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Card Spotlight - Scourgeflame Spectre
Card Spotlight returns after the release of the Oversky Expansion. In this series we will investigate how the Oversky has shaped the Faeria landscape. Expect to read about old and new cards and discover what decks they can feature in. Included in every article is a video of one of these decks in action!
Scourgeflame Spectre
Scourgeflame Spectre has had a healthy representation in competitive Faeria. The card has been a key finisher in burn decks, more specifically in Red Yellow Combat. Scourgeflame offers a hard hitting threat with a powerful Combat ability. Dealing 3 damage to your opponent during Combat is only a small step up from Grim Guard and Shedim Brute. What sets Scourgeflame apart is the mobility and Haste. The card is a highly mobile with both Flying and Charge 2 and can attack instantly after being played.
It’s not uncommon to see these two cards in a Red Yellow Combat list. Flash Wind pushes Scourgeflame’s mobility to deadly proportions. Flash Wind lets you dodge Taunts or move around Faeria Wells’ to gain more resources. Gift of Steel allows Scourgeflame to challenge creatures at 5 Life or deal a massive 8 damage to your opponent. These cards also have synergies with the rest of Red Yellow Combat.
While the card is powerful it has been absent in the Oversky. Land ramp has become a big part of the game thanks to Wild Lands. You’d imagine Scourgeflame would see more representation but the key ramp tools are within Green. Red and Yellow didn’t receive any new tools to help push Scourgeflame archetypes.
The only card that could find a home is CAP-10 but even then, he doesn’t deal much damage until Shedim Brute and Grim Guard. Manta Rider is a really solid Yellow card and has made a huge impact on the meta-game. Unfortunately it might be too slow for the Red Yellow Combat deck but might be useful in Red Yellow Event burn.
Why play Scourgeflame Spectre?
Scourgeflame is one of two finishers for burn style decks. The other finisher is Hellfire but lacks reliability because of it’s random nature. Scourgeflame fits better in Combat style decks, where you interact with your opponent’s board. Hellfire and Blood Singer and best kept for defensive, control style builds while Scourgeflame offers more pro-active play.
This Red Yellow Combat is a more traditional approach to using Scourgeflame Spectre. I’ve added CAP-10 since the Wild Land cost works with the decks land development. CAP-10’s inclusion adds another clunky draw to the deck in the early game. To ease this I’ve dropped down on a Scourgeflame Spectre. If you find the CAP-10 isn’t working then just add another Scourgeflame.
Red Yellow Control is the more niche archetype. It had a short spell of success in earlier Monthly Cup’s but never settled into the meta-game. This version uses Scourgeflame as a finisher but doesn’t use any other Combat creatures. The deck utilizes Event synergy with a load of removal options. This empowers the Windstorm Charger and reduces the cost of Windstorm Colossus. I’ve added two Manta Rider because the card is powerful enough to justify building towards it’s land cost.
Conclusion
Scourgeflame has been absent from the Oversky meta which is interesting considering how powerful it was in the core set meta-game. Other powerful dual-coloured creatures from Oversky have cast a shadow on the card but I believe it still has potential. The main problem Scourgeflame faces right now is that Yellow Tempo and Red Combat are tier one decks. Scourgeflame needs cards from both archetypes which makes it awkward to fit in a tournament line-up. On ladder you won’t have this problem and may this could be where Scourgeflame makes its return.
