I understand what you mean. Pretty risky, but I agree that the rewards could be great. I prefer to have more control elements though, so to each his own.
I still want to portray the "dual nature" of the card. First thing that pops into my head is Ranma 1/2, but that's too cute rather than cool. I want something a bit more awesome.
Thinking of cool hero/villain duos, portraying opposite sides of good and bad such as Batman/Joker. Then there's two-man teams such as Iron Man/War Machine.
And then, there's also the obligatory "two sexy girls" alter, but that's a bit overdone. I'm also not really into extended art alters.
I could have this done from my friend as a digital or a painted alter, so medium isn't an issue. I just need cool ideas.
Riku Flare is also where I started before I went into a control/combo hybrid direction. Link to my list is in my sig.
What i found most dangerous about running Flare effects was that the whole table gets to use it first. The thing that made it possible to circumvent this is run Flash enablers. Vedalken Orrery, Leyline of Anticipation, and Alchemists' Refuge.
With fetchlands, you're actually forced to buy shocks/duals too, so putting fetches into your deck "opens the floodgates," so to speak. Pretty wasteful for your Scalding Tarn to only be able to grab basics.
Manabases, even up to 5-color, can be made without them. Commander is such a forgiving format to manabases compared to others.
Sonik has a good budget list in his primer, so you might want to start out with that to learn the nuances of the deck, then just slip in the spell toolbox cards that you want.
It is possible, but I don't think it will be very effective. You need to dedicate a lot of slots if you want a creature toolbox, but you also need to dedicate a lot of slots if you want to support a spellslinger theme. 99 card slots isn't enough for that.
Kaervek the Merciless can actually be built pretty well. Load it up with lots of punisher effects like Ankh of Mishra. Going creature-less, you have the option to pack it with sweepers as well. Red damage sweepers such as Starstorm will be great with Repercussion. Fill it out with spot removal, black/artifact draw, perhaps some pillowfort elements such as Ensnaring Bridge, and maybe some life gain effects to beat the symmetry of the punisher effects.
The great thing about spellslinging is that you don't build a board presence, unlike creature decks where you clog up the board with enough threats to overpower others. That said, spellslinging should focus on x-for1's, as this is where you'll be generating an advantage over permanent-based decks.
Riku is king at this, as when you cast your spell, two go on the stack at the same time. This means all your spot removal is at least a 2-for-1 and all your combo spells require two counterspells to answer.
I also think that the best 3-color combination is RUG, as Izzet is best at spellslinging and green ramp spells provide the fuel. Without green, you're stuck with artifact ramp, which is anti-synergistic with spellslinging.
Shameless plug: see link in my sig. If you don't like infinites, you can always replace te combo pieces with game-winning spells such as Rite of Replication.
The most exciting card to me is swordsworn centaur. Check out that flavour text. I want to see more from the theros version of the Aeneid... And I seriously hope this "champion of the sun" ends up as a legendary creature... So I can make an Always Sunny theme deck.
The champion of the sun is Elspeth, Sun's Champion.
I still want to portray the "dual nature" of the card. First thing that pops into my head is Ranma 1/2, but that's too cute rather than cool. I want something a bit more awesome.
Thinking of cool hero/villain duos, portraying opposite sides of good and bad such as Batman/Joker. Then there's two-man teams such as Iron Man/War Machine.
And then, there's also the obligatory "two sexy girls" alter, but that's a bit overdone. I'm also not really into extended art alters.
I could have this done from my friend as a digital or a painted alter, so medium isn't an issue. I just need cool ideas.
Thanks!
What i found most dangerous about running Flare effects was that the whole table gets to use it first. The thing that made it possible to circumvent this is run Flash enablers. Vedalken Orrery, Leyline of Anticipation, and Alchemists' Refuge.
Also, you might want to add just a bit more ramp. I think your curve's a bit too high.
Manabases, even up to 5-color, can be made without them. Commander is such a forgiving format to manabases compared to others.
Riku is king at this, as when you cast your spell, two go on the stack at the same time. This means all your spot removal is at least a 2-for-1 and all your combo spells require two counterspells to answer.
I also think that the best 3-color combination is RUG, as Izzet is best at spellslinging and green ramp spells provide the fuel. Without green, you're stuck with artifact ramp, which is anti-synergistic with spellslinging.
Shameless plug: see link in my sig. If you don't like infinites, you can always replace te combo pieces with game-winning spells such as Rite of Replication.
Opponent 1 Turn 5: EOT Riku, of Two Reflections
Opponent 2 Turn 5: EOT Magus of the Future
Opponent 3 Turn 5: EOT Sakura-Tribe Elder, copied with Riku, off the top of my library
I've done similar value plays like this a few times. Prophet is just so awesome.
The champion of the sun is Elspeth, Sun's Champion.
I agree with you though that the flavor text and story is awesome. It can also be seen on Great Hart and Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass.
One thing I see missing would be a healthy amount pf countermagic. Because, you know, you want to keep Slide in play.