[SCD] Arc Trail

[Gheizen64]

For everyone that doesn't know the card:

Arc Trail

1R
Sorcery
~ deal 2 damage to any target and 1 damage to another any target

At a first glance this card look horrible. Sorcery speed and 2 mana for something that can't remove 3 thoughness creature and neither do 3 to the dome, this should suck.

However with the recent trends in legacy, i've noticed this card really hit a shitload of things:

Dark Confidant
Mom
Dryad arbor
Pridemage
Noble Hierarch
All merfolks
Goblin Welder (painterstone)
Metalworker
Putrid imp (usually useless however)
Lavamancer
Steppe Lynx
All goblins
SFM
Vendilion Clique
Squadron Hawk (because people play caw-go in legacy...)

etc...

With the resurgence of Zoo/Junk/Tribal with lot of fish-like creatures, this card often remove a blocker AND deal 1-2 damage to the opponent or remove TWO blockers for 1R.

I've found that this card is extremely effective for racing NO for example, removing 2 hierarch at a time, or Hierarch + Dryad, or Hierarch + Pridemage, Hierarch + SFM etc...

Another thing that sold me was the fact that the most common creatures that aren't affected by this are Goyf and KotR, two creatures that aren't worth removing (exception: Goyf in earlier turns or Goyf in Goyf wars, more on that later) via burn anyway. Why? Because you attack for 2-5, rarely for more. When you have to remove a creature with burn, you have to factor the possible damage you get thru via creature not blocked against burn to the face (plus board situation, but usually you care more about life total). Removing Goyf and KotR is simply almost never effective with burn and you'll always do better by directing burn to the face.
This is, however, not true in Goyf wars. Guess what? This card rape in goyf wars. Where a lightning bolt would have removed the goyf blocking your goyf, this remove the blocking goyf AND deal 2 to the opponent.
Nacatl, Ape and Loam Lion are also cards this sucks against. However, you'll always have a lot of targets in zoo for it (mancer, Lynx, possibly GoblinGuide, Gaddock, Pridemage, etc...) so it usually isn't that bad. There ARE situation where i wished i had another burn 3 for R instead of this, but those have felt rare to me.

Testing has sold me this card as especially solid in a meta full of fish-like creatures and tribal, often acting as a one-sided pyroclasm. This card is also one of the best card for Goyf wars alongside exalted cards. Finally, this sucks against Reliquary and Stalker, but all burn do.

The real problem this card has is: where to play it? What to remove for it? Zoo list are already pretty tight. Team italia isn't really interesting in racing and would probably just play the most solid card (Bolt). In my opinion, this is considerable in those really fast Zoo lists like Sullivan's one, where a shitload of aggressive one-drop really demand a board empty from critters and also where every single life point matter since it doesn't have huge monsters or late-game bombs. Something like this:

Creatures
4 Goblin Guide
3 Grim Lavamancer
4 Kird Ape
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl

Enchantments
2 Sylvan Library

Instants
2 Fireblast
4 Lightning Bolt

Sorceries
4 Chain Lightning
3 Arc Trail

Lands
4 Arid Mesa
3 Plateau
4 Taiga
4 Wasteland
3 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills

(this is Sullivan list -4 Rift bolt +3 arc trail +1 Sylvan Library)

Just saying, i'm not sure all here remember this, but Lava Dart was once one of the most played cards in old extended. This was when RDW was a real deck and mirror mattered, and also we didn't have bolt and Fanatic was amazing. Dart also helped in removing annoying cards like BoP, Yavimaya Elder and all. If this card costed 1 it would be so, so much better (remove bird/hierarch on the draw), sadly it isn't. I know there's a R sorcery that deal 2 divided as you choose, but i've found the ability to remove merfolk + merf lord and dryad + hierarch or lackey + goblin lord is so good. Probably it's the danger of cool things but i'm sticking with Arc Trail then i'll try that other card (can't remember the name btw) since removing T1 hierarch on the draw is relevant.

Anyone else here feel the card is sort of a super tech in current meta?

[Malchar]

Seems like it's worse than fire // ice most of the time though. Fire is usually a two-for-one in all the same situations that this is. The only time it would make a difference was if you were killing something with two toughness and something with one toughness, which would be like pridemage + something, or metalworker + something, but those decks don't usually have 1/1's sitting around anyway.

Plus, fire // ice is an instant, and if you have blue then you get even more options.

Since I just did a Gatherer search, I might as well post these others cards which are comparable.
arc lightning
forked bolt

[Mr. Safety]

I think it's good...but not THAT good. Remember that Pyroclasm is still around...

I think a much more powerful card is Punishing Fire coupled with Grove of the Burnwillows. If you're going to be looking to keep small dudes in check (maybe a particular metagame) it's much better to have an engine than a 1-trick pony. Grove/Fires deals with the Fish/Gobbos matchup nicely and hits the same creatures...and it just KEEPS COMING at instant speed. If you want a 1-trick pony, I agree with Malchar that Fire/ice is just better...especially if you're playing blue. I wouldn't dismiss Grim Lavamancer either...if you're playing red and have a healthy amount of fetchlands and non-creature spells, he'll perform the same role, and do it well.

I think Forked Bolt is arguably better anyways...it can deal the 2 damage to a creature if you need it to, or split off both Dryad Arbor/Noble Hierarch. The fact that it only costs R makes it a little sexier, too.

[Koby]

If the metagame is filled with creatures enough that makes Arc Trail good enough to play, why not just play Pyroclasm instead? The only decks that are capable of playing this spell are R/x, and I don't see how this is better than Firespout/Pyroclasm in the control variants, or Searing Blaze in the aggro variants.

Ya, it can 2-for-1 in some scenarios - but how many times will you simply be casting this to deal 2 damage to your opponent and killing their Dark Confidant? Is this a good way to spend you turn 2?

[CorpT]

But Pyroclasm doesn't win Goyf wars. It also kills your own creatures. This isn't to kill hordes of Goblins. It's to pick off Confidants, Nobles, Dryad Arbors, etc.... without killing your own creatures. Imagine using 2 mana to pick off a LoA and an Adept without killing your Grim Lavamancer. Arc Trail can do that. Pyroclasm cannot.

[Mr. Safety]

If the metagame is filled with creatures enough that makes Arc Trail good enough to play, why not just play Pyroclasm instead? The only decks that are capable of playing this spell are R/x, and I don't see how this is better than Firespout/Pyroclasm in the control variants, or Searing Blaze in the aggro variants.

Ya, it can 2-for-1 in some scenarios - but how many times will you simply be casting this to deal 2 damage to your opponent and killing their Dark Confidant? Is this a good way to spend you turn 2?

It isn't a BAD way to play turn 2...killing Bob is usually smart, and getting a free 2 damage to boot is nice. I see where you are coming from though, it would be smarter to develop your game more than an almost negligable 2 damage and killing a creature. You can do it better with Lightning Bolt and having mana up for other stuff.

@CorpT: well reasoned. I assumed Arc Trail would be included in a control variant, not really an aggro variant (this is why I mentioned Grove/Fires) and control variants typically have many ways of dealing with Goyf other than a burn spell (removal, counters, discard, wipers)

[nedleeds]

If you are dead set on an opening Chalice on 1 it's a nice burn alternative (though Arc Lightning might be better if Trinisphere is along for the ride). For these decks fighting off Noble Hierarch's (they have a habit of getting GSZ'ed out with a Chalice on 1) is important, and Pyroclasm'ing your own Man Moon is bad.

[Mark Sun]

I registered two copies of Arc Trail at Indy earlier this month (in Zoo as well) and I didn't regret it. The card does have incredible value in the field right now and I believe it deserves a closer look. The lack of resistance (in the form of hard counters) right now can offset the risk-reward of casting it on your turn.

I believe the reason to play spells that can split damage is to maximize on-board card advantage and X-for-1, implying that you need to actually split the damage and not aim the 2 from Fire/Ice or Forked Bolt at one target. You can't win a Goyf war with 1 extra damage if there isn't a Sorcery in the graveyard, but with Arc Trail, you can.

Its effectiveness is, however, somewhat dependant on the metagame. If you're playing the Steppe Lynx Zoo mirror, then it's a blowout. If you're playing a slower version with Kird Apes and Loam Lions, it's going to suck. Similarily, if you play against Junk or Control, the card doesn't have nearly as much effect outside of some niche interactions (that can be accomplished by the card it replaced in your deck, most likely). It will have some value regardless because of Merfolk, though.

[kiblast]

I play this in 2x in sideboard of UBR Confidant Fish. It's very good. Even if the deck is U based, I don't use sideboard Fire/Ice because of the 4cc Confidant flip, neither I can play Pyroclasm because I play Confidant, Vendilion, Lavamancer and Trinket. So here it is, is pretty solid against Affinity, WG, Merfolk and Goblin obviously.

[nedleeds]

Snagging a Lavamancer and a Stoneforge with this would be very exciting.

[kiblast]

Snagging a Lavamancer and a Stoneforge with this would be very exciting.

Because you don't know how good it is to kill a Stoneforge and a Hierarch while hitting their Savannah with Waste.

[nedleeds]

Because you don't know how good it is to kill a Stoneforge and a Hierarch while hitting their Savannah with Waste.

That would be borderline erotic.

[Amon Amarth]

That would be borderline erotic.

I'm sold. I'll have to try this out in my Red decks sometime.

[CorpT]

I play this in 2x in sideboard of UBR Confidant Fish. It's very good. Even if the deck is U based, I don't use sideboard Fire/Ice because of the 4cc Confidant flip, neither I can play Pyroclasm because I play Confidant, Vendilion, Lavamancer and Trinket. So here it is, is pretty solid against Affinity, WG, Merfolk and Goblin obviously.

Got a list? That sounds pretty interesting.