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.

Deck Building 101: Black Red Sligh for Standard

It's 2:52am. My supervisor still hasn't informed me on the status of my new client, whether I'll start working for him or not. I'm still waiting for the go signal. Maybe out of boredom and sleepiness that I have decided to write a new post for my blog with a topic, of course, about Magic: the Gathering TCG which my friend and officemate Amy branded as "geek" stuff. Lol... I don't blame her. Obviously, I know a lot of you aren't familiar with the game but I'm trying my best to write it as simple and as understandable as possible. I guess I just can't satisfy everybody. *sigh*

Keep the fire burning

Going back, I don't know what's the reason why this deck keeps on popping into my mind so I decided that this will be my topic for today. Red decks in our local community get bashed always as the Kithkins are dominating the tournaments. As what I've noticed with the kithkin deck, they are very resilient to mass removal. You've just Firespouted their one and two drops and here you are again facing a trio of Spirits or a giant ranger with his kithkin buddies. They can even play around counterspells as you have to deal with their early beaters first, forcing you to tap out and giving them an opportunity to sneak in their bomb spells.

But after seeing this build in a Magic-League trial tournament, which got a record of 4-1, I thought this might be the answer against the little white men. Here's the list for reference.

RDW by infernuz
Record: 4-1-0
Maindeck
2 Unwilling Recruit
4 Incinerate
4 Blightning
3 Puncture Blast
4 Lash Out
4 Flame Javelin

4 Heartlash Cinder
2 Stigma Lasher
4 Boggart Ram-Gang
4 Tattermunge Maniac
4 Figure of Destiny

4 Auntie's Hovel
4 Graven Cairns
13 Mountain

Sideboard
2 Faerie Macabre
3 Shriekmaw
2 Vexing Shusher
4 Demigod of Revenge
1 Stigma Lasher
3 Dragon's Claw

The key card here is Blightning, a black-red gold card that do two things, deal 3 damage to your opponent and force them to discard two cards from their hand. A pretty decent spell for a common card. I like the list but I want to go through other possible components and card choices to improve it.

I know kithkin is weak against hand disruption (unless they're running Wilt-leaf Lieges) so I looked up for other discard spells. The only option I got worth adding is Thoughtseize but I think it'll be sitting in the sideboard. My next concern now is how to improve the beaters, my creatures. The Tattermunge Maniac is good, but he's just not my type especially in the later turns. The same with Heartlash Cinder, although he can eat huge chunks of life if combined with correct creatures in the early turns. My plan is to tune the deck into a type that can keep up in late game but maintains the aggressiveness in the early turns. My possible addition for the beaters would be Ashenmoor Gougers, Inner-Flame Acolytes, Spark Elementals and Stigma Lashers.

For the burn spells, I'll stick to maybe a total of sixteen to eighteen burners. Puncture Blast is out of the list and the other extra burn will be replaced either by a critter or an increase in the land count. My initial list would look like this:

BR Sligh by Mark Ian Alloso
Maindeck
4 Ashenmoor Gouger
4 Boggart Ram-Gang
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Spark Elemental
4 Stigma Lasher

4 Blightning
4 Flame Javelin
4 Incinerate
4 Shock
2 Shard Volley

4 Graven Cairns
4 Sulfurous Springs
14 Mountain

As for the sideboard, I'm still brainstorming on it as it will depend upon our local metagame, which is full of aggro decks as based on our latest tournament. I've chosen Sulfurous Springs over Auntie's Hovel coz the "comes into play tapped" effect is a huge factor in shifting the gameplay of the deck.

I'll be doing some playtest online this afternoon or maybe with my card pool buddy once I get to complete the actual deck. I'll just post the match results, other related info and possibly a final decklist once it is done. Also, feel free to copy and playtest the deck. Maybe we can share info on its improvement. Just a leave a comment.

Till next time and thanks for reading peeps...

Red Decks Post Shards of Alara

Hey y'all. In a few days from now, we will be saying goodbye to the Time Spiral block and also to Coldsnap which has served me good cards for about two years, back from my Gruul days up to my current Demigod Red. Some of the cards worth mentioning and that deserve a “hands down” from me are:

I'm gonna miss you guys

Time Spiral: “Big Guy” Greater Gargadon, Mogg War Marshal, Rift Bolt, Sulfurous Blast, Magus of the Scroll, Wheel of Fate, Jaya Ballard

Timeshifted cards: Avalanche Riders, Browbeat, Wildfire Emissary

Planar Chaos: Keldon Marauders, Sulfur Elemental, Blood Knight

Future Sight: Keldon Megaliths, Magus of the Moon, Molten Disaster, Tarmogoyf!!!

Coldsnap: Martyr of Ashes, Skred, Stalking Yeti

A big thanks to you guys… It’s painful but I have no choice. You have to go. *sob*

(a moment of silence)

Ok, cut the drama. Back to topic now.

Looking at the upcoming set of Shards of Alara, I was a bit disappointed after seeing the complete spoiler. A lot of rares are playable, yup, but only in limited. Most of them wouldn't even get in the sideboard at constructed. Even though multicolor cards are powerful, it is not that utilizable in most decks in the current Standard metagame.

I only see a few cards which might be worth adding to the red decks. Here are a few,

Hell's Thunder 1RR
Creature - Elemental
Flying, haste
Unearth 4R (4R: 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.)
4/4

This guy is cool, although I've read in the forums that a lot are saying that this card is bad due to Bitterblossom, that the Faerie chic err token will only negate this. Well, if the Faes will be popular post Shards then. Other than that, this is 8 damage in one card. A good replacement for Magus of the Moon.

Predator Dragon 3RRR
Creature - Dragon
Devour 2 (As this comes into play, you may sacrifice any number of creatures. This creature comes into play with twice that many +1/+1 counters on it.)
Flying, haste
4/4

A potential option if you aren't running Demigods in your deck. I guess I will see this played in Black-Red or Red-Green version of Token decks.

Dragon Fodder 1R
Sorcery
Put two 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens into play.

I immediately remembered Mogg War Marshal the first time I've seen this card. They actually function the same, giving you two Goblin tokens, except that you have the option to pay for the echo of the marshal to make it remain in play. This is great for Devour decks and also for the Goblin tribal deck.

Sarkhan Vol 2RG
Planeswalker – Sarkhan
+1: Creatures you control get +1/+1 and gain haste until end of turn.
-2: Gain control of target creature until end of turn. Untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn.
-6: Put five 4/4 red Dragon creature tokens with flying into play.
4

If I could acquire a set of him, I would definitely tune my deck into Red Green. This guy is $%^&#@ crazy. With Fires of Yavimaya, Threaten and an ultimate that would surely be GG all in one card, would you ask for more? I'm sure Red Green beats is back.

These are my card choices for now. I'm pretty sure new decks will rise and potential sleeper cards will be added to the new and improved version of the Demigod Red deck. I wasn't able to create a deck list as of this time because I am preparing for our Tribute to Time Spiral tournament on Saturday. Just stay tuned as I will be posting some list maybe tomorrow or this weekend.

Thanks very much for reading and bye for now... =)

Red Decks after the Aurora

As Shadowmoor is going legal this May, many new decks arise, like Swans Assault and W/G Stompy, while the current standard decks are adjusting to the new set. One specific deck I would like to mention is the Mono Red Sligh or Red Deck Wins as they call it. Let us see what Shadowmoor has to offer:

Tattermunge Maniac - A 1st turn 2/1 attacker. Efficient for early damage with just a little drawback, but I don't prefer to use it on my build because of the aggro-based environment of the current metagame. It will just die to fanatic, goblin token, faerie token, and even running into Doran. Lol.




Flame Javelin - Char was a hit back in Ravnica standard even with the 2 damage drawback. This one just deals 4 damage to any target, period. A set of this is a must for burn decks.







Boggart Ram-Gang - A three CC 3/3 with haste can be a common critter but what I like about this goblin is the wither ability. Fatty creatures and even walls (specifically Wall of Roots) wouldn't even dare to stand in the way as they will be weakened like 1/1 or 2/2 after combat.





Giantbaiting - Ok, this sorcery puts a 4/4 token with haste. No big deal. How about conspiring it? Now you get two bad ass beaters to deal 8 damage to your opponent. The ideal play for this would be: turn one, suspend Greater Gargadon; turn two, play Mogg War Marshall, end of turn sac the marshall to have two goblin tokens; turn three, play Giantbaiting and conspire it using the two tokens. Your opponent takes 8 damage assuming there's no blockers and sac the giant tokens to your Gargy. After a two turns, your Gargadon will be ready enough to call it GG.

Vexing Shusher - Finally, Shadowmoor has given us the answer to permission decks in the form of this goblin shaman. It can be also a good and early beater but I prefer to use it as a sideboard for now. Well, maybe it will depend on our metagame.






Everlasting Torment - Another prayer by the red mages answered. Life gain sucks and red really hate it, especially if you are a burn type. This enchantment ends that abuse and also deals with protection and Story Circle. Its another sideboard option I guess.





Mudbrawler Cohort - I find this useful if your deck is more on creatures, specifically one mana costed critters like the maniac and fanatic, but looking at it on late game, it is less effective. Still, it depends on the build of the deck. Just my opinion guys.





Demigod of Revenge - Evasion combined with haste makes this avatar a game winner, in addition to it being not a target by today's removal. I prefer putting it on a mid-ranged control kind of deck but it can also be an option for mono red sligh.





Smash to Smithereens - I remembered Cryoclasm when I first see this card. An artifact destroyer with an addition of three damage, pretty cool huh? Now I see this as a card specially built for burn decks. Definitely a set of this on the sideboard.





So there you have it, my Shadowmoor card analysis that can be a potential addition to today's RDW. By the way, here's the list that I'm currently playtesting:

Lands
20 Mountain
2 Mutavault

Creatures
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Boggart Ram-Gang
4 Spark Elemental

Spells
4 Flame Javelin
4 Incinerate
4 Rift Bolt
4 Shard Volley
3 Sudden Shock
3 Threaten

Sideboard
4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Cryoclasm
4 Magus of the Moon
3 Sulfurous Blast

I'm still observing how the current metagame will change and maybe adjust the deck from there. Till next time peeps, and keep that fire burning.

Budget Mode: Mono Red Sligh in Standard

Building Mono Red Sligh or Burn doesn't require you to spend that much. You can have a list that is cheaper but gets you similar result of early beaters and fast kill (burn for that matter).


Here's my suggested list:

Mono Red Burn (Budget Version)
Main
Creatures (20)
4 Emberwilde Augur
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Inner-flame Acolyte
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Spark Elemental

Spells (18)
4 Incinerate
4 Rift Bolt
4 Shard Volley
4 Shock
2 Ghostfire

Lands(22)
4 Ghitu Encampment
2 Keldon Megaliths
16 Mountain

The sideboard will depend on the metagame in your area. I prefer Cryoclasm for control and Reveillark decks, Pyroclasm for weenies(esp. Goblins and Faeries), and Threaten for any fatty creatures. The deck will cost you about 1.1k Php (Philippine Peso). Till next time peeps, and continue that "burning sensation" of yours. Lol...