Many simple common spells can be implemented in terms of simple Geasses Lelouch applies through the series. One of the first and most iconic is his first Geass, when he orders a squad of soldiers to "Die!" They shoot themselves with their own pistols.

The mechanic here is one possible mechanical identity of Geass. Targeted spells (both sorceries/instants and also Auras) can have the Geass subtype, and a creature can only ever be hit by one Geass. Yes, this does mean you can give your own creatures beneficial Geasses partly to protect them from offensive ones like this.

­Kiku's Shadow and Repentance were uncommon, though Wrack with Madness was common. As an efficient removal spell this probably wants to not be common, though the limited format in this set is looking like it'll have enough differences from a normal set that I don't know whether the arguments for common removal being Flesh to Dust's price rather than Murder's price will hold.

To quote maro - if your theme isn't common, it's not your theme.

This is the most obvious basic common geass. It needs to be common.

I don't know if you saw over on the main Geass page, where I was saying there'd be at least ten common Geasses?

There need to be lots of Geasses at common for the interaction I proposed on the Geass page to work, absolutely. But I don't think I want them to be as efficient removal spells as this one will be. Black will have two or three common Geasses, as will every other colour; but this particular card might not be one of them.

Or are you saying this needs to be common because Lelouch does it so often in the series?

I'm saying some kind of "Ok, you - DIE" needs to be one of the common geass, yes.

Suggest using something like "Controller of target creature sacrifices it at the end of their next turn" or some similar slow death for it.

Seeing a geass as removal is odd mechanically, because once you kill the creature with the geass, what's the point of the geass mechanic?

Yeah, I like the design of this, but I agree it's slightly odd. I guess, part of the purposes of geasses in this set is to protect creatures against negative geasses, so there have to be some fairly good removal geasses for that to matter.

I thought "damage to itself" was usually red, but obviously the flavour of "geass to die" is very black. I'm not positive which way I'd go.

"Damage to itself" has been in three colours as I mentioned above: black has the most precedent with both Kiku's Shadow and Kiku, Night's Flower, but it was white before that twice (Repentance, Wave of Reckoning) and red after, but only once (Wrack with Madness). I think it certainly can still be black if there's good flavour justification for it. And the flavour here is both very black (overriding someone's will to make them kill themselves) and very iconic (the moment at the end of the first episode when we first see what Geass does and what Lelouch is willing to do). In fact, let me add the art now.

This moment is perhaps the most memorable Geass to Die, with the image of all those soldiers shooting themselves (along with Lelouch's grin afterwards). And pointing a pistol at yourself is very much not a slow lingering death. I do like the way that even in Magic terminology it sounds like the creature that's dying is the one doing the killing: "deals damage... to itself".

Link's confusion indicates part of why I wanted to keep Geasses that are kill spells out of common.