I love cards like this, just screaming to be comboed with. That's what makes a good rare. Not powercreep.
KyoDarkFire
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Such an annoying card.... but yes its Ball Lightning friend al the way and forever
Frozenwings
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
this is only card in SoM which i'm excited when i first saw it
if you have this card on battlefield, you need counterspells for opponent's creatures that have come-into-battlefield abilities for sure
Gemstone386
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I'm assuming that you guys mean that these creatures work well if your opponent controls Disappation Field. (Unless you're thinking of something I'm not.) In which case, if these creatures deal combat damage, or any kind of damage, to your opponent, they would trigger your opponent's Dissapation Field and return those creature to your hand in order to reuse enter the battlefield abilities and to skirt sacrifice at the beginning of end step stuff.
demoninabottle
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(5 votes)
How does this, in any way combo with Ball Lightning? You guys do realize that its not when any permanent deals damage to any player but when one an opponent controls deals damage to you, right? As a matter of fact, having a BL in play when you control this is like one of the worst possible situations for the one controlling Dissipation Field
sarroth
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@SilverSkyz: Yes, very much so, or any creature with a comes into play ability worth the ink on the card. Better just block those creatures then.
@Demon, Gemstone: "Best Friend" to me never meant that it worked in your favor - so yes, I'm aware that if you're running UR with this out dealing damage with Ball Lightning doesn't help you. But I'm agreeing that having this out works well for your opponent's CIP creatures, which is why I said you better block creatures with CIP abilities so it doesn't trigger this. Other than for those types of creatures, I love this card.
Also, the flavor text really comes across as making fun of an old Bush-ism...
Luke_BPC
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(4 votes)
Ball Lightning's best friend is clearly Mimic Vat. This is just awesome if your opponent runs it.
SorianSadaskan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Get Bazaar Trader and this? Then Ball Lightningl.
Discoduck
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I can't wait to play this in multiplayer.
LarsBM
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(4 votes)
It's a blue version of No Mercy. Good with the right deck and awesome in multiplayer. People think twice about attacking you since they'll most likely be left very open for several turns afterwards.
Cheza
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(6 votes)
should have been white
NecroticNobody
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Blue/White lockdown decks get a potentially awesome new toy. Paired with Lightmine Field, anything that makes it through the damage isn't going to stick around much longer.
MasonDark
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
This is stormcrows best friend...not ball lightning....oh wait it's neither.
kittyspit
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
everyone realizes, of course, that this also works on things like liliana's caress right?
Golly
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
"everyone realizes, of course, that this also works on things like liliana's caress right?"
Loss of life is not damage; damage leads to loss of life. It would not work with Liliana's Caress, but it would work on Chandra Ablaze and Raid Bombardment, etc.
surewhynot
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Yeah this helps out ball lightning, sure, but if you're playing someone running Ball Lightning in a RDW...it probably doesn't matter what you play on turn 4. So if you can look past everyone's shouting of "OMG BALL LIGHNTNINGZ LOL!", you realize that at even the most basic level, this card is pretty nice.
I run two in a U/W control deck and they prove to be a very frustrating attack deterrent. No goofy johnny combos, no worrying about ball lightning, just play it and enjoy the rage it creates.
Froenx
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
this + elspeth + empyrial archangel = you laugh.
Zoah
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Wow... I'm clearly not cut out to be a red player... I saw this and the first thing I thought of were the Keldon Marauders. Ball lightning dose do more damage... And tramples thus usually causing damage... Ouch... Wow... I'm just slow...
Narim
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(9 votes)
I don't really understand why all of you just point out weaknesses of cards... yes, almost every card has it's weakness, some way to counter it... and what? Should I bother? Forgot Ball Lightning, this card is just awesome in most situations! It slows your opponent as hell if he don't destroy it... and not just slows, it's really effective in destroying opponent's auras as well and getting rid of counters on creatures...
You're playing blue, if an annoying ball is burning your back, counter it.
tstorm823
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(9 votes)
Ok, ready?
Turn 1) Island
Turn 2) Mountain, Liquimetal Coating Turn 3) Island, Bazaar Trader Turn 4) Mountain, Dissapation Field; At the end of their turn, Liquimetal Coating the Dissapation Field so that you can Bazaar Trader it over.
Turn 5) Pandemonium, Memnite= Win
Play Memnite, Pandemonium has Memnite deal one damage (you choose your opponent), their Dissappation Field bounces it to your hand, repeat. Johniest combo ever.
Shiizu
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Not the greatest of cards, and not the worst either.
In standard, it seems pretty bad as it's too slow. I guess the only spot where I can see this do anything is in sideboards against Koth of the hammer, even though that seems a bit loose. It will keep them stuck on land drops, and makes their emblem unusable against you as a player. This is definitely not good enough. Its saving grace is that it also slows down the rush of the red aggro deck. Good enough? I dunno. But it's still an option to consider.
In casual this is one of those rattlesnake cards that screams "leave me alone". There are better options in magic, but in blue? Pretty much only propaganda and its ilk.
Zaneshift
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Lethargy Trap's best (and only) friend. Oh, you've got a token army big enough to kill me so it doesn't matter if I bounce them? Doubt it. Yeah, creatures with haste or that would normally die would benifit, but Ball Lightning's not in Standard anyway, which is where I find this card really shines when I find myself being swarmed running mono-blue. With Kraken's Eye or Elixir of Life, I can absorb enough damage to stall out a typical weenie or token deck, and with the likes of Deprive or Unsummon I can slow down the bigger ones, and it meshes with mil/stall quite nicely.
It's no Energy Field, but it slows your opponent down, and that's all you need it to do. Awesome moment: Redirecting a Naturalize someone targeted at this card in frustration when they had a Steel Hellkite on the field. This also makes for an interesting retroactive Evacuation if you happen to have out a Leyline of Anticipation. Not the most useful combo, but clearing your opponent's field with an enchantment is a rare treat even if you do take the damage regardless (unless, again, you have a Lethargy Trap or some Diminishes or something to that effect).
A fun card, if nothing else, and excellent flavor. 5/5
Gabriel422
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I thought it might be cool, after all it's repeatable bounce; after I grabbed a playset and played with it, I realized just how many ETB effect there is in the game. It turned every Sylvan Ranger, Liliana's Specter, Malakir Gatekeeper and Triskelion against me. Those become must kills, or all you can do it watch them generate card advantage every turn.
Maybe there is a deck where this might work, perhaps UB with lots of discard and kill; but certainly not something like Jace's Ingenuity that can just go into or out of you deck without a thought.
Kurhan
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
So with everyone saying "LOLOMGWTFBBQ BALL LIGHTNINGZZZ!!!" I am really surprised I haven't seen a single comment about Putrefax since thats basically the green version that IS allowed in Standard. Add infect into the mess, it seems that would be a bit better of an example, but thats just my take on it.
MasterOfEtherium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
@823 WOW One Hell Of A Combo Actually Not That Lame Either You Can Run Lightning Bolts Ice Cages And Mana Leaks Around It. Much More Too. Great Art But Limited Not That Good
Possibly one of the best stall cards in a color that's known for devastating stall. Yes, there are a lot of cards that can cause it to backfire, but since you should probably never run more than 2 of this anyways, having a maximum of two cards at worst sandbagging (very unlikely in all but the longest games with all the reshuffle/scry/voluntary discard in blue) or at best tossed to Force of Will or Mind Over Matter is in no way a deal-breaker, especially when you can just sideboard it out next game.
Plus, unless your opponent's deck is absolutely full of cards that can take advantage of this, it seems like the persistent, cheap, one-sided Evacuation would more than make up for the occasional backfire (you are running counters in your blue control deck, right?) For example, even if you don't have an Essence Scatter handy when that Ball Lightning comes down, what are the odds that you don't have an Unsummon to bounce the elemental or, even better, an Into the Roil to bounce your field? For this to really truly hurt you more than it helps you, your opponent would pretty much need to 1) know what deck you're using and 2) build a deck around it, in which case the person you're playing is a dick and you should just start proxying Time Walk for great justice.
If there were really that many decks that could exploit this, you'd be seeing Evacuation or Wash Out as four-ofs in half the decks out there. (Protip: you're not.) Yeah, it's almost always worse than No Mercy, but as an appropriately colorshifted and well-priced version, it's pretty top-notch. After all, there's a reason Spin into Myth is one of the most mana-intensive removal cards in the game, and it's not because it's one of the best.
Also, props to PhyrexianAdvocate for pointing out the Koth of the Hammer hose.
Wormfang
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
really useful in a counter deck, if you didn't have the mana openwhen they played it, let/make them swing then it bounces to their hand, when they try to replay it, counter spell
So people have mentioned that it's good AGAINST Liliana's Caress, but the second I got this it went into my deck where my Warped Devotion makes my LC a powerhouse. With all three down it's not worth it for them to do any damage less than 3 with a permanent, add another LC and they need to do 5. I know it's a fairly soft lock, and doesn't do jack against spells, but I find it super-duper useful. Also, Alluring Siren if you really wanna bounce something and don't just have an Unsummon.
Vinifera7
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I really want to like this card, I just don't know how good it would be.
It seems like it would be great against any tokens, and possibly serve as anti-tempo against decks that rely heavily on speed to bring aggressive beats. It's interesting to note that it also slows down Valakut ramp and other red things that like to ping you, *ahem* Koth.
On the other hand, it's not so good against "enters the battlefield" abilities, creatures with haste, and Ball Lightning, Putrefax, et al.
Multihunter
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This is such a blue thing to do. It just messes crap up. It stalls, and it frustrates. So many red and black things that deal damage would get messed up by this. (For instance, it almost completely counters Enslave) It's not an "I win" card, but then, what is? (Besides Emrakul and Blightsteel Collosus) But I'd say it's almost GUARANTEED to make people annoyed. :D
i would Donate it, then play Warstorm Surge and then deal 999999999999999999 damage to the new controller by playing Memnite ( i play it, then it deals 1 damage to the new controller of Dissipation Field because Warstorm Surge, it returns to my hand and i repeat this 99999999 times)
if there are any card screwing this ( lik Blood Seeker i can always evoke Æthersnipe since the "comes sacreficesd in play" part of evoke will resolve from the stack at last, after it is already returned to my hand
Clamdiz
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This card WRECKS innistrad vampires.
TPmanW
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Could be interesting with Forge Devils coming out.
Eat it, Progenitus. The soul of the world has returned... to its owner's hand. Byebye now! >:D
Arahdial
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
So would this bounce a sacrificed Shrine of Burning Rage back into the user's hand? Ow.
iUseBreakOpen
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This would not bounce an opponent's Shrine of Burning Rage. Once the shrine is sacrificed, it is no longer in play and is therefore no longer considered a permanent.
Superllama12
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If only it could enchant any player, then you could enchant your opponent in some convoluted combo deck with Ball Lightning.
Zacklar
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
one day a friend of mine had this and i dropped an Obsidian Fireheart he wasn't happy that his lands started to bounce
HuntingDrake
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
At the Scars prerelease, my opponent dropped this... then I dropped Putrefax. :D
DacenOctavio
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Lol, this is both funny with and against Manabarbs.
Not sure about that. I don't think even shaharazad effects remove emblems, let alone bounce.
Also, great casual card. Pair with thunderstaff and the like to significantly reduce incoming damage. The flaw here is that its only good if you drop it early, t4-5, but you will be very vulnerable that first turn its out. I suggest wall of denial, fog bank, or aether membrane t3 into this t4.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ball Lightning won't return to it's owner's hand if it's killed by combat damage everyone. If they play this and never have a blocker with 1+/X then OK, but then they have a pretty terrible deck.
State based checks for damage > triggered abilities.
EvilDarkVoid
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Everyone complains that playing this lets your opponent beat your face in with Ball Lightning and similar cards. I think I should play this, give it to my opponent with Bazaar Trader or Zedruu then beat them up with my own Ball Lightning.
lilwolf2005
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I could see this in a casual deck with other annoying enchantment effects like Web of Inertia, Propaganda, Mana Breach, Arcane Laboratory, Winter Orb, Pendrell Mists, etc. What would be your win condition you ask? Making your opponent's concede because they don't want to put up with your cruel and unusual punishment.
Enelysios
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A fun card. It can ruin your opponents tempo, (Chandra Nalaar) or it can stab you in the back (Ball lightning, or even something as simple as Augury owl)
I would be interested in seeing combos where it bounces something you control, but I can't think of any off the top of my head.
Xycolian
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The nice thing about this is that it works on things with shroud/hexproof like invisible stalker.
The only annoying part is that you have to take damage before it goes into effect, but hopefully if the thing that's dealing damage is big enough to really hurt you, you have some other bounce spells to deal with it before it can deal damage to you.
Sun Droplet if an effective (and cheap) solution to the main drawback of this card, especially if you have multiple copies on the table.
Dankirk
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I use this in an Iron Maiden deck. Gives me enough time to get and play my other cards. Unsummon big creatures so they can't one-attack-kill me.
Think they can just recast all those weenies the same turn? Wait for them to declare attackers and respond with Sunder.
Comments (56)
if you have this card on battlefield, you need counterspells for opponent's creatures that have come-into-battlefield abilities for sure
@Demon, Gemstone: "Best Friend" to me never meant that it worked in your favor - so yes, I'm aware that if you're running UR with this out dealing damage with Ball Lightning doesn't help you. But I'm agreeing that having this out works well for your opponent's CIP creatures, which is why I said you better block creatures with CIP abilities so it doesn't trigger this. Other than for those types of creatures, I love this card.
Also, the flavor text really comes across as making fun of an old Bush-ism...
Loss of life is not damage; damage leads to loss of life. It would not work with Liliana's Caress, but it would work on Chandra Ablaze and Raid Bombardment, etc.
I run two in a U/W control deck and they prove to be a very frustrating attack deterrent. No goofy johnny combos, no worrying about ball lightning, just play it and enjoy the rage it creates.
I saw this and the first thing I thought of were the Keldon Marauders.
Ball lightning dose do more damage... And tramples thus usually causing damage... Ouch...
Wow... I'm just slow...
You're playing blue, if an annoying ball is burning your back, counter it.
Turn 1) Island
Turn 2) Mountain, Liquimetal Coating
Turn 3) Island, Bazaar Trader
Turn 4) Mountain, Dissapation Field; At the end of their turn, Liquimetal Coating the Dissapation Field so that you can Bazaar Trader it over.
Turn 5) Pandemonium, Memnite= Win
Play Memnite, Pandemonium has Memnite deal one damage (you choose your opponent), their Dissappation Field bounces it to your hand, repeat. Johniest combo ever.
In standard, it seems pretty bad as it's too slow. I guess the only spot where I can see this do anything is in sideboards against Koth of the hammer, even though that seems a bit loose. It will keep them stuck on land drops, and makes their emblem unusable against you as a player. This is definitely not good enough. Its saving grace is that it also slows down the rush of the red aggro deck. Good enough? I dunno. But it's still an option to consider.
In casual this is one of those rattlesnake cards that screams "leave me alone". There are better options in magic, but in blue? Pretty much only propaganda and its ilk.
It's no Energy Field, but it slows your opponent down, and that's all you need it to do. Awesome moment: Redirecting a Naturalize someone targeted at this card in frustration when they had a Steel Hellkite on the field. This also makes for an interesting retroactive Evacuation if you happen to have out a Leyline of Anticipation. Not the most useful combo, but clearing your opponent's field with an enchantment is a rare treat even if you do take the damage regardless (unless, again, you have a Lethargy Trap or some Diminishes or something to that effect).
A fun card, if nothing else, and excellent flavor. 5/5
Maybe there is a deck where this might work, perhaps UB with lots of discard and kill; but certainly not something like Jace's Ingenuity that can just go into or out of you deck without a thought.
But it makes Koth of the Hammer cry.
Plus, unless your opponent's deck is absolutely full of cards that can take advantage of this, it seems like the persistent, cheap, one-sided Evacuation would more than make up for the occasional backfire (you are running counters in your blue control deck, right?) For example, even if you don't have an Essence Scatter handy when that Ball Lightning comes down, what are the odds that you don't have an Unsummon to bounce the elemental or, even better, an Into the Roil to bounce your field? For this to really truly hurt you more than it helps you, your opponent would pretty much need to 1) know what deck you're using and 2) build a deck around it, in which case the person you're playing is a dick and you should just start proxying Time Walk for great justice.
If there were really that many decks that could exploit this, you'd be seeing Evacuation or Wash Out as four-ofs in half the decks out there. (Protip: you're not.) Yeah, it's almost always worse than No Mercy, but as an appropriately colorshifted and well-priced version, it's pretty top-notch. After all, there's a reason Spin into Myth is one of the most mana-intensive removal cards in the game, and it's not because it's one of the best.
Also, props to PhyrexianAdvocate for pointing out the Koth of the Hammer hose.
It seems like it would be great against any tokens, and possibly serve as anti-tempo against decks that rely heavily on speed to bring aggressive beats. It's interesting to note that it also slows down Valakut ramp and other red things that like to ping you, *ahem* Koth.
On the other hand, it's not so good against "enters the battlefield" abilities, creatures with haste, and Ball Lightning, Putrefax, et al.
So many red and black things that deal damage would get messed up by this. (For instance, it almost completely counters Enslave)
It's not an "I win" card, but then, what is? (Besides Emrakul and Blightsteel Collosus)
But I'd say it's almost GUARANTEED to make people annoyed. :D
if there are any card screwing this ( lik Blood Seeker i can always evoke Æthersnipe since the "comes sacreficesd in play" part of evoke will resolve from the stack at last, after it is already returned to my hand
Eat it, Progenitus. The soul of the world has returned... to its owner's hand. Byebye now! >:D
he wasn't happy that his lands started to bounce
Not sure about that. I don't think even shaharazad effects remove emblems, let alone bounce.
Also, great casual card. Pair with thunderstaff and the like to significantly reduce incoming damage. The flaw here is that its only good if you drop it early, t4-5, but you will be very vulnerable that first turn its out. I suggest wall of denial, fog bank, or aether membrane t3 into this t4.
State based checks for damage > triggered abilities.
I would be interested in seeing combos where it bounces something you control, but I can't think of any off the top of my head.
The only annoying part is that you have to take damage before it goes into effect, but hopefully if the thing that's dealing damage is big enough to really hurt you, you have some other bounce spells to deal with it before it can deal damage to you.
Sun Droplet if an effective (and cheap) solution to the main drawback of this card, especially if you have multiple copies on the table.
Think they can just recast all those weenies the same turn?
Wait for them to declare attackers and respond with Sunder.