Pretty good. Don't know why Salamander hasn't just become Lizard...I guess Salamanders are supposed to be fire lizards but still...minor scruple. The ability is pretty nifty--lets you even kill blockers with first strike. Hoses banding. Hoses group blocks. Even beats death touch and, assuming the creature's controller doesn't have enough mana, can stop those pesky regeneraters. But it is quite expensive mana cost wise, making it only 2.5/5.
norbit444
★☆☆☆☆ (1.3/5.0)(3 votes)
a completely underestimated card, if your oponent blocks with a 7/7 and you have seven untapped mana, you could tap the mana and destroy your opponents creature not to mention your salamander still deals damage!
JWolps
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Summon Salamander...
TheSuperbloop
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Meh. Needs "R: +1/+0 until end of turn".
Compare to Shivian Dragon. Different rarities, yes, but SD gets +2/+1, flying, and a generally stricatly better ability, all for just 1 more colorless mana.
But I guess it could work out in the end...it could be a lot worse...
Mister_Tapwater
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
@kitsune warlock:
Biologically speaking, salamanders aren't lizards at all, they're ambhibians. Apparently someone at Wizards is aware of this incredibly pointless fact...
@Mister_Tapwater: You've quite right that salamanders arn't lizards, but WoTC employees don't know squat about taxidermy as they call every toad a frog.
Robface
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Wait. WAIT. A flowstone creature without their symbolic : ____ gets +1/-1 until end of turn?
Kryptnyt
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Salamanders in fantasy should be elementals.
Tiggurix
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Mister_Tapwater: You may call it pointless, but a fact it nonetheless is. I am glad they have kept the creature type, especially because salamanders have quite intriguing mythological connections.
@tavaritz: It's called TAXONOMY! Taxidermy is the profession for stuffing carcasses. And no, there are, in fact, no significant differences between "frogs" and "toads".
The_Murderauder
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@TheSuperbloop:
First of all, Shivan Dragon is a different rarity. Yes, you mentioned that, but you seemed to just completely disregard it. It's a very important fact. Cards at different rarities have different power levels. Simple fact.
Second, and more importantly, the dragon's ability is in NO WAY "strictly better." The two abilities are, in fact, completely unrelated, aside from their activation cost. The salamander's ability is direct damage, straight to creatures, and happens before combat damage. It's for killing blockers before they have a chance to interact with the salamander. Shivan Dragon's ability is a combat trick. It's for trading with larger creatures, or, more commonly, getting through many extra points of damage.
Scenario: you attack into a 6/6 flier. You have 6 mana up. Your opponent blocks. With the dragon, you can pump it by any amount (minimum of 1), and trade with your opponent's creature. With the salamander, you have to put all 6 mana into it, but you will kill the blocker before it deals any damage to your creature. Ups and downs to both scenarios.
Comments (11)
Compare to Shivian Dragon. Different rarities, yes, but SD gets +2/+1, flying, and a generally stricatly better ability, all for just 1 more colorless mana.
But I guess it could work out in the end...it could be a lot worse...
Biologically speaking, salamanders aren't lizards at all, they're ambhibians. Apparently someone at Wizards is aware of this incredibly pointless fact...
@tavaritz: It's called TAXONOMY! Taxidermy is the profession for stuffing carcasses. And no, there are, in fact, no significant differences between "frogs" and "toads".
First of all, Shivan Dragon is a different rarity. Yes, you mentioned that, but you seemed to just completely disregard it. It's a very important fact. Cards at different rarities have different power levels. Simple fact.
Second, and more importantly, the dragon's ability is in NO WAY "strictly better." The two abilities are, in fact, completely unrelated, aside from their activation cost. The salamander's ability is direct damage, straight to creatures, and happens before combat damage. It's for killing blockers before they have a chance to interact with the salamander. Shivan Dragon's ability is a combat trick. It's for trading with larger creatures, or, more commonly, getting through many extra points of damage.
Scenario: you attack into a 6/6 flier. You have 6 mana up. Your opponent blocks. With the dragon, you can pump it by any amount (minimum of 1), and trade with your opponent's creature. With the salamander, you have to put all 6 mana into it, but you will kill the blocker before it deals any damage to your creature. Ups and downs to both scenarios.
Personally, I'd rather have the dragon anyway.