This is an interesting card to see make a
return. I was always a fan of the seal cycle of
cards. These will definitely see play. Seal of
Fire is neat, because it's a damage investment
of sorts. You can leave it on the board as a
threat and force your opponent into a lot of
crazy decisions. And you don't have to leave
mana open to kill anything. expect to see this
card getting a lot of play during it's second
call to duty.
I'm
fortunate enough to have memories of how Seal of
Fire worked out the first time around. This is a
great card. In many ways it is superior to the
card it mimics - Shock. You trade the element of
surprise for the ability to cast it when it's
most convenient rather than when you need to use
it. That's a fine trade to make. Suprise may be
somewhat overrated when it comes to burn. I
think if you play a predominantly red deck,
people will expect burn every turn anyhow.
Dropping this on turn one when you would have
had no other play is fantastic. It frees up your
mana for the later turns, while leaving you with
an answer when you need it. Expect to see 4 of
these showing up in nearly every red deck
Ravnica block has to offer.
It's fairly straightforward. You put it on the
table, and everybody knows you can do 2 damage
wherever, whenever. It lacks the surprise value
of an Instant that would do 2 damage straight
out of your hand, but I suppose that's no shock.
It can also complicate combat math for your
opponent. Sure, he could block your 2/2 with his
4/4, but he knows that doing so gives you the
option of finishing off his 4/4. Essentially,
all your creatures have a theoretical +2/+0 with
one of these on the table, and that makes it
very hard for your opponent to attack or block
advantageously.
