Galvanic Discharge
Instant
Choose target creature or planeswalker. You get 

(three energy counters), then you may pay any amount of
. Galvanic Discharge deals that much damage to that permanent.
Illustrated by Zoltan Boros ยท Modern Horizons 3 (MH3)
Legalities
- Standard
- Not Legal
- Pioneer
- Not Legal
- Modern
- Legal
- Legacy
- Legal
- Vintage
- Legal
- Duel Commander
- Legal
- Pauper
- Legal
Printings
Rulings
-
You may pay zero
. You will get
, but Galvanic Discharge won't deal any damage.
-
is the energy symbol. It represents one energy counter.
-
Energy counters are a kind of counter that a player may have. They're not associated with any specific permanents.
-
Keep track of how many energy counters each player has. Potential ways to track this include writing theme down on paper or using dice, but any method that is clear and mutually agreeable is fine. (At higher levels of tournament play, dice may not be allowed for tracking counters that players have.)
-
If an effect says you get one or more
, you get that many energy counters. To pay one or more
, you lose that many energy counters. You can't pay more energy counters than you have. Any effects that interact with counters a player gets, has, or loses can interact with energy counters.
-
Energy counters aren't mana. They don't go away as steps, phases, and turns end, and effects that add mana "of any type" can't give you energy counters.
-
Some triggered abilities state that you "may pay" a certain amount of
. You can't pay that amount multiple times to multiply the effect. You simply choose whether or not to pay that amount of
as the ability resolves.
-
Some triggered abilities that state that you "may pay" a certain amount of
describe an effect that happens "If you do." In that case, no player may take actions to try to stop the ability's effect after you make your choice. If the payment is followed by the phrase "When you do," then you'll choose any targets for that reflexive triggered ability and put it on the stack before players can take actions.
-
If a spell or ability with one or more targets states that you "may pay" some amount of
, and each permanent that it targets has become an illegal target, the spell or ability won't resolve. You can't pay any
even if you want to.
-
Some spells and abilities that give you
may require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve. You won't get any
.
Archetypes that play this card
Duel Commander
- Aerid Konstrari 100.0% of lists
- Aragorn, King of Gondor 100.0% of lists
- Flamewar, Brash Veteran 100.0% of lists
Show 12 more Duel Commander archetypes
- Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph 100.0% of lists
- Goro-Goro and Satoru 100.0% of lists
- Kefka, Court Mage 100.0% of lists
- Magda, Brazen Outlaw 100.0% of lists
- Niv-Mizzet, Parun 100.0% of lists
- Quintorius, History Chaser 100.0% of lists
- Ral, Monsoon Mage 100.0% of lists
- Satya, Aetherflux Genius 100.0% of lists
- Toph, Greatest Earthbender 100.0% of lists
- Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar 50.0% of lists
- Jace, Multiverse Architect 50.0% of lists
- Slimefoot and Squee 16.7% of lists
Legacy
- Boros Energy 29.7% of lists
Modern
- Boros Ponza 100.0% of lists
- Jeskai Blink 100.0% of lists
- Boros Energy 90.7% of lists
Show 4 more Modern archetypes
- Indomitable Creativity 68.8% of lists
- Azorius Control 20.2% of lists
- Titan Shift 6.2% of lists
- Other 4.7% of lists
Pauper
- Other 4.5% of lists