Two damage to every creature may not sound like
much, but look through most people's decks
sometime and see how many of their creatures die
because of this. This is a powerful tool to keep
those pesky utility creatures-- the ones that
rarely attack or block and expose themselves to
death in the Red Zone-- off the board. It's
effectively one of the cheapest board sweepers
out there.
This card's been making life hard for small
creatures since the last century. Sure, white
decks lean on Crusade and Glorious Anthem and
Honor of the Pure, but it's not always enough to
save them, and besides, you've got more molten
lava where that came from!
Constructed:
Volcanic Fallout is much better. But to have 4
of each is a little overkill.
Casual & Multiplayer:
Sense it has been around for a long time, it
still shows up in random burn decks and
sometimes green red decks. Good way to get ride
of token infestations.
Limited:
Good in getting all of those little dudes out of
the way. There are alot of big creatures in M10,
so you have to use sometimes after combat to
clean up some of the fatties that still have
damage on them from blocking. Still a top pick
in my book for draft.
Overall a great reprint again.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 3
Multiplayer: 3
Limited: 4
Later
Miguel
Paul
Magic The Gathering COTD: Pyroclasm
Welcome back readers today’s card of the day is
one of the efficient sweepers we have available
to use Pyroclasm. Pyroclasm is an efficient
sweeper for two mana you can deal two damage to
each creature at sorcery speed. A ton of
powerful creatures are vulnerable to this effect
and it punishes weenie players or those who
overcommit to the board. In standard it is one
of mere handful of cards such as Infest, and
Firespout that fill the role of board sweepers
in the absence of Wrath of God. A deck utilizing
the color red would definitely be advised to
pack the maximum number of these babies split
between sideboard and your maindeck. In extended
its use is expanded with the amount of creatures
vulnerable to its effects, and in Eternal
formats there are weenie cards that could be
affected although sorcery speed hurts. In casual
and multiplayer it can punish a lot of players
who commit creatures to the board and can
provide a major advantage. In limited is great
it can take down multiple small threats earlier
in the game and can leave your beefier creatures
the opportunity to swing in the red zone. A
definite must play card that helps to control
the prevalence of weenie decks in a metagame and
punish players who overcommit creatures.
Today's card of the day is Pyroclasm one of the
better answers to swarm decks and at least
partial inspiration for Volcanic Fallout.
Volcanic Fallout can't be countered, hits
players, and costs an additional Red mana when
compared to Pyroclasm, but there is still quite
a bit value in this weaker version.
In Constructed and Casual this can weaken or
destroy most swarms if they aren't enhanced by
multiple toughness increasing sources. The fact
that it can be countered leaves it fairly
vulnerable to the fae, but otherwise a good side
or maindeck choice. It can also be used quite
well with Spitemare or Protean Hydra.
In Limited this is a decent kill spell, but one
that has limited timing applications. Generally
both players will have a number of smaller
creatures in their deck and you would not want
to play this card when it will cost you board
position. It is only playable when you lose less
than them and unlike Constructed a swarm is far
less likely. To me it is a card that seems to be
a bomb, but really isn't quite as powerful in
the format.
In Multiplayer this is more of an atom bomb
instead of just a bomb.
Depending on the global effects being played,
this can wipe out most of the board for very
little investment. Any sort of combination with
it, such as Safe Passage makes it a little
trickier to pull off, but well worth it
depending on the field.
