I’d like to point out a few things that have taken place since last week:
1- The Pittsburgh Steelers went sickhouse on the Indianapolis Colts after devastating the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football. It would seem my
criticism lit a fire under their booties. I’d like to think Brett Keisel read my article a week ago and was like, “CAN’T PLAY DEFENSE? WE’LL SHOW HIM!” So,
fellow Steeler fans…you’re welcome.
2- You voted, and we officially have our FNM Hero deck! We’ll get to that shortly.
This weekend was some sort of outrageous dream if you like watching Magic, and because I’m a degenerate addict I had SCG’s Open Series in Minneapolis up on
the 55-incher and GP Stockholm steaming on my computer. This Standard format, for being somewhat narrow, just seems incredibly awesome to me. Each week a
subtle innovation or curveball gets thrown and everything you thought you knew changes.
If you’d have told me that not only would Jeskai win Minneapolis, but the Grand Prix as well, I’d have been skeptical. Abzan decks have been doing their
best Jund impression and dominating a fair bit of the field, and Sultai Reanimator has emerged as a real contender against the Abzan menace.
When asked this weekend what to play at the Open, I told a friend my two choices would be either Mardu or Sultai.
Mardu, as Bran Nelson displayed, proved to be a deck that was not only good at answering Siege Rhino, but could go head-to-head with their planeswalker
plan by playing its own, Hero’s Downfall as well, and a “trump” in Chained to the Rocks for their Rhinos and Rocs. After watching friend John Cuvelier
battle with it in a side event at a local PTQ last week I was very impressed, and it seemed that if played correctly it was very good against one of the
most popular decks in the format.
Sultai really interested me and was a front-runner in our pre-Khans legal playtesting. Sidisi, Blood Tyrant showcased immense power, Whip of Erebos made
Jeskai decks look silly, and Hornet Queen made you feel like you were playing a Titan of days since passed.
I thought Sultai would have had a huge breakthrough this weekend and take down at least one of the big events due to how well positioned it is: Jeksai
Aggro decks have a ton of issues with Sultai’s pressure and it can easily go way over Abzan’s head. Soul of Innistrad made their removal plan significantly
worse, and as “cute” as people were calling it- it proved to bury Abzan in card advantage. Sagu Mauler is another outrageous tool against Abzan and Jeskai.
G/B Devotion didn’t seem amazing going into Saturday, but the deck is actually just amazing against Sultai, and my belief is it was feasted on, which
prevented better finishes. Only one copy cracked the Top 16 of Minneapolis while Christian Seibold carried the archetype into the Top 8 of Stockholm.
What does this mean for Sultai?
Well, it’s still an extremely powerful deck, and I would begin preparing for it at greater length. As long as Abzan is around, Sultai truly boasts one of
the best matchups against it, so it’s something you should expect from now on more than ever. The deck will have to adapt if it wants to continue the
upward trend of doing well at tournaments. That means figuring out how to deal with green-based devotion strategies and working around a card like Doomwake
Giant.
Another deck falling down the rankings turns out to be the deck that you chose for me to play for my FNM Hero quest.
Oh frackin’ fudge, right?
Mono-Red Aggro will be the deck I battle with for the coming weeks and months for FNM Hero, and I’m actually really excited to be playing it.
Why?
Because I haven’t really played Mono-Red since Darksteel was legal.
Ahhhhh…those were the days. Have you ever played a turn one Slith Firewalker off of a Chrome Mox and followed that up with a Seething Song into a Sword of
Fire and Ice equip? It was pretty much the best of times and the worst of times for your opponent.
Mono-Red is in a weird place right now: two weeks ago it was brutalizing every deck out there with insane speed and efficiency. Red is always an excellent
choice in a new format because people wanted to play their shards with shaky manabases and big, flashy spells. Now that things have settled down a bit,
Abzan decks are packing multiple Drown in Sorrow in their sideboards, Jeskai doles out the harshness with Anger the Gods (hell, Andrew Johnson played two
copies in the main), Sultai has Whip of Erebos, and G/X Devotion has Nylea’s Disciple.
Things are hard out there for Burn.
All is not lost, however.
A flicker of a flame is all you need to ignite an inferno, and what BBD is to puns- Giovanni Rosi is to Sligh.
Creatures (23)
- 3 Frenzied Goblin
- 4 Foundry Street Denizen
- 4 Akroan Crusader
- 4 Firedrinker Satyr
- 4 Goblin Rabblemaster
- 4 Monastery Swiftspear
Lands (18)
- 18 Mountain
Spells (19)
Giovanni decided to pick up his Mountains and burn the hell out of the people in a field that was 100% ready for him. Not only did he Top 8, but he went in
as the second seed. His impressive run ended in the quarterfinals, but there’s a lot to be said for facing a field rife with hate and doing as well as he
did.
This build is going to be the starting point for FNM Hero, but we’re going to change a little bit about it for the sake of adventure.
First and foremost we’re cutting Goblin Rabblemaster. That dude is expensive, and I can’t afford him on my budget. Do I think I’ll eventually want them?
That’s a big maybe, but not one I’m concerning myself with at the moment. Hordeling Outburst is a card that I dig and have dug since it was printed. Three
1/1 Goblins for three combos really well with Foundry Street Denizen, and I like that kind of synergy.
Speaking of synergy, I spent a little time talking to some newer players who contacted me on Facebook to talk about their new experiences with FNM, and
Magic in general, and one of them suggested a card that I like quite a bit and that combines fairly well with Hordeling Outburst:
While the deck only plays eighteen lands, it’s entirely possible I might want to add another to ensure Purphoros can land consistently. I like the way it
can help offset some of the lifegain that Abzan has by just machine gun shocking them with the wealth of creatures you play.
Harness by Force is a card I was telling my pals about a few nights ago that I thought might be very important for Mono-Red going forward, and I’m glad
Giovanni proved me right. I think this card makes a world of difference and can massively swing life totals. That Siege Rhino that gained three can now
attack them back for four, and it’s even sweeter if they +1’d their Sorin the turn prior. I don’t see striving this card very often, but sometimes all you
need is a Threaten effect to completely swing the game around in your favor.
One of the best innovations is the four Searing Blood in the sideboard. This card used to be a staple but has fallen a touch out of favor in red maindecks,
but with a set in the sideboard I think this card shines against a lot of decks and will pull a ton of weight.
Now in the current incarnation without Goblin Rabblemaster this deck clocks in at around $60. If we decide to pop Purphoros, God of the Forge in there then
we’re looking at about $75, which still falls way under a starting point, but that’s totally cool.
I figure if I want those Goblin Rabblemasters I’m going to have to earn them, and at around $80 for a set it’s going to be a lot of grinding.
Future winnings and credit earned from doing well will be allocated as such:
– I won’t spend any credit without first asking you what I should do with it.
– I am open to any and all suggestions for other decks that I could build credit towards getting cards for. Budget versions of popular decks are also a
goal to shoot for.
– My collection will be 100% separate from FNM Hero. Any cards I want to use will have to come from my FNM Hero binder regardless of if I have them or not.
Stoke the Flames was bought despite having four already. There will be absolutely no intermingling.
– All speculation purchases with credit will be based on comments and recommendations. I won’t make any moves for FNM Hero without your input.
– An extra $20 a month will be added to the budget, but that’s mostly for the sake of sleeves.
– Any unspent money from the monthly addition will be spent on boosters. Those will be opened and added to the FNM Hero trade binder.
While the vote between Mono-Red and U/B Mill was very close, I’m actually kind of excited about the prospect of playing this deck. Friends at my local
store have lamented this choice based on the deck pretty much getting trounced in our metagame, so this will surely be a challenge. Most people think this
is exactly the kind of deck a new person would gravitate towards. I don’t even have a playmat!
Thanks to everyone who turned out and voted last week. Without you all, this journey wouldn’t be possible.
What does next week have in store?
Hopefully a lot of good things. I plan on burning people often and with as much blatant disregard for their life totals as possible. Wish me luck in
glorious combat.
Also Go Steelers. Six freaking touchdowns on Indy. SIX!