A 6/6 flyer for seven isn't too shabby.
Especially given that next turn, when it
attacks, you'll likely have eight mana which you
can spend to burn out your opponent's creatures.
And remember, you can use the Hellkite's ability
before blockers are declared, so you can shoot
down any creatures your opponent has that can
block the Hellkite before they can be assigned
as blockers. Then you can start picking off the
ground forces! As a matter of fact, I'd say
Ancient Hellkite might actually be better
because it costs more. If it were cheaper to
cast, you'd be more likely to cast it when you
didn't have enough mana available to burn and
kill any of your opponent's good creatures.
This monster is in M11 in the place once
occupied by Shivan Dragon, one of the most
beloved creatures of all time. Those are big
shoes to fill, but I think Ancient Hellkite does
a good job of it. He embodies the power and rage
of the dragon, encouraging his owner to play
aggressively. He also clears a path for himself
and allies, blasting through Saprolings and
Thopter Foundry tokens alike - I can't remember
the last time I saw a dragon card that could use
a breath weapon with an area effect almost at
will, the way they could in Dungeons and
Dragons!
Today's 2011 card of the day is Ancient
Hellkite which is a seven mana
6/6 with Flying and the ability to burn
creatures when attacking. The cost for
what you get isn't bad and if this gets to
attack it can potentially clear the skies of
blockers for a direct hit, but for seven mana
you may want a bit more of a game-ending play.
For Limited the triple Red cost makes it better
suited to one or at worst two color decks, but
otherwise this is a very impressive first pick
bomb that can potentially win games. The
effect really favors mono-Red, which is very
difficult to run in Sealed, but even the three
from the casting cost is enough to get Lightning
Bolt levels of damage each attack.
In Multiplayer be sure to note that legal
targets are the creatures of the defending
player only, so you can't torch Player A and at
the same time use the effect against Player B's
creatures.
