Celestial Oracle

[ghostchild]

Celestial Oracle
WU
Creature - Spirit
2/1
Flying
Any time you could mulligan and Celestial Oracle is in your hand, you may reveal your hand. If you do, look at the top two cards of your library and put them back in any order. (You can do this in addition to taking mulligans.)
WU or Sacrifice Celestial Oracle: Look at target player's hand and the top card of that player's library.

[Harlequin]

Probably a bit too powerful.

Any time you could mulligan and Celestial Oracle is in your hand, you may remove it from the game. If you do, look at the top four cards of your library and put them back in any order. (You can do this in addition to taking mulligans.)
Sacrifice Celestial Oracle: Look at target player's hand and the top card of that player's library.
1/1

Is likely more balanced.  It still seems extremly powerful.  Esp when compaired to Serum Powder.

[ghostchild]

Hmm, In that case I'd rather have it just see 2 cards, with all else being the same.

[Harlequin]

It would at very least need to remove itself from the game, otherwise running 4 of this guy would be amazing! 

think of It interms of a really good hand.  6 great cards + this guy.  That means for no "cost" you can just arrange the top 4 cards.  In that context it seems too strong, even if it removes itself from the game.  I almost think it should be Remove ~this~ and another card (at random?) from your hand.   

[ghostchild]

Yeah, the original of looking at 4 cards is definitely too powerful. Again, I hope dropping down to 2 cards solves it. The whole point is that you gain information and preserve cards in hand, at the cost of revealing information to your opponent. It's an information for information tradeoff.

[parallax]

Maybe you could remove the "in any order" phrase. Or is that just a bad idea. When's the last time Wizards has printed a look effect that didn't allow a rearrange?

Remember this card is free (0 mana) library manipulation. I would prefer this card to fit into a "gives you information to decide whether you should mulligan or not" niche. Also, cards that mess with mulligan rules should be very overcosted to the point of not being very useful if you draw them later. Serum Powder and the Leylines, for example. That creates an interesting tension. Otherwise, why wouldn't you play an efficient creature that optimizes your opening hand for free?

[Illissius]

Love the idea, though the current version certainly is powerful. You could make it cost more, drop the power to 1, or drop the extra ability. I'd go for the last one myself, though that makes it less of an Oracle (but leaves it more playable -- a deck with this, Azorius Firstwing, and Pride of the Clouds would be pretty fun).
Also, perhaps you could reveal only the Oracle instead of your entire hand, and reveal the top two cards instead? Or both.

[GerryMander]

Celestial Oracle

Creature - Spirit
Any time you could mulligan and Celestial Oracle is in your hand, you may remove it from the game. If you do, look at the top four cards of your library and put them back in any order. (You can do this in addition to taking mulligans.)
Flying
1/1

I don't think that it needs any more abilities.

[Illissius]

Removing it from the game is against the entire point of this. Throwing a card away just to look at the next few is completely worthless. That basically makes it "any time you could take a mulligan, you can throw this card away and take a mulligan anyways, because your hand is now that much worse" (and if it means you get one fewer card after the mulligan than otherwise, then it's even worse). The whole point is you get to see the next couple of cards so you can make a more informed decision viz. whether to mulligan, for free. (Having a card which is at least somewhat playable in addition to this, unlike Serum Powder, would also be a nice thing.)

[asmoranomardicodais]

But the problem is, nothing comes for free. If the information is free, it is easy to run in any deck that can support casting it. By making you remove the card, it forces you to spend something in order to get a benefit.

Besides, throwing this away is not as bad as you make it out. It is not a phenomenal card, at all, without the mulligan ability, and in your mana curve it should not be your optimal 2-drop. What it does do is allow you to figure out if you going to be able to play your optimal two drop, and if not, then you can mulligan. Besides, by removing this and then mulliganning, your essential playing with a 59 card deck, which is a slight benefit to having this in the deck.

[Matt]

Why not make it:

Any time you could mulligan and Celestial Oracle is in your hand, you may remove it from the game. If you do, look at the top four cards of each library and put them back in any order. (You can do this in addition to taking mulligans.)

I think that might be worth losing a card, especially in multiplayer.

[Illissius]

But the problem is, nothing comes for free. If the information is free, it is easy to run in any deck that can support casting it. By making you remove the card, it forces you to spend something in order to get a benefit.

It forces you to play the card in your deck. (This is especially relevant if the card stays in your hand). So if we don't want it to be too much of a staple, it has to be something playable, but somewhat narrow. (A 1/1 flyer for two mana, as a three mana artifact which produces one mana, is just all around terrible.)

Besides, throwing this away is not as bad as you make it out. It is not a phenomenal card, at all, without the mulligan ability, and in your mana curve it should not be your optimal 2-drop.

Play with bad cards so you can throw them away? Excellent strategy. Honestly, I'd rather play Sage Owl.


BTW, I would also be content if you only got to see one card. For those 0-1 land hands where you really want to know if your next card is going to be a land.

[Shmn]

Hmm, how about an Opt ability with life payment?

Any time you could mulligan and Celestial Oracle is in your hand, you may pay 2 life and reveal your hand. If you do, look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom of your library. Draw a card, then remove Celestial Oracle from the game. (You can do this in addition to taking mulligans.)

[ghostchild]

24 hour clock for this one?

[Matt]

You need to make a current wording post, in bold, and update it. Please follow the forum rules. This is exactly why we have that rule: because I don't even know which card you're trying to clock.