This is what I played for FNM:
[deck]Creatures 28
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
4 Ash Zealot
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Fanatic of Mogis
Burn 10
2 Shock
4 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Strike
Land 22
22 Mountain
Sideboard
2 Burning Earth
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Hammer of Purphoros
2 Act of Treason
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Flames of the Firebrand
4 Frostburn Weird[/deck]
I can already tell what you guys are thinking. No Mutavaults?
Rakdos Shred-Freak? What's with that mess of a sideboard?
Let me explain.
I started with Z's Pyromancer Red list, albeit with a few slight changes (his original list, by the way, is pretty much perfect). I love that list's resiliency and gas-drawing engine in the form of Chandra. I love the multiple, almost surgical, angles of attack.
Pyromancer Red is the “
thinking man's Mono Red deck.”
However, I wanted to hit harder.
Haste is also key right now. The faster decks are able to go beneath an opponent to take them out before the “bigger” player has time to wrestle control. Being able to win on turn 4 is really important. I wanted a deck that is able to do that and I really think Fanatic is the route to go.
However, following the Mogis leads down a weird path. The Pyromancer deck I built slowly morphed into a different animal trying to support the Fanatic. Numbers shifted, the manabase went from okay to suck, and then to feasible. Fanatic is a build-around card, much like Chandra is at times.
We are rewarded for our devotion.
Building around Fanatic lets us play some cool stuff that isn't able to work in Pyromancer Red. Boros Reckoner is the best he's ever been right now and probably the best he ever will be. One Reckoner on the field can force a player to 2-for-1 himself, but two of them is really troublesome.
And deadly. Because our Red Mana symbols count, he's an obvious include- he adds 3 to the dome damage from Mogis! We have other options in creatures too: Frostburn Weird and Rakdos Shred-Freak. Both are utility in that one is great in the Aggro match-ups and the other against Control and stumbling opponents. Since we want to be very aggressive early, Shred-Freak compliments Ash Zealot and Chandra's Phoenix in our haste department. Swapping Shred-Freak out for Frostburn Weird in the Aggro match-up (think Mono Red) is a straight, logical shot. And to an extent, so is swapping out Reckoner for the Weird in the Control match.
Bertorelli said in his article (I'd link, but I'm lazy.
) that he wished he'd had another 1-drop creature beside Rakdos Cackler to pressure U/W and Esper players. Obviously, he expressed disdain for Droppin Suga's magic card, Firecrotc- uh,
Firedrinker Satyr. Whatevs,
Berto. Jackal Pup is good pretty much always, and when are choices are limited to that and Foundry-Street Denizen, it's pretty much a no-brainer. Besides, killing hexproof plant with the Suga is just tits.
Adding these new aggressive, and high devotion, elements in order to build a lethal Mogis forced the Pyromancer Red deck I'd built to cut away its burn package. Bummer. Still, the package Berto was left with is pretty solid in its own right. If I remember correctly, one of zemanjaski's early Standard brews had a similar package, and to quote Z himself:
Shock is ALWAYS a meta call. It's a bad card unless its good haha.
Yep. Good enough for me.
So I had a robust, aggressive force of creatures to play while using Mogis as a “combo kill” when drawn. Burn package was good. In fact, it's amazing to
just be able to play Magma Jet at all.. Scry 2 is resonsbible for enabling me to win games seemingly "out of nowhere." Need a land to nail da Moges? Boom. Need a body? You found all land, but it's okay. Just shove them on the bottom! Magma Jet plays so nicely with Chandra, however, I was faced with a critical decision: send her to the board or force maindecking her. And as we all know, the best configuration is a 3/1 split of Chandra, Pyromaster and Hammer of Purphoros since they can pretty much work in tandem to win a game on their own. Don't believe me? Then you first need to read Z's Primer, sleeve up Young Peezy and Co. and test the hell out of that Pyromancer Red list. Then come back here because you want to play a quicker, heavy hitting deck with a “combo-win” feel.
And to stop for a second, the deck is almost like combo deck. Think about it! Your pieces are your
creatures. The Mogis is the trigger to pull it all off. And at the same time, you're also
forced to play Control in certain matches.
SO, you control the game the best you can with things like Boros Reckoner, Ash Zealot, Chandra's Phoenix, perform some tempo plays with your Burn, and do some good ole fashioned
combat math.
Then win with a Fanatic. It's like playing Splinter Twin in Modern.
Anyways, moving on. I put Baby in a corner by moving Thunder Thighs to the board. Her and her toy, the Hammer. She doesn't directly enable a combo win for me. She may win me the game for me in the long run, but I figure I'll just bring her in when the match calls for it. Which was all the time, actually. But more on that later. At the time, I just had a
powerful creature base and a solid Burn package and a manabase that needed tweaking.
I tried forcing Mutavault from the beginning. It went from 3 main, to 1, up to 2, and then to a full set. It's so good! But, I have a news flash for you, Walter
Cronkite: read Alex's article on Mutavault. Again, I'd link, but I'm lazy. But to summarize, and much like Thoughtseize, Mutavault is a very strong card but you can't just cram a set into any deck that can play it. Seriously. And Bertorelli knew that. I tried to force it. Even with just one, there was
always a chance I would have it in my hand during a critical moment when I most needed a Mountain. And in this deck, you absolutely have to have the mana for Reckoner. It's imperative. But what Bertorelli didn't have was Ham's guide to making better manabases, AKA some Geo-Hyper-Math Formula, or some other genius, math-related name. Whatever, ham's a genius and a sexy beast so he can call it what he wants. The point is: The deck needs at least 22 land. All Mountains. Red wins with consistency, right, folks? And don't forget: we're devoted to the Red Magics, brah.
Still with me? Okay, so you know now where my head was at when I played this list Friday. The board is a mess.
I know I still want Chandra, Hammer, Burning Earth, Frostburn Weird, and Act of Treason in my sideboard. That left me with 4 slots. Bertorelli's list had 4 Mortars, but he expressed wanting to play Flames of the Firebrand instead. I liked the feel of having a 2/2 split on Mortars/Flames that I could sub in for Firedrinker Satyr in the Aggro match-up on the draw. With that in mind, I shuffled up, guzzled down some Jameson, and went to town.
I don't want to bore you with meaningless details. I went undefeated. Granted, this is at the FNM local level, but I think now is the time to play this deck. Here's why:
Round 1 vs G/B Midrange: I played Fanatic in Game 1 for 10 after I aggro'd out with Shred-Freaks. He stabilized with critters and Desecration Demon, so I built “the Shield” with the Reckoning Crew. I played Mogis for lethal. I boarded in Chandra for Game 2, proceeded to draw
a bunch of extra cards, played some dudes, stole a Demon with Act of Treason, and finally won with a Fanatic exiled from Chandra's +0 ability.
Rounds 2 and 3 were against G/W and B/R Aggro, respectively. While each deck had their awesome strengths, either in powerful early game critters paired with a diverse removal package or under-costed fatties, they succumbed to the Anti-Aggro tech in every match-up. I overloaded my two Mortars twice in both matches. Chandra was also a key player in both games. She was an all-star, drawing me cards, clearing blockers, and ultimately kept me fueled for the duration.
Round 4 was against a Bad
Big Boros deck. Dude played Tajic and Aurelia with a horrible manabase. Mogis wrecked him for me Game 1. We play a longer Game 2, where I find out that he boarded in Assemble the Legion against me. Even though I won with a Fanatc for exactsies, I leaned two things:
One, the dude needs to read
and reread “Who's the Beatdown?”
Two, Playing a Fanatic is almost like following the etiquette for dick pageantry. And by that, I also mean dick-showing contests. Really, you don't want to humiliate the guy. You just want to win, so you do exactly that: show enough to in. That's all. Don't get fancy and try to whirl your dick around before left-to-right smacking him with a semi-chub. That's just wrong. Be decent about it and do what you got to do in a respectful manner. We're not cavemen here, goddammit! If you can lethal with a Mogis, then do it. Just don't get trick-nasty and try to be super spectacular. Just kill the guy and be done with it.
I concluded that, to the rest of the word, only 2 kinds of people are aware of Mogis tech: the super competitive players and Red Mages. For some reason, everybody was hungry to know what was in my list. Suddenly, everyone's talking around my LGS about how to beat the Mogis.
For the record, I ain't scared. I'm a devoted Red Mage. I play Red any
chance I get because I
love it. When people ask what I'm playing, I tell them. Mono Red. Beat me if you can, playa.
Anyways, when I think about tweaks for the next time, which is either next week's FNM or the TCG Player States, I may want to make a couple of changes.
Since I brought in Chandra during almost every match, I should probably main her. If I do that, I really think the only thing I can cut would be the Rakdos Shred-Freak. As much as I am to loathe cut him, I can see some logic in playing +1x Mountain, +2x Chandra, Pyromaster, and +1x Hammer of Purphoros. This opens up the Sideboard to more options.
Here's a theoretical list:
[deck]Creatures 24
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Ash Zealot
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Fanatic of Mogis
Good Stuff 3
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Hammer of Purphoros
Burn 10
2 Shock
4 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Strike
Land 23
23x Mountain
Sideboard
2 Burning Earth
4 Frostburn Weird
3 Act of
Treason
2Mizzium Mortars
2 Flames of the Firebrand
2 Skullcrack[/deck]
I only suggest Skullcrack in the board because, well, it does stop a potential life-gain situation from making the game unwinnable. Hello, Sphinx's Revelation? I mean, it's a solid upgrade from Shock in that match-up.
The deck may be a smidgeon slower, but the power level of Chandra is so good that she just cannot be ignored.
Plus, Hammer is a house during floods. Which, even with access to Magma Jet and Chandra, is still likely.
With what I've learned, this deck is a creature-laying machine that is rewarded with instant wins when your opponent can't remove all your pieces. And even if they do, your creatures are strong enough when ripped off the topdeck to be considered menaces that can't be ignored. This deck applies pressure and cannot be left alone to its own devices. It will win. It has inevitability with Mogis.
Tell me what you think, guys. I need feedback. What can I change in my deck? In my sideboard?
Tell me. Give it to me straight, doc. I need to take off heads at States. Dpaine, talk to me brutha – what insight have you gleaned from frolicking with the Fanatic? Johnny Spike, do you think this list is such an improvement that you would play it again? FoS, let me hear you opinions.
And put your fucking hand in the air. Make some fucking noise for the Mogis. Without him, we wouldn't have so many sweet choices right now.
*Also, budget talk: Does my FNM maindeck exceed 80 Dollars? Shit, don't count my foils, but look it over. It's not a lot of rares.
Which makes me think of something else.
If this deck is so affordable and high profile, you MUST expect to see it. So if my post doesn't convince you to play this deck, then I pray to the gods that this will prepare you for your eventual game with this beast. Know your enemy. Then crush him.
And knowing
if half the battle!
Thanks for reading this ramble.
Tl;Dr – Khaospawn is fucking awesome.
Control 
be better?
