Another I don't think was mentioned is Krosan Tusker. If all you need is minimal fixing it'll grab 1 land, 1 card, and can't be countered short of a Stifle etc.
I don't play much T2. I think the current RDW lists tend to have Demigod of Revenge, Figure of Destiny, some way to burn Fairies en masse, and some way to counteract Kitchen Finks? I bet if you headed over to the Standard Forums you could find a couple threads that would be more helpful than I could be about any recent T2 developments.
Chandra is fun, I didn't use her much until I played the JvC decks. Then I pulled one out of my trade binder and put her into my Rainbow Stairwell. Like most planeswalkers, she demands an answer from your opponent, so I say give her shot. You'd probably want to remove one of high cost creatures to make room in the curve.
Edit*That is a good point on the Spellbombs, I forgot about them earlier. They are less sneaky as you said, but they are more efficient and they can cycle in a pinch. Maybe mix them with the Ghostfire and see which you prefer.
The Marauders can be 5 damage for 2 mana if you keep the ground open. I know you don't like the CIPT lands, but those creature lands reprinted in 10th are pretty great. They'll survive most mass removal, including those pyroclasms if you get them, its my opinion that a couple pyroclasms belong in any heat deck. Browbeat is more of a fun card for me, most of the time I use it I feel I'd be more efficient with Flame Javelin 3-4 instead. Kher Keep also pure fun, I like to brag about my Kobolds.
The colorless mana from desert can be a pain. Just be wary of keeping hands with 1 mountain and 1 or more deserts only. If you want my list I could put it up. It has quite a bit of older stuff, but mostly commons and uncommons. Basically looked through my boxes and said I used to use this! I want to try this!
If you want to keep the large creature base, cards like Ghostfire and Barbarian Ring are a couple options for dealing with little pro-red buggers. In terms of protected giants, you could burn the face and drop a personal favorite of mine, Breaking Point.
I've been tuning my casual heat deck as well recently, one thing I've done is try to use lands that have extra effects. For instance the above Ring, Keldon Megaliths, and Desert.
Edit*Just clicked on the Breaking Point link. Love that pic and flavor text.
You'd really need to change the mana base in order to play 4 colours consistently enough. Two vivid lands is not what 'd call a stable mana base for producing red or blue. You'd need to get Gemhide Sliver to stick if you want to play anything, and then you run the risk of having dead cards in your hand if you can't find one in time. I think if the OP was going to splash, red would be great. They'd have the Firewakes to play with, not to mention Homing Sliver to replace the Eladamri's Call, Blade Sliver and Bonesplitter Sliver for more beats, and Magma Sliver as a great finisher. It would need a much better land base, however.
You're right about a stronger manabase. I was just under the impression the OP didn't seem interested in dropping much money there, that's why I suggested more vivids for the splash. That said, spot on about Bonesplitter Sliver and Magma Sliver. Those guys will end games in a hurry if left unchecked for a turn, or less if you've got a sizable army already:D.
If you do add much more red you probably wouldn't have to care about evasion from Winged Sliver with Bonesplitter and Magma to make any hits matter. I would suggest the Jungle Shrine or the much forgotten Rith's Grove as budget lands for RGW. And remember the Grove will probably not slow down mana development if you play it last and bounce a tapped land.
That would keep the deck basically the same build, with the trade of a little less board control options for a lot more combat oomph in the haste/evasion. Plus your land base can stay basically the same, maybe add another Vivid or two.
Tempest was the first set released after I started playing. I've been a nut for slivers ever since, I had a five color sliver deck by the time Stronghold came out, and I pulled the Queen from a booster. At the time I didn't know she existed, and was amazed and hooked ever since. I think my favorite might be Hibernation Sliver.
No real questions. I was just testing your claim, and sir, I am impressed. I also just joined the forum, though I've been playing since the Tempest release. I agree about Lightning Dragon's price. I've just got the one that I pulled out of a booster back in high school. He keeps finding his way into decks though, just too antsy to sit tight in a binder I guess.
What was your main incentive to join the forum? I had a friend recommend the trading post, so the past few days I've been trying my hand at it. If all goes well I'll soon have a Hellkite Overlord :). I'm stoked for that because regardless of the fact that I learned how to build spikily, I still love the multiplayer chaos environment. There's just more big things and more old things that get forgotten by the eternal formats. And there is always room at the table for something like a deck based on Spore Frog.
I'm mostly a casual player as well, but don't mind rolling into a store for a draft or sealed tourney once every few months.
I've got to give Kokusho props, but few dragons compare to Lightning Dragon in my eyes. Just feels like he busted straight out of Super Metroid and started eating wizards. As for sharks I'll bite (har har), do you know of any freshwater sharks species? Seems to me like some could at least swim up an estuary or something, find some delicious Pygmy Hippos or something.
Presume you're talking about the set, but how do you feel about the card Morningtide? I like it more than Onslaught or Torment, but less than Apocalypse or Time Spiral.
Edit*That is a good point on the Spellbombs, I forgot about them earlier. They are less sneaky as you said, but they are more efficient and they can cycle in a pinch. Maybe mix them with the Ghostfire and see which you prefer.
Tenth Edition
The Marauders can be 5 damage for 2 mana if you keep the ground open. I know you don't like the CIPT lands, but those creature lands reprinted in 10th are pretty great. They'll survive most mass removal, including those pyroclasms if you get them, its my opinion that a couple pyroclasms belong in any heat deck. Browbeat is more of a fun card for me, most of the time I use it I feel I'd be more efficient with Flame Javelin 3-4 instead. Kher Keep also pure fun, I like to brag about my Kobolds.
I've been tuning my casual heat deck as well recently, one thing I've done is try to use lands that have extra effects. For instance the above Ring, Keldon Megaliths, and Desert.
Edit*Just clicked on the Breaking Point link. Love that pic and flavor text.
You're right about a stronger manabase. I was just under the impression the OP didn't seem interested in dropping much money there, that's why I suggested more vivids for the splash. That said, spot on about Bonesplitter Sliver and Magma Sliver. Those guys will end games in a hurry if left unchecked for a turn, or less if you've got a sizable army already:D.
If you do add much more red you probably wouldn't have to care about evasion from Winged Sliver with Bonesplitter and Magma to make any hits matter. I would suggest the Jungle Shrine or the much forgotten Rith's Grove as budget lands for RGW. And remember the Grove will probably not slow down mana development if you play it last and bounce a tapped land.
That would keep the deck basically the same build, with the trade of a little less board control options for a lot more combat oomph in the haste/evasion. Plus your land base can stay basically the same, maybe add another Vivid or two.
What was your main incentive to join the forum? I had a friend recommend the trading post, so the past few days I've been trying my hand at it. If all goes well I'll soon have a Hellkite Overlord :). I'm stoked for that because regardless of the fact that I learned how to build spikily, I still love the multiplayer chaos environment. There's just more big things and more old things that get forgotten by the eternal formats. And there is always room at the table for something like a deck based on Spore Frog.
I'm mostly a casual player as well, but don't mind rolling into a store for a draft or sealed tourney once every few months.
I've got to give Kokusho props, but few dragons compare to Lightning Dragon in my eyes. Just feels like he busted straight out of Super Metroid and started eating wizards. As for sharks I'll bite (har har), do you know of any freshwater sharks species? Seems to me like some could at least swim up an estuary or something, find some delicious Pygmy Hippos or something.