I thought, "How can I make the most use of this?" And realized that burn was probably the most efficient option. Burn doubles as something you can use to remove threats with and something you can kill your opponents with. There aren't too many great burn spells in Standard, at the moment, so I felt like the deck needed a little extra umph. Here's what I came up with:
I've been testing on Arena and cleaning house. Hazoret's Undying Fury is amazing, and the looting cards are imperative for getting cheap Archer and Guttersnipe triggers, as well as crafting your hand according to what you need. Apex will really only get you Lightning Strikes and Abrades for free when you cast it off of Wildfire Eternal, as the mana leaves your pool at end of combat, but if your Eternal goes blocked, it's a 5-turn clock, anyway. Chandra, of course, is a house in her own right, deals with threats, and also puts your opponent on a turn clock, forcing her to be dealt with - which then leaves your opponents' creatures untapped for Wildfire Eternal triggers. I tried Combustible Gearhulk in the Chandra slot, but it just didn't have the same impact. I tried a mix of both more burn cards and more draw cards, but ultimately, this felt like the best balance between the two while keeping the spell to creature ratio high to proc more triggers off of Archer and Guttersnipe. Casting Reunion and Voice off of Undying Fury or Apex is huge card advantage, too, for reasons I hope are obvious. Finally, if you need to just push through that last little bit of damage, you can cast Lightning Strike or Abrade for free for - again - more Archer or Guttersnipe triggers. Ixalan's Binding is a tough pill to swallow, but you should be able to get there through burn spells + Chandra damage even if you can't cast Apex - which then becomes good fodder for Voice or Reunion.
At any rate, I feel like this has huge potential to be a sleeper deck, and am surprised nobody noticed this combo before now; leave feedback if you want, but I'd be glad just to hear that somebody took this build to a PT and performed well with it, or something silly like that.
2011: Best Mafia Performance (Individual) - Best Newcomer
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
Haven't thought about Wildfire Eternal in ages! I remember when it was first spoiled being super excited about the card, but I never actually built anything with it worthwhile. I do like the combo you've listed and think that their is some merit to it. I think your current build needs a few more cantrips to be effective as a burn deck. Cards like Hazoret's Undying Fury demands you cast 1-2 drop spells, preferably those that go directly to the face. Also you don't want to have to many high CMC spells in your hand at any given moment, otherwise you won't be able to cast anything else most of the time. I'd cut down on a few Apexs and Furies, and run them as "2 of's" in the MB. Also, you need to consider ways to remove creatures with high toughness. Banefire and Fight with Fire are two cards I'd consider. Since you're doing a lot of discarding with Tormenting Voice and Cathartic Reunion, why not have a way to recur some of those spells from the graveyard? Jaya Ballard is excellent for your game plan, and she ramps! Heck, I'm strongly considering building this deck myself. I'm a red mage at heart, and the deck shouldn't be too expensive to make (after testing of course!) My take:
Threw some RG lands in the deck for more card draw and to be able to cast Reclamation Sage. I don't know what the last four cards in the SB should be. Maybe spells that can go straight to the face should we encounter more control?
I personally found anything less than 4 Fury and Apex to be not good enough, as I regularly found myself wanting to cast big things off of Eternal. Obviously YMMV!
How do you feel about Hungry Flames? I've been toying around with it in Arena as an "alternate consideration" card and have seen some favorable results, already.
2011: Best Mafia Performance (Individual) - Best Newcomer
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
I personally found anything less than 4 Fury and Apex to be not good enough, as I regularly found myself wanting to cast big things off of Eternal. Obviously YMMV!
How do you feel about Hungry Flames? I've been toying around with it in Arena as an "alternate consideration" card and have seen some favorable results, already.
How reliably are we talking? I ask because in the little testing I've done, RB Aggro can have as many as 4-5 creatures on the field by Turn 4 and can chump block Wildfire Eternal for days. Without early interaction, you get run over fast. Eternal has to not be blocked before it's triggered ability takes effect, which means there's a bigger chance of you being stuck with a bunch of high CMC cards in the grip with no way to cast/cheaply get them out on the field. And that's before you consider if you have Eternal in hand and are able to cast it Turn 4. The same goes for your matchup against Mono Green Stompy, which coincidentally, also has crazy huge creatures you have no way of getting rid of with your current list. I don't play MTG Arena and am unfamiliar with the game structure, so I don't know if it plays the exact same way paper magic does and apologize for my ignorance. If they do play the same, then I think the problem still stands. I like Hungry Flames and would consider running it out of the SB for a more direct burn package
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Wildfire Eternal + Apex of Power
I thought, "How can I make the most use of this?" And realized that burn was probably the most efficient option. Burn doubles as something you can use to remove threats with and something you can kill your opponents with. There aren't too many great burn spells in Standard, at the moment, so I felt like the deck needed a little extra umph. Here's what I came up with:
4 Firebrand Archer
4 Guttersnipe
4 Wildfire Eternal
Sorceries
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Tormenting Voice
4 Hazoret's Undying Fury
4 Apex of Power
4 Abrade
4 Lightning Strike
Planeswalkers
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Lands
4 Desert of the Fervent
16 Mountain
I've been testing on Arena and cleaning house. Hazoret's Undying Fury is amazing, and the looting cards are imperative for getting cheap Archer and Guttersnipe triggers, as well as crafting your hand according to what you need. Apex will really only get you Lightning Strikes and Abrades for free when you cast it off of Wildfire Eternal, as the mana leaves your pool at end of combat, but if your Eternal goes blocked, it's a 5-turn clock, anyway. Chandra, of course, is a house in her own right, deals with threats, and also puts your opponent on a turn clock, forcing her to be dealt with - which then leaves your opponents' creatures untapped for Wildfire Eternal triggers. I tried Combustible Gearhulk in the Chandra slot, but it just didn't have the same impact. I tried a mix of both more burn cards and more draw cards, but ultimately, this felt like the best balance between the two while keeping the spell to creature ratio high to proc more triggers off of Archer and Guttersnipe. Casting Reunion and Voice off of Undying Fury or Apex is huge card advantage, too, for reasons I hope are obvious. Finally, if you need to just push through that last little bit of damage, you can cast Lightning Strike or Abrade for free for - again - more Archer or Guttersnipe triggers. Ixalan's Binding is a tough pill to swallow, but you should be able to get there through burn spells + Chandra damage even if you can't cast Apex - which then becomes good fodder for Voice or Reunion.
At any rate, I feel like this has huge potential to be a sleeper deck, and am surprised nobody noticed this combo before now; leave feedback if you want, but I'd be glad just to hear that somebody took this build to a PT and performed well with it, or something silly like that.
Have at it.
{мы, тьма}
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
Lands
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Sheltered Thicket
2 Scavenger Grounds
14 Mountain
Creatures 12
4 Firebrand Archer
4 Guttersnipe
4 Wildfire Eternal
Planeswalkers 4
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Jaya Ballard
3 Magma Spray
2 Abrade
4 Lightning Strike
2 Cathartic Reunion
2 Tormenting Voice
3 Fight with Fire
2 Hazoret's Undying Fury
2 Apex of Power
2 Abrade
2 Banefire
2 Jaya's Immolating Flame
1 Fight with Fire
2 Sweltering Suns
2 Reclamation Sage
4 ?
Threw some RG lands in the deck for more card draw and to be able to cast Reclamation Sage. I don't know what the last four cards in the SB should be. Maybe spells that can go straight to the face should we encounter more control?
How do you feel about Hungry Flames? I've been toying around with it in Arena as an "alternate consideration" card and have seen some favorable results, already.
{мы, тьма}
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
How reliably are we talking? I ask because in the little testing I've done, RB Aggro can have as many as 4-5 creatures on the field by Turn 4 and can chump block Wildfire Eternal for days. Without early interaction, you get run over fast. Eternal has to not be blocked before it's triggered ability takes effect, which means there's a bigger chance of you being stuck with a bunch of high CMC cards in the grip with no way to cast/cheaply get them out on the field. And that's before you consider if you have Eternal in hand and are able to cast it Turn 4. The same goes for your matchup against Mono Green Stompy, which coincidentally, also has crazy huge creatures you have no way of getting rid of with your current list. I don't play MTG Arena and am unfamiliar with the game structure, so I don't know if it plays the exact same way paper magic does and apologize for my ignorance. If they do play the same, then I think the problem still stands. I like Hungry Flames and would consider running it out of the SB for a more direct burn package