i don't know how i feel about things of different rarity being 'strictly' better or worse. flame javelin is better... but not for pauper. a lot of bad cards find nice homes in that format.
that being said.. uhm, still not sure about this one. then again, if any format would last long enough to use the flashback cost it'd be pauper.
TDL
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
That flashback is absolutely ridiculous. It seems to me that R&D mistakenly believed that Flashback was what was going to be OP in the Odyssey block, and printed stuff like Wild Mongrel at common, too.
Its crowning moment is in Magic The Gathering; Battlegrounds. Maraxus is a jerk.
Henrietta
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(7 votes)
First, rarity is honestly irrelevant to 'strictly' arguments, as are unusual formats. It's a direct comparison between the gameplay aspects of the cards. It's like saying a plains is better than a black lotus because plains are easier to obtain. As for formats like Pauper and EDH, I don't see why they should be counted because they start as house rules and anyone can make a format where a card might be better than it would be otherwise. I can create my own format where the only extra rule is cards you cast must have a minimum cmc of 7. Does this unusual format make a lightning bolt that costs RRRRRRR not strictly worse than a regular Lightning Bolt?
Second, this card is still not strictly worse than Flame Javelin or Flame Sash. It's automatically invalidated from being strictly worse because it has flashback, and as ridiculous as that flashback cost may be it might be useful 1 in 50 games and is thus not STRICTLY worse. There's also a second thing for each of those cards that makes it not strictly worse - Flame Javelin is more colour intensive, costing RRR or 2RR rather than 3R, and Flame Sash targets creatures rather than players. Both are SIGNIFICANTLY better, but not STRICTLY better. For strictly better, see Lightning Bolt vs. Shock or Lightning Bolt vs. Shock, or Counterspell vs. Cancel. Stuff like that.
Just my two cents on using strictly better the wrong way.
luca_barelli
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Just another bad Odyssey red card, nothing to see here.
finulanu
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Would at least be adequate without that awful flashback cost. Stick to Lightning Blast. Or, better still, Lightning Bolt.
Maraxas-of-Keld
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This thing was so much better in battlegrounds, Red with a lot of unused mana can just start flinging these at you all over the place. :3
Comments (15)
that being said.. uhm, still not sure about this one. then again, if any format would last long enough to use the flashback cost it'd be pauper.
Second, this card is still not strictly worse than Flame Javelin or Flame Sash. It's automatically invalidated from being strictly worse because it has flashback, and as ridiculous as that flashback cost may be it might be useful 1 in 50 games and is thus not STRICTLY worse. There's also a second thing for each of those cards that makes it not strictly worse - Flame Javelin is more colour intensive, costing RRR or 2RR rather than 3R, and Flame Sash targets creatures rather than players. Both are SIGNIFICANTLY better, but not STRICTLY better. For strictly better, see Lightning Bolt vs. Shock or Lightning Bolt vs. Shock, or Counterspell vs. Cancel. Stuff like that.
Just my two cents on using strictly better the wrong way.