(The thread title is in commemoration of the hilariously awkward original translation of the recent WotC leaks.)
"I like that deck, it didn't do anything wrong."
"I dunno, give me something casual! ...whoa, not THAT casual."
"I have to think for a second, it's not like I'm playing blue."
"It's the same **** every game, this deck is so hypercompetitive."
"Jeez, it's like I'm playing Mirage block constructed or something."
"Hey, is this your deck? You left it here." :/
What you need to know is that Squee is a big-mana, red control deck that aims to end the game in a spectacular, fiery, combo-esque fashion. Dealing 120+ damage to burn everyone out at a multiplayer table may not be the best or easiest thing to do, but I'm sure as heck gonna try.
There is a LOT of card draw, a fair amount of graveyard recursion, and a few pieces of tech to help deal with problematic enchantments and such. Mostly it's about positioning yourself to wreck shop with lots of mana on turn 7 or 8, if the game lasts that long.
Good matchups: Decks with lots of creatures you can wipe
Bad matchups: Actually good decks
Let me know what you think. It's not as cutthroat as some of my other decks can be, and it's pretty refreshing and fun to play, honestly. Any suggestions?
I've been toiling away at a Fumiko, the Low Blood deck for a while and I appreciate you putting up an interesting mono-red build (even if it is for a different general).
Punishing Fire is another recursive engine. If you play a lot of multiplayer I would imagine that it becomes active often enough to be useful even though the effect is so small. Word of Seizing is a strong card that you can do a whole lot of fun things with. Personally, I have fond memories of: stealing a high loyalty planeswalker and popping the ultimate on an unsuspecting opponent; swinging with a creature and then eating it with my Gargadon; and punching someone with their own Nicol Bolas Being able to grab any permanent -- even if its just for a single turn-- brings a whole lot of utility at most points in a game.
I really like Viashino Heretic as an artifact blower-upper, but that may just be personal preference.
As for cards you might be able to do away with, Slice and Dice gives you some options but the effect still seems rather small in EDH. Goblin Lore is pretty bad in my opinion, even with all those phoenix and hammers and goblin nabobs.
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Hey dosu, nice to see you again. Now I get to help you! Sweet. Red is my favorite color, hence the name, and I know a thing or two about the color.
First let me start off with furnace, yes you should add it. Its super silly with repurcussion. Your hammer of bogardin hits their creature for 3. Furnace doubles to 6. Repurcussion kicks in. Deals 6 to player. Furnace doubles it to 12. This works because repurcussion is dealing the damage. Pretty sick with chandra ablaze out as well.......
The efreet is awesome. You need a couple more sac outlets other than gargadon. high market or ashnods altar could work for you here.
If you want more life add a basilisk collar works just like warhammer but adds deathtouch. Very silly on a magma phoenix, bloodfire, jaya, and a critter tha I think is missed here,,,,scourge of ker ridges
Now on another note. The biggest difference between inferno and wrath of god is the damage. While protection doesn't protect your creatures from a wrath. It will save them from inferno. Also saving your. Creatures damage from your own chaos burn. A couple of pro red creatures could be tech here. The best one available to mono red is subteranian spirit. Tremors the field and stays alive after quake, inferno, etc...... also very silly with collar. Furnace/repurcussion turns him into a 2 point quake and take 4 for every nonflier you got. All for a tapped creature.
Urza's armor will save you your own damage from pyrohemia......
I'm lucky enough to have a playset of guantlet of might. I would play it in here, but it sounds like you don't have one. But a sculpting steel could act as one to coppy lens or such. Mana flare is always an option as well. I use them all for my kazuul deck.
Ill have more but I don't want to bombard you with too much all at once.....lol
Hey, thanks for the replies! There is definitely some good suggestions here.
----- @Soma -----
I've been considering Punishing Fire for a while now, but I don't know that anyone other than the Uril player runs a lot of life gain. However, I will start keeping track of how often it would come in handy. The small burn effect itself isn't what's important, but being able to recur a card to pitch to something else is great.
Word of Seizing is also on the short list for inclusion. I just have so much stuff I want to play... gah, cutting cards is hard when you're not just trying to make the deck all streamlined and cutthroat.
As far as Viashino Heretic is concerned, I favored immediate noncreature effects like Shattering Spree and Rack and Ruin because they don't die to board wipes. However, I'm certainly not opposed to the idea mainly because of the extra damage he can push through.
I'm not sure if I want to cut Goblin Lore just yet because 1) it's so darn cool, and 2) I'm so lacking on card draw options. While the results are unpredictable, it provides a great way to filter extra lands out of your hand and will often 2-for-1 or even 3-for-1 with Squee and a phoenix or something. Slice and Dice isn't set in stone, though; I might cut it in the future, especially for another board sweeper.
----- @ash and fire -----
Hey, good to see you again too! Thanks for the input.
Furnace of Rath will go in ASAP because I just want to see it work.
If we need more sac outlets for the Efreet and stuff, I'm going to lean toward Miren, the Moaning Well because of the extra life gain it can provide. Speaking of life gain, I think Sun Droplet really has a place in this deck, even better than Urza's Armor IMO. That will probably be included as well in the next update.
Scourge of Kher Ridges is pretty darn cool. It might make a good replacement for Slice and Dice, actually. I'm not sold on Basilisk Collar, but I might give it a shot at some point. The Warhammer just seems better because I can equip it to ANYTHING and it turns into a threat.
Sword of Fire and Ice will definitely be included as soon as I get my hands on one. Pro red is just so good in this deck, you know? Like I said in the OP, Tatsumasa will probably get the axe. I'm not sure about Subterranian Spirit and Akroma's Memorial, though -- they just don't further my game plan enough (Spirit doesn't have a big enough effect, and I don't have enough dudes for the Memorial).
I recomended the memorial only for the pro red it grants to all your creatures. The spirit is pro red allready and while his effect doesn't seem huge with the enchantment combo, and basilisk collar, he can make people pay. And the collat is hot. On a magma phoenix, sac or kill the phoenix and deal 3 to each creature without flying and each player. Pretty good by itself. Now, give it deathtouch and lifelink. That adds gain 3 life for each crature and plaer damaged this way, and destroy any creature damaged this way. That's a pretty good soft lock, and a whole lot of life. The spirit is also pretty stupid with a collar. Turns it into, tap: kill every creature without flying. Gain 1 life for each creature killed this way.....I won't twist your arm about it though.
Also, other than comet storm and disaster, where are your x spells and your buybacks?
You have Reiterate, which is good, but I just can't build a red deck without throwing in Wild Ricochet. It's UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLELY GOOD in EDH, trust me. Also consider Ricochet Trap, Shunt, and Mirari. Other ideas:
-Eternity Vessel is good when you're burning yourself, and wards off attacks;
-Bogardan Hellkite doesn't quite have the sweeper quality of stuff like Bloodfire Colossus, but the flash is invaluable; you can play it when someone attacks to kill off one big guy or a bunch of weenies AND block, or play it in your opponent's end step then untap and attack to bring someone from 10 to 0 in a hurry.
-Hateflayer and Flameblast Dragon can both attack and burn creatures/players, and Flameblast is sick with 10+ mana; Spitebellows is a good piece of burn as well, especially with Repercussion.
-Rage Reflection is a really sick card, making your small guys into big threats and your big guys into game-enders.
As a connoisseur of fun, interesting matches, I still to this day have not been able to craft that "perfect deck"; the deck that I can play and have fun over time, doesn't get boring, but simultaneously is fun to play against. I honestly don't think it exists. It's like a unicorn. A ninja unicorn.
Nice, d0su! I was going to comment on this when you first posted it, but I was busy studying for finals. But now that's out of the way...
Anarchist. Your deck seems like he could really use it considering all the sorceries you play.
Mouth of Ronom sounds like it could be good for more removal. It obviously plays nicely with Scrying Sheets and Skred, and has good synergy with Crucible. It does slightly affect Lens/Gauntlet, but I think that's worth the small hit.
Maybe Burning Inquiry instead of Goblin Lore? Burning Inquiry affects everyone at the table, and it has a good chance of screwing over a few people by making them discard a critical card or two. Then again, Goblin Lore only works on you (could be an advantage at times) and you get to draw one more card for one more mana. That's probably judgment call though.
Reroute seems sorta narrow, unless you see all sorts of juicy activated abilities everywhere in your playgroup. I'd replace it with Fork (a bit spendy though if you don't have one).
Not a big fan of Rack and Ruin. Shattering Pulse can blow up single artifacts (this is an advantage because R&R requires 2 artifacts to blow up) and has the ability to blow up more artifacts over time.
Awesome deck! I love red as well, and I had been secretly working on a Squee deck that was somewhat similar to yours. I give you MAJOR kudos for utilizing one of my favorite cards in all of Magic, Obsidian Fireheart.
You have Reiterate, which is good, but I just can't build a red deck without throwing in Wild Ricochet. It's UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLELY GOOD in EDH, trust me. Also consider Ricochet Trap, Shunt, and Mirari.
Wild Ricochet almost certainly has a place here. Unfortunately (like SC said), Reroute just isn't cutting it. It's really funny and really useful and really awesome sometimes, but I usually have to keep mana up for 3+ turns before I get a target. Wild Ricochet just seems better. On a similar note, Ricochet Trap was in the original build, but I cut it because it was usually so unexciting. Maybe another time.
Eternity Vessel draws all the hate in my meta. Too many people have paired it with insane things like Necropotence, so it'll be quickly smashed and the whole table will spend a round swinging at that person for good measure. No, I don't need that sort of attention.
I don't want to stock up on too many creatures (mostly because they'll be wrathed away before doing a whole lot), but if I did add one, it'd probably be Flameblast Dragon; that guy is a house! I'll really have to consider it.
Quote from ash and fire »
Also, other than comet storm and disaster, where are your x spells and your buybacks?
Fireball
Banefire
Demonfire
reiterate
Shattering pulse
Fanning the flames all seem like they have a home here somewhere.
I don't think all of the X-spells have a home here (Fireball and Demonfire just won't be good enough in this deck), but some of them certainly could if I find the room. In particular, Fanning the Flames could really rock if I can get it online in the late game. Shattering Pulse might be a good replacement for Rack and Ruin, though it will most likely have to compete with Viashino Heretic for that slot. What are everyone's opinions on this?
Quote from Surging Chaos »
Anarchist. Your deck seems like he could really use it considering all the sorceries you play.
Mouth of Ronom sounds like it could be good for more removal. It obviously plays nicely with Scrying Sheets and Skred, and has good synergy with Crucible. It does slightly affect Lens/Gauntlet, but I think that's worth the small hit.
Mouth of Ronom is definitely going in! I want to keep the Scrying Sheets percentage up, but this doesn't hurt it at all. Thanks! I don't know how I forgot about that card. It's funny that I try to squeeze it in every deck and it doesn't make the cut, but it totally slipped my mind this time.
Anarchist just seems like a narrow, 5-mana Regrowth. I guess he could carry a Loxodon Warhammer, but it could also backfire on me if I have Repercussion on the field. Maybe not this time.
You're right about Reroute being too narrow, though; I really wanted it to be good, but it's just okay. Swapped out for Wild Ricochet like uberdylan suggested.
Maybe Burning Inquiry instead of Goblin Lore? Burning Inquiry affects everyone at the table, and it has a good chance of screwing over a few people by making them discard a critical card or two. Then again, Goblin Lore only works on you (could be an advantage at times) and you get to draw one more card for one more mana. That's probably judgment call though.
"A day may come when the lore of goblins fails, when we forsake our hand and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and discarded cards, when the age of goblins comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight!”
And yes, Obsidian Fireheart is all kinds of awesome. I used to hate that flavor text because of what it could mean for templating in the future, but it kind of grew on me. It's strange how many people overlook that card when I play it, then start getting antsy when its ability does 15 or 20 damage over the course of the game.
Seismic Mage can be fun with Squee, particularly in a casual deck.
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Coalhauler Swine or 'damage pig' as he has been come to known around the campfire is an excellent addition to any red mage's repertoire. Him and the Bloodfire Colossus get along great.
I would also recommend Sword of Fire and Ice because it's extra card-drawing, good on a general that never goes away, and gives Pro-Red so a creature can survive through your various Inferno-type effects. (Helps protect you from Repercussion as well)
If you find that Furnace of Rath is backfiring too often, then I would highly recommend Gratuitous Violence. It functions nearly identical in your deck (Works with Jaya, Bloodfire Colossus, Phoenixes, etc) and only works for you!
Scars of Mirrodin brings this deck some awesome updates! I've also been considering and playtesting a lot of the suggestions here, so I'll address those as well as we go.
Capricious Efreet --> Steel Hellkite
Hellkite is not as cute as the Efreet, but Hellkite pretty much does Efreet's job, and better. I have an awesome foil promo version, too. Essential to any mono-red EDH deck, IMO.
Tatsumasa, the Dragon Fang --> Grafted Exoskeleton
As I'm waiting to get a cheap Sword of Fire and Ice (thanks Darklich), this new Infect equipment is at least decent. I've already won one game with it by smashing face with a Phoenix that refused to give up! Also gives us a good out to life gain strategies, which are suprisingly effective against this deck. Argentum Armor is another option for this slot, but I'm guessing the high mana and equip costs it would feel as clunky (if more useful) than Tatsumasa.
Devastating Dreams --> Firestorm
Similar functionality, but Firestorm has a lot more going for it. Lands aren't collateral damage, the discard isn't random, it costs less mana, it can hit players, the picture is top-notch, it has Squee flavor text, and the nostalgic value is through the roof.
Planar Chaos --> Kuldotha Phoenix
YES!! You don't know how happy I was when I found out they were printing another phoenix. This one is awesome, too; it keeps hopping out of the graveyard to smack people around. Metalcraft is easy to achieve.
Grip of Chaos --> Crystal Ball
Say hello to the poor man's Sensei's Divining Top (not Soothsaying)! It's actually really really good. I've been wanting to play Crystal Ball for a while, and it fits in this deck perfectly. Smooths out your draws, digs for answers, and sets up Scrying Sheets activations.
Blood Moon --> Sun Droplet
I was intending for Blood Moon to be an answer for specific problem lands like Cabal Coffers, but what ends up happening is that half of the table is unaffected while the other half just can't play anything at all. Great effect, but it's not what I'm looking for in my most casual of casual EDH decks. Sun Droplet, however, is an amazing multiplayer card that fulfills the role of stuff like Glacial Crevasses (thanks again, Darklich!) while also shielding me from my own Infernos. Paired with Loxodon Warhammer, life gain is now quite feasible. All these new artifacts make Metralcraft easier to achieve for Kuldotha Phoenix, as well!
Phyrexian Furnace --> ???
Furnace was my only graveyard hate, but it just doesn't do enough against a table of opponents. Relic of Progenitus does a great job, but I actually use my graveyard more than most opponents. Tormod's Crypt doesn't replace itself, and keeping up the card flow is pretty important in this deck. I tried something completely new (Reversal of Fortune) in this slot, but it's just not working out. Mimic Vat is one option. Gratuitous Violence could be good. The "Damage Pig" that Miamoto suggested looks fun. I just don't know; maybe this will be a "random" slot until they print another auto-include?
I would like to echo my earlier sentiments of how pleased I am with this deck. Red is my least favorite color in Magic, but this deck is so much fun that I may have to give that stigma back to White. Squee also has a disproportionately large win-loss ratio considering how underpowered the deck is relative to my other decks and the rest of my meta. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the new changes and the deck in general!
Many of my friends play very ramp-y decks. My mono red is usually behind the curve on lands compared to theirs, so I find that Rapacious One and Mana Geyser work absolute wonders in providing me with a LOT of mana.
Hail Sun Droplet! My brother and our friends have been trying to get me to cut this card for so long, but I refuse, partly out of stubbornness, but mostly because this card helps keep me alive for much longer than I rightfully should. I'm glad someone else likes this terrible card.
I just put Molten Psyche in my deck, but I haven't tested it yet. My theory behind it is due to the high land count, my hand most games ends up being 4 lands and 1 or 2 spells; these hands can be pitched for (hopefully) something better. Since Metalcraft is easy to achieve (and I'm already trying to get it for the new Phoenix, I echo your excitement over this card) the extra damage could be quite nice, especially when paired with Wheel of Fortune. Since this deck wants to draw more cards and deal more damage, this seems like a perfect fit.
I'm going to blatantly steal your Firestorm tech, as I've been looking for a Devastating Dreams replacement for a while now, but am too much of scaredy pants to cut a sweeper.
Have you tried Shivan Phoenix at all? The free return to the hand seems nice, and it obviously plays well with sacrifice effects, but less well with Jaya Ballard, Task Mage and other discard effects. Worth it? I just picked one up on a whim, but haven't put it into my deck yet.
Also, where is Reverberate / Fork? Reverberate has been stellar in my deck, allowing red a tiny bit more flexibility than it usually enjoys. I plan on complimenting it with a Fork as soon as I can procure one.
Awesome deck, thanks for inspiring me to build it. Its been a blast.
Hail Sun Droplet! My brother and our friends have been trying to get me to cut this card for so long, but I refuse, partly out of stubbornness, but mostly because this card helps keep me alive for much longer than I rightfully should. I'm glad someone else likes this terrible card.
I just put Molten Psyche in my deck, but I haven't tested it yet. My theory behind it is due to the high land count, my hand most games ends up being 4 lands and 1 or 2 spells; these hands can be pitched for (hopefully) something better. Since Metalcraft is easy to achieve (and I'm already trying to get it for the new Phoenix, I echo your excitement over this card) the extra damage could be quite nice, especially when paired with Wheel of Fortune. Since this deck wants to draw more cards and deal more damage, this seems like a perfect fit.
I'm going to blatantly steal your Firestorm tech, as I've been looking for a Devastating Dreams replacement for a while now, but am too much of scaredy pants to cut a sweeper.
Have you tried Shivan Phoenix at all? The free return to the hand seems nice, and it obviously plays well with sacrifice effects, but less well with Jaya Ballard, Task Mage and other discard effects. Worth it? I just picked one up on a whim, but haven't put it into my deck yet.
Also, where is Reverberate / Fork? Reverberate has been stellar in my deck, allowing red a tiny bit more flexibility than it usually enjoys. I plan on complimenting it with a Fork as soon as I can procure one.
Awesome deck, thanks for inspiring me to build it. Its been a blast.
I can't believe your friends rag on you for Sun Droplet! It's a good card, tournament-worthy, even; it was awesome sideboard tech against RDW in Extended seasons past. It does everything we want it to: keep away the early beats, recover our life total from Inferno-induced damage, and generally stall things while we try to out-card-advantage everyone. I can dig it.
Molten Psyche seems cool and fun, possibly even crazy good. I'm going to give it a shot in the random Phyrexian Furnace/Reversal of Fortune slot. It's hard to argue with decent red card draw spells. =P
I've been very pleased with Firestorm, and I hope it works out well for you too. I also recently learned that Firestorm is an instant. Reading cards is tech!
I own one of each Phoenix in Magic (Chameleon Colossus and random Legends cards notwithstanding), and while I tried them all out at one point, Shivan Phoenix just isn't worthwhile. It's just too high of a cost for too small of an effect. In comparison, Kuldotha Phoenix costs less, hits harder, and has haste. You be the judge, I guess.
Reverberate may have a place in here, but it would be as a replacement to Wild Ricochet or Reiterate. My new playgroup plays with very permanent-based decks, and even something as blatantly awesome as Wild Ricochet just sits in my hand far too often. What's up with that?
Your Squee deck looks really fun. How is Kindle the Carnage working out?
wow this deck looks like so much fun! I'm going to make a similar version soon as I can. I like the use of the avarice totem also, I had no idea you could stack it's ability for a "Gain control of target perm" effect. Snow-covered mountains, also brilliant. Nev's disk is a little bit slow when you have the mana to drop and explode an Oblivion stone, but I think I would put in both in case one gets countered (90% of my playgroup uses blue). Great post!
My suggestions would be: Homura, Human Ascendant, War's Toll, and control effects such as threaten.
Homura, Human Ascendant would be easily flipped in this deck and could be very powerful. War's Toll to help prevent cards such as Hinder and other counter magic. And Threaten (or similar cards) To gain temporary control of their creatures and have them sacrificed to Great Gargadon or other things.
id suggest Magebane Armor so some of your stuff could live through your own board wipes and its a lot cheaper than sofi but overall sofi is a better card i used both when i build a similar deck around jaya those and stuffy doll went a long way
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wow this deck looks like so much fun! I'm going to make a similar version soon as I can. I like the use of the avarice totem also, I had no idea you could stack it's ability for a "Gain control of target perm" effect. Snow-covered mountains, also brilliant. Nev's disk is a little bit slow when you have the mana to drop and explode an Oblivion stone, but I think I would put in both in case one gets countered (90% of my playgroup uses blue). Great post!
My suggestions would be: Homura, Human Ascendant, War's Toll, and control effects such as threaten.
Homura, Human Ascendant would be easily flipped in this deck and could be very powerful. War's Toll to help prevent cards such as Hinder and other counter magic. And Threaten (or similar cards) To gain temporary control of their creatures and have them sacrificed to Great Gargadon or other things.
Hey, thanks for the compliments! I hope it's as fun for you as it is for me.
Homura, Human Ascendant was actually in a very early build of this deck. He got cut from the deck at some point, but I remember I could always flip him no problem. It was a powerful effect at times; I'd be willing to try it again. War's Toll isn't worth it in this case; no one EVER Hinders Squee, and if they did, it wouldn't be that big of a deal because there are so many cards that can fill in for him if need be. I can see it being good against blue decks in general, but it's just not a big concern to me. Besides, due to the large amount of card advantage, this deck almost never loses to just countermagic -- it's always some arbitrary combo or some big nigh-unkillable dude like Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, KaldraTron, etc. As far as threaten effects go, I'd be willing to try Word of Seizing, because that card is nuts.
I'll pass on Nevinyrral's Disk, though. I run a lot of artifacts, so I don't want to pop O-Stone often. When I do, I at least have the option to add fate counters onto important stuff first. It's a great card, but I've never wished I had one in hand when playing this deck.
Quote from midgit »
id suggest Magebane Armor so some of your stuff could live through your own board wipes and its a lot cheaper than sofi but overall sofi is a better card i used both when i build a similar deck around jaya those and stuffy doll went a long way
I like the Stuffy Doll idea. I've been trying to trade for one for a long time, now! Seems bonkers with Pyrohemia, if I say so myself.
If I'm going to run equipment just for the protection purposes, why not Shield of Kaldra? Though I'll probably just hold out for SoFi, TBH.
Have you tried Seismic Assault? seems good with the scrying sheets you have. Journeyer's Kite could probably also fit in here since Red needs all the hand filling it can get!
Lots of updates! It's been a while since I posted in this thread, but I've been playing Squee more than ever. Since we are getting some new planeswalkers in M12, I decided to just add all the versions of Chandra + her phoenix for the lulz. The more themes the better!
Skarrgan Firebird --> Chandra's Phoenix
Firebird was lackluster 80% of the time because it was so expensive. Phoenix carries equipment like a champ and recurs for a low, low cost.
Obsidian Fireheart --> Stuffy Doll
Fireheart may go back in at some point, but Stuffy is less mana intensive and synergizes well with Inferno effects. Stuffy Doll + Pyrohemia is all kinds of amusing!
Brand --> Word of Seizing
Word is more useful 95% of the time. And with Brand gone...
Other random adds that I can't remember what they replaced:
+ Caged Sun (seems obvious)
+ Relic of Progenitus (we can play around it easily)
+ Mimic Vat (crazy utility that easily wins games)
+ Chandra Nalaar (for the Chandra theme)
+ Chandra ??? (what could she be?! Doesn't matter, she's in unless she really sucks)
+ Cycling Lands (staves off mana flood without sacrificing much)
Squee continues to serve me well. I hope he'll do the same for you!
Oh, good old Squee... you are my only deck that allows people to actually do what they want.
Happy is the day
When the general nuisance
Comes to the table.
I just wanted to confirm that I still have this deck together and still play it reguarly. I also have some serious upgrades I want to report to anyone interested in mono-red control in multiplayer. I did away with the Chandra theme once it lost its novelty.
I know the original post needs updating badly, but it will just have to wait. I have many decklist threads that need updating.
In closing, I still <3 this deck. It is so fair in what it does, yet so much fun to pilot and so surprisingly effective. Yes, Squee will be here for a while.
SQUEE!!! I'm so happy you still play this; I thought you didn't and then I got sad that seemingly no-one played Squee.
Have you tried Karn Liberated or Spine of Ish Sah? The Spine, in particular, has been an all-star in Karn / any deck I've built since the card came out--people act like repeatable, colorless Vindicates aren't a big deal, but they are. I have never cast this without it coming back for round 2; all the advantage, all the time.
The only cut I'm eh about is the Hellkite: he's always been solid for me at just about every stage of the game. He eats a lot of removal, but that's what creatures do.
Big update to the OP, and important changes to the decklist. I'm trying to make my decklist threads a little more homogeneous, but to be honest, I'm kind of appalled at the mana curve of this deck. Well whatever, it's just for fun, anyway.
Quote from huck »
SQUEE!!! I'm so happy you still play this; I thought you didn't and then I got sad that seemingly no-one played Squee.
Have you tried Karn Liberated or Spine of Ish Sah? The Spine, in particular, has been an all-star in Karn / any deck I've built since the card came out--people act like repeatable, colorless Vindicates aren't a big deal, but they are. I have never cast this without it coming back for round 2; all the advantage, all the time.
The only cut I'm eh about is the Hellkite: he's always been solid for me at just about every stage of the game. He eats a lot of removal, but that's what creatures do.
Huzzah Squee. Live the dream.
Man yeah, Squee remains one of my favorite decks. Child of Alara is usually the deck I reach for going into an unknown metagame, but Squee is my default choice when the atmosphere is really laid back and casual. That's not to say the deck is weak, because it definitely holds its own, but it is certainly less intense than most of the stuff I build.
I tried Karn Liberated when he was spoiled and was rather unimpressed... it just felt clunky. I haven't tried Spine of Ish Sah because it seemed so similar to Karn in that respect, but I suppose I need to give it a fair chance at some point.
I have never connected and activated Steel Hellkite since I added it over a year ago. Considering I have a swath of cards that handle random permanents and plenty of digging power (for a red deck), it was high time I did away with that guy for something I would always want to cast.
In fact, now that we are cutting the chaff, say goodbye to Chandra's Phoenix. This phoenix was fine, but not great since I couldn't count on it to recur reliably. In its place, we now have the almighty DEATH SPARK.
I'm really excited about DEATH SPARK. It seemed kind of "meh" the first decade or so I stared at it, but think about it:
1. Especially with the new adds from Dark Ascension, we have lots of discard outlets and relatively few cheap cards to recur. I consistently find myself wishing I could play another Squee.
2. DEATH SPARK can kill Squee very early for very little mana, then conveniently places itself into the graveyard just before state based actions place Squee in your graveyard just above it.
3. As long as you keep DEATH SPARK and Squee together, you now have 2 Squees for 1 mana every turn, which is great. Even if you only have 1 discard outlet, just point the DEATH SPARK at a random person or utility creature and keep it going.
"I like that deck, it didn't do anything wrong."
"I dunno, give me something casual! ...whoa, not THAT casual."
"I have to think for a second, it's not like I'm playing blue."
"It's the same **** every game, this deck is so hypercompetitive."
"Jeez, it's like I'm playing Mirage block constructed or something."
"Hey, is this your deck? You left it here." :/
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
// Creatures (8)
1 Mogg Maniac
1 Dire Fleet Daredevil
1 Magus of the Wheel
1 Goblin Trashmaster
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Shard Phoenix
1 Stuffy Doll
1 Greater Gargadon
// Pure Damage (15)
1 Firestorm
1 Skred
1 Price of Progress
1 Arcbond
1 Hammer of Bogardan
1 Chain Reaction
1 Fiery Confluence
1 Star of Extinction
1 Comet Storm
1 Molten Disaster
1 Repercussion
1 Insult // Injury
1 Furnace of Rath
1 Dictate of the Twin Gods
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Gamble
1 Faithless Looting
1 Cathartic Reunion
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Wild Guess
1 Goblin Lore
1 Molten Psyche
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Commune with Lava
// More Utility (8)
1 Shattering Spree
1 Vandalblast
1 Increasing Vengeance
1 Last Chance
1 Recoup
1 Chaos Warp
1 Past in Flames
1 Mana Geyser
// Artifacts (16)
1 Expedition Map
1 Sol Ring
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Endless Atlas
1 Ruby Medallion
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Gauntlet of Might
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Caged Sun
1 Primal Amulet
1 Pyromancer's Goggles
1 Anvil of Bogardan
1 Memory Jar
1 Skullclamp
1 Helm of Possession
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Thawing Glaciers
1 Drownyard Temple
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Terrain Generator
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
1 Kher Keep
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Temple of the False God
1 Mage-Ring Network
30 Snow-Covered Mountain
What you need to know is that Squee is a big-mana, red control deck that aims to end the game in a spectacular, fiery, combo-esque fashion. Dealing 120+ damage to burn everyone out at a multiplayer table may not be the best or easiest thing to do, but I'm sure as heck gonna try.
There is a LOT of card draw, a fair amount of graveyard recursion, and a few pieces of tech to help deal with problematic enchantments and such. Mostly it's about positioning yourself to wreck shop with lots of mana on turn 7 or 8, if the game lasts that long.
Good matchups: Decks with lots of creatures you can wipe
Bad matchups: Actually good decks
Let me know what you think. It's not as cutthroat as some of my other decks can be, and it's pretty refreshing and fun to play, honestly. Any suggestions?
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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Punishing Fire is another recursive engine. If you play a lot of multiplayer I would imagine that it becomes active often enough to be useful even though the effect is so small. Word of Seizing is a strong card that you can do a whole lot of fun things with. Personally, I have fond memories of: stealing a high loyalty planeswalker and popping the ultimate on an unsuspecting opponent; swinging with a creature and then eating it with my Gargadon; and punching someone with their own Nicol Bolas Being able to grab any permanent -- even if its just for a single turn-- brings a whole lot of utility at most points in a game.
I really like Viashino Heretic as an artifact blower-upper, but that may just be personal preference.
As for cards you might be able to do away with, Slice and Dice gives you some options but the effect still seems rather small in EDH. Goblin Lore is pretty bad in my opinion, even with all those phoenix and hammers and goblin nabobs.
First let me start off with furnace, yes you should add it. Its super silly with repurcussion. Your hammer of bogardin hits their creature for 3. Furnace doubles to 6. Repurcussion kicks in. Deals 6 to player. Furnace doubles it to 12. This works because repurcussion is dealing the damage. Pretty sick with chandra ablaze out as well.......
The efreet is awesome. You need a couple more sac outlets other than gargadon. high market or ashnods altar could work for you here.
If you want more life add a basilisk collar works just like warhammer but adds deathtouch. Very silly on a magma phoenix, bloodfire, jaya, and a critter tha I think is missed here,,,,scourge of ker ridges
Now on another note. The biggest difference between inferno and wrath of god is the damage. While protection doesn't protect your creatures from a wrath. It will save them from inferno. Also saving your. Creatures damage from your own chaos burn. A couple of pro red creatures could be tech here. The best one available to mono red is subteranian spirit. Tremors the field and stays alive after quake, inferno, etc...... also very silly with collar. Furnace/repurcussion turns him into a 2 point quake and take 4 for every nonflier you got. All for a tapped creature.
sword of fire and ice could help here as well as AKROMA'S MEMORIAL
Urza's armor will save you your own damage from pyrohemia......
I'm lucky enough to have a playset of guantlet of might. I would play it in here, but it sounds like you don't have one. But a sculpting steel could act as one to coppy lens or such. Mana flare is always an option as well. I use them all for my kazuul deck.
Ill have more but I don't want to bombard you with too much all at once.....lol
----- @Soma -----
I've been considering Punishing Fire for a while now, but I don't know that anyone other than the Uril player runs a lot of life gain. However, I will start keeping track of how often it would come in handy. The small burn effect itself isn't what's important, but being able to recur a card to pitch to something else is great.
Word of Seizing is also on the short list for inclusion. I just have so much stuff I want to play... gah, cutting cards is hard when you're not just trying to make the deck all streamlined and cutthroat.
As far as Viashino Heretic is concerned, I favored immediate noncreature effects like Shattering Spree and Rack and Ruin because they don't die to board wipes. However, I'm certainly not opposed to the idea mainly because of the extra damage he can push through.
I'm not sure if I want to cut Goblin Lore just yet because 1) it's so darn cool, and 2) I'm so lacking on card draw options. While the results are unpredictable, it provides a great way to filter extra lands out of your hand and will often 2-for-1 or even 3-for-1 with Squee and a phoenix or something. Slice and Dice isn't set in stone, though; I might cut it in the future, especially for another board sweeper.
----- @ash and fire -----
Hey, good to see you again too! Thanks for the input.
Furnace of Rath will go in ASAP because I just want to see it work.
If we need more sac outlets for the Efreet and stuff, I'm going to lean toward Miren, the Moaning Well because of the extra life gain it can provide. Speaking of life gain, I think Sun Droplet really has a place in this deck, even better than Urza's Armor IMO. That will probably be included as well in the next update.
Scourge of Kher Ridges is pretty darn cool. It might make a good replacement for Slice and Dice, actually. I'm not sold on Basilisk Collar, but I might give it a shot at some point. The Warhammer just seems better because I can equip it to ANYTHING and it turns into a threat.
Sword of Fire and Ice will definitely be included as soon as I get my hands on one. Pro red is just so good in this deck, you know? Like I said in the OP, Tatsumasa will probably get the axe. I'm not sure about Subterranian Spirit and Akroma's Memorial, though -- they just don't further my game plan enough (Spirit doesn't have a big enough effect, and I don't have enough dudes for the Memorial).
Again, thanks for the input! Any other ideas?
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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Also, other than comet storm and disaster, where are your x spells and your buybacks?
- Fireball
- Banefire
- Demonfire
- reiterate
- Shattering pulse
- Fanning the flames
all seem like they have a home here somewhere.-Eternity Vessel is good when you're burning yourself, and wards off attacks;
-Bogardan Hellkite doesn't quite have the sweeper quality of stuff like Bloodfire Colossus, but the flash is invaluable; you can play it when someone attacks to kill off one big guy or a bunch of weenies AND block, or play it in your opponent's end step then untap and attack to bring someone from 10 to 0 in a hurry.
-Hateflayer and Flameblast Dragon can both attack and burn creatures/players, and Flameblast is sick with 10+ mana; Spitebellows is a good piece of burn as well, especially with Repercussion.
-Rage Reflection is a really sick card, making your small guys into big threats and your big guys into game-enders.
Anarchist. Your deck seems like he could really use it considering all the sorceries you play.
Mouth of Ronom sounds like it could be good for more removal. It obviously plays nicely with Scrying Sheets and Skred, and has good synergy with Crucible. It does slightly affect Lens/Gauntlet, but I think that's worth the small hit.
Maybe Burning Inquiry instead of Goblin Lore? Burning Inquiry affects everyone at the table, and it has a good chance of screwing over a few people by making them discard a critical card or two. Then again, Goblin Lore only works on you (could be an advantage at times) and you get to draw one more card for one more mana. That's probably judgment call though.
Reroute seems sorta narrow, unless you see all sorts of juicy activated abilities everywhere in your playgroup. I'd replace it with Fork (a bit spendy though if you don't have one).
Not a big fan of Rack and Ruin. Shattering Pulse can blow up single artifacts (this is an advantage because R&R requires 2 artifacts to blow up) and has the ability to blow up more artifacts over time.
Awesome deck! I love red as well, and I had been secretly working on a Squee deck that was somewhat similar to yours. I give you MAJOR kudos for utilizing one of my favorite cards in all of Magic, Obsidian Fireheart.
Wild Ricochet almost certainly has a place here. Unfortunately (like SC said), Reroute just isn't cutting it. It's really funny and really useful and really awesome sometimes, but I usually have to keep mana up for 3+ turns before I get a target. Wild Ricochet just seems better. On a similar note, Ricochet Trap was in the original build, but I cut it because it was usually so unexciting. Maybe another time.
Eternity Vessel draws all the hate in my meta. Too many people have paired it with insane things like Necropotence, so it'll be quickly smashed and the whole table will spend a round swinging at that person for good measure. No, I don't need that sort of attention.
I don't want to stock up on too many creatures (mostly because they'll be wrathed away before doing a whole lot), but if I did add one, it'd probably be Flameblast Dragon; that guy is a house! I'll really have to consider it.
I don't think all of the X-spells have a home here (Fireball and Demonfire just won't be good enough in this deck), but some of them certainly could if I find the room. In particular, Fanning the Flames could really rock if I can get it online in the late game. Shattering Pulse might be a good replacement for Rack and Ruin, though it will most likely have to compete with Viashino Heretic for that slot. What are everyone's opinions on this?
Mouth of Ronom is definitely going in! I want to keep the Scrying Sheets percentage up, but this doesn't hurt it at all. Thanks! I don't know how I forgot about that card. It's funny that I try to squeeze it in every deck and it doesn't make the cut, but it totally slipped my mind this time.
Anarchist just seems like a narrow, 5-mana Regrowth. I guess he could carry a Loxodon Warhammer, but it could also backfire on me if I have Repercussion on the field. Maybe not this time.
You're right about Reroute being too narrow, though; I really wanted it to be good, but it's just okay. Swapped out for Wild Ricochet like uberdylan suggested.
NEVER! I will not give up the Goblin Lore!
"A day may come when the lore of goblins fails, when we forsake our hand and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and discarded cards, when the age of goblins comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight!”
And yes, Obsidian Fireheart is all kinds of awesome. I used to hate that flavor text because of what it could mean for templating in the future, but it kind of grew on me. It's strange how many people overlook that card when I play it, then start getting antsy when its ability does 15 or 20 damage over the course of the game.
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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B Infect
BW Death & Taxes
UBR Affinity
R Burn
UBR Sac Land Tendrils
UBRG Oops, All Spells
WUG Phelddagrif
GGG Omnath, Locus of Mana
BBB Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed
RRR Ashling, the Pilgrim
BBW Teysa, Scion of Orzhov
UUU Talrand, Sky Summoner
UUB Vela the Night-Clad
GGB Vhati il-Dal
RUW Ruhan of the Fomori
Possessed Portal is a pretty good lock with Squee as well.
I would also recommend Sword of Fire and Ice because it's extra card-drawing, good on a general that never goes away, and gives Pro-Red so a creature can survive through your various Inferno-type effects. (Helps protect you from Repercussion as well)
If you find that Furnace of Rath is backfiring too often, then I would highly recommend Gratuitous Violence. It functions nearly identical in your deck (Works with Jaya, Bloodfire Colossus, Phoenixes, etc) and only works for you!
Depending on how competitive you are, I would highly recommend Blood Moon, Ruination, Magus of the Moon, Smoke, Price of Progress or Price of Glory in any mono-R deck.
Insurrection is awesome, especially if you have a sac outlet such as Greater Gargadon or Ashnod's Altar. Good with Chandra Ablaze too.
Last but not least, if you're having aggro problems then Glacial Crevasses an/or Sunstone is the card for you! (Combos with Crucible of Worlds too...)
Capricious Efreet --> Steel Hellkite
Hellkite is not as cute as the Efreet, but Hellkite pretty much does Efreet's job, and better. I have an awesome foil promo version, too. Essential to any mono-red EDH deck, IMO.
Tatsumasa, the Dragon Fang --> Grafted Exoskeleton
As I'm waiting to get a cheap Sword of Fire and Ice (thanks Darklich), this new Infect equipment is at least decent. I've already won one game with it by smashing face with a Phoenix that refused to give up! Also gives us a good out to life gain strategies, which are suprisingly effective against this deck. Argentum Armor is another option for this slot, but I'm guessing the high mana and equip costs it would feel as clunky (if more useful) than Tatsumasa.
Devastating Dreams --> Firestorm
Similar functionality, but Firestorm has a lot more going for it. Lands aren't collateral damage, the discard isn't random, it costs less mana, it can hit players, the picture is top-notch, it has Squee flavor text, and the nostalgic value is through the roof.
Planar Chaos --> Kuldotha Phoenix
YES!! You don't know how happy I was when I found out they were printing another phoenix. This one is awesome, too; it keeps hopping out of the graveyard to smack people around. Metalcraft is easy to achieve.
Grip of Chaos --> Crystal Ball
Say hello to the poor man's Sensei's Divining Top (not Soothsaying)! It's actually really really good. I've been wanting to play Crystal Ball for a while, and it fits in this deck perfectly. Smooths out your draws, digs for answers, and sets up Scrying Sheets activations.
Blood Moon --> Sun Droplet
I was intending for Blood Moon to be an answer for specific problem lands like Cabal Coffers, but what ends up happening is that half of the table is unaffected while the other half just can't play anything at all. Great effect, but it's not what I'm looking for in my most casual of casual EDH decks. Sun Droplet, however, is an amazing multiplayer card that fulfills the role of stuff like Glacial Crevasses (thanks again, Darklich!) while also shielding me from my own Infernos. Paired with Loxodon Warhammer, life gain is now quite feasible. All these new artifacts make Metralcraft easier to achieve for Kuldotha Phoenix, as well!
Phyrexian Furnace --> ???
Furnace was my only graveyard hate, but it just doesn't do enough against a table of opponents. Relic of Progenitus does a great job, but I actually use my graveyard more than most opponents. Tormod's Crypt doesn't replace itself, and keeping up the card flow is pretty important in this deck. I tried something completely new (Reversal of Fortune) in this slot, but it's just not working out. Mimic Vat is one option. Gratuitous Violence could be good. The "Damage Pig" that Miamoto suggested looks fun. I just don't know; maybe this will be a "random" slot until they print another auto-include?
I would like to echo my earlier sentiments of how pleased I am with this deck. Red is my least favorite color in Magic, but this deck is so much fun that I may have to give that stigma back to White. Squee also has a disproportionately large win-loss ratio considering how underpowered the deck is relative to my other decks and the rest of my meta. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the new changes and the deck in general!
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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I just put Molten Psyche in my deck, but I haven't tested it yet. My theory behind it is due to the high land count, my hand most games ends up being 4 lands and 1 or 2 spells; these hands can be pitched for (hopefully) something better. Since Metalcraft is easy to achieve (and I'm already trying to get it for the new Phoenix, I echo your excitement over this card) the extra damage could be quite nice, especially when paired with Wheel of Fortune. Since this deck wants to draw more cards and deal more damage, this seems like a perfect fit.
I'm going to blatantly steal your Firestorm tech, as I've been looking for a Devastating Dreams replacement for a while now, but am too much of scaredy pants to cut a sweeper.
Have you tried Shivan Phoenix at all? The free return to the hand seems nice, and it obviously plays well with sacrifice effects, but less well with Jaya Ballard, Task Mage and other discard effects. Worth it? I just picked one up on a whim, but haven't put it into my deck yet.
Also, where is Reverberate / Fork? Reverberate has been stellar in my deck, allowing red a tiny bit more flexibility than it usually enjoys. I plan on complimenting it with a Fork as soon as I can procure one.
Awesome deck, thanks for inspiring me to build it. Its been a blast.
BRRakdos, Lord of RiotsBR
I can't believe your friends rag on you for Sun Droplet! It's a good card, tournament-worthy, even; it was awesome sideboard tech against RDW in Extended seasons past. It does everything we want it to: keep away the early beats, recover our life total from Inferno-induced damage, and generally stall things while we try to out-card-advantage everyone. I can dig it.
Molten Psyche seems cool and fun, possibly even crazy good. I'm going to give it a shot in the random Phyrexian Furnace/Reversal of Fortune slot. It's hard to argue with decent red card draw spells. =P
I've been very pleased with Firestorm, and I hope it works out well for you too. I also recently learned that Firestorm is an instant. Reading cards is tech!
I own one of each Phoenix in Magic (Chameleon Colossus and random Legends cards notwithstanding), and while I tried them all out at one point, Shivan Phoenix just isn't worthwhile. It's just too high of a cost for too small of an effect. In comparison, Kuldotha Phoenix costs less, hits harder, and has haste. You be the judge, I guess.
Reverberate may have a place in here, but it would be as a replacement to Wild Ricochet or Reiterate. My new playgroup plays with very permanent-based decks, and even something as blatantly awesome as Wild Ricochet just sits in my hand far too often. What's up with that?
Your Squee deck looks really fun. How is Kindle the Carnage working out?
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My suggestions would be: Homura, Human Ascendant, War's Toll, and control effects such as threaten.
Homura, Human Ascendant would be easily flipped in this deck and could be very powerful. War's Toll to help prevent cards such as Hinder and other counter magic. And Threaten (or similar cards) To gain temporary control of their creatures and have them sacrificed to Great Gargadon or other things.
Hey, thanks for the compliments! I hope it's as fun for you as it is for me.
Homura, Human Ascendant was actually in a very early build of this deck. He got cut from the deck at some point, but I remember I could always flip him no problem. It was a powerful effect at times; I'd be willing to try it again. War's Toll isn't worth it in this case; no one EVER Hinders Squee, and if they did, it wouldn't be that big of a deal because there are so many cards that can fill in for him if need be. I can see it being good against blue decks in general, but it's just not a big concern to me. Besides, due to the large amount of card advantage, this deck almost never loses to just countermagic -- it's always some arbitrary combo or some big nigh-unkillable dude like Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, KaldraTron, etc. As far as threaten effects go, I'd be willing to try Word of Seizing, because that card is nuts.
I'll pass on Nevinyrral's Disk, though. I run a lot of artifacts, so I don't want to pop O-Stone often. When I do, I at least have the option to add fate counters onto important stuff first. It's a great card, but I've never wished I had one in hand when playing this deck.
I like the Stuffy Doll idea. I've been trying to trade for one for a long time, now! Seems bonkers with Pyrohemia, if I say so myself.
If I'm going to run equipment just for the protection purposes, why not Shield of Kaldra? Though I'll probably just hold out for SoFi, TBH.
Thanks so much for the suggestions!
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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Currently playing:
UW Modern Tron WU
UR Modern Storm RU
UW [CARD]Rasputin Dreamweaver
[/CARD] UW
Because Darksteel Plate is so much better!
Skarrgan Firebird --> Chandra's Phoenix
Firebird was lackluster 80% of the time because it was so expensive. Phoenix carries equipment like a champ and recurs for a low, low cost.
Obsidian Fireheart --> Stuffy Doll
Fireheart may go back in at some point, but Stuffy is less mana intensive and synergizes well with Inferno effects. Stuffy Doll + Pyrohemia is all kinds of amusing!
Brand --> Word of Seizing
Word is more useful 95% of the time. And with Brand gone...
Thieves' Auction --> Chaos Warp
Chaos Warp does what Auction did, but more efficiently.
Rekindled Flame --> Punishing Fire
Decks got better, and everyone always has cards in hand. At least this gives me a really sweet way to destroy the guy playing Wellwisher in elves or Soul Warden in Darien, King of Kjeldor.
Other random adds that I can't remember what they replaced:
+ Caged Sun (seems obvious)
+ Relic of Progenitus (we can play around it easily)
+ Mimic Vat (crazy utility that easily wins games)
+ Chandra Nalaar (for the Chandra theme)
+ Chandra ??? (what could she be?! Doesn't matter, she's in unless she really sucks)
+ Cycling Lands (staves off mana flood without sacrificing much)
Squee continues to serve me well. I hope he'll do the same for you!
Potential cards to add:
Hoarding Dragon
Knollspine Dragon
Bazaar of Baghdad (yeah freakin right, but this would be sweet)
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Happy is the day
When the general nuisance
Comes to the table.
I just wanted to confirm that I still have this deck together and still play it reguarly. I also have some serious upgrades I want to report to anyone interested in mono-red control in multiplayer. I did away with the Chandra theme once it lost its novelty.
-Steel Hellkite (relying on this to connect in combat is apparently too much to ask)
-Recoup (too few targets. Chandra Ablaze's ultimate is lackluster for similar reasons)
-Slice and Dice (upgraded)
-Rack and Ruin (replaced with a bit more utility)
-Chandra, the Firebrand (Inferno as an ultimate is sweet, but most of the time she has too little impact)
+Knollspine Dragon (this card is something stupid. Seriously.)
+Faithless Looting (a sweet new addition for Dark Ascension that gives us much-needed velocity)
+Into the Core (seems a lot more useful than Rack and Ruin, for sure)
+Mana Geyser (As stupid as Knollspine Dragon is, this card is infinitely more so. Also randomly goes infinite with Reiterate)
+Blasphemous Act (and again, the replacement for Slice and Dice is about 12 times more blatantly powerful)
I know the original post needs updating badly, but it will just have to wait. I have many decklist threads that need updating.
In closing, I still <3 this deck. It is so fair in what it does, yet so much fun to pilot and so surprisingly effective. Yes, Squee will be here for a while.
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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Have you tried Karn Liberated or Spine of Ish Sah? The Spine, in particular, has been an all-star in Karn / any deck I've built since the card came out--people act like repeatable, colorless Vindicates aren't a big deal, but they are. I have never cast this without it coming back for round 2; all the advantage, all the time.
The only cut I'm eh about is the Hellkite: he's always been solid for me at just about every stage of the game. He eats a lot of removal, but that's what creatures do.
Huzzah Squee. Live the dream.
BRRakdos, Lord of RiotsBR
Man yeah, Squee remains one of my favorite decks. Child of Alara is usually the deck I reach for going into an unknown metagame, but Squee is my default choice when the atmosphere is really laid back and casual. That's not to say the deck is weak, because it definitely holds its own, but it is certainly less intense than most of the stuff I build.
I tried Karn Liberated when he was spoiled and was rather unimpressed... it just felt clunky. I haven't tried Spine of Ish Sah because it seemed so similar to Karn in that respect, but I suppose I need to give it a fair chance at some point.
I have never connected and activated Steel Hellkite since I added it over a year ago. Considering I have a swath of cards that handle random permanents and plenty of digging power (for a red deck), it was high time I did away with that guy for something I would always want to cast.
In fact, now that we are cutting the chaff, say goodbye to Chandra's Phoenix. This phoenix was fine, but not great since I couldn't count on it to recur reliably. In its place, we now have the almighty DEATH SPARK.
I'm really excited about DEATH SPARK. It seemed kind of "meh" the first decade or so I stared at it, but think about it:
1. Especially with the new adds from Dark Ascension, we have lots of discard outlets and relatively few cheap cards to recur. I consistently find myself wishing I could play another Squee.
2. DEATH SPARK can kill Squee very early for very little mana, then conveniently places itself into the graveyard just before state based actions place Squee in your graveyard just above it.
3. As long as you keep DEATH SPARK and Squee together, you now have 2 Squees for 1 mana every turn, which is great. Even if you only have 1 discard outlet, just point the DEATH SPARK at a random person or utility creature and keep it going.
IMO, it will be much more consistent and abusable than Chandra's Phoenix or Punishing Fire.
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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EDH:
RNorin the WaryR <-Link! (Primer - Mono Red Control)
GUEdric, Spymaster of TrestUG <- Link! (Mini-Primer - Dredge)
Duel Commander:
WUGeist of Saint TraftUW <- Link! (Aggro-Control)
BGSkullbriar, the Walking GraveGB <- Link! (Aggro)
BUGDamia, Sage of StoneGUB <- Link! (Extinction Control)
Church of the Wary