Yeah, except that Shunt wouldn't work. This is an ability, not a spell.
Zyant
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
lol Shunt too funny EDIT: sorry, meant Reroute
Pugnator
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
reroute still won't work, you have to pay the cost, it doesn't say target player pays half his life. i'm sorry, but there's just no way to prevent the life loss.
also, if you're oponent doesn't have burn spells and you have a constant way to have at least more than 1 life, he'll never get to have any creatures in play. although there are a lot better cards to do that.
BetrayerKol
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I combine this with platinum angel, greed, and repay in kind, and it's quite effective.
Without platinum angel, I can't imagine using it, however. Although it has lead to some debates as to what half of -46 life is :D
The best kind of betrayal! Besides sudden but inevitable.
Gabriel422
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
The sort of card that I like. It promises massive card/mana advantage, while telling you to simply throw away your life. Seems a bit hard to work around, at least with the card pool back in the day.
wrathofdave430
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
well, half of one rounded up is still one... with that i would use it to demo that 9/9 or what ever creature in play late game a very effective card unless ur opponent can deal you direct damage(red) or natralize it lol
Paolino
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
5/5 for flavor! Concerning playability, I don't think we will see this card in competitive play...
TheDementiaBat
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Ill stick with my royal assasin thank you very much.
Aquillion
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Utterly worthless. To even beat a Terror you have to use it twice and pay 3/4ths of your life, at which point you've also spent 9 mana. There are better things to spend that on.
If you want to spend life in exchange for anti-creature card advantage, just run Ashes to Ashes instead. Yes, this can be used at less life, but Ashes to Ashes eliminates creatures much faster, which is worth far far more; and can be used better in the early game anyway, which is when it really counts. Plus, it exiles.
Also, regarding all those people saying that there's no way to make your opponent suffer the life loss: Mirror Universe! There are much better ways to lower your life for that, though. Try Lich.
Leo...Preliator
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
118.4 If a cost or effect allows a player to pay an amount of life greater than 0, the player may do so only if his or her life total is greater than or equal to the amount of the payment.
Everyone saying Lich and platinum angel combos isn't right. You can't pay life you don't have, so if your life is at 0 or lower, you can't pay any life, so you can't activate the card.
Smokingpapyrus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Leo...Preliator
At 0 life you would have to pay 0 life, so that doesn't pose a problem. I'm not 100% how this is handled in MTG but half of a negative number is a negative number. So mathematically if you were at -4 you would lose -2 life (aka you would gain 2 life).
Looked it up and apparently when a negative life total is used for calculations it is treated as zero. So anything under 0 makes you lose 0 life, a cost you can always pay.
It works.
blahpers
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Underrated card. In a mono-black zombie/rat/thrull/whatever-token-you-like swarm deck, breaks a mid-to-late-game stalemate in classic black fashion.
Comments (15)
Shunt
too funny
EDIT: sorry, meant Reroute
also, if you're oponent doesn't have burn spells and you have a constant way to have at least more than 1 life, he'll never get to have any creatures in play. although there are a lot better cards to do that.
Without platinum angel, I can't imagine using it, however. Although it has lead to some debates as to what half of -46 life is :D
with that i would use it to demo that 9/9 or what ever creature in play late game
a very effective card unless ur opponent can deal you direct damage(red) or natralize it lol
Concerning playability, I don't think we will see this card in competitive play...
If you want to spend life in exchange for anti-creature card advantage, just run Ashes to Ashes instead. Yes, this can be used at less life, but Ashes to Ashes eliminates creatures much faster, which is worth far far more; and can be used better in the early game anyway, which is when it really counts. Plus, it exiles.
Also, regarding all those people saying that there's no way to make your opponent suffer the life loss: Mirror Universe! There are much better ways to lower your life for that, though. Try Lich.
Everyone saying Lich and platinum angel combos isn't right. You can't pay life you don't have, so if your life is at 0 or lower, you can't pay any life, so you can't activate the card.
At 0 life you would have to pay 0 life, so that doesn't pose a problem. I'm not 100% how this is handled in MTG but half of a negative number is a negative number. So mathematically if you were at -4 you would lose -2 life (aka you would gain 2 life).
Looked it up and apparently when a negative life total is used for calculations it is treated as zero. So anything under 0 makes you lose 0 life, a cost you can always pay.
It works.