Oof. Aflatoxin was harder than I expected, considering that there weren't many decks to base the strategies and synergies around off the Malignant Cells. Here it is though! ^_^
Just as many Death cards revolve around dealing poison and gaining benefit around creature death, Aflatoxin provides a direct way of killing creatures over time. After applying Aflatoxin, the targeted creature becomes infected with two poison counters; if said creature dies from that poison, it becomes a Malignant Cell. This alone makes Aflatoxin one of the few alchemy spells that can generate creatures when used.
Aflatoxin is a single-target version of Plague that inflicts a target with two ‘Aflatoxin’ counters (the poison icon is significantly darker in color once applied). Aflatoxin stacks with other creature-poison effects, such as the Infect ability from Bloodsuckers or the reactive infection from Thorn Carapace. Either way, once a creature dies with this special Aflatoxin debuff, it leaves a Malignant Cell within its place. These Malignant Cells are not standalone cards (can’t be bought from the bazaar), and are also from the Other element, meaning that they’re one of the most unique creatures only obtained by this spell. Malignant Cells have an ability called Infest, which at the end of every turn causes them to regenerate (duplicate) themselves (with Adrenaline, they spawn up to 4 new Malignant Cells after a turn ends). Over several turns, the person with the Malignant Cell will eventually find themselves unable to play creatures due to them infesting the board, and because of that, Aflatoxin is also a form of creature denial by essentially forcing the enemy to either kill the cells to make room for their own creatures or use other tactics to defeat the enemy. Malignant Cells only have 1 attack and 1 HP for stats, so nearly any shield can withstand their damage easily.
Note that Malignant Cells cannot duplicate status effects or stat boosts from itself; if one Malignant Cell is afflicted by Momentum or Blessing for example, its copies will not have such effects when generated. Infest can be lobotomized in order to prevent the cells from spreading across the field. Note that killing or removing the first Malignant Cell/infected creature on the field generally prevents Aflatoxin’s effect from becoming useful. Also, Phoenixes do not generate a Malignant Cell upon death from Aflatoxin, but rather, generate Ash (Viruses or Retroviruses using their ability Plague or Infect will not trigger the Aflatoxin death). Immolation however will generate a Malignant Cell on death when used on a poisoned creature.
Like Antimatter, Aflatoxin is one of the more expensive cards to use, costing 8 quanta when non-upped. Upgraded it only costs 6 quanta, but in most cases, having one or two in a deck is generally enough for the amount of damage it deals.
Because Aflatoxin can take a long time setting up (in case you want to generate several Malignant Cells on the opponent’s field to prevent creatures from spawning), certain cards can help speed up the process. For example, Flooding does not kill the Malignant Cells (since they’re a non-elemental) or Water-type creatures, which means that if the enemy is unable to remove the Malignant Cells in time with their own forms of CC, they’ll eventually cover the entire area (including the center row if Aflatoxin is used early enough), making it nearly impossible to dish out new creatures for damage or abilities. Nightmare can also provide a major form of denial, as placing multiple Malignant Cells in the opponent’s hand will make it harder to stop the infestation unless they discard or use up their other cards. Finally, using rewind on duplicate Malignant Cells will also prevent the opponent from drawing any useful cards (unless they have Hourglasses to increase their draw rate); of course, using Rewind on a creature infected with Aflatoxin will remove the poison if played again, so it’s important to remember the distinction between the usage of such CC.
While almost every shield can prevent the exponentially increasing damage of Aflatoxin, Skull Shield has more synergy in avoiding damage compared to Bone Wall, as it reduces the 1 damage dealt by cells to 0 (Bone Wall is in fact weak to Aflatoxin’s mechanic of creature spawning). Other shields can also be used, but Skull Shield is a Death card that can be used for cheap alongside Aflatoxin when necessary.
Finally, because of Aflatoxin’s creature spawning mechanic, certain forms of AOE damage can be immensely useful to reap the benefits of trigger-on-death effects. A single Thunderstorm for example, combined with a Vulture, can kill all of the enemy’s cells instantly while boosting your Vulture to have over 20 attack and health, making it very difficult for the opponent to kill your Vulture. Unstable Gas can also kill off Malignant Cells while dealing spell damage to your opponent – and if you combine such AOE damage spells with a Graveyard, you could create a field of cheap attackers. Regardless, Aflatoxin is a situational but unique form of CC that can be a major nuisance to players if untaken care of, and is the only spell capable of creating another unique and situational creature, Malignant Cell.
Quick Facts:
-Aflatoxin poisons an enemy creature for 2 damage per turn.
-Creatures who die while afflicted with Aflatoxin produce a Malignant Cell.
-Malignant Cells generate a new Malignant Cell after each turn; they deal damage upon being generated
-Malignant Cells do not carry status effects or bonuses to new Malignant Cells, such as Momentum, Adrenaline, or Blessing
Use This Card Together With:
-Flooding | Inundation
-Boneyard | Graveyard
-Skull Shield | Skull Shield
Decks Using This Card:
-"Skittles" - Taste the Rainbow!
-Rage Quit
-Headbutt a Cactus (Liquid Antimatter)
