That's 44 cards.. assuming you'd fill the empty space with mountains, that's still only 16 lands and 44 cards. That's a terrible ratio.. You need at least 20-22 lands in RDW, some people are even running 23.
So with a bunch of proxies (mostly the nobles and gambits) i was able to test this deck out, and by god it has worked out amazingly. It was a rework of my goblin burn deck, and as much as i miss my goblin grenade + reverbate combo this works much more smoothly (compared to a goblin with some none goblins). Keep in mind, im used to using a crap ton of creatures (22+) so running 19 felt...dirty. But with a ton of stuff like Black Sun's Zenith and Day of Judgement I figured this was my way of 'countering' all of this creature destruction by not relying so much on them.
Since i decided to run less creatures, I also decided to take certain creature related spells (like panic spell bomb and nightbird clutches), by doing so I could add even more burn, but not just the simplistic 1 red for 2 burn kind, but spells with much more utility. Since I was not going for win within 3-4 turns type burn anymore, I decided to add in brimstone volly (which is a nice replacement for goblin grenade considering) to be able to keep up damage, while things like Arc Trail and Blast would deal with the creatures that would otherwise block me or if left alive would be too much of a problem. As for the devils play and RSZ, they are amazing turn 6 and more, they can either kill that one pesky Mayor or finish off your oppenent- and that exile has actually helped me (when it came to RSZ). Now, why not run just 3x DP? well, first off- surgical extraction can be a pain (as can be nevermore), and not only that its nice to be able to reshuffle the burn back INTO my deck, in some games with only 2 of them i played it a good 4+ times (pure luck i suppose).
As for creatures, even though I wasnt going goblin the lil pyro just seemed to good to pass up. A decent one drop, but his 1 dmg passive can help turn the tides. That pesky mayor bothering u? Maybe you want to get rid of that parish before he gets big. It also makes X/2 creatures think twice about blockin since he can finish em off- AND he can trigger blood thrist for Stormblood Berserker (and technically morbid if he dies lol). Berserker is a must imo, and stromkirk noble just gets bigger and bigger if not dealt with, and surpirsingly it can make some people panic (the spells wasted to just get rid of him). He also has the advantege of being a big thorn against wolf decks since most werewolfs are, beilive it or not, human and he cant be blocked by them! The phoenix is a duh, evasive flyer that can come back? yes. Shrine is there for damage or Pro Red creatures (im lookin at u P-Crusader).
And to top it all off i got two koth's (whos -2 is so much fun with a DP or RSZ) and a chandra (love her -2 as well).
So far from testing its worked amazingly, and wolf run usually give its little problem unless they got a god hand (but only tested it a few times, so i need to do a bit more).
Edit:
I figured the sideboard is standard, also i know im running 62 cards- but 2 more imo helps more then it hurts.
I'm not a huge fan of Infernal Plunge, but honestly it could combo really well with Brimstone Volley. Try out these changes and see if you like the deck better. Hope this helps..
xChaospherex, what's your sideboard and general plan vs. Wolf-Run?
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Winner of the SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Jul 26-28, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
-Mountain: Hmm...
-Grim Lavamancer: He helps when you're running out of gas, -granted synergy between him and Phoenix is kinda bad, but, there should be other cards in your graveyard anyway.
-Reckless Waif: Having this card turn 1 is basically having a free 3 damage turn 2, her turn 1 plus Berserker = WOW.
-Stromkirk Noble: Staple, I wanna be this guy when I grow up.
-Bloodcrazed Neonate: I felt that only running 17 creatures seemed a little..not too great, so I threw in three of her. She does work more often than not.
-Stormblood Berserker: Staple, if you're playing RDW and not running this guy, you're doing it wrong.
-Chandra's Phoenix: Final creature staple, what more could you ask for? 2/2 flying, haste for 3 mana seems legit.
-Koth of the Hammer: I throw Mountains at you.
-Chandra, the Firebrand: Your Phoenix died turn 3? Oh look, it's back in your hand now.
-Shrine of Burning Rage: Artifact staple, the power level of this deck would be waaaaay lower without this card.
-Incinerate: I don't have Volt Charge or Arc Trail, next best thing. Deals with Glissa, the Traitor who's a pain for this deck.
-Shock: I miss Burst Lightning
-Red Sun's Zenith: Used as a filler until I get either some Tezzeret's Gambit or Volt Charge/Arc Trail
-Devil's Play: See explanation above.
Disclaimer before sideboard: Yes, I know it looks kind of odd..but honestly, I'm likin' it in testing; we'll see tonight.
+3 Ancient Grudge
+2 Manabarbs
+1 Chandra's Phoenix
Grim Lavamancer comes out because it's the worst one drop when your plan is to go all-in on the burn plan. One Berserker comes out because losing one-drops lowers bloodthirst consistency. Arc Trail comes out because of sorcery speed and low EV. Geistflame comes out because of its low damage/cost ratio. The substitutions need little explanation.
Keep in mind that this is variable based on thier respective lists. Against heavy green, you may want Arc Trails to blow up their birds etc and the 4th Berserker to walk through Dungrove Elders. A couple Koths and a random are an easy drop in that matchup.
The gameplan is complete non-interaction. Count from 20 to 0. If they kill your stuff, hope some of that stuff was a Chandra's Phoenix. In general, once a Shrine gets to 5+ counters, start playing careful to maximize value (in other words, don't get blown out by Beast Within). Pay attention to the board state and try to stay ahead. Lastly, note your life total, as this deck is more mana-intensive as past RDW lists, and playing a Manabarbs into a bad board position could end up getting you killed.
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We are the middle children of history. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War is a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.
Duno, maybe I was just very unlucky or the RDW time's over. There's just so much better decks out there
Hi guys =)
my 1st post and my 1st FNM of the year yesterday! so happy got to a 2-0 start over mono-red goblins and mono-black infect, but lost to wolf-run for a 2-1.
To whalesong, my very 1st competitive deck played in 2009 was rdw but splash black with the all-powerful blightning of alara and doomblade. The same problems are still shroud/hex proof, life gain and of coz protection from red. Its boils down to how you are going to deal with them or how you gonna take it when they beat you down dam hard. You like/love a deck/theme/colour, u stick through with it thick and thin. You like to win, just go learn, probably spend more bucks and play the most popular winning deck. There are rdw believers who go very far in the states competition and i feel very proud of them.
i sideboarded 3 manabarbs, 2 act of aggressions, and 1 slagstorm against wolf ramp, but couldnt draw the manabarbs, slagstorm was kind of useless in my hand, act of aggression couldnt target hexproof, and i got beat down by thrun the last troll and dungrove elders, lost by 1 damage. I am still positive that i can win but just not too sure how yet. should i put 3-4 ratchet bombs into my sideboard to destroy the tokens both by white and wurmcoil, and the hexproof warrirors? i am playing mono-red currently, but open to either splashing green for black for more efficient destroying purpose.
my side board
4 x manic vandal
3 x vulshok refugee
3 x manabarbs
2 x act of aggression
1 x perilous myr
1 x ratchet bomb
1 x slagstorm
will really appreciate if you veterans can give me some guidance or critics. i am a very open person. thanks alot =)
I've replaced Grim Lavamancer with Goblin Fireslinger. He wass probably the worst early 1 drop, and late in the game I'm usually wanting to leave mana up for more important things. Fireslinger at least gives me a better shot of getting a Bloodthirsted Berserker on the field on turn 2. And I replaced the usual Brimstone Volley with Volt Charge. I almost never had morbid when it actually mattered. With volt charge, I can throw an extra counter on Stromkirk, on Stormblood, on Shrine, and Koth, essentially 1/4 of my deck.
How does it look? Unless I manage to make some last minute trades, this is how it will look if/when I play it tomorrow.
I just went 4-1 at FNM with this deck. It seems to have the capability of competing and beating a wide range of decks. Here are my thoughts and musings:
1) The core of the deck I consider to be: Koth of the Hammer, Brimstone Volley, Stromkirk Noble, Stormblood Berserker, Chandra's Phoenix, and Shrine of Burning Rage. All of these cards have a very resonable chance to deal lots of damage if left unchecked. All of these cards I can legitimately see wanting in every game. That's why they are maxed out.
2) Some people cut Brimstone Volley for Volt Charge, I think this is wrong. The only actual reason for playing Volt Charge is speeding into Koth's ultimate. Adding counters to other things, (shrine, strom, and storm) is mainly just cute. By the time that the game has progressed to the point where you can do that, (4-6ish turn) your creatures can be easily killed or blocked. This is the exact situation Brimstone Volley shines in, 5 damage to the dome is a lot of the time better than little synergies. (side note/rant: in this deck your creatures are small and die easy, if you can't orchestrate their demise you are playing it wrong. Dead wrong.)
3) Having said the above I do think Volt Charge can definitely be productive in the deck. There are mucho shenanigans to be had with it and ultimately Koth likes going big on turn 5. The card just can't kill the opponent on their own turn when they are at 5 though.
4) Gut Shot I have been playing over Geistflame. This is mainly preference I think, the free option is definitely what sells me here, more ways to kill Inkmoth and the like while also enabling turn 2 Stormblood Berserker. I could be wrong on the choice between these two cards but I don't know.
5) Galvanic Blast is another card I chose over Geistflame, its similar so meh. (Also I have played a game where I did get metalcraft, didn't have this in the deck at the time though. Its gotta happen again sometime right?)
6) Kessig Wolf Run, just so maybe just maybe I can live the dream and have fireball on a stick like the big boys do. Also 1 (or maybe even 2) colorless lands don't hurt the decks mana.
7) Rootbound Crag, Should probably have more green sources in this deck... Never got to flashback a Grudge that I can remember. Also never got to use Kessig Wolf Run.
8) Spikeshot Elder and Grim Lavamancer are great cards and mainly good because they cost one, enable Berserker, and have late game utility so they are not dead weight then.
9) I run 24 land because I like being able to play my spells. Also lets me easily board in more 4 mana threats. woot.
10) My sideboard is largely un-polished and I am continually changing it, the one thing that has stayed the same is the 3x Manabarbs, that card and I just get along real nice.
Tl;dr "Oh RDW, I love you so much *mwah* *mwah*"
I'll post match descriptions when I have more sleep and can make my plays sound more genius.
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Here is the list I'm working on and I'm looking for some constructive criticism. I generally feel creatures need to have a fast clock to be worthwhile.
Comments:
I feel that the quality of creatures is fairly low so I'm running a more burn centered build. Chandra's Phoenix, while good, isn't what we're trying to do. Recurring creatures late game doesn't help our early game. Bloodcrazed Neonite on the other hand is another 2 drop that hits for 2 and grows each turn. I think of them like the noble.
As for sideboard, Manic Vandal is self explanatory and replaces Volt Charges or Brimstone Volleys. Manabarbs is for WRR and Control decks, replacing Volt Charge. Perilous Myr is for the mirror and infect as well as other aggro decks, replacing the Neonites and an Incinerate. I feel that Vulshok Refugee isn't that stellar for the mirror because shrine and the myr deal with it handily and that match-up feels more like a race to me. Traitorous Blood is for control and WRR replacing Gheistflame and Ratchet Bomb is for Tempered Steel and Token Decks replacing Koths against steel and Incinerates against tokens. I'm debating adding green and running Ancient Grudge over the Vandals.
Cant be "Burn Heavy" without Arc Trail. Also Chandra's Phoenix is really really good. I'd take out Bloodcrazed and the Incinerates for some combo of the two.
I agree with you in general. I think some areas could be streamlined, but nitpicking over personal preference slots on card close in power level is a waste of time. To each their own.
2) Some people cut Brimstone Volley for Volt Charge, I think this is wrong. The only actual reason for playing Volt Charge is speeding into Koth's ultimate. Adding counters to other things, (shrine, strom, and storm) is mainly just cute. By the time that the game has progressed to the point where you can do that, (4-6ish turn) your creatures can be easily killed or blocked. This is the exact situation Brimstone Volley shines in, 5 damage to the dome is a lot of the time better than little synergies. (side note/rant: in this deck your creatures are small and die easy, if you can't orchestrate their demise you are playing it wrong. Dead wrong.)
I agree that cutting Brimstone Volley for Volt Charge is a mistake, but I still feel that Volt Charge is quite good. Curving Stromkirk Noble into either Shrine or Stormblood Berserker is a common scenario for the deck, and every time this line of play occurs, Volt Charge has the same expected value as a Brimstone Volley w/ morbid; 5 damage for 3 mana. Brimstone Volley is the more consistent card, but I think Volt Charge's utility as both an offensive tool and combat trick is enough to earn it a heavier presence in the deck than as a one-of slot. But again, to each their own. Please follow up on the Kessig Wolf-Run. I've been meaning to experiment with the card, but me recently completing my Snapcaster playset has taken my attention away from this archetype (for a little while). My gut tells me it'll probably be worthwhile.
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We are the middle children of history. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War is a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.
The Inkmoth argument together with the Berserker activity indeed makes it better then Geist Flame. I ran Geist Flame and I rarely to never use the flashback option and had some serious problems getting my Berserkers into play. So for me Gut Shot will replace Geist Flame.
Enabling Bloodthirst is the single biggest argument in favor of Gut Shot. Inkmoth is already terrible against us, so Next-Levelling them strikes me as invalid, considering Geistflame kills two Inkmoths. I still favor Geistflame, both as a 2-for-1, and as double Phoenix recursion.
I agree that late game they are much better then any other one drop we have. Question which I asked myself if I want to be late game with the current meta. Mostly I found myself staring at a Wurmcoil Engine or something scary like that late game. A Lavamancer or Spikeshot Elder isn't going to help me then. I want to finish the game off early and a Furnace Scamp or a Goblin Arsonist, though they are inferior to Lavamancer and Elder, can give the kick we needed. It's still something I have 2 figure out 4 myself.
First, none of us "want" to see the late game. The fact of the matter is that we often won't have a choice. And in the situations that we do, Lavamancer and Spikeshot are exactly the types of creatures you want to see when staring down a Wurmcoil Engine in the late game. Assuming their life-total is low enough that a few burn spells will steal the game for you, Lavamancer and Spikeshot Elder are the best-case scenario chump blockers for the Wurmcoil. Declaring blocks and shooting themselves before damage saves you from a 12-point life swing. Furnace Scamp and Goblin Fireslinger just sit there and watch you get blown up (Unless you Gut Shot them *nudge nudge*).
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We are the middle children of history. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War is a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.
I went 3-1 last night at fnm and was wondering how you guys handle tree? I didn't have any answers for it and lost because of it.
Draw lots of Chandra's Phoenixes and Berserkers. That's about it. Whittle their life total down until you can burn the Tree off the field. Typically the best-case scenario is you catch them with 6+ damage in a turn, they activate Tree, and you burn them in response, lowering the Tree's toughness significantly upon resolution.
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We are the middle children of history. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War is a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.
Draw lots of Chandra's Phoenixes and Berserkers. That's about it. Whittle their life total down until you can burn the Tree off the field. Typically the best-case scenario is you catch them with 6+ damage in a turn, they activate Tree, and you burn them in response, lowering the Tree's toughness significantly upon resolution.
if you burn the tree dont they still get 13 life? doing damage on lowering toughness isnt the same thing. or am i wrong?
if you burn the tree dont they still get 13 life? doing damage on lowering toughness isnt the same thing. or am i wrong?
They activate the tree (presumably when they're already at less than 13 life) and you burn them in response -- dropping them even further, so that when they switch yeah, they go up to 13, but then the tree goes down to like 6, or at least something much less than 12. Means they'll be much easier to kill next time they activate it.
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That's 44 cards.. assuming you'd fill the empty space with mountains, that's still only 16 lands and 44 cards. That's a terrible ratio.. You need at least 20-22 lands in RDW, some people are even running 23.
Draft My Cube!
3x Chandra's Phoenix
4x Stromkirk Noble
4x Stormblood Berserker
4x Goblin Arsonists
Artifacts: 3
3x Shrine of Burning Legion
1x Devil's Play
2x Red Sun's Zenith
2x Tezzeret's Gambit
3x Reverberate
3x Arc Trail
3x Brimstone Volley
4x Galvanic Blast
2x Koth the Hammer
1x Chandra
Lands:
19x Mountains 23
4x Rootbound Crag
4x Burn the Impure (Infect)
2x Manic Vandal (Artifact)
3x Ancient Grudge (Artifact)
1x Arc Trail (Aggro/Weenie)
3x Shock (Aggro/Weenie)
3x Open Slots (What to add?)
So with a bunch of proxies (mostly the nobles and gambits) i was able to test this deck out, and by god it has worked out amazingly. It was a rework of my goblin burn deck, and as much as i miss my goblin grenade + reverbate combo this works much more smoothly (compared to a goblin with some none goblins). Keep in mind, im used to using a crap ton of creatures (22+) so running 19 felt...dirty. But with a ton of stuff like Black Sun's Zenith and Day of Judgement I figured this was my way of 'countering' all of this creature destruction by not relying so much on them.
Since i decided to run less creatures, I also decided to take certain creature related spells (like panic spell bomb and nightbird clutches), by doing so I could add even more burn, but not just the simplistic 1 red for 2 burn kind, but spells with much more utility. Since I was not going for win within 3-4 turns type burn anymore, I decided to add in brimstone volly (which is a nice replacement for goblin grenade considering) to be able to keep up damage, while things like Arc Trail and Blast would deal with the creatures that would otherwise block me or if left alive would be too much of a problem. As for the devils play and RSZ, they are amazing turn 6 and more, they can either kill that one pesky Mayor or finish off your oppenent- and that exile has actually helped me (when it came to RSZ). Now, why not run just 3x DP? well, first off- surgical extraction can be a pain (as can be nevermore), and not only that its nice to be able to reshuffle the burn back INTO my deck, in some games with only 2 of them i played it a good 4+ times (pure luck i suppose).
As for creatures, even though I wasnt going goblin the lil pyro just seemed to good to pass up. A decent one drop, but his 1 dmg passive can help turn the tides. That pesky mayor bothering u? Maybe you want to get rid of that parish before he gets big. It also makes X/2 creatures think twice about blockin since he can finish em off- AND he can trigger blood thrist for Stormblood Berserker (and technically morbid if he dies lol). Berserker is a must imo, and stromkirk noble just gets bigger and bigger if not dealt with, and surpirsingly it can make some people panic (the spells wasted to just get rid of him). He also has the advantege of being a big thorn against wolf decks since most werewolfs are, beilive it or not, human and he cant be blocked by them! The phoenix is a duh, evasive flyer that can come back? yes. Shrine is there for damage or Pro Red creatures (im lookin at u P-Crusader).
And to top it all off i got two koth's (whos -2 is so much fun with a DP or RSZ) and a chandra (love her -2 as well).
So far from testing its worked amazingly, and wolf run usually give its little problem unless they got a god hand (but only tested it a few times, so i need to do a bit more).
Edit:
I figured the sideboard is standard, also i know im running 62 cards- but 2 more imo helps more then it hurts.
Yeah that's a good start. Sorry, I didn't mean to flame you. I should give some constructive criticism as well.
Here are my suggestions for your build:
-4 Mana Barbs (this card is good for sideboards, not maindecks)
+4 Brimstone Volley
-4 Chancellor of the Forge
+4 Mountain
-4 Nightbird's Cluches
+1 Mountain
+3 Chandra's Phoenix
-4 Furor of the Bitten
+4 Stormblood Berserker
I'm not a huge fan of Infernal Plunge, but honestly it could combo really well with Brimstone Volley. Try out these changes and see if you like the deck better. Hope this helps..
Draft My Cube!
Err, woops. I have 64 cards listed. It's only 4 wardrivers.
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, Dec 13-15, 2013
Top 8 of SCG Invitational, Somerset, NJ, Aug 28-30, 2015
Winner of SCG Worcester Team Sealed Open with Gerard Fabiano and Curtis Sheu, September 28, 2013
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22 Mountain
Creatures: 20
2 Grim Lavamancer
3 Reckless Waif
4 Stromkirk Noble
3 Bloodcrazed Neonate
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Chandra's Phoenix
2 Koth of the Hammer
2 Chandra, the Firebrand
Artifacts: 4
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
Other Spells: 10
4 Incinerate
4 Shock
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Devil's Play
3 Dragonskull Summit
3 Dismember
3 Shatter
2 Traitorous Blood
1 Ancient Grudge
3 Burn the Impure
Card reasonings:
-Grim Lavamancer: He helps when you're running out of gas, -granted synergy between him and Phoenix is kinda bad, but, there should be other cards in your graveyard anyway.
-Reckless Waif: Having this card turn 1 is basically having a free 3 damage turn 2, her turn 1 plus Berserker = WOW.
-Stromkirk Noble: Staple, I wanna be this guy when I grow up.
-Bloodcrazed Neonate: I felt that only running 17 creatures seemed a little..not too great, so I threw in three of her. She does work more often than not.
-Stormblood Berserker: Staple, if you're playing RDW and not running this guy, you're doing it wrong.
-Chandra's Phoenix: Final creature staple, what more could you ask for? 2/2 flying, haste for 3 mana seems legit.
-Koth of the Hammer: I throw Mountains at you.
-Chandra, the Firebrand: Your Phoenix died turn 3? Oh look, it's back in your hand now.
-Shrine of Burning Rage: Artifact staple, the power level of this deck would be waaaaay lower without this card.
-Incinerate: I don't have Volt Charge or Arc Trail, next best thing. Deals with Glissa, the Traitor who's a pain for this deck.
-Shock: I miss Burst Lightning
-Red Sun's Zenith: Used as a filler until I get either some Tezzeret's Gambit or Volt Charge/Arc Trail
-Devil's Play: See explanation above.
Disclaimer before sideboard: Yes, I know it looks kind of odd..but honestly, I'm likin' it in testing; we'll see tonight.
-Dragonskull Summit: Used to side-in Dismembers without me having the nug myself for life. This is useful against Phyrexian Obliterator and Phyrexian Crusader.
-Dismember: See explanation above.
-Shatter: Because screw artifacts. Also I need more Ancient Grudges / Rootbound Crags.
-Traitorous Blood: Steal your Wurmcoil, attack you for 6 trampling plus all my other guys. Usually adds up to GG.
-Ancient Grudge: Same as Shatter, just need 3 more of them.
-Burn the Impure: Kessig Wolf Run Inkmoth Nexus Combo / random other infect dudes.
-1 Berserker
-2 Arc Trail
-1 Geistflame
-2 Grim Lavamancer
+3 Ancient Grudge
+2 Manabarbs
+1 Chandra's Phoenix
Grim Lavamancer comes out because it's the worst one drop when your plan is to go all-in on the burn plan. One Berserker comes out because losing one-drops lowers bloodthirst consistency. Arc Trail comes out because of sorcery speed and low EV. Geistflame comes out because of its low damage/cost ratio. The substitutions need little explanation.
Keep in mind that this is variable based on thier respective lists. Against heavy green, you may want Arc Trails to blow up their birds etc and the 4th Berserker to walk through Dungrove Elders. A couple Koths and a random are an easy drop in that matchup.
The gameplan is complete non-interaction. Count from 20 to 0. If they kill your stuff, hope some of that stuff was a Chandra's Phoenix. In general, once a Shrine gets to 5+ counters, start playing careful to maximize value (in other words, don't get blown out by Beast Within). Pay attention to the board state and try to stay ahead. Lastly, note your life total, as this deck is more mana-intensive as past RDW lists, and playing a Manabarbs into a bad board position could end up getting you killed.
2x Reckless Waif
2x Grim Lavamancer
4x Stormblood Berserker
4x Chandra's Phoenix
2x Hero of Oxid Ridge
3x Geistflame
2x Slagstorm
3x Arc Trail
3x Brimstone Volley
4x Incinerate
3x Dismember
Lands (22):
18x Mountain
4x Rootbound Crag
3x Vulshok Refugee
3x Ancient Grudge
2x Slagstorm
2x Ratchet Bomb
3x Phyrexian Metamorph
2x Dismember
By me from Hakai Studios.
blatlas on cockatrice. Test standard, legacy, or EDH!
19 Mountain
4 Rootbound Crag
1 Copperline Gorge
Creatures (20)
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Goblin Fireslinger
3 Spikeshot Elder
3 Chandra's Phoenix
2 Hero of Oxid Ridge
Other Spells (16)
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
4 Koth of the Hammer
4 Volt Charge
4 Geistflame
4 Perilous Myr (vs. Red, Infect)
3 Ancient Grudge (vs. anything with Swords or Wurmcoil Engine)
2 Ratchet Bomb (vs. Token decks, maybe even Timely?)
2 Manabarbs (vs. Wolf-Run)
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge (vs. Tokens, Timely)
3 Dismember (vs. Spellskite, Hero of Bladehold)
Hi guys =)
my 1st post and my 1st FNM of the year yesterday! so happy got to a 2-0 start over mono-red goblins and mono-black infect, but lost to wolf-run for a 2-1.
To whalesong, my very 1st competitive deck played in 2009 was rdw but splash black with the all-powerful blightning of alara and doomblade. The same problems are still shroud/hex proof, life gain and of coz protection from red. Its boils down to how you are going to deal with them or how you gonna take it when they beat you down dam hard. You like/love a deck/theme/colour, u stick through with it thick and thin. You like to win, just go learn, probably spend more bucks and play the most popular winning deck. There are rdw believers who go very far in the states competition and i feel very proud of them.
i sideboarded 3 manabarbs, 2 act of aggressions, and 1 slagstorm against wolf ramp, but couldnt draw the manabarbs, slagstorm was kind of useless in my hand, act of aggression couldnt target hexproof, and i got beat down by thrun the last troll and dungrove elders, lost by 1 damage. I am still positive that i can win but just not too sure how yet. should i put 3-4 ratchet bombs into my sideboard to destroy the tokens both by white and wurmcoil, and the hexproof warrirors? i am playing mono-red currently, but open to either splashing green for black for more efficient destroying purpose.
my side board
4 x manic vandal
3 x vulshok refugee
3 x manabarbs
2 x act of aggression
1 x perilous myr
1 x ratchet bomb
1 x slagstorm
will really appreciate if you veterans can give me some guidance or critics. i am a very open person. thanks alot =)
Here's how it looks right now -
4x Stromkirk Noble
4x Stormblood Berserker
4x Chandra's Phoenix
2x Goblin Fireslinger
2x Hero of Oxid Ridge
2x Spikeshot Elder
Spells:
4x Volt Charge
4x Incinerate
3x Arc Trail
2x Gut Shot
4x Shrine of Burning Rage
Planeswalkers:
2x Koth of the Hammer
Land:
4x Rootbound Crag
19x Mountain
4x Ancient Grudge
4x Vulshok Refugee
3x Traitorous Blood
2x Perilous Myr
1x Hero of Oxid Ridge
1x Arc Trail
I've replaced Grim Lavamancer with Goblin Fireslinger. He wass probably the worst early 1 drop, and late in the game I'm usually wanting to leave mana up for more important things. Fireslinger at least gives me a better shot of getting a Bloodthirsted Berserker on the field on turn 2. And I replaced the usual Brimstone Volley with Volt Charge. I almost never had morbid when it actually mattered. With volt charge, I can throw an extra counter on Stromkirk, on Stormblood, on Shrine, and Koth, essentially 1/4 of my deck.
How does it look? Unless I manage to make some last minute trades, this is how it will look if/when I play it tomorrow.
4x Rootbound Grag
1x Kessig Wolf Run
19x Mountain
Planeswalkers:
4x Koth of the Hammer
Instants:
1x Volt Charge
4x Brimstone Volley
2x Gut Shot
1x Galvanic Blast
3x Arc Trail
Creatures:
4x Stromkirk Noble
4x Stormblood Berserker
4x Chandra's Phoenix
3x Spikeshot Elder
2x Grim Lavamancer
Artifacts:
4x Shrine of Burning Rage
3x Perilous Myr
1x Traitorous Blood
3x Manabarbs
3x Vulshok Refugee
3x Ancient Grudge
2x Hero of Oxid Ridge
I just went 4-1 at FNM with this deck. It seems to have the capability of competing and beating a wide range of decks. Here are my thoughts and musings:
1) The core of the deck I consider to be: Koth of the Hammer, Brimstone Volley, Stromkirk Noble, Stormblood Berserker, Chandra's Phoenix, and Shrine of Burning Rage. All of these cards have a very resonable chance to deal lots of damage if left unchecked. All of these cards I can legitimately see wanting in every game. That's why they are maxed out.
2) Some people cut Brimstone Volley for Volt Charge, I think this is wrong. The only actual reason for playing Volt Charge is speeding into Koth's ultimate. Adding counters to other things, (shrine, strom, and storm) is mainly just cute. By the time that the game has progressed to the point where you can do that, (4-6ish turn) your creatures can be easily killed or blocked. This is the exact situation Brimstone Volley shines in, 5 damage to the dome is a lot of the time better than little synergies. (side note/rant: in this deck your creatures are small and die easy, if you can't orchestrate their demise you are playing it wrong. Dead wrong.)
3) Having said the above I do think Volt Charge can definitely be productive in the deck. There are mucho shenanigans to be had with it and ultimately Koth likes going big on turn 5. The card just can't kill the opponent on their own turn when they are at 5 though.
4) Gut Shot I have been playing over Geistflame. This is mainly preference I think, the free option is definitely what sells me here, more ways to kill Inkmoth and the like while also enabling turn 2 Stormblood Berserker. I could be wrong on the choice between these two cards but I don't know.
5) Galvanic Blast is another card I chose over Geistflame, its similar so meh. (Also I have played a game where I did get metalcraft, didn't have this in the deck at the time though. Its gotta happen again sometime right?)
6) Kessig Wolf Run, just so maybe just maybe I can live the dream and have fireball on a stick like the big boys do. Also 1 (or maybe even 2) colorless lands don't hurt the decks mana.
7) Rootbound Crag, Should probably have more green sources in this deck... Never got to flashback a Grudge that I can remember. Also never got to use Kessig Wolf Run.
8) Spikeshot Elder and Grim Lavamancer are great cards and mainly good because they cost one, enable Berserker, and have late game utility so they are not dead weight then.
9) I run 24 land because I like being able to play my spells. Also lets me easily board in more 4 mana threats. woot.
10) My sideboard is largely un-polished and I am continually changing it, the one thing that has stayed the same is the 3x Manabarbs, that card and I just get along real nice.
Tl;dr "Oh RDW, I love you so much *mwah* *mwah*"
I'll post match descriptions when I have more sleep and can make my plays sound more genius.
like pen pencil computer
sometimes prolific
sometimes a neuter
.
4x Goblin Arsonist
2x Grim Lavamancer
4x Stormblood Berserker
2x Bloodcrazed Neonate
4x Incinerate
3x Volt Charge
3x Brimstone Volley
4x Koth of the Hammer
22x Mountain
1x Ghost Quarter
Currently my sideboard plan is:
3x Manic Vandal
3x Manabarbs
3x Perilous Myr
3x Traitorous Blood
3x Ratchet Bomb
Comments:
I feel that the quality of creatures is fairly low so I'm running a more burn centered build. Chandra's Phoenix, while good, isn't what we're trying to do. Recurring creatures late game doesn't help our early game. Bloodcrazed Neonite on the other hand is another 2 drop that hits for 2 and grows each turn. I think of them like the noble.
As for sideboard, Manic Vandal is self explanatory and replaces Volt Charges or Brimstone Volleys. Manabarbs is for WRR and Control decks, replacing Volt Charge. Perilous Myr is for the mirror and infect as well as other aggro decks, replacing the Neonites and an Incinerate. I feel that Vulshok Refugee isn't that stellar for the mirror because shrine and the myr deal with it handily and that match-up feels more like a race to me. Traitorous Blood is for control and WRR replacing Gheistflame and Ratchet Bomb is for Tempered Steel and Token Decks replacing Koths against steel and Incinerates against tokens. I'm debating adding green and running Ancient Grudge over the Vandals.
I agree with you in general. I think some areas could be streamlined, but nitpicking over personal preference slots on card close in power level is a waste of time. To each their own.
I agree that cutting Brimstone Volley for Volt Charge is a mistake, but I still feel that Volt Charge is quite good. Curving Stromkirk Noble into either Shrine or Stormblood Berserker is a common scenario for the deck, and every time this line of play occurs, Volt Charge has the same expected value as a Brimstone Volley w/ morbid; 5 damage for 3 mana. Brimstone Volley is the more consistent card, but I think Volt Charge's utility as both an offensive tool and combat trick is enough to earn it a heavier presence in the deck than as a one-of slot. But again, to each their own. Please follow up on the Kessig Wolf-Run. I've been meaning to experiment with the card, but me recently completing my Snapcaster playset has taken my attention away from this archetype (for a little while). My gut tells me it'll probably be worthwhile.
Enabling Bloodthirst is the single biggest argument in favor of Gut Shot. Inkmoth is already terrible against us, so Next-Levelling them strikes me as invalid, considering Geistflame kills two Inkmoths. I still favor Geistflame, both as a 2-for-1, and as double Phoenix recursion.
First, none of us "want" to see the late game. The fact of the matter is that we often won't have a choice. And in the situations that we do, Lavamancer and Spikeshot are exactly the types of creatures you want to see when staring down a Wurmcoil Engine in the late game. Assuming their life-total is low enough that a few burn spells will steal the game for you, Lavamancer and Spikeshot Elder are the best-case scenario chump blockers for the Wurmcoil. Declaring blocks and shooting themselves before damage saves you from a 12-point life swing. Furnace Scamp and Goblin Fireslinger just sit there and watch you get blown up (Unless you Gut Shot them *nudge nudge*).
Draw lots of Chandra's Phoenixes and Berserkers. That's about it. Whittle their life total down until you can burn the Tree off the field. Typically the best-case scenario is you catch them with 6+ damage in a turn, they activate Tree, and you burn them in response, lowering the Tree's toughness significantly upon resolution.
if you burn the tree dont they still get 13 life? doing damage on lowering toughness isnt the same thing. or am i wrong?
They activate the tree (presumably when they're already at less than 13 life) and you burn them in response -- dropping them even further, so that when they switch yeah, they go up to 13, but then the tree goes down to like 6, or at least something much less than 12. Means they'll be much easier to kill next time they activate it.