Posts Tagged ‘mono red’
This week in Magic: Brewing for a new Standard
Friday, July 17th, 2015
Welcome back for another “This week in Magic.” Origins has finally hit the shelves and people are probably scrambling to get their playsets so they can start playing the new Standard. Wait! What is the new Standard? Do you have any idea what to play yet? No one really knows. Right now, people are packing four copies of a card they thought looked cool during the previews, shrugging their shoulders and heading straight into battle. Do they have any idea if their plan will work? Probably not.
This week, we’re going to play it safe. We’re going to play a deck that will always work week one of a new set. Can you guess what deck that is? Of course! Mono Red! It’s almost as if this color was destined to be the week one color while everyone else tries to figure out what they’re going to do.
What is it about this deck that makes it a great choice for week one? Easy, this deck is simple. When I say “simple,” I’m referring to it’s construction. Mono Red always tends to be a straight-forward build. However, like many decks, it can prove to be a different scene when trying to play it. Over time, your opponents will figure it out the game plan. It’s your job, if you choose to continue playing the deck, to adapt to the changes.
Let’s take a look at a sample deck list:
Mono Red Origins
4x Foundry Street Denizen
4x Goblin Piledriver
4x Goblin Rabblemaster
4x Wild Slash
4x Lightning Strike
4x Exquisite Firecraft
4x Stoke the Flames
4x Hordeling Outburst
4x Dragon Fodder
4x Call of the Full Moon
20x Mountain
Look at this terrible pile. I cannot wait to see the look on my opponent’s face when I beat them with a deck like this. Of course, I know I have to get there first. When I do, I’ll make sure to take a photo when it happens. Let me explain what we’re trying to accomplish here.
Foundry Street Denizen is a really silly creature. Combine it with a spell like Hordeling Outburst, and things get out of hand really fast. It has amazing synergy as well with Goblin Piledriver and Goblin Rabblemaster. Speaking of which, these two go hand-in-hand as well. All three pretty much form the Holy Trinity for you religious folk out there; for everyone else, think of it as the “Flying ‘V’” from “The Mighty Ducks.” As long as this pack lives, you’ve got a real good shot of making your opponent cry.
With our spells, we’re trying to be blunt. We curve out at one, two, three, and four mana burn spells; two of which can deal four damage each. Exquisite Firecraft is the newest addition here, and it’s a welcomed sight. I feel with the current setup, achieving Spell Mastery should not be a problem, thus meaning that Exquisite Firecraft should be an uncounterable spell a majority of the time you’re casting it.
Okay, I’m sure you’ve been wondering about the next card I’m going to talk about. In the past couple of years, there have been a number of Red enchantments that, when enchanting a creature, sends a punch to your opponent’s gut. I feel this is one of those spells. Just like Volcanic Strength, Goblin War Paint, and Hammerhand, Call of the Full Moon is going to end games really fast, especially if you attach it to any of the non-token goblins that we’re playing with in the deck. This card allows the creatures we have to do the one thing they will have trouble with – getting through those darn chump blockers.
Let’s face it, there is no point to having a really big creature if a little 1/1 can block it all day. That’s where Call of the Full Moon comes into play. First of all, it’s a cheap spell. Assuming you’ve played a turn one Denizen, on turn two, you’ll be swinging with a 4/3 trampler who can get as big as a 7/3 with trample if you’re able to cast a Hordeling Outburst the following turn. Call of the Full Moon also really shines during the later parts of the match, but hopefully you’ll have won by then.
Unlike the previous enchantments that I mentioned, there is a downside to Call of the Full Moon. During each upkeep, it checks to see if any player cast more than two spells in one turn. If they did, you’re forced to sacrifice it. There are a few scenarios where I can see this happening, and in all of them you’ve already swung with your creature.
Now I’m sure by now you may have noticed that I’ve left a few creatures off of the list. I felt that this was a good start for now, and that we could collectively build further down the line. Honorable mentions go out to Monastery Swiftspear, Zurgo, and the newest version of Chandra. All three would do well in the deck, but may change the dynamics. You could also go creatureless and leave it up to the tokens to do your dirty work.
Well that’s it for this week. Let me know what you think of the deck, good or bad, in the comments below. Also, if you manage to give the deck a shot, I’d love to know what you thought. What changes would you make? Until next week…
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
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Tags: magic origins, Magic the Gathering, mono red, MTG, Simeon Cortezano, Standard
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This week in Magic: A GP Providence Primer
Friday, June 19th, 2015
Welcome back to another edition of “This week in Magic.” This weekend, GP Providence will be rolling into town. The format – Standard. So there is a good chance that if you’re reading this, then you’ll be going to the event. However, if you’re like me, there is a good chance you’re also undecided about which deck to play. Well, you’re in luck. Today, we’re going to go over what kind of a field you can expect. While I’m not attempting to define the meta that will be in Rhode Island, I will be going over the different kind of decks that exist out there.
Esper Dragons
First up is Esper Dragons. Esper dragons is the control deck of the Standard format. Typical deck lists will contain three to four Ojutai’s and probably two of the 3/7 version of Silumgar. That version is the best to go against token decks and gives Abzan the most trouble since it can block and kill almost everything in the deck and most of their kill spells become useless.
If the Esper player knows what’s best for them the deck will have a full package of Scorns. So be aware of what you’re throwing down turn two. If it’s something you can’t part ways with, then you better hold on to it until the path is clear.
So how do you play against this deck? Well, like many control decks, early aggro can give it problems. Having played Abzan Aggro against Esper, my gameplan was to make sure I had a turn one Warden ready to hit the board. Your chances of winning were better if you could play him turn one over any other play on turn two. That’s not to say playing either Rakshasa or a Fleecemane is any less of a play. Both are solid two drops in their own respects.
If you’re thinking of playing control, matchups like this will always be a nightmare and treating the clock like it’s your friend will help you out here. This war of attrition will surely test your patience. It all comes down to who can’t stand the game of “draw – go” and plays a spell first. Whatever you do, don’t give into temptation.
Mono Red
This deck just never seems to go away, and it never will. Red has always been the home to cheap and efficient spells. That’s why it will always be a contender and will always be something you have to keep an eye for.
I think one of the scariest creatures in this deck is Foundry Street Denizen. The potential for this guy to hit like a truck every turn is through the roof. Okay, maybe it’s not that high, but it’s high enough to be concerned about. Why? Thanks to other cheap creatures and spells like Hordling Outburst and Dragon Fodder, there is always a constant flow of little ugly men coming from your opponent.
After the Denizen, it feels like every other spell they cast can be a threat. Whether it kills you on your own or helps cast Stoke the Flames. From here, it all comes down to whether or not your opponent can count to 20.
I know I make it sound like it’s completely useless to play against the deck, but Red’s worst matchup are big creatures. So decks like Mono Green, GW Devotion, or Abzan Control will give it problems since they can drop early blockers. Oh, and one last piece of advice, don’t be afraid to block and trade with their creatures. The longer their creatures are on the board the more of threat they become to you.
Mono Green or GW Devotion
I know I come off as a guy who loves playing Mono Red, but I also love playing Mono Green. There is nothing better than flooding the battlefield with lots of fatties, especially if you can land them early in the game. As of right now, the sickest play Mono Green has is curving out into a turn one elf, turn two Raptor, into a turn three Surrak. Someone please pass me the salt.
Surprisingly, this deck also gives control a run for their money. The reason being is that control can only do so much against the deck. The key card here, and in a lot of matches, is Whisperwood Elemental. To have a constant engine churning out creatures is a problem for everyone. If you can’t deal with an early elemental then prepare yourself for a battle.
So how do we deal with this? As I said Whisperwood Elemental is a key card in this match up. Without it, the deck is very weak to board wipes. Therefore, spells like Crux or End Hostilities will make your opponent sad. If Whisperwood is on the board, make sure you find a way to remove it before casting your board wipe. Single removal spells like Downfall and Ultimate Price are still great to bring in more of, however, you only have so many copies of these removal spells. Another great answer to this deck is Deathmist Raptor. Which leads me into my last deck to be prepared for.
Abzan Control, Midrange, and Aggro
There is a reason the Abzan color scheme is one of the most popular, and that’s because it’s the most powerful. It just seems to have an answer for everything. This would also be my choice to bring if I were going to the GP. More specifically, I’d be piloting Abzan Megamorph.
With a balance of strong, self-efficient creatures and a strong removal package, Abzan feels like the complete package. If they haven’t already, many of the Abzan players have begun switching to the Den Protector and Deathmist Raptor package. I made the change last week having playing a couple week of Abzan Aggro already. At first I wasn’t sold on the whole idea. In fact, I thought the combo was just trying to be too “cute.” I have never been so wrong.
First of all, Deathmist Raptor on it’s own is just silly. A 3/3 for three mana, has deathtouch, and the ability to come back if you flip a morph creature. It’s unfair almost. Combine that with the ability of Den Protector who can bring other cards back from your graveyard and talk about some amazing card advantage. Although, the combo does have it’s downsides. It’s extremely mana greedy. To play a Den Protector and flip it the same turn takes at least five mana. So if you want to play a Den Protector, flip it, and cast an Ultimate price you’re looking at seven mana (eight mana if you want to Downfall). Did we forget to mention that you also need the right color combination for all your spells?
On that note, we’ll end things here fo the week. Just remember that no matter what deck you choose, get plenty of sleep, shower before the event, and wear a belt. See you all next week.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
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Tags: abzan, esper, gp providence, Magic the Gathering, mono green, mono red, MTG, Simeon Cortezano
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This week in Magic: Naya Burn for Modern
Thursday, April 23rd, 2015
Welcome back for another edition of “This week in Magic.” With Grand Prix Las Vegas quickly approaching, GPTs have sprung up in the area to help those going get their byes for what will be one of the most massively attended card tournaments ever (even more than World Series of Poker). I’ve even heard numbers as crazy as 10,000 people attending. This weekend, the Abington location will be hosting a Modern format GPT.
As you may all know by now I’ve been playing Mono Red for almost a year now in Modern and have had moderate success with it. However, since the introduction of Khans to the format, it has evolved from Mono Red, to what is now Naya Burn. I’m sure you can still play Mono Red, however, for this week’s discussion, we’re going to go over some of the reasons to play Naya Burn over Mono Red Burn.
In case you’ve been wondering, here is what I’ve been playing lately:
Main Board
4x Goblin Guide
4x Monastery Swiftspear
4x Eidolon of the Great Revel
2x Grim Lavamancer
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Lava Spike
3x Rift Bolt
2x Skullcrack
4x Boros Charm
4x Atarka’s Command
2x Lightning Helix
2x Shard Volley
2x Searing Blaze
3x Mountain
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Wooded Foothill
4x Bloodstained Mire
1x Stomping Ground
3x Sacred Foundry
Side Board:
3x Destructive Revelry
1x Lightning Helix
2x Path to Exile
2x Deflecting Palm
2x Skull Crack
3x Molten Rain
2x Kor Firewalker
Why play Naya over Mono Red?
One of the best additions to the deck has been Atarka’s Command. With the current creature package Burn plays with, this is one of the most back breaking spells in the deck. Imagine this, on turn one you play a fetch land, sac the land getting a Stomping Ground, play a Goblin Guide and swing for two damage. On your second turn you play another land, cast a Monastery Swiftspear, cast a Lava Spike triggering the Swiftspear’s prowess ability and attack with both creatures. By now you’ve done nine damage. One your third turn, with Atarka’s Command, the potential to kill your opponent is extremely high as opposed to not having the command.
Green also allows you to play Destructive Revelry. This card has really changed the way the deck plays and how other play against the deck post-board. While Leyline of Sanctity is still very painful to watch hit the battlefield against you, thanks to Destructive Revelry, it doesn’t mean an auto loss. The fact that Destructive Revelry has the ability to hit both artifacts and enchantments makes it more versatile than something like Smash to Smithereens.
White is provides even more reach thanks to spells like Path to Exile and Kor Firewalker for the mirror. The other week, I played against someone who was able to land a turn two Kor Firewalker against me. Needless to say, they weren’t happy when I play a Path on my following turn and then proceeded to win the match because of it. Path answers so many problems that conventional burn spells can’t. For example, Siege Rhino, a 4/5 which has been running rampant in the Modern format, is something that a Lightning Bolt can’t handle. However, a Path can answer it without any problem. Add to the fact that Path only costs one white to cast, and now Burn players can breath a sigh of relief.
Playing white in the main board means that Burn players can have access to better burn spells such a Boros Charm and Lightning Helix. Charm has easily replaces Flames of the Blood Hand as the better four damage burn spell thank to the fact that it only costs two mana to play. Lightning Helix’s ability to gain you life is such a big life swing it makes it worth playing. However, that’s all it has going for it. That’s why people tend to only play a couple copies of the spell as opposed to a full set of four. Gaining life is almost not worth the inconsistency the card adds to the deck thanks to the two colors needed.
For what it’s worth, I’d suggest playing the Naya Burn list over Mono Red because of the amount of options the colors open up for the player.
Who made the cut?
Of course with the introduction of a full playset of Atarka’s Command, we had to find room in the deck somewhere. It’s hard to tell, but some of the major cuts I’ve made have been to Rift Bolt, Searing Blaze, and Skull Crack. First of all, let’s start with why I made a cut to one of the best “one mana” spells in the deck.
First of all, it doesn’t cost one mana. It never has cost one mana. It will never cost one mana to cast. Unless it’s in your hand within the first couple of turns, Rift Bolt costs three mana to play. However, there are certain situations where the spell will costs you one mana late in the game, but at this point you’re so far in control is doesn’t matter. I felt that because it really doesn’t cost you one mana to cast that I could afford to cut one, but only one.
The next spell on my list was Skull Crack. I felt like having a full set of both seemed redundant, but thanks to the pumping effects of the the Command, it garnered enough attention to play a set. For now, I’ve split up the Skull Cracks with two in the main and two in the side. As for the side board. I’m uncertain about how much longer they will stay there. For now, I don’t mind them taking up slots. They help against the Spellskite plans people love to play against burn. Remember, Skull Crack can only hit another player. So activating a Spellskite doesn’t help. Well, it helps, but here it only helps the Burn player.
I needed to cut one more card to make room for the full set of Commands. Could I run three Commands? I could have, but it’s probably best that I run four. At this point, Shard Volley may have looked like an okay option, but I think some of you forget that it’s one of the best burn spells in the deck. However, because of it’s major setback of sacrificing a land, we can only sustain two copies of the spell. In the long run, I decided to cut a Searing Blaze. We all know my personal feelings for this card by now. Without Landfall, it is by far the worst burn spells in the deck. In fact, it’s the main reason we’re running an absurd amount of Fetchlands in the deck. Don’t get me wrong. I understand how great the card can be. It’s amazing against Collected Company, Infect, and other weenie aggro decks, but it’s one of the worst cards against some of the top tier decks in the game right now. Even worse, it has less of an impact on it’s own.
Well with that we’re going to leave things here and pick up next week. Tune in when we’ll touch upon the side board and our options for different matchups in the meta. Thanks for reading!
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
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Tags: burn, GP las vegas, GPT, Modern, mono red, naya burn, Simeon Cortezano
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