Collective Blessing and Deathrite Shaman. 4 or 5 Blessings now and I've opened 5 Shamans and have 6 others from trading. Not a bad thing, I think he's only going to go up in price.
Mono Red typically can have a turn faster clock (its nut draws are slightly more consistent).
The big edge of going Mono R is actually in the aggro mirror, so against RakDW, Rakdos Aggro etc. They're manabases can be quite awkward with taplands and shocklands ~ your mana is perfect AND you get to run Hellion Crucible, which is one of the most powerful cards in the aggro mirror (because games frequently stall out with each player having sufficient removal for their opponent's creatures).
That you're more of a sligh build when playing mono R, and that you have hellrider instead of falkenrath aristocrat also helps your reanimator matchup.
So, if the meta is leaning towards RakDW/Rakdos Aggro/Reanimator, MonoR is very well positioned, with a small but noticable edge in all those matchups.
Depending on who you listen to, Mono R also has a good UW Flash matchup (though not as good as RakDW).
Edit ~ you're from Nova Scotia? Awesome, my favourite book is set entirely there (Island, by Alistair McLeod)
That's exactly what I was thinking, I would think RDW would also have a better match up against GW aggro because you have more burn for their creatures and a trump card in Pyreheart Wolf.
And yes, I'm from Nova Scotia haha. It's not the greatest place in the world but it does have a unique atmosphere that can lend itself to great literature.
Is there any benefit to running RDW over Rakdos in the current standard?
It seems as though Mono Red has a faster clock but in this standard full of Thragtusks, Restoration Angel, and Sphinx's Revelation, the mid/late game is key and Rakdos definitely wins in this department.
Is there any deck/meta out there where you'd rather play RDW over Rakdos?
Arbor Elf - Mana Dork who helps accelerate and also creates a draw engine with Underworld Connections.
Loleth Troll - Regeneration is key as it can take on bigger creatures and survive. It also has synergy with Deathrite Shaman, as you can actually use the cards you discard.
Strangleroot Geist - Great early beater who has a bit of synergy with Jarad.
Deathrite Shaman - Huge part of the deck. Has synergy with Loleth Troll and Jarad. Turns useless cards into life loss, life gain and mana.
Jarad - Efficiently costed creature who works well with Loleth Troll and Deathrite Shaman.
Thragtusk - Aggro will be big in the coming meta, so the life gain is no joke. This combines well with Jarad, as you can sacrifice him to Jarad for only 3 mana to make your opponent lose five and you put a 3/3 into play.
Spells
Duress - Classic disruption against both aggro and control.
Abrupt Decay - Very good removal against zombies and delver.
Tragic Slip - With lots of morbid triggers in this deck, this can kill almost anything for only one mana.
Underworld Connections - Our main card advantage engine. Works extremely well with arbor elf.
Liliana of the Veil - Great disruption against control and can deal with pesky hexproof creatures.
Lands
Grim Backwoods - Another morbid trigger, has synergy with Deathrite Shaman and draws you cards.
Other Thoughts
I'm not sure if I should include more scavenge, the deck is pretty tight as it is. I'd prefer to disrupt on my/their turn rather than make my guys bigger. Sideboard has a ton of options, including Golgari Charm, Vampire Nighthawk, graveyard hosers, etc.
I've done it, and when I was only 13 years old no less. People were doing cannonballs and stuff off it and were fine, I just went in feet first, so yes, you'd be fine.
I'm currently in the process of making an Ancient Egyptian themed deck and currently only Have Geralf's Messenger and Vengeful Pharoah on my list. I was wondering if you guys could help me brainstorm some Egyptian themed cards off the top of your head.
I'm excited to see what New Jersey does after their disastrous season last year. They did have that crazy stretch where they went 19-2-1 or something ridiculous, which gives me hope. Plus, they're getting back Parise who was one of the top players in league and we should see bounce backs from both Kovalchuck and Brodeur. Lets go Devils!
The History Channel should be renamed The Hitler Channel because probably 75% of that channel is about Nazis. They need to get some other shows besides Pawn Stars and Nazi Documentaries.
I think Jersey Shore is number one on my hit list. Sure, The Simpsons is losing quality, Survivor is getting stale and Glee is sometimes painful to watch and listen to, but Jersey Shore is just absolutely disgusting.
I live in a place where there isn't a professional sports team for about a 15 hour drive, so I can choose whatever I want.
NHL: New Jersey Devils (They won the Stanley Cup in 2000, first year I seriously watched hockey and have been my favourite ever since.)
NFL: Used to be the Steelers, but they started winning too much and for some reason I don't like cheering for perennial winners. I know New Jersey made the playoffs for a ridiculous amount of straight seasons, but I'm more attached to them. I'm looking at the Bucs, they're up and coming and Freeman looks like a great QB.
MLB: Cleveland Indians (I mostly just like the logo haha, but they're doing great this year, unlike many many previous years)
NBA: I like specific players like Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant, but have no favourite team.
I can understand this, but I know there's a lot of film geeks out there who share my opinion on Inglourious Basterds. I certainly am not the first person to make the argument that I made for it in this thread.
In other news, Tarantino's next film, Django Unleashed, has a release date of Christmas 2012. It's obviously a western of some type, but we'll have to wait to see some previews/etc. to find out what he's up to!
I'm pretty excited for this movie, I've heard Christoph Waltz has been cast as a main character, which is very promising after the job he did in IB. More disheartening, however, is the rumor that Will Smith has been cast in the main role as Django. I'm not a big fan of Smith and it seems like it is just a ploy to add star power to the movie. Brad Pitt did a fine job, however, so it could end up alright.
That's exactly what I was thinking, I would think RDW would also have a better match up against GW aggro because you have more burn for their creatures and a trump card in Pyreheart Wolf.
And yes, I'm from Nova Scotia haha. It's not the greatest place in the world but it does have a unique atmosphere that can lend itself to great literature.
It seems as though Mono Red has a faster clock but in this standard full of Thragtusks, Restoration Angel, and Sphinx's Revelation, the mid/late game is key and Rakdos definitely wins in this department.
Is there any deck/meta out there where you'd rather play RDW over Rakdos?
4x Loleth Troll
4x Strangleroot Geist
4x Deathrite Shaman
3x Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
3x Thragtusk
3x Abrupt Decay
3x Tragic Slip
3x Underworld Connections
2x Liliana of the Veil
4x Woodland Cemetery
2x Grim Backwoods
13x Basic
Creatures
Arbor Elf - Mana Dork who helps accelerate and also creates a draw engine with Underworld Connections.
Loleth Troll - Regeneration is key as it can take on bigger creatures and survive. It also has synergy with Deathrite Shaman, as you can actually use the cards you discard.
Strangleroot Geist - Great early beater who has a bit of synergy with Jarad.
Deathrite Shaman - Huge part of the deck. Has synergy with Loleth Troll and Jarad. Turns useless cards into life loss, life gain and mana.
Jarad - Efficiently costed creature who works well with Loleth Troll and Deathrite Shaman.
Thragtusk - Aggro will be big in the coming meta, so the life gain is no joke. This combines well with Jarad, as you can sacrifice him to Jarad for only 3 mana to make your opponent lose five and you put a 3/3 into play.
Spells
Duress - Classic disruption against both aggro and control.
Abrupt Decay - Very good removal against zombies and delver.
Tragic Slip - With lots of morbid triggers in this deck, this can kill almost anything for only one mana.
Underworld Connections - Our main card advantage engine. Works extremely well with arbor elf.
Liliana of the Veil - Great disruption against control and can deal with pesky hexproof creatures.
Lands
Grim Backwoods - Another morbid trigger, has synergy with Deathrite Shaman and draws you cards.
Other Thoughts
I'm not sure if I should include more scavenge, the deck is pretty tight as it is. I'd prefer to disrupt on my/their turn rather than make my guys bigger. Sideboard has a ton of options, including Golgari Charm, Vampire Nighthawk, graveyard hosers, etc.
http://theothertravis.tumblr.com
*warning, I post some offensive stuff sometimes*
I think Jersey Shore is number one on my hit list. Sure, The Simpsons is losing quality, Survivor is getting stale and Glee is sometimes painful to watch and listen to, but Jersey Shore is just absolutely disgusting.
NHL: New Jersey Devils (They won the Stanley Cup in 2000, first year I seriously watched hockey and have been my favourite ever since.)
NFL: Used to be the Steelers, but they started winning too much and for some reason I don't like cheering for perennial winners. I know New Jersey made the playoffs for a ridiculous amount of straight seasons, but I'm more attached to them. I'm looking at the Bucs, they're up and coming and Freeman looks like a great QB.
MLB: Cleveland Indians (I mostly just like the logo haha, but they're doing great this year, unlike many many previous years)
NBA: I like specific players like Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant, but have no favourite team.
I'm pretty excited for this movie, I've heard Christoph Waltz has been cast as a main character, which is very promising after the job he did in IB. More disheartening, however, is the rumor that Will Smith has been cast in the main role as Django. I'm not a big fan of Smith and it seems like it is just a ploy to add star power to the movie. Brad Pitt did a fine job, however, so it could end up alright.