I feel like those decks have enough pump spells that it might be tough to squeeze in the requisite number of “useful” one-mana spells (cantrips) to extract the most value from Arcanist. With another creature on the board it’s better, but those decks are already winning when they set that up.

Exactly! Right now I have to make the choice of holding my bolts, thought siezes, and Lootings or be aggressive with them. With Finale, I am rewarded for playing ultra aggressively on turns one and two knowing that one turn three I can refuse them while returning pheonixes. Its perfect

No kidding. I tried Finale a little in Mono Red and it seems great there over the more situational top-end stuff like Bedlam Reveler. Just wish we had more good sorceries to run. In black, you get targeted discard!

I started working on a brew featuring those kinds of synergies the moment I saw Finale of Promise. The trouble right now is finding more discard outlets without splashing B for Brutality, since I don’t want to have to dip into Electrodom. The attrition route strikes me as a losing proposition against decks like Tron, unless maybe As Foretold is adopted alongside Restore Balance…?! Simian Guide is nice on that plan, and also enables Blood Moon! Loving these spoilers ^_^

I was thinking that exactly! Obviously because it gets played later it’s more susceptible to counter spells and discard spells, but arcanist is susceptible to those and removal, of course it’s a permanent.

I already preordered finale to put into my B/R pheonix. I feel like it will be perfect for that shell and make it consistent.

Arcanist seems easier to build around as a gameplan, and is inherently more splashable as a creature. But I think both cards are good and may have homes. Of note in Modern, Finale instantly revives all Arclight Phoenixes!

These push toward Electrodominance (more card disadvantage and an alternate way to cast suspend) and the host of other spells matter creatures
– Young pyromancer, Jace Vryns Prodigy, the draw 3 devil who’s name escapes me Rn, and of course, the Phoenix himself.
This implies a slot in either slightly modified Phoenix decks, or a return to a pyromancer shell.

The other direction is towards attrition – skip Wheel and play only visions and jam lots of Thoughtseize, which is a great spell with Arcanist. Once you’re in black and casting multiple mutagenics, and thoughtseize, then you could consider a deaths shadow shell instead.