MTG Salvation

Quote from sadpanda

Maybe I am kind of biased about ember hauler since I quit playing when they took 'damage on the stack' out of the game. I think ember hauler is not worth it. I have played with it and it is better than most other 2 drops, but I have had A LOT of success with kiln fiend. If he survives he does tons of damage. Also, I don't want to keep mana up in order to sac ember hauler. I only play 20 land, so keeping 2 open at all times does not happen very often. If you don't get to use his ability, then he is just a 2/2 for 2 which is VERY underwhelming. I have him in the board against vampires to try and get some kind of advantage, but it rarely works.

Quote from magicdownunder

Here is what I'll be playing next week on MTGO:

Post-Ban RDWMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Land 22 10x Mountain 04x Scalding Tarn 04x Arid Mesa 04x Teetering Peaks Creatures 16 04x Goblin Guide 04x Plated Geopede 03x Spikeshot elder 03x Ember Hauler 02x Kargan Dragonlord	Spells 16 04x Lightning Bolt 04x Burst Lightning 04x Searing Blaze 02x Flame Slash 02x Dismember Support 06 04x Shrine of Burning Rage 02x Koth of the Hammer	Sideboard 15 01x Flame Slash 01x Dismember 03x Combust 03x Mark of mutiny 03x Slagstorm 04x Vulshok Refugee

Some explaintion:

Slagstorm is my concession to Fauna 'X' deck, Arc Trail just isn't enough.



Plated Geopede comes over Kiln Fiend due to my belief that I'll always draw a Fetch land when I cast Slagstorm

MD removal is something I HATE doing in RDW but 0/4 are everywhere so I'll have to adjust.

Mark of mutiny comes over Act of Aggression because no decent combo player will try and combo without counter BU, Mark of mutiny is better for finishing Kut. (yeah every point does help)

Quote from ISBPathfinder

So I am thinking about playing RDW for the first time in... most of a year I guess on friday. My biggest thing is what to SB for it.

Now I have yet to actually see the Splinter combo in my meta. I think I will see a similar week as last as people will want to use their decks one last time before it rotates. I am expecting Fauna Shaman / Vengevine / Cawblade varients. I ran into 2 of them in the top 4 last week and I just couldnt stand up to it then. I understand that Vengeveine killing Koth will be an issue for me. At the same time I expect that I should easily be able to fry the fauna shaman reducing the consistancy of the deck a bit.

Any strong lineups for a sb vs this?

DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
CREATURES 4 Goblin Guide 2 Spikeshot elder 4 Ember Hawler 2 Manic vandal	SPELLS 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Burst Lightning 4 Searing blaze 4 Staggershock 4 Shrine of Burning Rage 4 Koth of the Hammer	LAND 12 mountains 4 arid mesa 4 scalding tarn 4 teetering peeks

I guess that will be close to what I run. I might end up bringing in one extra Spikeshot Elder yet though.

Quote from TRAMD

OK, here goes my pro-Kiln Fiend Rebuttals.



True. Any removal will kill the fiend but that is true with any creature. Do I really have to debate vs. the "dies to removal" argument. Even when this happens I know that I have made sure that I used my burn wisely (burning their creatures, usually) so that the only card 'wasted' is Kiln Fiend. This also means one less removal spell for my Dragonlord or Koth's Mountain. If I assault strobed him then that is another card wasted but Assault strobe on Kiln Fiend turn 3-4 or Dragonlord mid-late game has won me 2-3x as many games with that one swing when compared to the number of times my creature was removed or bounced in response. That is a moderate risk, high reward aspect to the card that I am willing to accept.



Gut shot is not good.

Why couldn't you run both Fiend and Shrine?



Alright, really? Kiln Fiend is at least better than Bloodcrazed Goblin, especially in a deck with this much burn. And the fiend is super cheap and house-trained.

Quote from TRAMD

I had my fun with my Big Red deck and although I still love it, I need the speed of RDW.

My build for post-bannings:

DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Creatures (12) 4 Goblin Guide 4 Kiln Fiend 4 Kargan Dragonlord Instant/Sorcery/Burn (19) 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Forked Bolt 4 Flame Slash 4 Burst Lightning 3 Assault Strobe	Artifacts (3) 3 Shrine of Burning Rage Planeswalkers (4) 4 Koth of the Hammer Land (22) 20 Mountain 2 Teetering Peaks	Sideboard (15) 3 Combust 3 Dismember 2 Mark of Mutiny 2 Act of Aggression 2 Ratchet Bomb 1 Crush 1 Shatter 1 Manic Vandal

This is a very aggressive deck that only burns the player if you plan on winning that turn.

I haven't changed my creature base since ROE and I am still loving it. It is nice to see people remembering what a house Dragonlord is. He is frequently removed but if not . . . he just wins the game. Dragonlord cares nothing for your puny Kor Firewalker. The only problem I have found with him is Mon-Green Eldrazi decks SBing Wall of Tanglecord. Just remember to not overextend yourself into Dragonlord. Don't neglect other good plays to level him up. Only spend what you know you can on him.

I have NEVER lost to Valakut (9-0) with this deck. Turn 3 Kiln Fiend kill or a Dragonlord have always finished it for me. Another key has been Flame Slash as I have so frequently been able to burn a Titan with this and any other burn.

All the cheap burn is awesome for Hawks, Cobra's, Shaman's, Elves, etc. I truly believe that Flame Slash and Forked bolt are the two best burns after bolt and neither has ever let me down. Burst lightning is great for an EOT burn of a turn 2 creature or a 4 damage finisher late game. If you can burn it, do it (unless you are holding that burn for a Kiln Fiend win).

Shrine of course makes this deck even better but you should side them out of any match-up where they win you the game and your opponent is playing W, G or R as they will just side in a bunch of dead artifact destruction.

I have not given up on the turn 3 Kiln Fiend wins and they happen too often for me to do so.

I had to think long and hard before excluding Volt Charge and Tezzeret's Gambit as going ultimate with Koth the turn after he comes out is pure win but I decided that isn't as important for this deck as with Big Red and I can usually use all my burn to protect him for 2 turns. Also, I don't have Everflowing Chalice and Tumble Magnet (though I considered this, too) to proliferate.

Using a shrine to kill a Phyrexian Crusader, Wurmcoil Engine, Baneslayer Angel and Kor Firewalker is ALWAYS the right choice unless putting it to the skull will win you the game NOW.

Double Burn to Spellskite is usually worth-it. If you have Flame Slash . . . well, it must be your lucky day.

I could see Twin combo being a real problem but I have multiple ways to deal with it in the sideboard. You really CANNOT lose to this combo with Combust in hand and two mana up.

UB control has its way with this deck. The creature kill and counters are too much to handle as I usually need a creature to stick to win.