[Art Not Yet Available]
Type: Creature
Race: Luminaire
Quadrant: Regency
Element: Radiance
Cost: 6
Power: 4000
Effect: When this creature enters the conflict, search your deck. You may take any number of spells from your deck with a total cost of 4 or less, show those spells to your opponent, and put them into your hand. Then shuffle your deck.
Set: Advent of Chaos (CF-01) Ultra Rare
Flavor Text: The Elemental Warmage's dual-rainbow core is so intense that the ambient energies of the planet are inescapably drawn into it.
Writer Text: not yet available
The Element
Radiance creatures are fairly diverse, but ultimately they are generally used to increase the player's stamina or solidify their footing. Elemental Warmage Rainboa has one of the more common effect types available to Radiance, in the form of spell manipulation. By refreshing one's available options and also remaining as a fairly strong body for combat purposes, Rainboa serves the general purpose of a Radiance card very well.
The Combat Ability
For Rainboa's cost of 6, 4000 power is below average. However, while its true strength assuredly lies in its effect, 4000 power ensures that the opponent must put a fair amount of effort into removing it, as it is comfortably above means of cheap creature removal such as Falcon Strike or Antlion Trap. Through Rainboa's primary effect, you can procure things such as Wormhole or Hypothermia to render creatures that could otherwise pose a threat, that much easier to stop.
Ultimately, while Rainboa tends to be best used as a facilitator for the rest of your deck's options, its power as supplemented by its effect enables it to throw its weight around rather well. It won't be plowing through your opponent's creatures by itself, but it can definitely supplement your other creatures in doing so.
The Effect
Rainboa's effect is the primary reason one would play it, and is easily one of the most versatile and deadly in the game. When used defensively, it can procure Responcers and removal options such as Quickfire Sedative and Air Cannon to slow down the opponent, the psychological effects of which can slow their movements before the spells are even casted. Obviously, the ability to procure multiple spells simultaneously is also a highly effective means of countering early discard, and can easily replenish the player's momentum in ways that are very hard for opponents to properly react to without diverting from their own main goals.
Offensively, its options expand further. Depending on the decktype one is using, one could easily procure multiple Action Bolts to supplement further creatures, Steady Aim to swiftly take something down, or simply procure single spells such as Memory Loss to disrupt the opponent's long-term planning. Just as Rainboa can restore your momentum in a defensive capacity, when used offensively its effect is highly capable of solidifying your position.
Ratings
Casual: 9/10
In casual play, players tend to have less spells overall, generally reserving them for larger effects such as later-game killspells, power boosts, or simply drawing more cards. However, cheap removal such as Air Cannon are also quite prevalent, and Rainboa's ability to procure these along with cards like Flash Ignition can provide some vital consistency in a deck's timing and smooth out one's rhythm.
Tournament/Ladder: 10/10
It is in tournament play, with its highly-structured decks, that Rainboa's true power comes out. When added to a core of other Radiance cards and cheap spells, Rainboa can be made to function very quickly and efficiently, as but one facilitator in a deadly chain of effects that can be very hard to stop. Whether it is to supplement your own strategy or react to your opponent's, Rainboa can provide crucial replenishment to your options and dictate your deck's later turns and long-term flow to your liking.
Random: 8/10
In the RND format, the overall power of Rainboa's effect will greatly fluctuate depending upon the options you have been given. However, the ability to look at your deck is very useful in RND, as it can help give some measure of long-term strategy and planning relative to your remaining options. In addition to this, if there are any spells to actually retrieve, you can of course do so, providing an effective supplement to your momentum in later turns.
Overall: 9/10
The ability to react dynamically to virtually any gamestate that your spells will allow is the true strength of Elemental Warmage Rainboa's effect. Its versatility is only limited by the extent to which the rest of your deck supplements cheap spellcasting, and with a bit of support from other Radiance cards such as Ars Megistus, it can maintain your deck's stamina for far longer than would otherwise be possible.