This is a good sweeper for the kind of deck that
would run Sphinx of Jwar Isle or Baneslayer
Angel as its only giant creature-- a card that
kills off the smaller creatures (provided there
aren't too many of them) but will leave the ones
with bigger toughness. Perhaps a monored control
deck would like to run this alongside Pyroclasm,
then drop Mordant Dragon or the like to finish?
I really like this card, not because red
control "needed" a Day of Judgment effect
(hello, Pyroclasm, Volcanic Fallout, Molten
Disaster, and Earthquake), but because it
provides a Day of Judgment effect that is
sometimes better than any of those and is always
the "reddest" card in Worldwake. It may not be
consistent enough for constructed, and it still
doesn't help with the likes of Sprouting Thrinax,
but it will always be cool enough for me.
Magic The Gathering
Card of The Day: Chain Reaction
Welcome back
readers today’s card of the day is an
interesting red rare from Worldwake. As far as
mass removal goes red has traditionally gotten
cards like Pyroclasm and Volcanic Fallout, cheap
and effective cards that more often than not
guarantee a board sweep. The value of most red
sweepers is that their at instant speed where as
Chain reaction while being able to deal x damage
to each creature where x is the number of
creatures on the battlefield is impressive it
doesn’t come at a surprise. To make the most of
this card a player would have t over commit to
the board to such a degree you can take out
creatures with high toughness an unlikely
scenario. Compared to traditional sweepers like
Wrath of God, Chain reaction can’t guarantee to
kill a large number of creatures. In standard we
currently have Volcanic Fallout and while it may
not kill everything it is an instant and cannot
be countered. I doubt this card will see a lot
of play in standard but it’s a possibility
because of the fact it can sweep most creatures
but does it at such a slow speed. In extended
and eternal this card wont see much play if any.
In casual and multiplayer this card can be
incredible a perfect card to counteract weenie
swarms or decks that utilize a large amount of
tokens once again sorcery speed hurts to an
extent but it can punish anyone playing
creatures. In limited its mass removal I would
pick this highly or even splash red to utilize
this card, be sure to pack some high toughness
creatures.
Today's card of the day has been called the Red
Wrath of God and in some ways Chain Reaction
lives up to that nickname. For four mana it can
deal damage to each creature equal to the total
number of creatures in play. When dealing with a
swarm of tokens this can be a solid option for
Red to clear the board and try to regain the
advantage, but in many other scenarios this just
isn't reliable enough to be run instead of
cheaper options like Pyroclasm. Definitely
worthy of some space in a sidedeck especially if
the deck also runs Ball Lightning styled
creatures that are would be destroyed at the end
of the turn anyway.
For Constructed and Casual this probably
won't be played in the maindeck, but expect to
see it swapped in against swarm decks that power
up beyond Pyroclasm's ability to handle.
In Limited this may seem like an equal pick
to a Wrath of God, but counting the number of
creatures in play weakens it considerably when
you are only looking at two or three in play.
Unlike Wrath it may be necessary to play your
creature before Chain Reaction to ramp the
damage level high enough to destroy a threat.
This leaves you in a weaker position and turns
it into more of a topdeck race. That does not
mean this is a bad card, but limited in
application. In Sealed if running enough Red
mana to handle the fifty percent Red mana cost
this can take a slot in your deck as a tactical
weapon, but don't expect to find it helpful in
every game. With Booster a potential first pick,
primarily as a hate or rare draft, but carefully
examine the other cards in the pack before
choosing to see if another option will be more
flexible.
With Multiplayer this is possibly Red's best
option for clearing the board and likely making
a few enemies. Just simple math if each player
in a five person game has two creatures out
it'll do ten damage to every creature. Not much
is going to stand up to that and at four mana is
drastically less costly than other options for
dealing that much damage to even one target.
