Nice catch Alex, this and the rest of the cycle are indeed artifact reprints of the Fallen Empires sac-lands. I am a big fan of the old sets - they being from when I was a full-time magic player (went into semi-retirement after the original Mirrodin block) and I have fond memories of 'working around' some of the old 'less-good' cards.
It's more of a guideline than a rule. But yes, you're right, this is precisely Ebon Stronghold as a 2-mana artifact, which thus means its power level is about right.
They already tap for colourless with the "temporary off-switch" of tapping for CC. ETB tapped is a very common power restriction. Losing it would mean you could get CC on T1 which is too strong.
I'm not a big fan of "Enters the battlefield tapped" if I can get away with it. They're probably too strong to come into play untapped, but have you thought about removing the etb, and the tap for colorless?
I'm not sure what the card used to do, but in its current incarnation it seems alright. Personally, I strongly dislike Contested War Zone and I wouldn't play this or that, so I think giving it away is a good drawback.
Nice catch Alex, this and the rest of the cycle are indeed artifact reprints of the Fallen Empires sac-lands. I am a big fan of the old sets - they being from when I was a full-time magic player (went into semi-retirement after the original Mirrodin block) and I have fond memories of 'working around' some of the old 'less-good' cards.
It's more of a guideline than a rule. But yes, you're right, this is precisely Ebon Stronghold as a 2-mana artifact, which thus means its power level is about right.
(For those who've not heard of the rule: compare Talisman of Progress with Adarkar Wastes, Prismatic Lens with Shimmering Grotto, etc.)
They already tap for colourless with the "temporary off-switch" of tapping for CC. ETB tapped is a very common power restriction. Losing it would mean you could get CC on T1 which is too strong.
I'm not a big fan of "Enters the battlefield tapped" if I can get away with it. They're probably too strong to come into play untapped, but have you thought about removing the etb, and the tap for colorless?
That semicolon should be a period.
Isn't there a rule that says that any land can be a functional 2-mana artifact? If thee's already a land version of this, it should be fine.
I'm not sure what the card used to do, but in its current incarnation it seems alright. Personally, I strongly dislike Contested War Zone and I wouldn't play this or that, so I think giving it away is a good drawback.
Incidentally, the issue I mention above was fixed some time ago, so you should be able to revert the second mention here to
~
as well.I like the card. Should say "Tap an untapped Mountain you control: ..." however.
Thanks. Great enabler for Zendikar vampires with an equally strong drawback
Very nice.