Ouchie. this looks like the sort of card I'd get shouted at for creating; since surely it enables a lot of turn1 wins.

Well, you'll notice this is based on Simian Spirit Guide. That makes this okay? I don't know... Planar Chaos was the last time we saw such an obvious fast mana card exist, and that was a few years ago, but since Time Reversal is an obvious throwback to Time Spiral, I give it a thumbs up... especially since I like the stress this card gives me. Mana now, or land later.

What Simian Spirit Guide did not have, however, in the same block, was Elvish Spirit Guide, and I noticed that qqzm also made Forest Guide. That might indeed be overkill. I'm not sure, though. I'd love to see these two lands tested out in a standard combo or aggro deck (Aggro-Combo?)

Vitenka: For something to count as "a lot" of turn 1 wins, you're only allowed to assume one of them in hand on turn 1. (Blazing Shoal is absurd with two of them in hand, but that doesn't happen enough to matter.) As such this is similar to Rite of Flame or Simian Spirit Guide. Certainly, like all fast mana it would need testing, but as a one-shot one-mana one-colour burst it's plausibly okay.

See also this discussion we had last year about Lotus Petal (broken) vs Simian Spirit Guide (barely usable). Over there, jmg mentioned the volume argument, which is indeed the most distressing aspect of this card - that it may exist in tandem with Forest Guide too.

Yeah but this is a cycle. And if it becomes a full 5-card cycle, I can presume a 4-and-a-killcard hand after a mulligan or two.

Whiiiich.. seems to be what you already said. Ok.

Ah, OK, I didn't realise you were taking into account the existence of the green mirror and the potential of a 5-card cycle. I'll agree a 5-card cycle would be way too swingily absurd.

If this was intended to be a 5-card cycle, it would already be a 5-card cycle. This and Forest Guide are just references to Simian Spirit Guide and Elvish Spirit Guide.

Hmm, ok. Those scare the heck out of me too. Those plus these is one in four cards, plus land drop.. three mana on turn one in an average hand. Ok, it screws your card advantage, but do you care?

(Re: Cycle; count that as making me yet another victim of not having a banner at the top of every card giving the cardsets aims and completion state)

V: But what format are you talking about here? Elvish Spirit Guide isn't legal in anything that doesn't already include an absurd amount of broken acceleration and madness. Including casual: it's player agreement not to be silly that stops absurdly strong T1 kill decks cropping up in casual, not card restrictions. This would increase the turn 1 mana boosts in Modern, that's true, but there's already Rite of Flame and Simian Spirit Guide.