Finale of Devastation
– War of the Spark
Date Reviewed:
December 11, 2019
Ratings:
Constructed: 4.00
Casual: 4.75
Limited: 4.00
Multiplayer: 4.33
Commander [EDH]: 4.63
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
 David Fanany Player since 1995 I’ve rarely seen a spell that does as much as Finale of Devastation can. If it were only a Green Sun’s Zenith variant, it would probably have seen play, but it also gets things back from the graveyard, which is a little unusual for green and allows it to be considered for an entirely different angle of deck. And it almost feels wrong to refer to its twelve-mana version as an Overrun variant, because a ten-point Overrun variant is almost unheard of. Searching for the right creature at the same time can easily result in enough damage to remove an entire Commander table at once. According to Gatherer, there are only five Magic cards with the word “finale” in their name, five of which are in War of the Spark and named after the hours in Amonkhet’s destruction. I’m a little surprised we didn’t get some more linked to Rakdos’ circus theme, but that may be coming. Constructed: 4/5 |
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James H.
Trying to end the game with an absolute unit? Seems okay. Finale of Devastation is part of the five-card Finale cycle from War of the Spark, and this one is one that’s drawn the most notice, thanks to it being in a color easily able to get to the upper bound and its general utility outside of that. The worst-case scenario is a more-expensive Green Sun’s Zenith, a card strong enough to be banned in Modern. Unlike that card, though, Finale of Devastation can fetch any creature, and it can fetch from library or graveyard! This makes for a surprisingly flexible tutoring effect, as while you need to put mana into it, an unconditional tutor that can also flex as a revival effect is very good. The other effect is an attempt to end the game on the spot. Especially when paired with something like Craterhoof Behemoth! Setting X equal to 10 or more will also give all of your creatures haste and +X/+X, which is a way to make sure you smash your opponents really hard in a single swing. A tutor effect that ends the game is definitely worthy of its steep mana cost, and while 12 mana is a lot to ask for, 12 mana that ends the game is a fair price to pay. That second mode is more likely to only matter in more casual tables, but never underestimate the ability to break a board stall with a well-timed carnivore. Even if you never get to 12 mana with Finale of Devastation, though, it’s a strong revival and tutor spell in one, and that’s why it deserved mention here. Constructed: 4 |
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Hey Everyone and welcome back to Pojo’s Card of the Day. We’re reviewing cards that haven’t really stuck out in Standard this week. Today we’re taking a gander at Finale of Devastation. This has been compared to Tooth and Nail, Channel, and Green Sun’s Zenith. But in all actuality it’s pretty much of a mix of these cards combined, and with a Craterhoof Behemoth Overrun Ability kind of just mixed in. It’s not going to do much in Standard where Ramp has been pretty neutered but where it will shine is in places like Casual Multiplayer and Commander formats where the ramp is for days. Being able to drop your fattest threat, pump it to as high as you can, and pump the team with it is a phenomenal addition to the Green decks in those formats. In Pioneer, Legacy, and Modern it’s not too astounding where there are much more efficient answers, Elves for example can do their amazing trick of snagging a Craterhoof for 4 mana using a Natural Order instead. This card has been doing really well in Cube though where you can ramp up and bring out stuff like Terastodon and Craterhoof or all sorts of crazy wonky stuff! Constructed 1/5 – It’s not too strong here and there’s much better options in the older formats. Multiplayer 5/5 – The game has to end sometime and this is Green’s ticket to win it! Commander 5/5 – Same as Commander where it can get to the end zone with a bit of politics on an uncontested board Cube 3/5 – Great for the Mono-Green Ramp deck, but isn’t going to do it elsewhere. |
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