Locations
There is something that is very satisfying about applying a savage beatdown on to an unsuspecting opponent in a Magic Tournament. I am a midrange control player at heart, but occasionally the urge hits me to transform in to a more aggressive animal, and when this happens, Red is the color I turn to.
I have been watching the Mono Red deck in the current Standard format with baited breath. Originally drawing attention to this deck was Travis Woo, and he has been working on it ever since. Other players have picked up this torch as well, working on their own versions of the Red Menace. One such player, Chris Morris-Lent, had a breakthrough performance this past weekend with this variation, priced out according the CoolStuffInc:
| Creatures | Basic Lands | ||||||
| 4 | Ash Zealot | 3.99 | 15.96 | 21 | Mountain | ||
| 3 | Gore-House Chainwalker | 0.49 | 1.47 | ||||
| 4 | Hellrider | 5.99 | 23.96 | Lands | |||
| 4 | Lightning Mauler | 0.79 | 3.16 | 3 | Hellion Crucible | 0.75 | 2.25 |
| 4 | Pyreheart Wolf | 0.25 | 1 | ||||
| 4 | Rakdos Cackler | 1.25 | 5 | Sideboard: | |||
| 4 | Stromkirk Noble | 3.49 | 13.96 | 3 | Archwing Dragon | 0.99 | 2.97 |
| 3 | Thundermaw Hellkite | 24.99 | 74.97 | 4 | Reckless Waif | 0.35 | 0.7 |
| 2 | Zealous Conscripts | 1.99 | 3.98 | ||||
| Instants | 1 | Searing Spear | 0.75 | 0.75 | |||
| 2 | Searing Spear | 0.75 | 1.5 | 2 | Flames of the Firebrand | 0.49 | 0.98 |
| 1 | Pillar of Flame | 0.99 | 0.99 | ||||
| Sorceries | 1 | Traitorous Blood | 0.49 | 0.49 | |||
| 2 | Flames of the Firebrand | 0.49 | 0.98 | 1 | Hellion Crucible | 0.75 | 0.75 |
| 2 | Pillar of Flame | 0.99 | 1.98 |
For a total of $157.80
And since this deck as-is costs less than most of my finished budgetized projects, I see this as a complete article!
Only kidding.
Red decks like this traditionally are trying to deal 20 damage as fast as they can, and they excel in slower formats such as the one we are in. They prey on decks that don’t interact in the early turns or when other decks stumble. The game plan is straightforward. Attack with aggressive red creatures until the opponent’s life total is less than or equal to the amount of burn you have in your hand. Pyreheart Wolf and Hellrider make this task easier, allowing your creatures to attack mostly unmolested in addition to throwing some embers in your opponent’s face on their way in.
Hellion Crucible is a lovely addition to this deck, as it is nice to have lands that double as creatures or spells in your mono-colored decks.
Don’t let the simplicity of the game plan trick you into thinking that these decks are also simple to play. Red decks generally have an equal number of decisions as the control decks in interesting games, but the red decks just have more games in which they win quickly and without resistance. In the games in which this doesn’t happen, your skills as a pilot are tested.
The biggest slice we can make from this deck would be the trio of Thundermaw Hellkites, accounting for just under half of the deck’s overall value. I also don’t like some of the numbers in the deck. Having two of every burn spell may have served a purpose for Chris, but in general, I like to have more of every critical card in this style of deck to add consistency. I also made a few other small tweaks to end up with this list:
| Creatures | Basic Lands | ||||||
| 4 | Ash Zealot | 3.99 | 15.96 | 21 | Mountain | ||
| 4 | Gore-House Chainwalker | 0.49 | 1.96 | ||||
| 4 | Hellrider | 5.99 | 23.96 | Lands | |||
| 2 | Lightning Mauler | 0.79 | 1.58 | 3 | Hellion Crucible | 0.75 | 2.25 |
| 4 | Pyreheart Wolf | 0.25 | 1 | ||||
| 4 | Rakdos Cackler | 1.25 | 5 | Sideboard: | |||
| 4 | Stromkirk Noble | 3.49 | 13.96 | 1 | Traitorous Blood | 0.49 | 0.49 |
| 4 | Hound of Griselbrand | 0.49 | 1.96 | 4 | Stonewright | 0.79 | 1.58 |
| 4 | Flames of the Firebrand | 0.49 | 1.96 | ||||
| Instants | 2 | Pillar of Flame | 0.99 | 1.98 | |||
| 4 | Searing Spear | 0.75 | 3 | 4 | Thunderbolt | 0.25 | 1 |
| Sorceries | |||||||
| 2 | Pillar of Flame | 0.99 | 1.98 |
For a total of 79.62
I cut the number of Lightning Maulers to accommodate filling out the play sets of what I consider to be a more aggressive 2-drop, Gore-House Chainwalker, and Hound of Griselbrand. Rounding out the play set of Searing Spears over Flames of the Firebrand is done exclusively on the back of Flames being a less efficient burn spell, and that decision could easily go the other direction if your local metagame is full of small creatures that Flames of the Firebrand feeds on.
The sideboard was completely overhauled to my personal tastes. You shouldn’t take this sideboard and believe it would be the best option for your local scene; instead, look at the other options I have presented from the original list and create the board that you believe would be best for you. I would like to point out Thunderbolt as being a great answer to Restoration Angel, and it does a wonderful Searing Spear impersonation when being thrown at your opponent’s face.
Before I go, I do have some personal news that I wish to share with the Internet. As of Monday, November 26, I will be working with Wizards of the Coast, so I will not be able to continue this short-lived column. I have enjoyed writing it, and I appreciate GatheringMagic for giving me the opportunity.
I have wanted to work for Wizards for as long as I can remember, and when I shared this with my girlfriend, we set a plan into motion of moving to Seattle so I can be a more attractive candidate to get my foot in the door. Heather started looking for work in Seattle, and she was offered a position at a startup. We moved, and shortly thereafter, I was able to get an interview with Wizards and was offered a temporary contract position for one year. I am viewing this as a year-long interview, hoping to do enough to earn a full-time position with the company that I have so much passion for.
So from here and for now, this is farewell. I will see you on the other side.
-JR Wade
