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CardName: Warstorm Surge Cost: 5R Type: Enchantment Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, it deals damage equal to its power to any target. Flavour Text: Set/Rarity: Savage Unity Rare

Warstorm Surge
{5}{r}
 
 R 
Enchantment
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, it deals damage equal to its power to any target.
Updated on 20 Sep 2017 by WOM Devign Team

Code:

History: [-]

2017-01-09 01:11:32: WOM Devign Team created the card Warstorm Surge
2017-09-14 06:52:34: WOM Devign Team edited Warstorm Surge:

PW redirection change

"Any target"? That sounds like I could target a noncreature, nonplaneswalker permanent with that damage though it would not do anything since such a permanent can't be dealt damage. Considering that this is a mandatory effect, it might even be preferable in cases such as where the opposing player and their creatures have hexproof.

https://twitter.com/mtgaaron/status/906204741209690112

https://twitter.com/mtgaaron/status/906205981993865216

This is probably the exact text Warstom Surge will have if reprinted in 2019 onward or so.

--CF

The comments bring up good counterarguments.

If you made a card that said "Destroy any target" would that mean it's a Vindicate or "Destroy target creature, player, or planeswalker". If the meaning of "any target" differs when it's used in conjunction with the word "damage" that seems extra bad. It also makes the play with animatable lands more confusing since it's really tempting to target them when need be.

I guess it would mean that you couldn't make "destroy any target" card and that "any" would only be reserved for damaging effects? That sounds really awkward as well.

Well, why not deal three damage to a land? It doesn't accomplish anything, but for all intents and purposes the card is the same. Wizards clearly doesn't care about the "no functional changes" or "cards do what they say" guidelines anymore.

Pretty sure this wording only applies to damaging spells. I didn't create the templating, I'm just using it -- although I do think it looks kind of nice and clean, very close to the templating for alpha/beta Lightning Bolt.

--CF

I'm a fan of the simplicity, but not the ambiguity.

Likewise. But the ambiguity should fade somewhat with time (as people play with it and get used to it) while the simplicity will not.

--CF

Ambiguity reduces simplicity in a way and while people may get used to it with time, at that point simplicity is no longer that useful. One of the main purposes of simplicity, as far as I know, is to make the game easier to get into. IMO it being paired with ambiguity is hence self-defeating.

Also it's just inconsistent.

I always thought the "you can choose any target but if the target can't be exiled/damaged/destroyed/whatever then the spell has no effect" approach made sense. I'm pleased to see wizards going that way. Although scared, I hope it's not like it sounds that you have to know "any target" means something specific other than "any".

"I bolt your darn Counterspell, your hand, your graveyard, and your face - literally!"

-@Jack, the Aaron Forscythe tweet is pretty clear that "any target" just goes on damage spells for now and is rules shorthand for "player, creature, or planeswalker" although they could in theory settle on something slightly different for the paper change.

--CF

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