People know me as a Mono-Red type of guy.
I tried really, really hard not to play Mono-Red at this tournament.
After extensive testing with a BUG-Pod list, I sleeved up a proxied list against Solar Flare.
One taste of the mana curve, and I was hooked again.
Let me just preface this article by saying that my opinions are not absolute fact in the world of Mono-Red. Each player has his/her own playing style, and the “perfect” list for any archetype differs from person to person. Just because I wouldn’t change more than one card in my 75 in hindsight doesn’t mean that I think it is “wrong” to have a radically different list. For those aspiring red mages out there, please, please don’t just copy my 75 and head to the nearest FNM—the process of building a deck for yourself is just as important as practicing it and learning how to pilot it. Thank you.
That being said, let’s get on to the process.
When looking at what cards were available in Standard for Mono-Red in this SCG Open, I noticed a few things:
- Burn spells in the format, save Brimstone Volley, are fairly weak and better suited to destroying creatures;
- Perhaps the two most reliable threats for the archetype, Shrine of Burning Rage and Stormblood Berserker, are two-drops;
- There aren’t any “brawlers” in the one-drop spot. There are a few utility creatures (Goblin Fireslinger, Grim Lavamancer, and Spikeshot Elder), a few solid attackers (Stromkirk Noble, Reckless Waif, and Furnace Scamp), and one awkward guy (Goblin Arsonist);
- Koth of the Hammer is a very potent, resilient threat;
And . . .
- Timely Reinforcements and Wurmcoil Engine are very real cards.
Since I expected my two-drops to take me the distance most reliably, I wanted to maximize their effectiveness. The plan of going turn 1 creature, turn 2 Shrine/Stormblood is definitely the core thought of this deck. I predicted that many decks would have a hard time dealing with that opening, and it certainly turned out that way. Most of the day, Stormblood was a 3/3 unblockable that didn’t die to Shock or Arc Trail, and Shrine was a Searing Wind with Suspend 5. So which one-drops should I use?
- Stromkirk Noble is randomly evasive and can produce a ton of damage if he isn’t answered, clearing the way for your Heroes and your Stormbloods.
- Grim Lavamancer is a multi-format all-star and can lock down the board all by himself, so I definitely wanted to include him. How many do I want, though? Without fetches, I knew I couldn’t support four (multiples tend to give diminishing returns anyway), but after some testing I was happy to have three in my list.
- Spikeshot Elder? He’s actually much better than you might think, and until you have sleeved him up you don’t realize how well he provides some extra reach or locks down the board in the late game. Also, he can shoot himself (or others!) when chump-blocking Wurmcoil Engine (preventing it from doing combat damage and giving your opponent six life), which is not trivial. To top it all off, he activates bloodthirst for your Stormblood.
- And finally, Goblin Arsonist, which had a lot of people scratching their heads. I expected to play Red mirror matches or other aggro decks all day (which didn’t really happen), and in those matchups he’s a nice two-for-one. Also, he triggers bloodthirst while simultaneously trading for a blocker. In a vacuum, Goblin Fireslinger might be better because of his ignorance of blockers, but I don’t regret using the Arsonists instead.
Yep, a lot of Mons’s Goblin Raiders (which is like, my favorite card of all time), but they certainly carried their weight for the day. A couple notable exclusions:
- Furnace Scamp, who I can’t really get behind when Timely Reinforcements is ubiquitous. He has close to no impact on the board, doesn’t do well in combat, and has no evasion. He was good before M12 (and Timely Reinforcements) came out, but with that card in the format, I would rather grind out a win than go straight for the dome.
- Reckless Waif, who falls into similar pitfalls as Furnace Scamp. I don’t really want to rely on a card that requires my opponent to miss their one-drop to be good because I would be ahead in tempo at that point anyway. Maybe she will find her home in more of a Werewolf build, but I don’t think Mono-Red is her home.
Knowing that I was making a heavy commitment to the board, I needed some ways to deal with Day of Judgment or Timely Reinforcements. Chandra’s Phoenix was good before Innistrad for its ability to fly over blockers and come back from the graveyard for a few extra swings, so it was logical to include it. Also, people really don’t like dealing with the Phoenix with counterspells or removal because of its recursion, so I was always happy to commit it to the board, even if it would just die to the inevitable Day of Judgment next turn. Hero of Oxid Ridge laughs at Timely Reinforcements (and Spellskite), and his battle cry rouses all of the random one-drops in the deck.
As far as burn spells go, it was pretty clear to me that I wanted four Brimstone Volley and multiple Arc Trails. Brimstone Volley is just stupid good and was almost always an instant-speed Lava Axe for three mana. Arc Trails are excellent against aggro decks and work well with Chandra’s Phoenix but give diminishing returns in multiples. The last burn slot is a toss-up; Incinerate provides more raw power, but Galvanic Blast is probably better for the curve.
Here’s the list I eventually decided upon:
Creatures (20)
- 3 Grim Lavamancer
- 2 Goblin Arsonist
- 2 Spikeshot Elder
- 2 Hero of Oxid Ridge
- 3 Chandra's Phoenix
- 4 Stormblood Berserker
- 4 Stromkirk Noble
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (23)
- 23 Mountain
Spells (14)
Judging by my group’s playtesting leading up to the tournament, it was pretty clear that Solar Flare was probably the best deck against the field, with Mono-Red being second (despite having an excellent matchup against Solar Flare). The three mainboard Koths are excellent in either matchup and against other aggro decks; he evades Day of Judgment, and an opponent basically has to waste their turn if they want to deal with him (provided they don’t have a six-drop out already).
Instead of giving a full-on tournament report, I think I’ll just spend some time discussing the two key matchups and what I thought about the format:
Solar Flare, perhaps the most important matchup, is absurdly weighted towards Mono-Red. Game one is probably 80/20 in Red’s favor unless the Solar Flare player has serious maindeck hate. The opening of T1 1/1, T2 Shrine/Stormblood, T3 Phoenix is virtually unbeatable.
Why is the matchup so insane? The Solar Flare player has cards like Think Twice, Forbidden Alchemy, and Unburial Rites that just sit in their hand while they have to use anything and everything to try to deal with the onslaught. Sure, the cards represent ridiculous card advantage, but only if the player has the mana to spare for them. What sets Mono-Red apart from the other aggro decks are cards like Shrine, Koth, and Phoenix that are resilient to Day of Judgment, which stops most other aggro decks cold.
When I sat across from my round 2 Solar Flare opponent, he stated that Mono-Red’s worst matchup came against Solar Flare after boarding. But is that really true? I disagree, at least in regard to the lists we saw in Indy. I always boarded in my extra Mountain and two Hero of Oxid Ridge for the matchup, and being able to slam any of my seven four-drops after forcing my opponent to tap out for Day of Judgment was pretty insane. Answers to the Red deck are probably out there, but I always felt comfortable against Solar Flare in Indy.
The other “most important matchup” is the mirror, which is definitely my favorite matchup to play. I prepared preemptively for the mirror, despite only seeing it twice all day, including the finals. Goblin Arsonist, Spikeshot Elder, and Grim Lavamancer just provide so much more card advantage in this matchup than either Reckless Waif (who basically never transforms in the mirror) or Furnace Scamp. Arsonist is an all-star here: if you’re on the play, you can activate bloodthirst reliably on T2; if you’re on the draw, they can’t burn him without losing their own one-drop.
Unfortunately, the tech gets kind of stupid. What’s the best way to beat a Mono-Red deck? Vulshok Refugee. What’s the best way to beat a Mono-Red deck with Vulshok Refugee? Vulshok Refugee and Perilous Myr. With the Myr on the field, the opponent can’t get in with Refugee unless they have a Hero of Oxid Ridge. The only other reasonable methods of dealing with the Refugee in the mirror are Shrine (too slow) and Dismember (free Lightning Blast for your opponent), so clearly the only option was to add more 1/1s in the deck.
Wow, this article has gotten long. I’ll just finish up with a few closing thoughts and a few shout-outs:
- I don’t think Mono-Red is format-breaking or anything. People are going to figure out answers, but I don’t see enough hate in the format (nothing as narrow and absurd as Kor Firewalker or Leyline of Sanctity) to keep it from being a reliable contender.
- Poor Birthing Pod lists, just can’t out-value Solar Flare.
- Solar Flare is an awesome deck, but if it keeps playing Think Twice and Forbidden Alchemy, it’s going to have trouble with Mono-Red. Those cards are amazing instant-speed card advantage, but in this matchup they can just clog up the hand.
- Todd Anderson Illusions list was sick good, and I can’t wait to see how that archetype develops. Unfortunately, it suffers against Arc Trail and Spikeshot Elder, which I would predict to become popular.
- I didn’t like any of the Kessig Wolf Run lists I saw at the tournament, but they could be on to something, and that might be the next space I explore.
- Attacking with 1/1s is clearly a foolproof strategy.
Major shout out to Legends Comics and Games, InfiniteMonkey Comics and Games, and Ctrl Alt Elite Gaming for providing weekly tournaments for the local community! Also, some special thanks:
– To StarCityGames, for holding such an awesome circuit of major Standard and Legacy tournaments,
– To Leo, Alex, Andrew, and Chris, for helping with playtesting and organizing the trip to Indy,
– To Charlie, Joe, and Ty, for helping me brainstorm deck ideas for the tournament,
– To Caroline, for always being supportive of my endeavors when it comes to nerdy card games,
And most importantly,
– To all the writers (and casters!) on SCG and other websites, for taking the time to share their knowledge to the community. I have learned so much about Magic just from reading your articles and watching your videos or coverage, and I learn something new every week. I’m still learning, and someday I hope to share my knowledge with the community as well.
If you have any questions, just email me at [email protected], and I will be happy to respond.
See you all in Charlotte!
–Dayv Doberne