Pointed Discussion

the comes into play condition isnt nessessary, it will die if you havent delt damage this turn

Well, you can respond to its come into play ability by casting Shock or something similar. When the ability resolves you won't have to sacrifice it and still get a 3/3 creature.

Very good card, but casual. 3.5/5

Definitely right on casual, but can build a right powerful deck when it's along with rakdos pit dragon fledgling dragon, about twenty first turn burn spells, rites of flame and desperate ritual.

Usually comes in as at least a 4/4 if used properly, making it a decent deal if you can summon the needed (if you're not running mono-red, this can be tricky.)

I just love this guy. Awkward? yes. Fun? again, YES!

I like using Seal of Fire in order to play him on turn three.

After he's in play, play Flame Rift. In a 4 player game, he gets +12/+12 instantly, and Flame Rift is generally good in a red deck anyways.

I like it, but it so easy to kill at it's early stages. The CITP trigger is almost silly, since the only deck that would run this is some red aggro win-on-turn-four thing (RDW) and even there it doesn't have trample so costing you a ball lightning on turn 3 is hardly worth it. I like it, it's just never really gonna fit in a deck.
ZEvilmustache is pretty much right.
3/5

@drunyon: Of course! Seal of Fire! Why didn't I think of that?

Yeah, I think the best way to pull this off is with a Lightning Bolt, Shard Volley, or even Sonic Seizure in response to the triggered ability. That way he gets +1/+1 counters from the damage, and is therefore basically a 4/4 for four that deals 3 damage and forces you to discard a card upon entering play. Which is a good deal, in my opinion. Cause, you know, Hidden Horror is good, and so is for 3 damage.

Or you could free-cast Fireblast in response, but two mountains can be risky if you're really just doing it to make your War Elemental a 5/5 for after you're out of Ball Lightnings. Oh, wait, that's kinda good, isn't it?

I still wish he cost or were a 0/0 with Bloodthirst 1 for instead of his comes-into-play ability (or Bloodthirst X, where X is the amount of damage dealt to your opponents the turn it enters the battlefield). I also wish he had trample.

Seal of Fire is great, but you can also use a turn 2 Braid of Fire to pull out a Lightning Bolt during your upkeep. But I'd still rather play Boggart Ram-Gang with my RRR.

This is only decent, in my opinion. Interesting flavour, and pretty good design, but in terms of card effectiveness, it's lacking. Any card that needs you to set it up before it does anything useful needs to be really damn good once you do set it up. If not, it's just wasting space in your deck. This CAN be a decent 4/4 body if you response cast Bolt with it, but it's not worth keeping a Bolt in hand in case you draw War Elemental, and it's definitely not worth having a useless War Elemental in your hand with no burn. A solid 3/5 for me.

he reminds me of Stalking Vengeance some how?

this card SCREAMS red

breath of malfegor btw

Use Gut Shot to bring it into play on turn 3 with no strings attached.

Infernal Plunge your turn 1 Goblin Arsonist or turn 2 Perilous Myr for damage and enough mana to cast this bad boy.

However, this creature is a lightning rod for hate, and red is the color least able to protect its creatures, so the odds of getting through with an unblocked attack once he gets big enough are relatively low, considering his lack of evasion.

"Whenever an opponent is dealt damage, put that many +1/+1 counters on War Elemental." ... you all talk about 4/4 or so... that makes me bit confused... will the card get counters every time opponent was dealt damage? (like next turn with the second Lightning Bolt it would get additional +3/+3)? Or does it work only for the turn it comes into play?

Does this get double counters if it attacks and hits a two-headed giant team?

I would love to see a reprint!

War Elemental ... a hipster? He had Bloodthirst before it was Gruul.

It would be much cooler if it were 0/0 and had a trigger like Cryptborn Horror instead of the first ability instead:

"War Elemental enters the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on it equal to the total amount of damage dealt to all opponents this turn.
Whenever an opponent is dealt damage, put that many +1/+1 counters on War Elemental."

This way it wouldn't necessarily be a fragile 1/1 when it enters the battlefield;
making it grow the turn it enters the battlefield can get a bit tricky.
Ragamander's suggestion of reducing the cost or giving it Bloodthirst X would have been a nice solution as well (ignoring the fact that this keyword first appeared in Ravnica, two cycles after Mirrodin).

Speaking of Cryptborn Horror, this card seems generally preferable for this reason.
Cryptborn Horror is easier to cast as well (while War Elemental really asks you to get played in a monored deck); and being a hybrid - is also immune to Doom Blade and the like.
Most importantly, you'll usually get more out of a moderately big horror with trample than you get out of an elemental that starts out small and might get immensely huge over time, but can still be chump-blocked.

War Elemental has a more interesting creature type and is unbeaten in regards of flavor, i'll give it that.

And in the right deck it can still do a pretty decent job, if you play enough burn it might even be preferable to Cryptborn Horror given that you manage to keep your opponent's side void of small creatures.
Cheap burn seems pretty awesome with it: Lightning Bolt acts as a permanent Giant Growth for War Elemental, and saccing mountains for a Fireblast might even be worth it early in the game if that means you'll be able to hit your opponent with a 5/5 - especially if you can do the same thing next turn again for more damage by casting another burn spell.

And if nothing else, it's always an interesting card to use in casual.

There are a lot of elementals around, but this is the goddamn elemental of WAR.

Style points gained just for that.

Why is this card not rated 5/5 ?

I'm definitely putting this in my Lord of Riots deck. It can get Rakdos out most games on turn 4 or 5, and then theres not much stopping me from getting some nice flying/trample damage in every turn. This dude will swell like a balloon. The only issue I can see is that unless i spend some money on some Rakdos shocklands I'm not gonna be able to get this guy out turn 3 and then Rakdos turn 4. Still, well worth it for a creature that can easily become a 7/7 after just one swing with Rakdos.

This card is beast in my Purphoros, God of the Forge EDH deck.

Turn 5 (last turn casted my general)
1. Enters the battlefield with 2 +1/+1 counters on it for each opponent
2. Cast Dragon Fodder, put 4 +1/+1 counters on it for each opponent
3. Purphoros, God of the Forge becomes a creature
4. Hit an opponent with no blockers with Purphoros, God of the Forge, put 6 +1/+1 counters on it.

In a four man game of EDH, it's already a 25/25, suck it Primordial Hydra! Shame it'd normally get doom blade'd next turn.

Very cool in a mono-red burn. Pingers, Bolts, all kinds of wonderful methods to deal damage and make this guy bigger. Fun card to play in casual.

Repercussion works in both directions. Effectively gives him trample while allowing you easy access to his "don't sac" clause. Both also work well with Blazing Salvo as it's pretty lose/lose.

Mogis loves this fella. Gets big and gives great devotion. Plenty of ways for red and black to get that incidental damage needed to make this guy great. 4/5