Cards like Infinite Obliteration and Lost Legacy are kind of garbage-tier in limited, to say the least. Opening one of these as your rare in draft (or even worse, sealed) is not very enjoyable. I think there is room for similar yet more broadly applicable effects that aren't degenerate/broken. Effects that can act as more general discard, or life loss, or affect the boardstate, etc while still feeling rare and capturing the same flavor. I feel like Life's Finale is the direction these effects should be going in more often.
Painful Obliteration1BB
Sorcery
Name a creature card. Search target opponent's graveyard, hand and library for any number of cards with that name and exile them. Then that player shuffles his or her library. If fewer than four cards were exiled this way, that player loses 4 life.
Demolished Legacy1BB
Sorcery
Search target player's graveyard, hand and library for up to three nonartifact, nonland cards and exile them. That player shuffles his or her library, loses 3 life, then draws a card for each card exiled from hand this way.
Horrid Ceremony4BB
Sorcery
Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for 1 or one mana of that creature's color.)
Search target player's library for up to six nonland cards with the same converted mana cost and exile them. Then that player shuffles his or her library and loses 6 life.
Phyrexian Extraction(B/P)
Instant
Exile target nonland card in a graveyard. Search its owner's graveyard, hand and library for a card that shares a card type with it and exile that card. Then that player shuffles his or her library.
VilifyXBB
Sorcery
Search target opponent's library for a creature card with power X or less and exile it. Then that player shuffles his or her library and loses X life.
Vampiric Surgery2BB
Sorcery
Name a nonland card. Search target opponent's graveyard, hand and library for any number of cards with the same name as that card and exile them. Then that player shuffles his or her library and loses 4 life. You gain 4 life.
I'm getting carried away, but you get the point.
EDIT: Sorry, Painful Obliteration above was specifically supposed to restrict the search to library only, not "graveyard, hand and library". So in comparison to Infinite Obliteration, it sacrifices some reach in favor of life loss. For some reason I got confused and included the graveyard and hand on the card.
These cards are never printed more than once per set, and they always appear alongside rares that are terrible in limited for other reasons. This doesn't feel like something that needs extra text tacked on, especially since the wording is pretty clunky as-is. These cards still aren't worth running in the main boards of constructed decks (Vilify and Phyrexian Extraction are so horrible I wouldn't even run them in a sideboard, either), and, frankly, most limited players would pass on these kinds of cards anyways. Life loss consolation prizes certainly aren't going to help.
The rest are all variously interesting. Horrid Ceremony is my favorite, followed closely by Demolished Legacy.
Demolished Legacy might be overpowered? I know Vendilion Clique and Thought-Knot Seer are similar and are very strong, but I think that's mostly because they're attached to good bodies. I don't have a good feel for these types of cards. It's neat though, and I don't think it would warp any format.
My thoughts exactly. My opponent plays a T1 self-replacer like Opt or Thought Scour or Brainstorm... and as a result I can (a) peek at their hand, (b) make them discard something like Cryptic Command or Remand or Electrolyze or Push or Path, (c) look through their deck and see what they're playing/planning, and (d) pluck that instant out of their grave to avoid future Snapcaster hijinks. Pretty good deal for no mana.
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Painful Obliteration 1BB
Sorcery
Name a creature card. Search target opponent's graveyard, hand and library for any number of cards with that name and exile them. Then that player shuffles his or her library. If fewer than four cards were exiled this way, that player loses 4 life.
Demolished Legacy 1BB
Sorcery
Search target player's graveyard, hand and library for up to three nonartifact, nonland cards and exile them. That player shuffles his or her library, loses 3 life, then draws a card for each card exiled from hand this way.
Horrid Ceremony 4BB
Sorcery
Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for 1 or one mana of that creature's color.)
Search target player's library for up to six nonland cards with the same converted mana cost and exile them. Then that player shuffles his or her library and loses 6 life.
Phyrexian Extraction (B/P)
Instant
Exile target nonland card in a graveyard. Search its owner's graveyard, hand and library for a card that shares a card type with it and exile that card. Then that player shuffles his or her library.
Vilify XBB
Sorcery
Search target opponent's library for a creature card with power X or less and exile it. Then that player shuffles his or her library and loses X life.
Vampiric Surgery 2BB
Sorcery
Name a nonland card. Search target opponent's graveyard, hand and library for any number of cards with the same name as that card and exile them. Then that player shuffles his or her library and loses 4 life. You gain 4 life.
I'm getting carried away, but you get the point.
EDIT: Sorry, Painful Obliteration above was specifically supposed to restrict the search to library only, not "graveyard, hand and library". So in comparison to Infinite Obliteration, it sacrifices some reach in favor of life loss. For some reason I got confused and included the graveyard and hand on the card.
The rest are all variously interesting. Horrid Ceremony is my favorite, followed closely by Demolished Legacy.
Demolished Legacy might be overpowered? I know Vendilion Clique and Thought-Knot Seer are similar and are very strong, but I think that's mostly because they're attached to good bodies. I don't have a good feel for these types of cards. It's neat though, and I don't think it would warp any format.
- Rabid Wombat
My thoughts exactly. My opponent plays a T1 self-replacer like Opt or Thought Scour or Brainstorm... and as a result I can (a) peek at their hand, (b) make them discard something like Cryptic Command or Remand or Electrolyze or Push or Path, (c) look through their deck and see what they're playing/planning, and (d) pluck that instant out of their grave to avoid future Snapcaster hijinks. Pretty good deal for no mana.