What it does
Bio-plasmic Barrage is an activated ability found on certain Tyranid creatures from the Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks. When you activate it, you deal damage to a target equal to the number of cards in target opponent's hand (or sometimes the chosen value scales with hand size), drawing on the swarm's overwhelming firepower. It turns an opponent's stocked hand into a liability, punishing draw-heavy or controlling decks.
The nuance people miss: the damage amount is locked in based on hand size at the moment the ability resolves, not when activated, so opponents can dump cards in response to reduce it. It's also still an activated ability, so it can be responded to and the target can change legality if it becomes illegal.
In Commander, it shines against blue control or storm players hoarding answers, letting you pick off a creature, planeswalker, or face for big variable damage.
Iconic cards with Bio-plasmic Barrage
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