Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt!
Oh yes, you read it right, the Bolt is back, along with its old partners in crime Fireball and Earthquake. I say, red is looking better than ever.
Obviously, I'm a red fanboy. We red mages relish in the fast attack early on, the shaky mid-game hold provided by our less than stellar creatures, and exult in taking the last points of life by aiming a flurry of spells, or one really big one, to the dome. We curl up and die against enchantments and much more efficient creatures if these are brought to bear against us - and we like it that way. We play fast, live fast, and die fast if we cannot bring the opponent down quickly.
With that little bit or ranting out of the way, time to talk about my attendance at the Pre-Release held July 11 at Robinson's Galleria. It's the first tournament I've been to in 24 months.
Deck building followed deck registration - no swapping and the like. I gazed in envy as the kid opposite me opened a Platinum Angel and an Overrun - it was pretty obvious what his deck was going to be. I prayed I didn't have to face him in any of my matches - my card quality was sub-par, with nothing that would take the game the moment it hit the table. See for yourself:
Creatures (16):
Elite Vanguard x1
Griffin Sentinel x1
Rhox Pikemaster x1
Serra Angel x1
Soul Warden x1
Veteran Armorsmith x1
Veteran Swordsmith x1
Wall of Faith x1
Fiery Hellhound x1
Inferno Elemental x1
Jackal Familiar x1
Lightning Elemental x1
Magma Phoenix x1
Raging Goblin x2
Sparkmage Apprentice x1
Spells (8):
Divine Verdict x1
Glorious Charge x1
Pacifism x2
Kindled Fury x1
Lightning Bolt x1
Seismic Strike x1
Magebane Armor x1
Lands (16):
Plains x7
Mountain x8
Terramorphic Expanse x1
It didn't help that I was mana-screwed every f***ing other game. Seriously, 40% of your deck is made of land, and I get stuck with opening hands that have only 2 land? The Random Number Gods really have it in for me. I got a 2-2 record because of it, unable to summon key creatures like Inferno Elemental and Serra Angel. Never in all my games was I able to pull off a Seismic Strike that could kill anything bigger than a bear before getting killed. And this is a deck that has more mountains than plains...
Highlight of the game - beating down an opponent in Match 3 using 3 one-drops, then finishing the opponent with a Lightning Bolt. It brings back memories of a much simpler time, of when I didn't have a budget that allowed me to attend tournaments.
The flavor text on the new Lightning Bolt summed my feelings up pretty nicely.
"The sparkmage shrieked, calling on the rage of the storms of his youth. To his surprise, the sky responded with a fierce energy he'd never thought to see again."
It's been thirteen years for us, LB. Welcome back, love.
