Consuming Bonfire MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Tribal Sorcery — Elemental
Released	2007-10-12
Set symbol
Set name	Lorwyn
Set code	LRW
Number	161
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Randy Gallegos

Key Takeaways

Provides board control by removing multiple threats at instant speed, optimizing complex game scenarios.
Demand for specific mana types and discard prerequisites can pose deck-building and in-game challenges.
High versatility with combo potential makes it a powerful choice in creature-heavy metas.

Text of card

Choose one Consuming Bonfire deals 4 damage to target non-Elemental creature; or Consuming Bonfire deals 7 damage to target Treefolk creature.

"The elves use treefolk to drive us away. It is time to remove their tools." —Vessifrus, flamekin demagogue

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Consuming Bonfire offers a multifaceted approach to handling threats, allowing you to eliminate key creatures while potentially clearing multiple blockers. This can lead to advantageous board states and swing the game in your favor, ensuring you’re not just trading one card for another but potentially removing several of your opponent’s assets with a single spell.

Resource Acceleration: Though Consuming Bonfire itself doesn’t directly generate additional resources, its effective cost reduction in specific scenarios helps you optimize your mana usage. By being situationally cheaper, it allows you to deploy more threats or answers elsewhere in your turn, keeping up the pressure and momentum.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Consuming Bonfire at instant speed is a significant tactical boon. This flexibility lets you adapt to the fluid dynamics of a match, respond to opponent’s actions after they’ve committed resources, or even wait until the last possible moment for maximum impact, all while keeping your adversaries guessing about your next move.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Consuming Bonfire comes with the prerequisite of discarding another card, posing a potential setback when your hand is already depleted or if the discarded card is vital for your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Demanding a dedicated red mana in its casting cost, Consuming Bonfire could hinder deck-building flexibility, particularly in multicolored decks that may struggle to meet the stringent mana demand consistently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that is on the higher side, this card could be considered inefficient when measured against other removal options that offer similar benefits at a lower cost, potentially slowing down your game plan.

Reasons to Include Consuming Bonfire in Your Collection

Versatility: Consuming Bonfire is a flexible addition to decks that focus on damage and removal. It can target creatures, opposing walkers, or even serve as a game finisher.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with effects that copy spells or benefit from noncreature spells being cast, adding layers of impact to your strategic plays.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s creature-heavy or relies on planeswalkers, Consuming Bonfire shines by providing a potent and direct response to these prevalent threats.

How to beat

Consuming Bonfire is an intriguing Magic: The Gathering card that can potentially disrupt your opponent’s strategy. To effectively outplay this card, it’s critical to understand its mechanics. This red spell delivers a powerful punch, dealing direct damage to a target creature and, under certain conditions, scorching the opposing player as well.

The best approach to counteract this fiery magic is by employing instant-speed removal or counter spells that can neutralize it before its effects resonate on the board. Having a varied lineup of creatures with different creature types may also reduce the impact of Consuming Bonfire, as it targets a specific creature type more heavily.

Moreover, it’s essential to keep track of mana resources since Consuming Bonfire has a specific mana cost that your opponent must meet to cast it. Anticipating the play and saving necessary resources to interrupt it can make all the difference. With strategic foresight and a well-built deck, you can ensure that Consuming Bonfire doesn’t consume your chances at victory.

Cards like Consuming Bonfire

Consuming Bonfire carves out its territory in the realm of destructive spells in Magic: The Gathering. It can be loosely affiliated with other removal cards such as Flame Slash, which offers a straightforward approach to damage-based removal at a cost-effective one-mana price point. However, Consuming Bonfire brings a broader impact to the board, allowing the demolition of either a Treefolk or a forest; a specificity Flame Slash doesn’t hold.

Assessing it alongside Pyroclasm or Anger of the Gods provides a better insight into its unique selling point. Both these cards provide a sweeping effect, dealing damage to each creature on the field, which can be advantageous or detrimental depending on one’s board state. What makes Consuming Bonfire distinct is the directed and possibly game-altering ability to selectively target and decimate a potential key piece on the opponent’s side without affecting the entire board.

Comparing features and strategic advantages of similar cards illuminates the niche position of Consuming Bonfire within the pantheon of red removal spells. Its uniqueness lies in its specialized yet potentially pivotal role in disrupting opponent strategies centered around specific permanent types.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Consuming Bonfire MTG card by a specific set like Lorwyn, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Consuming Bonfire and other MTG cards: