I only think of this card for limited, and I try
not to think about this card in limited. That
is, while you want some fatties in your Time
Spiral draft decks, this creature, with its
echo-heavy casting cost, is not so hot.
Yes, he’s big, but while four mana is a bargain
for his 5/4, it’s quite a bit less of a bargain
when you have to pay for him twice. He was much
more useful before Planar Chaos, where more
draft decks might have included red as a main
color. That option is quite a bit less
attractive now, and therefore so is Flamecore
Elemental. I’ve never thought of him from a
constructed point of view, and honestly, there
just is no place for this uninspiring creature
in either Standard or Block Constructed, but as
far as casual play is concerned, there probably
isn’t anything too awful.
It's a 5/4, which is respectable. It doesn't
have any abilities beyond Echo, so it'll likely
just swing and get blocked. Meaning, it will
kill a few creatures or force them to play a
combat trick. It can come out a turn earlier
than its sister Fire Elemental, but you have to
pay a total of eight mana over two turns. Well,
that's not as much as it sounds like when you
consider it's only four mana on any given turn.
I just wish it had some ability other than Echo
so it's not just a vanilla creature after you
pay the Echo.
Constructed- 2
Casual- 2.5
Limited- 3
Aethereal
Tuesday -
Flamecore Elemental
This time, an updated version of Fire Elemental.
He costs 1 less for the same stats, but you have
to pay echo (Hmm, do I smell a theme this
week?). See yesterday's review, and copy and
paste it in regards to this. He just has no
place in constructed with so many superior
options.
In casual, he's okay as a budget creature I
guess.
In limited, a great pick if you're playing red.
He's relatively large and he comes out earlier
than he should.
Constructed - 1.5
Casual - 2
Limited - 3.5
-David N
Tuesday
Flamecore Elemental
Another among a series of echo red creatures.
Only playable in thick-skinned goblin decks.
Nothing special here.
Constructed: 1
Casual: 1
Limited: 2
David Fanany
Flamecore
Elemental
Echo creatures usually have to be very, very
efficient (Pouncing Jaguar) or have a powerful
comes-into-play ability (Avalanche Riders,
Hunting Moa) to be useful in constructed. Four
mana and then four mana again next turn for a
5/4 creature isn't a very good deal. Maybe this
goes in your casual Thick-Skinned Goblin deck,
but I think it's most playable in limited games.
There are still better creatures in Time Spiral
limited, but Flamecore Elemental is okay as a
late addition to your deck.
Constructed: 1/5
Casual: 2/5
Limited: 2/5
LennonMarx
Constructed
I can't see any reason to use this card. It's a
5/4 for essentially 8 mana, and thats it. 8 Mana
should win the game. Just play something else,
more burn perhaps, just not this.
1.5/5
Casual
Thick-Skinned Goblin is this guys friend, and in
a casual echo deck this guy is pretty good. A
5/4 for 4 is never bad, granted it's contingent
on another, frailer creature, but it is still
pretty beefy. On it's own, its still a 5/4 for 8
mana over 2 turns, but casual tends to be a
little slower so it shouldn't be a big issue if
you build your deck with echo in mind.
3/5
Limited
It's a solid body, not amazing but not terribe.
Not a real high pick in draft, and I would
rather not play him, but it's a possible 22nd or
23rd card.
2.5/5
PsychoAnime
Constructed:
Play this and lose.
In Casual, Thick-Skinned Goblin saves this from
a 1/5, and it does have a
4/5 body so it's ok for a really low budget
player.
In Limited, it's a pretty big body that may win
a ground war, and losing 1
turn in this format for the Echo isn't as bad as
in the other formats.
Constructed: 1/5
Casual: 1.5/5, Thick-Skinned Goblin gives it a
+0.5
Limited: 2.5/5, it passes, but not an early pick
Arcane
Flamecore
Elemental
This review, and tomorrow’s, are going to be
pretty similar to yesterday’s review with very
little change.
Constructed: If echo didn’t work for a cheap
evasive creature, then it doesn’t work for me as
a slightly larger creature with no advantageous
abilities. Mana is precious every turn of a game
in constructed Magic, and a turn spent paying
for a lackluster creature is going to give your
opponent tempo advantage; it’s just asking for a
blue deck to bounce it or a black deck to
destroy it outright before you ever get the
chance to swing.
Casual: There’s just better creatures. Spend the
extra 1 mana now, get a Fire Elemental and avoid
paying 4 more mana on your next upkeep. The only
deck I could see this working in is a deck using
something like Pandemonium, Anger and Stalking
Vengence.
Limited: It’s probably going to be bigger than
anything else that comes out on turn 4, but
that’s all that a creature like this has going
for it. There’s no evasion, no protection
ability, nothing more than a 5/4 body that ends
up costing you 8 mana. If you’re real creature
light then run it, but it’s not going to be a
first choice ever.
Constructed: 1
Casual: 2
Limited: 2
The Missing
Linc
Flamecore
Elemental
This will have no place in constructed due to
it's lack of evasion. In limited, this is an OK
pick. Not much flavor to this guy. He is simply
big and big can be good in limited.
Constructed: 2
Casual: 2
Limited: 3
Necro
nomikron
Flamecore
Elemental:
This guy is overcosted for constructed. He
messes up your tempo too much.
Casual: This guy could be ok in your thick
skinned goblin deck, but not really. Even so,
he'd just be a 5/4 for 4.
Limited: Well, it's a big body, and its out of
rift-bolt range on the backside. Still, probably
not a very high pick unless you have a poor
pool.
