I've always liked punisher cards. I have actually won games using cards like these against rather powerful decks. When i use these type of cards I always have it in a deck that will capitalize on any outcome that my opponent will choose. Its a shame that cards like this don't see as much play. So much can be done when you build a deck that forces ultimatums.
Trygon_Predator
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(12 votes)
Setting aside the card itself, does no-one else find it odd that angels have keeled sterna? It makes sense anatomically; they'd need the muscles to power those wings. It doesn't show up in the art though. I wonder if it was Steve Argyle's decision to add them, or if they were part of the style guide.
Sure it's color-shifted and is an "X" spell now but I'm not fooled by the disguise ;)
This is worth splashing for in big red or weird burn decks.
sarroth
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(6 votes)
This is one of the most interesting Wrath of God variants I've ever seen. I admit, I like it, even if it isn't necessarily as effective.
Cyberium
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Sacrifice effect is a tough choice but a choice nevertheless, something you don't want your opponent to have, but this can kill indestructible creature where Wrath and Damnation cannot.
pedrodyl
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(13 votes)
Goes well with the "loner" mechanic from this set (see Demonic Taskmaster etc.)
RAV0004
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(5 votes)
I hate, hate, haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate angels. -Liliana
Purple_Shrimp
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(25 votes)
really nice design but the card is terrible
Binaro
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(4 votes)
Very powerful and very useful! The only thing I don't like about it is that your opponent gets to choose whether or not they want to sacrifice. But that's only if they HAVE that much life to begin with, of course.
Urthador
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(6 votes)
@Purple_Shrimp
Whaaaaaat, it's not a bad card AT ALL. If you're playing someone with token generators and they have a decent amount of them and you have a decent of mana, you can instantly turn the tables on them. It also interacts well with morbid, Harvester of Souls, and Demonic Rising. I dunno what you talking 'bout.
swords_to_exile
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(8 votes)
Running this with Undying cards is pretty solid. Running this with Driver of the Dead is pretty good in draft too, especially with cheep B/R creatures.
JonTheRed
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Black is really going to need a board-wipe once Black Sun's Zenith leaves Standard. They're all set on spot-removal, though; whatever the opponent pays life to keep, you can just Tragic Slip.
Wisdomseyes
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(8 votes)
I missread this card to an extreme.
I thought, "okay I will always pay the life because if i have 3 creatures out my opponent will get to clear my field unless I pay 3 life"
NO, its 3 life per creature. 4 mana for 9 damage or spot removal of weaker creatures. If my opponent has a field, like a real field, tapping 6 for this card IS a killing wave. 4 creatures turning into a field clear or 20 life.
And dont kid yourself into thinking you cant get 6 mana...
though, it does have issues with hitting your own creatures... this set is all about getting 1 creature out in black though. Might be a fun little thing. Oh, and pair with exquisite Blood and you will have a great time.
Not a 5 star card, but it does deserve at least a 3.5, as opposed to my initial 1
Totema
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(9 votes)
Funny how this is one of the better ways to get around Avacyn.
So what happens when you let this loose with Sigarda on the field?
BTW, let's have some snotty hate from majinara in 4...3...2...
EDIT: Rulings have been updated. Sigarda pwns this card. I wish the wording were flipped so that she didn't. I.E, "For each creature, its controller loses X life unless he or she sacrifices it."
GrimjawxRULES
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(6 votes)
That artwork becomes more disturbing the more I look at it. Ewww... Liliana looks sexy as always though, but everything else creeps me out.
MANABURNWASGOOD
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's a good card. having sigarda in play, or playing this when you have that in play spells doom for every one else. great in anything that runs black.
RedJaron
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Pair this with a Blood Artist and you can recoup the life for keeping a few creatures of your own.
TheWrathofShane
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Zenith is better, much better. This is still great but has one problem. They can just take 5 or so life to keep there bomb and smash your face.
adrian.malacoda
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
@DarthParallax
Eh? Life payment isn't damage. Gisela doesn't interact with this. Sigarda on the other hand... but ha! Kaalia can't use Sigarda!
Oulvine
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(8 votes)
Awwww, wiwwyanna doesn't like angels. Then you're going to Despise Sigarda when she flips you the bird as you cast this XD
HuntingDrake
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Trygon_Predator: Yes, I came here for just that reason. It really bothers me.
Ghostyman
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(6 votes)
White is the color best known for board sweeping. Black, so-so. While this may not be top tier, the point is still relevant that BSZ will rotate out, and in the relatively near future too! This thing wrecks tokens. This is something that goes well in Blue-Black Control.
Let's compare to Wrath of God or Day of Judgment. Those cost 4 each, with two white to boot. You could cast this for the same price, and potentially snag three creatures. If you don't snag three creatures, you burn them for 9. For 4 mana, that is a smokin' deal. And this is sacrificing creatures - meaning you can kill indestructibles.
You still put the ball in the opponent's court, and that can be a wild card. But on the whole, this is an efficient card.
ZephyrBlayze
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
As JonTheRed said, you can just slip what they keep, but remember this: it hits you and your opponent.
Let's say he's got a real obnoxious super fatty and you are sitting on a Tragic Slip and a creature on board. You draw this. You pay B and a safe amount of mana so that you know they'll pay the life instead of saccing the creature. You sac yours, and toss the tragic on his.
I'm glad to see the rating for this creeping up, but I think too many people are put off because it gives your opponent the choice, and they think it won't be the right choice for you.
If you need to cast this, no matter what choice they make, it's probably going to help you in some way, provided you find that sweet value for X.
PinkleDadandy
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Player 1: Haha your gonna lose so bad Player 2: aawwh maan.... Player 1: Just to beat you even worse i'm gonna summon Platinum Emperion! Haha Your turn PLayer 2: Well looks like the tables just got FLIPPED MOFO! KILLING WAVE FOR 1! Player 1: FUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!
TheHoovedOne.
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(6 votes)
I see you have a large hoard of 1/1 tokens Hmmmm KILLING WAVE!!!!!
William216
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
I humbly state that the best card to use with this card would have to be Exquisite Blood. If the payment happens at once then if any of your opponents choose to pay life you gain what they pay. Depending on what you paid and what your opponent paid.... you could come out well on top. And what was stated before above about life payment not being damage is true. But paying life is still classified as LOSING life.
Leuitikos
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(6 votes)
I run Killing Wave and Blood Artist in my Black/White token deck.
True Story, I had an amusing play with Killing Wave, I'm at 4 life with no flyers, next turn my opponent will swing at me for over 20 in the air, (He played Gisela previous turn) and I don't remember how much on the ground. I top deck killing wave, swing my entire field of tokens that got slaughtered, blood artist took most of his health away leaving him at 1 life. He assumed it was his turn; I smiled and I played killing wave for 2 mana. He couldn't pay the one life, so he had to see his entire field destroyed, meaning a creature died, meaning he lost life due to Blood Artist, giving me victory.
KnexWiz
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
i like it, the only way i could see this being beter is if they chose the same choice for each creature, like if the wording was "each player sacrifices all of their creatures unless they pay x life for each creature they control" as is 4.5/5 if use in loner decks
Merrowmic
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Imagine this plus Zombie Apocalypse in a deck featuring Diregraf Captain, Geralf's Messenger, Butcher Ghoul, and Gravecrawler...
Promethial
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Love it, fits perfect in my Geth EDH
sAviOrWeRRa
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I feel like this card in a RDW with a splash of black (maybe throw Dark Confidant and Blightning in there as well) could spell disaster against any sort of creature based deck.
MechaKraken
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
The most remarkable thing about this card is that it is a literal board wipe... in BLACK. It is the answer Zombie decks have needed since wolfrun decks became popular. It gets around Dungrove Elder, Invisible Stalker, Wolfir Silverheart, Sun Titan, Geist of Saint Traft, etc etc, all the "bombs" that wolfrun and delver decks play.
Truly a godsend, no pun intended.
miilkshake
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Really interesting card, and one of my favorites from AVR. I rarely ever play it before what ends up being the last turn of the game, but every time I do I win. Timing is everything with this one.
Megabu
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(3 votes)
If a player creatures have protection from black are they affected?
DragonsRCool
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
@Megabu
If they have protection from black then for each of them you either pay X life for them or sacrifice them.
Korbl
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(6 votes)
Think of this card from Liliana's perspective: as the card is in direct reference to her play-style. Ghoul here, Ghoul there. Turn 3/4 things start to get more troublesome and the ghouls just are starting to wain. Aloof and irritated by some resistance (towards her goal) Liliana says f-it and destroys the field, ally & foe! In disgust & self approval she reanimates her undying minions and moves on ahead.
RedAtrocitus
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(5 votes)
Choice is very powerful. You have the power to choose when to play this card to get the max benefit and the min loss. However, your opponent also has choice with this card. Unless you pumped a lot into this or he cannot afford to lose any life or he already has a card in hand to finish the game, you won't clear the board and the creatures that survive will be the best ones and the most necessary to their strategy for winning.
I'm not saying this is a bad card, I like it and will use it, but it gives your opponent ways to work around it, aside from just being countered. It can't hold a candle to Damnation, a card I've been hoping beyond hope to come back for a while.
zyvlyn
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Fits well in my Sek'kuar EDH deck. Especially when one of the creatures I sac is Anger.
I have this amazing fanfilm in my head for Innistrad:
Wish I had An Angel-
Tarja Turunen is Avacyn Marco Hietala is Sorin
and when they get to the part where the lyrics are "I'm in love with my lust, burning Angels' wings to dust" I picture this spell, only it's Kaalia of the Vast casting it instead of Liliana Vess and instead of a still art I picture the wings going all the way to cinders and everything :3
abcent1
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(4 votes)
i got a foil one..
Gcrudaplaneswalker
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(3 votes)
I see great potential in this.
1. It's a morbid engine. 2. It's a decent replacement for when Black Sun's Zenith rotates. 3. It works well with undying. 4. It works with the Avacyn Restored Loner mechanic.
Though it's not as good as the classic Wrath cards, it has its versatile uses.
Sir_Kraemer
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(5 votes)
I have no qualms about Garruk punching Liliana's face in after she goes and says things like this.
Augthail
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Very specialized board wipe, and absolute perfection for what it does in those situations.
Option 1: Diregraf Captains in a Zombie deck. Sac all your creatures, they lose 1 life per Captain for each Zombie sac'd. Whether they sac or not with a respecable number of zombies is irrelevant.
Option 2: 2-3 Blood Artist-type cards and a few other creatures on the field. If they don't respond to Wave, you win regardless of what decision they make. Extremely useful if your opponent is trying to stall or build up protections so that you're not killing creatures.
MarlinFlake
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@Trygon_Predator Watch out guys, we’re dealing with a Bad Ass over here.
omni8000
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(11 votes)
if this card were an instant it would be a relevant and excellent board wipe for years to come. as is it just goes to support my belief that innistrad is the kamigawa of standard
Kaleidostorm
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(3 votes)
I've gotten extremely boned by this card before. Kind of a poor man's Damnation
Freaking brutal when you have 1 or more Blood Artists and/or an Exquisite Blood out, both of which can be a reasonable mainboard, making this worthy of a sideboard against aggro weenie decks... or hell, just decks in general.
Fabricio_Werdum2
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(12 votes)
Let's be honest here. This card absolutely sucks.
Arachnos
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(3 votes)
It's better than Damnation in a way. While Damnation is almost always better, this forces the controller to sacrifice, which means that it can take care of indestructibles, and even mass indestrictibility effects like the dread Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Eldrazi Monument.
Jose_Reyes
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
This card sucks
Enemy_Tricolor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think this card gets more disrespect than it should. It's not an optimal board-wipe by any means, but it strikes me as a decent role-player in the right kind of deck.
Say you have Crypt Ghast in your deck, and you're playing a defensive control strategy that bleeds your opponent over a longer time period. This is a good late-game drop in that deck, because you've likely maneuvered yourself into having a life advantage over your opponent, and you're then able to A: pump this spell up considerably, making it an honest-to-god Wrath that's actually better because it makes your opponent sacrifice the creatures, or B: "afford" more strategic creatures than your opponent.
negativeview
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This card doesn't suck as a one-time-use sac outlet. X isn't disalowed from being zero.
In Christmas land, with no blockers, that's lethal on turn 4.
zenitramleirdag
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i'm confident to say that this should warrant some playtesting in a land destruction oriented pox deck..
OrgasmandTea
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's not a board wipe people! This card, whilst it can situationally wipe the board, is less effective than god wipes but also much more interesting and versatile. You can use it as the final piece in a mass sacrifice combo; you can use it in combination with cards like blood artist to essentially make a one-sided board wipe; you can force your opponent into very painful decisions, which is itself immensely fun and rewarding and thematically an extremely black thing to do. Erm, that sounded much less racist in my head... sorry about that. So, in conclusion, it's one of my favourite cards because of how interesting it is, even though it's less effective than the bog standard (boring) god wipe.
DaemonNic
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@omni8000
Every set has bad cards. Even stupidly broken ones like Mirrodin and Urza's Legacy have bad cards. This card, while to situational to be good in constructed, is decent in Limited. And really, Innistrad has enough good cards that the rest of your comment is just inane natter. Alchemist's refuge, Deadeye Navigator, Blood Artist... Innistrad has as many good cards as any other reasonably balanced set.
StudentOfEtherium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Awesome To Use In A No Creature Deck
MortisAngelus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
As many have stated, this one card has to be pumped up to be effective. But it will create that annoyance that no opponent likes; life or my creatures. However, combining a few cards together will make this card really interesting.
In a token deck which spits out tokesn like mad (use of e.g. lingering souls, Captain's Call (or whatever) together with copy spells like Parallel Lives to create an army and then have 1 - 2 blood artists in play. 10 creatures, + the blood artist + a collective sucide with killing wave will cause a mass loss of life among the enemy and you will gain a lot of life. Or if you want, you may use it together with Butcher of Malakir (or similar cards) to cause mass sacrifice of creatures that can't be blocked or chosen by opponents.
To say that this card is worthless/terrible is wrong as I've been cornered more than once by this card; I need my blocking creatures to survive, but to save them I will have to lose life --> I die. I don't save them and I'll leave open for attach next turn --> I die.
It's all up to the user of the card; YOU decicde the greatness of this card. I'd give it a 3½/5 but as it is not possible, I'll have to give it 4/5.
qwery123844
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A good combo for this card is to have blood artist on the field, so either way you or your opponent(s) chosen they loose life and the more sacrifices mean the more life gain.
greatspearman
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(5 votes)
Most of the people downrating this card are definitely not giving it enough credit. As a potential board sweeper, this is excellent. And the thing is, you don't even care. You just want them to either sacrifice creatures or lose life. And that's what happens. Maybe these people are also far too attached to their creatures? It's BLACK. There are plenty of creatures that love being in the graveyard. Run in a deck with Rakdos perhaps. And Blood Artist. And/or Deadbridge Goliath/Slitherhead.
The Full Card art is among the most beautiful arts I have ever seen. I know it's not technically a new printing, because it's a promo, but wish it was a version you could choose to comment on.
Pick15
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
-Rates card 3.5 -Card rating is 3.5 EXACTLY -100 votes (is 100th vote) Seems like a consensus to me.
Squab
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Best time with Killing Wave ever: multiplayer game, we all have exactly 4 creatures for some reason. I have Butcher of Malakir in play. I cast killing wave for 0, wiping out the board.
Randymyr
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Such a fun and interesting card. A potential board wipe, or at least enough to get rid of their small, pesky guys (indestructible or not!), or do some reasonable damage for a high enough cost. You may give them the choice, but as long as you're ready for either choice, you're good to go. Only problem is that you have to sacrifice your own guys or take a pummelin' yourself. Which, when it comes to blood artist... Sometimes isn't such a bad thing.
KingRusty
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Am I the only one who realizes how versatile this card is? This is useful against indestructibles caused by cards such as Darksteel Forge and Avacyn, Angel of Hope which is extremely useful. With the black mana ramp of Dark Ritual, Crypt Ghast, Cabal Coffers, and Liliana of the Dark Realms (et al.) you can play this with some serious life. If you run it in a lifelink deck, all the better. So consider for a moment, you can't get past the wall of creatures your opponent has set up. Say they're all walls or have deathtouch or doublestrike etc. This will either get you the damage you need or weaken his/her defenses for your attack. What really makes this good is that you get to choose what you want to sacrifice as well. Unlike Damnation or Wrath of God or whatever, you can keep some of your creatures alive as well. If you have Kalastria Highborn on the field and you blow up all your other vampires for the extra damage while you more than make up for what you paid to keep her alive. You could destroy someone if you used Blood Artist with an army of tokens without destroying the token engine you used to put them there. This card is for versatility, not mindless damnation. It's synergistic, not a beatstick.
Mr.Freshness-Timmy
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I've had it with these mother f*cking angels on this mother f*cking plane!
Kadaver666
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
all I have to say is Thraximundar, Liliana's Emblem and This, the rest speaks for itself Lol. Even without Lilliana's emblem this can seriously pump Thrax. A player needs to pay the life for 2 creatures at least in order to hold off Thrax for a turn. I absolutely love this card, the people who say this sucks doesn't understand black, the only life that matters is the last one.
Brawler_1337
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Okay, so this card isn't as good as other definitive board nukes, but it can work in the right situation or with enough mana sunk into it, and it gets around indestructible. What's more, It That Betrays says, "Me gusta."
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is actually an ok psuedo-sweep if you run a lot of sac effects. The bane of Pox-like decks is tokens/cheap critters getting in the way; and if you can make an opponent pay 3 life for each one of those (or get rid of his little guys) then you're in good shape either way (as now you can force him to sac his lone guy or you can kill him relatively quickly.)
Usually this means an opponent will lose all but 1-2 big guys and pay 3-6 life; but if you plan around that; this is an alright; very usable card. If you cast it at 2 mana you can reasonably expect it to either be the cheapest token wipe ever; or to sap someone of 4-10 life from several players; which is really good for 2 mana.
Lazrbeams
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Here's the problem. If your opponent really needs that specific creature, they'll pay the life. If they don't need the creature, they'll sweep their board. If they can't afford to pay the life, or sac the creatures, then you would have won anyways. Giving your opponents choices is a massive drawback. So massive that cards like vexing devil and browbeat are not at all overpowered, but if they printed either cards options as a single card they'd be busted in half.
Nebulium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Because *** you token decks, that's why!
humor_love
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
No, it's not a straightforward, auto-include, tournament-winner; this doesn't mean the card sucks. In this case, the card demands a heavy dose of creativity in order to design a deck so that the deck and the card fit well together, and some measure of skill/game awareness/timing to use the card to its greatest effect. So long as these conditions are met, it's a card well worth its slot, its casting cost, and its very low market value.
The game was built on cards like this in its earliest years, and the game would really benefit from heading back in that direction.
N03y3D33R
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love how people say it's terrible because it can't force them into a bad position every time despite the fact that it's essentially a black Fireball when it doesn't become a Damnation. You can easily ramp into this with Crypt Ghast and Liliana of Dark Realms and have them making the decision to lose all thier creatures or take 9 damage for each creature they keep by turn 5. If you've been playing decently it's not even a choice. Is it more expensive than Damnation in terms of mana cost, usually. Does it cost forty dollars? No.
Cleo_Kaerf
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I LOVE this card. My vampire deck couldn't run without it. My opponents won't pay the life by the time I get this out because they'll lose. But if they sac everything then it combos with Blood Artist or Bloodchief Ascension killing them anyway. No way out. 5/5.
putnamto
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
combos great in a zombie deck
Vursor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Guys, guys... keep calm and know this: This card has integrated "overload." -That not enough? How about enough removal viability to reduce the board to your liking? Sure your opponent has options, but if you're all ramped up then this card can be a devastating board wipe. A situational card that will work best in multi-player.
Card effect: 4/5-ish Artwork: 5/5
ThatChrisFella
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Seems this card is a lot more suited to mana ramp decks. Run a couple of crypt ghasts and it would be brutal.
Comments (78)
Sure it's color-shifted and is an "X" spell now but I'm not fooled by the disguise ;)
This is worth splashing for in big red or weird burn decks.
-Liliana
Whaaaaaat, it's not a bad card AT ALL. If you're playing someone with token generators and they have a decent amount of them and you have a decent of mana, you can instantly turn the tables on them. It also interacts well with morbid, Harvester of Souls, and Demonic Rising. I dunno what you talking 'bout.
Running this with Driver of the Dead is pretty good in draft too, especially with cheep B/R creatures.
I thought, "okay I will always pay the life because if i have 3 creatures out my opponent will get to clear my field unless I pay 3 life"
NO, its 3 life per creature. 4 mana for 9 damage or spot removal of weaker creatures. If my opponent has a field, like a real field, tapping 6 for this card IS a killing wave. 4 creatures turning into a field clear or 20 life.
And dont kid yourself into thinking you cant get 6 mana...
though, it does have issues with hitting your own creatures... this set is all about getting 1 creature out in black though. Might be a fun little thing. Oh, and pair with exquisite Blood and you will have a great time.
Not a 5 star card, but it does deserve at least a 3.5, as opposed to my initial 1
So what happens when you let this loose with Sigarda on the field?
BTW, let's have some snotty hate from majinara in 4...3...2...
EDIT: Rulings have been updated. Sigarda pwns this card. I wish the wording were flipped so that she didn't. I.E, "For each creature, its controller loses X life unless he or she sacrifices it."
Eh? Life payment isn't damage. Gisela doesn't interact with this. Sigarda on the other hand... but ha! Kaalia can't use Sigarda!
Yes, I came here for just that reason. It really bothers me.
Let's compare to Wrath of God or Day of Judgment. Those cost 4 each, with two white to boot. You could cast this for the same price, and potentially snag three creatures. If you don't snag three creatures, you burn them for 9. For 4 mana, that is a smokin' deal. And this is sacrificing creatures - meaning you can kill indestructibles.
You still put the ball in the opponent's court, and that can be a wild card. But on the whole, this is an efficient card.
Let's say he's got a real obnoxious super fatty and you are sitting on a Tragic Slip and a creature on board. You draw this. You pay B and a safe amount of mana so that you know they'll pay the life instead of saccing the creature. You sac yours, and toss the tragic on his.
I'm glad to see the rating for this creeping up, but I think too many people are put off because it gives your opponent the choice, and they think it won't be the right choice for you.
If you need to cast this, no matter what choice they make, it's probably going to help you in some way, provided you find that sweet value for X.
Player 2: aawwh maan....
Player 1: Just to beat you even worse i'm gonna summon Platinum Emperion! Haha Your turn
PLayer 2: Well looks like the tables just got FLIPPED MOFO! KILLING WAVE FOR 1!
Player 1: FUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!
True Story,
I had an amusing play with Killing Wave, I'm at 4 life with no flyers, next turn my opponent will swing at me for over 20 in the air, (He played Gisela previous turn) and I don't remember how much on the ground. I top deck killing wave, swing my entire field of tokens that got slaughtered, blood artist took most of his health away leaving him at 1 life. He assumed it was his turn; I smiled and I played killing wave for 2 mana. He couldn't pay the one life, so he had to see his entire field destroyed, meaning a creature died, meaning he lost life due to Blood Artist, giving me victory.
Truly a godsend, no pun intended.
If they have protection from black then for each of them you either pay X life for them or sacrifice them.
I'm not saying this is a bad card, I like it and will use it, but it gives your opponent ways to work around it, aside from just being countered. It can't hold a candle to Damnation, a card I've been hoping beyond hope to come back for a while.
Wish I had An Angel-
Tarja Turunen is Avacyn
Marco Hietala is Sorin
and when they get to the part where the lyrics are "I'm in love with my lust, burning Angels' wings to dust" I picture this spell, only it's Kaalia of the Vast casting it instead of Liliana Vess and instead of a still art I picture the wings going all the way to cinders and everything :3
1. It's a morbid engine.
2. It's a decent replacement for when Black Sun's Zenith rotates.
3. It works well with undying.
4. It works with the Avacyn Restored Loner mechanic.
Though it's not as good as the classic Wrath cards, it has its versatile uses.
Option 1: Diregraf Captains in a Zombie deck. Sac all your creatures, they lose 1 life per Captain for each Zombie sac'd. Whether they sac or not with a respecable number of zombies is irrelevant.
Option 2: 2-3 Blood Artist-type cards and a few other creatures on the field. If they don't respond to Wave, you win regardless of what decision they make. Extremely useful if your opponent is trying to stall or build up protections so that you're not killing creatures.
Watch out guys, we’re dealing with a Bad Ass over here.
Freaking brutal when you have 1 or more Blood Artists and/or an Exquisite Blood out, both of which can be a reasonable mainboard, making this worthy of a sideboard against aggro weenie decks... or hell, just decks in general.
Say you have Crypt Ghast in your deck, and you're playing a defensive control strategy that bleeds your opponent over a longer time period. This is a good late-game drop in that deck, because you've likely maneuvered yourself into having a life advantage over your opponent, and you're then able to A: pump this spell up considerably, making it an honest-to-god Wrath that's actually better because it makes your opponent sacrifice the creatures, or B: "afford" more strategic creatures than your opponent.
Turn 1: Swamp, Gravecrawler
Turn 2: Swamp, Attack, Blood Artist
Turn 3: Swamp, Attack, Blood Artist, Gravecrawler
Turn 4: Swamp, Attack, Blood Artist, Killing Wave
In Christmas land, with no blockers, that's lethal on turn 4.
You can use it as the final piece in a mass sacrifice combo; you can use it in combination with cards like blood artist to essentially make a one-sided board wipe; you can force your opponent into very painful decisions, which is itself immensely fun and rewarding and thematically an extremely black thing to do.
Erm, that sounded much less racist in my head... sorry about that. So, in conclusion, it's one of my favourite cards because of how interesting it is, even though it's less effective than the bog standard (boring) god wipe.
Every set has bad cards. Even stupidly broken ones like Mirrodin and Urza's Legacy have bad cards. This card, while to situational to be good in constructed, is decent in Limited. And really, Innistrad has enough good cards that the rest of your comment is just inane natter. Alchemist's refuge, Deadeye Navigator, Blood Artist... Innistrad has as many good cards as any other reasonably balanced set.
In a token deck which spits out tokesn like mad (use of e.g. lingering souls, Captain's Call (or whatever) together with copy spells like Parallel Lives to create an army and then have 1 - 2 blood artists in play. 10 creatures, + the blood artist + a collective sucide with killing wave will cause a mass loss of life among the enemy and you will gain a lot of life. Or if you want, you may use it together with Butcher of Malakir (or similar cards) to cause mass sacrifice of creatures that can't be blocked or chosen by opponents.
To say that this card is worthless/terrible is wrong as I've been cornered more than once by this card; I need my blocking creatures to survive, but to save them I will have to lose life --> I die. I don't save them and I'll leave open for attach next turn --> I die.
It's all up to the user of the card; YOU decicde the greatness of this card. I'd give it a 3½/5 but as it is not possible, I'll have to give it 4/5.
-Card rating is 3.5 EXACTLY
-100 votes (is 100th vote)
Seems like a consensus to me.
So consider for a moment, you can't get past the wall of creatures your opponent has set up. Say they're all walls or have deathtouch or doublestrike etc. This will either get you the damage you need or weaken his/her defenses for your attack. What really makes this good is that you get to choose what you want to sacrifice as well. Unlike Damnation or Wrath of God or whatever, you can keep some of your creatures alive as well.
If you have Kalastria Highborn on the field and you blow up all your other vampires for the extra damage while you more than make up for what you paid to keep her alive. You could destroy someone if you used Blood Artist with an army of tokens without destroying the token engine you used to put them there. This card is for versatility, not mindless damnation. It's synergistic, not a beatstick.
Usually this means an opponent will lose all but 1-2 big guys and pay 3-6 life; but if you plan around that; this is an alright; very usable card. If you cast it at 2 mana you can reasonably expect it to either be the cheapest token wipe ever; or to sap someone of 4-10 life from several players; which is really good for 2 mana.
The game was built on cards like this in its earliest years, and the game would really benefit from heading back in that direction.
Card effect: 4/5-ish
Artwork: 5/5
Turn 4: Swamp, Crypt Ghast
Turn 5: Swamp, Crypt Ghast, Caged Sun, Caged Sun, Caged Sun, Caged Sun
Turn 6: Swamp, Killing Wave
All creatures are sacrificed unless their controller pays 48 life for each one.
...which basically means it's a long winded Damnation, but still.