Like everyone is saying, it's the worst of the Commands.
But, again like everyone is saying, it is not a bad card.
People seem to be rating this on a compared basis,
When in reality, this card can clear boards of those nasty one drops that seem to pester you the whole game,
As well as destroy possibilities/life.
It is slow, and is a bit limited,
But it still can get the job done.
Posted By:
infernox10
(6/8/2010 1:58:15 PM)
It's not always going to be great but, it always does something. All 4 effects are useful at various stages over the course of a game.
Deal 4 can finish off a seriously wounded opponent
Dealing 2 to each creature can be really useful in destroying all your opponent's utility guys or just whipe a board of tokens
Destroying a non-basic lets you answer some of the most powerful cards in the game like tolarian achademy, gaea's cradle, volrath's stronghold, Academy ruins
and the Winds of Change ability can be useful to either fix a bad hand or to just dump a bunch of cards that work well out of the graveyard. It also has the added bonus of messing with your opponents' hands.
overall 4 pretty solid abilities imo.
4/5
Posted By:
Ligerman30
(10/26/2013 9:08:59 PM)
not the best command, but it can out-do Profane earlier. needs combos to be good. it is also situationally better then Austere Command because if you only need creature destruction, there are ways of making this not hit your own creatures.
Posted By:
darkfury
(11/15/2009 7:41:27 PM)
I run it with ruby medalion in by burn deck and its another discard effect for my fiery temper. Almost always a good non basic out there to kill (in my circle anyways.) And I love that pyroclasm effect,just wipes tokens. In the burn I obviously opt for the 4 damage to a player so I can continue the pressure and still get an additional effect. I think it's all how you use it and I enjoy it.
Posted By:
XTwistedsoulX
(5/24/2010 7:25:40 PM)
An average card, but out of all the other commands, this one is the worst. The reason being that it doesn't provide enough of an advantage to you when you use it. Primal Command gets you ahead in the game with extra life and a necessary card; Austere Command clears the board of certain cards; Profane Command (usually used in elf decks) wins the game; And I don't need to explain just how good Cryptic Command is. The point is that all the other commands grant you victory oy at least get you close, the incendiary does not. Thats not to say that Incendiary Command is bad, its just that it could've been better.
Posted By:
SavageBrain89
(6/25/2009 7:12:05 PM)
The text can just about be hilariously summed up to "Destroy something. We don't care what.". It boasts great destructive versatility, but as always, versatility is trumped by effectiveness, and four subpar effects in one card just makes a subpar card.
Posted By:
GradiustheFox
(3/16/2010 2:33:58 AM)
Its not that bad, I used it in a land destruction deck. Killed their critters and continued to set them back.
It is still the weakest however, if only the discard thing could have been something better, at the time I wanted a way to destroy all artifacts but white got that instead. White is way more destructive that red.
Posted By:
Tommy9898
(2/21/2010 7:06:58 PM)
This would've been MUCH better if the last ability had a set draw number (i.e. each player discards all cards, then draws, say, 3 cards). It would likely refill your hand, since this is red and you will generally have few cards in hand by the time you play a 5 mana bomb, but it would also hose control decks pretty badly.
As it is, it's easily the worst command.
Posted By:
mdakw576
(5/10/2011 2:25:05 AM)
The last two abilities are relevant in EDH.
The first ability could've targeted a creature or player, or did five damage to the player (it a rare anyways). I like the idea of discarding and drawing a set number. This wouldn't have broke the game. Cryptic friggin Command broke the friggin game. Disappointing.
Posted By:
Enchantment_Removal
(6/11/2010 12:13:26 PM)
It would be sub par if not for that you get to pick 2. As it stands its a fairly decent versatile burn card, which is far from the worst it could be. Out of the commands it is my least favorite however, because its choices are well covered by other cards, and unlike some of the other commands, don't thrash your opponent quite as harshly for playing it. Still, being on the wrong side of a 4 damage and board sweep burn spell or being a control deck that has to discard its hand is no joke.
Posted By:
Donovan_Fabian
(10/25/2009 11:39:26 PM)