Flame counter

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Flame counter
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Flame.svg}}|70x70px]]
Counter
Use Upkeep tracking; Resource for abilities
Placed on Planes, Creatures
Introduced Planechase
Last used Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate
Statistics
4 counter creation cards
{C} 25% {R} 75%
Scryfall search
oracle:"Flame counter"

Flame counters are a type of counter introduced in Planechase. Originally an upkeep tracker on a Plane, they've since been used as a resource for abilities on fire-related creatures.

Description

Flame counters first appeared on Naar Isle in Planechase. It was a plane card for Wildfire which used the counters as an Upkeep tracker to account for a rising amount of damage dealt to the player each turn. This represented the danger of being on this plane of fire.

They later appeared on a traditional card in Innistrad: Midnight Hunt with Embodiment of Flame. It would gain a Flame counter any time a spell the player controlled dealt damage. These Flame counters were then used as a resource for an activated ability to Exile the top card of the library while allowing it to be played during the turn.

They re-appeared again in two Magic: The Gathering Arena sets, first in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons on Managorger Phoenix and on Kardum, Patron of Flames in Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate. On Managorger Phoenix they represented its ability to reincarnate by giving it a counter Red mana cast during a spell. It would then return to the battlefield once it had 5 or more counters on it and also gained +1/+1 perpetually. On Kardum it gained a Flame counter every time it attacked while allowing the player to seek a card with the mana cost equal to the number of Flame counters. They would exile that card until Kardum died at which point all exiled cards would return to the player's hand for one turn after which they are discarded.

Trivia

References

  1. Christopher Bellach (September 5, 2018). "Counter Development in Magic Online". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.