Frantic Researcher

[parallax]

Frantic Researcher

Creature -- Human Wizard
2/1
Sacrifice Frantic Researcher: Draw two cards and discard two cards.
When Frantic Researcher is turned face up, untap up to three lands.
Morph
I'll need a ladder twice as tall to retrieve that book.

Nostalgia as a theme is so fun.

Frantic Researcher

Creature -- Human Wizard
1/4
Sacrifice Frantic Researcher: Draw two cards and discard two cards.
When Frantic Researcher is turned face up, untap up to three lands.
Morph
I'll need a ladder twice as tall to retrieve that book.

[bakerorgg]

Nostagia is fun, but Time Spiral should probably be the exception, not the rule.

A bunch of the purple cards in Time Spirial show how the color pie was different in the past (Resurrection, Psionic Blast), but new cards should still try to adhere to the new color pie.  And untapping lands is part of the green color pie.

Otherwise, we can break the color pie at any time by claiming nostalgia, thus negating the purpose of the color pie altogether. 

Then I'd submit my Psionic Blaster Mage, and we'd see which of our two cards get's more play 

[asmoranomardicodais]

And untapping lands is part of the green color pie.

Not really. This was a block mechanic that was shared among all the colors. Blue were actually the strongest and best known of that mechanic. This is certainly in flavor as far as the color pie goes.

I also just like the card in general. Thumbs up

[parallax]

Nostagia is fun, but Time Spiral should probably be the exception, not the rule.

A bunch of the purple cards in Time Spirial show how the color pie was different in the past (Resurrection, Psionic Blast), but new cards should still try to adhere to the new color pie.  And untapping lands is part of the green color pie.

Otherwise, we can break the color pie at any time by claiming nostalgia, thus negating the purpose of the color pie altogether. 

Then I'd submit my Psionic Blaster Mage, and we'd see which of our two cards get's more play 

First off, my card is meant to be taken in the context of Time Spiral block. Just like many artifact cards a few years ago were taken in the context of Mirrodin block.

Second, Resurrection fits the current color pie philosophy.

Third, untapping things is well within blue's color pie. Twiddle, Toils of Night and Day, etc.

Fourth, you can't take a mechanic out of context when considering color pie violations. This card's purpose isn't to untap lands. This card merely untaps the lands you used to pay its morph cost. In other words, the purpose of this card is to refund the morph cost, not to untap all your lands.

Fifth, minor color bleeds are allowed, if there is good justification for them. While blue direct damage is off-limits, land-untapping, while nominally green, can be done in blue if there's good reason for it.

[bakerorgg]

First off, my card is meant to be taken in the context of Time Spiral block. Just like many artifact cards a few years ago were taken in the context of Mirrodin block.

Second, Resurrection fits the current color pie philosophy.

Third, untapping things is well within blue's color pie. Twiddle, Toils of Night and Day, etc.

Fourth, you can't take a mechanic out of context when considering color pie violations. This card's purpose isn't to untap lands. This card merely untaps the lands you used to pay its morph cost. In other words, the purpose of this card is to refund the morph cost, not to untap all your lands.

Fifth, minor color bleeds are allowed, if there is good justification for them. While blue direct damage is off-limits, land-untapping, while nominally green, can be done in blue if there's good reason for it.

First: Ok, I'm fine with that, if you mean this card would be released inside of a Time Spiral Block.

Second: Don't get confused with similar functionalities.  While white does have graveyard retrieval (Adakar Valkerie, Reya, etc), the mechanism for how it is achieved is much different.  White usually does the very rarely and via creatures abilities, where as black has the monopoly on sorceries that return creatures from the graveyard to play (Zombify, Vigormortis, exhume).  Same effect, different execution.

Third: If you see "untap permanents", you'd think blue.  If you see "untap lands" you think green.  Blue is good at untapping everything, but limitations to types, such as lands would be green, creatures would be white, with some bleed here and there.

Fourth: That was the original intent of the mechanic in Urza's Saga as well (to refund costs).  Wizards now considers that mechanic one of their biggest mistakes, so any mirror of that mechanic should raise red flags.

Fifth: Agreed, it's just that I'm just not sure if I agree that nostalgia is a "good reason" enough, since nostalgia could be a way to circumvent just about any piece of the modern color pie. 

[andrewpate]

First: Ok, I'm fine with that, if you mean this card would be released inside of a Time Spiral Block.

Second: Don't get confused with similar functionalities.  While white does have graveyard retrieval (Adakar Valkerie, Reya, etc), the mechanism for how it is achieved is much different.  White usually does the very rarely and via creatures abilities, where as black has the monopoly on sorceries that return creatures from the graveyard to play (Zombify, Vigormortis, exhume).  Same effect, different execution.

Third: If you see "untap permanents", you'd think blue.  If you see "untap lands" you think green.  Blue is good at untapping everything, but limitations to types, such as lands would be green, creatures would be white, with some bleed here and there.

Fourth: That was the original intent of the mechanic in Urza's Saga as well (to refund costs).  Wizards now considers that mechanic one of their biggest mistakes, so any mirror of that mechanic should raise red flags.

Fifth: Agreed, it's just that I'm just not sure if I agree that nostalgia is a "good reason" enough, since nostalgia could be a way to circumvent just about any piece of the modern color pie. 

First:  We are in agreement on this.

Second:  Breath of Life is in Extended, as is Death or Glory.  White gets these cards rarely, and they are usually confined to its own graveyard, but, like Armageddon, the potential is still there.

Third:  As recently as Saviors of Kamigawa, the card Oboro Breezecaller can untap target land and is blue.

Fourth:  Agreed, but this requires its controller to commit resources and delay a turn in order to have much chance of generating mana and is therefore probably fair.

Fifth:  Also true, but I think that it is reasonable to evaluate such things ad hoc as cards are proposed.

I do not like this card.  I think that the "free mechanic" is fundamentally flawed and best forgotten.  Reprints like Psionic Blast and Uthden Troll are interesting because they were acceptable cards in what now seem to be very counterintuitive colors, a throwback to the days when flavor drove the color wheel instead of balance.  The free mechanic doesn't bring back memories of very much aside from Palinchron tricks and multiple-High Tide turns, of which I didn't feel myself to be in any need of a reminder.  That said, I think that it is a bad card that could acceptably be printed, as it is neither overpowered nor out-of-color.

[asmoranomardicodais]

They made a gush-guy very similar to this, why all the hate against the "free" morph mechanic?

[parallax]

What I'm saying is, I don't think the card violates the color pie at all, but if it does, it's a minor bleed, not a major violation, and easily justified by what the card is trying to do. There's a big difference between giving blue direct damage, and giving it an effect which untaps land.

As far as the "free" mechanic being a mistake, I agree, but I always liked Frantic Search anyway. I realize that Frantic Search is incredibly broken, but this card isn't broken due to the extra you have to pay to morph him. Sure, he could get played in some sort of Heartbeat of Spring deck, but he's not busted. That's what makes him (and Fathom Seer) so interesting. They copy a broken "free" effect, but by their nature cost an additional three mana, making them fair.

[Anusien]

I'm uncomfortable with giving it the free flip since that's either just costing zero to flip it, or utterly degenerate.  Why not just give it a free morph cost?

[parallax]

It makes for more interesting play decisions. If you morph him turn 3, he's vulnerable for a turn while you're tapped out. If you want to play a four-drop afterward, you have to decide whether to flip him now and give your opponent more information, or risk losing him without getting his card-filtering effect. It also stops you from getting his filtering effect off on turn 3 and prevents you from using him in non-blue decks. It can provide a mana-fixing effect if you need double colored mana with only one land of that type, or mana acceleration with Heartbeat of Spring or bouncelands. I don't think those interactions are degenerate.

Ideally, this guy would have been 1/3, so that flipping or not flipping him would impact combat as well, but Gush-guy is already 1/3, and I didn't want too much overlap. Could I make him 1/4? Or is 0/3 or 0/4 more appropriate?

I don't think the "free" mechanic is broken in this case, because you're still paying to untap three lands.

Edit: Made him 1/4 to make the morph/don't morph decisions more meaningful.

[Anusien]

It's still the free mechanic.  I maen technically on one turn you're not generating mana (although with one High Tide you're breaking even and filtering) but if you put it down turn 3 and go off turn 4, you're getting some nutty results.  I think in general Wizards has said no proactive untapping of lands.  Rewind is different because it's not a combo tool.

[Harlequin]

I flavorwise, I liked him better as a 2/1...  there arn't that many 4 toughness wizards running around =/

Powerlevel wise, he probably ought to be a 1/1.

[parallax]

I flavorwise, I liked him better as a 2/1...  there arn't that many 4 toughness wizards running around =/

Powerlevel wise, he probably ought to be a 1/1.

There are plenty of four-toughness wizards. I can make him 1/3, but then he is very similar to Fathom Seer. 0/3 and 0/4 are still on the table as well. But I don't think his combat stats are the major issue right now.

Early Harvest is proactive untapping of lands. The mechanic isn't forbidden. It's just that spells that do something and are free and can be played whenever you want are broken. Early Harvest, Turnabout, Frantic Search and Cloud of Faeries are all good in combo because with a resolved High Tide or Heartbeat of Spring, they generate mana. This guy is basically a free Careful Study when you go off, if you already have six mana, which means you already had an untap effect. Alternately, you can play him the turn before you combo, and if your opponent doesn't kill him (at two toughness), then you get your three mana back on your combo turn.

He's perfectly fair, and in fact, quite interesting in limited. He has some potential in combo, but he has to survive a turn as a 2/2 in deck with (probably) no other targets for creature removal, or else he's just a free Careful Study. I don't see him as a broken combo engine. At best, he's a quite fair combo piece.