Hello and welcome back to Out of the Blue, the column with words in it.
Last week I went all green about the gills in my first of a series devoted to mono colour strategies. This week I continue my mono-colour series with something altogether... warmer.
It’s July, it’s mid-summer in the northern hemisphere, and it’s still unseasonably hot in London. I say unseasonably because until this year, the last three summers had defined themselves by unremitting drizzle and low temperatures.
But enough of the weather, on to more relevant matters. Red. Colour of love, danger, blood, embarrassment, and um... well fire.
I'm going to dive straight into a decklist now, and I can't think of a much better way to sum up the colour than the list below...
"I've been all over the world. I even remember some of those places."
Most of the usual suspects there, starting with the ridiculously aggressive clock that is Goblin Guide. Mori began with an opening Guide in most of his top eight games, and he ended up winning the whole thing. Coincidence? What's surprising in this deck is the 25 lands - exceptionally high for RDW. But then six of them are purely there to thin the deck. I would have thought that Teetering Peaks would slow the deck down too much, but then I didn't come first the Japan nationals, so I'll assume Mori knows what he's doing.
Mono red's big enemy at the moment is Kor Firewalker. It's tough to negotiate, but isn't necessarily a killer once your opponent draws it, given the sheer amount of burn on offer, and of course Siege-Gang Commander can provide additional reach.
Red is traditionally about fast aggro, but there's more to it than that, there are also control variants. Threaten effects like Traitorous Instinct and Conquering Manticore are useful control strategies against other creature decks, but work best when combined with sac outlets like the soon to depart Scarland Thrinax, or the less soon to depart Bloodthrone Vampire. Although M11 is about to bring Fling back into the mix, which will work even better. A viable casual deck can devolve from this combo, but it's unlikely to become tier one unless Scars of Mirrodin really surprises us.
My next deck is similarly unlikely to win any competitions, but is also fun and could be good in the casual room.
Mono Red Valakut
A deck that gets better when you add green, by Splendid Belt
This is about as controlling as mono red gets. You've got the Ruinblaster and Fireheart for mana base disruption, and almost everything else counts as removal or potential burn to the face. There are six sweep effects in Phoenix and Earthquake, so you shouldn't get overwhelmed by aggro. With so much removal, it's not too hard to get Chandra Nalaar up to her ultimate. Again, Firewalker or shrouded creatures can give you a headache. But then when most of the removal can also be aimed at the dome, it's possible to ignore the other side of the table and just race. I didn't change the board much from the last outing, since it covers so much already.
This deck's fun, if slow as far as mono red goes. But then it's hardly a pure aggro deck, so doesn't rely on speed. Expedition Map fetches Valakut, and the Sphere fetches land to power them. Obviously a green splash is helpful for improved land fetch, but staying mono-colour gives you more mountains to play with.
Now, what about tribes?
White has kithkin and soldiers, green has elves, black has vampires, blue has merfolk, red has Goblin Piker. And a bunch of his rather more powerful friends, I hear. Like all tribes, goblins vary in power as standard fluctuates, and right now they're able to form themslves up into a pretty good list. Again, we're not talking tier one, but still something which can potentially win packs in 2 man queues.
Here's how I'd build a mono red goblin list right now:
I can't believe I didn't manage to get Goblin Bushwhacker in the list. The obvious card to substitute it in for would be the non-goblin Ball Lightning, but that elemental is sufficiently good that I'm going to pretend he's goblin shaped for today's purposes.
It's also possible to make a perfectly capable deck out of Kiln Fiend and a well chosen selection of spells, but it works far better in constructed standard with paired with blue. Distortion Strike is a particular friend of the Fiend, especially in limited. He's also something of a house in pauper.
Obviously I haven't covered every possible mono-red deck, everything else really plays a distant second fiddle to RDW. If I've missed something glaringly obvious though, please let me know in the comments, and I'll gladly self-flagellate.
Now let's talk about the future.
So what's next?
What's next is the big hunk of love that is M11, and it's bringing some toys to this party. One set of playthings is exceptionally exciting. It's the combo below:
That's twenty damage right there. Reverberate is an exciting card, almost a reprint of Fork. It's a way of helping your spells around countermagic, and amplifies your burn suite. Or, make your opponent wish they never cast that Cruel Ultimatum.
Each colour gets its own titan, and whilst red's isn't one of the better ones, it'll still see play. Inferno Titan doubles as a potential three for one, but it's the fact that it's so easily pumpable that makes me excited. If only it had trample.
Destructive Force is a card that's got a lot of people excited though, as a slightly more powerful Wildfire, which did indeed see some play. It's especially good if you've just cast a Titan the turn before. Not much lives though a five damage sweeper, including Baneslayer Angel and Sphinx of Jwar Isle. Also, if you're running a few borderposts (or Everflowing Chalice), chances are you'll be in a better position mana wise than your opponent. It's also pretty good with Roiling Terrain and Knight of the Reliquary.
Cyclops Gladiator is also worth a mention. It's a simple enough card with uncomplicated aims, but it'll destroy weenie decks single-handedly.
Overall I don't think M11 brings as much to red's arsenal as it will to green, but then arguably green's need is the greater.
Well that's it for me this week, I hope something here was interesting, useful or both. Next week I'll be looking at another colour (or perhaps two, since I want to wrap this series up before M11 hits MTGO). Until then, stay hot.
