Actually Duriele is right. You can float 6 mana before casting anything, and then drop the Firecat and the Reckless Charge right after. It won't lose any counters and it'll get +3/+0 and haste, so it will indeed be a 10/7.
Even without tricks like that the drawback isn't as much of a problem as you'd think. You probably don't have to worry about casting anything else the turn that you drop this, and the next turn you can attack before doing anything else. Most likely your opponent won't have any creatures that can match it unless they're playing green. Either they take a hefty amount of damage and then you decide whether to cast something at the cost of losing a couple of counters (and even then a 5/5 or 4/4 trample isn't something to laugh at), or they'll drop some removal and leave you free to cast other stuff. Either way, the drawback doesn't really hurt you at all.
Posted By:
achilleselbow
(4/13/2010 1:18:24 PM)
Looks like fun to play. I'm guessing it's for mass land destruction that already has creatures and artifacts for a mana base.
Posted By:
blindthrall
(12/16/2010 4:33:57 AM)
Can be a 3 turn drop with haste if you play green and Fires of Yavimaya
Turn 1: Forest, Llanowar Elves
Turn 2: Mountain, Fires of Yavimaya
Turn 3: Any land, remove Simian Spirit Guide for R, Savage Firecat, swing for 7
The drawback can be huge if you allow the game to drag, so you should work to finish your opponent quickly
4/5
Posted By:
Paladin85
(9/2/2011 5:48:51 AM)
Fun creature. It's like a Ball Lightning that dies slowly over several turns instead of right away. Except it doesn't have haste. And it costs more to cast. And it locks you out of your mana base while it's in play.
Okay, so it really isn't like Ball Lightning at all. Still a good card though.
Posted By:
Troutz
(11/10/2010 8:57:14 PM)
My favorite card with this is Reckless Charge
so for 6cc you get a 10/7 trample haste, thats just about G_G in 2-3 turns.
Posted By:
Duriele
(11/13/2009 1:18:18 PM)
Here's a great red line-up:
Turn 1: Drop Jackal Familiar.
Turn 2: Drop Mudbrawler Cohort.
Turn 3: Drop Aether Membrane.
Turn 4: Drop Manabarbs.
Turn 5: Drop Savage Firecat.
Sure, you take five damage from playing Savage Firecat, but now you're set for the game! Just don't tap your lands anymore!
Posted By:
Arachibutyrophobia
(8/1/2009 3:19:30 PM)
Just Dont Tap Mana Duh
Posted By:
MasterOfEtherium
(5/29/2009 10:03:51 PM)
Fervor makes this close to over-powered.
Posted By:
Selez
(11/3/2009 7:07:40 PM)
Reckless Charge makes it a 9/5, with the mana tapping and all. Brute Force may be better for what you're thinking, making it 9/9. You won't be flashing back the charge anyway.
Setting it up with haste is nice. Doubling it up with a pre-set enchantment like Gratuitous Violence would be nice as well, though the curve is a little iffy on that one.
Maybe you can pack some Simian Spirit Guides or mana-artifacts to play around him, but that seems like a lot of hoops for some extra aggression. Could work, though.
Posted By:
DoctorKenneth
(4/7/2010 4:54:47 AM)
When Drain Power becomes creature removal! It's not a strike against this card's overall quality, but it is amusing.
Posted By:
scumbling1
(3/17/2011 3:58:53 PM)