This card is really amazing. Steals the draw AND makes a bunch of future Elks!? Sign me up.
Nick, I would follow you into the Mists of Avalon, if that is what you mean.
In all seriousness though, despite my 95% being in just for the chance to play some vintage, please don't try to stretch for a Mox just for the sake of doing so. It creates these really huge drop off's in EV between 1st and 2nd place...forget about the rest of the top 8.
When I lost in the finals at the last "Clash at the Cradle" event, my opponent took home a pretty clean Ruby and I basically complained my way to $100 Credit (it was supposed to be only $80). It looked worse because of the reserved list spike that happened literally weeks after that event, but a $1300-1500 drop in value b/x 1st and 2nd is a bad look for me. If you can find a way to run a cash event, I believe your name/brand attached to the event will be enough to get bodies in the room without risking your own wallet unnecessarily.
No CMC restriction on the returned instant or sorcery? Pretty nutty that you can cast an early dig through time, then late game get it back, forget the obvious ancestral/timewalk/PO shenanigans. This also has super interesting interactions with Gush since it is an island itself.
Yay for another card that will lead to countless judge calls. I guess at least its symmetrical? I don't know, just chalk it up to another in the long list of cards that say "lets play less magic for a more protracted period of time".
I think it's easiest application is in PO. You draw then search and have this in hand. If you hit a 2nd PO with the draw, great, tutor resolves and you get your academy, mana vault, whatever and win the game. If you dont, get your 2nd PO and still probably win the game. Finding a deterministic win is obvious when the situation calls for it.
I'm with @Serracollector on this one. The interaction with painter is way to significant to ignore. It may only see play in 1 deck but may push that deck from relative obscurity to a deck that can steal weekly challenges and league 5-0s.
Once Upon a Time is another boon to the Painter Archtype as well serving as painter copies 5-8.
This card will prove to be bananas in multiple formats, possibly even ban worthy in Modern. Not having a color restriction on the creature is huge imo.
@vaughnbros said in The Restrictions Are Just a First Step Toward Fixing Vintage: Brian DeMars:
Without Workshop, Forge is on a similar power level as other Future sight effects. If just having the effect with more colorless in its cost was strong enough, we’d have seen more impact from experimental frenzy getting printed.
If only I could just put 7-10 cards in my sideboard and near autowin a matchup against decks like BUG, Shops, and Xerox. Dredge is the weakest of the big 3. Restricting Troll changes basically no part of this.
Island and Force of Will are responsible for a number of restrictions. Gush being a big one, but also Brainstorm, Library, Ponder, Dig, TC, Scroll.
Don't blame little old island for the sins of Fetchlands, which made brainstorm playable (and ultimately, restriction worthy) and fueled delve spells into restriction. Forget the zillions of additional hours spent shuffling since Onslaught block in vintage, legacy and extended/modern, not to mention the bans these cards have led to in other formats (DRS, Divining Top, ect...).
@desolutionist I've found the BUG vs Jeskai matchup to be one of the most enjoyable to play. A true 50/50 matchup IMO and very swingy. Toxic Deluge, Plague Engineer, and Fatal Push (no more misstep yayy) all shine in that matchup.