Boltwave – Foundations
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2024
Ratings:
Constructed: 4.0
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Long-time players are probably having flashbacks to Lava Spike right now, and Boltwave trades the rarely-relevant Arcane subtype for its multiplayer functionality. It’s kind of unfortunate that the currently most popular multiplayer format has people start on 40 life, but every little bit counts; and on top of that, other formats are huge and Standard is now on that list. If you’re trying to make a burn deck, what you need is a critical mass of similar cards, ideally efficient ones, and the chances of getting that just went way up. I wouldn’t bet against the designers having hedged against that, so even if you don’t intend to use Boltwave yourself, you shouldn’t forget about it either.
Constructed: 3.5 (it’s at its best in dedicated burn decks, but 3 damage for one mana is inherently good)
Casual: 4
Limited: 3
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
A new and exciting riff on the classic “one mana, three damage” formula, Boltwave reminds me of a burn spell that’s not themed after lightning, that being Lava Spike from Champions of Kamigawa. I would say that, more or less, it’s a sidegrade; the upsides are that this doesn’t target and that this hits each opponent, but the downside is that this is incapable of hitting planeswalkers (which can matter on occasion).
That being said, one mana for three damage to the face is, has always been, and will always be the gold standard, and I feel like Boltwave will get played a fair amount wherever it’s legal. It’s efficient, and when a red deck’s aiming to be as efficient as possible, four more copies of a 3-damage hit will always be worth it. I’m not sure if burn is a Thing in Standard, but it is elsewhere, and this will often be a good supplement to the burnination gameplan. As effectively Lava Spikes 4-8 (and Lightning Bolts 9-12), it lets you fit more of an excellent effect into the already streamlined gameplan.
Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 5
Limited: 4 (it’s not removal, but it’s still 3 easy damage)
Multiplayer: 4 (hitting everyone mitigates one of the weaknesses burn can sometimes be prone to falling into, not enough fuel to burn it all down)
Commander [EDH]: 3.5 (burn is usually not optimal in EDH, but it can work with a bit of care)
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