Magic The Gathering: Theros Blazing Beasts Of Myth Intro Pack Review
Blazing Beasts of Myth is one of the 5 new intro packs spearheading the Theros expansion. It’s a Red/Green deck that focuses on early game survival and mana ramping, and has some great cards to this end.
The strategy behind this intro deck feels surprisingly similar to that of the Monsters in the Heroes vs Monsters Duel decks. Hang back, bide your time, and ramp up the mana until you can play your big guns. With Blazing Beasts of Myth, however, instead of using manipulation to handle your opponent in the early and mid game you’ll be opting for brute force. This is achieved using an array of devastating fire spells that let you cut a swathe through your opponents defences. Once they’re down, you can march your heavy hitters right through and finish the job.
The deck is fronted by a foil version of the brutal [mtg_card]Ember Swallower[/mtg_card] which can be boosted to a 7/8 “Monstrous” pain in your opponents behind, while simultaneously crippling their chance to retaliate. If you swap in some [mtg_card]Akki Raider[/mtg_card] and get them on the battlefield beforehand your opponent is going to have a bad day when all that land hits the graveyard.
Spells of note include [mtg_card]Volcanic Geyser[/mtg_card] which makes a strong comeback. It’s a favourite from the Fire Surge Core Set starter that I reviewed back in August. Hold this one back, perhaps try baiting a counter-spell with a low-cost [mtg_card]Lightning Strike[/mtg_card], and unleash fury right on your unwitting opponent before trashing your mana reserves with Ember Swallower and going in for the kill in the next few turns.
[mtg_card]Satyr Hedonist[/mtg_card] is also worthy of a mention, it can help boost those X damage fire spells and bring down a world of flaming hurt. It can also help you make a strong play after Ember Swallower has gone Monstrous, and that’s never a good thing for whoever is on the receiving end.
Blazing Beats of Myth is a good intro into the style and theme of Theros, but it has room for improvement. If you can survive the early game with a few less creatures, then it might be prudent to swap in [mtg_card]Undying Rage[/mtg_card] to give a little edge to your late game offensive.
[mtg_card]Goblin Shortcutter[/mtg_card] might also prove useful as a substitution, shifting your early game whittling down of your opponents blockers with a low-cost swipe directly at their defence. [mtg_card]Orcish Lumberjack[/mtg_card] is a risky but potentially rewarding play, and a fits well with the theme, if you’re reckless enough to work it into the deck.
An officially recommended substitute is [mtg_card]Stormbreath Dragon[/mtg_card] and it’s not hard to see why. The consequences of it turning Monstrous are easier to mitigate, and its a great card for a swift and brutal end-game. Ideally it’ll be the last thing you do before winning, because otherwise it’ll be the last thing you do before losing.
Overall Blazing Beasts of Myth is a great deck you can play either as-is or build upon with either hard-hitting fire spells or late-game monstrosities. It’s a solid base to experiment upon and get a feel for the sense of epic mythical battles that Theros tries to kindle. What it lacks in intelligence it makes up for brute strength, although in fact it’s only few substitutes away from containing some ridiculously brutal combos.