It's not lightning strike because they're trying to support big red as a control color right now. See Chandra Flamecaller, Nahiri the Harbinger. It's not working out because the meta is so distorted around Company.
This does kill Kitchen Finks and hits players to the face. I don't believe i will say this for a 2cmc sorcery 3 damage card, but i will give it a chance, at least in playtesting for modern.
Missed opportunity for a much better Incinerate though.
Someone else probably already said this but in modern it seem underwhelming. Pillar of Flame does the same job for 1 less if you're looking to hit finks or redcap/voice for that matter.
I guess that it is still decent removal. I don't get why they think that Lightning Strike is too powerful though.
Agreed. Exiling helps a little but the days of looping raptor and protector are long gone so exiling is of little value right now. If they really wanted to bring red back, just reprint lightning strike. Maybe they'll reprint forked bolt. That would be a good compliment to this card.
One thing to keep in mind tho. What plane are we about to go to. Kaledesh. Who is the only PW from that plane. Chandra. What does Chandra do....I expect red will gets lots of good burn in 3 months. Until then, red will continue to languish with blue as the worst colors.
I guess that it is still decent removal. I don't get why they think that Lightning Strike is too powerful though.
I don't remember the source offhand, but a recent Stoddard (I think it was Stoddard) said that the cards aren't necessarily too powerful for the format. They just restrict color identity and player color choice. If you have Strike in the format, people tend not to play red decks; they just play decks splashing red for Strike. I believe this was Wizards' rationale about this card and others like it.
Easy solution. Remake lightning strike as RR. Just like Grasp is BB. It's clear wizards wanted to experiment with red since it was always the default, cheap aggro deck that held control and to a lesser extent mid range in check. I think it's obvious it has failed. If red had it's proper identity, white would be much less dominating.
With all this life gain stuff,maybe they will reprint skullcrack...tho if they felt they had to power down even lightning strike, I doubt it. Seriously wizards, mono red aggro is the gate keeper of standard. When it's not there, it suffers.
Also sorcery speed on all these burn spells feels like dumbing down the game for red players.
Actually, it dumbs down the game for non-red players.
If you don't have to fear instant speed burn you don't have to bother making a deck that can deal with instant speed burn.
Instant speed burn is actually a learning tool, even if Wizards deems the lesson "harsh". Just like players have to learn not to blindly slap all of their threats on the table all of the time (opening them up to mass removal, etc) they need to be able to learn how to deal with managing removal and their life total.
This fills a needed niche in Standard, but as other players have pointed out in other formats we don't have any threats with 3 toughness that this card specifically deals with that don't already have burn + exile answers with Pillar of Flame et al.
I feel the exact same way about counterspells. I actually miss having to play arou d them a lot.
In what universe? If you build a deck like that, and ever draw that hand, I will personally come to wherever you live, perform complicated acts of awestruck ********, then disembowel myself to escape the world that allowed something like this to occur and validate you.
I guess that it is still decent removal. I don't get why they think that Lightning Strike is too powerful though.
Agreed. Exiling helps a little but the days of looping raptor and protector are long gone so exiling is of little value right now. If they really wanted to bring red back, just reprint lightning strike. Maybe they'll reprint forked bolt. That would be a good compliment to this card.
One thing to keep in mind tho. What plane are we about to go to. Kaledesh. Who is the only PW from that plane. Chandra. What does Chandra do....I expect red will gets lots of good burn in 3 months. Until then, red will continue to languish with blue as the worst colors.
The problem with this theory is that kaladesh is an artificers'plane. Chandra was the only pyromancer there and they feared her for it. We will just have to wait and see I guess.
It's not lightning strike because they're trying to support big red as a control color right now. See Chandra Flamecaller, Nahiri the Harbinger. It's not working out because the meta is so distorted around Company.
I agree that they are trying to make big red a control thing right now, but that's actually more of a reason to make it instant speed not sorcery. Burn is fine running things as sorcery if they are just going to the face anyway. The meta is distorted around Company because of all the sorcery removal, with company being an instant. I think red would be fine as a tempo or midrange color, but they make so much or reds card underpowered compared to other colors cards at the same CMC, that red almost needs instant speed burn to make up for it. At least that's what I see.
Werewolves is basically required to play nothing but instant speed removal. Controlling when spells are cast is very important to building and playing the deck. I'm stuck with Draconic Roar in my dragonless deck, since wizards seems to refuse to print the cards werewolved need to succeed.
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Lycanthropy Awareness Day.
Hoping for a cure, or at least an outbreak.
It's not lightning strike because they're trying to support big red as a control color right now. See Chandra Flamecaller, Nahiri the Harbinger. It's not working out because the meta is so distorted around Company.
They want red to be a control color so they are making its removal worse? I highly doubt that.
Nah, it was still bad as an instant too. Standard playable I guess, but only because literally no better options are available.
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
It's not. But this exiles. That's why the sorcery. Can't completely obsolete Carbonize now.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Someone else probably already said this but in modern it seem underwhelming. Pillar of Flame does the same job for 1 less if you're looking to hit finks or redcap/voice for that matter.
Agreed. Exiling helps a little but the days of looping raptor and protector are long gone so exiling is of little value right now. If they really wanted to bring red back, just reprint lightning strike. Maybe they'll reprint forked bolt. That would be a good compliment to this card.
One thing to keep in mind tho. What plane are we about to go to. Kaledesh. Who is the only PW from that plane. Chandra. What does Chandra do....I expect red will gets lots of good burn in 3 months. Until then, red will continue to languish with blue as the worst colors.
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I feel the exact same way about counterspells. I actually miss having to play arou d them a lot.
The problem with this theory is that kaladesh is an artificers'plane. Chandra was the only pyromancer there and they feared her for it. We will just have to wait and see I guess.
I think you mean "pathetic" instead of "weird".
I agree that they are trying to make big red a control thing right now, but that's actually more of a reason to make it instant speed not sorcery. Burn is fine running things as sorcery if they are just going to the face anyway. The meta is distorted around Company because of all the sorcery removal, with company being an instant. I think red would be fine as a tempo or midrange color, but they make so much or reds card underpowered compared to other colors cards at the same CMC, that red almost needs instant speed burn to make up for it. At least that's what I see.
Hoping for a cure, or at least an outbreak.
Level 1 Judge (yay)
Carbonize will never be obsoleted. Jaya Ballard flavor text is enough to make it strictly better than this would be even at instant speed.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
They want red to be a control color so they are making its removal worse? I highly doubt that.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
It needs more than one removal spell. Currently I play 4 hunt and 2 roar, but I'd rather roar be something stronger.
Hoping for a cure, or at least an outbreak.
Level 1 Judge (yay)
4-drops that died to removal still saw play when removal cost 2 mana (especially when that removal was conditional).
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.