The first thing I thought about when I saw this card was resolving her, then on an opponents upkeep sac'ing mountains to fireblast them for 10 points of damage.
At 3 cmc she competes with sulfuric vortex on the upper end, and without fireblast will usually be adding just +1 point of damage to each spell cast.
She doesn't seem like where burn wants to be. Good with Fireblast, mediocre to bad with most of the rest of the deck. Best case outside of Fireblast is getting three damage per spell and it's mostly going to be one. She also forces you into a splash color. That's minor with the number of fetches burn already runs, but it's still a little bit worse than the primarily basic manabase.
Even if you do want the effect, the bigger question is what to cut? You don't want to ditch the 1 cmc stuff for a cute interaction. The top end of most of the burn lists I've seen recently is Exquisite Firecraft, which seems like a better tool in general. I don't think she's better than Goblin Guide or Eidolon of the Great Revel at getting damage in. Searing Blaze?
I wouldn't say that she's unplayable, but I'll be surprised if/when I see a top 8 decklist with her.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Fireblast is already busted at zero mana, win the game typically. When you don't draw fireblast and draw this, congratz on your 4 damage lava spikes. Splashing black is not where black wants to be, and if they did I bet they would play bump in the night before this card.
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"Yawgmoth," Freyalise whispered as she set the bomb, "now you will pay for your treachery."
I known there was a BR Burn list running around that use Thoughtseize in the board and Deathrite in the main and dropped most of PoP. IIRC, this list was around just before Khans came out and it did this color to help out the combo match up. If anything, that would be your starting point. This thing would give you incredible reach in an aggressive BR Aggro to Midrange type of list. A dedicated Burn list though? I'm not sure this is what you want in it as you will more than likely be out of cards, if this even resolves.
My main issue with this card is the lack of colorless mana used in burn normally. Getting 1 swamp on the field to pay for this card isn't that hard, but after dropping this creature isn't that swamp fairly dead?
STATISTICS.
All of these "Let's eliminate bad cards" crusades are simply ignorant. And when they start to devolve into "WotC is conspiring to give us crappy cards," they just become embarrassing. MATH is conspiring to give you crappy cards.
My main issue with this card is the lack of colorless mana used in burn normally. Getting 1 swamp on the field to pay for this card isn't that hard, but after dropping this creature isn't that swamp fairly dead?
Badlands. No one splashes using basic lands in legacy. Burn already runs fetches to support Searing Blaze/Grim Lavamancer on a pretty regular basis. I don't think this is a good fit for burn, but color restrictions aren't what's holding it back.
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The problem with Vial Smasher the Fierce, is that for it to be worth it, you have to have a deck based mostly with instants, which Burn can satisfy.
But I don't think this card is where Burn wants to be.
Vial Smasher might have a home in legacy - if you were to build a deck based on high-cmc cards you can cheat out like Fireblast - think Traps, Delve, Miracles, Evoke, Alternate casting costs etc. it *might* be viable, but then you still need as many instants you can pack in there. Bedlam Reveler might fit here also.
I dunno, removal is so cheap & varied in Legacy, I doubt Vial Smasher is a card I wanna play with in this format, and it's probably too slow anyway.
Vial Smasher the Fierce
The first thing I thought about when I saw this card was resolving her, then on an opponents upkeep sac'ing mountains to fireblast them for 10 points of damage.
At 3 cmc she competes with sulfuric vortex on the upper end, and without fireblast will usually be adding just +1 point of damage to each spell cast.
Think she will see any play?
Links to my most current deck lists;
Primary EDH; Rakka Mar Token Perfection, Crosis Mnemonic Betrayal, Cromat Villainous, Judith Gravestorm, Rakdos Empty Storm, Exava Artifacts, Bant Trash, & Fumiko Voltron!
EDH kept at home; Ruzzian Isset & Rakdos LoR!
EDH (nostalgic/pimp/retired) in storage;
Latulla Burns, Akroma Smash, Jeska Voltron, Rakdos Storm, Bladewing Darghans, Lyzolda Worldgorger, Xantcha Steals your Heart, Jori Storm, Wydwen Permission, Gwendlyn Paradox, Jeleva Warps, & Sigarda Brick!
Legacy Showanimator and High Tide!
Even if you do want the effect, the bigger question is what to cut? You don't want to ditch the 1 cmc stuff for a cute interaction. The top end of most of the burn lists I've seen recently is Exquisite Firecraft, which seems like a better tool in general. I don't think she's better than Goblin Guide or Eidolon of the Great Revel at getting damage in. Searing Blaze?
I wouldn't say that she's unplayable, but I'll be surprised if/when I see a top 8 decklist with her.
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But I don't think this card is where Burn wants to be.
Vial Smasher might have a home in legacy - if you were to build a deck based on high-cmc cards you can cheat out like Fireblast - think Traps, Delve, Miracles, Evoke, Alternate casting costs etc. it *might* be viable, but then you still need as many instants you can pack in there.
Bedlam Reveler might fit here also.
I dunno, removal is so cheap & varied in Legacy, I doubt Vial Smasher is a card I wanna play with in this format, and it's probably too slow anyway.