Hi people! Today, after a week of grinding with my burning deck, I want to share with you the list that I’m currently playing. First of all IM NOT JON FINKEL (not even Z-man, who I respect a lot) so I expect that some of you get disappointed by my choices, some of you won’t agree with them and some of you think “this guy sucks”, but the whole point of this is that: that you disagree and we can debate about this, cause that’s the best reaction anyone can have if we want to improve the deck and our way to play it. So, without further explanations, this is the decklist:
This doesn't look half bad. Looks like a traditional RDW variant minus any Hellkites. You could make a 2/2 split on Traitorous blood and Zealous Conscripts. I couldn't imagine siding in 4 traitorous blood.
Made some changes, and going to try Reckless Waif out to see if I like her here. I want 2-4 Flames of the Firebrand in there, as well as 2 or so Crippling Blights, but I can't decide what to cut. Thoughts?
3 pithing needleanti planeswalkers
3 slaughter gamesanti thragtusk and vs combo
3 ultimate price swap in for Dreadbore vs mono color or GW
3 vexing devil when on the play and want to be faster swap it for the flailer
3 zealous conscripts no idea what to use for the last 3 so are filler for now
And Vexing Devil is real bad when your opponent knows how to play Magic: the Gathering.
General SB cards that I like:
Flames of the Firebrand - good against all the Aggro popping up.
Rakdos Charm - beats Frites.
Olivia - just wins games against certain decks.
Sever the Bloodline - really solid against Tokens, Reanimator, and W based Control.
Slaughter Games - good against decks with very few key pieces... it's getting worse, but I still like a couple.
Mortars - good burn against Aggro, Midrange, and Tokens.
Specific SB cards for your deck worth considering:
Pillar of Flame - keep Aggro from putting you on the back-foot early.
Ultimate Price - Instant removal much better than Sorcery in a lot of MUs.
Traitorous Blood/Zealous Conscripts - combo with Aristocrat for game winning lulz.
Thundermaw Hellkite - let your opponent SB for Aggro while you SB in 3-4 game-winning Dragons.
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"Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire."
—Jaya Ballard, task mage
redthirst is redthirst, fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse. He was the leader of the Fires of Salvation, the only clan I'm aware of to get modded off the forums so hard they made their own forums.
Degenerate? Sure. Loudmouth? You bet. Law abiding? No ****ing way.
The only positive thing I can say about this decklist is his mainboard threatens. Format is so creature heavy and slighless, that I think these could actually be nice - but for sure Traitorous Blood over Mark of Mutiny.
EDIT:
Well, I was a huge fan of this card for a long time. Still, currently it just seems to be underwhelming. Sometimes it'll manage to kill two Lingering Souls tokens, sometimes it'll manage to kill Rakdos Cackler and deal 1 to opponent. Sad thing is, second scenario is usual. Not that many decks are running creatures with 1 Toughness, and if they do - they need to be answered faster than T3.
I think that the best crowd control we have is obviously Bonfire of the Damned. You can hardcast it for X=1 (3 mana) to kill any amount of tokens. Still, if they'll manage to pump tokens you suddenly aren't stuck with empty card in your hand - hardcasting it for X=2 (5 mana) isn't that absurd, right? And well, I'm not mentioning Miraclous moments.
Just look at the most popular 1CMC drops. Rakdos Cackler, Stromkirk Noble, Champion of the Parish. These are/will be large enough to laugh on Flames.
That's why I'm packing Annihilating Fire and Bonfires instead. Annihilating Fire helps in both RDW (kills everything they have at instant-speed) and Zombies (he he he) matchups, while being not that terrible against other decks - but I plan to side it in only against these two.
I've grown a bit disillusioned with Flames of the Firebrand as well, and I'm looking at Bonfire to be my savior against the irritating token decks that seem to be everywhere lately.
Not sure how you guys are really disappointed with Flames, I've been playing nothing but other aggro decks in DEs of late (yesterday I played 2 Zombies, 1 G/W, and 1 mirror for instance) and it's great in those MUs. Even RDW has stuff like Stonewright and sometimes Lightning Mauler/Shred-Freak (not me personally, but some people like these 2/1 haste guys) that will let you get a bit of value to kill alongside Cackler even if Stromkirk grows out of range too quickly. Don't even get me started on G/W which is just a walking 2-for-1 for your Flames and sometimes even 3-for-1. Of course it's one of the first cards I look to board out (after Pillars) against decks like Bant and U/W/(R) flash but having 2 copies MD and another 2 SB has been very important to me of late. Maybe I've just been lucky to dodge the token decks but even then it's not like Bonfire for X=1 is much better when they're playing Intangible Virtues (or when you're playing 22 land sligh).
Not sure how you guys are really disappointed with Flames, I've been playing nothing but other aggro decks in DEs of late (yesterday I played 2 Zombies, 1 G/W, and 1 mirror for instance) and it's great in those MUs. Even RDW has stuff like Stonewright and sometimes Lightning Mauler/Shred-Freak (not me personally, but some people like these 2/1 haste guys) that will let you get a bit of value to kill alongside Cackler even if Stromkirk grows out of range too quickly. Don't even get me started on G/W which is just a walking 2-for-1 for your Flames and sometimes even 3-for-1. Of course it's one of the first cards I look to board out (after Pillars) against decks like Bant and U/W/(R) flash but having 2 copies MD and another 2 SB has been very important to me of late. Maybe I've just been lucky to dodge the token decks but even then it's not like Bonfire for X=1 is much better when they're playing Intangible Virtues (or when you're playing 22 land sligh).
My beef with Flames is that I rarely get the X-for-1 out of it. The red decks have largely dropped Rakdos Shred-Freak, so FotF often turns into a bad sorcery speed Searing Spear. The token decks are all jamming Intangible Virtues, so the same bad Searing Spear comparison applies. Vs. the GW decks, they've often ramped out their stupid Thragtusk or Smiter by the time I get 3 mana up for a Flames, so who cares at that point? The damage has been done.
I might just be unlucky, but whenever I test (and I test a lot) my opponents have raging hard-ons for spirit tokens. It's gotten so bad that I'm running Sever the Bloodline maindeck.
There's nothing more sad than a Falkenrath Aristocrat not attacking because of 2 spirit tokens and a Lingering Souls in the opponent's graveyard.
My beef with Flames is that I rarely get the X-for-1 out of it. The red decks have largely dropped Rakdos Shred-Freak, so FotF often turns into a bad sorcery speed Searing Spear. The token decks are all jamming Intangible Virtues, so the same bad Searing Spear comparison applies. Vs. the GW decks, they've often ramped out their stupid Thragtusk or Smiter by the time I get 3 mana up for a Flames, so who cares at that point? The damage has been done.
I might just be unlucky, but whenever I test (and I test a lot) my opponents have raging hard-ons for spirit tokens. It's gotten so bad that I'm running Sever the Bloodline maindeck.
There's nothing more sad than a Falkenrath Aristocrat not attacking because of 2 spirit tokens and a Lingering Souls in the opponent's graveyard.
You must have bad luck. A smart tokens player will certainly play Virtue before Souls if they can, but they only have 4 copies at most. If you are running 4 Flames, you should have equal chances to pick off x/1's. Against G/w, not only can you pick off their Elves (whether or not they've ramped out a monster), but you can also clean up their blockers if you happen to have a bunch of 2/2's swinging in. Considering Brimstone isn't any better in any of your situations, I can't see how Flames is bad. Test more, get luckier.
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MODERN RGB Jund BGR WGB Junk/Abzan Company WGB
LEGACY RUGB Delver GURB
EDH UW Geist of Saint Traft Aggro-Control WU RUG Riku of Two Reflections Combo GUR BBB Skithiryx Control BB
Liking how this build is running. Nice and fast, can play through blockers w/ Pyreheart Wolf, burn package, and Archwing Dragon. Here's my current list, open to any critique. Sideboard is a work in progress, no clue what my meta will be like.
Vexing Devil - I know this card is widely seen as unplayable, but I love the reach it gives here. Opening hand, it's an extra 4 damage on turn 2/3/4 if I have open mana. Past that, it's almost always a 4/3 for R since I've got them too low to take it to the top.
Archwing Dragon - For when they're running pesky removal that it can dodge, which a lot of it can be. (Dreadbore)
Hound of Griselbrand - 2/2 w/ doublestrike is nothing to scoff at, and they have to 1 for 2 it if they want it gone.
I think that Sledgehammer actually deserves it's Primer, an article with whole description of a thingie, cards we've already found playable and well, stuff like that. Many newcomers seem to not quite understand the whole plan of this deck. If I'll have a free hour or smth, I'd try to write that one.
This sentiment actually sorta ticks me off. What the heck is wrong with the decklist including a full breakdown of each card and it's importance? Or how about the full breakdown of sideboarding? Or how about the mission statement and descriptions indicating almost exactly how the deck is/should be played? If people have things they think should be included in the primer, message me. I'm pretty darn active on this forum, and I can modify the thread. I actually think the OP on the thread is much more of a Primer than just an opening discussion thread.
P.S. You're not the first person who has said something like this. I've mostly ignored it, but it irks me when someone says "we should really have a primer or it should be rewritten" when I spent a good amount of time writing it, and it pretty much IS a primer.
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This doesn't look half bad. Looks like a traditional RDW variant minus any Hellkites. You could make a 2/2 split on Traitorous blood and Zealous Conscripts. I couldn't imagine siding in 4 traitorous blood.
4x Stromkirk Noble
4x Rakdos Cackler
4x Reckless Waif
4x Ash Zealot
3x Kruin Outlaw
4x Hellrider
3x Falkenrath Aristocrat
2x Knight of Infamy
Instants
4x Searing Spear
1x Dreadbore
1x Thunderbolt
1x Sever the Bloodline
Enchantment
1x Underworld Connections
Lands (24)
4x Blood Crypt
4x Dragonskull Summit
3x Rakdos Guildgate
10x Mountain
3x Swamp
4x Pillar of Flame
3x Pyreheart Wolf
2x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Sever the Bloodline
2x Dreadbore
1x Thunderbolt
2x Knight of Infamy
Made some changes, and going to try Reckless Waif out to see if I like her here. I want 2-4 Flames of the Firebrand in there, as well as 2 or so Crippling Blights, but I can't decide what to cut. Thoughts?
EDH
WBRKaalia of the VastRBW
BChainer, Dementia MasterB
Legacy
0Manaless Dredge0
RGoblinsR
Standard
RBWThe AristocratsWBR
10 Mountain
3 Swamp
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Rakdos Guildgate
2 Rakdos Keyrune
4 Stormkirk Noble
4 Rakdos Crackler
4 Ash Zealot
4 Knight of Infamy
3 Hellhole Flailer
3 Falkenrath Aristocrat
3 Hellrider
3 Mizzium Mortars
3 Dreadbore
Going to Be using this at a starcity IQ and really need help with a sideboard.
3 pithing needle
3 slaughter games
3 vexing devil
3 ultimate price
3 zealous conscripts
Want to see me in action? Check out my stream! Currently broadcasting Boros Burn in Standard. Full archive available.
Want to play better magic? Come join us at diestoremoval.com
3 slaughter gamesanti thragtusk and vs combo
3 ultimate price swap in for Dreadbore vs mono color or GW
3 vexing devil when on the play and want to be faster swap it for the flailer
3 zealous conscripts no idea what to use for the last 3 so are filler for now
Want to see me in action? Check out my stream! Currently broadcasting Boros Burn in Standard. Full archive available.
Want to play better magic? Come join us at diestoremoval.com
General SB cards that I like:
Flames of the Firebrand - good against all the Aggro popping up.
Rakdos Charm - beats Frites.
Olivia - just wins games against certain decks.
Sever the Bloodline - really solid against Tokens, Reanimator, and W based Control.
Slaughter Games - good against decks with very few key pieces... it's getting worse, but I still like a couple.
Mortars - good burn against Aggro, Midrange, and Tokens.
Specific SB cards for your deck worth considering:
Pillar of Flame - keep Aggro from putting you on the back-foot early.
Ultimate Price - Instant removal much better than Sorcery in a lot of MUs.
Traitorous Blood/Zealous Conscripts - combo with Aristocrat for game winning lulz.
Thundermaw Hellkite - let your opponent SB for Aggro while you SB in 3-4 game-winning Dragons.
—Jaya Ballard, task mage
4 Ash Zealot
1 Fervent Cathar
4 Gore-House Chainwalker
1 Hound of Griselbrand
2 Instigator Gang
4 Pyreheart Wolf
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Stromkirk Noble
2 Pillar of Flame
4 Searing Spear
3 Hellion Crucible
21 Mountain
1 Archwing Dragon
1 Brimstone Volley
4 Flames of the Firebrand
1 Hellion Crucible
1 Hound of Griselbrand
1 Instigator Gang
2 Pillar of Flame
4 Stonewright
EDIT: Judged budget deck. No additional discussion necessary.
@DesperateRaving
Want to see me in action? Check out my stream! Currently broadcasting Boros Burn in Standard. Full archive available.
Want to play better magic? Come join us at diestoremoval.com
@DesperateRaving
I've grown a bit disillusioned with Flames of the Firebrand as well, and I'm looking at Bonfire to be my savior against the irritating token decks that seem to be everywhere lately.
Watch my Twitch.tv stream.
Take the Ham Challenge.
Were you disappointed because you didn't see them often enough, or for another reason?
Watch my Twitch.tv stream.
Take the Ham Challenge.
Want to see me in action? Check out my stream! Currently broadcasting Boros Burn in Standard. Full archive available.
Want to play better magic? Come join us at diestoremoval.com
My beef with Flames is that I rarely get the X-for-1 out of it. The red decks have largely dropped Rakdos Shred-Freak, so FotF often turns into a bad sorcery speed Searing Spear. The token decks are all jamming Intangible Virtues, so the same bad Searing Spear comparison applies. Vs. the GW decks, they've often ramped out their stupid Thragtusk or Smiter by the time I get 3 mana up for a Flames, so who cares at that point? The damage has been done.
I might just be unlucky, but whenever I test (and I test a lot) my opponents have raging hard-ons for spirit tokens. It's gotten so bad that I'm running Sever the Bloodline maindeck.
There's nothing more sad than a Falkenrath Aristocrat not attacking because of 2 spirit tokens and a Lingering Souls in the opponent's graveyard.
Watch my Twitch.tv stream.
Take the Ham Challenge.
Let's be jerks together! Haha, only way I have a chance against RDW or Zombies is if I draw multiples in a game.
Fires :symr:f Salvation
My posts have the power of invisiblity and only a few people can read it!
You must have bad luck. A smart tokens player will certainly play Virtue before Souls if they can, but they only have 4 copies at most. If you are running 4 Flames, you should have equal chances to pick off x/1's. Against G/w, not only can you pick off their Elves (whether or not they've ramped out a monster), but you can also clean up their blockers if you happen to have a bunch of 2/2's swinging in. Considering Brimstone isn't any better in any of your situations, I can't see how Flames is bad. Test more, get luckier.
RGB Jund BGR
WGB Junk/Abzan Company WGB
LEGACY
RUGB Delver GURB
EDH
UW Geist of Saint Traft Aggro-Control WU
RUG Riku of Two Reflections Combo GUR
BBB Skithiryx Control BB
Ah, I knew there was something I was missing
Watch my Twitch.tv stream.
Take the Ham Challenge.
4x Ash Zealot
4x Hellrider
2x Hound of Griselbrand
3x Pyreheart Wolf
4x Stonewright
4x Stromkirk Noble
4x Vexing Devil
3x Brimstone Volley
4x Searing Spear
3x Devil's Play
2x Pillar of Flame
Lands (23)
20x Mountain
3x Hellion's Crucible
2x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Archwing Dragon
2x Hound of Griselbrand
4x Volcanic Strength
3x Flames of the Firebrand
2x Traitorous Blood
Vexing Devil - I know this card is widely seen as unplayable, but I love the reach it gives here. Opening hand, it's an extra 4 damage on turn 2/3/4 if I have open mana. Past that, it's almost always a 4/3 for R since I've got them too low to take it to the top.
Archwing Dragon - For when they're running pesky removal that it can dodge, which a lot of it can be. (Dreadbore)
Hound of Griselbrand - 2/2 w/ doublestrike is nothing to scoff at, and they have to 1 for 2 it if they want it gone.
EDH
WBRKaalia of the VastRBW
BChainer, Dementia MasterB
Legacy
0Manaless Dredge0
RGoblinsR
Standard
RBWThe AristocratsWBR
Want to see me in action? Check out my stream! Currently broadcasting Boros Burn in Standard. Full archive available.
Want to play better magic? Come join us at diestoremoval.com
Someone correct me if I'm wrong...
EDH
WBRKaalia of the VastRBW
BChainer, Dementia MasterB
Legacy
0Manaless Dredge0
RGoblinsR
Standard
RBWThe AristocratsWBR
Want to see me in action? Check out my stream! Currently broadcasting Boros Burn in Standard. Full archive available.
Want to play better magic? Come join us at diestoremoval.com
EDH
WBRKaalia of the VastRBW
BChainer, Dementia MasterB
Legacy
0Manaless Dredge0
RGoblinsR
Standard
RBWThe AristocratsWBR
This sentiment actually sorta ticks me off. What the heck is wrong with the decklist including a full breakdown of each card and it's importance? Or how about the full breakdown of sideboarding? Or how about the mission statement and descriptions indicating almost exactly how the deck is/should be played? If people have things they think should be included in the primer, message me. I'm pretty darn active on this forum, and I can modify the thread. I actually think the OP on the thread is much more of a Primer than just an opening discussion thread.
P.S. You're not the first person who has said something like this. I've mostly ignored it, but it irks me when someone says "we should really have a primer or it should be rewritten" when I spent a good amount of time writing it, and it pretty much IS a primer.
Fires :symr:f Salvation