No, Lightning Bolt. Lava Spike is kinda at Sorcery speed, and has a lot of additional text (and doesn't appear in this card's art).
raptorjesus69
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
Rats, doesn't look like they're reprinting this in Scars of Mirrodin...
channelblaze
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
Actually, lava spike only hits players, so you're both right. I would probably call it more lava spiky, but it's really both, you know?
But yeah, seriously, it's sorta depressing that new cards are strictly better than old variants (i.e. this and shatter, the new galvanic blast and shock, terra stomper and force of nature...well, you get the point).
blurrymadness
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(5 votes)
@Channel Blaze
To be fair, some cards have to be improved for people to consider them decent. Shock is way newer than Lightning Bolt, both are common rarity, and there are plenty of strictly better cards than shock. I believe Burst Lightning is the same way (2 damage that can instead be 4.) Why does shock exist? Because there is a need for other cards in some decks to deal 2 damage. Maybe you want Shock Lightning Bolt Galvanic Blast Burst Lightning etc all maindeck.. for some reason. Point is, that's not power creep, it's just bad card design.
Terra stomper IS better than nearly everything green has to offer in a vaccuum, however in green blue you could easily throw your Force of Nature to the opponent, tap it or toss it back into your hand, and use it as a backwards unblockable way to deal 8 damage to an opponent. Creativity in Magic is the ability to utilize a downside for a significant upside, and i'd say near unblockable 8 damage to an opponent would be worth the effort, especially with the option to use it as a beater.
Sometimes cards just suck. Shatter is one of those. This card is strictly worse than some cards, such as Lightning Bolt, unless your opponent has artifacts. There are better Naturalize, there are many 1 cost destroy artifacts (oxidize, crumble, etc) and many many goblins do it efficiently.
Lastly and most importantly, cards are not developed for outside the block (for the most part.) Sometimes the extra damage is needed to balance the card with the block, other times it's needed to be more plain so you can keep internal balance from succumbing as easily to a few OP cards. For the most part there are still internal balance issues, but when you look at some of the early blocks and choice cards from sets, they line up pretty good with choice cards from later sets.
Let's go back to Terra Stomper, there are LOADS of terrible-but-large green beatsticks, the fact is, other good ones are in the same power level as Terra stomper. Look at Roar of the Worm. 4 Mana Flashback for a 6/6? That's awesome! Anything that discards it saves you 3 mana, or you can pay 7 for your first, and 4 for your second. Point is, it's an awesome cards that's way old. 6/6 for 4 beats out many of the slower combos you'll be able to name. Name a faster combo like the Progenitus ones, Dreadnought combos, or hypergenesis or whatever and you're merely disproving your own point. The game's powercreep is surprisingly exaggerated. While some things are blatently better, they remain tolerable or nigh inexistent in extended+, and in the current blocks are fine by competing with similar level cards.
Usually there are neat benefits to worse Terra Stompers, such as Krosan tusker's awesome cycling+fetchland. He's a terrible creature for the mana cost, but at the same time, he's an awesome card.
Kryptnyt
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(5 votes)
Not "strictly" better than shatter. Imagine your opponent giving you a Jinxed Idol for example, when you don't have anything to sacrifice.
Gabriel422
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(8 votes)
Come on, Wizards, admit it - barring 'metal world' situations, Shatter has been outdated for about 10 years.
Set the new standard at R for an artifact destroyed. Now. You can do this.
ClockworkSwordfish
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(8 votes)
HOSE DEM RECENT BLOCKS
Carkki
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It was very solid before, but now it's very playable cause of all the artifact based blocks we're getting.
Shatter is better when you want to kill your own artifact and don't want to do damage to yourself, or want to kill an opponent's artifact and don't want to damage them.
In other words, almost never.
DritzD27
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@Gabriel422 Your wish is to be granted with Smelt coming in M13.
I got a question about the rules on the Bloodchief Ascension / Mindcrank combo. I was playing the other day and this combo come out. The other guy hit 3 on Bloodchief Ascension counter. I played a Smash to Smithereens to kill Mindcrank. The other guy said because I played Smash to Smithereens I was done, it was a trigger starting a life kill & card burn cycle, which was done when I'm out of cards. I knew if I didn't kill it I was toast. Mindcrank. I knew it would happen that's why I played Smash to Smithereens to kill the Mindcrank. How can there be a cycle if I am thowing a card to kill Mindcrank? Somebody explain it cause I just don't understand. He said it was like the my playing the card never happed. Again,Somebody explain it cause I just don't understand.
Daeodolon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@MR_BREAZE
That guy couldn't be more wrong. Smash to Smithereens resolves and destroys Mindcrank before it's effect is activated. Therefore the artifact's ability no longer works when Bloodchief Ascension triggers. To sum it up, the infinite loop is not created. You just lose 2 life, while your opponent loses 1 (he actualy gains 2 and loses 3 at the same time).
Silence9
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Perfect sideboard for legacy, LEGACY! It's a smelt and lava spike glued together! Destroying their batter skull or wurmcoil while keeping the clock going.
Comments (22)
At any time!
4.5/5
Not lightning bolt people, it's clouser to lava spike (ignoring arcane tricks)
No, Lightning Bolt. Lava Spike is kinda at Sorcery speed, and has a lot of additional text (and doesn't appear in this card's art).
But yeah, seriously, it's sorta depressing that new cards are strictly better than old variants (i.e. this and shatter, the new galvanic blast and shock, terra stomper and force of nature...well, you get the point).
To be fair, some cards have to be improved for people to consider them decent. Shock is way newer than Lightning Bolt, both are common rarity, and there are plenty of strictly better cards than shock. I believe Burst Lightning is the same way (2 damage that can instead be 4.) Why does shock exist? Because there is a need for other cards in some decks to deal 2 damage. Maybe you want Shock Lightning Bolt Galvanic Blast Burst Lightning etc all maindeck.. for some reason. Point is, that's not power creep, it's just bad card design.
Terra stomper IS better than nearly everything green has to offer in a vaccuum, however in green blue you could easily throw your Force of Nature to the opponent, tap it or toss it back into your hand, and use it as a backwards unblockable way to deal 8 damage to an opponent. Creativity in Magic is the ability to utilize a downside for a significant upside, and i'd say near unblockable 8 damage to an opponent would be worth the effort, especially with the option to use it as a beater.
Sometimes cards just suck. Shatter is one of those. This card is strictly worse than some cards, such as Lightning Bolt, unless your opponent has artifacts. There are better Naturalize, there are many 1 cost destroy artifacts (oxidize, crumble, etc) and many many goblins do it efficiently.
Lastly and most importantly, cards are not developed for outside the block (for the most part.) Sometimes the extra damage is needed to balance the card with the block, other times it's needed to be more plain so you can keep internal balance from succumbing as easily to a few OP cards. For the most part there are still internal balance issues, but when you look at some of the early blocks and choice cards from sets, they line up pretty good with choice cards from later sets.
Let's go back to Terra Stomper, there are LOADS of terrible-but-large green beatsticks, the fact is, other good ones are in the same power level as Terra stomper. Look at Roar of the Worm. 4 Mana Flashback for a 6/6? That's awesome! Anything that discards it saves you 3 mana, or you can pay 7 for your first, and 4 for your second. Point is, it's an awesome cards that's way old. 6/6 for 4 beats out many of the slower combos you'll be able to name. Name a faster combo like the Progenitus ones, Dreadnought combos, or hypergenesis or whatever and you're merely disproving your own point. The game's powercreep is surprisingly exaggerated. While some things are blatently better, they remain tolerable or nigh inexistent in extended+, and in the current blocks are fine by competing with similar level cards.
Usually there are neat benefits to worse Terra Stompers, such as Krosan tusker's awesome cycling+fetchland. He's a terrible creature for the mana cost, but at the same time, he's an awesome card.
Set the new standard at R for an artifact destroyed. Now. You can do this.
In other words, almost never.
That guy couldn't be more wrong.
Smash to Smithereens resolves and destroys Mindcrank before it's effect is activated. Therefore the artifact's ability no longer works when Bloodchief Ascension triggers.
To sum it up, the infinite loop is not created. You just lose 2 life, while your opponent loses 1 (he actualy gains 2 and loses 3 at the same time).