Now, about the article.
Really really interesting background of the card, I love how you mixed up some of black mechanichs and charateristics in the card. I like the idea behind the card. But it has something that doesn't convince me 100%... I don't know what, and I'm not saying the card is bad, just my guts don't love it as my brain
Anyway, I think that with the right mana cost the card can be "abused" (as you said, as a "heal" for drawing with Sign in Blood or against a nonlethal attack from an aggro deck). And I really hope it can go on.
Still, I think the card misses something to be tournament viable, I don't know what, but it's just that I have never seen Lich or similar enchantments played on a competitive level, but as you mentioned a combo with Hexmage could easly kill the opponent in one turn, so, I am probably too blind to see the potential of the card
Good Luck with the voting! And keep creating good and balanced cards like this one, I think you're good at it
I found that it wasn't posted here on mtgs, so I link it.
Please note: I'm not the author of that and I don't know if it's true.
Nontheless there is the list:
http://imgur.com/a/WOfuH
It may be
Well, I thought Wizards would make it mythic if only for the price and the vast use of it, and the fact proved me correct
I'll try the 4 Magma Jet (I really like shard volley but sometimes you have 2 lands and 2 shards in hand, and you CAN'T cast them 'cause you would be screwed if you don't draw a land in the next 1-2 turns...) but I will not play Flamebreak, as my thoughts are exactly as yours
Here's my decklist and report:
Land (19)
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Arid Mesa
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Blood Crypt
5 Mountain
Creatures (8)
4 Grim Lavamancer
4 Goblin Guide
Sorceries:
4 Lava Spike
4 Bump in the night
4 Rift Bolt
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Skullcrack
2 Lightning Helix
2 Flames of the Blood Hand
3 Shard Volley
2 Searing Blaze
4 Boros Charm
1 Lightning Helix
2 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Volcanic Fallout
2 Leave no Trace
2 Molten Rain
4 Rakdos Charm
2 Smash to smithereens
Aaand the report:
1st round: against GW auras, lost the first game cause of his elf with rancor and like 3 other enchantment who killed me in 3 strikes. Second easly won after a leave no trace that destroyed all his enchantments leaving him with 2 cards in hand. Third game He didn't draw so well so was pretty slow and I killed him before he could've killed me.
Won 2-1
2nd round: Jund. Close game, 1-1, on G3 he drew 4 consecutive lands with his confidant. We were both with no cards in hand,he was at 1 and he had bob and tarmo on the board (tarmo 5/6), I drew grim lavamancer who got istant killed by liliana, and a land on my last useful turn. Close game anyway, could have won that easly if the draw was anything but land or grim (i sided out guides btw)
Lost 1-2
3rd round: GW hatebears variant with lingering and Wilt-lief Liege. I won without big problems, lost a game anyway to a double lingering followed by liege who killed me in 2 turns.
Won 2-1
4th round: another GW, I managed to get around his swords of war and peace and spellskite thanks to rakdos charm and smash to smithereens.
Won 2-0
5th round: UW tron. Interesting version of tron, with counters, Gifts ungiven to reanimate iona or elesh norn. Lost first game, won second after sb. Time ended before the end of the last game (when I drew like 12 lands, and he was surely going to win given time)
Draw 1-1
6th round: decisive round; if I won I would get very close to top8. I get UWR control and I wasn't really happy. I was even less after 2 games in which I drew lotd of lands and he kept gaining life and shooting to my lavamancers.
Lost 0-2
7th round: last round, I'm already out of top8, another UWR control, another loss in both games. I simply can't control a sphinx's revelation followed by a skullcrack who got countered. he simply kept going to 3 or 4 with my hand empty and gaining with Helix and Sphinx. Both games played not thinking too much, anyway.
Lost 0-2
Overall:
3-3-1
I'm pretty satisfied of my deck. Personally I will play another Sacred Foundry. I lost my foundry sometimes to ghost quarter or tectonic edge and got totally screwed up.
I think I can get around a lot of decks after sideboarding, but not UWR. I don't really know what to do against them. They counter every spell who can stop them gaining life and they follow that with a revelation with X=4 or 5 that destroys me totally. Maybe Rain of Gore in sideboard? or Defense Grid? I'm open to suggestions.
Around here there are a lot of GW Hatebears deck, and they run 4 of Ghost...