If ever there was a cat in the bag, Tomoharu Saito let it out:
Creatures (20)
Lands (25)
Spells (15)
Sideboard
Red is back.
Okay, so Red never left, at least not in the way that Jamie Wakefield and his disciples claim that Green has left. Instead, Red just got all caught up making friends. Combining Healing Salve with its Incinerate; coming down into the Forests to summon 2/3 creatures on turn 1; putting Boomerang, Raise Dead, and Hymn to Tourach all on the same split card; piggybacking its Demonfires off of Tidings and Compulsive Research… how can the same color that brought us Game of Chaos be capable of all this cooperation?
The rise of White Aggro and the uncounterability of Sulfur Elemental combined to make Mono-Red a player at the Pro Tour, and once Greater Gargadon was discovered the deck had nowhere to go but up. Mono-Red is back in Block for the first time since Mirrodin rotated out.
(Do not even try and bring up those Mono-Red decks from Kamigawa Block. Saito won a GP. Those decks had to metagame perfectly just to have a shot at Top 8’ing a PTQ.)
Some people have told me that Mono-Red is actually terrible now that Future Sight has entered the format. I have to admit, much like in Standard, there is a strong case to be made for adding Forests and Tarmogoyfs to fight alongside the Gargadons. Or maybe adding Blue cards and Bridge From Below and running the Bridge-Reanimator deck that Nick Eisel suggested. Or maybe throwing the Red cards in the trash and trading for Korlash, Heir to Blackblade before it’s too late.
However, until proved otherwise three days from now, Mono-Red is the reigning Grand Prix winner. A different build may be in order with Future Sight in the mix, though, so I did a Gatherer search for all of the Red cards in the block. I cut out some of those which I considered to be chaff – although I’ve seen some of that chaff, such as Sulfurous Blast, beat me in the Tournament Practice room – kept some other chaff I could make good jokes about, and listed it all here, for consideration in our Mono-Red decks…
Ancient Grudge
Mana denial against Prismatic Lens? I’d rather just have a burn spell.
Arc Blade
Inevitability is a great thing to have on your side, as is forcing Blue decks to waste a counterspell while you still have all of your mana untapped. However, it is so slow. Korlash, Tombstalker, opposing Gargadons, even Bridge From Below combo can kill you easily before this deals even six damage.
Avalanche Riders
Eight mana is so much… but it’s useful against so much of the format. He’s a dead draw against White Aggro, but he gets things done against every other deck in the format, even blowing up Keldon Megaliths in the mirror as needs be.
Blood Knight
Two power with first strike for two mana is about as good as it gets. Hosing White decks is just a secondary benefit.
Bogardan Hellkite
So expensive, plus there are a great many decks in the format that can use Vesuvan Shapeshifter to piggyback off him. I’m not going to say “never” against a card this good, but a Saito-type deck doesn’t really want him.
Bogardan Lancer
Often a 2/2 for two mana, and if not it still plays well with Pendelhaven. However, Red decks don’t have a lot of margin in this format with so many mediocre burn spells, so you don’t want to have a card in your deck that will be a weak topdeck, ever.
Browbeat
Man, after writing Brow Beaten, it really pains me to say that I would play this card. However, as I said in that article, Browbeat is good in formats where the burn is unspectacular, and the possibility of five damage for three mana is better that the certainly of any other burn spell you might run in those slots.
Dead / Gone
The only real question is, maindeck or sideboard? Personally I say sideboard – I’d rather fill the maindeck slot with burn that can target the face, such as Ghostfire. I wouldn’t fault you for maindecking it, though. By the way, did you know that Gatherer doesn’t count this as a Red card in Time Spiral Block? I had to add it to the list myself, by hand.
Detritivore
Another “never say never” sort of guy, given that he’s proved awesome in many other sideboards that try to run him off of a lone Mountain and a few Prismatic Lenses. I see a lot of U/B decks running Tolaria West, and of course we just had five good dual lands enter the format. In that environment, how is the ‘vore not worth at least a second glance?
Disintegrate
Obviously good by itself, turning off Griffin Guide and other graveyard effects in addition to going to the face. However, I think it was Brian David-Marshall on the Top8Magic.com podcasts who pointed out that Gargadons also run great interference for your Disintegrates. If you have a Gargadon suspended and you Disintegrate your Blue opponent for six, they might be leery of countering, because they need to be able to counter the Gargadon when it enters play. Of course, Slaughter Pact and Pact of Negation change that equation a bit, but in many cases it will still work.
Dragon Whelp
Furnace Whelp saw lots of play in Mirrodin Block. Then again, Slaughter Pact wasn’t around in Mirrodin. Hell, there were only two good Black cards in that entire format, and they were both creatures.
Emberwilde Augur
Two power for two mana, with a Lava Spike tacked on for later turns… I really like the idea of this guy. However, I’m having trouble clearing out slots for him.
Empty the Warrens
Again, I’ll never say never, but I don’t see it working in Block. There just isn’t enough cheap card drawing to ensure that storm decks will get the right kind of explosive start they need.
Eron the Relentless
Well, he does have haste, and he is tough to kill once you have regeneration mana up. Having said that, if I had this guy in my deck it would be a safe assumption that I had lost some kind of bet.
Fatal Frenzy
No way, not with “Mystical Teachings for Slaughter Pact” a possible play in the format. People always say, “it combos with Gargadon!” You know what else combos with Gargadon? Artifacts, creatures, and lands.
Fiery Temper
My first Mono-Red Block deck online ran this with Gathan Raiders, and I have to admit, I was rarely disappointed. Most of the time it was equivalent to Ghostflame, and any time I got to play it by unmorphing it was awesome. However, the only time I was disappointed was in an important matchup: the mirror. I kept losing to other Red decks that had Browbeat in this slot instead. It may be that this is one three-damage-for-three-mana spell too many for your curve.
Fortune Thief
He’s a sideboard weapon at best, and even then most decks where you’d bring him in have some answers in their sideboard – the White decks have Sunlance and the U/G decks have Serrated Arrows or they splash for Stormbind. No thanks.
Gathan Raiders
Man, if you connect even once with the hellbent version of this guy, it’s really hard to lose. The problem is that you don’t get to that spot nearly as often as you’d think. Almost every spell you’ll have costs three, and even though you can suspend Rift Bolt for one mana and madness Fiery Temper for one mana, you can still find your hand just clogged enough that your opponent is ready to deal with this guy by the time he becomes gigantic.
Ghostfire
Obv.
Greater Gargadon
The straw that stirs the drink. I can’t imagine a Red deck not running him. Fizzling Tendrils of Corruption is just one of many ways his ability impacts the game (he also fizzles the scry from Riddle of Lightning, for example). However, it’s worth noting an old chess saying: “the threat is stronger than the execution.” Sometimes you’ll want to keep the Gargadon in reserve for as long as you can, just so you can use the threat of bringing out the 9/7 to influence your opponent’s play. You don’t always just sacrifice mindlessly to get him into the game.
Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
Rather like Might of Oaks in a Gruul deck in Standard, you might want her as a one-of because you’d like to catch the opponent by surprise. Once the opponent knows she is coming as a four-of, she loses some of her impact. Plus Fiery Temper OMG.
Keldon Marauders
Much like Gathan Raiders, if you connect even once on the attack with this guy, you are at a big advantage. Also like the Raiders, though, the format seems to conspire against attacking with him. Wall of Roots, Tarmogoyf, Call of the Herd if your opponent is on the play … all of them put the Marauders under lock and key. Perhaps that’s why Saito had them in his sideboard; they really only excel against the U/B/x control decks.
Keldon Megaliths
Although I prefer playing this as my “one-drop” over just about any other card, even Gargadon, four may be the wrong number. As I said above with Gathan Raiders, getting there with hellbent is not easy. Also, staying hellbent can be an issue: you have to be able to play the card you just drew, and still have three lands open (1R and Megaliths) if you want to use the ability.
Kobold Taskmaster
Kher Keep FTW!
Lightning Axe
I tried it in the sideboard of my Fiery Temper/Gathan Raiders deck, but I always wanted Dead/Gone instead.
Magus of the Moon
In Standard, Patrick Sullivan sold me on the concept that your deck should be fast enough that this guy doesn’t matter. You’d much rather burn the face than summon a 2/2 guy that doesn’t have haste and only disrupts certain cards in the opponent’s deck. However, Block decks are not as fast, and his ability does win out over Urborg. I could see him in a midrange-type deck.
Magus of the Scroll
You know, the more I play with him the less I like him. He’s very slow and he dies to everything. If I get to activate any one of my four Magus even once, I’m usually overjoyed because I was not expecting to get even that much. Having said that, I can’t imagine not running him, because he draws fire – in the mirror, if your opponent is using Dead on this guy, which he kind of has to lest he get dominated in the late game, then he can’t use Gone on your Gargadons.
Mogg War Marshal
Nobody saw this coming, huh? A creature that seemed like a sacrificial lamb when Time Spiral came out is one of the best two-drops in Block! The synergy with Gargadon and Pendelhaven is part of it, of course, but more important is the fact that opponents cannot trade one card for him, even in the case of Damnation. Keldon Marauders are good for the same reason: no one wants to trade one card for a creature that will be gone in a couple of turns anyway.
Molten Disaster
In a lot of matchups, this card just caresses the opponent’s face and whispers lovingly in his ear, “P.S.: Demonfire you.” I especially like it as a sideboard weapon against the U/G decks. They can only win by committing a bunch of creatures to the board, and you should be ahead on life by the time you play a Disaster thanks to your faster early game.
Orcish Cannonade
Well, it does say “draw a card” on it… however, two damage is often insufficient in this format (Wall of Roots, Fathom Seer, Shadowmage Infiltrator) and I hate giving my opponent a head start in the damage race in the mirror.
Reckless Wurm
I love me a Red madness deck – you saw all that stuff above about Fiery Temper and Gathan Raiders, right? – but this is just a bit too much. So much has to go right for you to play him with Madness… by that point you could have just burned the opponent out.
Reiterate
Somewhere, sometime, it may win a mirror match by copying the winning Disintegrate. Doesn’t mean I want to run it, though.
Riddle of Lightning
Hey, you’re already running Gargadons, right? If your deck is built correctly, this card could be as good as, say, Beacon of Destruction. Stranger things have happened.
Rift Bolt
Don’t be afraid to use it as your one-drop. Many matchups come down to a simple damage race, and there are very few creatures in the early game you’ll want to target instead.
Sedge Sliver
This article is about mono-Red, remember? Nice Grey Ogre.
Shah of Naar Isle
No haste, no thanks. Funny story: in a recent draft my first-round opponent played this guy and paid the echo. I bounced it with Snapback. He played it again and paid the echo. I blocked it with an Aether Membrane. He played it again and paid the echo. I then lost to it. That’s why I’m not writing about TPF draft.
Shivan Meteor
Hey, it kills the sh** out of a Tarmogoyf.
Shivan Wumpus
WUMP! If this guy went anywhere other than the top of your deck, I might play him. However, letting your draws get hosed while your opponent waits for the proper time to Damnation him just doesn’t seem like a good idea.
Skizzik Surger
Six mana is too much for the maindeck. However, he could well rule the roost coming out of the sideboard. Tommy Ashton and John Moore had Cosmic Larva in the board of their Regionals Top 8 mono-Red decks a couple of years back.
Sparkspitter
I love this guy, and I love me a Red Madness card. However, I just haven’t been able to fit him in. He’s always on my mind, though.
Storm Entity
If the Empty the Warrens deck works, he goes straight in. I don’t think an Empty the Warrens deck works. Enough said.
Sudden Shock
Two damage kills so few relevant creatures in this format – you’d basically be running this to stop Magus of the Scroll from hosing you.
Sulfur Elemental
Has lost a little value as the White Aggro decks decrease in popularity. However, people still maindeck him, because it’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. I think Churchill said that, or perhaps Confucius.
Suq’Ata Lancer
OMG HSTE FLNKER. Actually, I’m not being too sarcastic there – some mono-Red decks in Yokohama ran this dude, and he has certain benefits. For example, Mogg War Marshal has no good blocks, even with Pendelhaven in play. Blood Knight requires Pendelhaven in play to be able to block. The Lancer might be worth a second look.
Tarox Bladewing
OMG HSTE DARGON. I’m a fan, but as with Dragon Whelp I would like him a little more if he didn’t die to everything. That was the real power of Rorix Bladewing back in Onslaught Block: there were no Red spells that killed him by themselves, and under the old legend rule he co… er, rooster-blocked the opponent from playing his own copy. Tarox has none of those advantages; however, his ability to kill you in one swing cannot be discounted.
Thick-Skinned Goblin
The X factor. He’s basically a Drifter il-Dal against the mirror, with the added benefit that only Ghostfire and Keldon Megaliths can kill him. It’s pretty awkward to unsuspend a Gargadon when your opponent has this guy in play. Plus, his echo ability turns Mogg War Marshal and Avalanche Riders into pretty awesome creatures. I definitely would run him if I were playing mono-Red in Montreal.
Thunderblade Charge
Sitting with Reckless Wurm at the “so much has to go right in order for this to work” table.
Torchling
By the time you have 4RR (at least) up to play him and protect him, many decks in this format can have you in a really bad way. Plus, he’s not even guaranteed unkillable; if a control deck drops Slaughter Pact on his head, he’s likely dead. Having said all that, I could see him coming out of a sideboard or two for certain matchups.
Tribal Flames
See the Sedge Sliver entry. Nice Lava Dart.
Uthden Troll
Oi, oi, oi, me just come innna play,
Oi, oi, oi, the herd is bein’ called this way,
Gonna bosh an’ gonna nosh
An’ then I lose the bloody game.
Wildfire Emissary
I like big butts, and I cannot lie. Firebreathing is a fine weapon also. Having said all of that, if you’re in the mirror and your opponent plays a Blood Knight on turn 2, having this guy in hand is not all it’s cracked up to be. You won’t have a good block.
Word of Seizing
A combo with Gargadon, of course, but five mana is a non-trivial amount. I think I’d rather just have Riddle of Lightning most of the time, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in more mid-rangy and Kuroda-style Red decks. Note that it’s “target permanent,” so stealing an opposing Urza’s Factory or Stormbind is also possible.
That’s quite a list. In the same way that Red is ridiculously deep in TPF draft, it offers plenty of different ways to do things in Constructed. So, I’ll leave you with the deck I first built and gave a spin through the casual room and a trip into a Premiere Event:
4 Keldon Megaliths
2 Pendelhaven
3 Fungal Reaches
15 Mountain
4 Greater Gargadon
4 Magus of the Scroll
4 Blood Knight
4 Mogg War Marshal
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Gathan Raiders
4 Rift Bolt
4 Ghostfire
4 Fiery Temper
Sideboard:
3 Molten Disaster
4 Sulfur Elemental
4 Dead / Gone
4 Wildfire Emissary
This deck was doing well against everything in the tournament practice room… except other Red decks. Browbeat and Thick-Skinned Goblin were both heavy beatings from across the table, and I don’t have access to them myself. Also, as I explained above, the Gathan Raiders were not as impressive as I would have liked. I got to madness out a few Fiery Tempers, which was nice, but they never attacked as hellbent.
In the PE I won round 1, then lost in a mirror and punted a match against a U/G deck that was attempting the Gaea’s Blessing / Walk the Aeons infinite turns combo. I thought that I had to get my Raiders hellbent in order to win, so I suspended a Rift Bolt that I could have just sent to the face for lethal damage. My opponent ripped multiple Spike Feeders and a Vesuvan Shapeshifter off of his three Rites of Flourishing and I packed the cards.
That’s the thing about playing Red in this format, which I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this article: you don’t have a lot of margin for error. Your burn spells are not very efficient – three damage for three mana in most cases, with the possibility of five damage for three mana or X damage for X+1 mana – so you can’t afford to send even one point of damage in the wrong direction. With tight play, though, perhaps you’ll see the same results Saito did.
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