"Boss Sligh" decks are named for Tom "The Boss" Ross, who has had continued success with this style of deck, and Paul Sligh, one of the first successful pilots of red aggressive decks. "Rabble Red" is a variation of this type of deck which runs Goblin Rabblemaster.
This archetype was very successful in the previous Standard season, and has had continued success with multiple first-place finishes at this year's SCG States. Some of the winners include:
While I see what you are aiming at, I do not feel like being able to consistently get a green into play just to cast that is very reliable with such a small land base even with fetches (it is not unheard of to get stuck on 2 lands for a while) since you generally want a minimum of two red in play.
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“Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
How do people feel about two drops in the main board beyond the one of Arena Athlete? I have been trying out War-Name Aspirant and am not disappointed with the results, but nor am I amazed.
Edit: Just to specify I am referring to Sligh, not Rabble.
Lets talk about all of the one drop creatures at our disposal right now (except for Priest of Iroas since that would not work in a mono build)
Akroan Crusader: Typically a 4 of in these decks since it allows for you to create a board presence without potentially dumping everything in you hard. It also allows for pumping Foundry Street Denizen on a regular basis as long as you can keep drawing some targeting fuel.
Firedrinker Satyr: 2 power for one mana is always going to be desirable in a fast aggro deck and this is the only pick we have at the moment and really the only justification you need to run him. The built in (but expensive) fire breathing is nice, but I feel it rarely gets used. The fact that you take all damage dealt to him sucks, but honestly at the speed you are trying to win it hardly matters.
Forge Devil: I suppose someone could make a case for this card if this style of mono-red became really popular and you wanted to counter play. However as things stand right now it brings nothing exceptional to the table.
Foundry Street Denizen: Awesome if you have him right away, kind of useless if drawn past turn two, but really fun. Works great with the Crusader and Hordeling Outburst to just get in for as much as you can. The early play potential is just too good to not play him. In the Rabble build I feel like he can get really out of control if not dealt with.
Monastery Swiftspear: Being the only one drop haste creature we have right now people would probably play her even without Prowess, the ability just makes her that much more awesome. This card would really shine if we have access to more good instant speed pump, but as things are there is little reason to not include her (also happens to be one of my favorite cards out of the entire set).
Nyxborn Rollicker: I would not run this considering the other choices we have. I suppose something can be said for having the creature or enchantment option, but even with all the creatures in the deck I do not feel like there is any space for this one.
Satyr Hoplite: I looked at this card last Standard and did not see a place for it but it could be worth trying out again. A turn two Hoplite followed up with Hammerhand makes a no drawback turn two 3/3 which is pretty effective in my book. I do not think it is necessarily a 4 of include, but 2 has potential.
The one mana spell spots are going to favor the Sligh version over Rabble, but any of them can potentially be run in either version of the deck. I am going to mention a few spells here that may not be very good, but I figure we could at least mention why.
Blinding Flare: In theory another way to stop blockers is great for this deck(s). However, Frenzied Goblin is already strong in this role and it is one a body and we always have the option for Hammerhand. Just not worth it n my opinion.
Coordinated Assault: This card is very underrated. I was very pleased to see Ross use it as at least a one of in his latest deck. The targeting effect is great with Crusader and has strong potential if you want to try out Hoplite and the the general bonuses you get for just one mana can really turn around an early combat phase.
Crowd's Favor: Not sure how I feel about this one. It is more of a Rabble centric card since you will often have a lot of miscellaneous tokens to convoke with which is where its potential strength lies. In Sligh you are better off with Coordinated.
Dragon Mantle: Pure cantrip. Replaces itself, targets stuff, triggers Prowess, and fire breathing. Another instance of probably better for Sligh than Rabble, but deceptively solid.
Hammerhand: The first time I cracked a pack of M15 I saw this card and was in disbelief. For one mana, it is beyond effective. Both version of the deck should run 4 of these since there is never a bad time to have +1/+1 and haste, it interacts with many other aspects of you deck perfectly and with one more way to disable blockers, just wow.
Magma Spray: Great sideboard material. I miss Shock to be able to hit players (I won a lot of games off that), but the exile facet is a nice bonus for certain match ups.
Messenger's Speed: Just no. Hammerhand is so much better and it is too rare that you would get to capitalize off the Trample.
Spark Jolt: Not enough value for the limited space we have in the deck.
Titan's Strength: All the value. 3 power in a deck that wants to kill fast is absurd and the scry is just icing. I cannot think of many instances where I would not want four in the deck.
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― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
I like Act On Impulse. It might work in the Rabble version since that plays a bit slower. In Sligh having enough mana on the board to both cast Act and be able to cast the spells you exiled are not very high. I suppose anything is worth at least testing out though.
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“Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Act on Impulse is no bueno for sligh. You don't want to draw more than 4 lands max. Even that kind of stinks most games. Plus if you do get it on curve (like turn 5) what gain do you get from cards like 1 Foundry Street Denizen and 1 Akron crusader?
If you're worried about card advantage (which you shouldn't be) run Prophetic Flamespeaker. Suits the deck waaaaay better.
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Current Decks
Standard: Mono Red #GetSwol
Elsewhere: Random Brews All Day, Erreday
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Altac Bloodseeker: I have not personally run this card but have seen a lot of discussion on it. If I understand it, the idea is to swing all and then hope for some kills with removal or (more often) instant buffs to suddenly make the swing a lot more scary off one or two kills on blockers. A lot of the two drop choices are going to fall in the field of personal preference and play style and this is no exception.
Arena Athlete: A popular one of in Sligh to get rid of blockers. The reason you see this plus 3 Frenzied Goblins is even though you can always activate the goblin(s) on a swing, it is of more value to drop a pump to get through more damage and with such a small mana base we have to prioritize how we spend it (while remembering there is not a lot of room for two drop spells).
Borderland Marauder: This is one of those you could maybe play it cards. It plays very nice with Hammerhand, but is out shined by other picks since it is only bigger on the swing. I have tried it with mixed results.
Eidolon of the Great Revel: Sideboard tech. Great card, but you have to know when to play it since it could turn around and lose a game for you as quickly as it could have otherwise won it.
Valley Dasher: With not a lot of cheap haste included creatures this at least deserves a look, but the forcing an attack every turn is risky since there will be times when you want to hold off on a swing because you know it will hurt your board.
War-Name Aspirant: Since you are swinging most turns triggering Raid is a given, however it still slows you down a bit since you have to wait to cast it and cannot capitalize until next turn. The fact that cannot be blocked by creatures of power one or less is very significant however since you get to skip past a lot of weenies, mana dorks and walls.
Two cmc non-creature spells
Circle of Flame: Another sideboard tech that token and weenie heavy decks will hate you for. In the same respect people will look to use it against you.
Lightning Strike: Last Standard this was a 4 of, but now we are a bit shorter on space since Stoke the Flames has became an auto include. You still want to try and fit in two since it is cheap removal and sometimes all you need to close out a game.
Magma Jet: There is a lot of temptation here because the scry can be exceptionally valuable to help set up your draws, but in the end two mana for two damage just does not feel like enough even with the scry.
Scouring Sands: An alternative to Circle of Flame. Unnecessary since we have circle as an ongoing effect and both can only be case on your turn anyway.
Searing Blood: More sideboard removal that just makes you win faster if it fits the match up.
Shatter: Artifacts are not a huge thing right now, but it never hurts to have something to fall back on in the sideboard just in case.
Thunderous Might: I had not realized this was a card and I feel like it deserves some testing. You will often have at least four devotion on the board so I feel like you can easily get value out of this.
Tormenting Voice: One of the things we lack is any sort of card advantage and it sucks to get stuck on dead draws. This has potential to help smooth that issue out, but finding space in your 60 is difficult.
I'd like to ask about the sideboard options for this deck. Certain cards are obviously powerful in certain MUs but others not so much. I was wondering what experience people have with the following cards and which MUs they're brought in/out against. Responses for both Sligh and
Feedback is all purely from my PoV as a Sligh player.
Eidolon is a weird card. It is awesome at what it does, but in this deck is likewise very dangerous. Generally you are only going to side it in when it is obvious your opponent is playing a lot of 3 or less cmc spells. I would use it as a turn three play at earliest with the intent to only get one or two triggers before it is removed (and honestly, drawing out removal is a large part of why I would play it). I have seen it used as just a bear with an extra effect in situation where your opponent has a slow or non-existent board state. I would not use it against something with a lot of ramp since it would become null too quickly.
I have yet to catch on as to why Peak Eruption is a popular sideboard choice for these decks. Personal shortcoming I am certain, but I have never seen it used to any great impress nor have I ever felt the need side it in myself. The latter may have more to do with the local decks I see than anything else.
Arc can be really fun. There are a lot of one and two toughness fodder out there right now on top of some morph. It can do great work as a two for one spell to allow your creatures to keep on beating through hard and fast. The casting cost can be rough pre turn four, but when it works, it works well.
Magma Spray hits stuff like Bloodsoaked Champion. As a general removal spell it hits the same vein as Lightning Strike. Both are there mostly to help get rid of early blockers. You usually will have at least two Strikes in a Sligh deck with the option to board in more or Spray purely depending on how much of that early removal you feel you need.
I am going to post lists of 3 cmc stuff either tonight or tomorrow.
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“Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
I started playing this deck over the weekend to huge success. Funny, but true story, I brought another deck to game day, and decided it sucked. I built red deck wins out of the commons and uncommons bins two hours before pairings started, tested it a couple of times, and took second place. Then I used it again the next day to top 8 at a different store's game day. This deck is great at winning by the time the other side has enough mana to do anything, because a lot of the other competitive decks are hamstrung by lands that come into play tapped. Just some thoughts so far -
* Has anyone else tried running this with fetchlands? I've been using 8 fetches and 10 mountains. I find it works, as the fetches let you pull lands from your deck, and reduce the chances of getting flooded.
* War-Name Aspirant is a must in either main deck or sideboard. People depend too much on nyx-fleece ram and sylvan caryatid for defense. Our girl War-Name ignores them completely thanks to her often overlook second ability to not be blocked by creatures with power 1 or less. War-Name + Dragon Mantle when the opponent has nothing but nyx sheep or tree lady on the table when you have a couple of mana free is priceless.
* Remember to keep enough in your hand to survive turn three or four. In any game where I could have Drown in Sorrow played against me, you can be sure it was played as soon as possible. Remember, a good chunk of players can't play it until turn 4 as they will have to use at least one or two scry lands. Dropping Monastery Swiftspear plus double titan's strength right after the opponent has tapped out or Drown in Sorrows will make people scoop.
* I've started to playtest Hordeling Outburst, has anyone else? My thought is that it should be included as at least a sideboard card versus Drown in Sorrows and Anger of the Gods, given that it lets you put three bodies on the table for three mana right after a board wipe. Right now I am playing with two mainboard while I test it.
I like Act On Impulse. It might work in the Rabble version since that plays a bit slower. In Sligh having enough mana on the board to both cast Act and be able to cast the spells you exiled are not very high. I suppose anything is worth at least testing out though.
You can play lands off Act on impulse.
This means you'd be aiming to cast this turn 4 when you ran out of lands, which hits your land drop and then cast a 1 drop.
But I agree, prophetic flamespeaker looks even better as the singleton. Sticking a hammerhand or strength on it seems pretty potent.
Goblin Rabblemaster: The namesake of one of the two mono red decks right now. It gives you lots of (disposable) tokens that only serve to make it swing even bigger and they also add as fuel for convoke or just a ton of 1 damage pings. Being the center of the Rabble deck it does run a bit slower, but hopes to overwhelm and have lots of extra to convoke Stoke the Flames with.
Prophetic Flamespeaker: This is such a sill card in all the best ways. I would be hard pressed to use it beyond a one of, but at that it can potentially be very fun. Often opponents will let the one damage slide in favor of stopping other larger attackers and if they do bock, go for the pump and capitalize on that trample.
Three cmc non-creature spells
Act on Impulse: A one of you could test out. It could completely flop, or give you some serious fuel. The casting cost makes it rough for these decks unless you flip into extra land.
Arc Lightning: More sideboard removal material. The fact that it can spread out the damage is very useful even if expensive to cast.
Hall of Triumph: Because buffing all of your creatures is never a bad thing.
Harness by Force: Another sideboard card, we would run this over Act of Treason simply because there is the tiniest chance we could use the Strive effect and the cmc is the same either way.
Hordeling Outburst: Plays great with convoke, and even better with Foundry Street Denizen for some crazy swings.
Trumpet Blast: A fun one of possibility. I won several games over an overloaded Dynacharge last standard and this fits the same bill.
Land
Typically you will run 18 mountains and nothing else. A case could be made for including red fetch lands, it never hurts but the benefit is negotiable.
There are a number of other cards I have not brought up because they fall very deep in the maybe, but probably not as good as they sound category. Should I bother bringing them up?
I could see maybe running Peak Eruption in a mirror match, but that is about it. :/
It will screw over Red Deck Wins! By killing some of its already limited mana, but with the number of non-basics in play, it will have limited use. I could also see it being used to work around chained to the rocks.
I could see maybe running Peak Eruption in a mirror match, but that is about it. :/
It will screw over Red Deck Wins! By killing some of its already limited mana, but with the number of non-basics in play, it will have limited use. I could also see it being used to work around chained to the rocks.
Yeah, the mirror match was the only thing I could think of previously, although your mention of Chained is actually pretty significant. An early Chained can really bog us down and although the casting cost is not ideal, Peak could help us recover a little.
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“Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Call me crazy (or loony may be a better fit) but I like Barrage of Boulders out of the board instead of Scouring Sands due to the ferocious utility vs Abzan if the game goes long and another turn of blowout vs board accumulation in the mirror.
Am I completely berk on this evaluation due to more than my love of submitting deck lists entitled "Boss Sligh and the Family Stone"
If you don't have a way to use your GY fetchlands, then they are strictly worse than basic mountains.
They're basic mountains that ping you for 1.
And no, they don't thin your deck to any kind of degree that will make it worth the 1 life.
You have a decent chance of losing by exactly 1 or 2 life in a game, and you'll realise if a fetchland had been a basic mountain you'd have won.
If you don't have a reason to shuffle your deck or fill your graveyard (IE grim lavamancer likes fetchlands) then don't run them in a monocolored deck.
On the topic though.
How do we feel about splashing blue for treasure cruise? I think we fill our GY up fast enough to actually be able to cast it, so 2 or so of them in the deck doesn't seem terrible.
I'd only consider Ru splash if we wanted to morph into a more controlling deck postboard in a meta where mirror was significant portion of the top field. Sligh is built to go under an existing midrange-control meta.
Our two-drop creatures are all pretty bad. They're not weak cards when evaluated in a vacuum, but they match up poorly against cards like Courser and Brimaz. It's a better strategy to cut the two drops entirely and run 17-20 one drops. I really like Rabblemaster as a curve topper.
I wouldn't consider any splash unless it made us much more resilient to Drown in Sorrow/Anger of the Gods or Circle of Flame. Circle in particular is very, very scary. I haven't seen it out of any lists in MTGO dailies or 5-3-2-2s so far, but the threat is real. If Circle becomes a common sideboard card, it might be best to mainboard four copies of Battlefield Forge and Mana Confluence to give us access to enchantment removal postboard.
After tonight, I am still on board for the fetchlands. They are great for making sure you do not get flooded, and making sure you can shuffle when you are getting bad top deck. Also, sold on Hordeling Outburst as at least a one of. That card allowed to keep the pressure up following board wipes in a way i would not have been able to otherwise.
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This is the place to discuss hyper-fast Mono-Red Aggro decks such as Boss Sligh and Rabble Red!
The goal of these decks is to win the game as fast as possible, playing one-drops such as Firedrinker Satyr, Akroan Crusader, Monastery Swiftspear, and Foundry Street Denizen, along with pump spells such as Dragon Mantle and Titan's Strength. Due to their unusually low curve, they typically run fewer than 20 lands.
"Boss Sligh" decks are named for Tom "The Boss" Ross, who has had continued success with this style of deck, and Paul Sligh, one of the first successful pilots of red aggressive decks. "Rabble Red" is a variation of this type of deck which runs Goblin Rabblemaster.
This archetype was very successful in the previous Standard season, and has had continued success with multiple first-place finishes at this year's SCG States. Some of the winners include:
Boss Sligh by Tom Ross - 1st Place at Louisiana States on 10/12/2014
4 Akroan Crusader
1 Arena Athlete
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Foundry Street Denizen
3 Frenzied Goblin
4 Monastery Swiftspear
Lands (18)
18 Mountain
4 Dragon Mantle
4 Hammerhand
1 Coordinated Assault
2 Lightning Strike
4 Stoke the Flames
4 Titan's Strength
1 Hall of Triumph
2 Hordeling Outburst
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
2 Lightning Strike
2 Magma Spray
4 Searing Blood
3 Peak Eruption
Boss Sligh by Frank Skarren - 1st Place at States on 10/11/2014
Rabble Red by Kobey Myhre - 1st Place at States on 10/11/2014
Updated RDW/Rabble primer here.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Edit: Just to specify I am referring to Sligh, not Rabble.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Lets talk about all of the one drop creatures at our disposal right now (except for Priest of Iroas since that would not work in a mono build)
Akroan Crusader: Typically a 4 of in these decks since it allows for you to create a board presence without potentially dumping everything in you hard. It also allows for pumping Foundry Street Denizen on a regular basis as long as you can keep drawing some targeting fuel.
Firedrinker Satyr: 2 power for one mana is always going to be desirable in a fast aggro deck and this is the only pick we have at the moment and really the only justification you need to run him. The built in (but expensive) fire breathing is nice, but I feel it rarely gets used. The fact that you take all damage dealt to him sucks, but honestly at the speed you are trying to win it hardly matters.
Forge Devil: I suppose someone could make a case for this card if this style of mono-red became really popular and you wanted to counter play. However as things stand right now it brings nothing exceptional to the table.
Foundry Street Denizen: Awesome if you have him right away, kind of useless if drawn past turn two, but really fun. Works great with the Crusader and Hordeling Outburst to just get in for as much as you can. The early play potential is just too good to not play him. In the Rabble build I feel like he can get really out of control if not dealt with.
Frenzied Goblin: Great replacement for Goblin Shortcutter from last standard. Stopping blockers is key so between this creature and Hammerhand you should be set.
Monastery Swiftspear: Being the only one drop haste creature we have right now people would probably play her even without Prowess, the ability just makes her that much more awesome. This card would really shine if we have access to more good instant speed pump, but as things are there is little reason to not include her (also happens to be one of my favorite cards out of the entire set).
Nyxborn Rollicker: I would not run this considering the other choices we have. I suppose something can be said for having the creature or enchantment option, but even with all the creatures in the deck I do not feel like there is any space for this one.
Satyr Hoplite: I looked at this card last Standard and did not see a place for it but it could be worth trying out again. A turn two Hoplite followed up with Hammerhand makes a no drawback turn two 3/3 which is pretty effective in my book. I do not think it is necessarily a 4 of include, but 2 has potential.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
The one mana spell spots are going to favor the Sligh version over Rabble, but any of them can potentially be run in either version of the deck. I am going to mention a few spells here that may not be very good, but I figure we could at least mention why.
Blinding Flare: In theory another way to stop blockers is great for this deck(s). However, Frenzied Goblin is already strong in this role and it is one a body and we always have the option for Hammerhand. Just not worth it n my opinion.
Coordinated Assault: This card is very underrated. I was very pleased to see Ross use it as at least a one of in his latest deck. The targeting effect is great with Crusader and has strong potential if you want to try out Hoplite and the the general bonuses you get for just one mana can really turn around an early combat phase.
Crowd's Favor: Not sure how I feel about this one. It is more of a Rabble centric card since you will often have a lot of miscellaneous tokens to convoke with which is where its potential strength lies. In Sligh you are better off with Coordinated.
Dragon Mantle: Pure cantrip. Replaces itself, targets stuff, triggers Prowess, and fire breathing. Another instance of probably better for Sligh than Rabble, but deceptively solid.
Hammerhand: The first time I cracked a pack of M15 I saw this card and was in disbelief. For one mana, it is beyond effective. Both version of the deck should run 4 of these since there is never a bad time to have +1/+1 and haste, it interacts with many other aspects of you deck perfectly and with one more way to disable blockers, just wow.
Magma Spray: Great sideboard material. I miss Shock to be able to hit players (I won a lot of games off that), but the exile facet is a nice bonus for certain match ups.
Messenger's Speed: Just no. Hammerhand is so much better and it is too rare that you would get to capitalize off the Trample.
Rouse the Mob: Strive is too expensive.
Spark Jolt: Not enough value for the limited space we have in the deck.
Titan's Strength: All the value. 3 power in a deck that wants to kill fast is absurd and the scry is just icing. I cannot think of many instances where I would not want four in the deck.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Grind em down low, they waste a turn and board wipe, we act on impule -> hopefully hit another "unblockable" dude to end the game.
I would run it strictly as a 1 of, I feel it is a lot better than the 1/1 goblintoken generator, as this can hit a lightning strike or magma jet.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
If you're worried about card advantage (which you shouldn't be) run Prophetic Flamespeaker. Suits the deck waaaaay better.
Standard: Mono Red #GetSwol
Elsewhere: Random Brews All Day, Erreday
~
Altac Bloodseeker: I have not personally run this card but have seen a lot of discussion on it. If I understand it, the idea is to swing all and then hope for some kills with removal or (more often) instant buffs to suddenly make the swing a lot more scary off one or two kills on blockers. A lot of the two drop choices are going to fall in the field of personal preference and play style and this is no exception.
Arena Athlete: A popular one of in Sligh to get rid of blockers. The reason you see this plus 3 Frenzied Goblins is even though you can always activate the goblin(s) on a swing, it is of more value to drop a pump to get through more damage and with such a small mana base we have to prioritize how we spend it (while remembering there is not a lot of room for two drop spells).
Borderland Marauder: This is one of those you could maybe play it cards. It plays very nice with Hammerhand, but is out shined by other picks since it is only bigger on the swing. I have tried it with mixed results.
Eidolon of the Great Revel: Sideboard tech. Great card, but you have to know when to play it since it could turn around and lose a game for you as quickly as it could have otherwise won it.
Valley Dasher: With not a lot of cheap haste included creatures this at least deserves a look, but the forcing an attack every turn is risky since there will be times when you want to hold off on a swing because you know it will hurt your board.
War-Name Aspirant: Since you are swinging most turns triggering Raid is a given, however it still slows you down a bit since you have to wait to cast it and cannot capitalize until next turn. The fact that cannot be blocked by creatures of power one or less is very significant however since you get to skip past a lot of weenies, mana dorks and walls.
Two cmc non-creature spells
Circle of Flame: Another sideboard tech that token and weenie heavy decks will hate you for. In the same respect people will look to use it against you.
Lightning Strike: Last Standard this was a 4 of, but now we are a bit shorter on space since Stoke the Flames has became an auto include. You still want to try and fit in two since it is cheap removal and sometimes all you need to close out a game.
Magma Jet: There is a lot of temptation here because the scry can be exceptionally valuable to help set up your draws, but in the end two mana for two damage just does not feel like enough even with the scry.
Scouring Sands: An alternative to Circle of Flame. Unnecessary since we have circle as an ongoing effect and both can only be case on your turn anyway.
Searing Blood: More sideboard removal that just makes you win faster if it fits the match up.
Shatter: Artifacts are not a huge thing right now, but it never hurts to have something to fall back on in the sideboard just in case.
Thunderous Might: I had not realized this was a card and I feel like it deserves some testing. You will often have at least four devotion on the board so I feel like you can easily get value out of this.
Tormenting Voice: One of the things we lack is any sort of card advantage and it sucks to get stuck on dead draws. This has potential to help smooth that issue out, but finding space in your 60 is difficult.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Eidolon of the Great Revel
Peak Eruption
Arc Lightning
Magma Spray
Lightning Strike
Standard: Mono Red #GetSwol
Elsewhere: Random Brews All Day, Erreday
~
Eidolon is a weird card. It is awesome at what it does, but in this deck is likewise very dangerous. Generally you are only going to side it in when it is obvious your opponent is playing a lot of 3 or less cmc spells. I would use it as a turn three play at earliest with the intent to only get one or two triggers before it is removed (and honestly, drawing out removal is a large part of why I would play it). I have seen it used as just a bear with an extra effect in situation where your opponent has a slow or non-existent board state. I would not use it against something with a lot of ramp since it would become null too quickly.
I have yet to catch on as to why Peak Eruption is a popular sideboard choice for these decks. Personal shortcoming I am certain, but I have never seen it used to any great impress nor have I ever felt the need side it in myself. The latter may have more to do with the local decks I see than anything else.
Arc can be really fun. There are a lot of one and two toughness fodder out there right now on top of some morph. It can do great work as a two for one spell to allow your creatures to keep on beating through hard and fast. The casting cost can be rough pre turn four, but when it works, it works well.
Magma Spray hits stuff like Bloodsoaked Champion. As a general removal spell it hits the same vein as Lightning Strike. Both are there mostly to help get rid of early blockers. You usually will have at least two Strikes in a Sligh deck with the option to board in more or Spray purely depending on how much of that early removal you feel you need.
I am going to post lists of 3 cmc stuff either tonight or tomorrow.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
* Has anyone else tried running this with fetchlands? I've been using 8 fetches and 10 mountains. I find it works, as the fetches let you pull lands from your deck, and reduce the chances of getting flooded.
* War-Name Aspirant is a must in either main deck or sideboard. People depend too much on nyx-fleece ram and sylvan caryatid for defense. Our girl War-Name ignores them completely thanks to her often overlook second ability to not be blocked by creatures with power 1 or less. War-Name + Dragon Mantle when the opponent has nothing but nyx sheep or tree lady on the table when you have a couple of mana free is priceless.
* Remember to keep enough in your hand to survive turn three or four. In any game where I could have Drown in Sorrow played against me, you can be sure it was played as soon as possible. Remember, a good chunk of players can't play it until turn 4 as they will have to use at least one or two scry lands. Dropping Monastery Swiftspear plus double titan's strength right after the opponent has tapped out or Drown in Sorrows will make people scoop.
* I've started to playtest Hordeling Outburst, has anyone else? My thought is that it should be included as at least a sideboard card versus Drown in Sorrows and Anger of the Gods, given that it lets you put three bodies on the table for three mana right after a board wipe. Right now I am playing with two mainboard while I test it.
You can play lands off Act on impulse.
This means you'd be aiming to cast this turn 4 when you ran out of lands, which hits your land drop and then cast a 1 drop.
But I agree, prophetic flamespeaker looks even better as the singleton. Sticking a hammerhand or strength on it seems pretty potent.
Goblin Rabblemaster: The namesake of one of the two mono red decks right now. It gives you lots of (disposable) tokens that only serve to make it swing even bigger and they also add as fuel for convoke or just a ton of 1 damage pings. Being the center of the Rabble deck it does run a bit slower, but hopes to overwhelm and have lots of extra to convoke Stoke the Flames with.
Prophetic Flamespeaker: This is such a sill card in all the best ways. I would be hard pressed to use it beyond a one of, but at that it can potentially be very fun. Often opponents will let the one damage slide in favor of stopping other larger attackers and if they do bock, go for the pump and capitalize on that trample.
Three cmc non-creature spells
Act on Impulse: A one of you could test out. It could completely flop, or give you some serious fuel. The casting cost makes it rough for these decks unless you flip into extra land.
Arc Lightning: More sideboard removal material. The fact that it can spread out the damage is very useful even if expensive to cast.
Hall of Triumph: Because buffing all of your creatures is never a bad thing.
Harness by Force: Another sideboard card, we would run this over Act of Treason simply because there is the tiniest chance we could use the Strive effect and the cmc is the same either way.
Hordeling Outburst: Plays great with convoke, and even better with Foundry Street Denizen for some crazy swings.
Peak Eruption: Sideboard for the mirror, also possible fuel against Chained to the Rocks.
Trumpet Blast: A fun one of possibility. I won several games over an overloaded Dynacharge last standard and this fits the same bill.
Land
Typically you will run 18 mountains and nothing else. A case could be made for including red fetch lands, it never hurts but the benefit is negotiable.
There are a number of other cards I have not brought up because they fall very deep in the maybe, but probably not as good as they sound category. Should I bother bringing them up?
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
It will screw over Red Deck Wins! By killing some of its already limited mana, but with the number of non-basics in play, it will have limited use. I could also see it being used to work around chained to the rocks.
Yeah, the mirror match was the only thing I could think of previously, although your mention of Chained is actually pretty significant. An early Chained can really bog us down and although the casting cost is not ideal, Peak could help us recover a little.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Standard: Mono Red #GetSwol
Elsewhere: Random Brews All Day, Erreday
~
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Am I completely berk on this evaluation due to more than my love of submitting deck lists entitled "Boss Sligh and the Family Stone"
GE
Main Deck -
4X Monastery Swiftspear
4X Foundry Street Denizen
4X Akroan Crusader
4X Frenzied Goblin
4X War-Name Aspirant
4X Lightning Strike
4X Stoke the Flames
4X Hammerhand
4X Titan's Strength
1X Coordinated Assault
1X Hordeling Outburst
4X Wooded Foothills
4X Bloodstained Mire
10X Mountain
Sideboard -
4X Searing Blood
4X Rouse the Mob
2X Hordeling Outburst
2X Saytr Hoplite
3X Coordinated Assault
They're basic mountains that ping you for 1.
And no, they don't thin your deck to any kind of degree that will make it worth the 1 life.
You have a decent chance of losing by exactly 1 or 2 life in a game, and you'll realise if a fetchland had been a basic mountain you'd have won.
If you don't have a reason to shuffle your deck or fill your graveyard (IE grim lavamancer likes fetchlands) then don't run them in a monocolored deck.
On the topic though.
How do we feel about splashing blue for treasure cruise? I think we fill our GY up fast enough to actually be able to cast it, so 2 or so of them in the deck doesn't seem terrible.
I wouldn't consider any splash unless it made us much more resilient to Drown in Sorrow/Anger of the Gods or Circle of Flame. Circle in particular is very, very scary. I haven't seen it out of any lists in MTGO dailies or 5-3-2-2s so far, but the threat is real. If Circle becomes a common sideboard card, it might be best to mainboard four copies of Battlefield Forge and Mana Confluence to give us access to enchantment removal postboard.
As far as lists go, I really like Denis Ulanov's (http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck.asp?deck_id=1218912). I'd cut a Coordinated Assault for a Mountain though.