Compare this to Char. For one more W, you effectively gain 6 life, which is decent. And Char was considered one of the best burn spells of its time.
The extra one damage DOES matter.
Posted By:
Abl
(4/23/2013 4:30:05 PM)
Four damage for three mana is fair. See Flame Javelin for an example of that in mono-red. Tacking on some lifegain is worth one more mana. See the original Lightning Helix, which is of course in the same colors as this. With that logic, this is perfectly costed. I give it a 5/5 because it's powerful, but not more powerful than it needs to be.
Posted By:
Continue
(4/23/2013 6:22:58 PM)
I REALLY hope Goblin Electromancer can get this to see play.
Posted By:
.Blaze.
(4/23/2013 6:39:35 PM)
Why is this rated so low? This is an obvious bomb in Limited, and 4 damage for 4 mana was always decent. Throw in the life gain, and this is Constructed playable. We all got spoiled with Lightning Helix.
Posted By:
Gcrudaplaneswalker
(4/24/2013 9:46:02 PM)
8 point life swing for 4 mana at instant speed? It's not Lightning Helix, but this one can kill Restoration Angel so I'm okay with it. Also, flavor text is awesome.
Posted By:
rollinsclone
(4/24/2013 11:10:09 PM)
the extra damage adds up. I don't know if this will see much play but there are lots of creatures with a high toughness that this could reliably deal with.
Posted By:
Smoke_Stack
(4/25/2013 7:54:01 AM)
How this is only a 3.5 at the time of this post is outrageous. This is one of the best removal spells in limited. There are definite other candidates, and it's hard to go past Putrefy from both an effect, cost and rarity standpoint, but unless you're dealing with a 5+ toughness creature Helix actually has the edge due to lifegain. And anyone who thinks that some bonus lifegain on an otherwise good effect is negligible obviously hasn't had a close race before. And then there are always those times when your opponent is on 4 or less life...
This is a very justifiable first pick in draft - and to get that kind of priority, you have a 4+/5 rating.
As for the comment about Spark Trooper - are you high? 2 damage and lifegain isn't nearly as potent as the ability to directly hit creatures if required. Pretty much the only thing Spark has going in its favor is the ability to contribute to Batallion. Don't get me wrong; it's a solid card, but I'd be much happier with a Helix in its place.
Posted By:
JaxsonBateman
(4/25/2013 9:51:32 AM)
It's not Lightning Helix, but Helix is easily one of if not the best red/white cards ever printed and I doubt it'll return to standard any time soon (aside from being an ability tacked on to a creature or planeswalker, like with Firemane Avenger and Ajani Vengeant). That being said, 4 mana is a fair price to pay for 4 damage and 4 life in one package. It's not the spell we probably all wanted, but it's the spell that's fair. Overly competitive people hate fair. The rest of us should enjoy it for what it is: a welcome homage to an old classic.
Posted By:
Avensai
(5/1/2013 3:02:31 AM)
Has anyone noticed that most of the good cards released in the past 2 sets have 4 toughness...! yea ...exactly
5/5
Posted By:
Blackwatch_00
(4/27/2013 3:38:42 PM)
I'm as butt-hurt as the next guy that we didn't get a Lightning Helix reprint, but it's worth noting that this one is still rowdy good in Limited and worthy of some fringe standard play in the america flash lists.
Posted By:
bowlofgumbo
(4/28/2013 11:18:32 PM)