The second suggestion is similar to the first except in stead of losing 10 Q per hit, it loses the damage dealt.
EG a player has 50 quantum ad a Tesla coil in play. Their opponent has 5 attacking creatures.
Opponents first creature attacks and takes 5 damage. 5 Quantum is drained: remaining 45
Opponents 2nd creature attacks and takes 4 damage. 4 Quantum is drained: remaining 41
Opponents 3rd creature attacks and takes 4 damage. 4 Quantum is drained: remaining 37
Opponents 4th creature attacks and takes 3 damage. 3 Quantum is drained: remaining 34
Opponents 5th creature attacks and takes 3 damage. 3 Quantum is drained: remaining 31
Opponent hits with weapon and takes 3 damage. 3 Quantum is drained: remaining 28
Lets say they generate 5Q, and next turn the opponent has 3 creatures in play.
...
Several turns later the player has just 12Q remaining, and the opponent has 3 creatures in play:
Opponents first creature attacks and takes 1 damage. 1 Quantum is drained: remaining 11
Opponents 2nd creature attacks and takes 1 damage. 1 Quantum is drained: remaining 10
Opponents 3rd creature attacks and takes 1 damage. 1 Quantum is drained: remaining 9
Opponent hits with weapon and takes 0 damage. Tesla coil breaks as there is insufficient Quantum.
Description would read:
Tesla coil deals 1 damage
to attacking creatures per
10 
Quantum. Lose 1
for each point of damage dealt.
Okay, this idea
seems like it's okay, but the problem is that you're effectively making the card require an effective casting cost of
+16 quanta at the beginning, which is absurd for a small-time permanent. No card (except Miracle) comes that close to being so expensive from placing it onto the field/playing it. I want to make a note right here and now: the damage is done to the opponent
player, not the opponent's creatures (otherwise, it'd be too similar to Fire Shield/Thorn Carapace or stronger).
The problem with this new effect (1 damage per 10 quanta to each creature/lose aether for each point of damage) is that since it requires a minimum of 10
quanta to effectively keep in play (or else the coil breaks); again, you're not going to see anyone who would want to risk spending all their
with this card, just in case the opponent plays more than a couple of creatures on the field - it'd be nice in mono-aether decks, but I'm trying to allow other elements to splash into this card. The damage done to the creatures in question (as you suggest) is not worth the cost and feels situational, and it'll be too expensive.
...and I guess it's just too much math (in my opinion) for the player if they think about how much damage they'll do to each creature on the field respectively according to the quanta amount.
I think it's best if I wrote, "...deal 1 (2) damage to the enemy player
opponent...", but that might be hard to fit onto the card as it is now.
I realize that skeletons would effectively trigger this permanent (another 'cheap cost' creature that can be created with multiple Graveyards on the opponent's side of the field), but unless you have the upgraded permanent, a field of skeletons is greater than one Tesla Coil.
My new question is: should the 'player damage' be affected by shields, or not? (Poisons bypass shields, but regular spells do not and can be reflected). I wouldn't personally change it to have it be affected, just because one Jade Shield/Reflective Shield could screw you over the minute it's played and you have one/two of these permanents down.
