Man, this reminds me a silly Rock deck my friend and I made a long time ago when Shadowmoor was the current standard. I made a few changes once it cycled out to be an extended deck, which is why you may see some newer cards.
I dropped my Kiln Fiends because they didn't shine as much as my other cards. There were several scenarios for my opponent to block or bolt him away, and others where he just stayed a 1/2. It's good when it works, but I think Kargan Dragonlord would be better since he can be buffed all the time.
I also found Furnace Scamp to be baller. In fact, I won my last game by doing 12 damage with him and Teetering Peaks, sacced, and my Shrine with 6 counters. Spikeshot Elder'd have cost me 3 mana to do the same thing. There is more than enough burn to ensure Furnace scamp is always attacking. Not to mention I never ran into any problems with him having an opening.
I also decided Koth was a must and I'm going to get a playset of him before next Friday (especially because my shop is hosting a Jace race where the winner receives a play set of Jace, the Mind Sculptor). Doing what I do and playing RB opens up your sideboard to so many more options. Memoricide, Surgical Extraction, and Go for the Throat make once unwinnable matches winnable. Plus, it gives you access to Lavaclaw Reaches, which helped do a bit of extra damage to my opponent.
My decklist I feel is the most solid for competitive play is going to be:
The only difference I may make is running more Koth, but I want enough burn. I think my list plays enough finishers to make it viable. Kargan is a serious threat and can fly over prot red and fight Baneslayer, sleeping.
Spells 20
4 Koth the Hammer
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
4 Devastating Summons
This list actually looks really good. The only difference I would make is playing some extra burn over Devastating Summons, espcially Arc Trail (great card). Also, take out Tectonic Edge. Normally Kargan, Shrine, and Koth are big enough threats. This is a fast, powerful, and effective list. Good work
- The deck dies down too much. Maybe there should be some draw acceleration like Gitaxian Probe
- Shrine of Burning Rage is amazing
- I needed a better sideboard
Round 1: Mirror
I forget what the specifics were, but I ended up beating this guy 2-0
Record: 1-0
Round 2: Weird RGB control deck
I destroyed this deck 2-0 too
Record: 2-0
Round 3:
This was the hardest by far. He massacred me with all the Infect and kept buffing Inkmoth Nexus' with Tezzeret. Bad stuff. I was trampled
Record: 2-1
Round 4: Splinter Twin
Splinter Twin was silly. I tried to build up, but died by turn 4
Round 5: UB Infect
Won first game by turn 4, but he turned around and won a game. I eventually finished him off last game
Final Record: 3-2
All stars: Furnace Scamp was actually a huge all star. Most decks don't load the field with creatures, so he always has a perfect opportunity to attack them. In fact, my last match was won by Teetering Peaks, Furnace Scamp, and 6 counters on my Shrine
Shrine of Burning Rage: While I didn't draw it often, it was absolutely sick. It provides an insane amount of damage and kills prot red.
Lavaclaw Reaches: Amazing card. Provides me with some mid game threat, a blocker, and extra damage. Lots of the time I was drawing lands, but had 5-6 damage hits with my man land.
Disappointments: Kiln Fiend: This guy is good when he works, but I'd say 10% of the time I attacked with him as intended. He's either burned, blocked, or a 1/2. In fact, in the mirror I ran out of my hand and had a few turns of not playing spells, making him useless. I'm thinking raising some quantities, plated Geopede, or Goblin Bushwhacker might be a little better.
Forked Bolt: Mainly due to the fact I ran into zero mass aggro decks. It was just weak and sucked. Inquisition of Kozilek, Red Sun's Zenith, or Burst Lightning would be a lot better here.
This should be a bit better. My sideboard was janky, so no surgical extraction, since is ESSENTIAL against Splinter Twin, UW, and UB (If I could have removed Tezzeret my life would have been easier.)
Dismember, to me, is better than go for the Throat. It gets around indestructibility (but that isn't too much of an issue)
While I didn't have Inquisiton, there were far too many opportunities where I craved one. If only I could have removed UB's damn Necropedes and Phyrexian Crusaders.
I'm going to run the new sideboard and see how it goes. I forsee UB and Splinter Twin being the hardest combos.
I just wanted to keep everyone updated on my performance.
Inquisition of Kozilek is pretty much the best way to take care of prot red before it hits the field. In my previous tests, it shined against pretty much any deck. It removes Valakut's ramp cards, Swords, Phyrexian Crusader, Tumble Magnets, counters, removal, etc. I had matches where my opponent had a Stoneforge Mystic and I removed it, so they were forced to have nothing to fight with in that hand.
I had a silly idea of playing Gitaxian Probe. The only problem now is that I don't have enough 1 drop burn spells (replaced it with my Forked Bolts). What does everyone else think?
I agree with geopede, its not as useful as it was in previous meta, although I think kiln fiend is slightly worse because it dies to any 2 power blocker.
For SB choices i'd go with
Caw Blade: Manic Vandal, Dismember, Combust
Splinter Twin: Dismember, Combust, Spellskite, Act of Agression
RB Vamps: Arc Trail, Dismember
Ctrl Variants: Dismember, Act of Agression, Obsidian Fireheart, Urabrask
Valakult: Act of Agression, Dismember,
Mirror: Win the Die Roll.
The argument that "it dies to removal/blockers" is tired. There is enough burn in the deck to take care of any blockers; Searing Blaze, Lightning Bolt, Arc Trail, Staggershock, etc. Ontop of it, it can become huge (I've had 10/2 Kiln Fiends). Run Smoldering Spires and you
should have no problem
You're forgetting there is a new all red card with prot red that might prove useful against the mirror and several other decks.
I noticed you're only running 3 Shrines, with all those 1cc red spells I'd suggest you up the number to 4 - Shrine of Burning Rage is just Awesome! I just love the look on a ctrl opponent's face if I have 2 shrines in play with both 8 & 9 counters on turn 6 with 6 lands untapped and ready to fire. True Story.
I just suggested upping your black land sources to at least 10 if you're deciding to add duress effects to your SB. But Cliffs is better than Summit IMHO.
I think Inquisition of Kozilek would just be a house. It pretty much gets rid of anything that could be played by turn 3. This is especially important for UW Cawblade that has equipments, Squadron Hawks, and Stoneforge Mystic. It also gets rid of early removal, counters, and early threats. Playing black and NOT playing that would almost be stupid. I would probably remove my 4 Forked Bolts for it, since they're good, but not essential. I could do Staggershock, though.
Funny thing is, my meta game is really varied. Most of the time there isn't a common deck people play. Therefore I just play for what I think my weakness is.
I need to see if I can get ahold of 4 Inquisitions before Friday.
As far as Summit, sometimes it comes in handy. I run enough mountains where I almost never run into hands full of CIPT lands, but it can happen. Sometimes it upsets me having to have a blackcleave cliffs tapped after my 3rd land, but it's better than dealing with a Summit in my opening hand. With Teetering Peaks and Lavaclaw Reaches it really becomes too much. Speaking of which, Lavaclaw Reaches has been good. Not like, "omg this is the best card ever," but it definitely adds more burst to a deck that burns out after turn 4 or 5.
I would play 4 Shrine, but I don't want to fill my opening hand with them. Usually 3 is not too many, but having 3 out at one time would be funny. I really think that's one of the best cards for this deck since it can kill anything (even Emrakul). It's a colorless spell and gets around all protection. It just adds a constant threat that has to be dealt with.
Let me see if I can remember it:
4 Nightsky Mimic
4 Doran, the Siege Tower
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Nip Gwyllion
3 Restless Apparition
2 Teysa, Orzhov Scion
4 Path to Exile
4 Edge of the Divinity
2 Nameless Inversion
3 Brave the Elements
Planeswalkers:
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Murmuring Bosk
2 Treetop Village
4 Reflecting Pool
4 Marsh Flats
I realize it's probably not competitive, but I may try to reassemble it for kicks and see how it goes.
4 Stormblood Berserker
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Stormkirk Noble
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Furnace Scamp
Spells: 17
4 Volt Charge
3 Galvanic Blast
2 Arc Trail
2 Incinerate
4 Gut Shot
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
Planeswalkers: 2
2 Koth of the Hammer
Lands: 21
4 Copperline Gorge
2 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Rootbound Crag
14 Mountain
4 Dismember
2 Arc Trail
4 Vulshock Refugee
3 Ancient Grudge
2 Traitorous Blood
Goblin Grenade seems kind of neat, though.
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Doran, the Siege Tower
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Treefolk Harbinger
4 Thoughtseize
4 Path to Exile
Equipment:
1 Behemoth Sledge
1 Basilisk Collar
Planeswalkers:
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Stirring Wildwood
4 Murmuring Bosk
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Forest
2 Swamp
3 Plains
1 Kabira Crossroads
I also found Furnace Scamp to be baller. In fact, I won my last game by doing 12 damage with him and Teetering Peaks, sacced, and my Shrine with 6 counters. Spikeshot Elder'd have cost me 3 mana to do the same thing. There is more than enough burn to ensure Furnace scamp is always attacking. Not to mention I never ran into any problems with him having an opening.
My new creature base is:
4 Furnace Scamp
4 Ember Hauler
4 Kargan Dragonlord
I also decided Koth was a must and I'm going to get a playset of him before next Friday (especially because my shop is hosting a Jace race where the winner receives a play set of Jace, the Mind Sculptor). Doing what I do and playing RB opens up your sideboard to so many more options. Memoricide, Surgical Extraction, and Go for the Throat make once unwinnable matches winnable. Plus, it gives you access to Lavaclaw Reaches, which helped do a bit of extra damage to my opponent.
My decklist I feel is the most solid for competitive play is going to be:
4 Goblin Guide
4 Furnace Scamp
4 Ember Hauler
4 Kargan Dragonlord
Spells: 14
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Arc Trail
4 Searing Blaze
2 Staggershock
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
Planeswalkers: 2
2 Koth of the Hammer
Lands: 24
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Teetering Peaks
2 Lavaclaw Reaches
14 Mountain
4 Go for the Throat
3 Memoricide
2 Manic Vandal
4 Forked Bolt
2 Tumble Magnet
The only difference I may make is running more Koth, but I want enough burn. I think my list plays enough finishers to make it viable. Kargan is a serious threat and can fly over prot red and fight Baneslayer, sleeping.
This list actually looks really good. The only difference I would make is playing some extra burn over Devastating Summons, espcially Arc Trail (great card). Also, take out Tectonic Edge. Normally Kargan, Shrine, and Koth are big enough threats. This is a fast, powerful, and effective list. Good work
4 Squadron Hawk
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Sun Titan
Spells:
4 Preordain
4 Mana Leak
3 Condemn
2 Day of Judgment
2 Spell Pierce
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Batterskull
2 Tumble Magnet
Planeswalkers:
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Gideon Jura
Lands: 25
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Tectonic Edge
6 Island
5 Plains
2 Evolving Wilds
- The deck dies down too much. Maybe there should be some draw acceleration like Gitaxian Probe
- Shrine of Burning Rage is amazing
- I needed a better sideboard
Round 1: Mirror
I forget what the specifics were, but I ended up beating this guy 2-0
Record: 1-0
Round 2: Weird RGB control deck
I destroyed this deck 2-0 too
Record: 2-0
Round 3:
This was the hardest by far. He massacred me with all the Infect and kept buffing Inkmoth Nexus' with Tezzeret. Bad stuff. I was trampled
Record: 2-1
Round 4: Splinter Twin
Splinter Twin was silly. I tried to build up, but died by turn 4
Round 5: UB Infect
Won first game by turn 4, but he turned around and won a game. I eventually finished him off last game
Final Record: 3-2
All stars:
Furnace Scamp was actually a huge all star. Most decks don't load the field with creatures, so he always has a perfect opportunity to attack them. In fact, my last match was won by Teetering Peaks, Furnace Scamp, and 6 counters on my Shrine
Shrine of Burning Rage: While I didn't draw it often, it was absolutely sick. It provides an insane amount of damage and kills prot red.
Lavaclaw Reaches: Amazing card. Provides me with some mid game threat, a blocker, and extra damage. Lots of the time I was drawing lands, but had 5-6 damage hits with my man land.
Disappointments:
Kiln Fiend: This guy is good when he works, but I'd say 10% of the time I attacked with him as intended. He's either burned, blocked, or a 1/2. In fact, in the mirror I ran out of my hand and had a few turns of not playing spells, making him useless. I'm thinking raising some quantities, plated Geopede, or Goblin Bushwhacker might be a little better.
Forked Bolt: Mainly due to the fact I ran into zero mass aggro decks. It was just weak and sucked. Inquisition of Kozilek, Red Sun's Zenith, or Burst Lightning would be a lot better here.
Here are the following changes I'm considering:
- 4 Forked Bolt
- 4 Kiln Fiend
+ 4 Burst Lightning
+ 2 Kargan Dragonlord
+ 2 Ember Hauler
Kargan Dragonlord was good when he needed to be. He solves the problem of having no mid game card. However, I didn't play Koth.
Here is the improved list:
4 Goblin Guide
4 Furnace Scamp
4 Ember Hauler
2 Kargan Dragonlord
Spells:
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Searing Blaze
4 Arc Trail
2 Staggershock
2 Koth of the Hammer
Artifacts:
3 Shrine of Burning Rage
Lands:
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Teetering Peaks
2 Lavaclaw Reaches
15 Mountain
4 Surgical Extraction (Memoricide)
4 Dismember (go for the Throat)
3 Manic Vandal
4 Forked Bolt
This should be a bit better. My sideboard was janky, so no surgical extraction, since is ESSENTIAL against Splinter Twin, UW, and UB (If I could have removed Tezzeret my life would have been easier.)
Dismember, to me, is better than go for the Throat. It gets around indestructibility (but that isn't too much of an issue)
While I didn't have Inquisiton, there were far too many opportunities where I craved one. If only I could have removed UB's damn Necropedes and Phyrexian Crusaders.
I'm going to run the new sideboard and see how it goes. I forsee UB and Splinter Twin being the hardest combos.
I just wanted to keep everyone updated on my performance.
I might just play 4 Ember Hauler instead of the 2 Dragonlord.
4 Goblin Guide
2 Ember Hauler
4 Kiln Fiend
4 Furnace Scamp
2 Kargan Dragonlord
Spells:
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
4 Arc Trail
4 Inquisition of Kozilek (if I can't get ahold of them this will be forked Bolt)
2 Staggershock
3 Shrine of Burning Rage
Lands: 23
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Lavaclaw Reaches
4 Teetering Peaks
13 Mountain
2 Mark of Mutiny
4 Dismember
3 Vulshok Refugee
2 Manic Vandal
4 Forked Bolt (if I get ahold of Inquisition)
Inquisition of Kozilek is pretty much the best way to take care of prot red before it hits the field. In my previous tests, it shined against pretty much any deck. It removes Valakut's ramp cards, Swords, Phyrexian Crusader, Tumble Magnets, counters, removal, etc. I had matches where my opponent had a Stoneforge Mystic and I removed it, so they were forced to have nothing to fight with in that hand.
The argument that "it dies to removal/blockers" is tired. There is enough burn in the deck to take care of any blockers; Searing Blaze, Lightning Bolt, Arc Trail, Staggershock, etc. Ontop of it, it can become huge (I've had 10/2 Kiln Fiends). Run Smoldering Spires and you
should have no problem
You're forgetting there is a new all red card with prot red that might prove useful against the mirror and several other decks.
I think Inquisition of Kozilek would just be a house. It pretty much gets rid of anything that could be played by turn 3. This is especially important for UW Cawblade that has equipments, Squadron Hawks, and Stoneforge Mystic. It also gets rid of early removal, counters, and early threats. Playing black and NOT playing that would almost be stupid. I would probably remove my 4 Forked Bolts for it, since they're good, but not essential. I could do Staggershock, though.
Funny thing is, my meta game is really varied. Most of the time there isn't a common deck people play. Therefore I just play for what I think my weakness is.
I need to see if I can get ahold of 4 Inquisitions before Friday.
As far as Summit, sometimes it comes in handy. I run enough mountains where I almost never run into hands full of CIPT lands, but it can happen. Sometimes it upsets me having to have a blackcleave cliffs tapped after my 3rd land, but it's better than dealing with a Summit in my opening hand. With Teetering Peaks and Lavaclaw Reaches it really becomes too much. Speaking of which, Lavaclaw Reaches has been good. Not like, "omg this is the best card ever," but it definitely adds more burst to a deck that burns out after turn 4 or 5.
I would play 4 Shrine, but I don't want to fill my opening hand with them. Usually 3 is not too many, but having 3 out at one time would be funny. I really think that's one of the best cards for this deck since it can kill anything (even Emrakul). It's a colorless spell and gets around all protection. It just adds a constant threat that has to be dealt with.