Stronghold of Lightning and Flame
Set/Rarity: DM-13 Eternal Phoenix Uncommon
Civilization: Light/Fire Card
Type: Spell
Cost: 5
Card Text:
- Shield Trigger
- This card is put into the mana zone tapped.
- Destroy one of your opponent's creatures of 3000 power or less. Afterwards, you may select and tap one of your opponent's creatures.
Art and Theme:
Art-wise, Stronghold definitely comes as advertised. A giant fortress like entity floating majestically in the sky amongst the clouds, but this entity also has the capability to obliterate an enemy two-fold, depending on how they would like to fry: Electricity or Incineration. Stronghold of Lightning and Flame kind of looks like a modified two-tier pyramid, which has cannons protruding out of the side that deal all the damage to the opponent. I think the sun overtop is a nice touch contrast to the picture. Amongst all the carnage going on around it, the sun still shines prominently.
Theme-wise, Stronghold of Lightning and Flame comes from set 13 and every multicolored spell in this particular set was a kind of fortress like entity that each gave some sort of benefit to the user of the spell. These defensive mechanisms came in all shapes and sizes, but they all do the duty of protecting or giving a benefit to their operator.
Effect – Off the Trigger:
Stronghold’s effect is a very potent one that many people should be wary of. It can take out one of your opponent’s creatures with the power 3000 or less and can also tap one of your opponent’s creatures at the same time. This has big ramifications on the duel at any point in time you trigger it. Early in the game and your opponent is being aggressive because they feel they have the upper hand, triggering Stronghold can easily turn that advantage into a disadvantage swiftly. It’s a very handy trigger against aggressive decks. Depending on respective fields, Stronghold off the trigger can net you a total of three creatures destroyed. Your opponent has two creatures out, and they summon a third and attack. The first attack triggers Stronghold. If one of two other creatures has 3000 power or less, roast it. Then tap the other one. If you have creatures on your field strong enough to handle what your opponent has, take advantage and give yourself a massive field advantage.
If your opponent is pushing to win, depending on their field, this is the one of the last things they want to see come from your shields. It can stop at most two impending attacks which is huge in a pinch. At the worst, it will only stop one attack, which is still good when you are trying to survive. You can then turn around and counterattack on the creature you tapped, effectively removing it and leaving your opponent in a world of hurt. Only a few cards can stop two attacks or more in one fell swoop off the trigger (Awe, Spark, Apocalypse Day, Soulswap shenanigans), which makes Stronghold’s presence much more potent.
After one Stronghold trigger, the opponent may become hesitant to attack in subsequent games without a better fortified field to try and limit the impact of Stronghold on their field. You can take advantage of your opponent’s trepidation and remove their field/beat them. Stronghold does has a mild psychological game off the trigger and when you hardcast it, which I will mention shortly.
Effect – Hardcast:
A hardcasted Stronghold does all of the things it does off the trigger except it saves you some shields. It’s a 5 cost spell which falls into the mid-game range where more of the bigger creatures appear and fall right into Stronghold’s kill range. But the selling point is that it gives you massive field advantage if conditions are right, and it has a big psychological effect on what your opponent summons. If you have moderately powerful creatures out (3000, 4000 power), I have noticed that my opponent takes a bit of time to summon a creature they feel is important because I can drop Stronghold in their face and ruin their plans. It’s not as prevalent as the psychological effect of Jenny, but it’s still there and deserves fair mention.
Civilization:
Stronghold is a Fire and Light card and follows that straight to the T. Both halves of its effect represent its Civilization split very, very nicely. The Fire Civilization is known for its speed and power based destruction, and the Light Civilization is known for its defensive mechanisms which come in the form of tapping. Each Civilization already has separate a trigger spell that does half of what Stronghold does, Ten-Ton Crunch in Fire and Solar Ray in Light (mention to Kolon, the Oracle on the creature side), so bringing them together into one spell was smart and effective.
Conclusion:
Stronghold of Lighting and Flame is definitely a very effective spell and one I have come to love after a bunch of time using it and reaping its benefits. It’s a spell that can fit comfortably into most strategies, from Assault to Control; it really does no good in Rush, and give its user the same benefits I have received from it. So the next time you find yourself building a deck with Fire and Light in it, don’t be afraid to look at Stronghold and go “well you know maybe…” because it’s a spell that will help bolster your deck on both the defensive side and offensive side.
