Mustard Bomb (Final Fantasy IX)

Mustard Bomb is a Blu Mag spell for Quina in Final Fantasy IX that attempts to heat up a target at a cost of 10 MP so their next action will destroy them. Mustard Bomb cannot be reflected but works with Return Magic. Soulcage, Drakan, Vepal (Red), Hades and Maliris use it against the party.
==Obtain==
Quina learns Mustard Bomb by eating a Wraith (Red Flame), Bomb, Red Vepal, Grenade, or Crystal Maliris. The earliest Mustard Bomb can be learned is from the Bombs on the Lindblum Plateau forest right after Quina is recruited during the time the party is meant to head for Gizamaluke's Grotto. Instead of going that way, the player can return to Lindblum's Business District and head south to the entrance to the world map.
==Mechanics==
Mustard Bomb attempts to heat up a target, destroying them if the afflicted executes any direct command, including counterattacks and reactions. Heat wears off over time, but in practice, will always kill an enemy, as they do not idle their turns. If a heated up target were to be hit with an Ice-elemental attack, they would return to normal.
The chance of the Mustard Bomb spell working is calculated as follows:
:Chance = 30 + Level + [Magic / 4] - Target's Level
Two randomly generated values determine if the spell will hit:
:A random number 0...99 >= Chance, the spell misses its mark
:A random number 0...99 < Target's Magic Evade, the enemy evades
==Use==
Mustard Bomb defeats an enemy. It is among many in Quina's arsenal of instant-defeat abilities alongside LV5 Death, Frost (with an added step), and Doom. All of Quina's instant-defeat abilities have poor accuracy, bar LV5 Death against a target with a compatible level, so the player may find they are only wasting their turn using them. Mustard Bomb's base accuracy is merely 30%.
The other way to inflict Heat are with Add Status with Flame Saber with a minor chance (10%) to work, but Steiner will at least not waste a turn if they deal some damage with his attack.
Frost and Mustard Bomb are similar with their effects neutralizing their target and with matching base accuracies. Mustard Bomb can be seen as the superior of the two as it forgoes an additional step to defeat the enemy, and for being available much earlier than Frost.
Good targets for Mustard Bomb are Taharka, a rare chance of it working against a boss, and Yans.
==Etymology==
Category:Blue Magic in Final Fantasy IX