If lifelink still stacked this Grand Master card would be even more insane but it's already really good. But since it doesn't I'm confused as to why it's not legendary. It has two abilities that are completely unique (a bit like Tamanoa but still) and would make such an interesting Commander for EDH.
So far this is a difficult set to evaluate just from looking at them.
Id imagine the delve timewalk is at most a 1 of in delver. Uuu is difficult to hit and it doesn't help refil as much as cruise does.
So far nothing else looks immediately playable, other things are a bit too tricky. The new tamanoa seems only good in burn mirrors but I could be totally wrong.
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Currently Playing:
Modern: UWUW TronUW
Legacy: WDeath N TaxesW CEldrazi C
If you couldn't tell I hate greedy blue decks.
If lifelink still stacked this Grand Master card would be even more insane but it's already really good. But since it doesn't I'm confused as to why it's not legendary. It has two abilities that are completely unique (a bit like Tamanoa but still) and would make such an interesting Commander for EDH.
Because then you would have harder time justifying playing 4 of them and her price wouldn't be as high as a result
I like it as anyi aggro and burn for zoo. Give our burn life link, meaning it removes dudes and heals us. If it geta bolted, well that sucks. But its a risk im willin to take!
Hey, it's a bolt that A) didn't go to your face and B) didn't hit one of your other aggro creatures.
I think 2 mana for 'All my burn is bonkers' OR 'target player discards a removal spell' is just fine in Zoo.
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Well, I can saw a woman in two, but you won't wanna look in the box when I'm through.
I like it as anyi aggro and burn for zoo. Give our burn life link, meaning it removes dudes and heals us. If it geta bolted, well that sucks. But its a risk im willin to take!
Eh, I guess my issue with it is that the only matchup it's really good against is something like Zoo mirrors, or the burn matchup. Against burn, it's fairly likely to eat a searing blood / searing blaze, and something such as Kor Firewalker may simply be better in said matchups as it doesnt die to Lightning Bolt. Considering you wouldn't maindeck Kor Firewalker in Zoo, I don't see the application of a 2/2 tamanoa in an aggressive deck like Zoo.
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Wow! Soulfire Grand Master! this is one of those cards that be applicable in many types of builds. Burn has an obvious use for it, Lantern mentioned zoo's/aggro's use for it. That ability can actually even make this card appear in a control deck. My biggest concern with this card is that it may give burn too much consistency. The weaknesses of burn are getting mana flooded, running out of power and having to rely on top deck mode for the win, or the opponent just being able to kill you faster. That all gets partially solved by this card....
I'm looking forward to see how many decks will try to use this thing
Wow! Soulfire Grand Master! this is one of those cards that be applicable in many types of builds. Burn has an obvious use for it, Lantern mentioned zoo's/aggro's use for it. That ability can actually even make this card appear in a control deck. My biggest concern with this card is that it may give burn too much consistency. The weaknesses of burn are getting mana flooded, running out of power and having to rely on top deck mode for the win, or the opponent just being able to kill you faster. That all gets partially solved by this card....
I'm looking forward to see how many decks will try to use this thing
This card is terrible in burn. Burn doesn't want to play a 2/2 lifelink, the 4 mana ability will almost never be relevant (since burn rarely gets enough mana for this to matter), and it just gives more relevance to opponent's removal spells.
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I'm intrigued by Soulfire...I just want to jam 4 in decks with Bolt, Helix, and Burst Lightning and see how it performs. I have a feeling though Kitchen Finks might still just be better overall...I really want to try this little fellow in my Junk deck that splashes R for Bolt, Helix, and SB cards like Jund Charm/Pyroclasm. At least you aren't sad to Pyroclasm their board when you have her on your side also...sure I'll gain 8 life and kill your board.
Wow! Soulfire Grand Master! this is one of those cards that be applicable in many types of builds.
That's weird. My thoughts are the exact opposite.
Aggro doesn't want this because it doesn't increase your aggression at all, and you'll never get to 5 mana for the activated ability (assuming the spell you want to buyback costs 1).
Midrange doesn't want this because it's not a big fat beater like Goyf or Rhino. You have to build around it, while most midrange decks are just good stuff.
Control doesn't want this because it's too easily killed. They already have Snapcaster to get a second use out of their spells.
Combo...well, I can't think of anything that's not ridiculously clunky. To go infinite you need an instant or sorcery that pays for itself and covers the activation cost of 4 mana. With Training Grounds you can the excess down to 2. Goblin Electromancer and a ritual generates 2 mana. But that entire combo is basically THE definition of ridiculously clunky - 4 cards, inadequate redundancy, two of the combo pieces are creatures.
Wow! Soulfire Grand Master! this is one of those cards that be applicable in many types of builds. Burn has an obvious use for it, Lantern mentioned zoo's/aggro's use for it. That ability can actually even make this card appear in a control deck. My biggest concern with this card is that it may give burn too much consistency. The weaknesses of burn are getting mana flooded, running out of power and having to rely on top deck mode for the win, or the opponent just being able to kill you faster. That all gets partially solved by this card....
I'm looking forward to see how many decks will try to use this thing
This card is terrible in burn. Burn doesn't want to play a 2/2 lifelink, the 4 mana ability will almost never be relevant (since burn rarely gets enough mana for this to matter), and it just gives more relevance to opponent's removal spells.
Thank you! I'm trying to convince a sea of posters in the Burn thread that this guy does not belong in Burn. A 2cmc that doesn't increase the clock is bad. His life gain deal only effects spells that deal damage, and that's not a lot outside of red. His card advantage is so expensive it's almost useless.
I could maybe see him in some sort of Time Warp deck that takes infinite turns, but it's going to take a lot of mana to get that rolling.
Wow! Soulfire Grand Master! this is one of those cards that be applicable in many types of builds. Burn has an obvious use for it, Lantern mentioned zoo's/aggro's use for it. That ability can actually even make this card appear in a control deck. My biggest concern with this card is that it may give burn too much consistency. The weaknesses of burn are getting mana flooded, running out of power and having to rely on top deck mode for the win, or the opponent just being able to kill you faster. That all gets partially solved by this card....
I'm looking forward to see how many decks will try to use this thing
This card is terrible in burn. Burn doesn't want to play a 2/2 lifelink, the 4 mana ability will almost never be relevant (since burn rarely gets enough mana for this to matter), and it just gives more relevance to opponent's removal spells.
Thank you! I'm trying to convince a sea of posters in the Burn thread that this guy does not belong in Burn. A 2cmc that doesn't increase the clock is bad. His life gain deal only effects spells that deal damage, and that's not a lot outside of red. His card advantage is so expensive it's almost useless.
I could maybe see him in some sort of Time Warp deck that takes infinite turns, but it's going to take a lot of mana to get that rolling.
I agree burn seems the wrong place for him, except maybe as a sideboard card for the mirror (and I suspect the dragon artifact thingy is still the better option there)
I suspect the real area he'll shine is in some kind of eventual training grounds deck, or maybe in jeskai or azorius control?
Wow! Soulfire Grand Master! this is one of those cards that be applicable in many types of builds. Burn has an obvious use for it, Lantern mentioned zoo's/aggro's use for it. That ability can actually even make this card appear in a control deck. My biggest concern with this card is that it may give burn too much consistency. The weaknesses of burn are getting mana flooded, running out of power and having to rely on top deck mode for the win, or the opponent just being able to kill you faster. That all gets partially solved by this card....
I'm looking forward to see how many decks will try to use this thing
This card is terrible in burn. Burn doesn't want to play a 2/2 lifelink, the 4 mana ability will almost never be relevant (since burn rarely gets enough mana for this to matter), and it just gives more relevance to opponent's removal spells.
Thank you! I'm trying to convince a sea of posters in the Burn thread that this guy does not belong in Burn. A 2cmc that doesn't increase the clock is bad. His life gain deal only effects spells that deal damage, and that's not a lot outside of red. His card advantage is so expensive it's almost useless.
I could maybe see him in some sort of Time Warp deck that takes infinite turns, but it's going to take a lot of mana to get that rolling.
I agree burn seems the wrong place for him, except maybe as a sideboard card for the mirror (and I suspect the dragon artifact thingy is still the better option there)
I suspect the real area he'll shine is in some kind of eventual training grounds deck, or maybe in jeskai or azorius control?
No control deck wants to play a 2/2 bear that dies to lightning bolt. If a control deck wants to win, they would much rather just play their normal control spells, then cast a revelation, dig through time, or something that isn't hindered by something as simple as a bolt or abrupt decay. This isn't stoneforge mystic where it gains value upon resolving, or Dark Confidant, which draws extra cards without any mana requirement.
Think of this more as azure mage with a tamanoa effect. It has some decent abilities, but overall, as izzet mage stated, it doesn't really fit the gameplan of many decks. It's also a very fragile creature to build an entire deck around if we're being honest.
I'm normally a johnny, and I see a lot of potential in a lot of cards that some people call crap, but this creature is just not nearly as good as people are hyping it to be. I really don't understand the absolute love for it right now. 4 mana to buy back a lightning bolt just isn't that strong, especially in modern.
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Soulfire Grand Master rustles my Jimmies in all the right ways.
1W
Lifelink
Instant and Sorcery spells you control have Lifelink.
2 : The next instant or sorcery card you play is put into your hand instead of graveyard as it resolves.
2/2
I am so putting this in WUR Delver. We are already favored against UR Delver, but having our Lightning Helices become Timely Reinforcements and our Bolts become Lightning Helices will destroy that matchup.
Wow! Soulfire Grand Master! this is one of those cards that be applicable in many types of builds.
That's weird. My thoughts are the exact opposite.
Aggro doesn't want this because it doesn't increase your aggression at all, and you'll never get to 5 mana for the activated ability (assuming the spell you want to buyback costs 1).
Midrange doesn't want this because it's not a big fat beater like Goyf or Rhino. You have to build around it, while most midrange decks are just good stuff.
Control doesn't want this because it's too easily killed. They already have Snapcaster to get a second use out of their spells.
Combo...well, I can't think of anything that's not ridiculously clunky. To go infinite you need an instant or sorcery that pays for itself and covers the activation cost of 4 mana. With Training Grounds you can the excess down to 2. Goblin Electromancer and a ritual generates 2 mana. But that entire combo is basically THE definition of ridiculously clunky - 4 cards, inadequate redundancy, two of the combo pieces are creatures.
Right, in regards to you and badd, i had no intentions of main deck, it would be sided, and even then more for decks that dont run searing bloodblaze.
But youre missing a combo deck that would love to have that card, modern time warp. With it out, its infinate turns. I mean, yes its 8 mana. But when that deck is mid combo, its greatest threat is drawing blanks. It gets mana for days. You can easily go "time warp, time warp, mircle a new turn, walk the eons. Its not impossible for it to get to 8 mana.
What about in some aggressive Boros Soul Sisters brew?
That's more reasonable than putting him in burn. He'd only really fit in a deck that is ok with a 2/2 body at CMC 2 and that will get value out of his static ability. The activated ability is too expensive to get much value out of until the late game, where decks like burn need to have already won. I agree with Lantern that he could shine in the aggro mirror, since he turns removal spells into lifegain, which changes the race calculations. Definitely an interesting card, but it does seem overhyped at this point.
Practical applications for abusing the Buyback ability seem slim outside of magical christmasland, but value is value.
Id imagine the delve timewalk is at most a 1 of in delver. Uuu is difficult to hit and it doesn't help refil as much as cruise does.
So far nothing else looks immediately playable, other things are a bit too tricky. The new tamanoa seems only good in burn mirrors but I could be totally wrong.
Modern:
UWUW TronUW
Legacy:
WDeath N TaxesW
CEldrazi C
If you couldn't tell I hate greedy blue decks.
Vintage
WWhite Trash
Because then you would have harder time justifying playing 4 of them and her price wouldn't be as high as a result
Hey, it's a bolt that A) didn't go to your face and B) didn't hit one of your other aggro creatures.
I think 2 mana for 'All my burn is bonkers' OR 'target player discards a removal spell' is just fine in Zoo.
Eh, I guess my issue with it is that the only matchup it's really good against is something like Zoo mirrors, or the burn matchup. Against burn, it's fairly likely to eat a searing blood / searing blaze, and something such as Kor Firewalker may simply be better in said matchups as it doesnt die to Lightning Bolt. Considering you wouldn't maindeck Kor Firewalker in Zoo, I don't see the application of a 2/2 tamanoa in an aggressive deck like Zoo.
I'm looking forward to see how many decks will try to use this thing
UWRUWR MidrangeUWR
BUGSultai MidrangeBUG
BUGRTraverse MidrangeBUGR (currently brewing)
This card is terrible in burn. Burn doesn't want to play a 2/2 lifelink, the 4 mana ability will almost never be relevant (since burn rarely gets enough mana for this to matter), and it just gives more relevance to opponent's removal spells.
It's nifty that Combust can gain you 5 as well...
Aggro doesn't want this because it doesn't increase your aggression at all, and you'll never get to 5 mana for the activated ability (assuming the spell you want to buyback costs 1).
Midrange doesn't want this because it's not a big fat beater like Goyf or Rhino. You have to build around it, while most midrange decks are just good stuff.
Control doesn't want this because it's too easily killed. They already have Snapcaster to get a second use out of their spells.
Combo...well, I can't think of anything that's not ridiculously clunky. To go infinite you need an instant or sorcery that pays for itself and covers the activation cost of 4 mana. With Training Grounds you can the excess down to 2. Goblin Electromancer and a ritual generates 2 mana. But that entire combo is basically THE definition of ridiculously clunky - 4 cards, inadequate redundancy, two of the combo pieces are creatures.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
Thank you! I'm trying to convince a sea of posters in the Burn thread that this guy does not belong in Burn. A 2cmc that doesn't increase the clock is bad. His life gain deal only effects spells that deal damage, and that's not a lot outside of red. His card advantage is so expensive it's almost useless.
I could maybe see him in some sort of Time Warp deck that takes infinite turns, but it's going to take a lot of mana to get that rolling.
FREE BLOODBRAID ELF
I agree burn seems the wrong place for him, except maybe as a sideboard card for the mirror (and I suspect the dragon artifact thingy is still the better option there)
I suspect the real area he'll shine is in some kind of eventual training grounds deck, or maybe in jeskai or azorius control?
KnightfallGWUR
Azorius Control UW
Burn RBG
No control deck wants to play a 2/2 bear that dies to lightning bolt. If a control deck wants to win, they would much rather just play their normal control spells, then cast a revelation, dig through time, or something that isn't hindered by something as simple as a bolt or abrupt decay. This isn't stoneforge mystic where it gains value upon resolving, or Dark Confidant, which draws extra cards without any mana requirement.
Think of this more as azure mage with a tamanoa effect. It has some decent abilities, but overall, as izzet mage stated, it doesn't really fit the gameplan of many decks. It's also a very fragile creature to build an entire deck around if we're being honest.
I'm normally a johnny, and I see a lot of potential in a lot of cards that some people call crap, but this creature is just not nearly as good as people are hyping it to be. I really don't understand the absolute love for it right now. 4 mana to buy back a lightning bolt just isn't that strong, especially in modern.
I am so putting this in WUR Delver. We are already favored against UR Delver, but having our Lightning Helices become Timely Reinforcements and our Bolts become Lightning Helices will destroy that matchup.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
Right, in regards to you and badd, i had no intentions of main deck, it would be sided, and even then more for decks that dont run searing bloodblaze.
But youre missing a combo deck that would love to have that card, modern time warp. With it out, its infinate turns. I mean, yes its 8 mana. But when that deck is mid combo, its greatest threat is drawing blanks. It gets mana for days. You can easily go "time warp, time warp, mircle a new turn, walk the eons. Its not impossible for it to get to 8 mana.
That's more reasonable than putting him in burn. He'd only really fit in a deck that is ok with a 2/2 body at CMC 2 and that will get value out of his static ability. The activated ability is too expensive to get much value out of until the late game, where decks like burn need to have already won. I agree with Lantern that he could shine in the aggro mirror, since he turns removal spells into lifegain, which changes the race calculations. Definitely an interesting card, but it does seem overhyped at this point.
Modern: GW Hatebears/midrange, WGU Knightfall/evolution midrange stuff
Standard: nope
Legacy: W Death & Taxes
EDH (not Commander!): W Avacyn, Angel of Hope, GR Ruric Thar, the Unbowed, WGB Anafenza, the Foremost, WU Hanna, Ship's Navigator
This is what I have in mind for modern:
2x Tombstalker
4x Soulflayer
Fuel (12):
3x Sphinx of the Steel Wind
2x Prophetic Flamespeaker
3x Geist of Saint Traft
1x Baneslayer Angel
3x Chromanticore
4x Dismember
2x Terminate
Graveyard fillers (13):
4x Faithless Looting
4x Izzet Charm
2x Thirst for Knowledge
3x Liliana of the Veil
4x Polluted Delta
4x Bloodstained Mire
1x Watery Grave
2x Blood Crypt
1x Steam Vents
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
2x Reflecting Pool
4x Cavern of Souls
1x Plains
1x Mountain
1x Swamp
1x Island
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4x Gifts Ungiven
2x Unburial Rites
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
3x Leyline of the Void
2x Torpor Orb
1x Anger of the Gods
1x Damnation
It's just another 4 color manabase. There's no green whatsoever.