Top 3: Heroes

Here are my picks for the top three heroes for Spellfire TAV.

#3 - Helm (4th Edition, 255/500)

Personally, I prefer the art on the older Helm (Forgotten Realms, 89/100), but...hey wait a minute. It's my blog, right? Let's try this again.

There. As I was saying, Helm is pretty awesome. He casts both wizard and cleric spells, and can be discarded to stop an event. A very versatile card which, when combined with Star Gem of Martek: Clear Crystal, creates a spell-casting maniac who can anchor your entire pool. He can be brought back with Coming of the Phoenix or Resurrection to stop multiple events. He can even attack or defend in a pinch, with allies, unarmed combat cards, and spells at his disposal. A great all-around card for any format.

#2 - Ethereal Champion (4th Edition chase, 508/520)

Ethereal Champion (or as I call him, "Cyric's daddy") is my pick for second-best hero. He'd be first, if the card at #1 wasn't so doggone amazing. The Ethereal Champion is immune to all offensive cards, the special powers of opposing champions, can cast both wizard and cleric spells, and allows you to flip your pool over and mix it up a la Cyric. That's a real laundry list of powers. In 2011, this guy can go for up to $100 on eBay. I traded mine to an unscrupulous scallywag for much less value back in 2002. If you've got him, folks, hang onto him. Great card in any format, despite apparently being a pile of mist.

#1 - Gib Kcir (Runes & Runes chase, 16/25)

I do still have a Gib Kcir, and you can bet it's not going anywhere soon. A staple in my tournament deck, this guy is phenomenally primo. (By the way, even though it says "her" on the card, and despite the glitter and eye-makeup, I have no doubt Gib Kcir is a dude. I mean come on...the name is 'Big Rick' backwards. Ever heard of a female named Rick?) The thing that puts Kcir into the discussion as one of the greatest Spellfire hero champions is its ability to destroy any one card in play - except a realm - sending it straight to the Abyss. The thing that makes this card the best hero of all for TAV is its ability to automatically raze a realm. That's right, in the Antigonish variant once combat is initiated, if Kcir is used to destroy the defending champion, then POOF! there goes the realm, and a spoils granted to the attacking player. There's no beating that kind of power, combined with his already uber abilities in Standard, not to mention an immunity to events which could remove him from play, such as Slave Revolt, Tyranthraxus, Trapped, and Curse of the Azure Bonds. Gib Kcir, you gender-confused peeping Tom, take a bow!

Next time: My top 3 regents.