Lucian_Devine

You do know that you can group up the rest of the cards like you grouped up your lands right? It makes it much less of an eyesore to look at, and maybe critique.

I agree, most of the top red decks that are even semi-competitive have Goblin Guides, Kuldotha Rebirth, and the like. Or am I wrong on my current take on standard RDW?

Thank you very much!

I don't see scenarios where I can actually afford to side out my 1 drops, especially against control. Because of how few mana producing lands the deck actually has, and since literally every mana producer dies to a Consume the Meek, DoJ, I really can't afford to play around it. The best strategy I've found to playing around them though, is just to go for 6 as fast as I can, especially since I took out the Vines of Vastwood. Once I get to six mana, I can afford to hold onto any extra mana producers I have, unless I'm going for infinite turns. That enables me to quickly recover from a wrath effect and pick up where I left off.

Alright, sideboard temporarily updated. It's still a work in progress, but here's the reasons. 1 Fog, still in there for the blitz agro matchups. 4 Nature's Claim's, still there for any and all versions of Quest for the Holy Relic/Argentum Armor. 3 Tectonic Edges for the Control matchup. Serves to give me more lands if they're killing creatures, or I can use them to keep them off Titan mana, or cripple them if they get stuck on 4. 3 Oracles, also for the control matchup, when I don't necessarily have to explode on turn 3. 4 Mul Daya Channelers, for playtesting against the blitz agro decks. If I flip a creature, they're out of removal range, not counting Doom Blade or Journey, which I couldn't stop either way.

I Was actually thinking about them, most especially for the control matchup. I'm not sure if I'd use them in the main deck though. They are basically a lightning rod. In the control matchup though, when I don't necessarily have to go off as fast, they might certainly be effective. As it was, I was actually toying between them and the Mul Daya Channelers. The Channelers would be in the board for the agro matchup. If you look down the main list, there's only 9 spells. If I can drop a turn 2 Channeler and reveal a creature, it can help hold off the Goblin Guides, lol. a 5/5 on turn 2 has that effect.

I have certainly considered them, but I find them to be better in the agro builds than a build like this. Untapping my Archdruids and other mana producers is certainly relevant, but in most cases, a main phase trap from my deck is a mistake, especially in sideboarded games. Dropping a second main phase Titan can certainly help a lot, but all of this is basically dependent on both my Archduirds and the scout being alive. I've found that assuming my creatures are going to be alive is generally a mistake. I hope they do, and when they do, it's definitely a bonus, but with all the creature removal out there, most of which is targeted at the Archdruids themselves, it's very hard for me to imagine scenarios where I am either alive long enough to pull it off, or the two pieces are alive together.

I understand that this comment seems contradictory to other comments I've made to people, but the reality is this. I have 16 mana producers, because I assume that some of them are going to die, lol. I don't want them to, but that's just the reality. If they make the mistake of letting the turn 2 Archdruid live, or if they just don't have the removal, the game could very well be over before it begins. Most games that I've played lately involve some combination of land and elves/defenders to produce the 6 or more that I need.

My key problem with the Scout, is that if I assume my Archdruid isn't going to live, I'll be casting the 6 drop either at the end of their turn, or during my first main phase, or possibly second, depending on how I want them to block. I agree that casting 2 six drops in the same turn can be good, but in most cases I don't want to be seeing that many in my hand until at least the mid game.

I hope all of this makes sense, lol. If not, point out any other confusions, and I'll give it another go.

Thank you very much. My sideboard is about to go through an overhaul, but we'll see. I'll take a look at your mill deck, see if I can't help ya with something or another.

It looks pretty good. I've said before though, that the best way to know for sure, is to just throw it together and give it some playtesting, lol. No setup will ever be truly perfect in every metagame. Just need to know what's around you, plan for it, and see how it works out.

I don't think you should add more Tunnelers. They do potentially help you win, but their not the actual win condition card. You would rather draw your Seers, your Bloodthrone Vampires, or your blades. You don't want to draw up the opening hand that has 2 or more Tunnelers with no blade or Bloodthrone.

Memoricide can certainly slow this deck up. Just 1 of them won't guarantee the win, especially if they are on the play and manage to drop a Titan on their turn 3 or 4. If they stall though, get to six on their turn four, or later, the Memoricide can strip them from the deck, potentially giving you the time you need. The way the fatties are worked out, it takes no less than 3 Memoricides and/or Sadistic Sacrament to strip them all from the deck. The game is still winnable from that point though, lol, but we're on plan C. Elf and/or Garruk beat down!

I checked out your deck. It's an interesting build to be sure. Mine is build for standard, so I don't have the pipers and the lurking predators. My question for you though, how quickly do you find yourself casting your Eldrazi, and have you thought about Summoning Trap?

An interesting deck to be sure, lol. I don't know if it would actually work, but it's certainly interesting.

Blade of the Blood Chief might be a card to consider. It lets you use your combo and sac engine to buff any creature, not just a bloodthrone. Even put on something as modest as a Viscera Seer can get out of hand quite quickly, especially once they start chump blocking, lol.

I have thought about it, but I think I declined it in general for a couple of reasons. For starters, I'd have to do it for at least 6 to get any real and optimum use out of it. If I X for any less than that, I risk missing a Titan, not even counting an Eldrazi. My spells, though fog isn't always relevant, all have their uses, with the possible exception of said fogs versus something like the near creatureless U/B control decks. I'd rather see a trap than a Genesis Wave any day. To even hit an Elfish Archdruid, I'd have to X for 3, aka six mana, which is when I should be casting titans and traps, going for the win, as opposed to X for 3, hoping, praying, and building up board position.

All very good questions. I'll start from the beginning. I have playtested with the Joraga Treespeakers, and my problem with them is this. Turn 1 land+Joraga Treespeaker, turn 2, Land+level the Treespeaker, in response, Lightning Bolt, Doom Blade, etc...If this happens, I walk into turn 3 with 2 lands and no creatures. If the Treespeaker resolves and doesn't die, it's good, but if it dies, which it is more prone to than than the Llanowar's and Arbor's, then it's just bleh.

As for the Garruk's, you'd be surprised what else it can do. It can provide me a blocker if I desperately need one, but it can also make it that much easier for me to hard cast my eldrazi later in the game. I can tap 2 temples for 4 eldrazi mana, use Garruk to untap them and retap them, thus giving me 8 eldrazi mana off 4 lands. Used in this fashion, he effectively counts as 4 forests. The overrun is also useful, if I happen to be on the elf agro plan, but that doesn't happen as often as some might think. I'll pick away at them with elves when I have to, but I'd rather cast the bigger threats if I can.

As for the Naturalize over Nature's Claim, that's just a question of how much mana I want to be obligated to leave up, most especially against quest. If I have 7 mana, I can cast a titan, or leave up trap mana, while still being able to Nature's Claim. The difference of one mana is a big one when you're dealing with the most expensive creatures in magic.

As for Plummets, those are kind of up for debate. Their really only there for the occasional Linvala or Baneslayer Angel. I can outrace Baneslayer sometimes, but Linvala pretty much shuts me down cold.

Since people keep wanting me to alter my fatties, I'm going to explain each of their places, and why certain other ones either don't work, or are sideboard cards.

4 Primeval Titans: Their place is obvious enough. If they even come into play, be it via trap or hard cast, their job is generally done. If they get to attack, all the better.

2x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn: These are of course the primary win condition, and primary Summoning Trap target. If I can hit him at either the end of their turn, or hard cast him, odds are likely that the game is over. There are 2 of them for 1 simple reason. If a game runs long enough, long being a relative term, I can set up an infinite turn scenario that just wins straight up.

2x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre: Not quite as good as Emrakul, in most cases, but generally good enough. It also has the ability to live through things like a Basilisk Collar on a Cunning Sparkmage. 2 of them for a similar reason as Emrakul. If I don't have the mana to go infinite, I can keep my opponent at bay with 1, or a constant barrage of them, blowing up permanents until they scoop.

1x Kozilek, Butcher of Truth: There has been dispute about this guy, and yes I get it. He can be Doom Bladed, isn't indestructible, and doesn't have protection from colored spells. Drawing 4 cards however, can't be quite relevent, as can the hard casting of him as early as turn 4. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, the game just ends. Similar to Ulamog, if I don't quite have the mana to get either of the other 2, fetching up and casting him can have it's advantages.

Wurmcoil Engine: This is a good creature, but it's more of a sideboard for what my deck does. It's a sideboard card because for the most part it's "just a fatty". It does prove useful against blitz decks, aka vampires, boros, kuldotha, and white weenie. He doesn't however do something right when he comes into play, as say the Primeval Titans, and he doesn't cause an instant scoop if trapped into at the end of my opponents turn, like any of the eldrazi

Terastodon: Another good creature that does have it's uses. Again, for my build though, it's more of a sideboard card. Blowing up noncreature permanents does have it's use, but it's the kind of card that I have absolutely no need for against control, because I am generally faster than control, and resistant to their counter spells. It would be used in situations similar to the Wurmcoil Engine.

While I'm listing the purposes of my fatties, I'm just going to list off the known flaws of my deck.

Blitz Agro: White weenie, vampires, kuldotha, and boros. If any of these decks are on the play against me, and get a good hand, there could be little my deck could do to stop them, even with fogs and battlements. These scenarios are basically a race in game 1. Sideboard games have me looking for any necessary answers, aka Nature's Claim for quest decks, my 4th fog, and any alternate fatties that I'm currently kicking around the thought process.

Mass Removal: This may seem like it causes a problem, but the situation is this. If they are killing everything I put on the board, but not putting me under any pressure, then I have the ability to just build up lands and hard cast my six drops. Pressure without control is the race, control without the pressure is just attrition, which my odds are generally good in, just because of my explosive mid-late game.

Control: This includes both U/B, and any of the tri colored decks. Any of the decks relying on blue for counters generally lose outright in 2 games. If they make the mistake of countering a creature early in game 1, it can lead to a trap that ends the game out right. Game 2, they know about the traps, and look for their removal, while trying to save counters for the traps. This lets more of my creatures resolve, makes them answer every creature to keep me off 6, thus rendering them generally unable to put necessary pressure on me, usually leading to either a fetched up and hard cast eldrazi, or a titan.

Feel free to tear this apart as you see fit, but I just figured I would let you all know where I'm coming from on my main deck decisions, and let you go from there.

Is either too slow, or not needed.

I don't know if you'd need removal or not. The question you'd have to ask yourself, is how quickly do you consistently go off? If you play 10 games, what is the average turn in which you get your first fatty into play?

You're right. It'll work for most any other creature though, any creature that actually hits the graveyard, however briefly.

As you mentioned before, your deck is relatively linear in that it's dependent on your graveyard. About the only strategies that would cause you any problem at all, only cards that can exile your graveyard. Instant speed removal, aka Doom Blade can also give you problems, since you can only go off at sorcery speed. It's for that reason that I might recommend Emrakul or Ulamog in the deck, if you can get your hands on them. Immune to Doom Blade is very relevant in most meta-games, lol, casual or otherwise.