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Bitterblossom.
In my opinion, the most powerful card in Standard.
To understand my argument, we must look back at Phyrexian Arena...
Let’s begin by noting the mana cost of both of their effects. It can be derived from cards like Nightshade Stinger that creating a 1/1 flyer with relevant creature types cost 1 mana. Drawing a blind card costs approximately the same, but usually comes with some perks (like those from Ponder or Opt). From this, speaking generally, we can come to the conclusion that Bitterblossom's effect is slightly more powerful than Phyrexian Arena's effect. Although their effects differ, the two share a common trait: both require you to pay 1 life, thus causing a detrimental effect on your tempo should you cast them. This was the downside of Phyrexian Arena, as it tore away from your tempo in the match... you had to pay 1 life every turn, and had to expend three of your mana before it ever became active. No matter how many cards you had, you were still restricted to the same amount of mana every turn, and thus the card could severely backfire should your opponent capitalize on your lack of tempo with the usage of theirs.
Bitterblossom, however, does not suffer from this downside. The card is constantly creating tempo, not to mention that it only costs two mana to cast, so it comes online one turn sooner than Phyrexian Arena. This may not seem so huge initially, but it’s actually what makes the card so powerful. Many of the Blue decks, should they lose a dice roll, are simply cold to a turn 2 Bitterblossom as they will not have an opportunity to Rune Snag it.
In conclusion, both Bitterblossom and Phyrexian Arena have powerful effects, and their “cost” of 1 life is detrimental to their respective tempo games... but Bitterblossom, unlike Phyrexian Arena, steadily generates tempo. This compensates the player for his one-life sacrifice. It also costs less, and comes on line a turn sooner.
Now take a moment and look back at the amount of play seen by Phyrexian Arena... Imagine how big an impact Bitterblossom will have on the format as we know it.
So, how do we fight in a format full of Bitterblossoms?
For this we must analyze the faerie decks.
Immediately, we notice something: their creatures are somewhat sub-par when it comes to power/toughness. Plus, aside from the Scion of Oona/Bitterblossom combo, their early game consists of some rather embarrassing spells, should they opt to play any. The solution seems to be this: overwhelm them with tempo, and dome them to the face to make the lucrative turn 2 Bitterblossom lose its appeal.
Here's what I've come up with.
If there is one thing I'll never forget about Japan, it’s their curry rice. The moment I began to eat it... I just couldn't stop. I was rather thrilled that, coming back from Kuala Lumpur, one of my connecting flights back was through Narita airport. I arrived at the airport in the morning, with my flight leaving in the afternoon. I looked in my wallet: a healthy 200 ringits remained! The security money my mom had given me had been saved! To my delight, I found a nice restaurant which had a huge picture of curry rice on the menu. As I received my first dish of curry rice, I stared at it with glaring anticipation, half expecting it to jump into my mouth by itself. Then, without hesitation, I reached for my spoon and delicately placed it in my mouth. It was a rush of flavor, both spicy and tangy, a taste that creates bliss in your mouth.
Three hours later, I was broke and in the bathroom.
Curry rice is a dangerous things, boys.
Back to Magic...
Initially, every fiber in my bones wanted to play Sulfurous Blast maindeck. I thought of the many things it could do, like kill Garruk Wildspeaker and all of his minions, catch a Mistbind Clique off guard, or devastatingly blow out a Bitterblossom, punishing all of their patience in accumulating faeries with an additional slap to the face. However, to consistently cast a spell which costs four mana while it is at its prime, more than twenty lands are required, and this makes us cut spells from the deck. I found that the sacrifice of having to cut spells for lands to play the card simply wasn't worth it, as more consistently I would overpower my opponent with a bunch of one-mana spells, and drawing an excess of land most likely meant that I lost. In a deck that depends on the draw step more than any other, it became apparent to me that maybe playing an excess of lands was wrong. Nevertheless, as a sideboarded countermeasure to Faeries, it's possibly the best we've got... we just have to mise the mana.
As you may have noticed, Flamekin Bladewhirl has finally found a home!
With 13 total elementals, successfully casting him for one mana should prove easy. He is also quite an MVP against faeries on the play, as their game plan isn't quite prepared to deal with Savannah Lions, and a two-powered turn 1 creature can prove very hard to deal with without suffering repercussions from tapping out to do so. Along with Flamekin Bladewhirl come all of his friends: Lightning Serpent, Spark Elemental, and Inner-flame Acolyte. A problem that elves runs into while fighting a Bitterblossom may be the annoyance of a little 1/1 standing in the way of their huge Tarmogoyf, negating his attack. Luckily, Lightning Serpent and Spark Elemental both hold the keyword trample, which has proven to be rather stellar when facing down faeries. Much of the time, Inner-flame Acolyte is a Char on a body, which makes it key in giving the deck some reach.
Normally, the prospect of playing a deck which cannot access multiple cards doesn't seem too lucrative to me, but with this deck, you have the luxury of Howling Mine and Countryside Crusher. Countryside Crusher is what Red decks have been waiting for, guaranteeing that the draw step will be a time of joy rather than one of dismal failure. What could a Red deck possibly want more than Howling Mine? There is no other deck that uses its mana as efficiently as a deck with one-mana three-damage spells, so your deck is able to capitalize off Howling Mine to the greatest extent.
Then we come to the new Lightning Bolt wannabe, Shard Volley. Although drawing them in multiples seems it could be somewhat of a pain, the raw potency of the card is undeniable. Its flexibility in dealing with Treetop Villages, or just dealing the final damage, makes it a great addition... most of the time, should you be trying to dome your opponent, you can just cast it as one of your last cards. Often, you will find yourself sacrificing a Mutavault that has just fallen victim to a Nameless Inversion.
Okay! Let’s talk about some matchups:
UB Faeries
This will most likely be the most popular deck until the release of Shadowmoor, so let’s address it first.
There are several things to keep in mind for this matchup. First, there’s the annoyance of Spellstutter Sprite. If you play a turn 1 Flamekin Bladewhirl and they have two mana up, try to avoid casting spells prior to combat, unless they are immune to Spellstutter Sprite's countering ability. This means try to avoid playing Spark Elemental on turn 2 should you have a turn 1 play still on the board, as getting two-for-oned reeks in a match where you really need to get the distance out of each of your cards.
This brings me to my second point: try to get the maximum usage out of each card. If you can swing with Mutavault rather than cast a 3 damage spell, go for it, as you need to maximize the value of your cards... but should you have the luxury of having a Shard Volley to go along with the swing in one more turn, it may be wiser to wait and opt to cast the spell.
Another important thing to remember is Cryptic Command. Just because your opponent doesn't counterspell your Lightning Serpent does not mean that they are “cold” to it, so try to separate the turns where you play Spark Elemental and Lightning Serpent to maximize card efficiency. They have Pestermite and Cryptic Command, and the “tap all creatures” ability is just as good as a counterspell when it comes to countermeasures for these creatures. Sulfurous Blast can create some very awkward situations for your opponent, as they suddenly have a much harder time killing you, giving you more time to burn them out and reducing the effectiveness of Bitterblossom should they opt to leave it in.
+4 Sulfurous Blast
-4 Countryside Crusher
Reveillark
Although Aven Riftwatcher and Momentary Blink together are the bane of your existence, should they not play this combination your game 1 matchup should be promising. Their early game consists of Riftwing Cloudskate (which most of the time is the equivalent of a suspended Grizzly Bear with haste), Rune Snag (which ultimately is just a one-for-one), and Wrath of God (which is usually comes down after your creatures have already served their purpose). There isn't much to say other than burn them out before they can combo off. The clock really shouldn't be that frightening. This is one of the few matchups in which I never want to see Countryside Crusher, since it’s one of the few creatures from which you don't pull any utility prior to its being bounced by Riftwing Cloudskate, killed by Wrath of God, or stolen by Sower of Temptation.
+4 Cryoclasm
-4 Countryside Crusher
BG Elves
This matchup is a bit tricky, seeing as how your burn must be divided between the player himself and his creatures. Choosing which to hit can be tricky, and cannot be predetermined as it is very relative to the game state. The game state should define your role as either an aggressive deck (that is using their mana much more efficiently) or as a control deck (that doesn't have as much tempo as the opponent, but has more cards and therefore can opt to go for the plan of running their opponent out of gas). Untapping with a Countryside Crusher is rather nice in this match, as it’s almost impossible to generate all twenty points of damage to your opponent strictly from burn. This is one of the few matchups in which Howling Mine's efficiency is dramatically reduced, as elves have something you don't: ways to generate more mana. That’s right, they can out-tempo you, and giving them the luxury of a Howling Mine might prove necessary to keep you in the game at times. It may prove to be the correct play if you're that far ahead, but take note that this is not the optimal matchup for the beautiful two-mana artifact. From the sideboard, Spitebellows is an extremely effective countermeasure for killing Tarmogoyfs.
-3 Howling Mine, -3 Inner-flame Acolyte, -1 Spark Elemental
+4 Sulfurous Blast, +3 Spitebellows
Mono Red
For the mirror, make sure you keep your Incinerates and Shard Volleys for your opponent's Countryside Crusher, as if he starts growing the game can be over quickly. Howling Mine is worthless because your opponent nets one more card off it, and they're automatically up two mana on you. Luckily, you have your trusty secondary artifact, which can be rather game-breaking for obvious reasons. Besides, who wouldn't want to play a Magic card called Dragon's Claw?
-3 Howling Mine, -1 Spark Elemental
+4 Dragon's Claw
That about sums it up! Believe me, Bitterblossom will be everywhere from now on. In order to combat the dreaded enchantment, you should seriously consider sending red spells to the face. They’re paying a life for their “free” guy every turn... make them suffer for it.
Now go try some curry rice!
Alex
