Red Decks Post Conflux

Hey guys, here we are now with my review of the effects of Conflux to the current builds of RDW and the like. As you may have noticed on my previous post regarding the effects of Shards in the current Standard build of red decks, there was a slight change on the list.

The addition of Magma Spray and Hell's Thunder were noticed on some builds and also the late addition of Vithian Stinger, which was specifically sideboarded for Boat Brew and B/W Tokens.

As for Conflux, you all know the talk of the town about two specific Red cards that they say will end the reign of the Faeries in Standard. Yep, that's Banefire and Volcanic Fallout. Here's my review of the two.

Banefire XR
Sorcery (Rare)
Banefire deals X damage to target creature or player.
If X is 5 or more, Banefire can’t be countered by spells or abilities and the damage can’t be prevented.

First off, Banefire is a really really powerful card if you get to pay 5 or more for X. It is a descendant of Demonfire and even outlasted it. This uncounterable and unpreventable spell makes me think that any deck with just a red mana source in it can use this. 5 Color Control, mana ramp decks and even boat brew. I just hope though that the card's popularity won't affect its price.

Volcanic Fallout 1RR
Instant (Uncommon)
Volcanic Fallout can’t be countered.
Volcanic Fallout deals 2 damage to each creature and each player.

Volcanic Fallout is one of my favorites. I like mass removal spells that are uncounterable and a bonus is that it also deals damage to your opponent. I see it as a 3 mana cost, 2 damage spell which won't be a waste on control decks with a few creatures.

The other Conflux red cards I think will have an effect are:

Hellspark Elemental 1R
Creature – Elemental (Uncommon)
Trample, haste
At end of turn, sacrifice Hellspark Elemental.
Unearth 1R (1R: Return this card from your graveyard to play. It gains haste. Remove it from the game at end of turn or if it would leave play. Unearth only as a sorcery.)
3/1

This older brother (I say older because of the mana cost) of Spark Elemental is a good choice for RDW builds that don't care about the late game and just focused on early damage. Its unearth ability makes him better. I'm predicting his appearance in Lightning Bolt.dec in Extended.

Voracious Dragon 3RR
Creature – Dragon (Rare)
Flying
Devour 1 (As this comes into play, you may sacrifice any number of creatures. This creature comes into play with that many +1/+1 counters on it.)
When Voracious Dragon comes into play, it deals damage to target creature or player equal to twice the number of Goblins it devoured.
4/4

He's pretty worth playing with his mana cost, although the additional damage effect when devouring Goblins is just okay. I think he'll be awesome when used it Goblin decks.

If you are running B/R Demigod like what I'm currently playing, here are some good additions.

Shambling Remains 1BR
Creature – Zombie Horror (Uncommon)
Shambling Remains can’t block.
Unearth BR (BR: Return this card from your graveyard to play. It gains haste. Remove it from the game at end of turn or if it would leave play. Unearth only as a sorcery.)
4/3

A cousin of Ashenmoor Gouger, this is definitely in for Blightning Beatdown decks and could also replace the spot of Boggart Ram Gangs. The 3 toughness though makes him vulnerable to most of the removals (Agony Warp, Incinerate, Nameless Inversion, etc).

Goblin Outlander BR
Creature – Goblin Scout (Common)
Protection from white
2/2

He's a good protection bear (2/2 for two mana) that can stop the early assault of Kithkins. I think he can take the spot the Blood Knights have left when they rotated out of Standard.

So that's about it for now. We'll see if the deck evolves into Black Red or Red Green or will just maintain its mono color status. As for me, I think I'll go for Black Red so that I can have access to Infest and other Black creature removals when dealing with the pro-red guys, not to mention the new pro-red human scout.

I hope this post helps you a bit on what red cards to look for in Conflux. Till next post guys, enjoy the Prerelease...

Edit: Check out part two of my article here.