Our Brothers in RDW possibly have a new finisher/burn spell in Stoke the Flames.
For those who don't know, Stoke the Flames is:
2RR - Instant
Convoke
~ deals 4 damage to creature or player.
It feels kinda like a fixed fireblast for Modern/Standard. (I reserve the right to take this back).
With RDW/Creature-centric burn decks you have a lot of synergy from repeatable damage from creatures with super efficient burn (replacing Volleys for Mogg Fanatic) and then you have the opportunity to feel "safe" maindecking Eidolon (you should be anyway). But it allows you to play your critters and then once they resolve something that can block it/destory it, you can tap it down for StF.
Reading is tech. I appoligize. I was quickly clicking between the two and thought Jace went +1, -1 and -8. Regardless, he protects himself in the midrange matchup. I have a feeling if it was non-jace permanent it would be a little too good for repetitive bounce in eternal formats.
You need to be getting a better advantage than something that ranks between scry 1 and scry 2 or unsummon to justify not holding counter mana up.
You are getting better advantage. Mainly because it allows you to answer their most dangerous turn 3/4 play while being able to filter. And Jace will ultimate very quickly meaning it's forcing action from your control opponent, making them play out of tempo against your midrange opponent or acting as a fog for 2-3 turns against your aggro opponent. I'll take it.
Remember, in Standard you want to make sure anything you are doing turns 3+ are either (a) putting you into a winning position or (b) answering their winning position. This does both.
3 Abilities. The first is card filter which is a fine utility. During game 1 in your Ux Control deck it will be nice to bin those Kill spells in the mirror match or to help dig and find X utility spell.
Jace's second ability protects himself. And not only that but it puts him only down to 4 on turn 4, not 3. It means they HAVE to be above the curve to kill jace or be ON curve and waste a pump spell/burn card. And what's nice is that he bounces OTHER planeswalkers, opposing equipment or enchantments and overall bouncing a permanent should NEVER be underestimated. It steals games.
Finally, the ultimate is nothing to look down at. It might be reset the game but it's pretty close. In a control mirror or midrange vs. control matchup it's as good as a reset.
What's his highest CMC, 3? And that is out of the SB? 17 Sure does sound low. [Sarcasm] It's not like any other decks that have taken down a SCG Open run 17 or 18 lands with the highest CMC being 3. [/Sarcasm]
His latest article was not "Hey. Boss Sligh is a meta call." It was "did you know that my deck matches well against the best deck and awesome against the enemy of the best deck. Here's why." The meta game is close to the same as the last invitational and the difference is his persistence to fine tune the deck.
Tom Ross didn't win the Invitational because of "Expert Meta Call". Let's be serious, he has ran both Boss Sligh and Infect since at least december of last year if not longer. He won this invitational for the same reason Joe Larson has the highest winning percentage for SCG: Legacy Opens and CVM closed out Season 2 - they have great knowledge about their decks. They know not just how their decks tick but how they breathe, they know their chances of certain cards and how to tweak accordingly. His win wasn't like Brad Nelson's 2 invites ago with a great player with a good meta deck, Tom's was built from the ground up with perfectly knowledge on how his decks operate. He won it by being the best player at this tournament. Please do not take away his win by saying his deck was a meta call, because it wasn't. It was dedication to a deck to show that he is a fantastic player who played a good deck.
For those who don't know, Stoke the Flames is:
2RR - Instant
Convoke
~ deals 4 damage to creature or player.
It feels kinda like a fixed fireblast for Modern/Standard. (I reserve the right to take this back).
With RDW/Creature-centric burn decks you have a lot of synergy from repeatable damage from creatures with super efficient burn (replacing Volleys for Mogg Fanatic) and then you have the opportunity to feel "safe" maindecking Eidolon (you should be anyway). But it allows you to play your critters and then once they resolve something that can block it/destory it, you can tap it down for StF.
Thoughts?
You are getting better advantage. Mainly because it allows you to answer their most dangerous turn 3/4 play while being able to filter. And Jace will ultimate very quickly meaning it's forcing action from your control opponent, making them play out of tempo against your midrange opponent or acting as a fog for 2-3 turns against your aggro opponent. I'll take it.
You obviously are not a limited player then.
2UU - Loyality is 6 with an activation.
3 Abilities. The first is card filter which is a fine utility. During game 1 in your Ux Control deck it will be nice to bin those Kill spells in the mirror match or to help dig and find X utility spell.
Jace's second ability protects himself. And not only that but it puts him only down to 4 on turn 4, not 3. It means they HAVE to be above the curve to kill jace or be ON curve and waste a pump spell/burn card. And what's nice is that he bounces OTHER planeswalkers, opposing equipment or enchantments and overall bouncing a permanent should NEVER be underestimated. It steals games.
Finally, the ultimate is nothing to look down at. It might be reset the game but it's pretty close. In a control mirror or midrange vs. control matchup it's as good as a reset.
Jace will see play. That's for sure.