CardName: Enrage the Soul
Cost: 1R
Type: Sorcery
Pow/Tgh: /
Rules Text: Enrage the Soul deals 3 damage to target creature. When that
creature dies this turn, put a 1/1 red Spirit creature token
with haste onto the battlefield.
Flavour Text:
Set/Rarity: Multiverse Design Challenge Uncommon
Enrage the Soul
U
Sorcery
Enrage the Soul deals 3 damage to target creature. When that creature dies this turn, put a 1/1 red Spirit creature token with haste onto the battlefield.
Created for Challenge # 078. I wanted extra challenge, so I asked for 2 random numbers: one for CMC, one for the amount of burn. I got the very plausible pair of 3 damage for 2 mana. Searing Spear, Searing Blaze, Incinerate, Volcanic Hammer. Right. How to do something new but still common or uncommon?
Red has a history of burn spells that occasionally recur themselves from the graveyard. Hammer of Bogardan, Thunderblade Charge, Rekindled Flame, Death Spark... as we can see from those examples, though, their costs go way up and they're usually rare. Even Punishing Fire is less efficient than the terms I have for this challenge. So is Magma Jet. The Searing Spear stats just don't allow a burn spell to have much upside.
One example of a burn spell better than the Searing Spear benchmark is Mizzium Mortars. A possible card advantage option... okay. How about doing something that red does cheaply, and getting burn as well? Smash is one natural idea, but that's Smash to Smithereens. "Can't block" is another option... oh, that's Mugging. I could do a Mugging for 3 for , but that's really dull. Could we invert it and prevent something else from blocking? But what? 2 mana is already fairly cheap for a Falter effect. "All other creatures feels too strong" for 2 mana (reminiscent of Intimidation Bolt for 3 mana in gold, but "nothing can attack" is cheaper than "nothing can block"). One target creature can't block? Sounds rather glue-gun, chinese-menu kind of design.
This has ended up fairly powerful. I imagine aggro red decks would love this. If it's too good then I could easily remove the haste, but not much else while staying within my (self-imposed) restrictions.
Created for Challenge # 078. I wanted extra challenge, so I asked for 2 random numbers: one for CMC, one for the amount of burn. I got the very plausible pair of 3 damage for 2 mana. Searing Spear, Searing Blaze, Incinerate, Volcanic Hammer. Right. How to do something new but still common or uncommon?
Red has a history of burn spells that occasionally recur themselves from the graveyard. Hammer of Bogardan, Thunderblade Charge, Rekindled Flame, Death Spark... as we can see from those examples, though, their costs go way up and they're usually rare. Even Punishing Fire is less efficient than the terms I have for this challenge. So is Magma Jet. The Searing Spear stats just don't allow a burn spell to have much upside.
One example of a burn spell better than the Searing Spear benchmark is Mizzium Mortars. A possible card advantage option... okay. How about doing something that red does cheaply, and getting burn as well? Smash is one natural idea, but that's Smash to Smithereens. "Can't block" is another option... oh, that's Mugging. I could do a Mugging for 3 for
, but that's really dull. Could we invert it and prevent something else from blocking? But what? 2 mana is already fairly cheap for a Falter effect. "All other creatures feels too strong" for 2 mana (reminiscent of Intimidation Bolt for 3 mana in gold, but "nothing can attack" is cheaper than "nothing can block"). One target creature can't block? Sounds rather glue-gun, chinese-menu kind of design.
Finally I reached this idea. Like a mini-Mogg Infestation, or a red Seize the Soul. Alternatively, like a Sparkmage Apprentice that can kill a bunch more stuff but is harder to blink/bounce.
This has ended up fairly powerful. I imagine aggro red decks would love this. If it's too good then I could easily remove the haste, but not much else while staying within my (self-imposed) restrictions.
Oh, good idea for a self-challenge, and good card. Yeah, this looks pretty good, but within the acceptable window.