Hi Guys.
This is an altered version of the current competetive Big Red deck. I just changed it to my liking.
Before I post the deck, information: Currently, the meta is made up of 4 different decks:
- Tempered Steel
- Controllish stuff (UW)
- Birthing Pod
- Big Red
The problem is that Tempered Steel often is a gamble, Red loses hard to control and Pod just has a lot of utility. That's why I tinkered with the deck a bit, to make it more stable, as I tend to draw 7-9 lands in a row with a normal Big Red deck. Yeah, that happened every game in the last 4 dailies I played. I just can not win that way.
It works pretty well. The choices you can and have to make are relevant and have a big impact on the game.
So, here is how I've gotten to the decklist:
The first and normal version has the nutdraw t2 sphere, t3 koth, t4 karn. I tried to get that more often by adding 4 Iron Myr into the Big Red list. Allthough it didn't work out that well, the Myr was NOT killed as much as one would think. Definitley noted that one, as everyone said he cannot believe that and wouldn't play the myr. It was worth it. Still, the deck was too inconsistent. See: Draw 9 lands in a row.
So I figured that koth would die against most decks anyways if played on t3 and removed the spheres and the myr. t4 koth is enough. I then added the 8 Wellsprings. They are good for the Phoenix, I can play less lands and they won't be destroyed by artifact removal (scrapmelter) that easily.
Then I thought: I could add Phyrexia's Core. The +1 life could actually be relevant against aggro (tempered), and drawing lands (thinning) and cards is nice; even though I play the phoenix... I don't have to sac them if I don't wanna. And because Red has some trouble against Hero of Bladehold I added 4 Artillerize. They are really, really good and versatile, kill creatures and can finish off players with Phoenix. Instant Speed is nice to dodge artifact removal.
Actually, the deck became a bit threat-light after that. So I added 2 Flamefiends. They. Are. Insane. Yeah, you know they are firstpick in drafts etc., but construced? Noone plays them. But with an Ichor Wellspring Flamefiends read: "Deal 4 dmg divided..., then draw a card". This is really good vs the Pod-Decks, and acceptable against Tempered. You should live until turn 6 with 4 Slagstorms 4 Scrapmelter main, 4 Into the Core postboard.
Still, the deck was not that good against aggro g1. More synergy needed. Perilous Myr added. That thing's a beast against tempered steel. Chumpblock, sac to core, gain 1 life, deal 2 and kill a creature before damage is done? All that on t3? Then t4 into the core or scrapmelter? Yeah, I'd do that. Oh and did I mention it deals 7 damage at instant speed for 4 Mana with Artillerize? 7 Mountains in play, play Koth, -2, play phoenix, attack with phoenix and myr, do 5 damage, artillerize sac myr, do 2, do 5. 12 Damage out of nowhere, can't be countered by steel sabotage the myr, destroy it etc.
Just to give you an impression how the hand and boardstate could look like, here's a Screenshot. I played Wurmcoil because it was safe (knew he had no into the core), then wrecked the board the next turn. Imagine I'd not have played the wurmcoil: Do you see all the possibilities?
So, generally speaking I'm very, VERY pleased with this deck. It runs smooth on 22 land and can still cast karn and wurmcoil. It offers a lot of choices and can be difficult to play, but is very rewarding if you do the right stuff.
I might try dailies with it. Do you have any suggestions?
I have to say that this deck surprised me. I haven't played it but looking at the design I can see what you had in mind on your latest revision. Here are a few pieces of advice that you may want to fit in
A: Karn: He looks like he's there to brag that you have him. He doesn't seem to fit in that well. If by turn 7 you haven't really set off anything and need a major bomb, something more along the lines of a Wurmcoil would save the day in a much better way
B: Burn, you need some easier to use burn. Since you are at metalcraft level of 14 (With the average constructed minimum being 12) I would say galvanic blast should squeeze its way in.
C: Cards I suggest-Hellkite Igniter: He swings first turn too except you can pump him pretty easily. Slag Fiend: Maybe not for urabrask but if you are popping artifacts left and right he's going to grow just as fast. Moltensteel Dragon: Enough said, he's versatile and can end games pretty quickly. Bludgeon Brawl: Many of those artifacts lose value quickly and if you don't need the life, take some of theirs instead.
Cut Urabrask: he's pretty pointless without some ramp. Chances are the vengevines have killed you in elves or the black has destroyed most of your creatures already. I run him in my T2 Big red because of chalices, proliferate, and Titans.
Hope that was helpful.
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Collecting card that I intend to stack tons of, Razor Boomerang
Here's what I posted in a different thread on the topic:
Kuldotha Red (Block)
4 Memnite – 0 drop artifact
4 Signal Pest- 1 drop to help pump my guys
3 Goblin Wardriver- 2 drop to help pump my guys. Sometimes difficult to cast with warzone and other options.
2 Spikeshot Elder- 1 drop, can use its ability to get big and deal more damage. Helps take care of weenies.
4 Chimeric Mass- first turn rebirth target, but can also be good late game.
2 Hero of Oxid Ridge- Good finisher, but sometimes difficult to cast.
4 Perilous Myr- 2 drop, rebirth target, can help bring down Mirran Crusader/Phyrexian Crusader
2 Koth of the Hammer- Finisher, but sometimes difficult to cast and doesn’t really help tempo of game.
2 Arc Trail- Brings down weenies. Good against infect/steel
4 Galvanic Blast- only thing that can bring down Hero (w/ metalcraft)
4 Kuldotha Rebirth- Must have.
3 Pyrite Spellbomb- Rebirth target, only form of card draw, and remove a blocker to deal more damage
2 Shatter- everyone plays artifacts
18 Mountain
4 Contested Warzone- Can help win a game on its own, but if you lose the speed battle, WW gets a toy to kill you faster. Also taps into your ability to cast RR cards.
SB
2 Shatter- art hate
2 Crush- art hate
3 Act of Aggression- can be a finisher to take their best guy
3 Vulshok Refugee- Mirror
3 Surgical Extraction- Removes multiples, can remove pally, shards, planeswalkers, crusader, etc from the game. However, not very useful late game.
2 Spikeshot Elder
Other Cards that could go in:
Kuldotha Phoenix- Good finisher, but too costly and hard to come across metalcraft ability late game.
Kuldotha Flamefiend: Good late game, but very costly.
Mental Mistep: Helps take care of Marrow Shards, but not really much else besides random 1 drops.
Wellsprings: Great card draw and great rebirth targets, but useless if you can’t sac them.
Piston Sledge: Great card to pump your creatures and bring in a kill. Probably would have to make room for Wellsprings to properly play it.
Mox Opal: Rebirth target, helps bring about acceleration. But useless if you can’t get to metalcraft.
Dismember: Another form of removal, but would cost 4 life.
Hex Parasite: 1 drop that can kill Koth/Tez
Contagion Clasp: Makes Chimeric Mass bigger, rebirth target, weenie killer. Not bad for 2 mana.
Biggest Enemies:
Crusader: Once equipped with a sword, game over.
Hero: Hard to kill, usually a finisher for me.
Tempered Steel: Can’t get rid of it. Makes the artifacts huge.
Marrow Shards: Wrath at instant speed against me.
Arc Trail: Disables me.
Koth: Have to kill it quick or I lose.
Swords: Once they equip, I either destroy it or pray.
Batterskull: Can’t do anything about it, except destroy it.
Consecrated Sphinx: Nearly impossible to kill. Makes a control deck move faster, and finds them more options to kill me.
Tez: Makes their artifacts big while looking for answers. Usually not too huge of a problem if I have creatures on the board though.
Inkmoth Nexus: Land that gets huge in steel. Also steals my warzones.
Phyrexian Crusader: Can’t kill it, except with Perilous Myr.
Phyrexian Vatmother: Nearly impossible to kill. Have to have enough weenies on the board to block it while winning the damage race at the same time.
Wurmcoill Engine: 6/6 Lifelink that splits itself when you kill it? Yeah, pack your cards and go home.
Black Suns Zenith: Wrath I could see again later in the game.
Tumble Magnet: Stops my pests/wardrivers from doing their jobs.
Blade Splicer: 3/3 first strike turn 2 or 3 is hard to go up against, plus they now have two creatures.
Slagstorm: Kills everything you have, then sets up for a fourth turn Koth beating.
Anything that flies!!! Especially with war zone on the table.
That's A LOT of enemies, and I'm sure I left out even more as this list was off the top of my head! Overall, I think Big Red has more ways to answer these problems, whereas the only response Kulthoda has is to kill the opponent before they drop their bombs.
I went 2-2 with the version I just posted. Overall, it held it's own against WW, but not enought to win, going 1-2 against the deck. I'd really be interested in trying it again though. It's a fun deck to play, it's lethal, it's fast, and has an edge to be competitive. Also, who knows, maybe casting mental mistep against my opponents against their shards would have helped me win those games in which all of my creatures were killed.
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This is an altered version of the current competetive Big Red deck. I just changed it to my liking.
Before I post the deck, information: Currently, the meta is made up of 4 different decks:
- Tempered Steel
- Controllish stuff (UW)
- Birthing Pod
- Big Red
The problem is that Tempered Steel often is a gamble, Red loses hard to control and Pod just has a lot of utility. That's why I tinkered with the deck a bit, to make it more stable, as I tend to draw 7-9 lands in a row with a normal Big Red deck. Yeah, that happened every game in the last 4 dailies I played. I just can not win that way.
So, here we go:
20 Mountains
2 Phyrexia's Core
Artifacts
4 Ichor Wellspring
4 Mycosynth Wellspring
2 Tumble Magnet
Creatures
4 Perilous Myr
4 Oxidda Scrapmelter
4 Kuldotha Phoenix
2 Kuldotha Flamefiend
4 Red Sun's Zenith
2 Artillerize
4 Slagstorm
Planeswalkers
4 Koth of the Hammer
2 Artillerize
4 Into The Core
2 Karn Liberated
2 Urabrask the Hidden
3 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Tumble Magnet
It works pretty well. The choices you can and have to make are relevant and have a big impact on the game.
So, here is how I've gotten to the decklist:
The first and normal version has the nutdraw t2 sphere, t3 koth, t4 karn. I tried to get that more often by adding 4 Iron Myr into the Big Red list. Allthough it didn't work out that well, the Myr was NOT killed as much as one would think. Definitley noted that one, as everyone said he cannot believe that and wouldn't play the myr. It was worth it. Still, the deck was too inconsistent. See: Draw 9 lands in a row.
So I figured that koth would die against most decks anyways if played on t3 and removed the spheres and the myr. t4 koth is enough. I then added the 8 Wellsprings. They are good for the Phoenix, I can play less lands and they won't be destroyed by artifact removal (scrapmelter) that easily.
Then I thought: I could add Phyrexia's Core. The +1 life could actually be relevant against aggro (tempered), and drawing lands (thinning) and cards is nice; even though I play the phoenix... I don't have to sac them if I don't wanna. And because Red has some trouble against Hero of Bladehold I added 4 Artillerize. They are really, really good and versatile, kill creatures and can finish off players with Phoenix. Instant Speed is nice to dodge artifact removal.
Actually, the deck became a bit threat-light after that. So I added 2 Flamefiends. They. Are. Insane. Yeah, you know they are firstpick in drafts etc., but construced? Noone plays them. But with an Ichor Wellspring Flamefiends read: "Deal 4 dmg divided..., then draw a card". This is really good vs the Pod-Decks, and acceptable against Tempered. You should live until turn 6 with 4 Slagstorms 4 Scrapmelter main, 4 Into the Core postboard.
Still, the deck was not that good against aggro g1. More synergy needed. Perilous Myr added. That thing's a beast against tempered steel. Chumpblock, sac to core, gain 1 life, deal 2 and kill a creature before damage is done? All that on t3? Then t4 into the core or scrapmelter? Yeah, I'd do that. Oh and did I mention it deals 7 damage at instant speed for 4 Mana with Artillerize? 7 Mountains in play, play Koth, -2, play phoenix, attack with phoenix and myr, do 5 damage, artillerize sac myr, do 2, do 5. 12 Damage out of nowhere, can't be countered by steel sabotage the myr, destroy it etc.
Just to give you an impression how the hand and boardstate could look like, here's a Screenshot. I played Wurmcoil because it was safe (knew he had no into the core), then wrecked the board the next turn. Imagine I'd not have played the wurmcoil: Do you see all the possibilities?
So, generally speaking I'm very, VERY pleased with this deck. It runs smooth on 22 land and can still cast karn and wurmcoil. It offers a lot of choices and can be difficult to play, but is very rewarding if you do the right stuff.
I might try dailies with it. Do you have any suggestions?
A: Karn: He looks like he's there to brag that you have him. He doesn't seem to fit in that well. If by turn 7 you haven't really set off anything and need a major bomb, something more along the lines of a Wurmcoil would save the day in a much better way
B: Burn, you need some easier to use burn. Since you are at metalcraft level of 14 (With the average constructed minimum being 12) I would say galvanic blast should squeeze its way in.
C: Cards I suggest-Hellkite Igniter: He swings first turn too except you can pump him pretty easily. Slag Fiend: Maybe not for urabrask but if you are popping artifacts left and right he's going to grow just as fast. Moltensteel Dragon: Enough said, he's versatile and can end games pretty quickly. Bludgeon Brawl: Many of those artifacts lose value quickly and if you don't need the life, take some of theirs instead.
Cut Urabrask: he's pretty pointless without some ramp. Chances are the vengevines have killed you in elves or the black has destroyed most of your creatures already. I run him in my T2 Big red because of chalices, proliferate, and Titans.
Hope that was helpful.
Favorite card-Steamflogger Boss
Deck I NEED to perfect- 5 Color Valaquest control-THINK ABOUT IT!
Kuldotha Red (Block)
4 Memnite – 0 drop artifact
4 Signal Pest- 1 drop to help pump my guys
3 Goblin Wardriver- 2 drop to help pump my guys. Sometimes difficult to cast with warzone and other options.
2 Spikeshot Elder- 1 drop, can use its ability to get big and deal more damage. Helps take care of weenies.
4 Chimeric Mass- first turn rebirth target, but can also be good late game.
2 Hero of Oxid Ridge- Good finisher, but sometimes difficult to cast.
4 Perilous Myr- 2 drop, rebirth target, can help bring down Mirran Crusader/Phyrexian Crusader
2 Koth of the Hammer- Finisher, but sometimes difficult to cast and doesn’t really help tempo of game.
2 Arc Trail- Brings down weenies. Good against infect/steel
4 Galvanic Blast- only thing that can bring down Hero (w/ metalcraft)
4 Kuldotha Rebirth- Must have.
3 Pyrite Spellbomb- Rebirth target, only form of card draw, and remove a blocker to deal more damage
2 Shatter- everyone plays artifacts
18 Mountain
4 Contested Warzone- Can help win a game on its own, but if you lose the speed battle, WW gets a toy to kill you faster. Also taps into your ability to cast RR cards.
SB
2 Shatter- art hate
2 Crush- art hate
3 Act of Aggression- can be a finisher to take their best guy
3 Vulshok Refugee- Mirror
3 Surgical Extraction- Removes multiples, can remove pally, shards, planeswalkers, crusader, etc from the game. However, not very useful late game.
2 Spikeshot Elder
Other Cards that could go in:
Kuldotha Phoenix- Good finisher, but too costly and hard to come across metalcraft ability late game.
Kuldotha Flamefiend: Good late game, but very costly.
Mental Mistep: Helps take care of Marrow Shards, but not really much else besides random 1 drops.
Wellsprings: Great card draw and great rebirth targets, but useless if you can’t sac them.
Piston Sledge: Great card to pump your creatures and bring in a kill. Probably would have to make room for Wellsprings to properly play it.
Mox Opal: Rebirth target, helps bring about acceleration. But useless if you can’t get to metalcraft.
Dismember: Another form of removal, but would cost 4 life.
Hex Parasite: 1 drop that can kill Koth/Tez
Contagion Clasp: Makes Chimeric Mass bigger, rebirth target, weenie killer. Not bad for 2 mana.
Biggest Enemies:
Crusader: Once equipped with a sword, game over.
Hero: Hard to kill, usually a finisher for me.
Tempered Steel: Can’t get rid of it. Makes the artifacts huge.
Marrow Shards: Wrath at instant speed against me.
Arc Trail: Disables me.
Koth: Have to kill it quick or I lose.
Swords: Once they equip, I either destroy it or pray.
Batterskull: Can’t do anything about it, except destroy it.
Consecrated Sphinx: Nearly impossible to kill. Makes a control deck move faster, and finds them more options to kill me.
Tez: Makes their artifacts big while looking for answers. Usually not too huge of a problem if I have creatures on the board though.
Inkmoth Nexus: Land that gets huge in steel. Also steals my warzones.
Phyrexian Crusader: Can’t kill it, except with Perilous Myr.
Phyrexian Vatmother: Nearly impossible to kill. Have to have enough weenies on the board to block it while winning the damage race at the same time.
Wurmcoill Engine: 6/6 Lifelink that splits itself when you kill it? Yeah, pack your cards and go home.
Black Suns Zenith: Wrath I could see again later in the game.
Tumble Magnet: Stops my pests/wardrivers from doing their jobs.
Blade Splicer: 3/3 first strike turn 2 or 3 is hard to go up against, plus they now have two creatures.
Slagstorm: Kills everything you have, then sets up for a fourth turn Koth beating.
Anything that flies!!! Especially with war zone on the table.
That's A LOT of enemies, and I'm sure I left out even more as this list was off the top of my head! Overall, I think Big Red has more ways to answer these problems, whereas the only response Kulthoda has is to kill the opponent before they drop their bombs.
I went 2-2 with the version I just posted. Overall, it held it's own against WW, but not enought to win, going 1-2 against the deck. I'd really be interested in trying it again though. It's a fun deck to play, it's lethal, it's fast, and has an edge to be competitive. Also, who knows, maybe casting mental mistep against my opponents against their shards would have helped me win those games in which all of my creatures were killed.