Here are the cards that I consider interesting so far...
Sakura-Tribe Elder to ramp Cavalier of Flame to spend my mana to give haste to my creatures Saproling Burst pairs nicely with Cavalier...on turn 5, I can play both Cavalier and this, spawn 5 saprolings 2/2 and turn them all into 4/2 haste to attack for 27. Savor the Moment to play on the same turn as Fires of Invention ...I get an extra turn and I dont mind the fact that I cannot untap ...this is not as good if I have creatures in play. Time Warp because it's always good to have Ritual of Subdual ...I should be able to pay the upkeep for at least 3 turns, it doesnt prevent me from playing and it protects the Fires of Invention nicely Ancestral Vision to draw 3 cards at the expense of playing one spell Ertai, Wizard Adept ...I am not sure on this one but I think it could be a decent use for my free mana during my opponent's turn and allows me some control over what my opponent is playing. Glen Elendra Archmage is another choice in that line of thought. Mind's Eye allows me to spend that unused mana to draw cards.
Do you have other suggestions of cards that would fit nicely in a deck like this ?
Time Walks are fantastic so I highly recommend those. Don't worry too much about Savor the Moment being "bad" because more often than not you're casting it alongside Fires of Invention which means you'll have 1 creature tops. No big deal if it doesn't untap. Don't forget about Mystic Sanctuary either! Chaining Time Walks into more Time Walks is always an easy way to secure wins in MP. You can even add Meloku the Clouded Mirror if you want something deterministic but she's honestly not even necessary.
Glen Elendra Archmage is a superb choice so I'll +1 that suggestion. Card is amazing at protecting you from any spell that matters. It's also much better than Ertai in games where things are going poorly and/or you're behind.
Tutors such as Burning Wish, Cunning Wish, Fae of Wishes and Mastermind's Acquisition are obscene because they enable you play every card that you own. Just fetch + cast the spell immediately for degenerate value. This is the best of all worlds because you don't have to pick; you just get to play with everything .
Sphinx of Lost Truths is my current go-to 5 drop over things like Mind's Eye because a 3/5 flier that draws 3 cards is pretty busted. You do have to pay the Kicker cost but that's largely irrelevant.
Make sure to play something like Castle Vantress in your manabase to act as a mana sink. The card has been stellar for me in my testing. Search for Azcanta works well too.
Goblin Goliath and Inspired Sphinx are both mana sinks that scale well in multiplayer so be sure to check them out. I don't know why MTG Salvation doesn't have them added but just google them.
If you want a 1-card win condition use Godo, Bandit Warlord + Helm of the Host. Turn 6 you cast Godo, tutor Helm, pay 5 to equip Helm, swing with the Token, untap the token and repeat ad nauseam.
I've been testing out a few different builds for MP.
Land-ramp is generally more robust than reduction cards like Starfield Mystic, so that's where I would be looking first.
I wanna get that first Fires of Invention down on turn 3!
SO far I'm liking enchantment heavy builds, as there are lots of cards like Enchantress's Presence to keep your hand full of threats, and people don't generally have many cards able to deal with enchantments. And even if they do, there are ways to negate that.
Warchief Giant is another great target for that Rite of Replication ...if all goes well, you attack each opponent with 6 creatures that have 5 power each !
Been playing plenty of versions of the deck and I'm blown away with how many directions that you can take with it. Lately I've been having a ton of fun with Rakdos because of Dimir House Guard, Mastermind's Acquisition and Godo, Bandit Warlord. With Dimir House Guard you're functionally playing 8 copies of Fires of Invention (12 if you count Mastermind) and because Transmuting doesn't count as casting the spell it means that you can search up a Mastermind's Acquisition and cast your tutor target on the same turn. In terms of win conditions there's ton of possible 2-card combos but I like Godo, Bandit Warlord because it's 1 card/2 deckslots which makes it the most compact. Otherwise you can play it like a regular Black Control deck with things like Innocent Blood, Walking Ballista, Liliana's Triumph, Toxic Deluge, Languish, Syphon Mind, Pestilence, The Eldest Reborn, etc. The nice thing about this type of deck is that it can still play Magic even if you don't draw a Fires, it gets countered/removed, etc. because you're playing a generic deck with all of the usual suspects. All you've done is removed "fair" ramp like Jet Medallion for Fires of Invention and cut 2 of your win conditions for Godo, Bandit Warlord + Helm of the Host. You can still go for the Godo kill "the fair way" even if your Fires is removed which is definitely do-able in big mana Black decks. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and Cabal Coffers is one Hell of a combo as always .
Here are the cards that I consider interesting so far...
Sakura-Tribe Elder to ramp
Cavalier of Flame to spend my mana to give haste to my creatures
Saproling Burst pairs nicely with Cavalier...on turn 5, I can play both Cavalier and this, spawn 5 saprolings 2/2 and turn them all into 4/2 haste to attack for 27.
Savor the Moment to play on the same turn as Fires of Invention ...I get an extra turn and I dont mind the fact that I cannot untap ...this is not as good if I have creatures in play.
Time Warp because it's always good to have
Ritual of Subdual ...I should be able to pay the upkeep for at least 3 turns, it doesnt prevent me from playing and it protects the Fires of Invention nicely
Ancestral Vision to draw 3 cards at the expense of playing one spell
Ertai, Wizard Adept ...I am not sure on this one but I think it could be a decent use for my free mana during my opponent's turn and allows me some control over what my opponent is playing. Glen Elendra Archmage is another choice in that line of thought.
Mind's Eye allows me to spend that unused mana to draw cards.
Do you have other suggestions of cards that would fit nicely in a deck like this ?
Thanks !
Etienne
Glen Elendra Archmage is a superb choice so I'll +1 that suggestion. Card is amazing at protecting you from any spell that matters. It's also much better than Ertai in games where things are going poorly and/or you're behind.
Tutors such as Burning Wish, Cunning Wish, Fae of Wishes and Mastermind's Acquisition are obscene because they enable you play every card that you own. Just fetch + cast the spell immediately for degenerate value. This is the best of all worlds because you don't have to pick; you just get to play with everything .
Sphinx of Lost Truths is my current go-to 5 drop over things like Mind's Eye because a 3/5 flier that draws 3 cards is pretty busted. You do have to pay the Kicker cost but that's largely irrelevant.
Make sure to play something like Castle Vantress in your manabase to act as a mana sink. The card has been stellar for me in my testing. Search for Azcanta works well too.
Goblin Goliath and Inspired Sphinx are both mana sinks that scale well in multiplayer so be sure to check them out. I don't know why MTG Salvation doesn't have them added but just google them.
If you want a 1-card win condition use Godo, Bandit Warlord + Helm of the Host. Turn 6 you cast Godo, tutor Helm, pay 5 to equip Helm, swing with the Token, untap the token and repeat ad nauseam.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
That doesn’t count aa casting... and it draws you a new card.
Think Decree of Pain.
Oh. And don’t forget to run cards that put enough lands into play.
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
Wildborn Preserver would be another nice way to dump my mana.
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
Land-ramp is generally more robust than reduction cards like Starfield Mystic, so that's where I would be looking first.
I wanna get that first Fires of Invention down on turn 3!
SO far I'm liking enchantment heavy builds, as there are lots of cards like Enchantress's Presence to keep your hand full of threats, and people don't generally have many cards able to deal with enchantments. And even if they do, there are ways to negate that.
As far activated stuff, Dark Imposter, Sacred Mesa, Helix Pinnacle, Dragon Roost, Lighthouse Chronologist, Luminarch Ascension etc. are a few idea's.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
Turn 4: Fires of Invention
Turn 5: Ball Lightning + Rite of Replication with it's kicker cost paid...bam ! ...36 dmg trample =)
Any large creature that grants board wide haste works really nice.
No, this doesn't work. You still have to pay the kicker, which is an additional cost, and not covered by "without paying the mana cost".
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
Sure it does! You just tap your 5 lands and pay the Kicker cost. It's not like they're doing anything else :P.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I looked at other kicker cards but didnt see anything worth playing in this deck.
It works, you just tap your lands to pay kicker costs. What doesn't work is paying X costs as you cast the spell, X always must equal zero.
EDIT for clarity
Cyclonic Rift wants to know your location.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Oh good point lol. You're right as rain.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
You're my hero right now.
I'm gonna think of as many 4 or 5cmc creatures I can abuse with Rite.... LOL
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Another angle I've been exploring with Fires of Invention is going with an enchantment theme so you can use Commune with the Gods and Kruphix's Insight to find your build-around enchantment consistently. Rising Waters is a cruel one, since you can cast spells without your lands but your opponents probably can't. Pyrohemia can keep the board clear using the "spare mana" you have with FoI. Future Sight keeps the gas coming for double-spell every turn. Cards like Doomwake Giant, Sigil of the Empty Throne, and Sphere of Safety can take advantage of a heavy enchantment theme, all at CMCs that pair nicely with Fires of Invention.
Turn 3: Transmute Dimir House Guard to fetch the card you need
Turn 4: Fires of Invention + Infernal Darkness
Turn 5 and after: Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Phantasmal Image, Clone, Dack's Duplicate, Vesuvan Doppelganger, Phyrexian Metamorph and friends
...you won't run out of life to pay the upkeep but they might =)
...and it's hard to deal with enchantments when all you can produce is black mana.
Or if you're behind on board you can find Languish/Damnation/Pestilence. Or if you need more gas you can find Syphon Mind. Or if you need an immediate answer you can find + cast Massacre for free. Or if you need some hate you can find Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet/Leyline of the Void. Dimir House Guard brings so much consistency to the deck that it's not even funny.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Are you casting those blue spells after you play infernal Darkness with mana rocks?