Frailty | Enervation

[joebob777]

no actually anonymous is right, it does say higher, but he/she is making a big fit over just one small typo, i am sure you get the point of the card

OK either I'm going crazy or there's nothing wrong, no typo.

it is in the tables under the card from what i can see

[Ajit]

no actually anonymous is right, it does say higher, but he/she is making a big fit over just one small typo, i am sure you get the point of the card

OK either I'm going crazy or there's nothing wrong, no typo.

it is in the tables under the card from what i can see

"Any creature whose maximum HP is higher than its current HP will be killed if not immaterial, including friendly creatures."

What is wrong with that statement in regard to this card?  It means exactly what it is supposed to mean.

Any creature whose maximum HP is higher...

So lets say 5 HP is the maximum.

...than its current HP will be killed.

So lets say 3 HP is the current.

If a creature's maximum HP is 5 but it has a current HP of 3, then that means its wounded, and therefore going to get killed.

_____

Again, I feel this is so obviously not wrong that I must be missing something, and if I am forgive me!

[joebob777]

ugh, the word order confundled me, you right johan, me and anonymous were wrong

[johannhowitzer]

I could just reverse it to "current HP is lower than maximum" if it's that confusing. 

[joebob777]

no no, it alright, just i had a llittle brain fart

[AnonymousRevival]

Oh, I was wrong, sorry. I thought it was original, not current.

[johannhowitzer]

Updated to become single-target instead of full-field, with of course a cost reduction.

Seems pretty balanced to me now; in mono- you can prime the field with a Plague/Retrovirus, then deal finishing blows to large enemy creatures.  Fire Shield and Thorn Carapace will of course also be great with this.  Low cost favors splash into decks which don't feature as a primary element.

Note that Bounty | Bounty (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,16647.msg227180#msg227180) (another idea of mine, in fact inspired by Nepycros' comment on this thread's first page) is a potent counter to the above strategies.  Even stacking poison can be held back for some time with a couple Bounties.

[Ajit]

All changes for the better I think.  Looks good to moi.

[Acsabi44]

Reading the comments, I see that this was originally an all-killing card and you changed it to to targeting. I see this as a good thing; It would've been too powerful, especially if you consider the possibility of abusing it in mono.

So far, we have only one non HP-related kill*: The Freeze+ Shockwave combo. This uses 2 cards of two different elements, and 3 quanta overall, so using it is actually card disadvantage (while cards like Squid and perma shield can be used too, it's not so fast and secure of a kill than freeze+wave).

Now, let us compare this card and the possible synergies of it (in-color synergies, even) to the above. The first thing that comes to mind is virus+this. On-color, two cards used, and two turns needed since it takes one turn while the opposing creature suffers the damage.

Even if you use other, non-card disadvantage tools as a means of damage (Fire Shield comes to mind), the creature will always have a round to attack or use its abilities.

If you want to instantly kill a creature, then you have to use a direct-damage spell in conjunction with this card, just like with Freeze+Shocwave.

Conclusion: This card is a full turn solwer than an already existing combo to kill creatures regardless of their HPs. This card also relies on another card to kill a creature, but unlike in the other case (the freeze+ shockwave combo), this card is completely useless if the other half of the combo is not in the player's hand.
While the abuse potential with on-color cards like Plague is high, note that it never causes actual card advantage. I think that this is the biggest problem of this card, so what I'd do is add a cantrip so the card's text becomes "Kill the target wounded creature. Draw a card."

Another option might be (an even better one, although I don't know if it can be coded into the game) is to remove the situational nature of the card with something like this:
3 "Choose one: Kill the target wounded creature. OR draw a card"

* Yes there are things like Oty and Maxwell which are not traditional  HP-related, but still they are fairly situational.

[johannhowitzer]

Remember that if you get a Plague/Retrovirus that tags multiple creatures, that primes them all for Enervations at once.  No need to pair each Enervation with its own damage spell.  In that sense, yes, you can get a card advantage with this, by playing more than one Enervation after a field-wide effect.

[Acsabi44]

Remember that if you get a Plague/Retrovirus that tags multiple creatures, that primes them all for Enervations at once.  No need to pair each Enervation with its own damage spell.  In that sense, yes, you can get a card advantage with this, by playing more than one Enervation after a field-wide effect.

That's still no card advantage. 1 enervation/ creature plus the first plague.

you kill 3 creatures this way-->  you're down 4 cards(plague + 3 enervation), the opponent is down 3

[johannhowitzer]

With the poison possibly still ticking away on more creatures.  Enervation is an emergency-kill for a high-powered creature, while creature poison by itself is strong enough to wipe the whole field.

I would pack these in death stall decks just as a way to beat up enemy dragons and stuff with threatening abilities.