The sparkmage shrieked, calling on the rage of the storms of his youth. To his dismay, the sky responded with an energy he'd hoped never to see again.
Posted By:
RCsamurai
(7/11/2011 12:07:20 AM)
Balanced. Good to have around.
Posted By:
LordOfTheFlies87
(5/17/2012 7:10:02 PM)
Infamously strictly worse than Lightning Bolt, which was last printed in Magic 2011.
Even in Standard, Shock is strictly worse than Mirrodin block's Galvanic Blast.
Posted By:
blindloyalty
(6/18/2012 12:55:50 AM)
The flavor text references our shock at them taking away lightning bolt and replacing it with this. Pun intended.
Posted By:
jsttu
(7/7/2011 10:47:04 PM)
Dear Red,
I say we petition to get our 3-for-1 instants back.
Sincerely,
Green
PS. Don't let Black or Blue know I said this.
Posted By:
DeathDark
(7/9/2011 4:03:04 PM)
A lot of people are complaining, but what are you really losing? After all, your opponents don't have access to Bolt now either, so it's not like you're personally disadvantaged. Nor is red an underrepresented colour this rotation, far from it. If anything it's looking to be the most threatening.
No, all you're losing is an easy decision. Lightning Bolt was so good you didn't have to think about it. If you needed burn, Bolt filled the first 4 slots by default. Now that it's gone, you'll have to choose from among the lesser burn spells, none of which is the standout superior like Bolt was.
Posted By:
Steinhauser
(7/8/2011 12:39:07 AM)
@ Axelle:
Wizards is very meticulous about what card mechanics make it into core sets, and sadly, neither Kicker nor Metalcraft fit the bill for core set material. That said, I will never point this card at anything as long as Burst Lightning and Galvanic Blast are legal.
If I want vanilla 2 damage for {R}, I'll stick with Grim Lavamancer... as soon as I can fork over 40 bucks for a playset.
Posted By:
DacenOctavio
(7/25/2011 1:01:11 AM)
There should be a middle version of lightning bolt and shock.
Lightning Shock
R
Instant
Deal two damage to Target creature or player. Flip a coin. If heads, deal an additonial 1 damage to the target.
Posted By:
Pigfish99
(1/19/2012 6:41:36 AM)
Shock sees play in some highly competitive decks. That alone warrants a higher rating than its current 3 stars.
But I agree that this is underpowered if you want it to be a tournament staple like the Bolt. Surely a balance between the two which hasn't been tried yet is Sorcery-speed Bolt (printed without the copy stuff in Chain Lightning)? Seems fairly costed set against everything else in standard.
Posted By:
djflo
(11/27/2011 7:26:56 AM)