If I've learned anything from Magic, it's to burn everything. Multiplayer formats feel like strutting through a library as a fire elemental. There's so much to torch. Where to begin? And therein lies the problem with Commander. Starting at forty life devalues burn spells, doubly so when players tend to summon larger creatures. What Mono-Red lacks in card advantage, through no fault of its own, it also fails to make up for in subtlety. Naked aggression can make a pyromancer the first at the table to be doused.

Let Commander groups have their fun. I'm taking my Mono-Red deck to greener pastures. And by "green" I of course mean Red because everything will be on fire.

The starting life total of twenty in Oathbreaker increases the temperature of Red spells. Your direct damage can toast the smaller creatures played in the format, put an opponent in a hot seat, and give you political clout. That is, if anyone messes with you, you clout 'em upside the head with thunder bolts. Don't be coy. Let the table know the danger of your anger.

Red Planeswalkers need not be angry. You are also the most passionate and joyous, and when building your deck, follow your bliss. Personally, I have long savored the hot and spicy flavor text of Jaya Ballard. I also had a hand in writing her cards in Dominaria. Though we will discuss strategy, in multiplayer your foremost concern must be to have fun. For that reason my first and only choice was Grandmother Fire herself.

Jaya Ballard | Oathbreaker | A.E. Marling

• Locket (2)
• 1 Jaya Ballard
• 1 Jaya's Immolating Inferno

• Creatures (4)
• 1 Fire Servant
• 1 Runaway Steam-Kin
• 1 Young Pyromancer
• 1 Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Chandra, Fire Artisan

• Spells (29)
• 1 Chaos Warp
• 1 Fall of the Titans
• 1 Fiery Temper
• 1 Flame Javelin
• 1 Force of Rage
• 1 Incinerate
• 1 Inferno
• 1 Magmatic Sinkhole
• 1 Seething Song
• 1 Violent Eruption
• 1 Blasphemous Act
• 1 Chain Reaction
• 1 Disrupt Decorum
• 1 Fight with Fire
• 1 Flamebreak
• 1 Lava Burst
• 1 Pyroclasm
• 1 Star of Extinction
• 1 Quest for Pure Flame
• 1 Repercussion
• 1 Bag of Holding
• 1 Endless Atlas
• 1 Primal Amulet
• 1 Pyromancer's Goggles
• 1 Ruby Medallion
• 1 Thran Dynamo
• 1 Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1 Worn Powerstone
• 1 Coldsteel Heart

• Lands (24)
• 19 Snow-Covered Mountain
• 1 Forgotten Cave
• 1 Isolated Watchtower
• 1 Mage-Ring Network
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Temple of the False God

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The Flavor of Fire

I chose the cards that make me happy. When I started playing competitively, Incinerate was how we cooked those pesky River Boa's. The Ice Age printing is emblazoned with one of Jaya's first quotes. Arguably, her best is on the card Sizzle. I prefer to reference it with the card Fight with Fire.

There's enough to choose from in the card oven to satisfy both my need for flavor and a cohesive game plan. Though Lava Burst and Fireball aren't the most powerful of X spells, they serve their rolls while bringing a twinkle to my eye. And to be clear, that twinkle is reflected light from the crackling pyres of my charred foes.

The Politics of Flame

One reason I'm not playing Sizzle is because it's a sorcery. Leaving mana open for instant-speed fire grants you the most leverage. Opponents may decide to leave well enough alone if attacking you will just result in their creatures becoming well done. Blue players gain the same advantage by holding mana open. You can take a page out of their book and then burn it. A single bolt can dissuade multiple creatures, but if it doesn't, you can retaliate on your turn with the full force of your sorceries, melting their creatures and Planeswalkers. If someone's life total gets low enough, they must obey your every whim lest they be burned out of the game. And who said Mono-Red is monotonous? Why, you always have the choice between fire and lightning.

The second reason I chose not to Sizzle is because it burns all my opponents equally. This may seem like an advantage, and the decklist does feature cards that do bring the fire to all my foes. However, it's rare that any one player can take on the entire table at once. I wish to redirect aggression away from myself, with blunt methods like Disrupt Decorum if necessary, or the threat of untapped Snow-Covered Mountain's. What was that expression? Speak softly and carry a burning stick. And the hot poker of your negotiations is more pointed if your spells target only the player who wronged you.

Playing your Oathbreaker draws aggro. Not only do you gain incremental advantage from Planeswalkers; not only does the danger of their ultimates burn ever brighter; in this format their presence gives you access to your signature spells. You can choose different paired spell lockets for your Red deck, but there's no disguising the molten-hot threat of Jaya Ballard and Jaya's Immolating Inferno. Playing Jaya at the wrong time will get her killed, and if that happens twice or so I'm likely taxed out of the game.

To win, I have to play my Oathbreaker at the perfect moment. Another player may be doing something so wicked that Jaya's blaze will be overlooked. More likely, the board has been cleared of creatures, by another player's Wrath of God or one of my own. Jaya Ballard can even give you the mana to cast Flamebreak or perhaps Blasphemous Act. Always have a plan, and mine is to build enough mana to cast my Oathbreaker and her signature spell together, toasting the last of the opposition.

Every turn cycle Jaya Ballard survives, you can maintain your advantage by washing multiple targets with fire. You've reached your smoldering end game. If you know how to play with fire, other people get burned.

If no Red 'Walker has set your heart aflame yet, I suggest choosing for your Oathbreaker Chandra, Fire Artisan. Attacking her is like reaching into coals. Rarely will anyone want to take five or more damage or see Chandra flambé their own Oathbreaker. In this big mood, Chandra deflects aggression. All other Planeswalkers attract it. She provides card advantage. And her ultimate will most likely win you the game.

Searing Synergy

You know what goes great with fire? More fire! Jaya Ballard plays especially well with cards that like to be discarded, such as Fiery Temper and Violent Eruption. You can even try out the new Bag of Holding for size.

The most powerful of Red spells are best served with Repercussion. While I don't like irritating all my opponents at once, I have no problem with killing them simultaneously with Repercussion into Star of Extinction.

Mostly due to the hotness of Repercussion I have chosen only the most brilliant of Red creatures. Fire Servant is a real fire starter, and it will draw aggression. A few creatures that can diffuse aggression are Aether Membrane and the more flavorful Wall of Heat. Attacking into them isn't fun, and I believe defenders can be more powerful in Oathbreaker than spot removal.

Another card I'm sorry not to include is Price of Progress. I would hide it in my maindeck rather than playing it face up as a signature spell. Its lack of specific targets may draw more table aggro than I care to handle. It's powerful but poor politics.

What synergies have you found slinging fire in Multiplayer? Let me know in the comments. And one final word about playing Red. People will ever try to discourage you from doing what you love. Friends who tell you to seek moderation in your passion aren't your friends. If they can't take the heat of your Mono-Red deck, they can always burn to ash.