Pointed Discussion

As if aggro wasn't weak enough already, MBS brings us many more sweepers.

The card is good but doesn't feel rare. Should see some play though, the option of hitting planeswalkers is solid.

This is the piece of the mono red Koth deck that I have been waiting for wizards to release. Thank you thank you thank you.

Perfect diversity for it's cost, Flamebreak is a good comparison.

the first option appeals to me. The second does not, but is "there if you need it" so its good.
I miss entwine. would be fair for {1} on this one.

its like choosing which half of sulfurous blast you'd like... but you can't have both.

This is not much better than Firespout. In a fair number of situations, it's worse. Why is it rare? The effect seems like it should be uncommon. I can sort of see it as a callback to Flamebreak, but it's only slightly easier to cast for a worse effect. And even Flamebreak shouldn't have been a rare, in my opinion.

its my PANIC BUTTON

Hits Vampire Nighthawk. Serra Avenger. I change my tune. When you guys come back to this card to see what people say you better all change your ratings lol... and I dont agree with Volcanic Fallout being played in Legacy 2 damage boardsweepers dont cut it. Vexing Shusher and a couple Pyroblast in my board..

I think it's worth the rare status. It's just like how Creeping Corrosion is a rare due to the block being mostly artifacts, this block so far has a good number of creatures with 3 toughness or less. It's quite a monster in limited at the very least.

Jesus, people, it's a rare because otherwise draft would be absolutely miserable with such a powerful sweeper at uncommon. Great card, options are terrific in general, particularly when one of them's a wrath and the other's a burn spell.

Cloneeffect's right; people need to stop seeing rarity as a power indicator and start seeing it as a frequency limiter. They're usually related, as usually the more powerful cards are the ones you want to see less frequently in Limited pools, but a card's raw power isn't the reason for its rarity. They don't want 3-damage sweepers to be seen all the time in Limited, so it gets put to rare.

Am I the only one who thinks that this needs entwine for {R}{R}?

Essentially it's a Pyroclasm that nails planeswalkers. Coincidentally, it also hits those pesky birds holding swords in their mouths that seem so popular these days.

Uh-oh, looks like Ness got the Smash Ball. . .
"PK STAR-STORM!!!"

Forget comparing this to anything else- compare it to that god-awful poser of a 'Red' Wrath in Worldwake.

This costs less than the White (destroy all), Black (-1/-1 all), and Green (destroy artifacts) options. Faster for less, to ultimately have more overall impact, is exactly what Red likes.

It deals damage instead of outright-destroys OR -1/-1 counters, BUT you get to play it a turn eariler.
Also, you can hit players. 3 damage is enough for this price. if it were 4, you'd only be allowed to play 1 per deck.

of COURSE Red's true 'Wrath of God' WOULD say 'Destroy all creatures or players'

not hard to make one-sided either- play creatureless. which Red can totally, totally do.

sad that it's not Force-proof, but then that would be stupid. Volcanic Fallout +1d for no charge = Red replaces Blue in Legacy.
2 uncounterable sweeps that damage the other guy? yeah, never gonna happen.

Despise gives me hope that we could see a '2d to all creatures and Planeswalker permanents' for this mana and rarity.

Total Land Destruction along with Jolrael, Empress of Beasts. A really nice combination :D

This is one of my favorite cards from the Scars block. Why? Because it's an auto-include in red? Nope. Because its power level is off the charts? Nope. Because it's a perfect example of balancing out a card? Hell yes!

Pyroclasm. It's leaving us, perhaps never to be seen again. For whatever reason, Wizards decided that Red just doesn't get a 2-drop 2-damage board sweep. But it will still have its sweepers in the form of Whipflare and Slagstorm (and soon-to-be Red Wrath, Blasphemous Act, come Innistrad).

How do we balance it out? Well, we can make the same card at the same cost, but give it a niche drawback and an even more niche advantage. That's your Whipflare. If we desperately need our turn-2 wipe, we've got it. But it may completely misfire, so it's risky.

So it looks like for a more consistent board wipe, Red's going to have to look to turn 3. Well, doesn't that suck? Isn't that like Cancel to Pyroclasm's Counterspell? Well, no, it's not. In trade, we get an extra damage out of it. Note that the extended reach is particularly important against Tempered Steel, since you can clear their Myr tokens/Vault Skirges/Signal Pests if TS resolves.

But wait a second! Slagstorm's color weight is higher at {1}{R}{R}! That knocks down its usefulness! Well, yes, it does. But! In exchange, we get more utility. Need to finish off a player, or Bolt a weakened Gideon? Slagstorm can give you the gas you need.

Overall, I'd say that if they decided Pyroclasm had to go, they did a triumphant job of giving Red options to make up for it. Do you really need the turn 2 wipe? Feel free to take your chances with Whipflare. Crave the consistency Pyro gave you? Well, we can't give you Pyro back, but here, we'll add a mana to the cost. Oh, but then we'll give you extra reach with it, to make up for the difference. Oh, but then we'll make it heavier color weight. But to make it up to you, we'll add in utility.

Love it. Just love it. 4.5/5 stars for usefulness (it does hurt being {R}{R}), and 5/5 appreciation for figuring out how to rotate Pyroclasm without kicking the legs out from under Red.

This an EXCELLENT card--I'm glad it doesn't do both effects and I don't need a entwine option either, TYVM. If I'm behind on creatures and want to wipe the board, then I'm probably behind on life and don't want this burning me. If I'm ahead on creatures then I'm probably ahead on life and I'll happily ride down my life total to take my opponent with me, but I won't want to wipe the board. 4.5/5, IMO

I like having this one sided in my Red decks, especially now that G/W token is such a big deal.

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but I think this is a homage to Flamebreak, from the original Mirrodin block. While this can hit flyers, Flamebreak hit both creatures and players (which isn't always a good thing though)

@DarthParallax

Magmaquake is closing the gap to ratio you were projecting, it just costs {R} more and has an non-flying condition, instant speed though which I feel is totally worth it.

#slag

I'm glad this hits flying creatures too. 5/5 for not being overpowered, but being useful.

You can shoot planeswalkers, finish off a player, or just blow up all the weaker creatures.

This was obviously printed to try to deal with storm crow. However, as its friend volcanic fallout failed, so shall this one.

Slagstorm is absolutely amazing. I personally like it better than Pyroclasm. The fact that this does 3 damage instead of 2 really makes a difference. Do not treat this as "a nerfed Pyroclasm."