Blind trust in another’s idea is dangerous. Obviously this concept goes far beyond Magic, but the thought of taking one’s opinion as lore can lead you down
a narrow path. Very often, people who write about Magic are wrong. For the most part, I am wrong a decent percentage of the time, but I am not claiming to
be infallible. Quite the opposite, in fact. I know that people have limitations, and I am quite aware of my own.
The trick to learning as much as you can from an article, a video, or just talking to your friends, is taking bits and pieces from every one of them. Once
you have digested all of that information, use it to process your own results. I have learned so much over the years from writers and friends alike, but I
never take anyone else’s opinion as fact. If someone thinks a certain deck or archetype is unbeatable, I make them prove it, or I test it out myself to see
if what they’re saying is true. Sometimes those people are right, but checking things out for yourself is an invaluable part of the process that is getting
better at Magic.
As you read this article, I want you to understand that I am not trying to convey some sense of superiority. I will talk a big game and let you know that I
think my opinion is correct, but I am no stranger to being proven wrong. With one Open weekend in the books, there are quite a few trends to consider. If
you would be so kind as to take a look at the Top 8 decklists, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.
The control decks are slow. The midrange decks are slowing down significantly. Hell, even the aggressive decks are adding five-drops to their deck,
following in Brian Braun-Duin’s footsteps. I get it, powerful cards are enticing because they can end the game on their own. Wingmate Roc is a gigantic
threat, so long as you get to attack first. Heroic is also a pretty solid strategy by this point, but none of these decks can actually kill their opponent
before Turn 6, except for one.
Creatures (12)
Lands (23)
Spells (25)
Danny Goldstein whooped my ass in the Open. And I don’t mean we had a few good back-and-forth games. I mean that, when push came to shove, he beat me
senseless. In fact, I had what would normally be considered a “nut draw,” allowing me to play an Ugin on Turn 5. Instead, before I got to untap on the
fifth turn, I was dead.
And it wasn’t even difficult!
Danny’s deck is similar to a few things we’ve seen in the last few months. At first glance, it sort of looks like a Mardu deck. But then again, it also
looks like a Jeskai Ascendancy deck. Let’s be clear: this is neither of those things. This deck might look and occasionally act like either one of those,
but Danny’s deck is much more aggressive than normal. It plays fewer lands than either of those two strategies, more burn spells, but maintains the ability
to go long with Monastery Mentor.
But it has been done before. If you’ve ever seen Brad Nelson’s work from Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir, he built a deck very similar to this, and even did a
deck tech
at the Pro Tour with it. In fact, I would argue that Brad is responsible for the common trend of white decks starting off more aggressive than normal but
transitioning to a much more controlling strategy after sideboard. Being maleable is important in Standard, and having access to powerful control staples
in the form of Elspeth, Sun’s Champion and End Hostilities is priceless. It is often necessary to have these tools at your disposal when a certain
archetype gets out of hand.
But what I dislike about Danny’s deck is the fact that he has such a low land count without any other lands in the sideboard. It is common for decks like
these to have an extra land in the sideboard when you transition to the control strategy. Without it, there is a solid chance that you fall pretty far
behind if you miss a land drop or two with Elspeth or End Hostilities stuck in your hand.
Back in the Rabble Again
But R/W Aggro isn’t the only aggressive deck that I think could be awesome. Early in the season with Khans of Tarkir, I thought Mono-Red was going to be
insane, simply because so many cards in the deck worked well together. But Siege Rhino seemed like a moderate problem that seemed tough to handle. That is,
it seemed tough to handle when everyone was playing Sylvan Caryatid and Elvish Mystic to ramp into it. These days, those decks are leaning more towards the
control side, playing things like Read the Bones to go late into the game.
The solution is to keep from getting to the lategame altogether!
Creatures (20)
Lands (20)
Spells (20)
I can already hear the groans. “A red aggro deck being good again? What changed from last time?” To be honest, I don’t think that aggressive red decks were
ever actually bad. I think that it just cycles in and out to when they’re good and when they’re not. For a time, decks would sideboard 3-4 Anger of the
Gods or Drown in Sorrow. Decks would lower their curve so that they could interact with the aggressive decks long enough to slide past them without worry.
But with such an upward trend of Abzan Aggro, a deck that usually deals itself six or more damage per game, as well as the other decks in the format being
glacially slow, I think that an aggressive red deck could be in a prime position. When people are fighting over cards like Ugin and (vomit) Worst Fears to
see who can get bigger, it seems like you’ll have a significantly high number of easy Game 1s.
Mardu Scout, aka Surf Goblin, aka BROblin, seems like a phenomenal addition to the archetype. Three power for two mana isn’t easy to come by in a red deck,
and Mardu Scout even has the ability to gain haste at a moment’s notice thanks to dash. He’s great at almost every part of every game, which isn’t
something you can say about many two-drops. He also has built-in protection from End Hostilities and Crux of Fate, which is glorious when you want to apply
more pressure to the board without leaving yourself vulnerable.
Valorous Stance, and the white splash in general, could be a bit too much for the manabase to handle. Lands entering the battlefield tapped puts a huge tax
on a deck like this, but having answers to Siege Rhino and other large idiots is pretty solid. Is that worth dealing yourself some damage or being a turn
slower? Perhaps not, but only some testing will tell.
I’m excited to try Outpost Siege in this deck, or any deck for that matter. Both abilities seem great at different points in each game, though it isn’t
quite as good here as it is in Danny Goldstein’s R/W Aggro deck, as we don’t have a plethora of token generators. But what this deck lacks in tokens, it
more than makes up for it in speed. Monastery Swiftspear and Akroan Crusader work well together, giving you massive benefits from all of your non-creature
spells. They give you a good reason to play Hammerhand, which just seems bananas against any midrange deck.
A potential flaw in this deck design is the lack of direct damage aside from Stoke the Flames. Playing cards like Chained to the Rocks is awesome against a
creature-based deck, but you will feel a hole in your strategy when you have one or two of them stuck in your hand while your opponent starts to cast Dig
Through Time. Suffice it to say that playing an aggressive red deck without Lightning Strike makes me feel a little naked, but I’m hoping that it doesn’t
end up biting me too often. Chained to the Rocks is too good against the plethora of big, dumb creatures running around right now.
This could end up being a worse version of Danny Goldstein’s deck, but I’m almost positive that Mono-Red is going to make waves in a big way once
everything has settled.
Scouting the Field
So we’ve deduced that Aggro Red is possible, and Danny’s deck is probably awesome, but there is likely one other R/W deck that could be just as good, if
not better. It isn’t as fast, but it is a bit more flashy and a bit more splashy.
Creatures (28)
- 2 Purphoros, God of the Forge
- 2 Stormbreath Dragon
- 4 Fanatic of Mogis
- 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
- 4 Goblin Rabblemaster
- 4 Ashcloud Phoenix
- 4 Flamewake Phoenix
- 4 Mardu Scout
Lands (25)
Spells (7)
What we have here is a certified massacre waiting to happen. Fanatic of Mogis hasn’t gotten to play in quite some time thanks to the rotation of
Burning-Tree Emissary and Frostburn Weird. But we do have Eidolon of the Great Revel, and now we have The Surfer Goblin at our disposal. That means that
Fanatic of Mogis could be coming back in a big way!
It seems like there are just enough cards with double red in the casting cost to make this deck viable again. I’m not sure just how good it is yet, but I
can imagine doing some unspeakable things to people when they least expect it. Red Devotion decks haven’t been much of a thing for a while, and I can’t
wait to see the look on my opponents’ faces when I start jamming Fanatic of Mogis down their throat.
What the other two decks lack in raw power, this one has in spades. While you’re still a bit reliant on synergy for most of your deck to function on a high
level, the upside is that you have a lot more cards that are inherently powerful on their own. Flamewake Phoenix seems like a great addition to the deck,
and it’s not that difficult to recur from the graveyard. The fact that it also gives you double devotion and has evasion is just a sweet bonus.
Much like all the other Rabblemaster decks in the format, this one can get out of control if it is left unchecked. We aren’t getting fancy with Stoke the
Flames, but we do have a lot of Chained to the Rocks and Valorous Stance to help clear the path. With a deck built around devotion, it is important to
maintain a high number of permanents in your deck so that your devotion spells can go ballistic when you do get to use them. Otherwise, you might as well
be playing a different deck altogether. This means playing fewer ways to interact with the opponent, so the ones we do end up playing have to count.
Hammer of Purphoros can do some neat things in a deck like this. Making your Fanatic of Mogis or Ashcloud Phoenix have haste is one thing, but being able
to keep from flooding out in the lategame can be huge against a control deck. The double devotion it adds can fan the flames of both Purphoros or Fanatic,
and stick around even after they blow up the world with End Hostilities. You can already give most of your creatures haste, but there is something to be
said about Goblin Rabblemaster entering the red zone immediately.
I’m currently only playing two copies of Stormbreath Dragon to help lower the curve, as Ashcloud Phoenix costs one less mana but still gives you a nice
benefit for flooding out. I haven’t found Stormbreath Dragon to be all that impressive lately, and even less now that Hero’s Downfall is making a comeback.
I do like that Stormbreath Dragon is protected from Abzan Charm, but you have to make concessions for curve issues if you want to keep from constantly
stumbling. This deck is not the same as it used to be. We can’t explode into a Dragon with Burning-Tree Emissary anymore. We have to be a bit more patient,
and slow, and that means playing fewer Dragons. But I can be persuaded, and I’m certainly not closed off to the idea of more dragons, or even a few copies
of Sarkhan.
The sideboard has a few goodies in it, but nothing too wild except for maybe Scouring Sands. Some people like Arc Lightning, but I like killing all of
their tokens, thank you very much. We can’t really afford to play Anger of the Gods, as it kills almost every creature in our deck, but Scouring Sands
should help get the job done when you need it most. It can get countered by an active Jeskai Ascendancy, but that just means that you’ll need a way to kill
it first.
Thanks Glare of Heresy!
One thing I want to point out is that Harness by Force might actually have a sweet home in this sideboard. Being able to go big with your devotion and
Nykthos could lead to some swinging Harnesses, allowing you to kill your opponent in one fell swoop. I don’t think it would be that hard to get to nine
mana and strive it twice against an opponent who is gumming up the board. Along with Fanatic of Mogis and Purphoros, you can deal your opponent the last
few points of damage in a number of ways.
Viva la Revolution
Next weekend will be Pro Tour Fate Reforged in Washington, DC. The format is Modern, which we’ll be testing extensively. And by we, I mean Brian
Braun-Duin, Brad Nelson, myself, and a smattering of other awesome people with Team Revolution. Unless I can qualify for the Pro Tour another way, this
will be my last hurrah for a while, so I have to make it count. Unfortunately, that means I’m not going to be able to write an article next week. I know
all (some) of you are sad about it, but I will try to make up for it with a glorious tale of wonder, excitement, and hopefully victory the following week.
If you are a fan of Modern and the work I’ve done over the last few years, then it should be a treat.
This testing process is going to be arduous, as I haven’t played Khans of Tarkir Limited in quite some time and have yet to play a single draft with Fate
Reforged. But I have some of the best minds in the game at my side to help me along, and I only hope that I can pull my weight. But I’m not going to lie to
you. I’m nervous.
No, I’m terrified.
I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. This is just one tournament, after all. But I can’t shake that feeling. But I’m going to do something
different than what I normally do. I’m not going to stress over every little detail. I’m not going to try and break the format wide open. I’m going to
trust that those around me have great ideas, and I have a lot to learn from them. I’m going to be the workhorse, because for what seems like the first time
in forever, I have a lot to lose.
I can’t do it on my own, but luckily I don’t have to.