Vial Smasher the Fierce
I wanna build a deck around this sucker ....and jamming it into a standard BR goblin deck doesn't do it for me.
My first thought was Rakdos. Unfortunately, we can't negate that Smasher is just a weenie that eats removal, and the random nature of the damage won't help to keep any alliances or kill your biggest threat.
If we look at off-colours, blue demands we look at artifacts for Affinity, with possible perms like Frogmite, Myr Enforcer, Broodstar etc., not to mention what else blue offers (eg Gush, Treasure Cruise). And of course white and green have plenty to offer here too.
I'm looking at a mix of Delve, evoke, undaunted, miracles & alternate casting costs, to flesh out a deck. FWIW, I typically play at least 4-players, so undaunted won't be a bad choice here. The early game plays would be cards like Faithless Looting to fuel delve, and of course Goblin Matron to ensure I can constantly find more Smashers.
So, do you rate the card?
What do you think is the likely best use here?
I don't have much to add, but if you want to maximize this dude's potential, you have ways to cast spells during your opponents' turn.
The best card for that is Prophet of Kruphix, but that is quite the color commitment. Leyline of Anticipation is another option, but so much worse.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of Vial Smasher the Fierce as it just seems like a much worse version of Kaervek the Merciless and requires a number of supporting cards to make it even mediocre. For only 4 additional mana you can run Kaervek and get triggers for every spell an opponent casts (not just the first) AND have the option to point it where you want. But if you want to try a deck with Vial Smasher the Fierce, then here are my thoughts.
As you already pointed out, you'd ideally want a number of high casting cost cards (which can hopefully be cast at a discounted mana cost). As Miaou mentioned, you'll also want to be able to cast spells on your opponents turn to maximize the number of triggers. Unfortunately those two ideas are counter intuitive. If you use high CMC spells then you'll usually only be able to play one spell per round. Unless of course you find a way to untap your mana on each upkeep. Prophet of Kruphix is one idea but a four color deck can really strain your mana base.
If I were going to attempt a deck like this, I would try the affinity for artifacts route and use Unwinding Clock and Shimmer Myr.
Oh! Damage & draw in one? Win! Sin Prodder is a card I didn't know existed - that DOES fit here. Gearhulk has dropped, I'd given up on that one originally, I didn't think it would come down (think Wurmcoil engine), but saying that, Gearhulk might head back up too.
The only thing I'm wary of with Sin Prodder, is that every time I turn up a land, I can guarantee it's going to the yard. It could lead to me getting mana-screwed potentially, but it does also help with delve. Any of you had this problem with Prodder before? Was it anything to get fussed about, or a non-issue?
That's 48 cards, leaving plenty of room for large CMC spells or more creatures. Reforge, Gearhulk & Prodder gives the deck substantially more juice. Thanks guys!
But.... to be honest, going full creature & fleshing out the rest of the deck with Delve & Evoke creatures, (Spitebellows & Shriekmaw I already own) may work well with Warstorm Surge. Vengeful Pharaoh works well with Prodder, 1 or 2 Exquisite Blood might be good too.
I wanna build a deck around this sucker ....and jamming it into a standard BR goblin deck doesn't do it for me.
My first thought was Rakdos. Unfortunately, we can't negate that Smasher is just a weenie that eats removal, and the random nature of the damage won't help to keep any alliances or kill your biggest threat.
So, first thing, we want high manacosts - this card works with anything that cheapens a card;
Undaunted, Evoke, Alternate casting costs, Scalers, Creature-lite deck types, Miracles, Delve, X-spells, Traps, Emerge & Convoke.
And it even works with manarocks. I sure I'm missing a few, MTG is a big game.
If we look at off-colours, blue demands we look at artifacts for Affinity, with possible perms like Frogmite, Myr Enforcer, Broodstar etc., not to mention what else blue offers (eg Gush, Treasure Cruise). And of course white and green have plenty to offer here too.
I'm looking at a mix of Delve, evoke, undaunted, miracles & alternate casting costs, to flesh out a deck. FWIW, I typically play at least 4-players, so undaunted won't be a bad choice here. The early game plays would be cards like Faithless Looting to fuel delve, and of course Goblin Matron to ensure I can constantly find more Smashers.
So, do you rate the card?
What do you think is the likely best use here?
He's not my cup of tea with the direct damage but I'll think on him a bit more.
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
The best card for that is Prophet of Kruphix, but that is quite the color commitment. Leyline of Anticipation is another option, but so much worse.
Just food for thought!
My 450ish 1vs1 cube
As you already pointed out, you'd ideally want a number of high casting cost cards (which can hopefully be cast at a discounted mana cost). As Miaou mentioned, you'll also want to be able to cast spells on your opponents turn to maximize the number of triggers. Unfortunately those two ideas are counter intuitive. If you use high CMC spells then you'll usually only be able to play one spell per round. Unless of course you find a way to untap your mana on each upkeep. Prophet of Kruphix is one idea but a four color deck can really strain your mana base.
If I were going to attempt a deck like this, I would try the affinity for artifacts route and use Unwinding Clock and Shimmer Myr.
Oh! Damage & draw in one? Win! Sin Prodder is a card I didn't know existed - that DOES fit here. Gearhulk has dropped, I'd given up on that one originally, I didn't think it would come down (think Wurmcoil engine), but saying that, Gearhulk might head back up too.
The only thing I'm wary of with Sin Prodder, is that every time I turn up a land, I can guarantee it's going to the yard. It could lead to me getting mana-screwed potentially, but it does also help with delve. Any of you had this problem with Prodder before? Was it anything to get fussed about, or a non-issue?
Yeah I looked at that one too - also a very decent option provided I build it a certain way.
So here's the new pile;
8 Swamp
8 Mountain
4 Veinfire Borderpost
4 Reforge the Soul
4 Vial Smasher the Fierce
4 Sin Prodder
4 Combustible Gearhulk
2 Ingot Chewer
2 Tombstalker
That's 48 cards, leaving plenty of room for large CMC spells or more creatures. Reforge, Gearhulk & Prodder gives the deck substantially more juice. Thanks guys!
But.... to be honest, going full creature & fleshing out the rest of the deck with Delve & Evoke creatures, (Spitebellows & Shriekmaw I already own) may work well with Warstorm Surge. Vengeful Pharaoh works well with Prodder, 1 or 2 Exquisite Blood might be good too.