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By: Sabi0, Kyle Lewis
Jul 19 2016 12:00pm
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When I first started playing competitive Magic, the first ‘real’ deck I built was U/G madness. I had read about the deck in Scrye (a really stellar magazine from my youth which, being a magazine, is of course discontinued), and was drawn to the deck both because it was cheap and because it was cool and different. Hall of Famer, David Humpherys, played this build to a top four finish in Worlds 2003.

 

 

 I also have nostalgia for B/R Vampires, a deck which took me to my first SCG top eight in 2013.

 

When madness appeared in Shadows, I was looking forward to playing with one of my favorite mechanics again in Standard. Unfortunately, the deck never came together and black red remained virtually unplayable. With the injection of Eldritch Moon, madness gets a second chance, and a lot of the tools are quite potent. Let’s take a look at some of the potential big players.

 

Stromkirk Condemned fills many roles in a vampire based madness deck. It allows you to discard a card for zero mana on turn three. Quality two drops are key in most aggressive decks. As a creature that can attack for three on turn three, Condemned scores a par on the vanilla test. When you add in the fact that he pumps all your vampires, he not only justifies your tribal loyalty, but also makes for some bonkers plays. Condemned discarding Incorrigible Youths to attack for eight on turn three is an insane start. Some vampires in the format fall short of constructed playability outright, but the addition of Stromkirk Condemned could be enough to push such cards into the spotlight.  

Vampire Cutthroat is a card that looks weaker than I believe it is. At face value, you get a one drop, something the deck is otherwise short on, and is hard to block and can move the needle by two points every turn. When you factor in the extra power Cutthroat can gain from Stromkirk Condemned, this skulker can win races outright.

 

 

Weirded Vampire and Olivia’s Dragoon are both bad cards. We have enough good two and three drops to port from Shadows that we don’t need to stoop to playing these.

 

 

Furyblade Vampire provides another great two drop for a deck seeking discard outlets. Our deck is looking to go two drop into madness activation as often as possible and though there are more resilient creatures out there, Furyblade is at least good enough to trade with Sylvan Advocate while still getting in for damage. Against a stumbling opponent, Furyblade Vampire is incredibly punishing, something an aggressive deck always values.

 

Stromkirk Occultist is a weird card. The Chandra ability isn’t something this deck is super interested in; the fact that you can’t discard the card you get off the activation is a bummer. That said, the price on this card is right, and the incidental card advantage you sometimes get off Stromkirk Occultist might be enough to warrant its inclusion.

 

 

R&D has given us a number of combat tricks and removal options this time around in Distemper of the Blood, Abandon Reason, and Alchemist’s Greeting. Abandon Reason is probably just better than Distemper for being hard castable at instant speed, hitting multiple creatures, and using first strike to take advantage of high power attackers. Alchemist’s Greeting seems really strong. In a deck with enough outlets, this spell is pretty close to: 1R kill a guy. Even at full price, you are dealing as much damage as five mana, madnessed, Avacyn’s Judgment. I suspect this card could be vampire’s Declaration in Stone.

 

Voldaren Pariah is the real deal. A 3/3 flyer for BBB is something this deck is already interested in. If Pariah ever transforms, the game is probably over. You need to play around removal when transforming, and Pariah won’t be at its best in every matchup, but the floor on this card is good and the ceiling is broken.

 

 

Bloodhall Priest is another very welcome addition. If this card was just a 4/4 for three it would be good. The fact that it gives you not only incidental reach, but also incidental removal makes it awesome. Bloodhall Priest gives this aggro deck the redundancy it needs to make very strong turn two and turn three plays.   

 

Shadows offers a number of nice cards for us as well. Heir of Falkenrath may be the best. Though it is only a one-off discard outlet, a 3/2 attacking flyer on turn three that lets you madness something is outstanding. Flyers are currently excellent in standard. If that remains true, the vampire deck could prove resilient to the board stalls Bant Company and G/W tokens often produce. Olivia’s Bloodsworn operates on that same principal. Welkin Tern isn’t much to aspire to, but if the format is cold to flying, this card could be good enough. Murderous Compulsion could prove a strong role player as cheap removal. Asylum Visitor is awkward as a two drop, but could potentially provide a lot of card advantage; I don’t see this card being good enough, but I’m prepared to be wrong on it. Ditto, Call the Bloodline--I don’t think doing nothing on turn two is going to be good enough in this deck, but maybe an engine with Indulgent Aristocrat could be a real thing.

 

 

Many of reds madness offerings have been outclassed in Eldritch Moon, but there are still some big hits. Incorrigible Youths is still amazing and an easy four-of. Fiery Temper is just Bolt with enough outlets. Falkenrath Gorger is a good option for a deck without other Savannah Lions and boasts the bonus of possible upside. Ravenous Bloodseeker and Insolent Neonate appear outclassed, and Stensia Masquerade seems too slow to have a real impact. I’m ready to be wrong on Masquerade, as it could be an absolute blowout mid-combat, but I’m skeptical.

 

 

Olivia Mobilized for War is a question mark for me. You have to cast another spell to use her, so she’s not a free discard outlet. That said, I’m tempted to think a 3/3 flyer for three is already almost good enough. Her ability is also very good, and if you can combo it off with something like Fiery Temper, it seems like it can be game breaking. I’m not all in on Olivia, but for the potential power she brings, I’m ready to take a chance on her.

 

So what would my final list look like? As a rough draft for week one, I would be ready to sleeve up something like this:

 

B/R Vampires
Marceline Is Best Girl
Creatures
4 Stromkirk Condemned
4 Furyblade Vampire
3 Voldaren Pariah
4 Bloodhall Priest
4 Heir of Falkenrath
4 Incorrigible Youths
4 Falkenrath Gorger
2 Olivia Mobilized for War
29 cards

Other Spells
3 Alchemist's Greeting
4 Fiery Temper
7 cards
 
Lands
4 Smoldering Marsh
10 Swamp
6 Mountain
4 Foreboding Ruins
24 cards

Sideboard
3 Stormkirk Occultist
4 Vampire Cutthroat
1 Voldaren Pariah
3 Abandon Reason
2 Olivia Mobilized for War
2 Asylum Visitor
15 cards
 

 

This list is far from optimized, but this is what I would want to play to figure out how well the deck's pieces work early in the format.
 

I hope and think this deck could be sweet. It has some insane opening plays and a lot of powerful flyers. I’m absolutely going to put the list together once Eldritch Moon drops on MTGO.