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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Firedrinker Satyr
Image from Wizards.com

Firedrinker Satyr
- Theros

Reviewed Dec. 11, 2014

Constructed: 2.88
Casual: 2.25
Limited: 2.63
Multiplayer: 1.88

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale:
1 - Horrible  3 - Average.  5 - Awesome

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Card of the Day Reviews 

BMoor

Deck Garage

Firedrinker Satyr

I'm sure I've reviewed this card before. Or at least, I strongly considered buying a playset and running them in a monored aggro deck alongside Titan's Strength, Foundry Street Denizen, Akroan Crusader, and a slew of cheap burn. The fact that I included Mugging as one of my burn spells probably indicates that I don't know how to build Sligh decks. I'd have to re-think it now anyway, since Ravnica has rotated out, but it could have been cool. I wonder what Tarkir has that coudl replace my Five-Alarm Fire...?

Constructed- 3.5
Casual-2
Limited- 2.5
Multiplayer- 1.5

David Fanany

Player since 1995

Firedrinker Satyr
 
Common sense (and an apocryphal story about Dave Price) would tell you that any creature that attacks for two damage is objectively good. Common sense, as Voltaire said, is not so common. Considering the sorts of creatures we see nowadays, it's hard to imagine they thought a Firebreathing ability needed to be balanced by dealing extra damage to the controller; and it's not like creatures from the middle of the mana curve look the slightest bit unattractive nowadays. Either way, this card asks the fundamental question that's been around since Orcish Artillery: over the course of a game, does it get your opponent to zero faster than it gets you there? With the sorts of blockers you're likely to see in the three- and four-mana range in recent sets, the answer is often no. Much as it pains me to say it, a lot of cards that are objectively good don't see much play.
 
Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 2/5
Limited: 2/5
Multiplayer: 1/5
Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Firedrinker Satyr which is a one mana Red 2/1 that whenever it is dealt damage it deals that much damage to you and for two mana it gets +1/+0 until end of turn and deals one damage to you.  There many other options for Red that are less of a potential drawback then the damage this will deal to you, even if the boost can be beneficial in many situations or the damage redirected or prevented.  It is a little too self-destructive to be reliable, particularly the +1/+0 for one damage being best against creatures as it is a one for one and two mana trade in direct damage.  Overall a technically solid card that probably won't see much play as other cards can fulfill a similar role without the additional damage.
 
In Limited this is a strong early game threat that can be a dead weight to draw later if life points are dropping.  Best supported with some kind of life gain, which can make for an inefficient build depending on the cards available.  In Booster it is a very aggressive first pick that can backfire while in Sealed it can be included if Red is being used anyway, though the risk has to be accounted for in the design.  Either a very aggressive low cost build or using Black, Green, or White to build up extra life as a safety net.
 
Constructed: 3.0
Casual: 3.0
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 3.0

Mattedesa

Deck Garage
Firedrinker Satyr
 
The Firedrinker fits the aggressive all-out red strategy very well. Whether you are mainly playing burn or dropping small creatures and swinging away, he gets damage in there very efficiently. Unfortunatley, he's not very discriminate about where the damage goes. If your deck is fast enough, you don't really mind taking some damage - as long as your opponent is taking it fast enough.
 
The idea is sound, but I can't say I've ever been overly fond of this satyr. Red burn decks don't usually have extra mana to pump into his ability, so I don't know how often you'll get to do that. I'd rather play another burn spell instead.
 
He's even worse in limited. The chance of being able to have a fast enough deck to make use of him is slim. In multiplayer, there's just too many ways for people to take him out that his drawback is much worse and his potential upside much smaller.
 
Constructed: 3.0
Casual: 2.0
Limited: 2.5
Multiplayer: 1.5

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