Oblivion Ring is back!
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on April 17, 2014, 5:36 a.m. by RussischerZar
Banisher Priest style, with the added clause that it can only target your opponent's stuff.
Oblivion Ring <- for comparison.
Ofc you can do the permanent exile trick. It still does have ETB and LTB triggers.
April 17, 2014 5:53 a.m.
RussischerZar says... #5
Well, who did the permanent exile trick in Standard anyway with the O-Ring? I think it only really worked well with Fiend Hunter and Restoration Angel / Cloudshift .
@ Putrefy no it doesn't. Read the Gatherer rulings on Banisher Priest
:
Banisher Priests ability causes a zone change with a duration, a new style of ability thats somewhat reminiscent of older cards like Oblivion Ring. However, unlike Oblivion Ring, cards like Banisher Priest have a single ability that creates two one-shot effects: one that exiles the creature when the ability resolves, and another that returns the exiled card to the battlefield immediately after Banisher Priest leaves the battlefield.
If Banisher Priest leaves the battlefield before its enters-the-battlefield ability resolves, the target creature wont be exiled.
April 17, 2014 5:56 a.m.
Basically - if it has it in one block of text it's like one trigger and you can't do it. If it has it in two then it's two triggers and you can.
Yeh it was done with things like Fiend Hunter and Restoration Angel . I encouraged this fantastic thing known as creative play. I mean, yeh it was a stupid combo, hard to pull off and rarely ever worked: but you were rewarded when you managed it! Wizards now are like 'lol no, shouldnt be able to do that' - even though it was damn hard to achieve in the first place. It just removes an aspect of fun and creativity.
April 17, 2014 6:01 a.m.
RussischerZar says... #8
Well, I guess it just does what Wizards intended Oblivion Ring to do. The permanent exile was never part of the intended design, so they removed it.
The 'only opponent's permanents' part removes some synergy with stuff like Worldfire but also adds security in some fringe cases, where your opponent only had one non-land permanent and bounced it in response to you casting the ring, in which case you had to exile one of your own things (not a 'may' ability).
April 17, 2014 6:08 a.m.
Bit fringe, but I suppose you have a point there.
I just don't really see the point in rewording it when the permanent exile trick was really convoluted anyway. I just saw it as fun, interesting thing that could lead to interesting games.
April 17, 2014 6:10 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #10
Old school Wizards encouraged that line of play in the old times. My favorite deck when younger was the Waking Nightmares theme deck from Torment. It revolved around nightmares like Mesmeric Fiend and Faceless Butcher . The strategy insert suggested sacing them to Malevolent Awakening and use it and Chainer, Dementia Master to recurre them to abuse the ability. Good times.
April 17, 2014 8:29 a.m.
And what's your overall feeling Rasta_Viking29? Sad that they're avoiding it or happy that cards cant be abused?
April 17, 2014 9:21 a.m.
I'm on the fence about this...
I prefer Oblivion Ring as a card, but I like that Wizards has managed to re-work the card so it does what was originally intended.
On more than one occasion, I was able to cast Simic Charm to give all my permanents Hexproof in response to the casting of Oblivion Ring . One of those times, I forced my opponent to hit their own Angel of Serenity , giving me back a handful of creatures, winning the game.
April 17, 2014 9:28 a.m.
It may be slightly more limited than Oblivion Ring but it is still effectively Oblivion Ring, which is fantastic white removal. Plus, now you can basically run up to 8 Oblivion Rings in a deck, if that's what you're in to.
April 17, 2014 9:42 a.m.
blackmarker90 says... #14
Eew, plus if you are in blue there is Detention Sphere which does the same thing.
April 17, 2014 10:03 a.m.
Yes, white wasn't good enough in limited already.
Is wizards totally fucking nuts? Printing an oblivion ring NOW honestly upsets me. I expected one in M15, but this is just absurd.
April 17, 2014 1:29 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #17
ChiefBell I think there is room for both wordings of the ability. I understand how the original nightmare ability can be confusing for newer players and not give the effect design intended. At the same time the original wording adds a lot of complexity to the game and promotes innovative thinking.
I guess I want to eat the cake and have it too.
ChiefBell says... #2
Meh. They're still just sad imitations. You can't do the permanent exile trick anymore.
April 17, 2014 5:48 a.m.