Worst designed MTG card I have ever come across. It ruins games.
cipher_sec
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(6 votes)
It would be if the ONLY cost was your own loss of life. You still have to pay the mana cost of "X" plus one black mana. Lots of people have made that mistake including myself upon first glance.
Shadraz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(15 votes)
This card is quite the win in Multiplayer these days. With the new lands from Zendikar, its a turn 2 win!
Turn 1: Play Akoum Refuge tapped into play. Gain 1 life.
Turn 2: Play Bonds of Agony, pay 20 life. Hope that they don't have something to counter it.
????
= Profit!
BladeAce
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(13 votes)
it says as an additinal cost, not x as mana other wise it would just say
Each other player loses X life. becuse you payed x in the casting cost. but in fact it says
"As an additional cost to cast Bond of Agony, pay X life.
Each other player loses X life."
your paying life not mana.
BambooNickel
★☆☆☆☆ (1.9/5.0)(5 votes)
why is everyone confused by this card and try to play it in "turn 1: gain a life, turn 2: win" decks. just read the whole card
Nikeyeia
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(7 votes)
This cards cost is equal to:
B Mana
X Mana
X Life
You cant just drop a "gain one life" card, and then say "I pay 20 life and you loose 20 life". You will have to pay the mana too.
Just read the whole card, including its mana cost. Geez.
John-Bender
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
I once went to a tournament and this kid keep on playing this card and saying you only have to pay . Because this kid keep trying to get an easy win. One of the promoters made an announcement saying you have to pay (1)+ including the Life. I don't know what happened to the kid but he was ***ed.
Folesauce
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(5 votes)
This card is not confusing, people are just stupid. It's a bad card.
RizzoTG
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(10 votes)
Hmm well I disagree, this works well in my
FASTBOND, Cruicible of worlds, Zuran orb deck, Sanguine Bond deck.... Many first hand Wins
metalevolence
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
this just seems bad. even " sorcery target player loses x life" wouldn't be exciting. Now they've printed suffer the past, which, although limited by the size of an opponent's graveyard, usually allows you to use as much mana as you want anyway... and is instant speed and hoses graveyards and gains you life instead of draining you too. I guess the only remarkable thing here is the ability to hit multiple opponents.
Tiggurix
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Reading the comments on this page makes me realise why they designed the card such as it is, as it could easily be quite broken. It also makes me realise just how stupid (or unobservant(or both)) some Magic players really are.
Anyway, it's an interesting card. Obviously a multiplayer card, as it gets progressively better the more opponents you're up against. I can imagine it easily getting a card slot in an Archenemy deck, which is where it demonstrates its true potential, as an Archenemy has twice as much life as his/her adversaries, and usually a lot of them too.
As RizzoTG already stated, this card is one of the great finishers to use with the infinite mana/life combo with Crucible of Worlds, Zuran Orb, and Fastbond. It's personally my favorite finisher since it doesn't target your opponents, so you don't have to deal with the bull**** that is Leyline of Sanctity.
TasPap
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I play this on emperor as a general and take out myself along with everyone else. Good thing my emperor played a lifegain deck so we actually won :P
A bad card made utterly obsolete with the addition of Exsanguinate
This card should have been designed like Hatred, a moderately expensive but fixed cost with a life payment defining X. costing B would be excessively overpowered, costing 4BB would be right on target.
JoeyWalker
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
so basically "Each player loses X life.". That'll get us far. haha
Gelzo
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(12 votes)
"Mwa ha ha! We're going to watch the entire first season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!"
"OH GOD NO!" "NOOOOOO!"
orisiti
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
I think this should have been in Dark Ascension. To me it seems to fit the flavor, and it would give players an interesting way to trigger their Fateful Hour.
I suppose with all (unwarranted) confusion, I doubt that it will ever get reprinted, but it would be a fun addition.
surreysmith
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
so IF you have mana equal to your life +1 swamp, and if you are you are winning by at least one life and if the opponent doesn't have something to counter it, THEN it's a game winner.
DoragonShinzui
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
...Kinky.
TheWrathofShane
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I wish it did say , Each player looses life. That way if its countered, you don't loose anything. As written, if they counter you loose the life and they don't. I guess this way it also prevents draw situations. If you have 1 health left, and are capable of producing you could cause a draw. In order to one shot a mutliplayer game, you need to gain 1 health first, then use this and hope it does not get countered.
For aggro decks, you would probably want to splash and grab Banefire, or just use Consume Spirit as your finisher.
Still this card can probably find a home in someones ffa deck, or even in a 1v1 deck, if you can take advantage of causing yourself to loose life.
twiddleman12
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I use this in my black white deck with children of korlis. Does that make me a bad person?
Kodanshi
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love the flavour for this card. That is just so utterly like Rakdos cultists, I love it!
I think a "hatred" variant would be fine at 5 mana. It'd result in plenty of short T3 "dark ritual" games, but just as many "dark ritual. Bond of agony." "In response, Lightning Bolt" games; making the decks essentially a weak combo deck; and thus benefitting a standard aggro deck more.
I honestly think "hatred" should be a keyword; such as on Toxic Deluge, and be a common black mechanic.
Either way, this is absurdly weak compared to it's predecessor's as well as it's later brethren.
N03y3D33R
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Fun with Hidetsugo's Second Rite.
Mode
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"Each player loses twice X life." would have been a lot more insteresting. (Albeit potentially too strong.)
It has some appeal in multiplayer, but again, it also has less of an impact because players have more life.
Comments (29)
Turn 1: Play Akoum Refuge tapped into play. Gain 1 life.
Turn 2: Play Bonds of Agony, pay 20 life. Hope that they don't have something to counter it.
????
= Profit!
Each other player loses X life. becuse you payed x in the casting cost. but in fact it says
"As an additional cost to cast Bond of Agony, pay X life.
Each other player loses X life."
your paying life not mana.
B Mana
X Mana
X Life
You cant just drop a "gain one life" card, and then say "I pay 20 life and you loose 20 life". You will have to pay the mana too.
Just read the whole card, including its mana cost. Geez.
FASTBOND, Cruicible of worlds, Zuran orb deck, Sanguine Bond deck.... Many first hand Wins
Anyway, it's an interesting card. Obviously a multiplayer card, as it gets progressively better the more opponents you're up against. I can imagine it easily getting a card slot in an Archenemy deck, which is where it demonstrates its true potential, as an Archenemy has twice as much life as his/her adversaries, and usually a lot of them too.
This card should have been designed like Hatred, a moderately expensive but fixed cost with a life payment defining X. costing B would be excessively overpowered, costing 4BB would be right on target.
"OH GOD NO!" "NOOOOOO!"
I suppose with all (unwarranted) confusion, I doubt that it will ever get reprinted, but it would be a fun addition.
For aggro decks, you would probably want to splash
Still this card can probably find a home in someones ffa deck, or even in a 1v1 deck, if you can take advantage of causing yourself to loose life.
Does that make me a bad person?
I think a "hatred" variant would be fine at 5 mana. It'd result in plenty of short T3 "dark ritual" games, but just as many "dark ritual. Bond of agony." "In response, Lightning Bolt" games; making the decks essentially a weak combo deck; and thus benefitting a standard aggro deck more.
I honestly think "hatred" should be a keyword; such as on Toxic Deluge, and be a common black mechanic.
Either way, this is absurdly weak compared to it's predecessor's as well as it's later brethren.
It has some appeal in multiplayer, but again, it also has less of an impact because players have more life.
As it is, you'll want Drain Life/Consume Spirit instead in 19/20 times.