Pretty sure I just ignore the Crusader. If the player wants to leave him back on defense to stop my Stromkirk Noble, that's fine..I have Stormblood Berserkers and Chandra's Phoenix. Also, some people main-board artifact hate (Shatter, Ancient Grudge) to take care of Lashwrithe / Piston Sledge.
Going to have to agree with dudebro, he's just far too expensive (mana and health wise) to be effective at all. He looks pretty, he really does..but there is soooooo much Artifact hate going around now that he's just straight not worth it.
Volt Charge honestly is 'the nuts', turn four or five with any number of our permanents that have counters on them getting -more- counters is great. Not to mention you're likely killing something rather threatening at the same time at the same time. (They're not in my list because I don't own any)
Any deck with artifacts warrants Ancient Grudge being good, because there are very few played artifacts that are bad. Swords, Shrines, Tempered Steel..very good sideboard option for all of them. Four Rootbound Crag is fine, 'cause you should be running at least 18 or 19 mountains anyway, which is fine for Koth because there's not going to be very many games where you only have Rootbound Crag and no other mountain..as a matter of fact there's likely less than a percentage chance of that happening.
So yes, I would say that because there are quite a few dangerous artifacts in the meta right now, 4 Rootbound Crag for 4 Ancient Grudge is viable, and even optimal.
Arsonist + Brimstone Volley is really good..because generally you don't care if your Arsonist dies, and then you get to Lava Axe either them or their big guy. Possibly six damage on a creature, such as a Titan or, not as great, a Wurmcoil Engine.
But yeah I run Waif and Arsonist, love 'em both. Waif just rolls all over control and Solar Flare. Not as well as Goblin Guide did, but, almost.
Well, Goblin Arsonist from my experience has been pretty insane, especially against Aggro of any kind, and I play 3 maindeck along with 4 Nobles, 2 Grim Lavamancer and 3 Reckless Waif. So that's 12 for me. 12 ways to activate Bloodthirst for our Stormblood Berserker, so it pretty consistantly is a 3/3.
I think optimal is 10+ but no more than half your creature base, because you don't want to be flooded with one-drops and the later the game goes the worse of a draw they become.
Just for the land? I would vote against it. However, splashing green off Rootbound Crags (Copperline Gorge isn't near as good in testing) for Ancient Grudge flashback is good, which means that maybe you can make some cuts to the tight maindeck for say..2 or 3 Kessig Wolf Run, but, anymore than that and I honestly believe you're taking away from its 'power potential' (yeah, totally just made that phrase up).
It also means cutting mountains..which doesn't synergize with Koth of the Hammer at all, but, it's rare that you WON'T see a mountain in a game, so, perhaps that's irrelevant.
Round 1 against Puresteel Paladin: 2-0
-Game 1: I had turn 1 Stromkirk, turn 2 Stormblood, turn 3 Shrine. He had 2 lands the whole game and I killed everything he played except Infiltrator.
-Game 2: I started slow with a Shrine turn 2, he played dudes and artifacts, I killed them all with Geistflame, Shocks and Shatters. He managed to stick 2 Lifestaffs and gained some life when I killed his guys, but, eventually Shrine had built to 14 counters and I had 2 phoenixes on the field beating him down.
Round 2 against B/W crazyness: 2-1
-Game 1: I had an extremely fast start with turn 1 Noble, turn 2 Shrine, turn 3 Phoenix..and after drawing land for the third time in a row he scooped with no action after I'd killed some of his guys turns 4 and 5.
-Game 2: After muliganing to 5 I had turn 1 and 2 plays, but he had turn 1, 2 and 3 plays..after boarding in -9- cards of hate against me. He stuck the 2/2 that says I can't cast spells or activate abilities that aren't mana abilities on his turn and I never found my-turn removal for it, so, he just beat me down with some champions of the parish and had removal for my guys. Oh and he had Gideon.
-Game 3: I made no changes to sideboard because I didn't see anything worth doing anything about. I had 'the nuts' draw of 3 mountains, 1 Noble, 2 Stormblood Berserker, 1 Chandra's Phoenix..and he had no answers, I killed his champion with drawn burn as well as his cloistered youth with a drawn Incinerate. After that he scooped because he couldn't stop my guys.
Round 3 against Goblin RDW: 2-1
-Game 1: I don't actually remember much about this round..but I remember being on the play for game one and just out-racing him by killing his guys with my Arsonists after he used burn on them, then Koth happened and he couldn't recover while I threw mountains at him.
-Game 2: I had turn 2 and turn 3 Shrine after turn 1 Noble, he didn't have Shatters and I just outraced him with guys from then on because he drew too many land.
-Game 3: No change to sideboard, but this game was intense. We were both killing each other's little guys back and forth after I had turn 2 Shrine and he had turn 3 and 4 Shrine. So I was racing 2 Shrines the whole game..it came down to if he had top-decked a mountain and no other spell, he'd have activated both shrines and killed me..but he ripped a third Shrine and I untapped and killed him with my Shrine plus Phoenix.
Round 4 against U/B control: 2-0
-Game 1: He was stuck on lands for a while and never could build to Grave Titan or Wurmcoil Engine, and I had a nuts draw of 2 Mountain, 2 Stromkirk Noble, 2 Stormblood Berserker, 1 Shrine of Burning Rage. He couldn't counter my turn 2 Shrine since I was on the play and I just outraced him (easy, since it's control).
-Game 2: He mulled to 6 and I kept my 7, he played Swamp and passed, I played Reckless Waif and passed..baiting the kill spell. It worked! He layed an Island, casted Wring Flesh and I happily tapped 2 mana to resolve Shrine on my next turn. He countered some stuff that I played, but, Shrine still got the counters from the spells because I still technically casted the spell even though it was countered. He was beating me down to 12 with Snapcaster Mage with him at 14 life but I eventually casted Geistflame on it, which he countered, then I flashed it back and the mage died. Next turn he didn't draw an answer to Shrine and it blew up on him to seal the victory and put me at 4-0 for the night.
After I got home I altered my deck a bit, and now it looks like this:
-Mountain: Hmm...
-Grim Lavamancer: He helps when you're running out of gas, -granted synergy between him and Phoenix is kinda bad, but, there should be other cards in your graveyard anyway.
-Reckless Waif: Having this card turn 1 is basically having a free 3 damage turn 2, her turn 1 plus Berserker = WOW.
-Stromkirk Noble: Staple, I wanna be this guy when I grow up.
-Bloodcrazed Neonate: I felt that only running 17 creatures seemed a little..not too great, so I threw in three of her. She does work more often than not.
-Stormblood Berserker: Staple, if you're playing RDW and not running this guy, you're doing it wrong.
-Chandra's Phoenix: Final creature staple, what more could you ask for? 2/2 flying, haste for 3 mana seems legit.
-Koth of the Hammer: I throw Mountains at you.
-Chandra, the Firebrand: Your Phoenix died turn 3? Oh look, it's back in your hand now.
-Shrine of Burning Rage: Artifact staple, the power level of this deck would be waaaaay lower without this card.
-Incinerate: I don't have Volt Charge or Arc Trail, next best thing. Deals with Glissa, the Traitor who's a pain for this deck.
-Shock: I miss Burst Lightning
-Red Sun's Zenith: Used as a filler until I get either some Tezzeret's Gambit or Volt Charge/Arc Trail
-Devil's Play: See explanation above.
Disclaimer before sideboard: Yes, I know it looks kind of odd..but honestly, I'm likin' it in testing; we'll see tonight.
Every time my friend does that play, it is auto fold for me.
Turn 3 Slagstorm after attacking (if you're on the draw, turn 4 if you're on the play). Yeah, your guys die, but so does Taft and you -definitely- pushed some damage through because there's no way that he's chumping (since your Stromkirk should be at least a 2/2 if you're on the draw, 3/3 if you're on the play).
Also if it bins a Chandra's Phoenix with you having burn in your hand, that then puts you in a pretty good position if he doesn't have a follow-up.
I find Volt Charge too expensive. If I'm paying 3 mana, it is to morbid Brimstone Volley someone for 5 damage. I already have a 3 cmc, and 2 cmc is covered by Arc Trail. I find a 1 cmc burn is needed, especially with all the inkmoths, tokens, and other weenies running around. I actually prefer Gut Shot as my 1 cmc, because it can be free. That means free inkmoth killing, free phoenix recursion, and a free counter on the shrine.
I also think Timely Reinforcements ruined Furnace Scamp, as the burst damage he deals is easily healed. We need board position. That said, a Brimstone Volley after Scamping for 4 T3 is super sexy.
To be honest, Hero of Oxid Ridge hoses Timely Reinforcements pretty hard. Also I think Voltcharge is ok; if it were one less mana it'd be awesome, but I think it's ok. You can T3 kill their blocker, put two counters on shrine and swing for 3 with Stromkirk, all around more effective than laying a Chandra's Phoenix and swinging, in my opinion.
What can we do against tokens. I was doing some testing against g/w tokens with my friend and he is running Shrine of Loyal Legions and it kicks my ass almost every time. I think, even though it wipes our board, we should maybe try Slagstorm sideboard....or something because I hate getting beat to an o-ringed Koth and 10+ myr tokens.
Also on the subject of not liking / not playing Stromkirk Noble that I've seen people saying in this thread: This guy does some serious work. Turn 1 Noble is RDW's strongest turn-1 play, regardless of any other one-drop you could play (unless it's Control in which case I could make an arguement for Reckless Waif) that turn. It is my opinion that playing a list with the Noble in it is much stronger than not playing it.
So yes, I would say that because there are quite a few dangerous artifacts in the meta right now, 4 Rootbound Crag for 4 Ancient Grudge is viable, and even optimal.
But yeah I run Waif and Arsonist, love 'em both. Waif just rolls all over control and Solar Flare. Not as well as Goblin Guide did, but, almost.
I think optimal is 10+ but no more than half your creature base, because you don't want to be flooded with one-drops and the later the game goes the worse of a draw they become.
It also means cutting mountains..which doesn't synergize with Koth of the Hammer at all, but, it's rare that you WON'T see a mountain in a game, so, perhaps that's irrelevant.
22 Mountain
Creatures: 21
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Goblin Arsonist
3 Reckless Waif
2 Grim Lavamancer
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
3 Koth of the Hammer
Artifacts: 4
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
Other Spells: 10
4 Shock
4 Incinerate
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Devil's Play
3 Shatter
1 Ancient Grudge
3 Burn the Impure
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Goblin Arsonist
1 Geistflame
2 Brimstone Volley
2 Traitorous Blood
22 Mountain
Creatures: 20
2 Grim Lavamancer
3 Reckless Waif
4 Stromkirk Noble
3 Goblin Arsonist
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Chandra's Phoenix
2 Koth of the Hammer
2 Chandra, the Firebrand
Artifacts: 4
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
Other Spells: 10
4 Incinerate
4 Shock
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Devil's Play
1 Brimstone Volley
1 Geistflame
1 Goblin Arsonist
2 Ghost Quarter
3 Shatter
2 Traitorous Blood
1 Ancient Grudge
4 Burn the Impure
4-0 in FNM, first place.
-Game 1: I had turn 1 Stromkirk, turn 2 Stormblood, turn 3 Shrine. He had 2 lands the whole game and I killed everything he played except Infiltrator.
-2 Chandra, -3 Reckless Waif, +1 Goblin Arsonist, +3 Shatter, + 1 Ancient Grudge.
-Game 2: I started slow with a Shrine turn 2, he played dudes and artifacts, I killed them all with Geistflame, Shocks and Shatters. He managed to stick 2 Lifestaffs and gained some life when I killed his guys, but, eventually Shrine had built to 14 counters and I had 2 phoenixes on the field beating him down.
Round 2 against B/W crazyness: 2-1
-Game 1: I had an extremely fast start with turn 1 Noble, turn 2 Shrine, turn 3 Phoenix..and after drawing land for the third time in a row he scooped with no action after I'd killed some of his guys turns 4 and 5.
-2 Chandra, -1 Reckless Waif, +1 Goblin Arsonist, +1 Brimstone Volley, +1 Geistflame
-Game 2: After muliganing to 5 I had turn 1 and 2 plays, but he had turn 1, 2 and 3 plays..after boarding in -9- cards of hate against me. He stuck the 2/2 that says I can't cast spells or activate abilities that aren't mana abilities on his turn and I never found my-turn removal for it, so, he just beat me down with some champions of the parish and had removal for my guys. Oh and he had Gideon.
-Game 3: I made no changes to sideboard because I didn't see anything worth doing anything about. I had 'the nuts' draw of 3 mountains, 1 Noble, 2 Stormblood Berserker, 1 Chandra's Phoenix..and he had no answers, I killed his champion with drawn burn as well as his cloistered youth with a drawn Incinerate. After that he scooped because he couldn't stop my guys.
Round 3 against Goblin RDW: 2-1
-Game 1: I don't actually remember much about this round..but I remember being on the play for game one and just out-racing him by killing his guys with my Arsonists after he used burn on them, then Koth happened and he couldn't recover while I threw mountains at him.
-2 Chandra, -3 Reckless Waif, -1 Red Sun's Zenith, -1 Devil's Play, +1 Ancient Grudge, + 1 Goblin Arsonist, +3 Shatter, +1 Geistflame, , +1 Brimstone Volley.
-Game 2: I had turn 2 and turn 3 Shrine after turn 1 Noble, he didn't have Shatters and I just outraced him with guys from then on because he drew too many land.
-Game 3: No change to sideboard, but this game was intense. We were both killing each other's little guys back and forth after I had turn 2 Shrine and he had turn 3 and 4 Shrine. So I was racing 2 Shrines the whole game..it came down to if he had top-decked a mountain and no other spell, he'd have activated both shrines and killed me..but he ripped a third Shrine and I untapped and killed him with my Shrine plus Phoenix.
Round 4 against U/B control: 2-0
-Game 1: He was stuck on lands for a while and never could build to Grave Titan or Wurmcoil Engine, and I had a nuts draw of 2 Mountain, 2 Stromkirk Noble, 2 Stormblood Berserker, 1 Shrine of Burning Rage. He couldn't counter my turn 2 Shrine since I was on the play and I just outraced him (easy, since it's control).
-2 Chandra, -1 Shock, +1 Goblin Arsonist, +1 Geistflame (for Snapcaster Mage), +1 Brimstone Volley.
-Game 2: He mulled to 6 and I kept my 7, he played Swamp and passed, I played Reckless Waif and passed..baiting the kill spell. It worked! He layed an Island, casted Wring Flesh and I happily tapped 2 mana to resolve Shrine on my next turn. He countered some stuff that I played, but, Shrine still got the counters from the spells because I still technically casted the spell even though it was countered. He was beating me down to 12 with Snapcaster Mage with him at 14 life but I eventually casted Geistflame on it, which he countered, then I flashed it back and the mage died. Next turn he didn't draw an answer to Shrine and it blew up on him to seal the victory and put me at 4-0 for the night.
After I got home I altered my deck a bit, and now it looks like this:
22 Mountain
Creatures: 21
2 Grim Lavamancer
3 Reckless Waif
4 Stromkirk Noble
3 Goblin Arsonist
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Chandra's Phoenix
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
3 Koth of the Hammer
Artifacts: 4
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
Other Spells: 10
4 Incinerate
4 Shock
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Devil's Play
2 Brimstone Volley
1 Geistflame
1 Goblin Arsonist
2 Ghost Quarter
3 Shatter
2 Traitorous Blood
1 Ancient Grudge
3 Burn the Impure
22 Mountain
Creatures: 20
2 Grim Lavamancer
3 Reckless Waif
4 Stromkirk Noble
3 Bloodcrazed Neonate
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Chandra's Phoenix
2 Koth of the Hammer
2 Chandra, the Firebrand
Artifacts: 4
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
Other Spells: 10
4 Incinerate
4 Shock
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Devil's Play
3 Dragonskull Summit
3 Dismember
3 Shatter
2 Traitorous Blood
1 Ancient Grudge
3 Burn the Impure
Card reasonings:
-Grim Lavamancer: He helps when you're running out of gas, -granted synergy between him and Phoenix is kinda bad, but, there should be other cards in your graveyard anyway.
-Reckless Waif: Having this card turn 1 is basically having a free 3 damage turn 2, her turn 1 plus Berserker = WOW.
-Stromkirk Noble: Staple, I wanna be this guy when I grow up.
-Bloodcrazed Neonate: I felt that only running 17 creatures seemed a little..not too great, so I threw in three of her. She does work more often than not.
-Stormblood Berserker: Staple, if you're playing RDW and not running this guy, you're doing it wrong.
-Chandra's Phoenix: Final creature staple, what more could you ask for? 2/2 flying, haste for 3 mana seems legit.
-Koth of the Hammer: I throw Mountains at you.
-Chandra, the Firebrand: Your Phoenix died turn 3? Oh look, it's back in your hand now.
-Shrine of Burning Rage: Artifact staple, the power level of this deck would be waaaaay lower without this card.
-Incinerate: I don't have Volt Charge or Arc Trail, next best thing. Deals with Glissa, the Traitor who's a pain for this deck.
-Shock: I miss Burst Lightning
-Red Sun's Zenith: Used as a filler until I get either some Tezzeret's Gambit or Volt Charge/Arc Trail
-Devil's Play: See explanation above.
Disclaimer before sideboard: Yes, I know it looks kind of odd..but honestly, I'm likin' it in testing; we'll see tonight.
-Dragonskull Summit: Used to side-in Dismembers without me having the nug myself for life. This is useful against Phyrexian Obliterator and Phyrexian Crusader.
-Dismember: See explanation above.
-Shatter: Because screw artifacts. Also I need more Ancient Grudges / Rootbound Crags.
-Traitorous Blood: Steal your Wurmcoil, attack you for 6 trampling plus all my other guys. Usually adds up to GG.
-Ancient Grudge: Same as Shatter, just need 3 more of them.
-Burn the Impure: Kessig Wolf Run Inkmoth Nexus Combo / random other infect dudes.
Also if it bins a Chandra's Phoenix with you having burn in your hand, that then puts you in a pretty good position if he doesn't have a follow-up.
Also on the subject of not liking / not playing Stromkirk Noble that I've seen people saying in this thread: This guy does some serious work. Turn 1 Noble is RDW's strongest turn-1 play, regardless of any other one-drop you could play (unless it's Control in which case I could make an arguement for Reckless Waif) that turn. It is my opinion that playing a list with the Noble in it is much stronger than not playing it.