Tag: rdw

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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - June 26, 2014

Champion’s Deck – Mono-Red Aggro by Kevin Rand (1st at SCG...

Mono-Red Aggro- Rubblebelt maaka

Mono-Red Aggro by Kevin Rand

1st Place at StarCityGames Standard Open on 6/21/2014

 
Again we continue with what is slowly looking to be a dominance of Red as we continue creeping into The Bloody Summer. The strange thing being that usually Mono-Red aggro is best positioned at the beginning of a new Standard season when control is not yet prepared to take on an unknown meta, but the abundance of Midrange strategies have allowed Aggro to slip into the metagame and start to dominate. This deck has taken elements of both Festus Resendez winning list and Tom ‘The Boss’ Ross to come up with an amalgamation which delivers a forceful punch with precision and alacrity.

The deck is at its core a solid creature beats concoction with more then half of its slots devoted to them with an extremely low curve reminiscent of a brew we would expect from Legacy. The deck is chock full’o one drops loading up on value with them all. With two power for a single Red we find both Firedrinker Satyr and Rakdos Cackler coming strong out of the gate. We also have Legion Loyalist which with Battalion grands First Strike but more importantly Trample to your assault, and Foundry Street Denizen who when dropped on turn one can offer you so many turns of added value from each and every other creature you pop into play. On two mana you basically have the rest of the team starting on Burning-Tree Emissary to try and chain multiple creatures into play right away, Ash Zealot as a value drop with Haste to lay down the beats as fast as possible, and Firefist Striker with its Battalion trigger to neutralize any big blocker and ram additional damage down your opponents throat. There is also Rubblebelt Makka but he is really there as a cheap pump to ram through as much extra damage as possible working along side Titan’s Strength to take huge chunks out of the opponents life. The deck also has a trio of Shock and a pair of Searing Blood which help to ensure that the path to victory goes unhindered by opposing creatures.

 

It’s hard to say if the meta will continue to be soft to Red based decks but judging by all its success I guess you’d be a fool not to join in. I’m hesitant to say that this is the best strategy but it is always a strong strategy in the hands of a compitant mage. The only caution I would provide is that people are certainly aware of the deck and should plan accordingly. Also, don’t be one of the fools who says that it’s just a simple Red deck and I can pilot it like an expert without practice. This deck requires a precise use of its resources and knowing when to go all out as opposed to ensuring you don’t over commit is crucial. Just make sure you drive it around the block at least a few times, but most of all feel the burn.

Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - June 19, 2014

Champion’s Deck – Mono-Red Aggro by Festus Resendez (1st a...

Mono-Red Aggro - Firedrinker Satyr
 

Mono-Red Aggro by Festus Resendez

1st Place at StarCityGames Standard Open on 6/14/2014
 
 
It looks like it’s a good time to be a Red mage in Standard, Patrick Sullivan must have been jumping for joy. Not only did the winner of the Grand Prix in Moscow play a Red deck but also Tom ‘The Boss’ Ross piloted one for his Standard portion at the SCG Invitational. The most interesting about that is they all ran on similar but completely different lines and stretched the bounds of Red to the limit. This deck is one of the more creature heavy builds.

 

With an aggro deck like this the most important factor of your strategy is to be dropping at least one creature every single turn until you mash your opponent into a bloody pulp which is why we find no Scry lands. We start the curve with two one drops that come out swinging with two power each from Rakdos Cackler which if is not unleashed usually means you’re about to die and Firedrinker Satyr who’s drawback will be largely nullified by the amount of beats he will inflict on the opponent. Then we hit a mass of two drops starting with the hasty first striker Ash Zealot, also Firefist Striker that when attacking with two others will nullify the opponents best blocker and then Burning-Tree Emissary that enables your lightning starts by chaining into more spells to advance your board faster then the opponent can mount a defense. We also find two quality three drops to continue the curve with perennial wall of death in Boros Reckoner which turns combat math from simple addition into complex algebra, and Chandra’s Phoenix that has a limited amount of direct damage spells to bring it back but is still a hasty flier to bring forth death from above. Our last creature is the curve topper Fanatic of Mogis that comes in as a late game play once you have your army mobilized to take full advantage of a surprise blast of Devotion to Red to the opponents face, hopefully to put him down for good. There is a support package of burn coming primarily from a full set of Lightning Strike, but also a pair of Shock, a pair of Magma Jet and a singleton Searing Blood all help to either clear the way for your creatures to get through or blast straight up to the dome.

This deck exemplifies what it means to be The Beatdown. It looks like Aggro has positioned itself between Control and Midrange in the metagame right now to exploit it’s speed and destructive nature. Now has been a great time to blast your opponent to bits either using creature or burn based strategies. It’s not likely that this Red mage dominance will continue but shows that any given weekend you can not count out any deck that has power behind it. And counting from twenty to zero has been a fundamental aspect of this game of Magic.

Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - June 18, 2014

Champion’s Deck – Boros Burn by Igor Gorbunov (1st at Gran...

Boros Burn - Skullcrack

Boros Burn by Igor Gorbunov

Grand Prix Moscow Champion – Standard on June 15th 2014

Once again the power of fire to the face was able to propel this Tomahawk missile of a deck right to the top of the victory podium. Showing how powerful a linear strategy of simply throwing everything into reducing your opponents life total to zero really can be, this design is a well oiled machine dedicated to death and destruction. This really appeals to the little fire imp which resides in my heart and is a variation on the classic burn theme which has existed in magic since the days of Fireball and Lightning Bolt.

The deck is a little light on the creature side but has found two spicy dudes that synergize with the deck extremely well given the 26 spells that are played at instant speed. The first is Young Pyromancer which on its own isn’t a very intimidating creature but once you start slinging some spells the party gets started and guests will arrive, and don’t think that lowly 1/1’s aren’t any good because every single point matters with this deck. The other creature comes with Chandra’s Phoenix that can do some real damage as a hasty flier but also will find its way back to your hand rising from the grave whenever one of your spells blasts into the opponent. The manabase also affords you space to squeeze in three copies of Mutavault that are able to maneuver their way around any sorcery speed removal. Then we get into the burn suite of the deck which is massive. There is at one cost Shock capable of delivering a two point blast either to the player or if necessary any of his smaller creatures. The mass of the burn is found at two cost starting simply with Lightning Strike which is simply three points going to the opponents dome or one of his creatures. Next we have Magma Jet which is another flexible two points but the most important part is the Scry 2 which helps the weakness of this deck a bit as there is no real draw available to you. Against decks that play with lifegain, the true nemesis of burn, you have Skullcrack which as a surprise against Sphinx’s Revelation decks could very easily snatch victory from what would be an almost certain defeat. The flexibility of Boros Charm is almost universally wasted with the four point blast to the face as the Double Strike will rarely do more damage but if you have a sizable force you might need the Indestructible against a sweeper. The last two cost burn is a removal spell with Searing Blood which will do two points of damage to a creature but has the added bonus where if that creature dies will do an additional three to its controller. And the last burn spell is the Warleader’s Helix with a four point shot while also providing a four point lifegain as an added benefit. The last spot in the deck is taken by the removal of Chained to the Rocks which is capable of exiling almost any creature threat that is able to skirt the other options from direct damage.

If you like a deck that goes all out in pounding your opponent to a pulp with a relentless assault of burn baby burn then this is definitely the deck to tickle your fancy. Don’t think though that it just pilot’s itself as you are always faced with the decisions of how to best utilize your mana and spells each and every turn. As you are limited by your draws be sure to practice and know your match-ups in advance so you can realize which way you need to fight. This is the ultimate race where your resource is your life vying against his, don’t be afraid to take a couple hits from his creatures if it means you get to blast his dome for a few extra points and kill him a turn faster. But on the flip side make sure you kill his creature before it gets you. In the end you’ll find that the rush of this deck makes it so worth playing.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - May 12, 2014

Boros Burn standard by Tyler Winn (1st at SCG Knoxville Standard Open ...

Champion’s Deck

 

Chandra's Phoenix_Buy-a-box Promo - Boros Burn standard

Boros Burn by Tyler Winn

1st Place at StarCityGames Standard Open on 5/10/2014

Here’s a spicy little Aggro number that while by no means any sort of new concept is quite a sight for sore eyes. It’s nice to see that the Mono-Black Devotion (or more accurately now Golgari Devotion since rotation) was not able to reach the summit, although it did put three decks into the top 8. This is a powerful and fast deck which is highly capable of coming from out of nowhere and beating down the opponent in the blink of an eye.

 

The main focus of Boros burn is to throw burn spells at the opponents face in a fast and furious fashion. To that end we find 22 of the decks spells able to spew lightning to the dome, and additional burn from the decks removal. The varieties of burn come based off of how much damage they will do and land in three varieties doing either two, three or four damage. The starting point of the deck comes with our basic burn at one cost in Shock which is just a straight-up two point blast, but also with two points of burn we have Magma Jet which for its cost of two will also Scry 2 for the deck as some of its only ‘draw’ ability. Then we have three point burn both costing two with Lightning Strike and Skullcrack, but Skullcrack while not being able to target creature has the added value of shutting down lifegain AND damage prevention for the turn which can foil plans of many decks to try and recover from an initial onslaught. And finally we get to the four point burn spells with Boros Charm which will primarily be wasted of its other abilities to blast opponents to an early grave and Warleader’s Helix that will rebuild your life total if you have been under pressure already in the game. As a compliment to all of these burn spells the deck runs Chandra’s Phoenix that will no doubt be returned to hand anytime it has found its way into the graveyard. The other maindeck creature is Eidolon of the Great Revel which may seem like an odd choice seeing that this deck is packed with so many cheap spells but when you drop him you should be far enough ahead and using your burn is either an equal loss on life or you deal those crucial points extra. As the manabase allows for it there’s also a full set of Mutavault which often are those last points needed to seal the deal. For removal the deck is able to use any of the many burn spells of course but also includes Chained to the Rocks and Searing Blood which itself does double as a burn spell when you are able to rid the board of the intended target. For draw the deck has some Scry from both Magma Jet and Temple of Triumph, but also actual drawing from Wild Guess which can easily cycle unwanted lands later in the game. You’ll also notice that the deck eshews Boros Guildgate in favor of Mana Confluence in order to avoid any additional into play tapped lands which go directly against the speed of this deck.

 

So there we have another great contender to battle for control in this post Journey into Nyx metagame. It is well positioned to be the Standard format staple Aggro deck going forward. I would be very surprised if some style of this deck is unable to reach into the top 16 of the major tourneys going forward. I would be very confident to sleeve this up any weekend and expect to compete for the win.

Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on twitter
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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - March 19, 2014

Champion’s Deck – Boros Burn by Neil Hartman (1st at SCG S...

Chandra Pyromaster
R/W Burn
Neil Hartman
1st Place at StarCityGames Standard Open on 3/15/2014

Oh burn…ever since the printing of Lightning Bolt there have been Red mages looking to blast their spells straight to the dome. Each block there is always a Mono-Red or R/x deck that is straightforward, efficient and appeals to highly aggressive players. This deck is just one like that exactly.

While this deck is Boros by strict definition Red is the primary color with White a splash to add a few excellent cards. The creature package is is set with a tight curve building from Ash Zealot which can be a highly effective beater and the First Strike coupled with burn allows you some utility. Boros Reckoner has always been interestingly unique with his ability often making combat math complicated enough to hold off enemy attacks from even happening. Then with seventeen burn spells in the deck and additional help from Chandra her bird Chandra’s Phoenix is able to attack with impunity knowing that getting it to rise from the grave back to your hand is an almost guarantee. There is also a pair of Stormbreath Dragon which help the deck just go straight over the top when the games start to run long and can also be a huge surprise you’re dead. Because of the primarily Red base to the deck it can squeeze Mutavault into the manabase easily to get additional ground pounders. Then we find Chandra, Pyromaster who is the only source of card advantage in the deck and if you can ultimate it is doubtless that she’s going to hit the paydirt on that roll of the dice, and incidentally can prevent a big blocker from thwarting your attack while building loyalty. For straight removal we have Standards newest best impression of a Swords to Plowshares in Chained to the Rocks which should not have issue with the enchant Mountain clause given 15 copies in the deck. The rest of the deck consists of a plethora of burn spells which can double as either removal or damage right to the dome. We find a mix of Lightning Strike and Searing Blood as simple burn for the deck while the others carry some utility with them. Magma Jet helps to filter through your deck which is a key ability for this style of deck as draw isn’t one of these colors strengths. Warleader’s Helix is a beast of removal with four damage it’s able to get into those bigger creatures and coupled with First Strike creatures can surprise a chump block into the removal of a huge creature. And finally the ‘Boros’ deck would not be complete without the utility from Boros Charm which can either be that knockout punch taking down four points of life, can save your army from sweepers or is able to turn one of your creatures into a formidable fighting machine to Double Strike your opponent to the death.

Whether this deck can sustain dominance as a tier one deck is always in question as the Burn deck is always a popular choice but doesn’t always find itself at the top table. But what it does have going for it is consistency and a simple game plan which involves just straight-up beatdowns on your opponent. I personally love Aggro decks and would without a doubt take this badboy for a spin anyday.
Eric Jeffrey Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - December 11, 2013

Deck of the Day – Boros Burn Darin Minard (8th place GP Dallas F...

Young Pyromancer

Boros Burn – Red Burn – RDW
Darin Minard
8th place at GP Dallas Fort Worth 12/8/2013

Lands (22)

Other Spells (28)

Sideboard

In my heart I’ve always been an aggro player so the instant I saw this decklist it really appealed to me. There is a critical mass of burn spells in this deck which will inevitably lead to the toasted carcass of your opponent sitting across the table from you. The deck boasts a throng of two dozen dome scorchers with 2 pointers Shock & Magma Jet, 3 pointers Lightning Strike & Skullcrack, and 4 pointers Boros Charm & Warleader’s Helix.  And half of the burn spells double up with additional valuable capabilities. Given the limited card drawing in these colors the Magma Jets get paired up with the Temples help gas the deck with some very integral scry action. The non-damage abilities of Skullcrack prove especially potent against not only mega life gain such as Sphinx’s Revelation or Gray Merchant but also many of the post board answers that will come in against this deck. The creatures are particularly suited for this composition with Young Pyromancer able to spew forth a potent army to either chip away more life points or hold back a ground assault and Chandra’s Phoenix which with this deck will never be hanging around the graveyard too long. The removal of the deck, not that the burn doesn’t double as removal as well, comes in the form of Chained to the Rocks which is particularly well positioned right now to deal with indestructible threats such as Thassa or Erebos. The deck is capped with a pair of Chandra, Pyromaster which should be primarily used to grind some card advantage but the first ability is very good at working down life totals while the ultimate if achieved will net either 6, 9 or 12 points of damage.  With this much raw power behind it I could definitely see myself taking this one for a spin

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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - September 30, 2013

Deck of the Day: Mono-Red aggro (Theros standard)

Magmajet
Mono-Red Aggro
Philip Bertorelli
1st Place at StarCityGames Standard Open on 9/29/2013

Spells (10)

Sideboard

And almost as expected with the start of a new Standard season the first major tournament is taken down by Mono-Red.  This particular build takes full advantage of the new Devotion mechanic from Theros with Fanatic of Mogis.  Ash Zealot, Burning-Tree Emissary and Boros Reckoner help load up on red mana symbols.  Imagine an opening of T1-Rakdos Cackler, T2-Emissary, Firefist Striker, T3-Reckoner into T4-Fanatic which is potentially 16 damage before your attack on the fourth turn.  Only time will tell if Mono-Red becomes outclassed in this new Standard world but by the looks of this deck it should be around to lay down the smacketh down for a while.

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Gregoire Thibault - February 5, 2013

Top Cards from Gatecrash – Standard Addendum

With Gatecrash still fresh out of the pack there are already new decks starting to pop up.  We see the aggro meta starting to form with decks like Jund, Boros and Mono Red climbing to the top of this weekends Open series.

Boros Reckoner

Boros Reckoner:  This was the big card of the weekend.  Reckoner is turning into one of  most the sought after rares from Gatecrash.  Starting at $3.99 when it was spoiled, it then went up to $9.99 at the release and is now at $14.99.  It’s  in the maindeck or sideboard of R/W Aggro (Boros) and Mono Red (RDW) with usually a full 4 played.  Reckoner  is a beast against Rakdos, usually yielding 2 for 1’s when blocking or attacking.

R/W Aggro
Andrew Schneider
3rd place SCG Standard Open

Creatures (26)

4 Ash Zealot
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Hellrider
2 Lightning Mauler
4 Rakdos Cackler
2 Stonewright
4 Stromkirk Noble
2 Thundermaw Hellkite

Lands (23)

15 Mountain
4 Clifftop Retreat
4 Sacred Foundry

Spells (11)

2 Boros Charm
1 Brimstone Volley
4 Searing Spear
4 Pillar of Flame

Sideboard

1 Thundermaw Hellkite
4 Volcanic Strength
2 Boros Charm
4 Skullcrack
4 Mizzium Mortars

Mono-Red Aggro
Ryan Cruz
9th place at SCG Standard open

Creatures (28)

4 Ash Zealot
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Hellrider
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Rakdos Cackler
2 Stonewright
4 Stromkirk Noble
2 Thundermaw Hellkite

Lands (22)

21 Mountain
1 Hellion Crucible

Spells (10)

4 Searing Spear
3 Skullcrack
3 Pillar of Flame

Sideboard

2 Reckless Waif
2 Zealous Conscripts
2 Volcanic Strength
1 Skullcrack
2 Thunderbolt
2 Mizzium Mortars
1 Pillar of Flame
2 Traitorous Blood
1 Cavern of Souls

Experiment One

Experiment One: The new aggressive one-drop we see appearing in the new Jund aggro brews.  Has the potential to get to a good aggressive size and once it has two counters becomes very difficult to remove without being forced to waste extra resources.

Ghor-clan Rampager

Ghor-Clan Rampager:  Junds new 4-drop that doubles as an aggressive finisher using bloodrush.  Giving +4/+4 and trample for RG is quite aggressively cost.  I had my eye on this card for Limited already and was thinking it is good enough for standard.  We see it used  along side Experiment One in this Jund Aggro list.

Jund Aggro
Tyler Lindsey

Creatures (28)

3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Dreg Mangler
4 Experiment One
3 Flinthoof Boar
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Hellrider
4 Strangleroot Geist
2 Thundermaw Hellkite

Lands (24)

3 Forest
1 Mountain
4 Blood Crypt
2 Dragonskull Summit
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Stomping Ground
2 Woodland Cemetery

Spells (8)

2 Abrupt Decay
4 Searing Spear
2 Tragic Slip

Sideboard

1 Deathrite Shaman
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Golgari Charm
2 Gruul Charm
1 Rakdos Charm
3 Skullcrack
2 Tribute to Hunger
2 Rolling Temblor

Cartel aristocrat

Cartel Aristocrat:  This is the new sacrifice engine that is being used in the Human Reanimator deck to abuse the synergy of Angel of Glory’s Rise and Fiend Hunter.

Human Reanimator

Brian Braun-Duin 2nd Place at SCG Standard Open series

4 Angel of Glory’s Rise
4 Cartel Aristocrat
1 Cathedral Sanctifier
4 Fiend Hunter
4 Huntmaster of the Fells

Lands (23)

1 Blood Crypt
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Clifftop Retreat
1 Godless Shrine
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Stomping Ground
3 Sunpetal Grove
2 Temple Garden
4 Woodland Cemetery

Spells (20)

4 Grisly Salvage
4 Faithless Looting
4 Farseek
4 Mulch
4 Unburial Rites

Sideboard

3 Cathedral Sanctifier
2 Purify the Grave
3 Ray of Revelation
4 Appetite for Brains
3 Slaughter Games

Devour Flesh

Devour Flesh:  Gatecrash’s new Cruel Edict with just a splash of Swords to Plowshares.  One of few answers to Geist of Saint Traft or Invisible Stalker

Esper Spirits

Eddie Walker 8th place at SCG open series

Creatures (18)

4 Drogskol Captain
4 Dungeon Geists
3 Restoration Angel
4 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Obzedat, Ghost Council

Lands (24)

1 Island
1 Plains
3 Cavern of Souls
3 Drowned Catacomb
4 Glacial Fortress
2 Godless Shrine
4 Hallowed Fountain
2 Isolated Chapel
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Vault of the Archangel
2 Watery Grave

Spells (18)

3 Blind Obedience
4 Azorius Charm
2 Devour Flesh
3 Orzhov Charm
2 Ultimate Price
4 Lingering Souls

Sideboard

2 Pithing Needle
4 Augur of Bolas
3 Detention Sphere
3 Rest in Peace
2 Devour Flesh
1 Ultimate Price

We will be keeping a close eye on all the different formats over the next few weeks to see which Gatecrash cards get played in Standard, Modern and Legacy.  We welcome all feedback and please comment on the articles if you have any thoughts.  Until next time…

Greg Thibault (@gregsterism on Twitter)

greg@threekingsloot.com