Being a sorcery is probably going to knock this out of contention for most cubes, but this is a shoe-in for larger cubes that want that 4th pseudo-Incinerate.
Despite the exile clause, I think the sorcery speed makes it worse than the Lightning Strike variants. If huge cubes are still using Volcanic Hammer, this is a fine replacement.
I prefer having this than a 3rd lightning strike clone.
Gives some variety to the removal. When you exile an undying creature, it's effectively a 2 for 1... Maybe more if it stacks with other burn to kill something like a wurmcoil engine. The ratio of creatures that it exiles favorably, doesn't have to be very frequent to make it at least close to the benefits of instant speed. In my cube I suspect it's 95% as good as lighting strike, and I'm happy to sacrifice a tiny margin of strength for some variety.
The more sets that are released the better that effects like this will be IMO.
I got rid of Volcanic Hammer a while ago. If I hadn't, I'd replace it for this. As boring as the Incinerate variants are, I'll take the instant over the sorcery.
I agree but there's something to be said for variety. Arc Lightning and Flames in the same deck would be too clunky unless your opponent was playing tokens dot deck. This varies the curve a bit more and sometimes you just need to exile something. I doubt I'll ever miss playing with what is essentially two Arc Lightning's but if I do I can always switch it back or make a different but completely.
I agree but there's something to be said for variety. Arc Lightning and Flames in the same deck would be too clunky unless your opponent was playing tokens dot deck. This varies the curve a bit more and sometimes you just need to exile something. I doubt I'll ever miss playing with what is essentially two Arc Lightning's but if I do I can always switch it back or make a different but completely.
I run Arc Lightning and Flames in the same deck. A Wildfire deck is fine doing that if it missed grabbing an Earthquake.
I will keep cubing both and pass on Incendiary Flow.
The only upside of this cards existence in my eyes is that it helped illuminate and solidify WotC's current policy that Red can't run Instants anymore. Looks like my burn spell suites won't be changing much in the common months/years.
I prefer having this than a 3rd lightning strike clone.
The more sets that are released the better that effects like this will be IMO.
I'm starting to come around to this line of thinking. There are so many small creatures that can either self-recur or become powerful cards when combined with recursion engines that I think this card is gaining a lot of equity. I'm probably going to try it out over one of the generic Lightning Strike clones for a while and see how often the exile clause is relevant. Even since this was printed, there's been at least 2-3 great additional targets for it. I think Strike/Spear are probably better in a greater % of situations, but the times where the exile is relevant, it's really clutch. You give up a lot less in comparison to its respective competition than you do with other options like Magma Spray, IMO.
Hmm, I had a different thought this weekend wanting more instant speed effects to deal with manlands and anything else that animates that's usually immune to sorcery speed removal. Scrapheap Scrounger is a pain to deal with, but I don't think I've reached the recursion threshold of me wanting to make the swap just yet.
Hmm, I had a different thought this weekend wanting more instant speed effects to deal with manlands and anything else that animates that's usually immune to sorcery speed removal. Scrapheap Scrounger is a pain to deal with, but I don't think I've reached the recursion threshold of me wanting to make the swap just yet.
Red control has plenty of instant speed spells to chuck burn at man lands... red ramp/combo doesn't want 1 for 1 burn and red agro doesn't care about manlands outside of shambling vents.
I haven't cut incendiary flow since I tested it. While I'm not convinced it's better than searing spear, it's had it's moments where it felt way better.
We've played that card a lot since it has been print on replacement of Volcanic Hammer and it's been great! When we had the hammer to the cube, we're seeking for additional burn spells to maintain the archetype alive at 650. Even if Incendiary Flow is a strict upgrade to Volcanic Hammer, we've been pretty impress by how the exile clause matters. Good reliable burn spell!
Being a sorcery is probably going to knock this out of contention for most cubes, but this is a shoe-in for larger cubes that want that 4th pseudo-Incinerate.
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Gives some variety to the removal. When you exile an undying creature, it's effectively a 2 for 1... Maybe more if it stacks with other burn to kill something like a wurmcoil engine. The ratio of creatures that it exiles favorably, doesn't have to be very frequent to make it at least close to the benefits of instant speed. In my cube I suspect it's 95% as good as lighting strike, and I'm happy to sacrifice a tiny margin of strength for some variety.
The more sets that are released the better that effects like this will be IMO.
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I think those two are far better than this. Splitting the damage to kill 2-3 targets is relevant far more often than the exile clause.
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I run Arc Lightning and Flames in the same deck. A Wildfire deck is fine doing that if it missed grabbing an Earthquake.
I will keep cubing both and pass on Incendiary Flow.
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I'm starting to come around to this line of thinking. There are so many small creatures that can either self-recur or become powerful cards when combined with recursion engines that I think this card is gaining a lot of equity. I'm probably going to try it out over one of the generic Lightning Strike clones for a while and see how often the exile clause is relevant. Even since this was printed, there's been at least 2-3 great additional targets for it. I think Strike/Spear are probably better in a greater % of situations, but the times where the exile is relevant, it's really clutch. You give up a lot less in comparison to its respective competition than you do with other options like Magma Spray, IMO.
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Red control has plenty of instant speed spells to chuck burn at man lands... red ramp/combo doesn't want 1 for 1 burn and red agro doesn't care about manlands outside of shambling vents.
I haven't cut incendiary flow since I tested it. While I'm not convinced it's better than searing spear, it's had it's moments where it felt way better.
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