Is this Grixis deck control, midrange, or aggro? A deck with Lightning Berserker, Kolaghan, the Storm’s Fury, and Treasure Cruise alongside a pile of
removal certainly begs the question.
Some of the best decks in the last few years have been able to play multiple rolls. You can win games on aggression alone, but when you start bobbing and
weaving, that’s when you start getting real percentage points. Oh, you thought your Radiant Flames would be good against my Monastery Swiftspear deck? Good
luck beating this Thunderbreak Regent.
Duress can punch a hole through your opponent, taking their best card that interacts with whatever plan you’re on. It may seem like an odd inclusion in an
otherwise aggressive red deck, but it fuels Treasure Cruise and protects your gameplan, so I like it. If your opponent has a removal heavy draw, you can
probably do the same with Draconic Roar, Exquisite Firecraft, and Wild Slash, plus you have the ability to pull ahead with Treasure Cruise.
Forerunner of Slaughter is particularly exciting because red decks typically don’t get something with that kind of rate. They were perfectly happy to
splash Flinthoof Boar, so why not now? The weakness to a Wild Slash or early Fiery Impulse isn’t great, but most of the time, I’d rather have it than a
Dragon Fodder, especially if there are no Atarka’s Commands.
The sideboard of this deck is somehow wilder than the maindeck. Cards like Ob Nixilis Reignited, Exert Influence, and the counterspells allow you to shift
into a more controlling deck if necessary. With this deck, you can kind of do whatever you want.
Creatures (21)
- 4 Monastery Swiftspear
- 2 Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
- 1 Goblin Heelcutter
- 4 Thunderbreak Regent
- 1 Lightning Berserker
- 3 Zurgo Bellstriker
- 3 Abbot of Keral Keep
- 3 Forerunner of Slaughter
Lands (24)
Spells (15)
