[ORG] Ghirapur Aether Grid

[Protoaddict]

I cannot tell if this card is terrible or if I am staring at a new deck all together. The effect, in a format filled with interactions at instant speed and free mana artifacts, seems exceptionally strong. it is both a control piece and a win condition in and of itself. So i guess the real question I have is could a deck with this card and then nothign but draw spells, counter spells, and artifact mana win?

[tito del monte]

Bob is never, ever going to make a come-back is he?

More seriously, this is a really interesting card. Kudos to Wizards for packing the set with flexible intriguing cards, rather than ramming their designated safe-for-Standard archetypes down our throats. I have no idea whether this is good enough but given we also have access to the artifact lands, and all the zero-drop Affinity creatures (not to mention a Tier 1 mono-brown deck), you'd think this might have some potential.

[MaximumCDawg]

No kidding, this set is like Time Spiral 2.0.  Tons of revamped versions of old cards and interesting new effects.  This set is topping Khans for me, and that's something.

This card is... good?  If it only hit players, it would be almost laughable.  The fact that it can ping creatures makes it very good.  This combines with the fact that Wizards loves to print powerful hatebears at 2/1 nowadays. 

I have two reservations.  Since most of our artifacts in Vintage are mana rocks, you're basically paying 2 mana for the ping effect.  Sometimes more.  Aren't there cards that let you convert 2 mana into 1 damage as much as you want already?  I mean, there's Rocket Launcher, but other that that?

I really don't know where you'd put this, but I wonder if there's a Grixis Welder type deal that could use it?

[Wagner]

It might have been better if it cost 5 and only required you to tap 1 artifact. As is, I don't really see the appeal. With 2 artifacts, which is the most you'd likely get baring a very long game, you can ping here and there EOT, but no major damage. It will kill Snapcaster, Pyromancer and Mentor tokens baring a tempo loss.

It could work in Shops if we brign back red shops, but it's affected by every sphere there is. Works in affinity too, but this deck is pure tempo and I don't see how tappign 2 artifacts would be better than putting more pressure.

The closest card we have to this is Granite Shard, which saw fringe play a few years ago.

[fsecco]

The only reason I could see this being used is if we had relevant artifacts that turned offline when tapped. The only 3 I can remember are Trinisphere, Howling Mine and Static Orb. But for a deck like that Clock of Omens is probably better...

[Aaron Patten]

This card is an absolute house.  
It fits into almost every affinity deck and completely changes how that deck plays out in the late game by making it much more flexible and less likely to fizzle out.  
Additionally it can become an archetype all it's own with the appropriate draw engine to fuel a field of artifacts.  
Since vintage decks are much more creature based in recent years this card will be an effective control card as well as an effective win condition.  

[brianpk80]

Looks brutal against Null Rod hate bears. 

[fsecco]

Looks brutal against Null Rod hate bears. 

Wow, I haven't thought of that. A really nice SB card indeed.

[Wagner]

Looks brutal against Null Rod hate bears.  

Wow, I haven't thought of that. A really nice SB card indeed.

You do however need 4 artifacts to tap to kill most bears. What has 1 toughness besides Talia and Spirit of the Labyrinth?

[TheWhiteDragon]

And against rod, your moxen make no mana....so its not easy for shops to get 2R without moxen and with thalia making it cost more.

[Protoaddict]

And against rod, your moxen make no mana....so its not easy for shops to get 2R without moxen and with thalia making it cost more.

I would imagine against hatebears you would want to counter or remove anything early that had a sphere effect with a bolt or whatever and then land this. Once this is in play the deck basically wins on the back of it, you just have to prevent anything that can remove it from hitting the table.

I think the deck would just use an extraordinary amount of counter magic and card draw with the moxen and just try to land this later on as a win con. Its a slow wincon but it has so much utility. I cannot imagine a deck like that not also running tinker blightsteel vault key anyway, so this just fits a role.

Also, a deck with that many artifacts can likely run thoughtcast and reliably expect to cast it for 1.

[TheWhiteDragon]

And against rod, your moxen make no mana....so its not easy for shops to get 2R without moxen and with thalia making it cost more.

I would imagine against hatebears you would want to counter or remove anything early that had a sphere effect with a bolt or whatever and then land this. Once this is in play the deck basically wins on the back of it, you just have to prevent anything that can remove it from hitting the table.

I think the deck would just use an extraordinary amount of counter magic and card draw with the moxen and just try to land this later on as a win con. Its a slow wincon but it has so much utility. I cannot imagine a deck like that not also running tinker blightsteel vault key anyway, so this just fits a role.

Also, a deck with that many artifacts can likely run thoughtcast and reliably expect to cast it for 1.

I thought the "against null rod hate bears" was as a SHOPS sb card.  A non-shops card isn't going to have 4 artifacts in play,  You can ping thalia, maybe, but nothing else. And if you are tinkering up blightsteel or countering thalia/rods in the first place, why would you even need this?

[xouman]

I totally overlooked this card until i read this thread. In Uwr bomberman may deserve a place in the sb, but i'm not sure this can be a valid win condition.