Deck of the Week
Shannon Lindsey, May 7, 2012

Last week, I discussed the the two aggro versions of Red Deck Wins, Funny thing: RDW is not always an aggro deck. There was a while before last rotation when Zendikar block was still legal that a combo version of RDW got strong. It was built around Kiln Fiend, burn spells, and Assault Strobe. Now, with the new set Avacyn Restored available to us, there may be a new combo version of RDW available to us. I haven’t tested this, so I am not sure if it will actually work, but it does curve well, so it has a chance. Meet RDW (Combo) 2012:

RDW (Combo)

This version of RDW is very different from ones last week (look below), as it is based off an interaction that allows a very large and focused amount of damage all at once.

RDW (Combo)

Extreme Synergy is the Key

The goal of this deck is to equip a sword of war and peace to one of the three creatures in this deck, cast a Reforge the Soul, and nail them for an extra seven damage in addition to the combat damage while gaining seven life. The rest of the deck features cards that have nice interactions with this combination that can push it near or over 20 total damage.

The Creature Choices

Chandra’s Phoenix is fairly common in RDW deck’s anyway, but its ability to return from the grave combined with its evasive flying makes it a prime choice as a sword carrier. Stormblood Berserker’s natural evasiveness, bloodthirst or not, makes him also a strong sword choice. My personal favorite is Goblin Gaveleer, not only because he is cheap, but because he gets so much better with a sword, jumping from a 1/1 trample to a 5/5 trample. The best part is only 1 point of this trample damage getting through makes the sword still trigger. This extra boost from equipment combined with the phoenix’s desire for burn spells makes Runechanter’s Pike an easy inclusion as well.

Finally a Red Deck for Tibalt!

Even though the aggro versions don’t like him nearly as much, Reforge the Soul plays nicely with his second ability, giving another seven points of damage. This damage can then be used to bring any phoenix’s back from the graveyard. His first ability is also not a total wash since discarded phoenix’s can be brought back, and since instants and sorceries can feed the pike.

A single past in flames for the win

Are you stuck on 19 damage dealt? If you draw this in a protracted game, or if it has been dumped into the graveyard, it can be cast to throw some (Galvanic) blast from the past, which is nice with high odds off having dropped three artifacts in a long game. While this deck does a lot of interaction with the graveyard, it doesn’t depend on it, so if somebody boards in grave hate, it increases the odds of the primary strategy winning anyway.

So Did Anyone Catch the Assault Strobe Mention Early On?

Assault Strobe is still standard legal, and very nasty with an equipped creature. It isn’t a primary combo piece in this deck, just a nice addition when timed right, so it gets a two of, but I can definitely make a strong case for running four.

Sheltering Word should become a green sideboard staple!

In this deck, Sheltering Word is critical against decks with very high removal counts. In that situation, it functions as a green counterspell for spot removal. With Cavern of Souls already in the format to hurt Mana Leak, expect removal heavy deck to increase in number, and this card to be a great defense against it.

Honorable Mention Not Included

Signal Pest almost makes a strong addition, but this deck needed a higher burn count, so four creatures were too many, and this guy does no damage by himself, so he barely misses the cut.

Conclusion

This deck has strong potential to take many surprise matches. The thought of a sworded Gaveleer doing twelve points of damage followed by Tibalt second ability for an extra seven makes me feel a little fuzzy inside. If this deck performs well in someone else‘s hands, I may give it a try later. Then again, to feel fuzzy, one must have a heart, and someone asked me to do heartless, so next week I will discuss a version of a heartless deck.

Deck of the Week

Shannon Lindsey, April 30, 2012

With another new large set releasing officially Friday, and with some of the new cards already in our binders courtesy of the prerelease, this week I will dive into two different versions of the same deck that tends to rise to the surface early every time a new large set comes out. For those of you who are inexperienced, that deck is Red Deck Wins, or RDW for short

RDW (Creature Version)

Red deck is a different kind of aggro. RDW exploits red’s access to burn spells, which can function as either creature board control, or as damage. RDW is about using maximum efficiency to push an opponent’s life total to zero through any means available.

RDW (Creature)

Some Cards are universal in RDW

When building RDW, Half of the spells are universal to both versions due to their efficiency. Those five are: Stormblood Berserker, Goblin Arsonist, Goblin Fireslinger, Shrine of Burning Rage, and Galvanic Blast. The creatures all play nicely together, since not only do they fall 1 and 2 in the curve, but the two 1 drops have guaranteed damage on turn two, assuming they survive. This guaranteed damage means that the berserker is guaranteed to arrive with two +1/+1 counters, and a 3/3 who can only be blocked by two or more creatures for only two mana is definitely great value. Galvanic Blast is cheap, easy, and should always be included in a deck running red. As for the shrine, it gives a backup win condition if the deck stalls out. Even if you are unlucky enough to hit a land flood, an early shrine can still win you the game if it charges long enough. Also, in a pinch, it can be used to burn something that is protection from red, since it counts as a colorless source.

Koth and Hellrider are best friends

Hellrider is the go-to finisher of creature heavy RDW, because of his direct damage ability for attacking creatures. Koth’s first ability plays into this, giving an extra creature to Hellrider every turn.

Also, Koth can throw a powerfully good Bonfire (of the Damned)

Koth has two powerful and equally strong interactions with Bonfire. If Bonfire miracles, then Koth’s underused second ability can give you the mana to still cast spells in your turn, allowing your lands to all be tapped for the Bonfire, which clears the road for your creatures to swing through. The second possibility is using Koth’s ability to pump the extra mana into a Bonfire that may have been in the starting hand, giving it an almost as strong bang for its buck.

Wolf Run Wins

This deck splashes a small amount of green mana for sideboard enchantment hate and a flashback, so why not also use it WITH KOTH to make something really big and trampling, like maybe a Stromkirk Noble.

And now for part 2
RDW (Burn)

RDW burn is built around the idea of greater efficiency through extra burn spells that can’t be blocked like creatures can. It runs on a faster clock, only curving to 3 mana cards. As a result, it runs two fewer mountains than RDW (Creature) since Koth isn’t in this version to necessitate a higher mountain count.

RDW (Burn)

Eight Fewer Creatures

Of the sixteen creatures in this version of RDW, twelve of them come from the list of cards universal to the deck. The only exception in Chandra’s Phoenix, which is a 2/2 flying, haste for 3 mana. It also bears a special ability exploited perfectly by this deck. Every time one of your burn spells damages an opponent, it returns from your graveyard to your hand to be cast again. It just doesn’t stay dead.

Sixteen Burn Spells and a Shrine

The benefits of the shrine have already been discussed. The extra burn spells give this deck a fast edges, since they can be used to wipe swarms of creatures, or to knock your opponent’s life down directly. If they do kill one of your creatures, Brimstone Volley becomes even better against them. Thunderous Wrath is the real star of the burn spells. Most of the time, you will be able to miracle it, giving you a nice 5 for 1. Even if you don’t it is still a decent finisher if the game drags on and you have to cast it at 6.

I wager this will be good

Dangerous Wager is an awesome card for this deck. The biggest flaw with RDW is that it tends to run out of gas. Not anymore. The best time to cast this spell is on your opponent’s turn when the rest of your hand is gone. This way, you get an extra dip at a miracle Thunderous Wrath. Even if it comes as the second card, you should be more than half of the way to the six mana to cast it outright.

A Deeper look at the Sideboard

The use of Ancient Grudge and Naturalize against artifacts and enchantments should be obvious. Traitorous Blood is for creatures that are too big to burn. Instead you take them and use them against their owner. As for the refugee, well what if you face another RDW?

Where is Tibalt?

Romeo killed him. Seriously. Ok, the truth is his first ability’s at random discard is very bad for both of these decks that need to get maximum efficiency out of all their cards. He isn’t right for these decks.

Two Weeks of Red

Try these red decks and see if you like them. Next week I will be talking about red…say what?…