The following FAQ is thanks to Guinea Pig. Please read and follow it.
What does the Orb of Insight count?
The Orb of Insight counts all occurences of a single word in the name(s), mana cost(s), typeline(s), rule text(s), reminder text(s), artist name, and power/toughness of all cards in a given set. It counts mana costs such as 3W and power/toughness combinations such as 2/1 as single words.
The Orb of Insight does not count words found in the flavor texts of cards unless it is somehow broken. That has only been the case once so far.
What is this special code thing?
You must type in the special code you see at the bottom of the Orb to verify that you are an actual human being rather than an automatized process designed to check every word. If you don't see a special code, then something is wrong with the Orb. Check back later.
Does capitalization matter?
No. It matters neither in the search word nor in the special code.
If I get a result of 6 for Dragon, or 15 for Sliver, does that mean there are 6 Dragon/15 Sliver cards in the set?
In all likelihood, no. The orb counts occurences, not cards. A card named "Fiery Dragon" with type "Creature - Dragon" and rules text "Flying; R: Fiery Dragon gets +1/+0 until end of turn" would contribute 3 occurences of the word Dragon. Likewise, Sliver cards usually use the word Sliver at least three times per card (Name, Type, Ability).
I don't get results for searches like "Counter target spell". Why?
The orb does not search phrases, only single words.
I'm getting 1 result for Mountainwalk, but 0 results for walk. Why?
The Orb only counts whole words, not partial words. Likewise, plurals and singulars are different words. If you get 10 results for Goblin and 1 result for Goblins, the former does not include the latter.
There don't seem to be any results for can't, creature's, etc...
The Orb usually has a problem with the apostrophe normally found on keyboards. Copy this->’<-apostrophe and use it in your words. That should do it.
There don't seem to be any results for non-creature, non-land, etc...
For colors, types, and supertypes, you omit the hyphen from the word (noncreature, nonland). You only use the hyphen for subtypes (non-Goblin, non-Lair).
There don't seem to be any results for certain mana costs, such as B3 or GR...
The mana costs follow a strict pattern. The generic cost is always listed first, and X is listed before numbers. For colored mana, the pattern is:
2 colors
WU - UB - BR - RG - GW
UR - WB - BG - RW - GU
How can I search for words that include non-english letters such as ä, ö, ü, or Æ?
Unfortunately, you can't with the current version of the Orb.
How can I find certain symbols such as hybrid mana?
Hybrid mana is C/D, where C is the first color of mana, and D is the second, such as W/U.
Snow mana is S. The untap symbol is Q.
Loyalty symbols for Planeswalker abilities are +N or -N, where N is any number or X.
I'm getting a strange result...
It's likely from an artist name.
... Boros
Zoltan Boros, artist.
... D as single word
D. Alexander Gregory, artist.
... E or M as single words
E. M. Gist, Scott M Fischer, and Thomas M. Baxa, artists.
... Mark as single word
Several artists (Mark Brill, Mark Tedin, Mark Zug). Occasionally a card name.
... rk or post as single word
rk post, artist.
S or Waters as single words
Anthony S Waters, artist. Unless there are many instances of S, then it might be the Snow mana symbol.
... Rush as single word
Christopher Rush, artist. Occasionally a card name.
... Seagrave as single word
Dan Seagrave, artist.
... Walker as single word
Kev Walker, artist. Rarely, there might be a card with Walker in its name.
There seem to be a lot of occurences of certain words...
They're probably normal, and you might be missing another word that usually goes with those words, such as "remove" for "game," or "turn" for "end." On the other hand, you might just have found the name of or a hint to a mechanic!
Also, in a large set, there is a full complement of 20 basic lands, four for each color. Each basic land version provides two instances of the land's name, for a total of 8.
Speculation / Data Inferences Keywords and Mechanics
- Landfall (26 hits)
- Kicker (24 hits) -- 25 references to kicked ("Whenever a spell is kicked?" "Each spell you cast is kicked"?)
- "Trap" cards (14) -- cards that allow you to pay a (cheaper) alternative cost if an opponent meets a condition
- "Quest"/"Expedition" cards -- enchantments that provide a strong benefit based on repeatedly performing an action ("performing a quest/expedition")
- Ascension (15 hits) -- keyword status uncertain (might be the names for the rare (cycle of?) "Quests"?)
- Refuge (15 hits) -- keyword status uncertain (might involve quest counters as well)
Set Contents
- This is a "land matters" block; strong support from the Orb, particularly the instances of "land" (44 instances left over, after deducting for Landfall and all 40 basic lands. It seems the full-art and "normal" ones are both in the Orb.)
- Sorin Markov's ability costs: +2, -3, -7
- Chandra Ablaze's ability costs: +1, -2, -7.
- Nissa Revane's ability costs: +1, +1, -7.
- Nothing from Future Sight was reprinted, including (non-evergreen) mechanics such as delve or poisonous.
- There are zero manlands. ("Still" gets 0 hits. See Treetop Village's wording for what I mean.)
Because she's the hero standard deserves, but not the one it needs right now... and so we'll chase her... because she can take it... because she's not a hero... she's a silent guardian
exploration-0
Sorin-3...so his name appears in the rules text of no cards other than his own.
Emeria-5 probably too many to appear on one card so I guessing that Emeria will be a legendary land or that we will see stuff from there other than Ionia
Karma doesn't exist. You can't depend on it. If you count on it for justice or catharsis, you will find that you have placed your emotions on very unstable ground; and you will either repeat your disappointment in society over and over, or you will engage in a persistent delusion to protect yourself from that feeling.
The following FAQ is thanks to Guinea Pig. Please read and follow it.
The Orb of Insight counts all occurences of a single word in the name(s), mana cost(s), typeline(s), rule text(s), reminder text(s), artist name, and power/toughness of all cards in a given set. It counts mana costs such as 3W and power/toughness combinations such as 2/1 as single words.
The Orb of Insight does not count words found in the flavor texts of cards unless it is somehow broken. That has only been the case once so far.
What is this special code thing?
You must type in the special code you see at the bottom of the Orb to verify that you are an actual human being rather than an automatized process designed to check every word. If you don't see a special code, then something is wrong with the Orb. Check back later.
Does capitalization matter?
No. It matters neither in the search word nor in the special code.
If I get a result of 6 for Dragon, or 15 for Sliver, does that mean there are 6 Dragon/15 Sliver cards in the set?
In all likelihood, no. The orb counts occurences, not cards. A card named "Fiery Dragon" with type "Creature - Dragon" and rules text "Flying; R: Fiery Dragon gets +1/+0 until end of turn" would contribute 3 occurences of the word Dragon. Likewise, Sliver cards usually use the word Sliver at least three times per card (Name, Type, Ability).
I don't get results for searches like "Counter target spell". Why?
The orb does not search phrases, only single words.
I'm getting 1 result for Mountainwalk, but 0 results for walk. Why?
The Orb only counts whole words, not partial words. Likewise, plurals and singulars are different words. If you get 10 results for Goblin and 1 result for Goblins, the former does not include the latter.
There don't seem to be any results for can't, creature's, etc...
The Orb usually has a problem with the apostrophe normally found on keyboards. Copy this->’<-apostrophe and use it in your words. That should do it.
There don't seem to be any results for non-creature, non-land, etc...
For colors, types, and supertypes, you omit the hyphen from the word (noncreature, nonland). You only use the hyphen for subtypes (non-Goblin, non-Lair).
There don't seem to be any results for certain mana costs, such as B3 or GR...
The mana costs follow a strict pattern. The generic cost is always listed first, and X is listed before numbers. For colored mana, the pattern is:
2 colors
WU - UB - BR - RG - GW
UR - WB - BG - RW - GU
3 colors
WUB - UBR - BRG - RGW - GWU
WBR - URG - BGW - RWU - GUB
4 colors
WUBR - UBRG - BRGW - RGWU - GWUB
5 colors
WUBRG
How can I search for words that include non-english letters such as ä, ö, ü, or Æ?
Unfortunately, you can't with the current version of the Orb.
How can I find certain symbols such as hybrid mana?
Hybrid mana is C/D, where C is the first color of mana, and D is the second, such as W/U.
Snow mana is S. The untap symbol is Q.
Loyalty symbols for Planeswalker abilities are +N or -N, where N is any number or X.
I'm getting a strange result...
It's likely from an artist name.
... Boros
Zoltan Boros, artist.
... D as single word
D. Alexander Gregory, artist.
... E or M as single words
E. M. Gist, Scott M Fischer, and Thomas M. Baxa, artists.
... Mark as single word
Several artists (Mark Brill, Mark Tedin, Mark Zug). Occasionally a card name.
... rk or post as single word
rk post, artist.
S or Waters as single words
Anthony S Waters, artist. Unless there are many instances of S, then it might be the Snow mana symbol.
... Rush as single word
Christopher Rush, artist. Occasionally a card name.
... Seagrave as single word
Dan Seagrave, artist.
... Walker as single word
Kev Walker, artist. Rarely, there might be a card with Walker in its name.
There seem to be a lot of occurences of certain words...
They're probably normal, and you might be missing another word that usually goes with those words, such as "remove" for "game," or "turn" for "end." On the other hand, you might just have found the name of or a hint to a mechanic!
Also, in a large set, there is a full complement of 20 basic lands, four for each color. Each basic land version provides two instances of the land's name, for a total of 8.
Speculation / Data Inferences
Keywords and Mechanics
- Landfall (26 hits)
- Kicker (24 hits) -- 25 references to kicked ("Whenever a spell is kicked?" "Each spell you cast is kicked"?)
- "Trap" cards (14) -- cards that allow you to pay a (cheaper) alternative cost if an opponent meets a condition
- "Quest"/"Expedition" cards -- enchantments that provide a strong benefit based on repeatedly performing an action ("performing a quest/expedition")
- Ascension (15 hits) -- keyword status uncertain (might be the names for the rare (cycle of?) "Quests"?)
- Refuge (15 hits) -- keyword status uncertain (might involve quest counters as well)
Set Contents
- This is a "land matters" block; strong support from the Orb, particularly the instances of "land" (44 instances left over, after deducting for Landfall and all 40 basic lands. It seems the full-art and "normal" ones are both in the Orb.)
- Sorin Markov's ability costs: +2, -3, -7
- Chandra Ablaze's ability costs: +1, -2, -7.
- Nissa Revane's ability costs: +1, +1, -7.
- Nothing from Future Sight was reprinted, including (non-evergreen) mechanics such as delve or poisonous.
- There are zero manlands. ("Still" gets 0 hits. See Treetop Village's wording for what I mean.)
Possible Reprints
- Cancel (Common)
- Demolish (Common)
- Harrow (Common?)
- Mind Sludge (Uncommon)
- River Boa (Common?)
- Magma Burst (Common?)(Crunching says no...?)- Ravenous Baloth (Uncommon?)(No cost support.)- Cartographer (Common?)(Directly debunked.)- Defense of the Heart (Rare)(No rares/mythics.)This thread is for discussion of the compiled orb results ONLY.
Past Ruminations
Links are broken, will fix in near future.
- Kaladesh
- Zendikar
- Rise of the Eldrazi
- Alara Reborn
- Innistrad <- Personal Favorite
- Dark Ascension
- Avacyn Restored
- Theros
- Return to Ravnica
- Tarkir
- Main Cube
- No Brains, All Feelings Cube
edit: Kor has 28
EllE:
6 Angel
8 Human
29: Enchantment
39: Instant
25: Sorcery
241: Creature
4: Legendary
4: White
2: BLue
4:Black
4: red
5: Green
11 Equipment
106 land
1: 28
2: 25
3: 9
4: 12
5: 11
6: 4
7: 2
8: 2
9: 0
10: 3
0: Crucible
25: Kicked
24: Kicker
0: Kick (as in Kick target spell)
2: River
0: Tears (no river of tears cycle)
21: Plains
20: Island
19: swamp
19: mountain
20: Forest
0: Wasteland
3: Nonbasic
13: Destroy
6: Exile
28: Deals
48: Damage
21: Graveyard
51: Library
0: Stack
12: Token
37: counter
92: target
14: spell
3: Copy
Calvin and Hobbes
Cube Tutor
Modern: :symu::symb::symr: Reanimator + :symr::symg: Tron + :symu::symr: Twin
19 on mountain
loss 2
Sorin-3...so his name appears in the rules text of no cards other than his own.
Emeria-5 probably too many to appear on one card so I guessing that Emeria will be a legendary land or that we will see stuff from there other than Ionia
Rain-0 no stone rain or rain of tears
River-2
Tears-0
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die."
- H.P. Lovecraft
- Main Cube
- No Brains, All Feelings Cube
Well it would seem that the guy from Maro's tips is the only one.
I would say that makes it likely that he is a Mythic, otherwise Rare.
There's no proof she's being chased
by ninja squirrels either. - Dr. Wilson
Cost-2
interesting
Thanks goes to SpiderBoy4 for this banner. Check out the following thread link for more: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=91142
token = 12
land = 106
goblin = 17
angel = 6
- Main Cube
- No Brains, All Feelings Cube
1 dragon
2 demon --> so baneslayer has protection from 3 cards in ZEN
Burn = 1
Exploration = 0
Nissa = 2
20 for island
21 plains
20 for forest
19 swamp
Burn - 1
Burning, Burned, Burnt - 0
Electropotence - 1
Red - 4
Green - 5
White - 4
Blue - 2
Black - 4
Eight - 1 (the octopus?)
Counters - 23
Rogue - 3
8/8 - 3
Kor - 28
Blood - 5
Time - 1
Graveyard - 21
Exile - 6
Exiled - 1
Quest - 45!!!!
About Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx:
9 Elf (0 elves)
6 Angel
2 Demon
1 Dragon
24 kicker
34 trap
43 basic
20 island
19 mountain
20 forest
21 plains
19 swamp
106 land