Splicing: What is the point?

[AOFanboi]

So I get this whole lot of cards that has the ability to "splice onto Arcane", but most of the splice costs are the same as normal casting cost, with a few higher and a few lower.

What is the real point of splicing? As far as I can see, you just end up with a spell that has more effects and thus a more likely candidate for countering than the original spell was, so that in effect the opponent uses one counterspell to effectually kill multiple spells.

Is there some rule I've overlooked somewhere?

[Zetor]

You don't lose the spliced card(s), only the original. If you have the mana, two glacial rays in hand can be devastating -- fire off a Lava Spike (3 damage to the dome), splice two rays onto it to kill two weenies or a single fatty or do 4 more damage to the dome. You'll then keep the two rays to be reused later... it's downright evil with graveyard recursion. And if the enemy counters it, you only lose a spike while he loses a counterspell (likely not an arcane one either, hence no easy recursion)

-- Z.

[schild]

This is correct. Zetor has spoken.

[AOFanboi]

Ah. You don't discard the cards. Obvious, really. Which is why I didn't think of it.

*smacks head*

[Johny Cee]

I'm not entirely sure how successful this mechanic will be.  You need to run a fair amount of arcane spells to take advantage of splicing,  but there just aren't that many decent arcane spells.

Also:

Talked around the splicing mechanic with a few guys at the local store.  We came to the conclusion that successful completion is a cost of casting the spell as a splice.  Counter the spell you're splicing into and the splice fails too.  Sounds reasonable to me,  but it means a counter of the original spell will result in more of your lands being tapped.

Also,  we had trouble with the color of the spliced spell.  If you splice a red damage spell into a white arcane spell,  the red damage spell might be both red & white.  This was implied at the review course one of the guys attended the past weekend (he's sitting for the lvl 1 Judges test).  This sounds kind of bizarre to me.

Expect some clarification on the way splicing works.

We then spoke of baseball,  to try and scrub away the stench of nerd....

[Xilren's Twin]

Talked around the splicing mechanic with a few guys at the local store.  We came to the conclusion that successful completion is a cost of casting the spell as a splice.  Counter the spell you're splicing into and the splice fails too.  Sounds reasonable to me,  but it means a counter of the original spell will result in more of your lands being tapped.

Also,  we had trouble with the color of the spliced spell.  If you splice a red damage spell into a white arcane spell,  the red damage spell might be both red & white.

Actually, the splice spells effects are simply added to the text of the spell it is being attached to, so it takes on the color of the other spell.   It wont be two colors.  So you could splice a glacial ray on to a blue or white spell to take out a Protection from Red critter.

Xilren