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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day


Image from Wizards.com

Evil Eye of Orms-By-Gore 
Legends Uncommon


Reviewed March 24, 2004

Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 3.1
Limited: 3

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating

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Card of the Day Reviews 


Chris
Gerhardt

* game store owner in CA, ShuffleAndCut.com

Okay, what the hell is up with the name of this card??  Some Wizards employee was on drugs and for some bizarre reason felt this was a good name? Dunno, man.

Well, thanks to Pojo.com fan Jack Skrip, here is some possible insight into the naming of this card: 
 

Well, I can't say this is the actual truth, but I always assumed that someone on the Legends design team was a fan of cheesey horror films. B-movie fans should be familiar with the name "Alan Ormsby" -- although he was screenwriter for such pop fluff as My Bodyguard and Karate Kid III, he's most known to horror mavens as the screenwriter and star of the cult classic zombie film "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things," as well as the director of the Ed Gein docudrama "Deranged." He was also screenwriter for the '80s remake of "Cat People" and did the makeup for my absolute favorite amphibious-Nazi-zombie film, "Shock Waves."
 
So . . . I've always interpreted "Evil Eye of Orms-By-Gore" as a bit of a homage to Ormsby's work in the horror genre . . . "Ormsby gore."

Thanks, Jack!  Best possible explanation I've heard so far. =)

Anyway, this card used to be played in the Machine Head decks a few years ago against some of the agro decks. My agro deck used to beat the crap out of it. The guy that played it was always whining about how he was "supposed" to win.  He was a decent player, but I always beat this guy. I basically owned his arse.

In limited...uh, maybe as a finisher.

Constructed: 3
Casual: 3
Limited: 3
Current Price: Evil Eye of Orms-By-Gore $2
 


Judge Bill

*Level 2
MTG Judge

*game store employee

Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore

A card that has changed functionality over the years. There have been times
where you could attack with multiple Evil Eyes if you had more than one out,
then you couldn't attack with any of them if you had multiples out, and now
we are back to the days where multiples can attack again. But I digress.

This is a reverse type Juggernaut, where it can only be blocked by walls. So
its high toughness is kind of pointless, because walls very frequently have
0 power. In any control deck, I can think of many more cards that would be
better than this.

In casual, this can be kind of cool in a theme deck.

In limited, it would be nice to have as an evasion creature, as it would
often be unblockable.

Constructed: 2
Casual: 3
Limited: 4
 


DeQuan
Watson

* game store owner (The Game Closet - Waco,TX)

* pro tour player

* Scrye writer since 2002

Evil Eye of Orms By Gore
 
What is there really to say about this card?  Grab your whiles or else you won't be blocking it.  Hell, one of the best things about this card is that you rarely saw more than one at a time.
 
Constructed: 2
Casual: 2
Limited: 2
 


Jeff Zand
i

5 Time Pro Tour
Veteran

Level 2 Judge

Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore

When this creature first appeared, it wasn’t played all that much. You see, back in the caveman days of Legends, this creature was considered to have too much text and too little power. When it was reprinted many years later in the base set, the Evil Eye finally got the attention it always deserved. Since nobody plays walls, Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore is basically always unblockable, making this card a favorite win mechanism in black control decks a few years ago. Limited formats? He would be fine in limited. Lest you newer players wonder how fun it would be to booster draft expensive and highly treasured Legends packs, I gotta tell ya, been there, done that, WORST SET FOR BOOSTER DRAFT EVER!

CONSTRUCTED: 3.5

CASUAL:            4.0

LIMITED:             4.0

 

Ray "Monk"
Powers
* Level 3 DCI Judge
*DCI Tournament Organizer
*Game Store Owner (Gamer's Edge)

Evil Eye of Orms By Gore

 

This guy is so fun! I must give Pechon credit for his selection of creatures this week. Evil Eye is yet another card that makes the center of a greatly fun casual deck. In addition, as a splash-able card, it’s fantastic for draft when the game stalls. This guy can keep coming through every turn while the rest of the game stalls out, and he does it in his own stylish way.

 

Constructed:                 2

Casual:                         4

Limited:                        4

 
Jason
Matthews


* Level 1 DCI Judge

*game store employee

* gaming for over 15 years
Evil Eye of Orms-By-Gore

I have never played with this card but in a control style deck this card could be a house. I mean in most constructed deck people just don’t run walls that often. He has a major league but that makes him hard to kill. His drawback is just something that you have to build around. In casual play I think he is pretty solid and in constructed he can be also. In limited he would be okay but his drawback could really hurt you.

Constructed 2.5

Casual 3

Limited 2

Jonathan
Pechon


2 Grand Prix Top 8's

Multiple Pro Tour appearances

Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore

 

Well, the card certainly looks evil…again, we’re dealing with a card that managed to exist in Necro, serving as an unblockable kill condition as well as a massive blocker, all at a reasonably cheap price.  Not much gets through him, and not much manages to block him (except for those cursed Walls of Blossoms!).

 

This guy probably serves as a bolt of choice at the group table, letting you turn and do three to whomever you wish to harm.  He’s not sexy, but he does his job.  I’d probably stick to Mind Sludge if you’re looking for more things to cast with B4.

 

I imagine that the problem with this guy in Legends draft is that there are so many walls that his ability isn’t terribly useful; his limitation is potentially crippling in these circumstances.  However, he’s still a 3/6 for five; that’s definitely manageable.  And his ability will probably snag a game here and there.

 

Constructed:  3.0

Casual:  3.0

Limited:  3.0

 

Jason
Chapman
Evil Eye of Orms-By-Gore has often been overshadowed by more efficient Black creatures but it has always been a leading choice as a finishing card for slower Black builds. With 6 on the backside it is practically invulnerable to Burn and also serves as a strong wall to discourage attacks. The 3 power is also very respectable especially since its evasion ability to relatively strong, probably much stronger than Fear. The downsides to this creature are the cost and the fact that it hinders all other creatures you play. Still this card has been overlooked by too many players.

Constructed: This card can often fit into slower decks that build over time - 2.5

Casual: This card fits well in casual Black and Black/Blue decks that are looking for control - 2.5

Limited: This format is all about the battle in the trenches and EEOBG is a huge hurdle - .5

PEZ - EEOBG may not have the punch to fill an Uncommon slot especially since a strong Wall deck exists in the format - 2.5

Chase

Secret Squirrel on the Pojo.com
Message
Boards

Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore

Kind of has creature walk except for walls. Possible use in MBC, as you shouldn’t have anyother creatures, to lay some quick beats after a Pox.  Maybe some uses in other decks.

In Casual, you want your creatures to actually attack. Not just do three damage a turn.  Pass.

In Limited. I still don’t like it. Too controlly for me.

Constructed: 3
Casual: 2
Limited: 2.5
 
 

 

 

 

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