Fri, 22 September 2017
Vance's Blasting Cannons: The Final FlipLast week, when gushing over flip cards like Search for Azcanta, we hadn't yet had the opportunity to see the red member of the cycle. Unlike a certain blue transformer for two, this card is a bit controversial. Where, if anywhere, would you want to play it? Would a red aggressive deck ever want to run it over either an indestructible god or a Rowdy Crew? "Well," Mike points out, "at least the flip condition is a 'may'" ... Outpost Siege v. Vance's Blasting CannonsIs Outpost Siege where we set the bar? The most obvious point of comparison for this new card is Outpost Siege. For its part, Outpost Siege served every role from "main-deck four-of in R/W aggro" to "sideboard role player competing with its day's Chandra at the four". Regardless of how you want to slice it, Outpost Siege was a stronger card than Vance's Blasting Cannons (at least the front side). To wit:
But the bar isn't whether this is better or worse than Outpost Siege in the abstract; the front-side is pretty much worse. The question is if it is good enough to play anyway. And we can't answer that question without addressing... Vance's Blasting Cannons // Spitfire BastionIs the payoff on Spitfire Bastion worth the work?
Probably not? While Mike wouldn't play such a conjectural card (probably), it is useful to think of the final flip as potentially three different cards:
Spitfire Bastion is a source of inevitability, not unlike fellow land Ramanup Ruins. Decks like U/R Control, for example, can't allow this to flip, because no matter how well they close out on creatures, they will likely lose the game three life points at a time. Mike -- ever fearful of Kor Firewalker -- points out that as a colorless source of damage, Spitfire Bastion can kill the hell out of Protection from Red creatures. So what do you think about this last transformer? The Top Level Podcast boys revisit some of the others and a whole mess of Ixalan cards in this week's episode.
This week's episode of the Top Level Podcast is brought to you by Mack Weldon. For 20% off your order, visit http://www.mackweldon.com and use the promo code toplevel |