I think I can say with some confidence that I have tried to use this card in more Modern decks than any other living human. I've tried it on cockatrice with activated artifact abilities, R/G land ramp into Comet Storm, Obsidian Fireheart, Helix Pinnacle lockdown with Gilder Bairn, Red/White flash etb trigger creatures, U/R counterburn etc, etc, etc.
The deck always ends up super janky, but then I get that one damn game where something awesome happens and my opponent gushes about how cool/broken it is and I keep coming back for more.
To be honest this sounds like you are living in magical christmas land and not in the world we currently live in where you are able to do all of these things. The issue with braid of fire is that it doesn't give you mana fast enough when you need it and by the time it does, it will probably be killed. Now if you want to try to make it work, I would recommend a skred red (red snow) deck build where you can use the mana. That deck is already a red ramp deck.
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On mtgsalvation people don't want to discuss ideas, so I give people something else to discuss: my controversial opinions.
I've always thought this card is crazy-sweet. It just makes so much free mana that I get weak in the knees-- pretty comparable to Aether Vial, sort of. It's only a matter of time before someone finds a way to make it completely busted (though it might require cards that have not yet been printed).
Have you tried some sort of artifacts brew with Shimmer Myr? It's the first idea that comes to mind, but I expect it would only be weaker than the brews you describe above.
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Modern: Kiki ChordWBRG
TokensWB
EDH: Kuon, Ogre AscendantBBB
The big problem with this in my view is redundancy. Its basically a combo (Braid+a few turns to build up+some card that gets stupid when cast with tons of mana at instant speed). The problem is that if you don't draw Braid in turns 1-3 you get a bunch of massively inefficient Xcosted spells clogging your hand with no real way to cast them, there is no redundancy for Braid itself and no way to tutor it out native to its color, which means either splashing and/or diluting the over all strategy with other spells to find Braid.
Some kind of Skred Red variant is probably the best bet for this card to see play, because that shell is moderately playable on its own and it could use the ramp already, even without massive changes to the deck list. It probably still doesn't like it due to it needing several other spells included (it would probably end up being a 10-12 card package, 4 Braid+~6 other spells). Skred Red is a compact enough deck to handle that package with some room to spare, and with a few other card choices to favor instants so they can cast their other cards off Braid mana you could have it see use.
Its a cool card. If there was a way to get it out on turn 2 consistently it would probably be good enough to see play on its own merits, but since it is pretty hard to set up with any degree of consistency, I'm not sure how to make it work.
I'm not comfortable with how it forces you to use the mana on things that can be played at instant speed during your turn. That's a problem you don't have with mana dorks or AEther Vial. It also takes two turns before it pays for itself, whereas Vial and mana dorks take 1.
Kher Keep gives you something to spend all that mana on, and it's a land. Kind of like the mana dorks + Gavony Township synergy in GW decks. The problem then becomes finding out how to turn a bunch of 0/1s into a game-ender.
Kher Keep gives you something to spend all that mana on, and it's a land. Kind of like the mana dorks + Gavony Township synergy in GW decks. The problem then becomes finding out how to turn a bunch of 0/1s into a game-ender.
I've brewed with it before and I'll have to admit it hasn't earned its spot anywhere yet. But the best shell I found for it is Jeskai Control. Control is a good shell since it wants the games to go long, so you can prolong the games to a point where Braid has enough counters on it that it actually matters. The second key I think is to play stuff that you can still play without a Braid in play. Stuff like Desperate Ravings, Whispers of the Muse, Celestial Colonnade and Sphinx's Revelation are all decent mana sinks. Another thing I had success with is to play a couple of Thoughts of Ruin, that resets both players mana while Braid is still ticking up for a ground breaking spell (Pearl Lake Ancient for instance)
Returning to the tokens plan, kher keep isn't a bad one, but you could also run springjack pasture. It's going to be super janky, though. 4 mana to get a token that's effectively a mana ramper isn't great. On the other hand, it isn't legendary and it's a way to store mana, make blockers, etc. After a while, you can do something stupid with the tokens if you can make enough of them, like burn at the stake or similar. Still not great. A better use of braid of fire would probably just be to activate scrying sheets for free, effectively. Even then, as a mana storage medium, unfortunately gemstone array will just do it better.
Cool thread, love pet card decks ;). Of all the suggestions listed, I feel like Skred Red is a great fit. Instead of making Braid of Fire the focus, it's just another piece of the machine. Ramps when needed, isn't a crutch when it isn't played on the second turn.
On turn 3, you'll have 3 mana total available during your upkeep. On turn 4, you'll have 5 mana total, assuming you didn't ramp any more on turn 3.
Basically, it's a really mediocre ramp spell compared to Tron or elves. You need some kind of lockdown to give yourself inevitability with this card, but also some kind of mana sink. I'd say an ideal game plan would fit squarely in the Prison archetype.
These days, some wizards are finding they have a little too much deck left at the end of their $$$.
MTG finance guy- follow me on Twitter@RichArschmann or RichardArschmann on Reddit
How about token engines like Heliod/Sacred Mesa/Mobilization? Obviously still have to have white mana, but the discount probably makes them kinda nuts.
What if you went in a Pestilence direction? Meet Pyrohemia , arguably a card that could put a lot of decks on the back foot. With a little bit of lifegain, this could be your wincon in a RW Lockdown deck.
EDIT: The card tag isn't working. Pyrohemia is color shifter Pestilance into red. I'm goin to try and card tag it again and see if it works.
Seems pretty good as a way of discounting the return cost for Hammer of Bogardan in your upkeep?
you could also use that mana to grow Figure of Destiny pretty handily over the course of a game (presuming it survives)
the only other uses I can realistically see spending that on in the upkeep would be Kuldotha Phoenix and Obsidian Fireheart
This then starts to look like some sort of Devotion to Red strategy (which is probably terrible... but there you go!)
Mana sinks like the abovementioned Figure of Destiny, and Ashling the Pilgrim, are some of the ways to make use of all that excess mana. Firebreathing effects can be the theme of the deck, with Lightning Berseker as an example. These will be able to stand on their own without Braid, and just become stronger with, which is pretty important if you don't want to fall flat without braid.
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It's a two mana enchantment that needs more than 4+ turns to solidly win the game with another card in combination. If you could find the control deck for this to fit that's your best chance in Modern.
I built a Braid of Fire deck back when mana burn was a thing, and so it was trying to use it all the time to not get burned. Since mana burn went away it is much easier to play, and I use it in casual games. I haven't checked on format legality in years, but I did recently update it with some great cards from newer sets.
The basic idea has always been to have 4x Braid of Fire (perhaps 3 would be enough), and use the mana for instant speed buyback on 3x Capsize and 1x Whispers of the Muse, and for the recursion of 3x Hammer of Bogardan. Once established, this soft lock can win the game itself as long as you protect the Braid(s) with your counter magic. Two other Braid outlets are 1x Molten Hydra and 2x Dark Depths. This became the signature late game win condition if the opponent doesn't scoop once you've removed/burnt creatures and are capsizing a land each turn for UU.
Just recently 1x Thing in the Ice improved the early game considerably, and it can be a win condition if it is in the opening hand because it transforms quickly after brainstorms/tutor/counters/burns and sometimes a capsize without buyback to remove a chump in the early game. The early beats survival rate was dramatically improved by 2x Anger of the Gods.
The second functional bit is library manipulation/card draw/tutor with 1x Mystical Tutor, 3x Brainstorm, 1x Gush, 2x Sensei's Divining Top, and 4x Terramorphic Expanse to fix mana and shuffle away the Brainstorm rejects (if you have the spendy crack lands to add to this, all the better to synergize with Brainstorm/Top). If you don't have Tops, Isochron Scepter can give you card advantage in a slightly different way, and the Braid pays for the copy (in this case you'll want 4x bolt).
The third element is a suite of counter magic that can be customized, but I prefer the lowest cost where possible. Disrupt, Mana leak, Rune Snag, Oppressive Will, and Spell Burst have all been in the deck over the years, but at the moment 2x Spell Snare (which is great against all the 2cmc cards targeting your Braids, and great to counter many opposing counters), 1x Turn Aside 1x Daze, 1x Invasive Surgery, 1x Dispel, and 2x Counterspell are the choices. Dissipate can be sideboarded against graveyard decks). Of course if you have Force of Will or Pact of Negation, by all means put them in (and Braid pays for the 3 for Pact).
The rest of the deck is 2x Lightning Bolt and 2x Electrolyze for some flexible burn/cantrip, and a handful of creatures. Thing in the Ice and Molten Hydra have already been mentioned, and there are 2x Sage Owl for library manipulation and chump blocking, and 1x Wee Dragonauts which often hits in the midgame for 3 or 5 each turn once Capsize/Whispers are popping every upkeep. Oh and there is 1x Sol Ring and 1x Izzet Signet for acceleration. Snapcaster Mage is an obvious choice as well, I just don't have one. The synergy of Snapcaster and Capsize could be tremendous all during your upkeep because of flash, buyback, and the braid mana. Another creature with synergy potential is Hypersonic Dragon so that you can do all the red sorceries as instants with braid mana, but I haven't tried that out in practice.
There have been many other iterations of the deck over the years, and both Firestorm and Rolling Thunder were the board clearers of choice before Anger of the Gods was printed.
Memnarch was also a win condition slot at one time and is still in the sideboard against control/artifact decks, because with braid mana you're taking artifacts for U, or making everything that isn't already an artifact into one and taking control of it for just UUU. Also Control Magic may go back in the deck now that I have a second copy from Eternal Masters to add to my revised edition copy.
This deck once had Ice Floe and Maze of Ith way back in the day, but the more efficient removal of Firestorm/Rolling Thunder and now Anger of the Gods deals with more creatures at once, especially the WG counter weenies. But in an almost totally blue version of the deck where you're countering much more and the opponent may only land a single creature, those lands are effective.
Anyway, point is that in my experience Braid is really useful when it is used, somewhat counterintuitively, to pay for blue spells/effects more than for red X burn spells. I've got a lightning fast RGW sliver deck that can resolve a Sliver Legion after Heart Sliver and Gemhide Sliver on turn 3 or 4, and this Braid of Bogardan control deck can beat it more than half the time (although not if silvers gets the perfect hand and this deck doesn't). Against more control match-ups this deck performs incredibly well given the braid mana and countering counter magic. It might even make most sense to sideboard the Braids/Capsize for control matchups and play it as a more straightforward control burn deck against beats/aggro, but it has been a Braid deck so long that I can't quit it.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that both Harness the Storm and Geistblast will be dope someplace in here that I have yet to figure out.
I think I can say with some confidence that I have tried to use this card in more Modern decks than any other living human. I've tried it on cockatrice with activated artifact abilities, R/G land ramp into Comet Storm, Obsidian Fireheart, Helix Pinnacle lockdown with Gilder Bairn, Red/White flash etb trigger creatures, U/R counterburn etc, etc, etc.
The deck always ends up super janky, but then I get that one damn game where something awesome happens and my opponent gushes about how cool/broken it is and I keep coming back for more.
Right now I feel like I'm on to something: Commune With Lava, Soulfire Grand Master's activated ability, lots of burn, Restoration Angel and Bogardan Hellkite. Braid lets me play burn on my upkeep and keep mana open to remove threats or block with flash creatures.
Does anyone have suggestions to improve this? Have you tried using Braid in something else?
Decks I'm playing in Modern right now:
URB Grixis Reveler (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-grixis-reveler/)
UB Faeries (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/ub-fae-2/)
UW Azorious Control (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-ojutai-control-2/)
Have you tried some sort of artifacts brew with Shimmer Myr? It's the first idea that comes to mind, but I expect it would only be weaker than the brews you describe above.
Modern: Kiki ChordWBRG
TokensWB
EDH: Kuon, Ogre AscendantBBB
#FreeContractfromBelow
Some kind of Skred Red variant is probably the best bet for this card to see play, because that shell is moderately playable on its own and it could use the ramp already, even without massive changes to the deck list. It probably still doesn't like it due to it needing several other spells included (it would probably end up being a 10-12 card package, 4 Braid+~6 other spells). Skred Red is a compact enough deck to handle that package with some room to spare, and with a few other card choices to favor instants so they can cast their other cards off Braid mana you could have it see use.
Its a cool card. If there was a way to get it out on turn 2 consistently it would probably be good enough to see play on its own merits, but since it is pretty hard to set up with any degree of consistency, I'm not sure how to make it work.
Kher Keep gives you something to spend all that mana on, and it's a land. Kind of like the mana dorks + Gavony Township synergy in GW decks. The problem then becomes finding out how to turn a bunch of 0/1s into a game-ender.
| Ad Nauseam
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Big Johnny.
Kessig Wolf Run
Purphoros, God of the Forge can work as the third piece, he does 2 every time you make a token, and you can sink the Braid mana into him.
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| Infect
Big Johnny.
Credit to DolZero for this awesome sig!
Boseiju, Who Shelters All + Searing Wind?
Since you'd be playing blue you can add some Gigadrowse
You can also get a value engine from Pyromancer Ascension/Increasing Vengeance/Reverberate
If you play the Leyline, you can also Play Omniscience and Manamorphose.
Feels pretty good with time magic too; maybe it could be a source of ramp for a Taking Turns type combo?
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
Basically, it's a really mediocre ramp spell compared to Tron or elves. You need some kind of lockdown to give yourself inevitability with this card, but also some kind of mana sink. I'd say an ideal game plan would fit squarely in the Prison archetype.
T1) Duress/IoK/Lightning Bolt a critter if you're on the draw
T2) Braid of Fire
T3) Ensnaring Bridge
T4 onward) stall
Your win condition could be Flamewave Invoker or Kumano, Master Yamabushi or Jaya Ballard, Task Mage. Jaya can help you stay at 0 cards so nothing can attack. Honestly, the card seems hella weak to me.
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You could probably do something with Upwelling, Braid and enchantment tutors, Idyllic Tutor, Kruphix's Insight and Commune with the Gods
maybe something like....
4 Braid of Fire
4 Upwelling
Win Con
2 Purphoros, God of the Forge (?)
2 Ulamog, The Infinite Gyre (?)
Removal
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Lightning Helix
4 Path to Exile
4 Burst Lightning (?)
4 Commune with the Gods
4 Herald of the Pantheon
4 Root Maze (?)
3 Mana Tithe (?)
Land
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Gavony Township
6 Fetches
4 Shocks
6 Red Filters
4 Basic Lands
However, if you are running root maze, you shouldn't be running fetches. Punish the other guy more and all that.
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
EDIT: The card tag isn't working. Pyrohemia is color shifter Pestilance into red. I'm goin to try and card tag it again and see if it works.
you could also use that mana to grow Figure of Destiny pretty handily over the course of a game (presuming it survives)
the only other uses I can realistically see spending that on in the upkeep would be Kuldotha Phoenix and Obsidian Fireheart
This then starts to look like some sort of Devotion to Red strategy (which is probably terrible... but there you go!)
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
The basic idea has always been to have 4x Braid of Fire (perhaps 3 would be enough), and use the mana for instant speed buyback on 3x Capsize and 1x Whispers of the Muse, and for the recursion of 3x Hammer of Bogardan. Once established, this soft lock can win the game itself as long as you protect the Braid(s) with your counter magic. Two other Braid outlets are 1x Molten Hydra and 2x Dark Depths. This became the signature late game win condition if the opponent doesn't scoop once you've removed/burnt creatures and are capsizing a land each turn for UU.
Just recently 1x Thing in the Ice improved the early game considerably, and it can be a win condition if it is in the opening hand because it transforms quickly after brainstorms/tutor/counters/burns and sometimes a capsize without buyback to remove a chump in the early game. The early beats survival rate was dramatically improved by 2x Anger of the Gods.
The second functional bit is library manipulation/card draw/tutor with 1x Mystical Tutor, 3x Brainstorm, 1x Gush, 2x Sensei's Divining Top, and 4x Terramorphic Expanse to fix mana and shuffle away the Brainstorm rejects (if you have the spendy crack lands to add to this, all the better to synergize with Brainstorm/Top). If you don't have Tops, Isochron Scepter can give you card advantage in a slightly different way, and the Braid pays for the copy (in this case you'll want 4x bolt).
The third element is a suite of counter magic that can be customized, but I prefer the lowest cost where possible. Disrupt, Mana leak, Rune Snag, Oppressive Will, and Spell Burst have all been in the deck over the years, but at the moment 2x Spell Snare (which is great against all the 2cmc cards targeting your Braids, and great to counter many opposing counters), 1x Turn Aside 1x Daze, 1x Invasive Surgery, 1x Dispel, and 2x Counterspell are the choices. Dissipate can be sideboarded against graveyard decks). Of course if you have Force of Will or Pact of Negation, by all means put them in (and Braid pays for the 3 for Pact).
The rest of the deck is 2x Lightning Bolt and 2x Electrolyze for some flexible burn/cantrip, and a handful of creatures. Thing in the Ice and Molten Hydra have already been mentioned, and there are 2x Sage Owl for library manipulation and chump blocking, and 1x Wee Dragonauts which often hits in the midgame for 3 or 5 each turn once Capsize/Whispers are popping every upkeep. Oh and there is 1x Sol Ring and 1x Izzet Signet for acceleration. Snapcaster Mage is an obvious choice as well, I just don't have one. The synergy of Snapcaster and Capsize could be tremendous all during your upkeep because of flash, buyback, and the braid mana. Another creature with synergy potential is Hypersonic Dragon so that you can do all the red sorceries as instants with braid mana, but I haven't tried that out in practice.
There have been many other iterations of the deck over the years, and both Firestorm and Rolling Thunder were the board clearers of choice before Anger of the Gods was printed.
Other things I've considered over the years is splashing a third color, and it could be W,B, or G but i've mostly focused on W or B. W could get you Enlightened Tutor, Swords to Ploughshares, or Rebuff the Wicked, and puts Lightning Helix in for Bolts/Electrolyze. Also my lone Wrath of God would be a spectacular addition in W.
B lets you add some useful cheap discard effects from Thoughtseize or Duress, and Disembowel is nice to spend Braid mana on. Cruel Ultimatum is a win condition option in B. In the URB version, Crumbling Necropolis goes into the mana base.
For G, i've seen combo versions of a Braid deck utilizing Upwelling, Doubling Cube, and Helix Pinnacle. Fun, but too combo dependent for me. If I were going to do RG Braid, I would have 4x Firestorm, 4x Life from the Loam, and 4x Hammer of Bogardan for pitching lands and Hammers to Firestorm and then bringing them back.
Memnarch was also a win condition slot at one time and is still in the sideboard against control/artifact decks, because with braid mana you're taking artifacts for U, or making everything that isn't already an artifact into one and taking control of it for just UUU. Also Control Magic may go back in the deck now that I have a second copy from Eternal Masters to add to my revised edition copy.
This deck once had Ice Floe and Maze of Ith way back in the day, but the more efficient removal of Firestorm/Rolling Thunder and now Anger of the Gods deals with more creatures at once, especially the WG counter weenies. But in an almost totally blue version of the deck where you're countering much more and the opponent may only land a single creature, those lands are effective.
Anyway, point is that in my experience Braid is really useful when it is used, somewhat counterintuitively, to pay for blue spells/effects more than for red X burn spells. I've got a lightning fast RGW sliver deck that can resolve a Sliver Legion after Heart Sliver and Gemhide Sliver on turn 3 or 4, and this Braid of Bogardan control deck can beat it more than half the time (although not if silvers gets the perfect hand and this deck doesn't). Against more control match-ups this deck performs incredibly well given the braid mana and countering counter magic. It might even make most sense to sideboard the Braids/Capsize for control matchups and play it as a more straightforward control burn deck against beats/aggro, but it has been a Braid deck so long that I can't quit it.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that both Harness the Storm and Geistblast will be dope someplace in here that I have yet to figure out.