The effect is elegant, but the template is nasty. It wouldn't sound nearly so bad if the two sentences could be combined, but the modality conflicts with that. I want to save this card, but it might take more skills than I posess.

Well, on the one hand, I'm not particularly attached to this card. It was a hole-filling design for a common blue instant affiliated with artifacts. But on the other hand, I don't think the wording is a problem. What do others think?

I think the wording is a little clunky, but not a problem. Perhaps "Choose one -- tap a permanent for each artifact you control; or untap a permanent for each artifact you control".

Or alternatively, "Tap or untap X target permanent controlled by the same player where X is the number of artefacts you control."

If they're targeted (and it's really better if they are), then the X has to be "as you cast ~", because that number can change in response. See the wording of Aether Burst.

Oops. Yes.

I think Aether Burst's and his cycle's wording "as you cast" is mostly there to make it clear that it doesnt count itself as being in the graveyard, in any case there have been effects like these before and they're mostly tap or untap up to x target permanents where x is the number of artifacts you control.

I know what you go for the as you cast the spell though, but i can't think of any example where they actually word it like that, it makes sense that you'd want to have the number of targets locked at that particular time, but aside from aether burst can you think of any example where they word it like that?

­Jaws of Stone and Volcanic Wind (which are actually a similar case, because the rules stop you splitting X damage more than X ways), Reap. It really Doesn't Work if you try to target a variable number that isn't fixed "as you cast".

Note also that the others in the Burst cycle don't say "as you cast": Life Burst, Flame Burst etc determine their value on resolution. You can use instant-speed graveyard removal in response. But Aether Burst has to have the ugly "as you cast" wording, because unlike the others it has X targets.

I stand corrected, yeah i see how they use the "as you cast" to lock the value of the effect.

How does this work for templating the ability ? "Choose one: tap or untap a number of permanents up to the number of artifacts you control when you cast CARDNAME."

Sadly not. You need the semicolon to separate the modal options.