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Devastating Summons

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Update on my thoughts on this card.  I've read more than a few opinions on it, one way or the other, and I need to change my position.  I hadn't said much about it because I believed it to be a poor card, and probably a bulk rare.

I no longer think that.  Multiple people have suggested pairing this with Goblin Bushwhacker, and as Bushy's biggest fan I'm ashamed I didn't see it first.  This card is an immense skill-tester, and I can see it being very, very explosive in Sligh decks.  While you probably don't want to go all-in on this on turn 2, the fact that it scales with your mana development but never "costs" more than a single mana means you can do things like develop your board while also making giant lava monsters.

Those monsters are really cool looking, by the way.  This Jung Park guy has his act together.

Anyway, I think this has all the makings of a superb card in RDW and Boros style decks.  It can be finely tuned to your current needs.  If you just need some chump blockers, you can make it into a cheaper version of Dragon Fodder.  I can't stress how versatile this card is, not to mention efficient if you're into the whole "resource conversion" thing.    The Timmy in me wants to play it with Electropotence, but Spike probably won't let me live that dream.  Get 'em now before other people fall in love.  They're still to be had cheaply.

Kelly Reid

Founder & Product Manager

View More By Kelly Reid

Posted in Uncategorized

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16 thoughts on “Devastating Summons

  1. Hey,Initially I thought Devastating Summons would be a bad card too, mainly because of the lack of numbers. But if you crunch the numbers with Goblin Bushwacker, you can start swinging for 10 on turn 3, 12 on Turn 4, and so on. Good monored decks shouldn't have a late game, so the land loss factor is moot. Plus, red has some great burn (Lightning Bolt, Burst Lightning, etc.) in Standard today.I think that the only thing that will limit this card's price is the niche it has. Right now I don't think there's much use for this card outside RDW/Boros decks. If RDW and Boros become a contender in the Standard metagame, I'd say this card maxes out to around $4-5.

  2. @shadowsketched, pretty sure your math is off. if you're swinging for 10 on t3, assuming you've played nothing else, you can't swing for 12 on t4, as you've sac'ed your 3 lands on t3.

  3. Wow, my bad on the image! I meant to download it and re-upload it, not leech mercilessly! Awkward :)re: Chapin's article, I was thinking about it well before that. LSV made mention of playing it along side Bushwhacker a few days ago in his set review, and I loved the concept. Trust me it takes more than Chapin's word on a card to sell me.I know this will be good in RDW type decks, but there may be other decks that want to use it too. The card is very versatile, don't pigeonhole it to RDW only!

  4. Comparing this and elemental appeal is like comparing lightning bolt and burst lightning.While the two cards are similar, this is simply more potentially powerful. The summoned creatures are also tougher to kill than the elemental appeal token and there are two of them.

  5. The difference is, one's, you know, good.Elemental Appeal costs FOUR RED. This costs 1. It doesn't care what kind of lands you feed it. This goes in almost any R/x Aggro deck. Bushwhacker, RB, hell, even Jund could try a copy or two. It's live off Cascade, since you can build your deck around more early drops instead of bombs like SGC and Broodmate. Not suggesting it, but this is the rationale.Elemental Appeal didn't even see play in most good red decks. This card's good at almost ANY atage of the game. it lets you play very well, if you know how to.

  6. I have a feeling this could see play in armageddon-style decks in extended. Just a hunch, but since it only costs R, the ability to float mana, play this,and then get their lands could be really strong. It just depends on how many strong armageddon effects they print.

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