Cackling Flames
- We continue this week's look at Rakdos' finest
weapons with the glue that holds the whole mess
together. Cackling Flames is 3 damage most of
the time, and that's just fine. Cards that do 3
damage at instant speed these days are often
stuck onto weird or negative effects to drive
the cost down. Sometimes you don't care about
how much it costs, you just want to burn
something. Well, this burns in style. When you
topdeck this in the late game and are able to
fry something for 5, you'll know what I'm
talking about. That kind of damage to cost ratio
when you're hellbent should put this card on the
quick path to being a staple of any red deck
worth it's salt in limited, and maybe even a
place in the Rakdos decks of Ravnica Block
Constructed.
It's the new
"Card of the Day" reviewer, yours truly, the
living embodiment of "a day late and a dollar
short." If only I had started yesterday, I
coulda reviewed a card whose name sums up my
very existence: Ignorant Bliss! Alas, it's not
to be. (Deep and heavy sigh.) Oh well. Guess
I'll have to settle for a little direct damage.
Cackling Flames
Instant
3R
Cackling Flames deals 3 damage to target
creature or player. Hellbent - Cackling Flames
deals 5 damage to that creature or player
instead if you have no cards in hand.
Limited: Burn is burn, baby! While obviously
nowhere nears as fast as Fiery Conclusion or
Lightning Helix, getting it hellbent enabled
makes it decent enough. 2.5 out of 5.
Constructed: See above, but keep in mind that we
now have access to the *good* stuff. The Helix,
Shocks, Glacial Rays, Hammers, etc. So...would
I, in all good conscience, actually play this?
Oh, no. Oh Gawd no! 1.5 out of 5.
Casual: I *love* Lava Axe but *hate* that it
only hits a player. The Flames lets me hit
anything...conditionally. I gotta make me a
hellbent deck! 3 out of 5.
Christine
Gerhardt
Cackling Flames
Nothing to laugh at, especially in limited. A
very quick pick if you're going red, and not
unsplashable. Very solid. Versatile too, as you
can play it at instant speed, and you can hit
player or creature with it. Plus, empty your
hand to give it a lethality boost.
Constructed - 2.5
Casual - 3
Limited - 4
BMoor
Cackling Flames
This seems like a reasonable price to pay for 3
damage at instant speed, but it's a bargain for
5 damage at instant speed. And of course, in
Limited you can always use another burn spell.
Constructed-- 3
Casual-- 2
Limited-- 4
