Nimble Obstructionist

Color: Blue
Type: Creature - Bird, Wizard
Rarity: Rare
Set: Hour of Devastation

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Jonathan Reynolds

I love this card! It’s so versatile.
Baxter Stein

Dude, BIRD WIZARD!
Jackson Means

Very interesting!
Tolle

Yes yes yes! This was the card I wanted! This! All of this! Thank you wizards!
Grant Jacobson

draw go is getting support? what is this (bird) wizardry?!?
- Kevan Kramer
  
  You obviously have no idea what draw go is. This is a good card sure, but not crazy good.
  - Alexandre Donnart
    
    What’s Draw-Go then ? Why would a Flash creature with an extra instant-speed ability not fit in a Draw-Go archetype ?
Writerofthings

going into my Bant CoCo and Atraxa decks i think
- TomGalonska
  
  Why in a CoCo deck? There are so many better targets at 2 and 3 mana.
  - Writerofthings
    
    I suppose V Clique is a better option, but I like the options this card gives
Bige Boiy

i guess they learned their lesson about stifling your own stuff, presumably to avoid an interaction with glorious end in standard.
- Jonathan Reynolds
  
  There are also a lot of negative abilities in this set that give your creatures -1/-1 counters.
- TomGalonska
  
  I’m getting really annoyed that it’s ALWAYS just the opponents stuff. Like “Cast out”, “Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh” (I’m talking about the -4, targeting yourself with the +2 would be to strong), and so on.
Tavis Carrillo

I’m so happy. This is going in my Derevi Stax/bird tribal.
Happy The Cat

nothing really needs to be said, at worst it’s a cantrip or an instant speed blocker.
Edward

I think this is the best cycle effect in the entire block so far. You can just stifle your opponents things and draw a card or you can cast a 3 mana 3/1 with flash and flying. There is no bad options.
galen150

I like it. Nice solid card that’s pretty flexible. Not unfair but just real solid
kmk888

I own New Perspectives, so yeah this is great. An alternate win condition and a versatile counterspell are both welcome additions. It’s also very good for ordinary blue decks.
- DJ Pad
  
  It’s not really a counterspell given that it doesn’t actually counter a spell.
  - kmk888
    
    I didn’t mistake it for a hard counter. That would be silly good. However my phrasing was very ambiguous. Sorry about that.
Shagoth

The other flash/flying, 3 mana bird, with an ability that seems specific until you realize it negates a fetch land.
- Tolle
  
  What was the first?
  - Mov
    
    Mindcensor
  - Matthew Peters
    
    Aven mindcensor
  - Shagoth
    
    Aven Mindcensor
    - Tolle
      
      Fair enough.
Jacob Bachand

If us control mages are tapped out and opponent casts a Gideon, we can next turn stifle the plus to turn into a 5/5 and be able to attack Gideon. Might be decent sideboard for control decks against walker midrange
Dr. Burn Crow

Onslaught Block called, they want their card design back.
Animar, Elemental Master

I ally play this. I may rework my UR control deck and adding locust and this.
Jude

….so countering cycling abilities with cycling….brilliant!
Soren Szilver

ALTHOUGH counter magic is annoying as all hell, there is a real lack of countering abilties in mtg that this does address. Plus, it is probably the best ability counter in modern because others are just to conditional while this also provides a 3 power flier that can flash in for a surprise blocker. This might become a sideboard staple in modern.

ALSo: bird wizards ftw!
TogetherAlone

Would this be worth it for CoCo decks in modern? Also Does this resurrect U/W Flash decks in standard??
- TomGalonska
  
  Why on earth do you want this in a CoCo deck?
Kevin Johnstone

oh look MORE answers to MARVEL… but lets just cry to mommy until a mythic rare from a set is banned, and those of us who spent good money building a deck get f*cked…. Jesus.
- Tavis Carrillo
  
  This isn’t a sufficient answer to marvel retardicon. I’m glad you got screwed out of deck. quit bandwagoning but keep crying, I’m enjoying it.
  - TomGalonska
    
    Tavis, i have to ask you a very simple question: Are you stupid? Did you read the article? They didn’t ban marvel because it was to strong, they banned it because people like you were crying. So pls, for the love of god, stop crying if a strategy doesn’t fit you liking, okay? Marvel was fine, there were plenty of answers, and now we get so much more answers. The banning was unnecessery and will probably keep me from investing into any standard deck, because people like you just keep crying. And no, i didn’t play marvel, i think the deck was stupid and not so fun to play/play against, but i accepted it. Well, at least i got modern where less morons like you try to ruin it.
    - Tavis Carrillo
      
      Turn 4 ulamogs with a cast trigger have no place in standard. It was a skill-less Deck that any idiot could play and if you disagree with the banning you’re just a salty moron. Oh yeah, And HAHAHA MARVEL’S BANNED
      - TomGalonska
        
        T4 Ulamog in what, 15% of the games? The numbers don’t back up the banning, it had a negative win-record against most decks, only beeing positive against Zombies and Mardu. To make it very clear: WotC said that marvel was NOT to strong, it was just unfun. So again: The crying people are people like you, because the bad bad marvel deck is not fun, “muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum, they play ulamog, i don’t want this”. :D :D :D
      - Tavis Carrillo
        
        Right, Because turn 4 ulamogs have no place in standard. If you think that’s fine then you obviously have no clue what the standard format is supposed to be. Do your homework kid.
      - TomGalonska
        
        Repeting yourself won’t make an argument… Could you pls answer to my arguments? I did answer yours: The chance is very slim, and even a T4 Ulamog wasn’t always game-ending (yes, most of the times it was, but not all the time, sometimes zombies just attacked for lethal)
        And there were answers: Mangelhorn, for example, disallow, …
        Oh, and let WotC decide what the standard format is supposed to be, you’re not the one deciding that! Do YOUR homework.
      - Tavis Carrillo
        
        I’m not gonna do your homework for ya kid. If you play modern you’d know that wizards no longer prints efficient answers to keep things like this in check. Even the pro’s taking marvel to the top 8 openly stated the the deck needed to go. It is obvious that competively speaking, you’re clueless. Now run along Timmy, go earn your stripes
      - TomGalonska
        
        I surely can understand the pros… They earn money with the game and playing a deck that relys on luck is bad for them, because that means that their earnings are decided by luck.
        But again: What do you say to the FACT that marvel was NOT to strong? This is (again) backed up by numbers.
        Do you remember the last standard bannings: JaceTMS and Stoneforge. A deck so opressive that you couldn’t do anything against it, there was no other option, you play caw-blade or you lose. The bannings before that: Affinity, again, this deck was oppressive. Marvel was NOT oppressive!
        I’m concerned, really concerned. First the banning with Copter, Emrakul and Reflector Mage(??? Why the Mage?), then Saheeli (this was 100% correct, the combo was a mistake and should not’ve been in standard) and now marvel. Are standard bannings now the norm? If so, you’ll never see me playing standard again, why should i?
      - victorseth
        
        “I’m not gonna do your homework for ya kid”
        
        That was just disrespectful.
        I feel sad for the marvel ban, i’m happy with it because it wasn’t fun, but i’m really sad for these players. Now with these new cards against it, i’m hoping they unban it. I think that will balance things out.
        
        I understand that every ban in standard is a fault in the game design. Something like:” Look we just released a card!” and then, “Oh i hope you understand we didn’t predict that will be that powerful, sorry guys, i hope you didn’t spend much on this.”
      - Tavis Carrillo
        
        Your thought process is the exact kind of thought process that gets standard into those situations. Better for all standard players that you sit it out anyways.
      - TomGalonska
        
        And again you’re just stating that you’re right and the pros back you up, but you don’t respont to my arguments.
        And what thought process? That standard should ONLY have emergency bans if a deck is to oppressive? That’s what made standard a thing in the last years, that was always the philosophy.
        
        Oh, and i just answer your other comment here: YOU started to call other people “whiny”
        Quote: “I’m glad you got screwed out of deck. quit bandwagoning but keep crying, I’m enjoying it.”
        And you said similar things to other people.
        
        And i didn’t want you to do my homework, i wanted you to do yours.
      - Tavis Carrillo
        
        Read the original poster’s post. Also I’m not trying to disprove your argument because you quite literally don’t have one.
      - TomGalonska
        
        1) the fact that marvel was NOT oppressive like JTMS or Arcbound Ravager
        2) the fact that they bannend marvel because it was unfun to play against (again, not because it was to good)
        3) that they went on a real banning streak this year wich is obviously bad for standard (In standard you could always count on your deck beeing legal with the downside of changing the deck after rotation, but usually nothing got bannend, so it was financially okay)
        4) The financial aspect, you can’t just ban a deck for beeing unfun and screw over a lot of people who invested in a deck, maybe the first deck they ever invested in (in another comment i pictured a story of a new magic player buying a new deck)
        
        These are 4(!) arguments, now tell me again that i have none.
        
        All you say is: Turn4 Ulamog should not be in standard (it didn’t happen a lot of time, and with cards like manglehorn it was even preventable. Some decks could even beat a T4 Ulamog) or that pros back you up (argumentum ad verecundiam (argument from authority) is a logical fallacy). So what argument did you have again?
        
        Oh, i read the OP’s post again, he was complainig about people whining, wich is exactly what happened, you beeing the living proof.
      - Tavis Carrillo
        
        Standard was losing volume because of marvel and saheeli. Would you have preferred standard just completely die? Bottom line. Aethur works marvel shouldn’t have been printed
      - TomGalonska
        
        I think we all can agree to the bottom line! Or they should’ve made it 8energy + comes into play tapped (so you have at least the chance to react to it)
      - Nikolai Anzuoni
        
        WotC has decided. They’ve repeatedly said they want standard to be a turn 6 or 7 format (it might be 7-8) and one of the reasons Emmy went was because it made it a turn 4 format. saheeli as well. The first homework statement stands I think as this is easily accessible information.
      - TomGalonska
        
        So zombies and mardu need to bannend to, right? Because they can kill you turn 5
      - Nikolai Anzuoni
        
        I’m just repeating what blizzard has said about the format and as previous combo banning reasons.
      - TomGalonska
        
        Well, you’re the one that cleary didn’t read/understand the WotC article… They bannend marvel because people were crying. -.- And that is a baaaaaad sign! What if there is a “draw-go-control” build in the future, will it get the ban-hammer, because people don’t like their stuff countered? Cheating things into play is an old strategy in magic, and if you don’t like it, maybe you should play pokemon
    - Tavis Carrillo
      
      Also I’m primarily a modern player, And it is clear you have 0 idea what you’re talking about
TomGalonska

Why just the opponent? Why WotC? Neraly EVERY single abillity the print nowdays just targets the opponent. It’s getting ridiculous!
- MithosFall
  
  Could be precautions against something getting broken in Modern, though I don’t really keep up with that format. I feel the same way though about instants and sorceries that exile themself. Been seeing alot of that recently.
- Happy The Cat
  
  because giving this the option to counter your stuff would be pointless? do you want to counter your own things?
  - Deadly Berry
    
    Can counter pacts’ game loss clause. Can counter Glorious End’s end of turn trigger. There are tons of drawbacks you can avoid.
    - MTG Fella
      
      Nope. Read the “you don’t control” part.
      - MTG FELLA
        
        Oh nvm. Miss read the point. Sorry.
      - Deadly Berry
        
        I’m responding to the above comment asking why wouldn’t it counter your own as well. I know it says opponent controlled.
- Roel van Esch
  
  You wouldn’t want to counter your own cycling trigger, which will always be on the stack when the stifle ability triggers. With this phrasing you can still cycle it for draw only.
  - TomGalonska
    
    Oh, that makes perfectly sense… But in this case they could’ve made it a “may” trigger.
MTG fan

Jesus. Does this site always have people with short tempers? My god, you two(@taviscarrillo:disqus &@tomgalonska:disqus ) are quarreling about this rudely, especially you @Tavis Carrillo. Mocking people due to their misfortunes(like the banning of Aetherwork Marvels) is quite sad. It makes you look rude.
- TomGalonska
  
  To explain myself:
  1) I’m always in to argue about bannings and things revolving aroung mtg, why is that a bad thing
  2) I’ve seen Tavis mocking other people that are sad about the banning multiple times, and yes, this time i lost my temper a bit, because i think this is rude and it’s sad, that a lot of people lost a lot of money because the magic community was whining
  - MTG fan
    
    Arguing is bad; debating is not. For example, you didn’t have to call him stupid. However, I completely understand why you are so mad at him. He was acting very rude. I feel bad for all those people that made marvel decks. I wish them luck as well as you in Modern.
    - Tavis Carrillo
      
      The funny part is this started from someone mocking people and calling everybody Whiny Bi*****es I dont even play standard. It doesn’t effect me. But I DO know (as with the pro’s who actually played the deck in a competitive environment) That it needed to go. Turn 4 ulamog with a cast trigger shouldn’t be happening AT ALL. Regardless of percentage. So its not cool to tell people they are whining when they are right
      - MTG fan
        
        I didn’t call anyone that; you are just misinterpreting what I said. I felt like you two were being a bit rude. In addition, I never said you two were wrong or right. I just didn’t like how you two were insulting each other.
      - Tavis Carrillo
        
        I wasn’t referring to you.
      - MTG fan
        
        Oh. Sorry. It came up in my notification, so you must have accidentally replied to my comment.
  - Jay S
    
    It’s a card game.
    Does the discussion have to be more than that? Amazing; you didn’t get a return on investment in card stock. Shocker.
    - TomGalonska
      
      If we’re talking about 200-300$ on a deck, we absolutely HAVE to talk about the financial aspect. Figure this: a 15yo boy/girl wants to start playing at fnm after playing casual for a long time, but has no idea where to start, so they ask the owner of the nearest lgs what deck to build and the owner answers this: “If you like combo decks, try this marvel deck, if you like good value/creatures and a grindy deck try this b/g-deck and if you want to be aggressive try zombies.”
      This kid wants to play the biggest things in the game (didn’t we all when we started) and Ulamog certainly fits that role, so they pick up Marvel.
      And BAM, this kid got screwed.
      That’s why standard bannings used to be so rare, it was supposed to have a low entry barrier for new players (with 200-300$ a deck you could argue that it isn’t low enough, but that’s another topic) while modern/legacy are for experienced players with a larger collection.
MTG fan

I think blue white flash has a new addition in standard.
Murilo Mazza

Is this extremely good against what in current Standard?
Ulamog, Planeswalker’s ultimates, what more? Let’s collect ideas
- MTG fan
  
  Marvel trigger, crew activations, eternalize and embalm triggers, and can come in and swing for 3 in the air.
NC

…unban Marvel after rotation?
- Happy The Cat
  
  probably not, but heads up, not the best card to bring up, there is a lot of salt floating around it thanks to the people who blew $40 on their playset before the ban and the poeple who, well, got it banned. like below here for example. I’m rather blunt and rude, but even I don’t like talking about that card, way too much of a headache.
  - Jay S
    
    GROW UP
Ryuji Nichol Pabila

do mana abilities count
- Cynical Bastards
  
  well it doesn’t specifically say no mana abilities but….
  im pretty sure mana abilities cant be targeted
  - Ryuji Nichol Pabila
    
    that’s exactly my issue i remember stifle and stuff with the reminder text that mana abilities can’t be countered, and linvala prevents mana abilities from dorks so i’m not sure about this one
    - Shawn Michael Diaz
      
      You don’t get the priority to respond to mana abilities. For example you can’t cast a spell on response to someone tapping their land.
      - Ryuji Nichol Pabila
        
        noted, thanks!
      - xanatos135
        
        What if an ability provides mana + somethong else. Would it be considered a mana ability?
      - Happy The Cat
        
        the three mana abilities can be responded to with this, ones like like Deathrite Shaman, where you do X,. add mana to your mana pool, a triggered effect like Zhur-Taa Druid,or a layered effect like Astrolabe where you add the mana, then draw a card. you
        you would stop the mana from Deathrite as it is part of the effect, but Zur-Taa would add the mana, then you could respond to the damage on the stack. and Layered effects like Astrolabe have to be responded to when the ability comes up again I.e. at the beginning of the next turn’s upkeep when Astrolabe would draw a card, you can respond to it then.
      - Tolle
        
        Just FYI, Deathrite shaman isn’t a mana ability. I am aware you probably know this but it is worth putting the terminology out for those who aren’t aware.
        
        An activated mana ability is an ability that matches the following three criteria. 1. Adds mana to your mana pool. 2. Doesn’t target (which is why deathrite shaman can be responded to), and 3. Isn’t a mana ability. Activated mana abilities don’t use the stack and therefor cannot be responded to. If it doesn’t fit any of the three, even if it does, it is a regular activated ability and therefor can be responded to.
      - Happy The Cat
        
        I know, if it was a mana ability, you couldn’t respond to it. I listed abilities that add mana that this could respond to.
      - Tolle
        
        You worded it as if they were, and I wanted to put it out there for those not familiar (like those asking the question) to be sure they were aware. I did say that you probably knew this.
- nintendoluk
  
  a mana ability is an activated ablity, so they do count
  
  everything with a double dot
  is an activated ability
Jwong

It’s a Bird Wizard!
- DarthinvaderIX
  
  But what does it do?
  - Cole Belog
    
    It can handle Diaochan, Artful Beauty’s ability! The value!
    - DarthinvaderIX
      
      Doesn’t matter, IT’S A BIRD WIZARD!
      - Cole Belog
        
        I know right!
Project 2501

This seems… playable.
MTG Deck Guru

This card seriously reminds me of Vendilion Clique (if you don’t know what that is you don’t love fairies and are lame or you live under a mox) the control aspect is nice having a Stifle with a draw attached to it as well as a 3/1 flying, flash as well. cant wait to see how this does
MTG Deck Guru

also if your apponent does manage to get out Nico this can stop that ultimate BS that is pure awsmness!!!
Chris Tomsky

This is just made all the better with abandoned sarcophagus. Now you can stifle a thing and then later, FLASH SUPRISE 3/1 BIRD WIZARD!

Nimble Obstructionist

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