I'm not the only dude who saw it, but there was a card on a small spoiler on Mtgnews.com that grabbed my attention, Shivan Thunder. It reads:
Shivan Thunder 5R
Instant Uncommon
Shivan Thunder deals 4 damage to target creature or player.
Draw a card.
I thought about it for a while. At first it looked like a Cantrip Flametounge Kavu, but then realized that the 4/2 body either worked as a 2 for 1 creature kill or massive damage to the opponent, and this isn't quite as powerful.
Now that I think about it, It's a red Annihilate. There are about 6-7 creatures that come to mind that this won't kill and Annihilate will, all rare, while there are a lot of creatures this will kill that Annihilate won't, any rarity. As well as this, it's less mana specific, making it splashable.
The problem is that it's 1 mana more, and can't kill a Rith or Treva on its own. The 6 mana is a big problem to me, as I don't like Plague Spores because of the 6 mana. My favorite deck drops grizzly bears and then removes any blockers until they're dead, and 6 mana doesn't cut it. I still see it strong though. I find it slightly worse than Annihilate, but still pretty strong.
What do you guys think?
In Limited, this is amazing. 4 damage with no frills, and draw a card.
could have sworn I posted a response here last night.
Anyway, Im not thrilled by the cost either, but the fact that this can kill black creatures added to the fact that it can be a finishing burn spell (you neglected this point winky, and the player targetting really pushes it over the top) makes this an excellent limited card, particular for aggresive decks searching to either do those last few points or drop that one fat blocker. Because of the timing, the cantrip is pure gravy, but again it can help you force through.