Searing Spear
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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Highlander Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pauper Legal
Pauper Duel Commander Legal
Pauper EDH Legal
Planar Constructed Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Searing Spear

Instant

Searing Spear deals 3 damage to any target (creature, player or planeswalker).

VladMarkov on First

2 months ago

I reckon, what the deck really needs, is lots of cheap spells that can be cast on every player's turn, to get the most value out of the flurry mechanic. The game plan should be to cast Shiko and Narset, Unified on turn 4, prepare the board beforehand, and then spam small, damage-dealing spells that can easily be brought back with tricks like Underworld Breach, Lier, Disciple of the Drowned, or by recasting copies with Narset, Enlightened Exile. You could then replace draw-discard effects with more "pure" card draw options like Treasure Cruise (if you have a lot of cards in your graveyard), Quick Study or flexible draw like Flame of Anor. The main gameplay should revolve around cheap, repeatable spells, but there can also be some utility from the Magecraft mechanic. Most importantly, the deck should keep continuous pressure on opponents by dealing large amounts of damage through copying small spells.

Must have: Path to Exile, Cyclonic Rift

Useful: Cori Mountain Stalwart, Devoted Duelist, Monk of the Open Hand, Ashling, Flame Dancer, Jori En, Ruin Diver, Ledger Shredder, Smoldering Egg  Flip, Burst Lightning, Electrolyze, Virtue of Courage, Fire / Ice, Galvanic Blast, Heartflame Duelist, Ionize, Lightning Bolt, Lightning Helix, Lightning Strike, Magma Jet, Parch, Play with Fire, Punishing Fire, Risk Factor, Sacred Fire, Searing Spear, Shock, Skullcrack, Thunderbolt, Wild Slash

Possible: Taigam, Master Opportunist, Breeches, the Blastmaker, Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy, Rammas Echor, Ancient Shield, Storm of Saruman, Turn / Burn, Price of Progress, Finale of Promise, Increasing Vengeance, Frolicking Familiar, Molten Influence, Slaying Fire, Wizard's Lightning,

Kazierts on Which is More Important: Total …

6 months ago

The answer is pretty simple, it always depends on context. Magic is a very complex game and situations matter a lot. A lot of examples you gave already mentions different contexts and cannot be judged the same way as other examples.

Of the cards with activated abilities you mentioned, only Spectral Sailor and Faerie Mastermind are any good because they are useful aside from their card draw ability. A lot of times you don't even need to activate them since that's just tge cherry on top. Unless you have a very specific combo with Mystic Archaeologist, it's a horrible card because the only thing you can with it is pay a lot of mana to draw only 2 cards. For 5 mana, Mulldrifter is miles better. However, maybe you're making a weird Wizard EDH with Zirda as a companion and Mystic Archaeologist happens to fit perfectly.

Even the example with Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers and Vernadi Shieldmate is relative. The Cavaliers is an Elf Knight while the Shieldmate is a Human soldier, which means, as more "efficient" as one is over the other, some decks might completely one of them.

Usually, cheaper cards are better, but synergies, strategies and redundancy also influence card choice. Is Searing Spear better than Shock? Maybe, but maybe some people prefer to have only burn spells in their deck. Maybe there's a format where Lightning Bolt doesn't exist and both Shock and Searing Spear (or Lightning Strike since it's the more modern version) go in the same deck.

Very few things are so black and white in MTG.

DemonDragonJ on Which is More Important: Total …

6 months ago

I often wonder which is more important for a card: its overall cost or its cost-to-effect ratio (i.e., its mana efficiency); for example, there is no question that Lightning Bolt is superior to both Shock and Searing Spear, but, between the other two cards, I would choose Shock over Searing Spear in the majority of situations, because Shock has a ratio of 2 damage for 1 mana, whereas Searing Spear has a ratio of 1.5 damage for 1 mana.

For a slightly more complicated example, compare Eladamri's Call to Shared Summons; the former card can find a creature for a mere 2 mana, which is very efficient, but it simply replaces one card in its controller's hand with another, whereas the latter card can search for two creatures, which leaves its caster with an additional card in hand, compared to before it is cast, but it is less efficient, costing 2.5 mana per creature found, so it is not as clear which card is superior, there.

Opportunity is literally a double version of Quick Study, as they both have the same ratio of cost to effect, but which is the superior card? Is it really better to spend six mana to draw four cards, as doing that would leave the caster with less mana to cast the spells that they draw? Also, Quick Study is strictly better than is Inspiration, as it costs 1 less mana to cast, but, between Concentrate and Tidings, I am not certain which is superior, since they both allow a player to draw one less card than their mana values.

On the subject of card drawing, in the realm of repeatable card drawing, Arcane Encyclopedia is strictly better than is Jayemdae Tome, as it costs only 3 mana to draw a single card, compared to 4, but Tower of Fortunes can draw four cards for 8 mana, which is a ratio of 2 mana per card, but that ability costs 8 mana, overall, so the question is if it is worth 8 mana to draw four cards.

Continuing that theme, there are numerous creatures (and one enchantment) that allow a player to repeatedly draw cards, such as Azure Mage, Spectral Sailor, Faerie Mastermind, Triskaidekaphile, or Treasure Trove, a ratio of 4 mana for one card, but Mystic Archaeologist can draw 2 two cards for 5 mana, a ratio of 2.5 mana per card, which is definitely far superior, in my mind.

Hedron Archivefoil is literally two Mind Stones put together, and Dreamstone Hedron is literally a triple Mind Stone, so they all have the same cost-to-effect ratio, but I prefer the original Mind Stone, since the existence of Thran Dynamo and Gilded Lotusfoil makes it difficult to justify using the other mana rocks, at least, for me.

To use the example of Skyward Eye Prophets, a 1/1 creature for 2 mana is perfectly acceptable, a 2/2 creature for 4 mana is slightly expensive, but nothing outrageous, but a 3/3 creature for 6 mana is simply too much, although, as a side note, I have a copy of that creature, in one of my decks, because I really like its ability.

For a further example, I would choose Mantis Rider over Lightning Angel in the majority of situations, since it provides a better rate than does the angel, and, similarly, I would choose Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers over Vernadi Shieldmate, since the former creature is more efficient for its cost.

I believe that I have provided a sufficient number of examples, for this discussion, so which trait do you believe is more important: overall mana cost or cost-to-effect ratio/mana efficiency? I certainly am interested to hear your thoughts on this matter.

multimedia on Rakdos, Lord of Riots Demon Tribal

2 years ago

In my last comment suggested a lot of cards to add, now here's some cards to consider cutting. For cards to consider cutting I would start with all the lower mana cost nonDemon creatures. I would simply replace these with other lower mana cost cards that can better enable Rakdos without attacking and reduce creature mana costs without attacking.

Rather than playing a lot of single creature removal spells, rely more on Demons who can destroy or remove creatures? Especially Demons who have repeatable removal effects. You could cut many creature removal spells and replace them with more draw.

Searing Spear, Shock, Disintegrate can target a player to make them lose life, but you have Lightning Bolt for that and you can make opponent lose life better ways then playing single burn spells. Some budget single removal spells are helpful such as Chaos Warp and Feed the Swarm because these spells can remove an enchantment, Warp any permanent. When attacking is important to your game plan these can remove Ghostly Prison, Propaganda and others.

Rakdos can only reduce the mana cost of creatures therefore play very few noncreature high mana cost spells or spells that require a lot of mana to be useful. Spells that need a lot mana paid to make them decent is not really what you want when playing many high mana cost creatures. Could cut these for more draw and ramp.

Rolling Earthquake is a budget spell like this that's worth playing because you can control how much damage each creature is going to take, most Demons including Rakdos have high toughness. You could cut a few of the lesser Demons.

Master of the Feast is really bad card in multiplayer Commander because only your opponents draw. Awaken the Sky Tyrant, Wretched Confluence and Seal of the Guildpact are subpar for the mana costs.

In my last comment I recommended adding a lot of loot effects for draw. Loot is excellent with Blood Speaker and Speaker is a good reason to play Demon tribal since it's a tribal tutor that can be repeatable, return to your hand from your graveyard. Rakdos can reduce Speaker's mana cost to only 1 mana, making it a mana efficient way to repeatedly tutor for Demons.

Loot can be an enabler for reanimation and recursion which are helpful effects to have with Demons. Reanimation is a way to get Demons onto the battlefield without having to cast them, a backup for when Rakdos is disrupted. Recursion is getting Demons back into your hand or casting them from your graveyard. Patriarch's Bidding can reanimate all Demons in your graveyard. Persist and Exhume can reanimate for only two mana.

Chainer, Nightmare Adept has interaction with looting, getting Demons into your graveyard to cast them using Rakdos mana cost reduction. If you discard a Demon using Chainer's ability you can cast that same Demon giving it haste to attack. Rakdos also gains haste from Chainer when he's cast from the Command Zone. Any creature you reanimate gains haste from Chainer.

Chainer has excellent interaction with creatures who can sac themselves for value such as Magus of the Wheel and Doomed Necromancer. With Chainer these creatures gain haste when cast from your graveyard allowing them to tap and activate their abilities right away. Doomed Necromancer can reanimate even at instant speed. Chainer is good with Blood Speaker as discard outlet that can keep coming back to your hand.

Some more budget Demons to consider adding:

Some budget land upgrades to consider:

Temple of the False God is not a good land when you have no land ramp. It will not tap for mana until at least turn five and that's if you make all your land drops. Even if playing green and land ramp such as Cultivate I still wouldn't play Temple of the False God, it's just not a good enough land in the early turns of a game.

Scarecrow1779 on Mono-Colored Beginner Decks

3 years ago

Krikr I'm glad you like them! Whenever I show somebody these lists, I almost always tell them about the card kingdom rookie decks in the same breathe. Not everyone wants to go through the work of assembling lists, even if those lists would be better suited. I'm glad my lists had teaching strengths, though. I always enjoy how easy it is to teach the stack with my lists, but was never sure if anybody else felt the same.

Swapping out Lightning Bolt for Demon Bolt is interesting. I hesitate because of Demon Bolt being a more complex card and Lightning Bolt already having a lot of decision making associated with it, but the point of being slower is a good one. I had considered replacing Lightning Bolt with Searing Spear, but ultimately didn't do it because I didn't want to weaken the matchup against white. Having a cheap removal option is very important for taking out an enchanted Healer's Hawk before it gains white too much life. It's interesting that red was too powerful in your testing. IIRC, red's win rates for me were just a hair below 50% in most matchups. I never worried about it too much, though, because most of the people I have taught tend to not want to play with or against aggro. They're all destined to play value decks in EDH, I guess XD. Was there any particular matchup where you felt red was too strong, or was it across the board?

Sideboards are a really interesting option that I hadn't thought about before. I worry that by depending on new players evaluation, you're more likely to end up with one-sided games. However, I suppose making the learner's deck more powerful than the teacher's is actually the perfect way to show how much card choice matters. I've had times when I was teaching two people at once and they each had a beginner deck and we're playing against each other. In those cases, I could just have a suggested sideboard for each matchup that guides them to an evenly matched game 2.

Thanks for necro-ing the post! I always love talking about these little decks, and now you've got me excited to try sideboarding with them when I get a chance!

RNR_Gaming on Why Have Direct Damage Spells …

3 years ago

They probably want to give some of the cards they designed painstakingly for standard to actually see play in standard lol. Though the vast majority of them would likely be outclassed by a Searing Spear or Lightning Strike at least that was the case with neon dynasty.

Regulus_Rising on Come On Baby Light My Fire

3 years ago

duchessCretina Honestly, I hadn't thought about it lol, but it seems so obvious now that you point it out! So I just updated and swapped out a few of the Phoenixes for more ascensions and one last Magma Jet. I like having the ability to scry for free when the top of the deck is being exiled with Outpost or Chandra, but it's a little niche, so I'll likely sub out magma jet for Searing Spear or Skullcrack.

Thank you for your feedback!

TheVectornaut on The Burn deck

4 years ago

The best way to power up this deck would probably be to find lower CMC alternatives to Lightning Strike and Searing Spear , plus something a little stronger than Shock . Lava Spike and Rift Bolt are some popular options. With Thermo-Alchemist being an easy source of damage on demand, spectacle cards like Skewer the Critics and Light Up the Stage would be my personal choices. You also have a lot of lands for burn, so maybe Shard Volley or Searing Blaze could be on the table. Finally, any cantrip becomes a lot better with all of your creatures caring about them. In mono-red, the best options would probably be Manamorphose , Tormenting Voice / Cathartic Reunion , or Needle Drop .

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