Last Standard, one of the decks that I dabbled in was Atarka Red. With Monastery Swiftspear and various burn spells, there was a lot of possibility for explosive starts in that deck. It even won a few major tournaments (like this random one called a Professional Tour). Part of the deck’s explosiveness was the combination of putting a bunch of tokens on board with Hordeling Outburst and the pump mode of Atarka's Command. With the loss of several key cards due to rotation, the deck seemed like it had fallen off the map completely. Until I came across this list, from Magic Online user Mini_Gnarls. It takes new tools from Shadows Over Innistrad like Goldnight Castigator and combines them with a card that didn’t typically make the cut in previous iterations: Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh. Yes, I found another way to sneak Chandra into a deck.

Deck Tech

Mono-Red Aggro ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Mini_Gnarls

• Creatures (27)
• 3 Zurgo Bellstriker
• 4 Abbot of Keral Keep
• 4 Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh
• 4 Falkenrath Gorger
• 4 Goldnight Castigator
• 4 Lightning Berserker
• 4 Reckless Bushwhacker

• Spells (12)
• 4 Titan's Strength
• 4 Dragon Fodder
• 4 Exquisite Firecraft

• Lands (21)
• 21 Mountain

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Act of Treason
• 3 Fiery Impulse
• 2 Magmatic Chasm
• 4 Rending Volley
• 4 Roast

Buy This Deck

Match 1: Jeskai Control

Match 2: G/W Tokens

Match 3: 4-Color Planeswalkers

Match 4: U/R Eldrazi

Match 5: W/R Humans

The deck felt great, although admittedly my sample size was pretty small. A dedicated Red player could get a lot of play out of it, too, even though it is sub-optimal compared to RDW lists of Yesterstandard. After I played with the deck a little, there were a couple changes I would make. The list felt clunky at times, and I think that the appropriately named Goblinboy53 has the right idea. Their version plays 3 Chandra, 2 Bushwhacker, 3 Lightning Berserker, and 4 Village Messenger. Having a 1-drop on turn one is incredibly important, and unless you are playing against an Oath of Nissa deck, your opponent might not be able to keep Messenger down if they are on the draw. In the sideboard Magmatic Chasm seemed too cute. I could see playing Origins sideboard favorite Molten Vortex in that spot, but I would rather run 2 Sin Prodders. Your opponent may not let you draw a lot of cards, but the Menace creature is just as important. In this flex spot, you can also play Goblin Dark-Dwellers.

Main Deck:

• -1 Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh
• -2 Reckless Bushwhacker
• -1 Lightning Berserker
• +4 Village Messenger

Sideboard:

• -2 Magmatic Chasm
• +2 Sin Prodder

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