Spectacle is an alternative cost mechanic that can theoretically appear on any non-land card. It’s a static ability that comes with a listed mana cost, and lets you cast the spell for that cost if an opponent lost life in the same turn.
And, yeah, that’s the basics! If someone other than you gets hurt somehow, spectacle costs are active. It isn’t always a discount, but usually comes with some other bonus if it costs more than the spell’s normal mana cost. Here’s a few more notes:
- Damage of any kind and direct life loss to any opponent activates spectacle, and it does not matter who dealt that damage or how the life was lost.
- You must still follow normal timing restrictions for the card when you cast it for the alternative cost.
- Cost reductions or additions still affect the alternative costs of a spell.
- Any amount of opponent life lost, no matter how big or small, activates spectacle. Multiple instances of opponent life loss do not change or lower the alternative cost.
- In a multiplayer game (like a Commander Game), if an opponent leaves the game but still lose life in the turn they left the game, that will activate Spectacle.
Spectacle was fairly well received, being a generally aggressive mechanic that rewarded aggression. Several cards with the mechanic we’re quite strong in Constructed play, and while it’s mostly thematically tied to the Rakdos guild on Ravnica, it could appear again pretty much anywhere.
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