This is a reasonable point. I'd rather pay the 1 extra mana (Comet Storm or Rolling Thunder) for greater flexibility in the midgame, but that may be more a function of meta. If infinite mana combos aren't really a thing and red zone decks are common the midgame uses pick up a lot of value.tstorm823 wrote: ↑4 years ago
I think you're on the right track. If you're trying to kill just one thing, Fireball is tied with some things for the most efficient X damage removal spell. But none of those things target multiple targets. And the other X damage spells that target multiple things can't kill an Oracle of Mul Daya for 3 mana. Being XR costed, capable of hitting any target, and able to target multiple things at once, Fireball is tied for both the best of the X spells at killing single targets for the least mana and the best of the X spells for killing the whole table with infinite mana. Banefire can't kill a whole table on its own. Comet Storm is better mid-game if you want to kill multiple things or at instant speed, but I honestly don't think that's really as important a use case as early spot removal and late win condition, and most of the things you want to early spot remove you probably don't want to let the player untap with them anyway.
Depending on the deck, I guess I might think Fireball or Comet Storm is the better of the two. The only red damage spell I put firmly above Fireball is Earthquake.
I find burn in general really underplayed in a lot of metas. Single target burn like Lightning Bolt or Lightning Helix is still great for removing utility creatures or reach, even with the higher starting life totals. I've gotten a lot of people with Price of Progress, Acidic Soil, and Fiery Confluence too. That's not even going into the X-cost spells, whether that's Fireball or Earthquake analogues.