. However, is that worth not winning on the spot? Tinker this out, Brainstorm and untap your board seems like a pretty easy way to win. Would Memory Jar do the same thing, most of the time?
Shops can easily cast this on turn 2, and then it will promptly barf out its entire hand. But... then what? Shops can't keep digging like a blue deck can to replace cards as it generates mana.
Ritual decks actually seem pretty reasonable. This is arguably easier to cast than, say, Necropotence, certainly Bargain, and depending on your hand it might be just better.
Card is really exciting, and properly costed for its ability. I absolutely think it's Vintage playable. The question is whether it will see MUCH play, given the competition.