Pointed Discussion

...and now we've got Lightning Bolt.

It is absolutely nothing like lightning bolt if it doesn't have the ability to hit the player, and nobody is ever going to take 5. Lame card to be honest.

You just gotta play smart, that's all. Salvo a creature that they really don't want to lose so that they take the 5, then follow up with an actual Lightning Bolt to kill the creature or to add 3 more points of unwanted damage.

nammertime is right; this card is best used in conjunction with other burn spells, since it's a great way to test the waters on a particular creature. If you're especially sadistic, you can hit the same creature with another Salvo (nothing sucks like choosing to take five to save a creature, then having to decide whether to take another five merely to justify the first five you took). And, of course, if you really need the creature gone, you can just fall back on the good old-fashioned Lightning Bolt.

It also works nicely in decks that attempt to deal massive amounts of damage very quickly as a way to possibly trick opponents into thinking you're trying to control, when you're actually trying to Lava Axe them for a fifth of the normal cost and then beat them over the head with Ball Lightning, Nova Chaser, and Shrapnel Blast.

Great for casuals because of the mindgames, but for real tournaments, stick to reliable bolt.

Better than Lightning Bolt? Sometimes, sometimes not. But great card anyway.

@Mdakw576: Speaking of mind games, Blazing Salvo is amazing alongside War Elemental, which again is amazing alongside Browbeat.
Imagine having a War Elemental on the 'field and targeting your opponent's creature with Blazing Salvo... most players would probably choose to let their creature die, instead of pumping War Elemental by +5/+5 >_> ...

Try imagining a burn deck with War Elemental, Browbeat, Blazing Salvo, Breaking Point, Lightning Bolt, Flame Javelin, Fireblast, maybe a couple of Seething Songs and Simian Spirit Guides and not to forget, Oxidda Golems :P I'm pretty sure that deck would be very frustrating to play against xD

Before lightning bolt was reprinted, this was my favorite 1cc red burn spell. Strafe was another. Lightning bolt has probably made more cards irrelevant in one pass than any other single card in Magic history, though I wouldn't be surprised if someone came up with a better example.

Yes it is worse than Bolt, so is... well basically every other 1cmc red burn spell ever. 1 mana for 3 damage to a creatue at instant speed is very good, 5 dmg to a players face for 1 mana would be beyond broken (turn 2 win with just a rite of lame?) and you usually want to blot creatures anyway so most of the time this acts pretty much the same, so I give it a 4/5 rating.

Back when I first started playing (and was also much younger) I read this card with extra punctuation:

"Blazing Salvo deals 3 damage to target creature. Unless that creature's controller has Blazing Salvo (as in owns the card themself), deal 5 damage to him or her.

I always found the card pretty cheap when it was played against me. The real world version, what with a new mastery of english clauses, is a lot more fair. :P

Put it on Isochron Scepter and laugh whenever your opponent plays weenies.

This card is so awful! I mean think about it: what must happen for this card to be good? Your opponent must have a creature in play he doesn't want to lose, that can be killed by this spell, and your opponent must be low on life. Then this is an acceptable creature kill. It's still, in that situation, not better than lightning bolt, because lightning bolt would do exactly the same: kill that creature. Or lightning bolt would kill your opponent.

If your opponent has no creatures in play, or only ones with shroud, protection from red and so on: this card does nothing (because it has no target).
If your opponent has only creatures in play that can't be killed by this card (toughness higher than 3, regeneration, indestructible or whatever): this card does nothing (because your opponent will let you burn the creature for three, which then survives).
If the small creatures your opponent has in play are expendable for him (like 1/1 tokens): congratulations to losing, because you spent a card to kill one lousy weak token!
If your opponent has enough life to spare (such as in teamed games with shared life, or EDH or similiar formats where you start with 40 life, or just got some lifegaining cards such as wurmcoil engine or loxodon warhammer): your opponent can easily spend 5 life to protect his creature: then once again, that spell didn't help you.

This card is horrible! It's one of the worst burn spells in the entire game. And no: I'm not exaggerating. If I'd ever bring that card to even a casual team game, my teammates would start crying. And I'd start crying if my teammate would play this. And if my opponent would play this, I'd lean back and assume this game is won already, if he plays with these cards.

Putting a burn spell in your deck, that can't kill players, and that only makes sense in very specific situations assuming your opponent repeatedly makes the wrong decisions, is no good idea. If you play an opponent who is an idiot, then you will win anyway. If you play an opponent who knows what he is doing, this card is completly worthless.

I'd even play ember shot over this. Because ember shot can kill creatures when I want to, and players when I want to. Of course I'd never play ember shot either, but ember shot is still better than this!

So please stop claiming this card is playable, or even good. You just confuse newer players. This card has no place in any deck. It's at the same level of cards such as wood elemental, obelisk of undoing, rakalite or zephyr spirit. Now that I have written this, time to rate down all comments claiming this card is even remotely playable, and rating up the others, to protect the new players from getting wrong ideas.

If I point this at the first creature my opponent lays down, I'm probably going to be pretty happy whichever choice he makes. But not as happy as I'd be if I'd gotten to make the choice. 3/5.

this is a good card. I can tell that immediately based on one thing: you're all comparing it to Lightning Bolt. Not Shock. Not Incinerate. Lightning Bolt. True, Lightning Bolt is probably better. But then again, Lightning Bolt is the #1 best card to use associated with the entire color 'Red'- almost 1/5 of all Magic cards.

So to even THINK about 'is this really possibly situationally better than Lightning Bolt?' means that at the very least, the card is solid. I would be very happy if Lightning Bolt was replaced by this instead of Shock in M12.

I agree with DarthParrallax. The fact that this is being compared to Lightning Bolt should tell us something about it.
Personally i run both. Its great fun. Often the situation goes like this: They have out something threatening. I proceed to cast this on it. Figuring i can follow up with another spell to kill their bomb, they choose to take the five(I have very few creature in my burn deck, so blocking doesn't occur that often, they also typically have little else left, it all got burnt.) I proceed to kill there thing anyway using an x-spell or some other large burn. So net result: I spent two cards, dealt five damage to their face and killed a threat. If they let the creature take the three, i burn it with another smallish spell, like lightning bolt. Next turn, x-spell to the fact. Overall result of this: rather the same.
I find the mind games it causes in my deck very fun.

It can't target a player, so it isn't on the same level as LB, but it does what LB does to a creature better than any other card with the same CMC. Strafe can't hit Red guys or players and is a Sorcery, Sonic Seizure loses you a card which can be good or bad depending on your deck and what you drop, Shard Volley loses you a land (again, could be good or bad), and Chain Lightning is a Sorcery.

This card is all upside: You either deal 3 to a creature or that creature's controller takes 5.

Plus, it can target your own creatures, meaning for R you can take 5 damage. I'm sure some insane person could find a use for that little tidbit.

~Zuty

They way I see either outcome's worth the one mana. It's just the fact that you can't choose which one you get that holds the card back. Could be annoying having a burn spell that you just know won't kill their dudes but it's still a good card.

Sure, you can compare it to Lightning Bolt: its' a burn spell that (potentially) can deal three damage. You can also compare Ember Shot to Lightning Bolt, but I'm not seeing anyone using that as a redeeming quality for Ember Shot. Both cards compare unfavorably.

I'll take Shock, or any other burn spell that goes where I point it, over this garbage any day.

Reading his endless hate on some of the best cards, I'm starting to think that majinara is just a very dedicated troll.

This card is UBER. For one thing, your opponent won't always make the right choice. For another, since they don't know what else is in your hand, they can't really know what the right choice *is*.

Repercussion
Furnace of Rath
Fire Servant

Blazing Salvo is a great card. Especially with any combination of these cards on the field. Repercussion would deal 3 to the creature, 3 to the player, or just 5 to the player. So it's a choice of potentially losing a creature and taking 3, or take 5. The other two just double the damage, which gets crazy. 6 to the creature, 10 to the player, or if Repercussion is in play as well, 6 to the creature, 12 to the player, or 10 to the player. All for .

Yes, the opposing player gets to choose. Yes, giving them the choice sucks. Just be sure you can use it to your advantage. Always target something they consider critical; mana creatures like Noble Hierarch, or something they might need for a combo. Or something you KNOW is going to hurt you hard-core later.

There are two kinds of these cards; those that always give the opponent the chance to make the right decision and those that just give the illusion of a right choice.

Fact or Fiction and Browbeat are the latter. Book Burning may or may not be, depending on the deck it's in. This card usually gives the opponent a right choice, unless you have tons of card advantage. If it kills a creature it's not that much of a bargain, but if you want to Lava Axe your opponent and can convince him to let you do it for 1 mana instead of 5, you come out way ahead. Oh, and instant speed.

A lot like attacking with a 3/1 with Frenzy 2.

Best to combo with other burns, use this first, then use your backup burn to either hit the player or the threat

This targeting a Phyrexian Negator: win

It's an instant speed Flame Slash that deals 1 less damage and gives your opponent the option to negate it. I'm not sure those 2 draw backs are worth instant speed.

It's a bolt for a creature, or a 1-mana instant-speed lava axe. I say you win no matter what your opponent chooses.

Either it's an extra bolt and card neutral or you get 5 damage for {R}. Target something important and keep bolts in the deck to kill what you failed to kill. If Salvo kills it, then you keep doing your thang, nothing wrong with that. If it doesn't, you make sure to hit it with other burn.

Even though they get to choose this either amounts to Red Control or it amounts to insane mana-per-damage.

Choice cards have their flaws, but this one does well I think.

This card is the means to one of my favorite magic games of all time where I was playing at a get together with a particularly snooty player who had just cast his 2/2 'the game is over now, I'm going to win next turn' card.
So, I casually play a blazing salvo. He takes it.
Keeping a straight face, I play a second blazing salvo. Obviously irked, he still takes it.
I play a third blazing salvo. Clearly unhappy and shaking his head, he says he'll take it.
I, still keeping my poker face, play a fourth blazing salvo. It's at this time he looks like he is going to punch me from across the table and finally lets the creature take it. 4 mana = 15 damage and a dead creature.


Long story short, people are right, this card is NOT that great if you only have one of them and are trying to deal with a threat, but that's not what it is for. You use this card because you have a pretty good idea how the opponent is going to react.

If I blast your creature that you MUST have, I know you are going to take a few 5 damage and that may open it up to death from more direct damage.
If I blast your creature that does not seem necessary, I know I am most likely getting rid of it and can drop some haste down on the battlefield.

When I can guess what you'll do when I play this card, I am king.

I gotta say, I love the idea of using this and opponent chooses to take the hit, then you nail the creature with a Lightning Bolt anyways.

i have a question actually if anyone would be willing to enlighten me: if someone plays this and my board is empty, no creatures to target at all, am i forced to take the lava axe?

@FaceClaimer: to answer your question, if there are no targettable creatures on the board than a player cannot cast Blazing Salvo because there is no legal target. You will not take 5. Also, if I cast this while you have no creatures but I do, I would be forced to target my own creature.