CardName: Bone Implosion
Cost: 3B
Type: Sorcery
Pow/Tgh: /
Rules Text: Target player loses life equal to the number of cards in
your graveyard.
Flavour Text:
Set/Rarity: Multiverse Design Challenge Common
Bone Implosion
C
Sorcery
Target player loses life equal to the number of cards in your graveyard.
Cranked the cost on this one up, relative to Bone Scrying and Bone Scour, because this is a potent reward if you get to ten or more cards in your graveyard, which can be pretty easy. This would be an easy victory condition for old Odyssey-block threshold decks, for example.
I think maybe this effect just isn't costable at common; "number of cards in graveyard" is usually small but can fairly easily be quite large, so this is effect is just too swingy for limited, and if it were costed expensively, would be not that useful. With "number of cards in graveyard" effects, I try to choose things that are naturally limited (like damage to creature), or things that the opponent can answer (like P/T).
Yeah, I think you're probably right. +X/-X would be a viable alternative, but not in the same set as Bone Scour.
Strength from the Fallen and Wreath of Geists are the +X/+X version, but with the much more restrictive counting of only creature cards in your graveyard, which... I thought didn't feel quite so Grixis, but I could see that being reasonable.
To me, "creature cards" feels very Grixis, but it's difficult because it anti-synergises with the shard mechanic. I wonder if there's anything similar that would work?
I know I'm late to the party, but it seems this card would have been a lot more balanced if it exiled the cards from the graveyard, too. At least that would stop someone from casting these turn after turn. Alternatively, this could have been something like this:
Variable Bone Implosion
Sorcery
Exile X target cards from any number of graveyards. Target player loses X life.
Okay, I'm a little away from where the card was originally. You get the idea.
Created for Challenge # 116.
Cranked the cost on this one up, relative to Bone Scrying and Bone Scour, because this is a potent reward if you get to ten or more cards in your graveyard, which can be pretty easy. This would be an easy victory condition for old Odyssey-block threshold decks, for example.
This could be nuts in Commander.
Yeah. It's hard to find a balanced spot where this will be useful without being explosively abusive.
I think maybe this effect just isn't costable at common; "number of cards in graveyard" is usually small but can fairly easily be quite large, so this is effect is just too swingy for limited, and if it were costed expensively, would be not that useful. With "number of cards in graveyard" effects, I try to choose things that are naturally limited (like damage to creature), or things that the opponent can answer (like P/T).
Yeah, I think you're probably right. +X/-X would be a viable alternative, but not in the same set as Bone Scour.
Strength from the Fallen and Wreath of Geists are the +X/+X version, but with the much more restrictive counting of only creature cards in your graveyard, which... I thought didn't feel quite so Grixis, but I could see that being reasonable.
To me, "creature cards" feels very Grixis, but it's difficult because it anti-synergises with the shard mechanic. I wonder if there's anything similar that would work?
I know I'm late to the party, but it seems this card would have been a lot more balanced if it exiled the cards from the graveyard, too. At least that would stop someone from casting these turn after turn. Alternatively, this could have been something like this:
Variable Bone Implosion
Sorcery
Exile X target cards from any number of graveyards. Target player loses X life.
Okay, I'm a little away from where the card was originally. You get the idea.