Another blast from the past, the new all-red
Ivory Gargoyle should be pretty popular in
limited decks. In constructed, Molten Firebird
seems less exciting, but this largely
out-of-color evasive creature could be good in a
blue/red constructed deck. Nah, probably too
slow.
A 2/2 flier for 4R is nothing great. It can
bring itself back from the graveyard, at the
cost of you getting a card that turn, so it's
almost like you "draw" the Firebird on your next
turn, except it comes straight back into play so
you don't need to pay its awfully steep mana
cost. This can be useful; if your opponent can't
find a way to stop this without killing it, then
the alternative is to spend chump blocker after
chump blocker stopping this thing. And that
won't even lock you out of ever drawing again,
since the Firebird has a "buyout" option that
lets you just get rid of it safely and be done
with it. It's pretty cute, has a lot of combo
potential, and can get dangerous as an
unkillable flier.
It's Ivory
Gargoyle! I loved that thing back in Alliances.
Of course, I used it in white decks that liked
to stall. This version is red, and red doesn't
like to stall. However, it's an unkillable
creature, and they bears examination. I think
this will be a strong card for limited where the
options for removing it are even smaller. But in
constructed you just want a bigger red creature
for 5 mana.
Ah the time of year when we all make fools of
ourselves by pretending we know what cards will
and won't find homes in the constructed decks
that change the course of Magic history. Molten
Firebird is a card I would take in Limited. It
has evasion, it's really hard to knock off, and
odds are it's at least as good as the card you
would have drawn when it returns. In constructed
it could be good. However, if your opponent has
a recurring means of getting rid of it (which
can occasionally happen) then you'd best be
prepared to pay the 4R to eliminate it
permanently so that you don't get locked out of
the game. In fact, I think I'd leave this out of
my constructed decks. In casual, this slides
neatly into your Phoenix tribal deck....
Constructed - 3
Casual - 2+
Limited - 4
Aethereal
Molten Firebird
This time, a red Ivory Gargoyle. I have a hard
time seeing where this will fit in, as it's too
slow for the aggro decks (not to mention you
don't usually want to skip your draw step there,
and you may not have enough mana to use his
ability) and there are better choices for the
control decks. He is difficult to get off the
board, but I just have a tough time seeing where
he'll fit in.
In casual, if you like Ivory Gargoyle, here's a
red one.
In limited, I'd play it if I were going red.
Skipping your draw step can hurt, but he's hard
to kill, and therefore helps you get a creature
advantage.
