Buzz

[nietzsche]

Buzz 1R
instant
deal 1 damage to target creature
draw a card

Because Zap sucks, and this would make a lovely limited card.

Current Wording:
Stray Spark 1R
instant
deal 1 damage to target creature
draw a card

[technogeek5000]

 
how many versions of this have we seen...

a shock is worth one red and so i would make it deal 2. drawing is about worth one mana so that balances it out. and yor right, zap does suck. if you think its to much make it

[nietzsche]

A card is worth a lot more then 1 mana on something this cheap - its the idea that it can't hit players that doesn't make it stricly better then zap.

[Illissius]

its the idea that it can't hit players that doesn't make it stricly better then zap.

On the other hand, R&D doesn't seem to be as afraid of making strictly superior versions of existing cards these days. More specifically, they sometimes reevaluate how much an effect needs to cost, and intentionally print the same card with a different cost, like how Regrowth went from to to .
I think Zap could be a candidate for such a reevaluation, because it sucks, and the standard rule for cantrips is costing more than the effect without the cantrip. Shock costs . That means a 2 damage cantrip for , and perhaps 1 damage for would be viable cards.
I'm not saying this is necessarily the way to go, but don't rule it out.

[Matt]

I think the initial card is fine, though the name is a little goofy. Hitting creatures is better than players anyway - and while Lightning Bolt is considered too strong, both Strafe and Lava Spike were fine to print, so I think it's safe to say that Zap minus one mana, minus player hitting ability is fine.

Interestingly, if the other player is playing creatureless decks, you can Buzz your own 2+ toughness guy just to draw a card.

[nietzsche]

I didn't find the name to be that bad - if Zap, To Arms!, and shock can be made, whats wrong with Buzz?  Maybe an exclamation point would even things out.

[Matt]

A buzz should never kill ANYTHING, not even a kobold.

[Anusien]

Also, a cantrip is worth +2 mana and just one half of Lava Dart is clearly worth about a half mana.  However, Wizards has very clearly been hesitant about cantripping red spells, especially cantripping burn.  1 damage and 1 card is very definitely 2R.

[Matt]

Also, a cantrip is worth +2 mana and just one half of Lava Dart is clearly worth about a half mana.  However, Wizards has very clearly been hesitant about cantripping red spells, especially cantripping burn.  1 damage and 1 card is very definitely 2R.

Did you notice it can't hit players?

[Anusien]

How much is that worth?  A half mana?  The problem is that he's omitting the worthless half of the card.  I still feel like this is 1.5R, but I guess there's no harm in rounding down.

[nietzsche]

That assumes Zap was an actual "at the curve" card - which is wasn'.  2 damage and a card is definitly 2R, but 1 damage, only to a creature, doesn't seem that bad at 1R.

[Anusien]

2 damage and a card isn't 2R.  It's 1UR which is entirely different, and they pushed the power level in Ravnica to push a multicolored theme.  I'm willing to support this as-is, but I'd like to know why you think Shock + Cantrip is 2R.

[nietzsche]

2 damage and a card isn't 2R. It's 1UR which is entirely different, and they pushed the power level in Ravnica to push a multicolored theme. I'm willing to support this as-is, but I'd like to know why you think Shock + Cantrip is 2R.

That's going by the general cantrip rule presented this week - take a card thats on the curve, add 2 mana, draw a card.  The reason, I believe, electrolyze requires the blue mana is that the damage can be divided.  Consider adding 2 mana to Fire (from fire/ice) and you have a 4 mana cantrip, so 2 of that is converted to U (a second color to a card is generally equivalent to 2 generic mana).  But I am just going by the official design rules presented by mtg.com, so I may be wrong.

[Matt]

If they can print Magma Jet, this is definitely not above the curve.

Dealing 1 damage to creatures only is worth way, way less than one mana. Hell, it could literally cost ZERO mana and still be unplayable garbage if it doesn't cantrip.

[nietzsche]

Changed wroding, 24 hour clock

[jro]

The thing that makes me suspicious about this card is that it's pretty close to a guaranteed 2-for-1 if your opponent plays a 1 toughness guy (which seems likely but not guaranteed in both limited and constructed), and it doesn't require combat like Guided Strike, or damage being dealt like Carom or Bandage, to make it happen.  What other 2-for-1s are almost guaranteed at 2 (or 1) mana?  Probably the closest card to this is Sparkmage Apprentice, which gives you a 1/1 body instead of letting you draw a card (and can also target players).  At 3 mana, there's all kinds of 2-for-1s of both conditional and unconditional varieties, the simplest being Counsel of the Soratami.

Ultimately, though, I think it's fine.