Best liege, hands down. Why? I run it in my R/W/Bu deck. (Isochron Scepter + Lightning Helix) + Twincast = 12 dmg done, 12 life gained. All of that can happen on turn 4. None of the other lieges can compare to that (except the R/Bu one, which is really nice too)
Elfenthuisiast
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(6 votes)
I have an all white and red deck and this card wins games all the time
Dragonlord31
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(5 votes)
@Donovan_Fabian - that doesn't work, Balefire only triggers when you play a spell, a token producer, such as Goblin Assault, only puts them into play, you aren't playing a spell.
Favorite Liege, turns even the most innocuous red burn spell into a monster. Hello Flame Jab!
Donovan_Fabian
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Sort of a souped up soul warden, it costs more, but does 3x as much. It helps get damage through on stalemate games while also granting a ridiculous amount of life gain. Only 3 spells with red and white in the cost is 9 damage and 9 life gain, and theres a variety of multi color spells to choose from. Quite possibly the best liege, in that it needs nothing except playing normally to make use of its free ability. It doesn't even have to tap, so you still have a decent 2/4 that you can equip with something to do extra damage, like a behemoth sledge.
Gaussgoat
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(11 votes)
Obviously a total powerhouse if you can keep him alive. This guy is so good at burning that he is justifiable in a mono-red.... and that is only half of his effect.
Difficult to see where he goes wrong at all, particularly since he can STACK. Having two or 3 of this guy on the field is a game winning scenario.
5/5, one of the easiest 5's to hand out ever.
Ava_Adore
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Pulled this guy in the pre release, it was murder for the other guy, i was playin rgw
5/5
Cigarette
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(8 votes)
This and Lightning Helix is a true game winner.
mdakw576
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(5 votes)
It's a creature that turns spells into lightning bolts, healing salves, or lightning helixes.
Oh wait, after rereading, the 3 damage has to go to a player. No problem, still good. If it could also hit creatures it would be arguably broken.
HairlessThoctar
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(8 votes)
How dumb is a card that throws in a Lightning Helix to every RW card you play? Plenty dumb.
4/5
faisjdas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Lol, play lightning helix with this out and you get a 12 point lifeswing.
PolskiSuzeren
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
twincast doesn't trigger this, even if you copy lightning helix. you have to cast the spell, and putting a copy onto the stack doesn't count. the most you would get for lightning helix+twincast is 9 damage, 9 life. still nothing to scoff at.
RowanKeltizar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When I get him out, it's usually game over for the opposition. Give him shroud or the like and he's unstoppable. However, I think the artwork could be better.
AXER
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
In a {(R/W)} deck, he powers up everyone else and whenever you play a spell, you either heal yourself or damage your opponent! Nice. I like to play it with Glitterfang!
Daikoru
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
As soon as I saw this card, I wanted to do a themed deck where everything is White AND Red. It then almost reads "Everytime you play a spell, cast a copy of Lightning Helix. It cannot be countered and can only target players.". I once fought an opponent, he didn't counter it when I played it, and later, I just kept playing more card to cripple his planeswalkers (I like Jace's drawing ability :D) and eventually lower his health to death, no matter how many of my cards he was countering.
I like that themed deck, almost every card have both defensive and offensive purposes.
recoil84
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
could be good in my soul sisters deck, what you think?
Kyzar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Love this card absolute beast! hmm i play a lightning helix and figure of destiny, what you just got burned 9 and i gained 9 life? so sorry bout that.
But honestly i have to keep a lightning greaves on him the SECOND he gets out or he is GONE.
Truestiltskin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
use this card with grinning ingus free red spell every turn or 3 extra mana
Internet_decks_lame
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
With cmc of 5 and being a hybrid colour of triggered effect, I am not too sure why the damage only targets players... Not that it really matters playing red... And even though it is such a great card, Mono red doesnt even need him. By turn 5 most burn decks have already won, and if not, the opponents life total is hanging on to something for dear life...
Amplified burn has always been at least 4 cmc or greater. And the newer amplified burn cards (under 4cmc) need quest counters, or make you toss your hand... Truthfully all burn amplifiers are just tease cards that will never really see much constructed. Why use amplified burn, when you can just put in more burn? I have played burn many times... very easy on the mind let me tell you =) but there is never any room, or time for amplified burn. Browbeat even has a hard time making burn decks now.
Red/White is a great color combination and this guy isn't doing anything to hurt that position.
Moleland
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Won me a game on his own when my opponent had a Holy day imprinted Isochron Scepter out.
Long_Con
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Can't believe that no one has mentioned Tamanoa yet!
Superllama12
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Key word being horror
ErikLauer
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(22 votes)
Erik's Random card 6/3/2011 Eventide was my second development team, and it was led by Matt Place. This used to tap a creature when you played a white spell, and do 1 damage to all tapped creatures when you played a red spell. While there was nothing wrong with that card, Matt had something different in mind: a big splashy cycle of rare hybrid creatures (which he called "Tolsimere", later "Liege). Each enemy color pair got one, and they were great with the hybrid cards of that color pair. For red/white, Matt knew an homage to Lightning Helix was the way to go. I learned that development wasn't just about balancing cards and colors. You had to take a look at the set as a whole and figure out what was missing. Matt knew it needed some clear build-around cards, and this was one of them.
lorendorky
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(7 votes)
Spirit Horror in RW... wtf?
Lueseto
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
There you go, a Lightning Helix for 6 damage and I gain 6 life!
BorosGeneral
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Maybe noone mentioned Tamanoa because Balefire liege is a creature..?
@Paleopaladin The enemy colored cycle of lieges are all horrors, while all allied colored lieges are all knights. So think of this card as a spirit that just happens to be a horror.
Kryptnyt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Another boros hybrid that can still be an absolute fiend in a mono-colored deck. Save up your Lightning Bolts, Fireblasts and Gut Shots for a huge grand finale!
@Paleopaladin: There is no reason that White cannot have horrors.
Horrors in Magic are just really scary monsters that defy de***ion. White can be very frightening, due to its often fascist sense of order and its blind sense of altruism.
New Phyrexia was not the first time we've seen evil White; evil White was also present in Kamigawa block with the blindly vengeful O-Kagachi and Konda's mad ploy to steal a spirit, and in Torment/Odyssey with the fanatical and merciless Teroh and Kirtar. It's been present in Magic for a while. It was even present as far back as Urza block with Radiant, an Archangel who became obsessed with keeping Serra's realm under order and rooting out evil to the point that she slaughtered her own subjects.
Any of the colors can be evil, just as any of them can be good (Ask Xantcha and Toshiro whether Black can be good). White often seems the least evil because it employs a lot of healing spells (Because it's altruistic) and religious imagery (Because religion is order), but it's still perfectly possible to have a White villain.
The Eventide Liege cycle is a cycle of horrors. There had to be one for each enemy color combination, and I think that they all fit pretty well.
SgtPepperjack
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I don't get the confusion over this being a R/W Spirit Horror. Order/Unity and Rage/Emotion can be very scary together, and don't exactly necessitate good. For a historical example, look at the ancient Romans. Anyway, 5/5. Solid card.
MechaKraken
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Back when decks could have a minimum of 40 cards, this guy was an absolute terror to play against. Infact, that was what I used to get rid of it as soon as it dropped, because otherwise I would very quickly be overwhelmed.
The sheer fact that decks were so small back then practically guaranteed drawing it at least once in your early starting hands, and usually one or two was all you needed to win the game.
The funny thing with the lieges is that you could use them in mono color decks too. See how this works out in a lifegain or pyromancer's ascension deck and completely ignore the +2/+2.
My preferred decks are primarily red splashed with either black or white, and I like this with Mindwrack Liege a whole bunch. Get my Balefire out for 1 less mana(at the end of my opponent's turn, no less). Gives my burn spells a little more heat, and a nice little bonus to my generally defensive white spells.
Damage gets carried away with Fire Servant and Kiln Fiend, too. Bring this guy out at the end of opponent's turn, using Mindwrack Liege, with Kiln Fiend and Fire Servant already on the board. Lightning Bolt or equivalent for 9, and +3/+0 to Kiln Fiend. Gut Shot as a freebie for 5, and an additional +3/+0. Lay down Aggression and Assault Strobe. You've dealt 14 damage to this point, and going into the combat phase, your Kiln Fiend is a double-striking 14/4 with trample. Because we can count on this generally being the last go at it, he's accompanied by a 3/5 Balefire Liege, a 5/5 Mindwrack Liege, and a 6/5 Fire Servant.
Aside from the unfortunate chance of a board-sweeper removal spell, if your opponent carries on into their next turn, they deserve to win.
Also compares favourably to Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran. Agrus is a little more mana-intensive and tougher to cast, and the boosts even out here, as well as the spell-casting perks that Agrus forgets altogether.
Yo dawg, I heard you like lightning helix, so we put a lightning helix on your lightning helix so you can lightning helix whilst you lightning helix.
Zebra_Lord
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Yo dawg, I heard you like Lightning Helix so I made it so you can Lightning Helix while you Lightning Helix!
Dark_Angel1981
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A couple of Boros Recruit and Duergar Assailant for 1 red/white mana each x 5 and your talking almost instant kill...and if not dead, you have several creatures on the board for defense/attack next turn..this card is beast!
Paleopaladin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
EDIT2: @Fireballmage: Good explanation. Thanks! ______________
EDIT: Whoever rated me low, feel free to do it again, but at least tell me what I'm missing first, ok? Pre-Scars, white generally didn't have cards that seem "evil," but "Horrors" definitely seem "evil" (afterall, wasn't "horror" supposed to be politically correct term for "demon" for a while?). I'm not hating on the card, just questioning its name/type belonging with white. Personally, I might have called it "Soulfire Liege" and made it a "Spirit Avatar" instead of a "Spirit Horror," but what do I know? ___________________________________ Leaving aside the game mechanics, how is a creature that's a "horror" (even a "spirit horror") EVER appropriate, flavor-wise, as white? I don't know the backstory, but it seems that the creature-type and name should have been more tuned to the nature of white. If you told me you have a creature card called "Balefire Liege" and that it has a creature type of "horror," I would never imagine that one of its colors is white.
Comments (43)
Favorite Liege, turns even the most innocuous red burn spell into a monster. Hello Flame Jab!
Difficult to see where he goes wrong at all, particularly since he can STACK. Having two or 3 of this guy on the field is a game winning scenario.
5/5, one of the easiest 5's to hand out ever.
5/5
Oh wait, after rereading, the 3 damage has to go to a player. No problem, still good. If it could also hit creatures it would be arguably broken.
Plenty dumb.
4/5
I like that themed deck, almost every card have both defensive and offensive purposes.
But honestly i have to keep a lightning greaves on him the SECOND he gets out or he is GONE.
Amplified burn has always been at least 4 cmc or greater. And the newer amplified burn cards (under 4cmc) need quest counters, or make you toss your hand... Truthfully all burn amplifiers are just tease cards that will never really see much constructed. Why use amplified burn, when you can just put in more burn? I have played burn many times... very easy on the mind let me tell you =) but there is never any room, or time for amplified burn. Browbeat even has a hard time making burn decks now.
5/5 None the less, every tease card gets a 5.
Eventide was my second development team, and it was led by Matt Place.
This used to tap a creature when you played a white spell, and do 1 damage to all tapped creatures when you played a red spell.
While there was nothing wrong with that card, Matt had something different in mind: a big splashy cycle of rare hybrid creatures (which he called "Tolsimere", later "Liege). Each enemy color pair got one, and they were great with the hybrid cards of that color pair. For red/white, Matt knew an homage to Lightning Helix was the way to go.
I learned that development wasn't just about balancing cards and colors. You had to take a look at the set as a whole and figure out what was missing. Matt knew it needed some clear build-around cards, and this was one of them.
2 kobolds
1 cloudstone curio
??????????
infinite damage
Horrors in Magic are just really scary monsters that defy de***ion. White can be very frightening, due to its often fascist sense of order and its blind sense of altruism.
New Phyrexia was not the first time we've seen evil White; evil White was also present in Kamigawa block with the blindly vengeful O-Kagachi and Konda's mad ploy to steal a spirit, and in Torment/Odyssey with the fanatical and merciless Teroh and Kirtar. It's been present in Magic for a while. It was even present as far back as Urza block with Radiant, an Archangel who became obsessed with keeping Serra's realm under order and rooting out evil to the point that she slaughtered her own subjects.
Any of the colors can be evil, just as any of them can be good (Ask Xantcha and Toshiro whether Black can be good). White often seems the least evil because it employs a lot of healing spells (Because it's altruistic) and religious imagery (Because religion is order), but it's still perfectly possible to have a White villain.
The Eventide Liege cycle is a cycle of horrors. There had to be one for each enemy color combination, and I think that they all fit pretty well.
Anyway, 5/5. Solid card.
The sheer fact that decks were so small back then practically guaranteed drawing it at least once in your early starting hands, and usually one or two was all you needed to win the game.
Damage gets carried away with Fire Servant and Kiln Fiend, too. Bring this guy out at the end of opponent's turn, using Mindwrack Liege, with Kiln Fiend and Fire Servant already on the board. Lightning Bolt or equivalent for 9, and +3/+0 to Kiln Fiend. Gut Shot as a freebie for 5, and an additional +3/+0. Lay down Aggression and Assault Strobe. You've dealt 14 damage to this point, and going into the combat phase, your Kiln Fiend is a double-striking 14/4 with trample. Because we can count on this generally being the last go at it, he's accompanied by a 3/5 Balefire Liege, a 5/5 Mindwrack Liege, and a 6/5 Fire Servant.
Aside from the unfortunate chance of a board-sweeper removal spell, if your opponent carries on into their next turn, they deserve to win.
Also compares favourably to Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran. Agrus is a little more mana-intensive and tougher to cast, and the boosts even out here, as well as the spell-casting perks that Agrus forgets altogether.
______________
EDIT: Whoever rated me low, feel free to do it again, but at least tell me what I'm missing first, ok? Pre-Scars, white generally didn't have cards that seem "evil," but "Horrors" definitely seem "evil" (afterall, wasn't "horror" supposed to be politically correct term for "demon" for a while?). I'm not hating on the card, just questioning its name/type belonging with white. Personally, I might have called it "Soulfire Liege" and made it a "Spirit Avatar" instead of a "Spirit Horror," but what do I know?
___________________________________
Leaving aside the game mechanics, how is a creature that's a "horror" (even a "spirit horror") EVER appropriate, flavor-wise, as white? I don't know the backstory, but it seems that the creature-type and name should have been more tuned to the nature of white. If you told me you have a creature card called "Balefire Liege" and that it has a creature type of "horror," I would never imagine that one of its colors is white.