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| Osion |
![]() Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 10:43 pm |
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Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 62
Location: MD
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--- description ---
Death, and quickly please -- B/R Aggro through fear and burn. A deck on par with Zoo speed.
--- end description ---
Hey, it’s the end of April already? I haven’t been here for a long while, primarily due to high school standardized testing from hell. Now on the eve of my AP tests week, I’ve decided to take a relaxer gameplan -- coming up with a better R/B decklist than Grail  right before I school him on the AP Calc C test.
Carnarium
R/D Standard Aggro deck
9 Mountain
9 Swamp
4 Blood Crypt
4 Frenzied Goblin
4 Nezumi Cutthroat
4 Dark Confidant
4 Rakdos Guildmage
4 Squealing Devil
4 Flames of the Blood Hand
4 Lava Spike
4 Seal of Fire
2 Soulblast
4 Umezawa’s Jitte
Sideboard
4 Shock
4 Wrecking Ball
4 Giant Solifuge
3 Blood Moon
This deck what happens when White Weenies come to battle wearing black trenchcoats and body piercings and thrash-metal T-shirts. This deck is pure aggression, ready to jump in your opponent’s face and smash him down in 2-point increments.
Oh, by the way -- my definition of aggro is:
Aggro (noun, adj.):
1. "There are wrong answers, but there are no wrong threats"
2. "I’m the beatdown"
3. "Swing for 2"
(see sub-clauses 1. What the hell is blocking? 2. Umezawa’s Jitte)
Hopefully Magic vets will recognize the legendary strategy articles I just referenced. For those of you that are still there, here is a brief synopsis of how this deck works:
1. Establish a one or two land manabase
2. Play as many threats as fast as possible
3. Use Dark Confidant to recoup your cards
4. Burn your opponent for the win
This deck comes out fast -- analysis below:
1. Lands -- Not a problem here. None of your cards cost double of a color, except Soulblast, but you’ll be playing that lategame anyway. Find 2 lands as fast as possible, and don’t mind paying a little life to get both colors - games will end fast, for better or worse.
2. Creatures -- All of your creatures cost 2 or less. This means that the deck will hit the ground running and dogpile threats that either can’t be blocked, or gets you more threats in return. This also means that you have no 3-drop, making the 3rd turn an ideal Flames of the Blood Hand or tapped Blood Crypt turn.
Frenzied Goblin is able to clear away blockers and prevent any opposition your fear guys will get.
Nezumi Cutthroat is a fast and aggressive beater, as well as a good carrier for Jitte.
Dark Confidant sacrifices some of you life to double your resources.
Rakdos Guildmage is an efficient 2/2 that can convert your excess mana into more aggression. Because you’ll be curving out however, you’ll rarely use his abilities more than once or twice.
Squealing Devil is Cutthroat but can make one of your fear guys into a 6+ power monster.
3. Spells -- The word here is burn. With creatures with 3+ toughness running standard, your best bet is to target the easiest hit marker- your opponent’s head
Seal of Fire can deal with opposing BoPs or Bobs as well as complicate your opponent’s combat math. It is a versatile rattlesnake, warding off threats and striking when needed.
Flames of the Blood Hand is efficient burn that can negate the advantage of an opponent’s Loxodon Heirarch or Faith’s Fetters. It can only target players, but the damage-mana cost ratio is in your favor.
Lava Spike is 3 to the dome for 1 red mana. ’nuff said.
Soulblast is the unique tech in this deck. Get your opponent low enough and then suicide burn him to death. It is the definition of the word finisher -- you either cook them in one shot, or you’re dead.
4. Other -- This is the simplest category. Umezawa’s Jitte. At best, aggro definer. At worst, Jitte Killer
The primary reason this deck exists is because of its speed -- no need to get the resources needed to end with 4-drops like Rakdos Pit Dragon. Like the WW decks in Mirrodin-Kamigawa standard, you should be emptied of cards by turn 4’s end. This deck requires full committment of resources - a risky manuever, but tell me when suicidal tactics aren’t risky. Use the Jitte as a 4-drop to max out your curve.
Matchups
Zoo/ RGW variant -- The key here is who draws first, and who draws better. The average Gruul deck damage chain (damage dealt per turn) is (0)-(2)-(2/5)-(2/5/9)-and so on. Given such a trend, an average Gruul burn-light build can deal 20 damage against opposition in roughly 6-7 turns. A match with Zoo will see little blocking on either side. Your deck is more burn-heavy, and has an easier manabase, so in a topdecking war you will have an advantage. The real downside is if they draw multiple copies of lightning helix. Blood Moon post-board will completely shut them down, however.
Ghost Dad -- This matchup will be heavily shunted against you if they manage to get Ghost Council and one or two other black creatures against you. Side in Shocks and Solifuges to ensure maximum damage deliverance.
Owling Mine -- Watch for getting Bob and Howling Mine in play at the same time. Dump your hand, playing burn first to dodge tapping and bouncing tricks. If you can avoid the key card Exhaustion, which gives life to Owling Mine, your aggression will overrun what defence they can deliver.
Rakdos Hellbent -- Grail’s deck, though full of threats that would trounce the small creatures that this deck employs, has the big guns coming out one at a time after turn 2. His deck will spend a creature a turn, like Augermage (3 cost), Rakdos Pit Dragon (4 cost), Demon’s Jester (4 cost) by which time you will be able to play 2 creatures a turn. Come turn 5, when Grail’s big threats are deployed and he is ready to Delirium Skeins, your board will already be committed and your hand empty. by then you’ll probably realize that getting several fast creatures to attack for 2 each is more reliable than slowly getting a big creature to attack for 3 double strike.
This deck offers a variation of the B/R theme - death, and quickly please. |
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| La_Sin_Grail |
![]() Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 3:35 pm |
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Joined: 14 Aug 2005
Posts: 806
Location: Maryland
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Let me say a few good things first:
1) Hurray for somebody writing an article!
2) Hurray for you coming back, Osion!
3) Very good ideas.
A couple issues, though.
You dismisununderestimate the power of Gruul. I’ve seen them get a turn five kill (kird ape, mauler, shaman, cloak/char/anything else) a number of times against some reasonable decks. If you don’t block, as you claim, there is no way way it’ll take them seven turns.
Ghost Dad OWNS fuges. No really, a ravenous rats against solifuge and they win because you discarded and they used two less mana.
In general- you are the one who first explained the three damage per card rule, and you’re not following it. In the Zoo to which you alluded, Chars and flames of the blood hand allow enough damge.
Also, you rely a lot on fear, which won’t save you against many decks except Gruul/Zoo as far as agro in concerned- Ghost Dad, the new Husk decks, and and good old school orzhov agro will all have black.
Anything in here anti-pyroclasm?
Could you add in uses for your sideboard cards? I noticed they didn’t get placed in any matchups except Orzhov...
As far as against my deck goes, I think you should playtest against me playing it before claiming victory. Keep in mind that augermage kills anything it touches from your deck with ease, and in response to soulblast I can kill your creatures with shock or seal of fire- you have nothing big enough to withstand the burn. Also, if you have an empty hand turn five, you don’t have soulblast, so how do you play to finish me?
My strategy which I’ve not tested yet, but I’d like to playtest against you *hint hint* is burn of fear creatures. Use shocks and seals of fire when you swing. Then, I can take my time and not bother with skeins, when I can instead play things like Rakdos pit Dragon, which with hellbent you simply cannot kill. No, seriously. The only answer you have is to try and fear over, which doesn’t work or out weenie me, which shocks and seals slow. I don’t think your deck has the power to deal with creature removal as fast as one mana instant for any creature of yours I want.
Jitte I didn’t use because it’s slow- if you 1)weenie, 2)play jitte, 3)equip swing and I shock your creature before damage is stacked, you’re left with no creatures and no jitte counters entering turn four. Looks mighty nice compared to a fresh Rakdos Pit Dragon, now doesn’t it?
P.S. I’m curious to know what a "Demon’s Jester" is, especially since you think I have one in my deck...
EDIT: I won’t rate until we playtest. If I think you actually can beat my deck, you get bonus score for having a better deck. If not, you get minus for saying you could beat me when we all know I pwn  Just gimme a buzz or jump on IM or something. |
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| Cobra |
![]() Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 2:10 am |
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Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 1202
Location: Austin, TX, USA
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| Looks good Osion, and welcome back! Hope to see more of you, during the summer at least... |
| http://cobracards.com -- Web's best deals on Trading Card Games. |
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| Osion |
![]() Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 9:01 pm |
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Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 62
Location: MD
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Thanks for the welcoming words. It is good to be back.
To Grail--
Not blocking vs. Zoo will not kill me because I have Jittte. If they curve out for the 5-turn massacre like you said, they most likely do not have Jitte-hate in their hand. Jitte will save me for a few turns.
Post-board, Zoo is a non-factor because Blood Moon kills their manabase.
Fear is a valued commodity, because it is excellent against the *best* deck in the metagame - the Zoo. It is also killer against Wildfire, Owl, and URtron
Yes, Ghost Dad can crush my fuges and fear, but I disregard this slightly, because
1. I think Ghost Dad was blown way out of porportion. Sure, it got 22nd place at Hawaii, and won a few MODO 8-man tournaments, but it is too overhyped - it is a good deck for players with high playing skill, and even then not the best choice as it loses frequently to Owling Mine and Zoo.
2. If I’m playing suicide burn against a delay deck with Shining Shoal, the chances for me aren’t great anyway.
V.S. Pyroclasm -- because of the power of Watchwolf, Kird Ape, ad other X/3 creatures running standard, Pyroclasm has largely fallen out of favor -- if you look at it, only UR tron maindecks it anymore, and its even dropped out of sideboards. |
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| La_Sin_Grail |
![]() Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 10:09 pm |
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Joined: 14 Aug 2005
Posts: 806
Location: Maryland
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Yes, I agree, Pyroclasm had fallen out of general playing. But from what I’ve been seeing on magicthegathering.com as well as MOTL, it seems clasms are regaining a spot in sideboards because of the amazing number of Orzhov decks beating Gruul of late. Also, in true gruul beats (like Heezy Street), pyroclasm is a powerful counter because of the dryad sophisticates and the frenzied goblins etc.
That jitte thing may possibly work game one... but they’ll side in jitte if it isn’t maindeck. What happens when you have no answer for theirs? I know mine (my G/R/W beats that Justin is taking to JSS next sat) is playing four copies of jitte maindeck to try and eliminate chumps (and make me win the mirror).
Here’s the worst thing you can ever do. Do not EVER, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES count out zoo because of blood moon. Even in my dual heavy Zoo deck, I’ll Still have hound and watchwolf first two turns, and all I’ll need is one forest (of which I have plenty) for a shaman or kird ape or mauler, all of which basically should add up to be enough. Also, I play jitte, which runs on colorless, with char and flames of the blood hand as finishers. I’m pretty sure blood moon will stop my slums, true, but that looks to be about it.
One other thing- Ghost Dad owns Zoo entirely. It’s the Zoo’s worst matchup. And the reason it looks like poor finishes is the many variants- Orzhov Agro, Ghost Dad, Hand in Hand, and there’s another Ghost something name I forget. If you combine all of those, you have some nice finishing positions.
I think as far as you are concerned, you should be focused on beating anti-agro and owling mine. If you can do that, having questionable Zoo and poor Orzhov can be counterbalanced. If you beat every owling mine, every wildfire, and every Firemane Control you see, you’ll still come out over 50%. |
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| r2d2quino |
![]() Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 1:41 pm |
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Joined: 29 Aug 2006
Posts: 49
Location:
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Blood Moon is simply not enough against Zoo. I think this is a rather poor building, even the hellbent budget deck from an Article on Wizards seems to be able to take it head on. The article had some nice entry lines, though.  |
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