For this to successfully kill a creature, you
have to have a bigger creature. In that respect,
it's kind of a "win more" card. But then you
never really can make your opponent block with
the creature you most want to kill, and
sometimes that pesky creature is actually small
enough that it doesn't take much. In addition,
because the creature you control is the one
dealing the damage, not Soul's Fire itself, this
card will trigger lifelink, deathtouch, infect,
or any other ability that the chosen creature
has which triggers off of damage. I remember
using Crush Underfoot to similar effect with
Brion Stoutarm back in Lorwyn block; dealing 4
damage and gaining 4 life for 1R helped me twist
many a dismal combat phase to my advantage.
Deathtouch could allow Soul's Fire to act as a
Dark Banishing, and infect could make it the
game-ending spell. Don't forget that it hits
players too!
But alas, the fact that you can't play it unless
you control a creature is a drawback not to be
ignored. The fact that red doesn't get
deathtouch or lifelink and has almost no infect
makes it harder to exploit as well. Red does
have firebreathing though, so if you've got the
mana, this could hit very hard.
The majority of red damage spells are relevant
regardless of whether you have creatures,
as opponents or planeswalkers are present more
often than not. Soul's Fire stands out, then, as
it's notably less flexible than other spells of
its kind. But then again, it's not really
intended for the same uses as something like
Incinerate or Brimstone Volley. This is for
those crazy combo-style finishes you shoot for
in concert with Protean Hydra and Heartbeat of
Spring, and for when you've drafted a bunch of
Naya's "5 power or greater" themed cards and
want to make them hurt even more than usual.
Dare I say, it's pretty good at those uses.
Welcome back readers todays card of the day is
an interesting red card which allows a creature
you control to deal damage obviously this is
good the bigger the creature you have. In
standard this card is not available. In extended
and modern I could see this card in the same
type of decks that utilize fling but aside from
that this card doesn’t have much potential aside
from obscure combo decks as well. In legacy and
vintage not a chance for this to be good. In
casual and multiplayer if your deck is jam
packed with powerful creatures this could make a
decent finisher and act as instant removal
making it an interesting choice. In limited its
removal of a sort making it powerful. Overall a
basic card with some constructed and casual
applications.
Today's card of the day is Chandra's Spitfire
which is a three mana Red
1/3 with Flying that gets +3/+0 until end of
turn whenever an opponent is dealt noncombat
damage. Multiple cards combo with this and
any Red burn deck should easily be able to make
room for an evasive creature that is often a 4/3
on the attack. Stockpiling effects to make
this a
7/3 or bigger puts the opponent in a losing
situation very early, which is what aggressive
Red wants to have. Overall a great
thematic addition to burn that works as both a
general threat and potentially a finisher.
For Limited the value of this depends entirely
on how many burn effects you have. A three
mana Flying for Red is nice, but without support
it probably will fall into a defensive role
against other Flying creatures. The three
toughness allows it to survive well in that
role, yet it doesn't compare favorable to
attacking for four or more. In Sealed this
should be in a primarily Red deck whenever
available and nearly any burn should be included
as potential triggers. In Booster it can
be a gamble as you may not see much burn, though
it is playable with minimal support if necessary
and won't waste the second or third draft pick
when taken.
Welcome to
the Pojo.com card of the day section. Today we
look at one of my all time favorite red spells,
Soul’s Fire. Soul’s Fire is a common red instant
that costs one red and two generic mana. Soul’s
Fire says target creature you control deals
damage equal to it’s power to target creature or
player.
Soul’s Fire will likely forever be one of my
favorite red spells. Unless of course something
comes along with a better ability that does
essentially the same thing. I use this as often
as possible with BIG things. And in yesterday’s
article, I showed one of my favorite things to
use it on, Thunder Thrash Elder. While people
seem critical of the Elder, all it takes is
time, mana, and often, Soul’s Fire. Any big
creature can fit into perfection for Soul’s
Fire, and so many abilities can easily be
exploited with Soul’s Fire, since it is the
creature dealing the damage, not the Soul’s
Fire. So if you have a creature with Deathtouch,
it is very easy to kill off something that may
otherwise be a nuisance, or cost you your
creature, thus leaving a potential opening.
Lifelink also works well in this scenario, since
the creature would be dealing the damage, you
gain life. A nice easy way to boost your life,
and still then be able to swing. Of course, the
Soul’s Fire also works with Infect. And nothing
ends the game quicker than Blightsteel Colossus
and Soul’s Fire!
Looking ahead, I see a major role for
Soul’s Fire coming up. With the release of
Avacyn Restored we will see Grislebrand. If you
haven’t checked out the cards on
Magicthegathering.com, I suggest you head over
there. He has lifelink and an ability of paying
seven life to draw seven cards, and is a 7/7
himself. When you use Soul’s Fire with him, you
will deal seven damage to whatever, gain seven
life, still be able to attack with him to gain
seven more life, and then pay seven life happily
to draw a new hand of fun!
