Lolz! Josh is right, it doesn't work. Jay said he has fetched it and had it Duressed by his opponent 3 times despite it not being able to do anything. He never noticed because the one time he did get to use it was with a Germ token.

Well, Infect decks haven't been much of a problem for the deck, as Luminarch Ascension races them very effectively.

Yes, Arc Trail had a shot, burst lightning was more effective against equip activations, and is cheaper. The 2-for-1yness of Arc Trail was less needed. I'll have to ask Jay about the Torch, as he's played the deck a lot online and surely it has come up.

Actually, it looks like you both are (at least partially) right. The Torch is the source of the damage, but the creature it's equipping needs to be able to legally target the Crusader (or Kor Firewalker, or whatever) for the play to work. Torch on a Boros guy to kill a Phyrexian Crusader doesn't work. 🙁

Also, Blazing Torch kills Phyrexian Crusader every time. Unlike most Auras and equipment, the Torch's ability uses the Torch itself as the source of the damage, not the creature.

Thanks for reading!

This really just looks like a slower Boros deck. Geopede and Lynx are fairly bad at the moment so putting in Sparkmage-Collar is probably a solid plan, but I can't help but think giving up Hero of Oxid Ridge and Goblin Guide is a step too far.