[Variant] All-In Mono Red

[zemanjaski]

Maybe this?

[deck]
4 Ash Zealot
4 Burning Tree Emissary
4 Firefist Striker
4 Gore-House Chainwalker
3 Legion Loyalist
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
4 Stromkirk Noble

2 Dynacharge
4 Searing Spear

19 Mountain

Sideboard
4 Pillar of Flame
4 Mizzium Mortars
4 Volcanic Strength
3 Traitorous Blood[/deck]

[redthirst]

If you're just trying to race, the Wolf is better - if you want the deck to be more versatile, then the Reckoner is better.

So in this deck, I'd go with Pyreheart - though I don't think it's needed since Firefist Striker does a whole lot of the work Pyreheart did at a lower cost.

[RedNihilist]

[deck]
4 Ash Zealot
4 Burning Tree Emissary
4 Firefist Striker
4 Gore-House Chainwalker
4 Legion Loyalist
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Rakdos Cackler
3 Pyreheart Wolf
4 Stromkirk Noble

2 Dynacharge
4 Searing Spear

19 Mountain

Sideboard
4 Pillar of Flame
4 Boros Reckoner
3 Volcanic Strength
3 Traitorous Blood
1 Pyreheart Wolf
[/deck]

So, I've try to play the deck for 10 days and felt QUITE confident, then showed up at a local tournament yesterday.
In fact, I expected 12-15 people to show up but we ended up being just 6 players, as most of the guys went to Bologna for the WCMQ... realizing that, I suddenly decided to drive this rather than my usual RDW and that turned out to be a great mistake.

In the first game I got overraced by a BUG build (T1 experiment one - loyalist, T2 rootbound geist - ash zealot, T3 dreg mangler - GHC,
T4 zameck guild mage + ultimate price), while in the second I've been 3-for-1-ed by a GOLGARI CHARM (loyalist + mauler + striker) after a double mulligan.

I've won the second 2-0 against some Gruul Zoo without too much trouble.

The last game was against a Junk Reanimator.
I've lost the first game by manaflooding (seems like that shit happens even if you run just 19 lands...) and easily won the second.
On the third I've kept a not-really explosive hand after taking a first mulligan, and walked into T1 forest + arbor elf, T2 swamp + arbor elf + grisly salvage, T3 desecration demon, T4 desecration demon.

Thus, I've ended up sixth on six players and realized a couple of things:
1) I'm still far from being a good player;
2) I should respect more my decks, as they turn against you if you don't

Just for the record, the other two guys were playing a Cavernless Naya Blitz and a Br aggro.

Final thoughts:
nOver 7 games I've drawed only a single BTE and zero dynacharges.
Seems like that at least I've realized that pyreheart wolves and reckoners are a bit SLOW in here

[Link]

[quote="[url=viewtopic.php?p=54806#p54806:2sps0hj3]redthirst » Thu Apr 18, 2013 7:39 am[/url:2sps0hj3]":2sps0hj3]If you're just trying to race, the Wolf is better - if you want the deck to be more versatile, then the Reckoner is better.

So in this deck, I'd go with Pyreheart - though I don't think it's needed since Firefist Striker does a whole lot of the work Pyreheart did at a lower cost.[/quote:2sps0hj3]

He's good against a few decks and undying is still relevant. Such as tempo decks which just kill your striker before you swing so you can't swing profitably, or UWr decks spearing him before you swing with an augur out or something, even junk rites would abrupt decay this guy just so they can block with their smiters/healers.

Fervent Cathar might be playable as well, haven't tested with him though.

[zemanjaski]

The new overload spell probably replaces Dynacharge.

[Link]

I was thinking that about it, but wouldn't he have to replace loyalist as well then because of redundancy? Or is that what you're going for.

I think it might be better in builds with stonewright as rcwarspy pointed out.

[Christen]

The token immunity that loyalist gives is reason enough to not replace him, at least for me.

[lorddax]

Instant speed - R - Target creature gets +1/0 and FS - 1R Overload

Looks like this will be in a much sweeter spot and almost providing loyalist lite 5, 6 & 7

Does Riot Piker want a space in this list? A 2/1 FS for 2 isn;t the worst, but whats his opportunity cost?

[zemanjaski]

I don't like the 'must attack' clause as you frequently want to pass the turn, waiting to draw into a loyalist or pump spell to win.

[zemanjaski]

I was thinking that about it, but wouldn't he have to replace loyalist as well then because of redundancy? Or is that what you're going for.

I think it might be better in builds with stonewright as rcwarspy pointed out.

Yeah, I want 5-6 first strike/pump effects. Getting everyone to 3-4 power FS is going to obliterate most defensive positions, and you can stack Loyalist plus pump, but not two loyalists. If you think of them as combo pieces, you want more than 4 copies etc.

[lorddax]

-2 Dynacharge -1 Mauler +3 Weapon Surge Overloaded?

[rcwraspy]

-2 Dynacharge -1 Mauler +3 Weapon Surge Overloaded?

I hate blanking on maulers in lists that run non-haste 3-drops, but that seems about right.

[lorddax]

I went with that suggestion based on this list:

Maybe this?

[deck]
4 Ash Zealot
4 Burning Tree Emissary
4 Firefist Striker
4 Gore-House Chainwalker
3 Legion Loyalist
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
4 Stromkirk Noble

2 Dynacharge
4 Searing Spear

19 Mountain

Sideboard
4 Pillar of Flame
4 Mizzium Mortars
4 Volcanic Strength
3 Traitorous Blood[/deck]

In that list I feel that knocking down by 1 LM doesnt hurt the deck as it will still run 3 and its not concerned with wolf activations.

[RedNihilist]

[deck]
4 Ash Zealot
4 Burning Tree Emissary
4 Firefist Striker
4 Gore-House Chainwalker
4 Legion Loyalist
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Rakdos Cackler
3 Rakdos Shred-Freak
4 Stromkirk Noble

2 Dynacharge
4 Searing Spear

19 Mountain

Sideboard
4 Pillar of Flame
4 Volcanic Strength
3 Traitorous Blood
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Brimstone Volleys
[/deck]

Played this list on FNM and things went WAY better - leaving the usual 5 color control aside, I've outraced both the aggro decks I've faced (Gruul and Boros respectively) and almost managed to beat down a Junk Reanimator (lost 2-1, on the last game I've managed to take him down to 1 but he managed to escape his doom by abusing Restoration Angels until he stabilized).

[Link]

You can probably go down to 18 land if you're literally running 2 cards costing CMC 3+ in the entire 75? List looks pretty fun though.

Foundry street denizen can make some of your starts even more aggressive too if you'd be willing to give that card a try

[Kazekirimaru]

[deck]
4 Ash Zealot
4 Burning Tree Emissary
4 Firefist Striker
4 Gore-House Chainwalker
4 Legion Loyalist
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Rakdos Cackler
3 Rakdos Shred-Freak
4 Stromkirk Noble

3 Weapon Surge
4 Searing Spear

18 Mountain

Sideboard
4 Pillar of Flame
4 Volcanic Strength
3 Traitorous Blood
4 Mizzium Mortars
[/deck]

Might play this Wednesday or something.

[LP, of the Fires]

If you're going that deep, I think you just end up back on Shahar shenhars deck and you add green for GCR if nothing else. I'm pretty sure that card is going to be better for you then weapon surge the majority of the time.

[Kazekirimaru]

To be perfectly honest, I'm running this in interim until I can procure G/R duals.

[Kazekirimaru]

Ehh, I'm iffy on what exactly the sideboard plan is. Anyone care to elaborate?

[RDW]

What's the basis for 19 lands? It seems like this deck can't keep 1 or 4+ land hands, so what numbers support the 19 land? 17 gives you the highest chance of 2 in the opener (33.9% with 56.6% chance of 2-3), and 21 lands maximizes the chance of 2-3 lands in the opener (59.6% with 31.3% chance of 2 lands). Other than 19 being between these 2, what's the foundation? I think Foundry Street Denizen deserves some testing (I saw it mentioned above, but no responses). He seems like another great 1-drop if we want to move up from 11-12 (basically if the land-count could be reduced). More food for thought: 4 Stomping Grounds + 1 Rootbound Crag would get you 9 green sources, which could support 1-2 Flinthoof Boar for free so we aren't digging for good beaters. Plus, no chance of double buddy collision so there's almost no opportunity cost associated with this inclusion. I may test this deck next week and I'll provide some input.

[rcwraspy]

I've done some testing with Foundry Street Denizen. He's a bad red version of Champion of the Parish. And after T3 or so, I mean he's REAL bad. But there's something to be said for the nut draw with him.

Imagine an opener with Foundry, 2 BTEs, and an LM.

T1 Foundry
T2 BTE, BTE, LM, bond. Foundry triggers 3 times, you swing for 8 T2.

But after you're done dropping more than 1 creature per turn, or once your opponent gets really anything on the board, he's very lackluster. And probably one of the worst top-decks in the game for us.

[Valdarith]

That's the problem with all the other one drops anyway. All but Stonewright are terrible topdecks. I'd actually rather topdeck FSD than Stromkirk Noble.

[Link]

This is ALL in red, what the hell is the talk of late game and topdecks?

[rcwraspy]

This is ALL in red, what the hell is the talk of late game and topdecks?

Ok. Well, if your gameplan is win by T4 or know you'll lose, then yes, Foundry could be an excellent addition. Just remember you need to caste it before other things and that it doesn't boost the butt.

[zemanjaski]

19 land because I want more consistency than 17 land; it also supports your raising your curve post board.

[RDW]

19 land because I want more consistency than 17 land; it also supports your raising your curve post board.

Fair enough. Is this the deck you're on? Any plans of streaming/events/results soon? Really looking forward to it. What if the deck never raised the curve (literally 0-1 3CMC cards in the 75 and certainly 0 in the main)?

[Link]

I wouldn't play 17 land unless you had only like 4-8 2 drops. You really can't keep 1 landers in AIR unless you have 3+ 1 drop plays in the hand, and even then the deck is just runs better at 3 mana no matter what.

A 2-drop and a 1-drop (LMauler+1-drop!) by T3 really accelerates your game plan than if you are stuck playing a 1 drop a turn (which WILL happen on 17 land)

[RDW]

I wouldn't play 17 land unless you had only like 4-8 2 drops. You really can't keep 1 landers in AIR unless you have 3+ 1 drop plays in the hand, and even then the deck is just runs better at 3 mana no matter what.

A 2-drop and a 1-drop (LMauler+1-drop!) by T3 really accelerates your game plan than if you are stuck playing a 1 drop a turn (which WILL happen on 17 land)

I guess 2+1 drop = 3-drop so we need more lands. Just curious where 19 came from. It seems like the deck could easily go glass-cannon on 17 lands with (maybe) one Traiterous Blood in the sideboard, and infinite 1/2 drops in the main.

[zemanjaski]

You're going to win more games with a 3 land opener than a 1 land opener.

[Kazekirimaru]

I can't seem to goldfish a win faster than turn five with this deck. D: Advice?

[Link]

Try dynacharge over weapon surge again? Maybe that's just me. With loyalist and firerfist striker, what are you really first striking down? The more burst is probably important.

-Opinion made with literally no testing of this list

[Kazekirimaru]

I actually have Dynacharge in the 75 instead already. Two of them. I went back to 19 land.

My main problems have been:

- Mana flood or screw.
- Never seeming to be able to draw Burning-Tree Emissary.
- Drawing multiples of non-hasty creatures early(Gore-house Chainwalker)

Am I just getting screwed by variance or what?

[RDW]

Yeah, all of that sounds like variance. Just keep playing, and you'll see the actual power of the deck. I didn't play any Magic this weekend, but this is one of three decks I'm considering for TNM.

[JWarson88]

Have any of you tested with Massive Raid ? It just seems that it would help give the deck a good finisher. Granted its mostly conditional and flat out worse than brimstone volley most of the time, but could it be of use post innistrad rotation?

[zemanjaski]

Not a constructed playable card.

[JWarson88]

Not a constructed playable card.

Fair enough, sometimes I see cards like that and just think, "it could work if I build around it." Oh well.

I know this isn't the right page for this but Zemanjaski I'm a real fan of the mono red sledgehammer build you did a while back and was wondering if you and the other red mages here think its still a viable deck option. Again I apologize for not putting it in the right section, but I'm not comfortable with making variant pages because frankly, I don't have nearly the amount of experience or hours invested in the game to even begin thinking about starting a page like that. I really appreciate all that the clan members of Fires of Salvation do to promote the power and complexity of red and
dispelling the stigma about red decks.

[Valdarith]

Not a constructed playable card.

Fair enough, sometimes I see cards like that and just think, "it could work if I build around it." Oh well.

I know this isn't the right page for this but Zemanjaski I'm a real fan of the mono red sledgehammer build you did a while back and was wondering if you and the other red mages here think its still a viable deck option. Again I apologize for not putting it in the right section, but I'm not comfortable with making variant pages because frankly, I don't have nearly the amount of experience or hours invested in the game to even
begin thinking about starting a page like that. I really appreciate all that the clan members of Fires of Salvation do to promote the power and complexity of red and dispelling the stigma about red decks.

It's still viable but not nearly as strong as it was at the beginning of the block when Sphinx's Revalation was less prevalent. Now that more decks are running counterspells on top of it means it's lost some of it's allure since it's not as fast as other red-based decks.

IMO the most well-positioned mono red deck is Khaos's version which incidentally I had been running an eerily similar version of since GTC. It should be in this subforum.

[zemanjaski]

Went 3-0 in an 8 man last night (6-1) with:

[deck]
4 Ash Zealot
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Firefist Striker
4 Legion Loyalist
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Stromkirk Noble

4 Dynacharge
4 Krenko's Command
2 Pillar of Flame
4 Searing Spear

18 Mountain[/deck]

Leaning heavily on Battalion and pumps, but looks pretty fun. This is sort of what I had in mind when I was talking about a heavily-synergy focussed deck last week. Very happy to receive feedback and/or criticism.

No sideboard. Beat UWR, Junk Reanimator x2.

[zemanjaski]

I wonder if I can just splash white for Rally the Peasants and maybe Boros Charm...hmmmm

[zemanjaski]

[deck]
As above but:
-4 Dynacharge
-2 Pillar of Flame

+3 Rally the Peasants
+3 Boros Charm

New mana base:
4 Clifftop Retreat
4 Sacred Foundry
10 Mountain[/deck]