Grim Lavamancer

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wallisface on Mono Red Control/Mill (Premodern)

1 week ago

halanvaina My main suggestion is to stop trying to build a deck around Crumbling Sanctuary... 5 mana is far too high for a card that only lets you begin to enact a plan. It also undoes any work you've done towards defeating your opponent before its cast.

Good red cards i'm seeing in the meta include:

• Grim Lavamancer

• Cursed Scroll (late game damage when you're at 1 card)

• Fireblast

• Lava Dart

• Lightning Bolt

• Sulfuric Vortex

• Incinerate

• Jackal Pup

• Various goblins though seems to be typal-specific

^ all of the above seem to be fairly frequently used within the meta, as seen from the links already provided in my last post.

From your statement "Mono red is a difficult color to work with outside of aggro" - yes this is true. But one thing worth noting is that your deck isn't doing any of the typical things a non-aggro deck would be doing... so your current build is kindof aggro, just extremely slow. If you're wanting to build towards Midrange or Control, you need a LOT more interaction with the opponent to slow them down. If you're wanting your deck to be more geared towards Combo, then you need to have reliable ways to win the game extremely quickly. In any case you can't decide to be both a slow deck and a non-interactive deck - your deck needs to either be very fast, or very interactive (that is the case for all decks generally speaking).

From your other comments:

• What specifically do you think Feldon's Cane is helping you with? You keep defending it in a super vague way but I'm seeing absolutely zero reason to be running it (I also just re-read Crumbling Sanctuary and realised Feldon's Cane doesn't even help with that, so I honestly have no idea what value you think this artifact is bringing).

• The problem with Devastating Dreams is that it costs you and your opponent the same amount of lands and creatures - your deck includes both of these so you're unlikely to make any big advantages in this area (especially as your deck needs a LOT of lands to function). But then, it additionally costs you (and only you) a bunch of cards from your hand. I don't see how that every advantages you.

• On your comment "It does damage to each creature, and makes the both of us sac ideally all of our lands". What do you gain from losing all your lands? As the opponent almost-assuredly has a lower mana-curve than you, won't they just get back into the game quicker? Especially as they'll still have a hand of cards. Yes it can work with Mogg Maniac but your deck isn't geared around pulling off this combo so it feels unlikely to give you a payoff high enough to warrant this interaction.

My suggestions would be as follows:

• What archetype are you wanting this deck to slot into? If its aggro, you need to drastically lower the mana-curve (i.e, have nothing over 3 mana. You need to be able to reliably apply enough pressure to deal lethal by turn 4-5). If it's midrange, you still need to lower the mana-curve a bunch, but additionally you need a bunch of cards that interact with your opponents boardstate and slow them down. If it's control, you need to have the vast majority of your deck as interactive pieces and game-controlling effects. If its combo, you need to reliably be able to win the game by turn 4-5.

• Once you know what archetype you're wanting to build, you need to decide what strategy you're wanting to enact here... so far it feels like there's no clear direction going on - I can assume by the name of the deck you're wanting to base this around Crumbling Sanctuary, which I can't ever see working unless you're building some form of control-shell, which will likely need more than just red as a colour-base. But in any case, you need to ditch all cards that aren't either enacting your plan, or strengthening the archetype you're in.

If you'd like I can try and build you some kind of example list, though i'd need to have a clear indicator to the answers of the above 2 questions on archetype and strategy.

legendofa on Is this Murders at Karlov …

5 months ago

Disclaimer: I'm still really bad at evaluating cards before seeing them in action.

I'm going to say it won't work at a full competitive level. You're spending three mana to make your opponent lose three life, which is pretty slow. You're also giving up one of your creatures, which can potentially deal more than three damage if it stays, like Monastery Swiftspear or Eidolon of the Great Revel. Pingers don't show up in burn too much anymore; you might see a sideboard Grim Lavamancer once in a while, but that's it. The card draw and life gain are nice, but the goal of burn is to deal as much damage as possible as quickly as possible, and 3-for-3 isn't enough.

Modern's gotten fast and hard over the last few years. Burn decks, and aggro decks in general, need to be the fastest and hardest of all to stay competitive, and the classic Boros Burn is slipping down the ranks, falling behind combo and "value" decks like Izzet Murktide and Crashing Footfalls.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/metagame/modern#paper

That being said, it looks like a good centerpiece for a tempo-control deck. It might not be high-end tournament level, but I can see this card winning FNM matches. And, of course, it won't hurt to brew up a burn deck and try it out, just to see what happens.

SufferFromEDHD on Red Affinity Burn

1 year ago

Bomat Courier awesome EDH card. Not sure about it's application in this strategy.

Light Up the Stage blatantly powerful but the listt has become focused and cluttered.

Vexing Devil genius. The list is heavy on artifacts but at its core it is a 1 mana 4 damage deck. I will find room for a playset.

Grim Lavamancer where to begin. Love this card. It's the creature version of Cursed Scroll. Both of these are squeezed into so many of my EDH decks. 2 damage did not fit the 4 damage theme. When I build a Legacy Burn list both of these cards will be main board.

Red fetch adds what to the strategy?

hootsnag on Red Affinity Burn

1 year ago

Have you considered Bomat Courier Light Up the Stage Vexing Devil Grim Lavamancer or mountain fetch lands?

wallisface on BURNNN

1 year ago

I'm really not convinced by the Vexing Devil or the Grim Lavamancer. Devil is too easy for an opponent to play around, and Lavamancer is slow. Personally i'd be using Searing Blood in place of both of those cards.

There's a nice article on budget burn here that might interest you.

jethstriker on mono red burn needs help

1 year ago

I suggest adding Eidolon of the Great Revel at least in your sideboard. Even if its not helping you in the mainboard because of your meta, it should help you on burn's hard matchups. The only card choices I'm having doubts on the mainboard are Incinerate and Lightning Strike. But then your on mono red so your card choices are constrained. I suggest Skewer the Critics and 1-2 copies of Grim Lavamancer on the mainboard to round out your build.

RockIV on mono red burn needs help

1 year ago

there has been some changes on the deck :

added :

Hellspark Elemental x 4 - maybe Keldon Marauders will be better ?

Searing Blood x 4 - not shure about these one , are there better alternatives or its ok ?

Flame Rift x 4 - as replacement of Eidolon of the Great Revel

Shard Volley x 2 - i only add two because it cost lands , and i dont have a lot of them

Skullcrack ended up in sideboard , i always feel that its not that good if your opponent dont gain life.

so, with these changes i have some new questions

is Hellspark Elemental a good card for these deck ? or Keldon Marauders or Vexing Devil would be better. I also was thnking in adding maybe 1 or 2 Grim Lavamancer-

is Searing Blood ok, or are there better cards that i dont know ? i know about Searing Blaze but decided for blood, because i will need to wait for lands for the other one.

Shard Volley i decided for only 2 of them, im shure 4 of them would be to savage for my lands.

Browbeat didnt enter the main

what do you guys think about these changes

ty for the help

RockIV on mono red burn needs help

1 year ago

Rocks Monored burn

hi there, i made this red deck time ago with actually not very much experience about monoreds.

so i have the doubt , should i add more creatures?

i have Spark Elemental Hellspark Elemental, this two creatures to add to the deck. I have seen alot of decks with them, but i dont know what cards should i replace. Will the deck be better with more creatures? maybe i have to take out Viashino Pyromancer and Skullcrack.

should i add cards like Shock, Thunderbolt or Grim Lavamancer ? i know that there are alot of more cards that i should get like Eidolon of the Great Revel Skewer the Critics

i may add Browbeat, for some card draws

ty very much for reading :D