Courtesy of Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and Ally Warfield, check out a new red creature with the power to cast spells from your graveyard in Strixhaven: School of Mages — Efreet Flamepainter!
Red has recently gained some tools that enable the controller to leverage spells from the graveyard like Dreadhorde Arcanist, Ghitu Chronicler, and Goblin Dark-Dwellers, but Efreet Flamepainter looks to double down on that ability.
Double strike
Whenever Efreet Flamepainter deals combat damage to a player, you may cast target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard without paying its mana cost. If that spell would be put into your graveyard, exile it instead.
At four mana, Efreet Flamepainter is going to be a bit harder to get onto the battlefield and through the red zone uncontested, but if you do, the benefit is massive. Unlike Dreadhorde Arcanist or Goblin Dark-Dwellers, there isn’t a restriction on mana value for the spells to play for free. If you can manage to pitch some expensive instants or sorceries and connect with this Efreet Shaman, the discount on mana could be huge. With Ultimatums and cards like Alrund’s Epiphany available in Standard, Magical Christmasland is wide open.
The options expand once you move into Historic or any older format. Of course, the spells don’t have to be outrageously expensive to be beneficial. Cards like Faithless Looting or Thrill of Possibility can facilitate tons of value, while setting up another spell for the damage after first strike.
So what do you think of Efreet Flamepainter? What instants and sorceries do you want to pair with it the most?
Strixhaven: School of Mages releases April 23. Check out our official preview gallery.