Power Nine, anyone? This card was SO GOOD that
it was popularly known as one of the original
POWER NINE, the nine most valuable, most
sought-after cards in all of Magic. From today's
perspective, Timetwister is probably not quite
as mighty as all that. The wording of an old
classic Magic card like this one is very
interesting, if not slightly confusing. It's
funny to think of this card in a limited format,
of course it never was part of one, I don't
think I would like it very much for limited,
where you and your opponent's decks are likely
to be close to each other in power and basic
design. Even in constructed, I don't REALLY want
to play an effect that gives my opponent an
opportunity to IMPROVE his hand so drastically.
However, the way to think about this card's
power is the ability it gives YOU, not the sad
fact that this card also helps your opponent.
The main constructed advantage of this card is
in the ability to retrieve it from the graveyard
to create, along with Time Walk or similiar
cards, a repeatable combo.
This is one of the craziest cards in the game.
Letting player's shuffle up their hands and get
new cards is crazy. It also shuffles graveyards
though. That's a big bonus. It's even crazier
when you consider it only cost three mana.
One might
assume that each piece of the "Power 9" is a
no-brainer to get high marks and to be included
in nearly every deck that can meet the color
requirements. That's just never been the case,
however. Timetwister has always been the odd one
out, as it is the only piece of power that
provides a symmetrical effect. Does that mean
it's bad? Far from it. Timetwister allows you to
draw 7 cards for 3 mana. That's ridiculous by
anyone's account. However, Vintage formats are
largely dominated by very fast decks, many of
which abuse the graveyard. So Timetwister has
fallen victim to an environment where it is
merely a relic of a time long ago. You can
expect that it will continue to show up
occasionally, but it's never going to be what it
once was.
One of the Power 9 classic cards. These cards,
which include Black Lotus and the Moxes from
Beta and Unlimited sets, are some of the most
powerful and sought after cards in the game.
Prices on them range from the hundreds to the
thousands of dollars, depending on the card, the
set, and the condition.
Timetwister is just that good, and while it may
not be the best of the Power 9 cards, it remains
a classic that can win games for you.
Constructed - 5
Casual - 5
Limited - 3.5
BMoor
Timetwister- To
be honest, Timetwister is before my, um, time.
The only time I ever saw Timetwister in action
is in a deck full of so many vintage
disgustingly broken rares that the 'twister
didn't really stick out. It seems best in a deck
with few win conditions, allowing you to refill
the gas tank, so to speak. The trick is breaking
the symmetry. If Mnemonic Nexus is seeing
Constructed play at four mana(I don't know
offhand if it is), then I'm sure this would too.
I've been told that this was never available in
a Limited format, so I won't bother rating it
for that.
