Over the past few days, we’ve been absolutely bombarded with Foundations Jumpstart spoilers. This cool supplemental set is jam-packed with potent reprints and spicy new designs.
Even though these cards aren’t Standard legal, that doesn’t mean they can’t have an impact elsewhere. There are tons of new legends that can easily make a splash in Commander. There are even some cards with Legacy potential!
Importantly, we also can’t forget that these cards are going to be arriving to MTG Arena along with the main set. This means that Historic and Timeless could be in for a shakeup, too.
This brings us to one of the most important reprints in the set: Violent Outburst. Violent Outburst is a powerful card that is banned in Modern for its ability to Cascade reliably into Crashing Footfalls or Living End. Could the card make some noise on MTG Arena as well? Let’s dig a little deeper.
Violent Outburst and Crashing Footfalls
- Mana Value: 1RG
- Rarity: Common
- MTG Sets: Alara Reborn, Foundations Jumpstart
- Card Text: Cascade (When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom in a random order.) Creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn.
As expected, players are excited about Violent Outburst because Crashing Footfalls is already legal on MTG Arena. As long as you fill your deck with cards with mana value three or higher besides Crashing Footfalls, you can consistently get your 4/4 Rhinos when casting Violent Outburst.
Notably, there are some key tools missing from the Modern Cascade variants that may make this a harder strategy to build around in Historic or Timeless. First of all, you won’t have access to Force of Negation.
As such, you won’t be able to reliably have Counterspell backup when casting Violent Outburst on your opponent’s turn. If counter wars are a concern, Mystical Dispute can at least act as a serviceable replacement.
On top of that, you won’t find any copies of Dead/Gone or Fire/Ice on MTG Arena. So, you’ll have to find other ways to interact in the early turns. Luckily, Dismember and Bonecrusher Giant can fill a similar space. In Timeless where you have access to Fetchlands, you could even stretch your manabase to utilize Leyline Binding. All of this helps make it easier for your Rhinos to connect in combat, as well.
Issues of Consistency
- Mana Value: 1GU
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/2
- MTG Sets: Planechase 2012, Eternal Masters, Planechase Anthology, Modern horizons 2
- Card Text: Cascade (When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom in a random order.)
As strong is this combo sounds on the surface, perhaps the biggest problem this archetype may have in Historic or Timeless is staying consistent. Without Shardless Agent or Ardent Plea as alternate Cascade cards, it’s not easy to set up turn three Crashing Footfalls for every game.
With this in mind, you may want to think outside the box. Some players have had success utilizing Bloodbraid Marauder already in Crashing Footfalls decks. Could there be a build that plays both Bloodbraid Marauder and Violent Outburst?
Obviously, because Violent Outburst can now hit Bloodbraid Marauder in addition to Crashing Footfalls, you want ways to enable Delirium with ease. Fetchlands and Surveil lands are a good start in Timeless.
From there, Dismember can serve as a cheap instant. Lorien Revealed and Oliphaunt help you hit land drops while putting a sorcery and a creature into your graveyard, respectively.
It’ll be interesting to see how players look to construct their decks. It’s possible players abandon the Bloobdbraid Marauder plan and simply play Violent Outburst and Crashing Footfalls in a more controlling shell with Oko, Thief of Crowns and Minsc and Boo, Timeless Heroes as top end. There is plenty of room for brewing here, and we’re excited to see what builds players come up with.