Fire Tempest MTG Card
1997-05-01 - Number 128
1999-07-01 - Number 97
2011-01-10 - Number 114
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 7 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Sorcery |
Key Takeaways
- Fire Tempest offers a complete board sweep, giving players a massive advantage in resource control.
- Instant speed allows strategic flexibility, making it a surprise element during critical game phases.
- High mana cost and color specificity limit its use to specific deck builds and strategies.
Text of card
Fire Tempest deals 6 damage to each creature and player. (This includes your creatures and you. If all players drop to 0 life or less, the game is a draw.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Dishing out damage across each opponent’s board can effectively diminish their resources while keeping you ahead in the game. This sweeping effect doesn’t just level the playing field; it can decimate an opponent’s strategy, leaving you with a significant upper hand.
Resource Acceleration: Though not directly affecting mana resources, clearing multiple creatures at once can save mana on other removal spells. Less mana spent on dealing with threats means more resources for your own plays, thereby indirectly accelerating your game plan.
Instant Speed: The ability to unleash a wave of destruction at instant speed is a tactical advantage not to be underestimated. It allows you to adapt to the battlefield on the fly, waiting for the perfect moment to turn the tide of battle without wasting your turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Fire Tempest card often necessitates the jettisoning of other cards from your hand. This trade-off can be particularly punishing if your options are already scarce, forcing difficult decisions about resource allocation.
Specific Mana Cost: Tailored to red mana-heavy decks, Fire Tempest’s casting cost may not seamlessly fit into more diverse or multicolored strategies. This restriction can leave players struggling to amass the necessary mana, potentially hindering its deployment at critical game moments.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a demand for a substantial amount of mana to unleash its power, Fire Tempest competes with other high-impact cards in your arsenal. Its relative cost efficiency may be questioned when evaluating the card against alternatives that could provide a similar or greater effect for a lower investment.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Fire Tempest offers a broad range of utility across various deck styles. As a sweep effect, it can decisively clear a clogged board, making it a valuable asset for control decks needing to stabilize against swarming strategies.
Combo Potential: This card holds the potential to be a game-ender in the right setup. With ways to increase damage or manipulate opponents’ life totals, Fire Tempest can turn an even game state into a win. Imagine amplifying its effect with damage doublers or setting up a chain of spells leading to a fiery finish.
Meta-Relevance: Given the nature of ever-shifting meta environments, having a card that can address a wide spread of creature-based threats is indispensable. In metas where creature-heavy decks prevail, Fire Tempest shines by offering a high-impact board reset.
How to Beat
Fire Tempest is a formidable card in Magic: The Gathering, delivering a devastating blow that can wipe out creatures and hit players hard. When you encounter this card, your best bet is to prioritize strategies that mitigate its impact. Firstly, consider using counterspells to prevent it from resolving. Cards like Counterspell or Negate are perfect for this, especially since Fire Tempest has a higher mana cost and is thus more susceptible to counterspelling efforts.
Keeping your life total high can also be a saving grace against the fiery onslaught that Fire Tempest brings. Spells and abilities that provide life gain, such as Lifelink, can offer a buffer that helps you survive the damage. Additionally, redirecting damage can be a useful tactic – cards like Deflecting Palm can turn Fire Tempest’s power back on your opponent, flipping the situation to your advantage.
Ultimately, having a diverse plan that includes damage prevention, life gain, and counterspells will enhance your resilience against Fire Tempest. This approach will allow you to maintain control of the board and emerge victorious, even when facing the scorching wrath of this powerful spell.
Cards like Fire Tempest
Fire Tempest is a powerful spell that holds its place in the pantheon of sweeping damage Magic: The Gathering cards. Its closest relative in functionality is Earthquake, which offers players the ability to deal damage across the board to each creature and player for a variable mana cost. The key difference lies in Fire Tempest’s ability to achieve a fixed high damage output, impacting all creatures and players alike, unlike Earthquake which is scalable based on available mana and desired damage threshold.
Moreover, another member of this card family is Inferno, a spell similarly ushering in broad damage. However, Inferno doesn’t boast the same damage potential as Fire Tempest, capping its reach at 6 damage to each creature and player. It’s also worth noting that Fire Tempest’s damage is not adjustable, making it a potent but less flexible choice when compared to the adjustable damage level of spells like Inferno or Earthquake.
With these comparisons in mind, Fire Tempest asserts its dominance in the realm of MTG cards that can turn the tide of a match with its undiscriminating, high-powered blast, placing it in a distinct class of devastating force not easily matched by similar spells.
Cards similar to Fire Tempest by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Fire Tempest MTG card by a specific set like Portal and Starter 1999, 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 Fire Tempest and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See Magic products
Printings
The Fire Tempest Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1997-05-01 and 2011-01-10. Illustrated by Mike Dringenberg.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1997-05-01 | Portal | POR | 128 | 1997 | normal | black | Mike Dringenberg | |
| 2 | 1999-07-01 | Starter 1999 | S99 | 97 | 1997 | normal | white | Mike Dringenberg | |
| 3 | 2011-01-10 | Masters Edition IV | ME4 | 114 | 1997 | normal | black | Mike Dringenberg |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Fire Tempest has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
