Galvanic Blast

I'm honestly not the hugest fan of Galvanic Blast. Not because it's not good: it is, especially when you consider how easy it is for decks to play artifacts right now, and how easy it is for artifact decks to play more than one color. Under those circumstances, it's basically always four damage for one mana, and that's better than okay, and possibly better than good. It's not the most exciting card to me, and while I'd personally rather see a more innovative design than a card engineered to fit in Standard around Lightning Bolt, I appreciate its existence and I applaud what it has done and what it will continue to do.

Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5

Welcome back readers todays card of the day is Galvanic Blast a shock that gets better the more artifacts you have. 2 mana for a single red is shock which is a fine card obviously not as good as lightning bolt but you can’t complain. 4 damage for a single mana is even more powerful and the metalcraft requirement is a joke as assembling three artifacts is easy. In standard this is a powerful burn spell in decks built around artifacts it just can’t be plopped into any old burn deck it requires a home be tailored to it. In extended and modern the same concept applies and the fact that it is outclassed by a plethora of other burn spells make it not as powerful as it could be in standard formats. In casual this is fine in a burn deck utilizing a lot of artifacts obviously in multiplayer this is bad, burn decks don’t have nearly enough cards to deal 20 or more damage to each player making burn cards a poor choice for multiplayer decks. In limited its burn providing removal and some damage straight to player’s faces making it a solid pick. Overall a powerful burn card that requires an artifact component to your deck in most cases is worth the minimal effort to trigger the metalcraft bonus.
 
Constructed: 3.0
Casual: 3.0
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 1.5

Today's card of the day is Galvanic Blast which is a one mana Red instant that deals two damage to target creature or player, like Shock, but also has Metalcraft which increases the damage to four.  This is an excellent card for an artifact deck that has some Red mana available and is one of the cards that might make a Red/Artifact design possible. 
There is no drawback to this card and the proper builds make this nearly as effective as Lightning Bolt which is reason enough to consider the overall potential of this burn spell.
 
For Limited the format is filled with artifacts and this is a common that can be picked first in Booster when the rare is weak and second or third in many packs.  Four damage is huge in Limited, whether it is direct or as removal and every copy available should be played with low cost artifacts as support.  Multiples of this should make splashing Red mandatory for Sealed as it is cards like this that make winning dramatically easier.
 
Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 5.0
Multiplayer: 4.5

      Welcome to the card of the day section here at Pojo.com! Today we are looking at Galvanic Blast from Scars of Mirrodin. Galvanic Blast costs just one red mana and is a common instant. Galvanic Blast deals two damage to target creature or player, but it deals four damage instead if you have Metal craft (control three or more artifacts).

      I love Galvanic Blast, despite the history I have personally with this card. Let me take a moment to explain. It was during a sealed deck tournament for Scars of Mirrodin. I had the disfortune of playing against a close friend of mine, who drafted a red artifact deck. His first turn, he drops Memnite, another Memnite, Mox Opal, and a Mountain. He then proceeded to cast two Galvanic Blasts, dealing me eight damage, before I even had a chance to play a land. With two creatures, and such a fast amount of damage dealt, that game ended quickly, and I’ll never forget my first actual encounter with Galvanic Blast.

      And that kind of thing is what makes Galvanic Blast what it is, a very amazing burn spell. The capability of dealing eight damage that early in the game does exist, and it is very easy to exploit. Early game it could be just another Shock kicking around waiting to take out a small threat, later on, it could well be the game ender. And for only a common, it is definitely worth putting in any deck, even if you cannot benefit from the Metalcraft. The reasoning behind that is with Lightning Bolt out, and Shock back in, it means you could run eight Shocks.

      This review is the last before Christmas, so from all of us here at Pojo.com, I would like to extend to you and yours from my family, my friends, and my extended family, a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or however you would prefer to interpret the season. Keep safe, keep Merry, and keep gaming!
 
Limited: 5/5
Casual: 5/5
Constructed: 5/5
Multiplayer: 3/5