The best creatures are those that can in some
way trivialize their deaths. Some are nigh
impossible to dispatch, some have a leaves-play
trigger, and others do their best work in the
graveyard, or return from it. In a dedicated
burn deck, Chandra's Phoenix is simple to bring
back into play, making it the ideal creature in
a deck that wants as few as possible. Even a few
copies of Geistflame can turn this 2/2 into the
threat that wouldn't die, if you're prepared to
aim them at your opponent's face instead of his
creatures. In a deck with Chandra herself, you
can save the burn spells for taking out any
creatures that swing at her and simply use her
to regrow the Phoenix.
The latest in a long line of creatures that act
more like direct damage spells, and also among
the strongest of those. Resurrection is one of
the few abilities that appears in every color
except blue, and Chandra's Phoenix has a take on
it that is designed to synergize with other
cards in its color, most notably its namesake.
The cost is low enough to make multiple attacks
over the course of turns, and to allow multiple
plays in one turn, and opponents can't fight it
with "conventional" means - a lot of white
removal spells exile, though, so watch out for
that. Despite that, though, it's a good card via
its keywords and greatly improves any red decks
chances against Doom Blade guys and counterspell
decks.
Today's number eight on the top ten of 2011 is
Chandra's Phoenix which is a three mana Red 2/2
Flying with Haste and returns to your hand from
the graveyard whenever an instant, sorcery, or
planeswalker you control deals damage to an
opponent. The cost is aggressive for a 2/2
with Flying and Haste, particularly in a color
with few examples of Flying or evasion in
general. The card advantage of it
returning to play and being able to attack the
same turn if the damage is dealt before an
attack makes it valuable to just about any deck
with spell or planeswalker sources of burn.
One of the more interesting and beneficial
additions to Red's toolbox and something that
will be played for the foreseeable future.
In Limited this is an easy first pick in Booster
that obviously benefits greatly from drafting as
many sources of burn as possible during the
draft. Even without burn a three mana 2/2
with Flying and Haste is a fantastic card,
though the double Red in the casting cost is a
bit of a concern when playing multiple colors
and in Sealed. Despite that drawback it
should be played whenever your pool supports a
primarily Red theme and can potentially be the
biggest source of damage over the course of a
game.
Number 8 is Geist of Saint Traft. This
guy was the reason haunted humans was so
popular. He is hexproof and people have
abused the heck out of that. He can't be
burned or target by removal spells, while he can
still be enchanted or equipped. Angelic
Blessing is the one that sticks out the most.
Honestly I feel like both those card
complimented each other. He puts a
temporary attacker on the field. That
attacker has flying and dies at the end of
combat. This means that killing that flyer
has no value. This guy is a big threat,
the only reason I think he isn't higher is
because its hard to get value out of him without
some help. So without a lawkeepr to tap
creatures or an Angelic Blessing he becomes a
littler underwhelming.
