I came into Magic: the Gathering too late to see
Grim Lavamancer in his original heyday, but this
card was notorious back in its day, and it's not
hard to see why. A pinger that hits for 2, with
a converted mana cost of only one, is a strong
contender and a solid repeatable kill spell.
There's just the little matter of having enough
cards in your graveyard to pay the cost. In Red,
the easiest way to pull that off would be lots
of cheap burn spells that you can fire off and
exile. In theory, you could Millstone yourself,
but now you're paying 2R for every Shock.
Perhaps the Lavamancer is best exploited in the
late game-- simply cast him on any turn when you
have an extra mana available, then go for your
aggro strategy, and use the Lavamancer once
you've had enough Goblins or whatnot go to the
graveyard. Will the Lavamancer be able to
reclaim its former glory in the face of the
competition-- Goblin Bangchuckers and all the
other option today's Red Mages have to choose
from? Only time will tell.
This card's only been printed in three different
sets, and of those only two were legal in
tournament play. And yet, it's developed a
well-deserved reputation as one of the greatest
red damage sources in competitive Magic. It's no
slouch in casual Magic either - the cost is
ridiculously low, and in a land where some decks
have access to 28 cheap counterspells
(seriously, why would you bother?), turning used
burn spells and dead creatures into Shocks is
like giving every card in your deck a form of
super-flashback with split second. Yeah.
Fetchlands or no, graveyard block or no,
Standard or casual or limited, Grim Lavamancer
remains one of the best cards in Magic.
Welcome back readers today’s card of the day is
one of the most powerful reprints in Magic 2012,
Grim Lavamancer. For the mere price of one mana
you can turn your entire graveyard into shocks
providing a cheap renewable source of creature
kill and damage to throw at players. Grim
Lavamancer is one of the best red cards ever
printed and will see extensive play in every
format its legal in. In standard it may be hard
for red to squeeze in another powerful one drop
but this will see play in all competitive red
deck. It provides inevitability and a powerful
way to burn players and takes care of a lot of
relevant creatures. In extended it will
see a lot of play due to power, in legacy it
already see’s a large amount of play so that
will continue. In casual and multiplayer it is a
powerful utility creature and will see a fair
amount of play. In limited its removal which is
fantastic and can be played with a splash
of red a powerful card. Overall this is one of
the most powerful cards reprinted in a while
welcome to the Red Summer and enjoy your stay.
Today's card of the day is Grim Lavamancer
which is a one mana 1/1 which can deal two
damage to a target creature or player for a cost
of one, tapping, and exiling two cards from your
graveyard. The low casting and activation
cost plus decent damage this deals is an
excellent addition to any burn deck plus exiling
cards from the graveyard is generally a
negligible price. This can speed the game
along by repeatedly burning the opponent,
destroying smaller creatures, or doing the last
few points of damage to larger creatures to
support other burn cards or after battle.
Even if it is just used as a basic one drop it
is a welcome return from the Torment set and
should be a big part of most Red torunament
decks for a long time.
In Limited most single mana 1/1 creatures are a
good investment and one that also works as
reusable removal is an absolute steal. A
very easy first pick that can give you a big
advantage in games where it enters the
battlefield early if you can get some cards in
the graveyard to activate the effect.
Entering the game later works just as well as
you should have a supply of cards to exile for
destroying any smaller creatures or burning your
opponent directly. It should always be
included in a Sealed build if Red is your main
or secondary color and is either a start of your
deck for Booster or hate draft worthy at the
very least.
Welcome to today’s
card of the day here at Pojo.com. For this
review we are looking at the Grim Lavamancer
from M12. Grim Lavavmancer costs one red mana
for a 1/1 Human Wizard. The Grim Lavamancer has
an ability that says tap one red mana, tap the
Grim Lavamancer, Exile two cards from your
graveyard: deal two damage to target creature or
player.
Not the first time that Grim Lavamacer has been printed. We originally
saw Grim Lavamancer back in Torment, but more
recently in the Premium Fire and Lightning Deck.
Grim Lavamancer is a good card, although t goes
about exiling cards from your graveyard.
But, I guess since they are there, you may as
well put them to use as well. Definitely better
against mill decks, since you can pop the cards
they mill out for some extra damage. The other
deck it is good to be centered around is an old
fashioned burn deck. Since once you burn they
are done, you may as well earn another Shock for
the two you already played.
Not some huge staple for me, but a fun card to mess around
with.
