The three Blind Obedience may be me over preparing based on my local meta where Sneak/Show is very much in the meta. I found it to be very strong in that matchup, as well as giving a heavy grind to the deck through extort. I may cut to 2.
Blood Moon and Choke are nonbo-y but in my experiences I like having access to both in game one. I may shift blood moon to the board.
I never liked Replenish. I'll test with it some more but I found that the only time I really liked it was against Jund and even then that was assuming I could replenish something worthwhile back out.
I love mana bloom. If nothing else it mana fixes and its repeatability is awesome early. It's allowed me to grind out of holes I couldn't before I added it and late game it's a 1 mana draw enabler for WoW.
Sideboard:
Bow shoots down Delvers, Aven Mindcensor, Scryb Ranger, Ornithopters, Spirit tokens, Vault Skirges, Baleful Strix... Gains life as an eot option, puts spent enchantments on the bottom to prevent decking or fetch back out with sterling groves and shrinking goyf in the process. Again, this may be my overcorrection for local meta play.
Root maze was already cut. Still trying to figure out what to replace it with. Considering Curse of Exhaustion or Karmic Justice.
Hey guys, been a while since I lurked these forums, but I'm taking Enchantress to Eternal Weekend this month and I figured I would get some input. I have found splashing red is worth Blood Moon and Words of War. Words and Emrakul claim more than their fair share of opponents. I find Sigil of the Empty Throne might be the weakest of the three, but I may just not play to it as much as I play to the others.
In my experiences, Blind Obedience has been mediocre at best. Sure, it slows down hasty two drops and three drops if you land it on the play. If you're on the draw in game one, what do you do? Out of the board it hasn't performed much better and I feel the extort is not worth the hassle.
Rhox Faithmender is too slow. I find he hits the board on a turn you need to sweep, not land a big guy who can gain you a little health.
Vampire Nighthawk underperformed for me as well. He is a solid creature and the lifegain is fine, I found that a turn 3 play that doesn't have immediate board impact was just lackluster.
In Daytona I felt that the deck needed more power cards in the 3-4-5 slots. Since we don't have an overly reliable sweeper in the 4 slot (Mutilate isn't the answer in a tri-color deck) and we don't have the board stalling or lifegain to ensure a turn 6 in game one, I think if we can land power cards in turns 3-4-5 think the deck will run better. Boros Reckoner stopped aggro dead in it's tracks every time he hit the board. We need other options of that sort.
With the aforementioned Reckoner floating everywhere, non-damage options for removal are ideal as well. It might not be a true "Sweeper" but Barter in Blood may fill the 4 slot well as a turn 4 option that will have little impact on your board state. Even jankier options like Augur Spree grant you some interesting options in the 3-4 slot.
Since I built my deck somewhat more focused around Reckoner, I have eyed Divine Reckoning as well, allowing me to safely run Reckoner out on turn 3 and wipe the board sans one on their side on turn 4.
My list from Saturday needs some tweaking, so I plan on making some changes.
Like I said, I ran Dega at the Daytona Classic this weekend, though the 75 I posted was tweaked due to the room scouting on the day of the tournament. I feel that the changes I made to the board and swapping out the Stensia for a Stronghold were probably the better options, though I believe the Slayers' Stronghold could have been another Vault of the Archangel. I felt the deck ran well against all my opponents. I ended at 3-4 Drop in round seven. I was alive to top 32 through 6 rounds according to standings and breakers.
Round 1: Bant Hexproof Game 1: I lost the roll and started on the draw. He played a turn three Geist of Saint Traft, which I Rolling Temblor'd away, but I stalled on lands at 4 with a Terminus in hand. Loss. Game 2: On the play I play cat and mouse with another turn 3 Geist, unsummon vs. Tribute to Hunger, Temblor, Tribute in that order. Turn 7 he pacified my Boros Reckoner. I dropped a hardcast Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, which he also pacified. Dropped a Geist, suited it up, and passed. I top-decked and Olivia Voldaren, played it and passed with 4 open mana. He played more enchantments on the Geist and swung, leaving no white mana open, I pinged the Angel token twice to kill it (go Gisela) and took half damage from the Geist not scared of Boros Charm. On the back swing, I swung in with Olivia and pinged the Reckoner twice, redirecting 4 and hitting for 10 for game. Game 3:On the draw, I fell victim to a turn 5 10/6 trampling Strangelroot Geist. Tributing it once on turn 3 and without another removal spell to deal with it, I fell. Loss. 0-1
Round 2: America Midrange Game 1: I won the roll and was on the play, dropping a turn 3 Reckoner, effectively freezing his board. I banged him down to 8 with the Reckoner, and cast Blasphemous Act, his sphinx's to draw into a counter did not yield a response. Game 2: Turn 3 on the play Reckoner was dealt with as a 2 for 1 with a Searing Spear, taking out an Augur of Bolas. I got him to 13, passed. He tapped out for a Thundermaw Hellkite, taking me to 5, passed. I cast act for game. 1-1
Round 3: America Midrange Game 1: No temblors or sweeps to take out his turn 3 Geist. Hit me down to 8 with it and unloaded spears and Boros Charms into me. Game 2: Turn three Reckoner on the play, my opponent land flooded and fell victim to another Blasphemous Act. Game 3: Major Nail-Biter. I'm against the ropes the entire game, dealing with a Geist and an opposing Reckoner. At 7 life and my opponent at 16, reckoner on board and act in hand, I top deck a Victim of Night, cast the act, hold priority, victim the reckoner, wiping the board and dropping him to 3. He casts a Reckoner on the following turn, which I drop an Olivia. He swings, no blocks, I go to 4. I swing back with Olivia. He flashes in a Restoration Angel, which I ping, then steal in response to the blink trigger for game. 2-1
Round 4: Experiment Jund Game 1: He all but god handed me, curb stomping me with a combination of Hellrider and Flinthoof Boar. I never stood a chance. Game 2: Post board, I felt much better, almost getting him, but he top decked a late game Hellrider to seal it. 2-2
*Note:* This was against my friend who rode with me to the tournament from Dothan, AL, and was part of the group who developed the Experiment Jund list you probably saw a bit of coverage about from the PT.
Round 5: Naya Beats Game 1: I drew no sweeper and was unceremoniously showed the door but a wave of dudes. Game 2: I worked a few Temblors and an Olivia into victory. A grindy match, I cast and flashed back Temblor 3 times. Game 3: Turn 2 Thalia on the play sealed my fate. By the time I got rid of her I didn't have the board state to recover. 2-3
Round 6: Naya Beats Game 1: Continued my trend of getting hammered in game ones. Lost by a large margin to a lot of bears on the board. Saw no sweepers and the spot removal I did see couldn't target his Mayor of Avabruck or Huntmaster of the Fells. Game 2: Landed a turn 3 Reckoner into a Turn 4 Olivia. I know playing the Olivia was a mistake on the hindsight, but I needed board presence at the time. When he got stonewalled by 2 for 1's, I cleared the board with Olivia and swung in. Game 3: Reanimated Gisela on turn 4, Reckoner turn 5, one shotted with Blasphemous Act Turn 6. 3-3
Round 7: Jund Midrange Game 1: Game one was difficult as he gained quite a bit of life and had answers for my threats. Lost on the attrition. Game 2: With my extensive faithless looting and no unburial rites in game one, my opponent admitted putting me on reanimator and boarded incorrectly. I controlled the board until resolving a Gisela and a Reckoner in subsequent turns, swinging overhead for game. Game 3: As much of a back and forth game as we could've gotten, he Rakdos's Return'd me, nuking my whole hand with both of us with an empty board. I top-deck'd the Rakdos's Return, nuking his hand, putting us both in top-deck mode on turn 6. He drew better, though I drew almost every sweeper in my deck. Eventually, at 5 life, he resolved a Huntmaster, and I drew a land. 3-4 DROP.
I felt that with some tuning, the deck can perform quite well. Some things I noticed:
1. Tribute to Hunger was an all-star. I boarded it in for 6 rounds. I should move it to the main. I prefer it over devour flesh.
2. Merciless Eviction had a very strong showing against midrange but was far to slow against Aggro.
3. Sorin, Lord of Innistrad was discarded to faithless more than he was played. I'll be removing him.
4. Victim of Night was only a liability in one game, and it was a non-issue in the end. Great removal, keeping as a 3 of.
5. Olivia Voldaren will get you home. She is a cornerstone of the deck and is an auto-include.
6. Obzedat, Ghost Council and Griselbrand were never something I was looking for. I'll probably be removing them. Both are strong, but I feel that in my list their application is limited.
7. Rolling Temblor is quite underrated. Most people had to read it when I cast it, but it was effective in all my matchups except Experiment Jund and Jund Midrange. Turn 3 response to Geist is something to consider.
8. There was never a time that Faithless Looting was an issue for me. Dumping fatties early led my opponents to interact with my graveyard a little bit, and many of them boarded in graveyard hate which wasn't very effective in the long run. The card let me see much more of the deck, and the card quality in most cases overcame the card disadvantage. I'm leaving it at 4.
9. Blasphemous Act was effective with or without Boros Reckoner. I found it to be a delightful sweeper, and regularly able to cast on turn 4 following an aggro build up and a lingering souls cast.
10. Mizzium Mortars underperformed. I rarely wanted it over another option, and I never once needed to or would've benefitted from its overload. As a sweeper, Merciless Eviction is easier to cast and more versatile, as targeted removal I want more instant speed plays.
Hope this helps. I love the color combination and will probably continue to tool and tinker with it. If you have any questions or suggestions, let me know.
I've been toying with Dega for some time and have been tooling and retooling over and over. I originally thought a more black based list would be best with Liliana of the Dark Realms to smooth draws and mana, but I found that the strongest parts of this color combo come in the red and white. Reckoner is a house both on the offensive and the defensive and I found the interactions between Olivia and Reckoner, as well as Temblor and Reckoner, to be quite worthy of the inclusion. The blasphemous act is to bring fire down, and can also be a late game finisher if need be with Reckoner.
Merciless Eviction plays better than it seems on paper, and it was a tough cut to sideboard. The versatility allows for a great plays. Six mana is hefty, but I found with the proper application of removal getting to six isn't as difficult as it was in previous versions of the list.
The minor reanimate package was in response to needing a filter spell to dig and gain card quality. It isn't to be relied on, but can also provide extra value out of a fatty or even just bringing back a reckoner.
I'll be taking Dega to the Daytona SCG Classic; look me up if you're heading that way. This is what my list is going to look like:
I found the deck to be very enjoyable if a bit durdly. I know 2 Slaughter Games in the main seems odd, but in playtesting worked better than anticipated so I kept them.
Game 1: Mulliganed to 5 on his 7 keep on the play. No land, no land, 4 lands and Koth. Took a chance on a slow hand because mulling to 4 seemed a weaker option. First top deck was a Koth again. Nothing but lands for both of us rounds 1-4, my first Koth play was countered, then he tapped out for some milling and digging. I played the second Koth, managed to strike an emblem and it was adios muchachos.
Sideboard: -3 Arc Trail, -1 Incinerate; +1 Wrack with Madness, +1 Act of Aggression, +2 Traitorous Blood
Game 2: Kept my 7 card hand, turn 1 Noble, turn 2 'Serker, Turn 3 Volt Charge. Game was over pretty quick.
Round 2: Won 2-0
Playing against Spirit Delver
Game 1: Kept and opening hand with Noble, Stormblood, Arc Trail, Galv and three mountains. On the play dropped the Noble, he played a Delver and passed; swung noble, his Delver flipped on his trigger; galvanic blast neutralized the threat. Top decked another arc trail and rode the noble to victory with arc trail cleaning up his lingering souls.
Game 2: Kept opening hand of 1 Slagstorm, 1 Arc Trail, 1 Fireslinger, 1 Stormblood, 1 Chandra's Phoenix and 2 Mountains. Dropped the Slinger, opponent pondered and passed. Turn 2 dropped a blood thirsted Stormblood. Opponent played a delver, and passed. On attackers declared the Stormblood was vapor snagged. Opponent dropped a linger souls on turn three; arc trail clean up the souls, and a newly drawn noble hit the board. Turn 4 My opponent played another lingering souls, I dropped a phoenix. Turn 5 opponent flashed back both lingering souls, my turn 5 dropped slagstorm. Dropped another thirsted Berserker and rode him home.
Round 3: Lost 2-1
Playing against R/U Delver
Game 1: Blowout win for me. Opponents first three turns were lands and ponders. Finally at the end he hit a delver and showed flashes of some burn.
Sideboard: -1 Incinerate; +1 Arc Trail
Game 2: Shrine finally showed up but was a non-factor. Deck was giving me burn and nothing but, lost my turn 1 noble to a gut shot. Got him to 4 life before he finally got me with a pike top deck.
Game 3: Top decked 7 straight mountains. Ran out of gas around turn 4. Life totals showed the game being much closer than it was.
Round 4: Won 2-0
Playing against Mono Green Aggro
Game 1: Opponent was on the play, and played a forest and bird. Turn 1 I blasted the bird thinking she was running wolf run. Her turn 2 she dropped a Strangleroot and went aggressive. I responded with a Noble and blasted her bird. Again she attacked but had no turn 3 play. Hit a blood thirsted Berserker due to her lack of blockers for the noble, top decked a volt charge and rolled on past.
No Board
Game 2: Opponent on the play hit a forest and a bird again, I played a mountain and a Noble. Turn 2 Emissary stymied my attacks in the beginning, so I just dropped her bird with a galvanic blast and passed. She dropped a geist and swung with both the emissary and the geist, and I did not block. Went aggro with the noble and dropped a bloodthirsted Stormblood. She attacked both again, I left the emissary unblocked and killed the geist with the berserker. Turn 4 Volt Charged the geist to get rid of it Swung in for 7. Her turn 5 she acidic slimed one of my mountains; top decked a mountain, galv blasted the slime, swung in with both, she blocked the noble and went for her land, took 4 again. Dropped a big Dungrove, but never had two blockers. Ran the Stormblood home again.
Round 5: Won 2-1
Played against Spirit Delver
Game 1: Never drew into my arc trails and had issues with keeping his spirits under control. Eventually he got me in a fairly tight game.
Game 2: Kept a burn heavy hand with a noble. Dropped the noble and kept him off his stride. Managed to resolve a koth on turn 4 after he used his mana leak on a phoenix. Koth beat him in pretty good and kept the pressure off me. He couldn't keep bodies on the board.
Game 3: Another burn heavy hand, including a slagstorm. Played conservatively, and my lack of board presence resulted in a pretty gross overextension which slagstorm cleaned up. Resolved Koth. Protected Koth. Koth's emblem wiped him out.
Round 6: Won 2-0
Playing against U/w Illusions/tempo
Game 1: Opponent didn't see lands. Did see illusions.
No board.
Game 2: Opponent once again had to mulligan due to lands, could never get his footing. Illusions are weak to lots of targeted removal.
Thoughts from the evening:
I'm planning on dropping Hellrider altogether. He's a fun card and he's a blast when he resolves, but overall he's not a great fit in RDW because we rarely have enough creatures to really make him worth it. Koth is an absolute beater. His emblem basically screams quit now.
I plan to drop the two hellriders for two Grim Lavamancers, as well as a mountain for a fourth main board arc trail. I find the Arc Trail is good enough to be a main deck 4 of, at least in our current meta in Tallahassee. With that much burn going through, the Grim Lavamancer will give me some extra gas as well, and a lower mana curve.
There is no reason not to put in Perilous Myr MB on this deck. I ran something similar.
I also loved running Goblin Gaveleers and Piston Sledges in that deck. Sledges give you another sac engine for artifacts and make your gaveleers 6/2 Tramplers.
Deck is pretty explosive at times. A blast to play. Can sometimes come out of nowhere to dome everything out. Like Red normally is, it can run out of gas but overall has been really fun.
Blood Moon and Choke are nonbo-y but in my experiences I like having access to both in game one. I may shift blood moon to the board.
I never liked Replenish. I'll test with it some more but I found that the only time I really liked it was against Jund and even then that was assuming I could replenish something worthwhile back out.
I love mana bloom. If nothing else it mana fixes and its repeatability is awesome early. It's allowed me to grind out of holes I couldn't before I added it and late game it's a 1 mana draw enabler for WoW.
Sideboard:
Bow shoots down Delvers, Aven Mindcensor, Scryb Ranger, Ornithopters, Spirit tokens, Vault Skirges, Baleful Strix... Gains life as an eot option, puts spent enchantments on the bottom to prevent decking or fetch back out with sterling groves and shrinking goyf in the process. Again, this may be my overcorrection for local meta play.
Root maze was already cut. Still trying to figure out what to replace it with. Considering Curse of Exhaustion or Karmic Justice.
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
2 Plains
2 Savannah
2 Serra's Sanctum
1 Taiga
4 Windswept Heath
4 Argothian Enchantress
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Blind Obedience
1 Blood Moon
1 Choke
3 Elephant Grass
4 Enchantress's Presence
2 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Mana Bloom
2 Mirri's Guile
1 Moat
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Rest in Peace
1 Sigil of the Empty Throne
3 Solitary Confinement
4 Sterling Grove
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Wild Growth
1 Words of War
2 Blind Obedience
1 Bow of Nylea
1 Choke
1 Humility
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Rest in Peace
1 Root Maze
1 Stony Silence
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
Rhox Faithmender is too slow. I find he hits the board on a turn you need to sweep, not land a big guy who can gain you a little health.
Vampire Nighthawk underperformed for me as well. He is a solid creature and the lifegain is fine, I found that a turn 3 play that doesn't have immediate board impact was just lackluster.
In Daytona I felt that the deck needed more power cards in the 3-4-5 slots. Since we don't have an overly reliable sweeper in the 4 slot (Mutilate isn't the answer in a tri-color deck) and we don't have the board stalling or lifegain to ensure a turn 6 in game one, I think if we can land power cards in turns 3-4-5 think the deck will run better. Boros Reckoner stopped aggro dead in it's tracks every time he hit the board. We need other options of that sort.
With the aforementioned Reckoner floating everywhere, non-damage options for removal are ideal as well. It might not be a true "Sweeper" but Barter in Blood may fill the 4 slot well as a turn 4 option that will have little impact on your board state. Even jankier options like Augur Spree grant you some interesting options in the 3-4 slot.
Since I built my deck somewhat more focused around Reckoner, I have eyed Divine Reckoning as well, allowing me to safely run Reckoner out on turn 3 and wipe the board sans one on their side on turn 4.
My list from Saturday needs some tweaking, so I plan on making some changes.
-1 Obzedat, Ghost Council
-1 Griselbrand
-2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
-1 Mizzium Mortars
-1 Angel of Serenity (Sideboard)
-1 Tribute to Hunger (Sideboard)
+1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
+2 Tribute to Hunger
+2 Divine Reckoning
+1 Paraselene (Sideboard)
+1 Nevermore (Sideboard)
So the new list would look something like:
4 Blood Crypt
4 Godless Shrine
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Mountain
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Slayer's Stronghold
Creatures (9)
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
3 Olivia Voldaren
2 Blasphemous Act
2 Divine Reckoning
4 Faithless Looting
4 Lingering Souls
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Rakdos's Return
2 Rolling Temblor
2 Terminus
2 Unburial Rites
Instant (5)
2 Tribute to Hunger
3 Victim of Night
2 Dreadbore
2 Merciless Eviction
1 Nevermore
1 Paraselene
2 Pillar of Flame
2 Rakdos Charm
2 Rolling Temblor
2 Slaughter Games
1 Tribute to Hunger
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
Like I said, I ran Dega at the Daytona Classic this weekend, though the 75 I posted was tweaked due to the room scouting on the day of the tournament. I feel that the changes I made to the board and swapping out the Stensia for a Stronghold were probably the better options, though I believe the Slayers' Stronghold could have been another Vault of the Archangel. I felt the deck ran well against all my opponents. I ended at 3-4 Drop in round seven. I was alive to top 32 through 6 rounds according to standings and breakers.
Round 1: Bant Hexproof
Game 1: I lost the roll and started on the draw. He played a turn three Geist of Saint Traft, which I Rolling Temblor'd away, but I stalled on lands at 4 with a Terminus in hand. Loss.
Game 2: On the play I play cat and mouse with another turn 3 Geist, unsummon vs. Tribute to Hunger, Temblor, Tribute in that order. Turn 7 he pacified my Boros Reckoner. I dropped a hardcast Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, which he also pacified. Dropped a Geist, suited it up, and passed. I top-decked and Olivia Voldaren, played it and passed with 4 open mana. He played more enchantments on the Geist and swung, leaving no white mana open, I pinged the Angel token twice to kill it (go Gisela) and took half damage from the Geist not scared of Boros Charm. On the back swing, I swung in with Olivia and pinged the Reckoner twice, redirecting 4 and hitting for 10 for game.
Game 3:On the draw, I fell victim to a turn 5 10/6 trampling Strangelroot Geist. Tributing it once on turn 3 and without another removal spell to deal with it, I fell. Loss. 0-1
Round 2: America Midrange
Game 1: I won the roll and was on the play, dropping a turn 3 Reckoner, effectively freezing his board. I banged him down to 8 with the Reckoner, and cast Blasphemous Act, his sphinx's to draw into a counter did not yield a response.
Game 2: Turn 3 on the play Reckoner was dealt with as a 2 for 1 with a Searing Spear, taking out an Augur of Bolas. I got him to 13, passed. He tapped out for a Thundermaw Hellkite, taking me to 5, passed. I cast act for game. 1-1
Round 3: America Midrange
Game 1: No temblors or sweeps to take out his turn 3 Geist. Hit me down to 8 with it and unloaded spears and Boros Charms into me.
Game 2: Turn three Reckoner on the play, my opponent land flooded and fell victim to another Blasphemous Act.
Game 3: Major Nail-Biter. I'm against the ropes the entire game, dealing with a Geist and an opposing Reckoner. At 7 life and my opponent at 16, reckoner on board and act in hand, I top deck a Victim of Night, cast the act, hold priority, victim the reckoner, wiping the board and dropping him to 3. He casts a Reckoner on the following turn, which I drop an Olivia. He swings, no blocks, I go to 4. I swing back with Olivia. He flashes in a Restoration Angel, which I ping, then steal in response to the blink trigger for game. 2-1
Round 4: Experiment Jund
Game 1: He all but god handed me, curb stomping me with a combination of Hellrider and Flinthoof Boar. I never stood a chance.
Game 2: Post board, I felt much better, almost getting him, but he top decked a late game Hellrider to seal it. 2-2
*Note:* This was against my friend who rode with me to the tournament from Dothan, AL, and was part of the group who developed the Experiment Jund list you probably saw a bit of coverage about from the PT.
Round 5: Naya Beats
Game 1: I drew no sweeper and was unceremoniously showed the door but a wave of dudes.
Game 2: I worked a few Temblors and an Olivia into victory. A grindy match, I cast and flashed back Temblor 3 times.
Game 3: Turn 2 Thalia on the play sealed my fate. By the time I got rid of her I didn't have the board state to recover. 2-3
Round 6: Naya Beats
Game 1: Continued my trend of getting hammered in game ones. Lost by a large margin to a lot of bears on the board. Saw no sweepers and the spot removal I did see couldn't target his Mayor of Avabruck or Huntmaster of the Fells.
Game 2: Landed a turn 3 Reckoner into a Turn 4 Olivia. I know playing the Olivia was a mistake on the hindsight, but I needed board presence at the time. When he got stonewalled by 2 for 1's, I cleared the board with Olivia and swung in.
Game 3: Reanimated Gisela on turn 4, Reckoner turn 5, one shotted with Blasphemous Act Turn 6. 3-3
Round 7: Jund Midrange
Game 1: Game one was difficult as he gained quite a bit of life and had answers for my threats. Lost on the attrition.
Game 2: With my extensive faithless looting and no unburial rites in game one, my opponent admitted putting me on reanimator and boarded incorrectly. I controlled the board until resolving a Gisela and a Reckoner in subsequent turns, swinging overhead for game.
Game 3: As much of a back and forth game as we could've gotten, he Rakdos's Return'd me, nuking my whole hand with both of us with an empty board. I top-deck'd the Rakdos's Return, nuking his hand, putting us both in top-deck mode on turn 6. He drew better, though I drew almost every sweeper in my deck. Eventually, at 5 life, he resolved a Huntmaster, and I drew a land. 3-4 DROP.
I felt that with some tuning, the deck can perform quite well. Some things I noticed:
1. Tribute to Hunger was an all-star. I boarded it in for 6 rounds. I should move it to the main. I prefer it over devour flesh.
2. Merciless Eviction had a very strong showing against midrange but was far to slow against Aggro.
3. Sorin, Lord of Innistrad was discarded to faithless more than he was played. I'll be removing him.
4. Victim of Night was only a liability in one game, and it was a non-issue in the end. Great removal, keeping as a 3 of.
5. Olivia Voldaren will get you home. She is a cornerstone of the deck and is an auto-include.
6. Obzedat, Ghost Council and Griselbrand were never something I was looking for. I'll probably be removing them. Both are strong, but I feel that in my list their application is limited.
7. Rolling Temblor is quite underrated. Most people had to read it when I cast it, but it was effective in all my matchups except Experiment Jund and Jund Midrange. Turn 3 response to Geist is something to consider.
8. There was never a time that Faithless Looting was an issue for me. Dumping fatties early led my opponents to interact with my graveyard a little bit, and many of them boarded in graveyard hate which wasn't very effective in the long run. The card let me see much more of the deck, and the card quality in most cases overcame the card disadvantage. I'm leaving it at 4.
9. Blasphemous Act was effective with or without Boros Reckoner. I found it to be a delightful sweeper, and regularly able to cast on turn 4 following an aggro build up and a lingering souls cast.
10. Mizzium Mortars underperformed. I rarely wanted it over another option, and I never once needed to or would've benefitted from its overload. As a sweeper, Merciless Eviction is easier to cast and more versatile, as targeted removal I want more instant speed plays.
Hope this helps. I love the color combination and will probably continue to tool and tinker with it. If you have any questions or suggestions, let me know.
Here is the list from Saturday:
4 Blood Crypt
4 Godless Shrine
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Mountain
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Slayer's Stronghold
Creatures (10)
4 Boros Reckoner
1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1 Griselbrand
1 Obzedat, Ghost Quarter
3 Olivia Voldaren
2 Blasphemous Act
4 Faithless Looting
4 Lingering Souls
3 Mizzium Mortars
2 Rakdos's Return
2 Rolling Temblor
2 Terminus
2 Unburial Rites
Instant (3)
3 Victim of Night
Planeswalker (2)
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Angel of Serenity
2 Dreadbore
2 Merciless Eviction
2 Pillar of Flame
2 Rakdos Charm
2 Rolling Temblor
2 Slaughter Games
2 Tribute to Hunger
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
Merciless Eviction plays better than it seems on paper, and it was a tough cut to sideboard. The versatility allows for a great plays. Six mana is hefty, but I found with the proper application of removal getting to six isn't as difficult as it was in previous versions of the list.
The minor reanimate package was in response to needing a filter spell to dig and gain card quality. It isn't to be relied on, but can also provide extra value out of a fatty or even just bringing back a reckoner.
I'll be taking Dega to the Daytona SCG Classic; look me up if you're heading that way. This is what my list is going to look like:
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Mountain
1 Stensia Bloodhall
1 Vault of the Archangel
CREATURE (10)
4 Boros Reckoner
1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1 Griselbrand
1 Obzedat, Ghost Council
3 Olivia Voldaren
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
SORCERY (21)
2 Blasphemous Act
4 Faithless Looting
4 Lingering Souls
3 Mizzium Mortars
2 Rakdos's Return
2 Rolling Temblor
2 Terminus
2 Unburial Rites
INSTANT (3)
3 Victim of Night
1 Angel of Serenity
2 Dreadbore
2 Merciless Eviction
3 Pillar of Flame
3 Rakdos Charm
2 Rolling Temblor
2 Slaughter Games
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
I love the deck, and had some success with it at our local FNM.
This is what I ran:
4 Blood Crypt
1 Clifftop Retreat
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Sacred Foundry
6 Swamp
Creatures:
1 Griselbrand
2 Olivia Voldaren
1 Obzedat, Ghost Council
2 Aurelia's Fury
2 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Rakdos's Return
2 Dreadbore
4 Lingering Souls
2 Merciless Eviction
2 Terminus
1 Mutiliate
2 Oblivion Ring
4 Sign in Blood
2 Ultimate Price
2 Slaughter Games
2 Liliana of the Dark Realms
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
I found the deck to be very enjoyable if a bit durdly. I know 2 Slaughter Games in the main seems odd, but in playtesting worked better than anticipated so I kept them.
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
1 Ageless Sentinels
1 Angel of Jubilation
1 Aven Brigadier
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Aven Squire
1 Battlewise Aven
1 Beacon Hawk
1 Carrier Pigeons
1 Castle Raptors
1 Celestial Gatekeeper
1 Cloudchaser Kestrel
1 Commander Eesha
1 Courier Hawk
1 Dragonstalker
1 Duskrider Falcon
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Emeria Angel
1 Freewind Falcon
1 Glarecaster
1 Gustcloak Savior
1 Junk Diver
1 Lieutenant Kirtar
1 Mirror Entity
1 Mystic Familiar
1 Silver Seraph
1 Skyshroud Falcon
1 Soulcatcher
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Suntail Hawk
1 Wild Aesthir
1 Windbrisk Raptor
1 Elspeth Tirel
Enchantments [9]
1 Honor of the Pure
1 Glorious Anthem
1 Marshal's Anthem
1 Angelic Voices
1 Crusade
1 Equipoise
1 Soulcatchers' Aerie
1 Serra Aviary
1 Gerrard's Battle Cry
Artifacts [9]
1 Batterskull
1 Caged Sun
1 Citanul Flute
1 Coat of Arms
1 Explorer's Scope
1 Fireshrieker
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Sword of the Paruns
1 Thran Weaponry
Instant [6]
1 Abeyance
1 Bandage
1 Cease-Fire
1 Heal
1 Orim's Chant
1 Restrain
Sorcery [6]
1 Austere Command
1 Battle Screech
1 Catastrophe
1 Gift of Estates
1 Purify
1 Wrath of God
1 Bant Panorama
1 Contested War Zone
1 Drifting Meadow
1 Dust Bowl
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
1 Esper Panorama
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Flood Plain
1 Forbidding Watchtower
1 Fountain of Cho
1 Grasslands
1 Karoo
1 Kjeldoran Outpost
1 Krosan Verge
1 Naya Panorama
1 New Benalia
1 Nomad Stadium
1 Petrified Field
15 Plains
1 Remote Farm
1 Secluded Steppe
1 Terramorphic Expanse
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Goblin Fireslinger
2 Hellrider
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Volt Charge
3 Arc Trail
3 Incinerate
4 Ancient Grudge
1 Arc Trail
2 Traitorous Blood
1 Act of Aggression
1 Wrack with Madness
2 Porcelain Legionnaire
2 Dismember
2 Slagstorm
Round 1: Won 2-0
Playing against 4-Color Reanimator/Control
Game 1: Mulliganed to 5 on his 7 keep on the play. No land, no land, 4 lands and Koth. Took a chance on a slow hand because mulling to 4 seemed a weaker option. First top deck was a Koth again. Nothing but lands for both of us rounds 1-4, my first Koth play was countered, then he tapped out for some milling and digging. I played the second Koth, managed to strike an emblem and it was adios muchachos.
Sideboard: -3 Arc Trail, -1 Incinerate; +1 Wrack with Madness, +1 Act of Aggression, +2 Traitorous Blood
Game 2: Kept my 7 card hand, turn 1 Noble, turn 2 'Serker, Turn 3 Volt Charge. Game was over pretty quick.
Round 2: Won 2-0
Playing against Spirit Delver
Game 1: Kept and opening hand with Noble, Stormblood, Arc Trail, Galv and three mountains. On the play dropped the Noble, he played a Delver and passed; swung noble, his Delver flipped on his trigger; galvanic blast neutralized the threat. Top decked another arc trail and rode the noble to victory with arc trail cleaning up his lingering souls.
Sideboard: -2 Volt Charge, -1 Incinerate; +2 Slagstorm +1 Arc Tral
Game 2: Kept opening hand of 1 Slagstorm, 1 Arc Trail, 1 Fireslinger, 1 Stormblood, 1 Chandra's Phoenix and 2 Mountains. Dropped the Slinger, opponent pondered and passed. Turn 2 dropped a blood thirsted Stormblood. Opponent played a delver, and passed. On attackers declared the Stormblood was vapor snagged. Opponent dropped a linger souls on turn three; arc trail clean up the souls, and a newly drawn noble hit the board. Turn 4 My opponent played another lingering souls, I dropped a phoenix. Turn 5 opponent flashed back both lingering souls, my turn 5 dropped slagstorm. Dropped another thirsted Berserker and rode him home.
Round 3: Lost 2-1
Playing against R/U Delver
Game 1: Blowout win for me. Opponents first three turns were lands and ponders. Finally at the end he hit a delver and showed flashes of some burn.
Sideboard: -1 Incinerate; +1 Arc Trail
Game 2: Shrine finally showed up but was a non-factor. Deck was giving me burn and nothing but, lost my turn 1 noble to a gut shot. Got him to 4 life before he finally got me with a pike top deck.
Game 3: Top decked 7 straight mountains. Ran out of gas around turn 4. Life totals showed the game being much closer than it was.
Round 4: Won 2-0
Playing against Mono Green Aggro
Game 1: Opponent was on the play, and played a forest and bird. Turn 1 I blasted the bird thinking she was running wolf run. Her turn 2 she dropped a Strangleroot and went aggressive. I responded with a Noble and blasted her bird. Again she attacked but had no turn 3 play. Hit a blood thirsted Berserker due to her lack of blockers for the noble, top decked a volt charge and rolled on past.
No Board
Game 2: Opponent on the play hit a forest and a bird again, I played a mountain and a Noble. Turn 2 Emissary stymied my attacks in the beginning, so I just dropped her bird with a galvanic blast and passed. She dropped a geist and swung with both the emissary and the geist, and I did not block. Went aggro with the noble and dropped a bloodthirsted Stormblood. She attacked both again, I left the emissary unblocked and killed the geist with the berserker. Turn 4 Volt Charged the geist to get rid of it Swung in for 7. Her turn 5 she acidic slimed one of my mountains; top decked a mountain, galv blasted the slime, swung in with both, she blocked the noble and went for her land, took 4 again. Dropped a big Dungrove, but never had two blockers. Ran the Stormblood home again.
Round 5: Won 2-1
Played against Spirit Delver
Game 1: Never drew into my arc trails and had issues with keeping his spirits under control. Eventually he got me in a fairly tight game.
Sideboard: -2 Volt Charge, -1 Incinerate; +1 Arc Trail +2 Slagstorm
Game 2: Kept a burn heavy hand with a noble. Dropped the noble and kept him off his stride. Managed to resolve a koth on turn 4 after he used his mana leak on a phoenix. Koth beat him in pretty good and kept the pressure off me. He couldn't keep bodies on the board.
Game 3: Another burn heavy hand, including a slagstorm. Played conservatively, and my lack of board presence resulted in a pretty gross overextension which slagstorm cleaned up. Resolved Koth. Protected Koth. Koth's emblem wiped him out.
Round 6: Won 2-0
Playing against U/w Illusions/tempo
Game 1: Opponent didn't see lands. Did see illusions.
No board.
Game 2: Opponent once again had to mulligan due to lands, could never get his footing. Illusions are weak to lots of targeted removal.
Thoughts from the evening:
I'm planning on dropping Hellrider altogether. He's a fun card and he's a blast when he resolves, but overall he's not a great fit in RDW because we rarely have enough creatures to really make him worth it. Koth is an absolute beater. His emblem basically screams quit now.
I plan to drop the two hellriders for two Grim Lavamancers, as well as a mountain for a fourth main board arc trail. I find the Arc Trail is good enough to be a main deck 4 of, at least in our current meta in Tallahassee. With that much burn going through, the Grim Lavamancer will give me some extra gas as well, and a lower mana curve.
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
3 Rootbound Crag
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Goblin Fireslinger
2 Hellrider
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Volt Charge
3 Incinerate
3 Arc Trail
2 Slagstorm
3 Dismember
2 Porcelain Legionnaire
4 Ancient Grudge
2 Wrack with Madness
2 Act of Aggression
This is what I'm considering for the upcoming SCG in Birmingham, AL.
I'm debating the mana curve at the moment, but Koth is too much of a beater to be left in the side.
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
22 Mountain
Creatures:
4 Stromkirk Noble
3 Goblin Fireslinger
3 Reckless Waif
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Hellrider
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
Instant/Sorcery:
3 Incinerate
3 Brimstone Volley
3 Gut Shot
3 Galvanic Blast
1 Arc Trail
3 Combust
3 Koth of the Hammer
3 Slagstorm
4 Shatter
2 Dismember
and
22 Mountain
Creatures:
4 Stromkirk Noble
3 Grim Lavamancer
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Chandra's Phoenix
Planeswalker:
3 Koth of the Hammer
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
Instant/Sorcery:
2 Slagstorm
4 Galvanic Blast
3 Faithless Looting
2 Gut Shot
4 Volt Charge
3 Combust
2 Slagstorm
4 Shatter
2 Dismember
3 Reckless Waif
1 Nihil Spellbomb
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
I also loved running Goblin Gaveleers and Piston Sledges in that deck. Sledges give you another sac engine for artifacts and make your gaveleers 6/2 Tramplers.
Food for thought.
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
1 Anger
1 Ashling the Pilgrim
1 Ben-Ben, Akki Hermit
1 Brimstone Mage
1 Cinder Pyromancer
1 Cinder Seer
1 Cunning Sparkmage
1 Fireslinger
1 Frostwielder
1 Furystoke Giant
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Hammerfist Giant
1 Heartless Hidetsugu
1 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
1 Jeska, Warrior Adept
1 Kris Mage
1 Lightning Crafter
1 Obsidian Fireheart
1 Prodigal Pyromancer
1 Spikeshot Elder
1 Spikeshot Goblin
1 Urabrask the Hidden
1 Viashino Fangtail
1 Vulshok Sorcerer
1 War Elemental
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Goblin Charbelcher
1 Gorgon Flail
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mind's Eye
1 Neko-Te
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Quietus Spike
1 Shield of Kaldra
1 Sol Ring
1 Sword of Kaldra
1 Sword of Vengeance
1 Temple Bell
1 Thousand-Year Elixir
Sorceries/Instants:
1 Banefire
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Curse of Bloodletting
1 Demonfire
1 Desperate Gambit
1 Flamebreak
1 Furnace of Rath
1 Gratuitous Violence
1 Insurrection
1 Overblaze
1 Price of Glory
1 Quest for Pure Flame
1 Savage Beating
1 Seize the Day
1 Wheel of Fate
1 Wheel of Fortune
31 Mountain
1 Mirrodin's Core
1 Forgotten Cave
1 Ghitu Encampment
1 Hall of the Bandit Lord
1 Hammerheim
1 Mercadian Bazaar
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR
Creatures:
4 Stromkirk Noble
3 Reckless Waif
3 Goblin Fireslinger
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Hellrider
3 Incinerate
3 Brimstone Volley
3 Gut Shot
3 Galvanic Blast
1 Arc Trail
Artifact:
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
3 Koth of the Hammer
2 Dismember
3 Arc Trail
3 Slagstorm
4 Vulshok Refugee
RRRKamahl, Pit FighterRRR
Standard:
RRRRDWRRR