I was originally running a RDW list (yes, I netdecked on that one :)) with 'fair' creatures including Ember Hauler, Furnace Scamp and lots of burn spells with Shrine of the Burning Rage, it did get me 4-0 at FNM but unfortunately I felt the deck wasn't too fair and just didn't win fast enough. When the game drags on, I didn't think it can outlast a deck like Caw-blade. So I decided to tweak it myself and make it just "All-In". So I came up with this list (made by yours truly, no netdecking :tongue:).
Short explanation of deck:
Speaking of "unfair" creatures instead of fair ones like Spike-Shot Elder, Ember Hauler etc, Immolating Souleater is really one of my favourites. The card, is a completely unfair creature, which is a turn 3 win with Assault Strobe obviously, but it doesn't necessarily "need" the double strike boost. Against enemy opponents missing red, you could take advantage of its "free pump" ability and swing for a lot, then just burn them to death. Kiln Fiend, obviously no explanations, the guy is a bomb, dude, total bomb. I call him "the Boss" :D.
This deck got me 1st place at Game Day out of 17 people, and 4th place at the TCQ the next day, out of 50 people. Unfortunately, I lost in the semi-finals to another RDW, who had sideboarded in his Dragon's Freakin' Claw. Nevertheless, I am still very proud, this deck is uber-explosive, and would more often than not deal exactly 20 damage in 1 shot, or whatever the opponent's life points is :D.
I have updated this deck from its original skeleton:
And I have tried things like Molten-Steel Dragon and Red Sun's Zenith, both 1-ofs won me a couple games, but I felt like they weren't good enough .. So I decided to move 2 Dismembers to maindeck, reinforcing the idea of All-In with no backup, making the deck even more explosive. Dismember also got me out of a lot of tough situations in Game 1. I think they are there to stay.
I have made some amazing plays that had people just dropping their jaws:
Situation 1)
Game 2: (GW Blade or something..)
Turn 3
He has: Batterskull, Lotus Cobra, Tapped BoP on his field; I have Kiln Fiend.
Me: Crush Batterskull, Dismember Cobra, Assault Strobe, Swing for 20!! (Guy had Obstinate Baloth AND Baneslayer in his hand, if I didn't win, would have been screwed :tongue:)
Situation 2)
Game 1: Mono Black (Worst matchup, 11 Discard Spells and 10 Removal spells and Obliterators destroys me)
He has: 2 Phyrexian Obliterators, 1 Tapped; I have: Immolating Souleater.
Me: Tap 5 lands for mana. Searing Blaze Untapped Obliterator, Sac 3 lands; Arc Trail Obliterator, Sac 2 lands, deal him 1; Obliterator dies. With the only Red mana left, Assault Strobe Immolating Souleater, pay 14 life, swing for 16! 16+3+1 = 20 :D.
Situation 3)
Game 3: Eldrazi Green
He has: Tumble Magnet, Untapped Acidic Slime, Primeval Titan in his hand and like 6 lands or something ... 20 Life. I have: Kiln Fiend, Immolating Souleater
Me: Bolt him. Go to 17. Kiln Fiend 1 Pump. Dismember Acidic Slime, Kiln Fiend 2 Pump. Declare Attackers. He tries to tap Kiln Fiend, I Apostle's Blessing pro artifacts :rolleyes:, Kiln Fiend 3 Pump!. Fetch, find a land, pay 10 out of my remaining 11 life and use 1 red mana to pump Souleater, Swing for 10+7 = 17. That's 20 in 1 turn!
Unfortunately, with the banning of Stoneforge and Jace, Caw-Blade has died in Standard .. I beat Caw-Blade very badly with this deck .. I think it will be tough for me to beat Valakut and Vampires, because it's not as good of a match up..
The sparkmage shrieked, calling on the rage of the storms of his youth.
To his surprise, the sky responded with a fierce energy he'd never thought to see again.
Doesn't this have severe issues with any instant removal/bounce on the souleater after powering it up?
Besides that, looks like it plays mostly like a standard RDW?
lol, good points. Apparently, I wouldn't pump the Souleater with life unless I have something like an Apostle's Blessing in hand to back it up, I would just pump it with mana. It still swings for a good amount, like 3 to 5.
And yes, the back-up plan is like a regular RDW. If I can't get there with the One-Shot thing, I would simply have to get there by burning them. The point of this deck is taking advantage of the current environment with Caw-blade, Eldrazi Green, maybe even Valakut etc lacking removal. Yes, I would admit removal is an issue, but it hasn’t been that big to me.
The sparkmage shrieked, calling on the rage of the storms of his youth.
To his surprise, the sky responded with a fierce energy he'd never thought to see again.
Remember: Real men play Red
4 Goblin Guide
4 Kiln Fiend
4 Immolating Souleater
Spells [28]
4 Assault Strobe
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Burst Lightning
4 Searing Blaze
4 Staggershock
2 Forked Bolt
1 Arc Trail
2 Dismember
3 Apostle’s Blessing
1 Teetering Peaks
4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
11 Mountain
3 Manic Vandal
3 Crush
2 Dismember
1 Arc Trail
3 Ratchet Bomb
3 Vulshok Refugee
I was originally running a RDW list (yes, I netdecked on that one :)) with 'fair' creatures including Ember Hauler, Furnace Scamp and lots of burn spells with Shrine of the Burning Rage, it did get me 4-0 at FNM but unfortunately I felt the deck wasn't too fair and just didn't win fast enough. When the game drags on, I didn't think it can outlast a deck like Caw-blade. So I decided to tweak it myself and make it just "All-In". So I came up with this list (made by yours truly, no netdecking :tongue:).
Short explanation of deck:
Speaking of "unfair" creatures instead of fair ones like Spike-Shot Elder, Ember Hauler etc, Immolating Souleater is really one of my favourites. The card, is a completely unfair creature, which is a turn 3 win with Assault Strobe obviously, but it doesn't necessarily "need" the double strike boost. Against enemy opponents missing red, you could take advantage of its "free pump" ability and swing for a lot, then just burn them to death. Kiln Fiend, obviously no explanations, the guy is a bomb, dude, total bomb. I call him "the Boss" :D.
This deck got me 1st place at Game Day out of 17 people, and 4th place at the TCQ the next day, out of 50 people. Unfortunately, I lost in the semi-finals to another RDW, who had sideboarded in his Dragon's Freakin' Claw. Nevertheless, I am still very proud, this deck is uber-explosive, and would more often than not deal exactly 20 damage in 1 shot, or whatever the opponent's life points is :D.
I have updated this deck from its original skeleton:
I made changes like:
+3 Apostle's Blessing
-2 Forked Bolt
-1 Land
-1 Arc Trail
+2 Dismember
And I have tried things like Molten-Steel Dragon and Red Sun's Zenith, both 1-ofs won me a couple games, but I felt like they weren't good enough .. So I decided to move 2 Dismembers to maindeck, reinforcing the idea of All-In with no backup, making the deck even more explosive. Dismember also got me out of a lot of tough situations in Game 1. I think they are there to stay.
I have made some amazing plays that had people just dropping their jaws:
Situation 1)
Game 2: (GW Blade or something..)
Turn 3
He has: Batterskull, Lotus Cobra, Tapped BoP on his field; I have Kiln Fiend.
Me: Crush Batterskull, Dismember Cobra, Assault Strobe, Swing for 20!! (Guy had Obstinate Baloth AND Baneslayer in his hand, if I didn't win, would have been screwed :tongue:)
Situation 2)
Game 1: Mono Black (Worst matchup, 11 Discard Spells and 10 Removal spells and Obliterators destroys me)
He has: 2 Phyrexian Obliterators, 1 Tapped; I have: Immolating Souleater.
Me: Tap 5 lands for mana. Searing Blaze Untapped Obliterator, Sac 3 lands; Arc Trail Obliterator, Sac 2 lands, deal him 1; Obliterator dies. With the only Red mana left, Assault Strobe Immolating Souleater, pay 14 life, swing for 16! 16+3+1 = 20 :D.
Situation 3)
Game 3: Eldrazi Green
He has: Tumble Magnet, Untapped Acidic Slime, Primeval Titan in his hand and like 6 lands or something ... 20 Life. I have: Kiln Fiend, Immolating Souleater
Me: Bolt him. Go to 17. Kiln Fiend 1 Pump. Dismember Acidic Slime, Kiln Fiend 2 Pump. Declare Attackers. He tries to tap Kiln Fiend, I Apostle's Blessing pro artifacts :rolleyes:, Kiln Fiend 3 Pump!. Fetch, find a land, pay 10 out of my remaining 11 life and use 1 red mana to pump Souleater, Swing for 10+7 = 17. That's 20 in 1 turn!
Unfortunately, with the banning of Stoneforge and Jace, Caw-Blade has died in Standard .. I beat Caw-Blade very badly with this deck .. I think it will be tough for me to beat Valakut and Vampires, because it's not as good of a match up..
Any comments and suggestions welcomed!
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=6193029#post6193029
To his surprise, the sky responded with a fierce energy he'd never thought to see again.
Besides that, looks like it plays mostly like a standard RDW?
Edit: I suppose apostle's blessing helps with that a bit. Interesting idea.
lol, good points. Apparently, I wouldn't pump the Souleater with life unless I have something like an Apostle's Blessing in hand to back it up, I would just pump it with mana. It still swings for a good amount, like 3 to 5.
And yes, the back-up plan is like a regular RDW. If I can't get there with the One-Shot thing, I would simply have to get there by burning them. The point of this deck is taking advantage of the current environment with Caw-blade, Eldrazi Green, maybe even Valakut etc lacking removal. Yes, I would admit removal is an issue, but it hasn’t been that big to me.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=6193029#post6193029
To his surprise, the sky responded with a fierce energy he'd never thought to see again.