People who give this a low score are confused. This is easily one of the best one drops every created. This card has dominated past tournaments and been in many top decks, especially when Kithkin was big. The fact that the current tournament scene doesn’t support it doesn’t mean anything. Pick these up when they’re cheap because they will be big again, and you won’t regret it.

  -- By Lucca from Madison on April 04, 2011

Comapre this to kargan dragonlord. LOL! But no, i must say that goblin guide is insanely better than this. But this is really good too.

  -- By George Heim from NJ, USA on March 31, 2011

I do not have the room to explain it here, but a person who has read and understood "The Art of War" will know the reasons for my one star rating. It is amazing how much of that book is relevant to the game of Magic.

  -- By Rising Son from Mt. Fuji on January 19, 2011

If you are very lucky, you might be able to level him up completely by turn 4. That's if you don't spend any mana on anything else. If you are casting other spells, you are probably not going to have 6 mana available all at once until turn 6 at the earliest. That is WAY too slow for tournament play. It is sad that people see a pro using a card and just assume that it must be an awesome card, instead of actually putting some of their own thought into it. Be a wizard, not a robot.

  -- By You know who from You know where on January 04, 2011

You people who say it doesn't get tournament play are wrong. There's a deck in extended this year that's top 8'ed with these, students of warfare, and ranger of eos'. Think about it. It rocks. the thing that makes figure good is you don't have to "level" him as a sorcery... save your mana for your paths or what have you and if you don't need them, level him. He's so good.

  -- By Eric from Lethbridge, AB, Canada on December 23, 2010

I haven't seen anyone have much success with these in competitive play. The reason is because it is basically a waste of your mana. Consider this... Once this is in play, you basically have two choices. You either start sinking mana into it immediately, leaving you with no mana for additional spells, or you let it sit there as a vanilla creature while you spend your mana on other spells. Neither option is a good one. Figure may work well for you in the tournament at your local comic book store, but it is not for high level competition.

  -- By Kitsune from Canada on August 24, 2010

Debating on using this or Student of Warfare as solid 1 drop. This has splashability and instant speed activation and can be used with red excel(s), while the student has higher initial payoff w/ being made 3/3 First Strike and being a cheaper card. Hrm... Real good card, forces opponent to have to get rid of him

  -- By Jay from Minneapolis, MN USA on August 19, 2010

Mark N from Marshfield, is wrong wrong; Figure of Destiny sees play at tournaments. It's a great card because you won't have to pay the entire ability at once. You won't have to build your deck around it to make it work because the abilities can be used whenever you have some spare mana. I do admit that it's being overshadowed by Goblin Guide, but in the long run, Figure of Destiny is way better. Goblin Guide can be taken care of immediadly, but Figure of Destiny soon grows out of Lightning Bolt range and becomes a major threat. No one ever said that you had to prioritize "leveling up" your Figure of Destiny before focusing on having mana for your burn spells and additional creatures.

  -- By Jens N from Denmark on April 18, 2010

Are you ppl crazy? Theres a reason nobody plays these in tournaments... it sucks...alot! Lets see, 2 mana for a 2/2 with no abilities, or 6 mana for a 4/4 with no abilities, or a total of 11 mana for the 8/8, which has some abilities, but will take you so long to play that ;by the time you do, it will be far too late to do you any good. You would have to design your deck around this to get it to work well, but if if you are counting on this to get you a win, you will be very disappointed because its not the kind of creature that can win games on its own.

  -- By Mark N from Marshfield, Wisconsin on March 11, 2010

To the person from Australia, that is the point of the card. It forces your opponent with the dilemma of taking it out early on or waiting after they pump up up. Now if they choose to take it out early on the owner doesn't care, they only invested 1 or 2 into the card. Your opponent just wasted a form of removal on a 1 drop.

  -- By Anonymous from MI, USA on September 08, 2009

...the good thing about this card is that you dont need to tapped it when you use its ability.... having 4pcs in your deck is a wise choice, perfect for kithkin deck...

  -- By kith from Philippines on June 11, 2009

..perfect for kithkin deck hehehe, 5-6 turn, the end....

  -- By Kith from Philippines on June 11, 2009

i know it is extremely versatile but because if players use it as a first turn 1 drop then it is definitely going to get blown up. Even if it survives for a few more turns your opponent will at some point respond to you paying its ability cost. Simply because it is a 1 drop usable up to turn 10 doesn't mean it should be so severly overrated. Look it can be Darblasted, Flame Jabbed or using some other crappy card called terror (now that is is standard). It has no evasion so it is vulnerable if you keep it in hand to thoughtseize. his 3rd ability becomes a headache if they terror it in response to you paying its ability cost. Dont get annoyed if they Rend Spirit it (lols!). You've just lost a turn's tempo and your tapped out. for those who think it can be done during your opponent's turn well isn't that really control. n.b. definition of aggro is to expend as much resources to bring your opponent down in the quickest amount of time. so i dont understand why r/w aggro kithkin decks are using it other than a making it a 2/2 and a 4/4.

  -- By Anonymous from Australia on May 26, 2009

This card is truly awesome and probably even more awesome in red decks, because red is always hurting for a strong two-drop. strong one-drops there are plenty, but 2d's of quality are rare. Hybrid nature can come in handy many times (bloom tender, etc.) The best part of this guy is that hes a one drop soldier, a grizzly bear or a late game 4/4 for 5. that's versatility! I would love to see wizards experiment more this this "mana invested over time" idea. It's a whole new level of the game I feel. Hopefully in zendikar! lol. hate to burst the bubble, but if figure gets hit with a shock, and you activate it in response, it will be a 2/2 and it will have 2 damage on it, and it will still die. I won a game because my opponent believed he could save his figure this way. It's important to know how your cards work!

  -- By therorschach from Chicago, IL on April 02, 2009

a cycle of these would have pretty amazing! =D anyway, this doesn't even need explaining. just drop it turn 1, then swing for 2, then 4 on turn 3! the problem is...it eats ur mana! a good deck w/ a good curve plays something on turn 1, 2, and 3, or 2 and 3 or 1 and 3. just one?? if it gets flame javelin'd at ur EOT then you've wasted 3 turns on nothing. however, some ppl say you can shock this in response to boosting it secnd time. while this is true, you can respond by boosting it again! lol it still eats up your mana~ meh.

  -- By greg from here on December 11, 2008

awesome, got four when it first came out because I knew the price would skyrocket, 15 at this time

  -- By Fireproof from cumberland VA on August 09, 2008

Simply an amazing creature; from a one drop all the way to Akroma. It's just too bad they didn't make a cycle of these =/

  -- By Warden from Franklin, TN on August 01, 2008