For three mana, you get a Lava Axe or a Concentrate. Either case is pretty acceptable. You might get hurt by an opponent choosing the wrong option for you when you NEED to draw (or cause damage), but the other option is still good.
Richard_Hawk
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(7 votes)
a win win situation even when you need the card draw, taking away 1/4 of original life total for 3 mana is still hefty.
ROBRAM89
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(11 votes)
Can't think of a time I wouldn't want either of these things. One of my favorite red cards ever.
TPmanW
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(6 votes)
Great with Niv-Mizzet, Will you take 3 and let me draw 3 or just take 5 straight up?
Shadoflaam
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Love it. Have a foil FNM version, and the art looks like it's from Saw. In my Brion Stoutarm EDH deck, it's flat out amazing. 5/5.
land_comment
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(8 votes)
Huh. I don't know why this is good, but I'm fairly new to magic, though no rookie. I'll just be quiet now.
Neolexus
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(9 votes)
This card is amazing in a straight burn deck, either they take 5 which is what you are trying to do anyway or you draw three and burn them with whatever you draw.
BuffJittePLZ
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@TPmanW: He would have taken the 5 straight up even without Niv in play.
infernox10
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
It's situational card draw in red, and the drawback is 1/4 of your opponent's life (which should be down by T3 anyway).
How is that bad?
Studoku
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Good in red burn where you can get 5+ damage out of 3 cards.
TheMaskedWanderer
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
This is probably one of the best burn cards out there. It is good because whichever happens you benefit. Red decks don't often have much draw power and dealing 5 damage for 3 CMC is always a good deal.
wiseguy20
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card makes me want to change from red blue to just red, even though I don't normally like mono colored decks....
Leshrac_Nightwalker
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
@Scumbling1: I don't often agree with your evaluations; I'm much more likely to enjoy a card for sentimental reasons that are not universally relevant for deckbuilding. Having said that, I would readily tell anyone to go and read your comments on the original printing. I think it's very valuable for people to realize (or be reminded of the fact) that putting decisions into your opponents' hands makes any spell less reliable, simply for the fact that you don't have control over the result. Neither result is "bad" - it's just that, as you keep pointing out, you'll always get the one you want less.
Anyway, I like this card! Even while recognizing that it's not as good as a flat-out burn spell (or Tezzeret's Gambit), I really only play multiplayer, and watching my friends debate about who gets to take the 5 damage this time makes me grin every time. It's the same reason that I like Menacing Ogre - sometimes the results are hilarious!
Guys, folks like scumbling and majinara who knock these "opponent choice" cards are dead wrong. Your opponent might not know what is in the rest of your deck and almost certainly doesn't know what is in your hands. As such, they'll often make the "wrong" choice. For most of these cards, honestly, you're still doing pretty good when they make the "right" choice.
lorendorky
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
I like to target my opponent with Browbeat say "whoops :/" then cast runeflare trap when they draw.
Do you want to know how to really get some value out of this card? No? Cool. Reverberate it.
b00neyman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great card, fills the disability of burn decks to be few handcarded after a few rounds :-) @Detonativity Lava Axe? Why not use Unstable Footing instead? Damage can't be prevented and it's an Instant, which makes it usable with Braid of Fire
darkneoxerosk8r
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
S hitty Ultimatum
DlCK
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I'm not sure which is more intimidating: the large man with his hands over my throat, of the middle-aged woman wielding a rolled-up newspaper.
Lifegainwithbite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'd rather run Faithless Looting because it costs 3 mana and in aggro, you need 1 or 2 drops.
Arachnos
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
There's no right choice to make with this card, it's either a very powerful card draw effect (3 for 3, in RED no less!) or a discounted Lava Axe, in other words awesome whatever choice your opponent makes.
Nagoragama
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
They sure do like reprinting this card. And people sure do like defending it. It seems really good on paper, but the only good "your opponent makes a decision" cards are ones where you can set up the situation such that any choice is bad for them, such as Fact or Fiction and Gifts Ungiven. With this card, they're not going to give you 3 cards unless they are absolutely forced to. If they're in such a situation that they must give you 3 cards or die, you probably already have them on the ropes. If not, you just did 5 damage. Not bad, but red can do better things with one card. In formats where you start with more than 20 life, this card just gets worse and worse.
EvilDarkVoid
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
TPmanW: Not really, considering that most of the time they're taking 5 damage to the face anyway. The few times when they're not they're probably at 5 health (or you can get them to 5 or less that turn) and in those situations drawing 3 usually wins you the game anyway. Yes, there are some situations in which that helps, but not all that many and most of them are where a Lava Spike could finish your opponent.
Stuflames
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Love the picture, I totally get a good cop bad cop vibe.
"Look, buddy, I don't know how much longer I can restrain him. Just sign the forms - " "GRUUUU-RUUUURR!" "Can't you see he's losing it, fool? Just sign please and we can forget all about this, he's going to kill you!"
Options: 1) "NEVER YOU BAST-*face smash* 2)*sob*"Not another, please, I'll sign just take what you want and go..."
radiknight
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
By the time I hit 3 lands, the opponent always has less than 10 life and I have visible threats in the form of goblin guide, lavamancer, hellspark in grave etc. It doesn't matter which one they choose... lose 5? They lose next turn. Draw 3? They lose next turn.
Comments (24)
How is that bad?
Anyway, I like this card! Even while recognizing that it's not as good as a flat-out burn spell (or Tezzeret's Gambit), I really only play multiplayer, and watching my friends debate about who gets to take the 5 damage this time makes me grin every time. It's the same reason that I like Menacing Ogre - sometimes the results are hilarious!
BTW, play this with Chandra, the Firebrand's Fork-like ability if you're mean.
Guys, folks like scumbling and majinara who knock these "opponent choice" cards are dead wrong. Your opponent might not know what is in the rest of your deck and almost certainly doesn't know what is in your hands. As such, they'll often make the "wrong" choice. For most of these cards, honestly, you're still doing pretty good when they make the "right" choice.
Do you want to know how to really get some value out of this card? No? Cool. Reverberate it.
@Detonativity
Lava Axe? Why not use Unstable Footing instead? Damage can't be prevented and it's an Instant, which makes it usable with Braid of Fire
"Look, buddy, I don't know how much longer I can restrain him. Just sign the forms - "
"GRUUUU-RUUUURR!"
"Can't you see he's losing it, fool? Just sign please and we can forget all about this, he's going to kill you!"
Options:
1) "NEVER YOU BAST-*face smash*
2)*sob*"Not another, please, I'll sign just take what you want and go..."