I recently placed 4th at PT Chicago playing Fires of Yavimaya. I’d like to share the insights I gained into the Fires deck through sixteen rounds of Pro Tour Play (including a post-PT Chicago decklist).
First of all, I just have to say that this deck is by far the most fun thing going in type two. The Fires of Yavimaya deck is straight out of the Jamie Wakefield school of Magic – fatties, fatties, and more fatties! We’re talking Idols, Blastoderms, giant Leeches, massive Kavus, overgrown Saprolings, Hydras, and Dragons. And to make sure the party isn’t over by the time this Monster Island squad shows up, the deck is turbocharged with Fires of Yavimaya, Llanowar Elves, and Birds of Paradise. I’m tellin’ ya, it’s a face-smashin’ good time!
The following is the deck I played in the Pro Tour:
4x River Boa
4x Saproling Burst
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Chimeric Idol
4x Blastoderm
4x Fires of Yavimaya
4x Rhystic Lightning
3x Rishadan Port
2x Jade Leech
2x Earthquake
1x Ancient Hydra
11x Forest
5x Mountain
4x Karplusan Forest
SIDEBOARD:
4x Kavu Chameleon
3x Tangle
2x Earthquake
2x Calming Verse
2x Flashfires
2x Hurricane
With this version, I went 11-3-2. Let’s take a look at the MVPs that helped me get those eleven wins:
#1: Llanowar Elves
Before the tournament, I had been testing a version that had two Vine Trellises, one land, and one Jade Leech instead of the elves. So what pushed the elves over the top? One word: TEMPO. The large number of three- and four-drops in this deck make a turn 1 elf pure gold. It’s very hard for any deck to deal with turn one Elf or Bird, turn 2 Idol or Fires, turn 3 ‘Derm or Leech. Adding the four Elves to the deck doubles the chances of devastating draws like that.
#2: River Boa
At first, the lack of the number five anywhere on the card made me hesitant to play with River Boa. My opinion was quickly changed play testing against Justin Gary’s Blue/White control deck. The ability to put the pressure on with a creature that could hit the table before they had enough mana to power permission was critical in this match up.
The lightweight Boa helped me achieve a perfect record against U/W control in Chicago. In addition the sneaky snake proved his worth against Counter/Rebel as he Islandwalked his way past the endless supply of rebel blockers.
Sideboard MVP: Tangle
Tangle is amazing in the Mirror. Because Fires relies on Fading threats, the two-turn reprieve Tangle offers is particularly powerful. It also tied up enemy dragons long enough for me to finish off my opponent on more than one occasion.
There is more to be learned from defeat than victory. So who and what took me down?
Loss # 1: Round 9, Jon Finkel, Green/Red/White Fires
Going into this tournament, I knew Fires decks with white would be my hardest matchup. Their access to spells like Wax/Wane throws the Saproling Burst balance of power in their favor. In addition, they have access to gamebreakers in this near-mirror matchup, like Armadillo Cloak and Rith.
I did manage to defeat the G/R/W Fires deck type several times throughout the Tour, but in Game 3 of this match Finkel game me a painful reminder of my deck’s difficulties with Rith, the Awakener.
Loss # 2: Round 11, Kai Budde, Rebels
Since before States, I felt that Fires and Rebels would be the strongest decktypes in the post-Urza’s Type II environment. The Rebel search mechanic is just plain broken. In addition, Armageddon, Wrath of God, and Parallax Wave are all more powerful than anything Invasion has to offer.
This matchup is tight, and often produces close games where either player is a top deck away form victory. My match against Kai was no exception. A burn spell in game 1 or a Flashfires in game 2 would have swung this match.
Loss #3: Semi-Finals, Kamiel Cornelissen, Counter Rebel
The counters that this Rebels variant packs makes the normal "bruise ’em early then burn ’em out" game plan tough. The River Boas, who normally allowed me to beat this deck type in the Swiss, were never in hand on the critical turn 2. The lack of early pressure in combination with a Game 2 COP: Green and a game 3 mana stall doomed me to a crushing 0-3 loss.
These were all Featured Matches, so if you’d like more match details they can be found on the Sideboard.
It seems clear that Rebels is a tough match up, as is G/R/W Fires. The challenge here is to make a change that will help these matchups without weakening the deck against the rest of the field. The answer comes straight from the deck of my Quarterfinals opponent (and one of the nicest guys in Magic), Michael Pustilnik.
Mike was using Ghitu Fire in the Rystic Lightning slot. I felt Rhystic Lightning was necessary to deal with Blinding Angel, but Ghitu Fire could handle that problem as well.
Against Rebels, Ghitu Fire would help in two ways. First, it gives you a two-mana answer to Sergeant. This could be key in games where Rebel goes first and you don’t have a turn one Bird or Elf. Secondly, Ghitu Fire is a great finisher. Rebel decks often take quite a bruising while they get their rebel chain going, then stabilize in the single-digit life totals. The combination of Ghitu Fires and Earthquakes will make the "to the dome" victory much more likely.
This change will also help in multiple ways in against G/R/W. These matches often have stalemate periods where neither player has enough board advantage to mount a successful attack. Ghitu Fire could allow you to break this stalemate by either burning out a large defending creature or your opponent. In addition, it would give you a way to kill dragons on your opponent’s side of the table.
New decklist:
4x River Boa
4x Saproling Burst
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Chimeric Idol
4x Blastoderm
4x Fires of Yavimaya
4x Ghitu Fire
3x Rishadan Port
2x Jade Leech
2x Earthquake
1x Ancient Hydra
11x Forest
5x Mountain
4x Karplusan Forest
SIDEBOARD:
4x Kavu Chameleon
3x Tangle
2x Earthquake
2x Calming Verse
2x Flashfires
2x Hurricane
The Dust Bowl factor makes me a big fan of basic lands, so I’m partial to the R/G Fires deck, but if you want to go R/G/W here is my suggestion:
4x River Boa
4x Saproling Burst
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Chimeric Idol
4x Blastoderm
4x Fires of Yavimaya
4x Ghitu Fire
3x Rishadan Port
1x Jade Leech
2x Earthquake
1x Ancient Hydra
1x Rith, the Awakener
6x Forest
5x Mountain
4x Brushland
4x Karplusan Forest
1x City of Brass
SIDEBOARD:
4x Kavu Chameleon
2x Tangle
2x Earthquake
3x Aura Mutation
1x Flashfires
2x Hurricane
1x Rith, the Awakener