All-In Red

[zemanjaski]

I think you want at least 8 x 2 power 1 drops, plus other enablers. Helps you curve out rather than been glutted on 2 drops.

[hamfactorial]

[Deck]
Creatures:34
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Guide
3 Legion Loyalist
4 Signal Pest
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Goblin Wardriver
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Stormblood Berserker
3 Simian Spirit Guide

Spells:11
3 Dynacharge
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Manamorphose

Lands:15
4 Copperline Gorge
11 Mountain
[/deck]

The first time you do a turn 1 mountain, exile Simian Spirit Guide, BTE into Manamorphose, draw a card into kicked Goblin Bushwhacker, you'll understand.

This shell borrows shamelessly from the "cut land, add cantrips" philosophy of 16 land UW Delver of last standard season.

[Alex]

That's way more balls deep than I'm comfortable going. I mean, that's full-on shaft engulfing.

[hamfactorial]

It's the most swingy deck I've ever designed. Seemed appropriate, given the theme of "all-in".

[zemanjaski]

The nutdraws in that deck don't actually seem that strong. Can trips are historically bad in red decks because instead of spending a card to draw into a 1-2 mana threat, you should just play the extra threat. I get that Manamorphose is mana neutral, but it doesn't seem like it really does much. Gitaxian Probe while you're at it? Storm Entity?

[hamfactorial]

Storm Entity seems like fun, but suffers from a bad case of shitty top deck syndrome.

I think I'm warping the deck too much for BTE chain lulz. It still feels like a less good RDW.

It would be better as a RG deck with fetches and better value creatures, but I was trying to keep to Alex's budget theme.

[rcwraspy]

Well, manamorphose allows wardriver or zealot off bte, so there's that. 3 cards though.

[hamfactorial]

I think the spirit guide was too much, but Manamorphose seems like a freeroll. Getting extra draw steps gives me a more consistent deck, especially if I don't have 4 other obvious cards to put in its place.

[Valdarith]

I think the spirit guide was too much, but Manamorphose seems like a freeroll. Getting extra draw steps gives me a more consistent deck, especially if I don't have 4 other obvious cards to put in its place.

It also allows you to run some number of Mutavault or Ghost Quarter maindeck without worrying about keeping a hand with a Mountain and a colorless land that can't normally cast BTE.

[hamfactorial]

Here's where I am now:

[Deck]Creatures:31
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Guide
3 Legion Loyalist
4 Signal Pest
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Goblin Wardriver
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Stormblood Berserker

Spells:12
4 Dynacharge
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Manamorphose

Lands:17
4 Copperline Gorge
13 Mountain[/deck]

17 land seems to be the sweet spot for hitting 2 on curve, then going to town. The 3rd land tends to come down around turn 3/4 for tasty Dynacharges.

[Valdarith]

I'm bringing AIR to FNM Modern tonight. I'm debating Mutavault vs Ghost Quarter and how many lands I want to run. I'm getting uncomfortable with all the 18-land decks I've been playing lately as it feels like I'm gambling away wins and losses. That's the worst feeling in the world to me. I prefer to keep variance to a minimum.

Playing some Standard last night showed me just how good Ghost Quarter was. So many decks even in Standard are running greedy lists with no lands and casting what's effectively a Wasteland feels so good. That said, I feel like Mutavault has a little more synergy with what we're trying to do here, and is a great mana sink for us.

I'd LOVE to find some Goblin Guides before playing tonight, but I'll be hard pressed to do it. If I run Guide I feel like it lacks synergy with Ghost Quarter so I'll go Mutavault.

[Valdarith]

Also, concerning Shrine of Burning Rage, I feel like it's a great answer to Geist of Saint Win and other tempo decks that are counter heavy. Just throw it down on turn two and even if your spells are countered you're getting damage out of them unless they can answer it.

Also, I'm definitely playing three Burning Earth in the sideboard, so maybe that's more motivation to run Mutavault.

[hamfactorial]

I'd consider running Shrine against UWR. Freerolling it off of a BTE seems like excellent value, but it's certainly slower than another 2/2 that gets a battle cry or a dynacharge.

I'd board shrines in if they were running wraths, but we can likely race a single GoST and Snapcasters.

[Valdarith]

Here's where I'm at currently.

[deck]
Creatures (33)
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Signal Pest
4 Legion Loyalist
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Stormblood Berserker
3 Goblin Wardriver
2 Chandra's Phoenix

Spells (7)
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Dynacharge

Lands (20)
18 Mountain
2 Mutavault

Sideboard (15)
3 Shattering Spree
4 Shrine of Burning Rage
2 Torpor Orb
3 Burning Earth
2 Ghost Quarter
1 flex slot
[/deck]

I'd love to replace Cackler with Goblin Guide. It's just a matter of finding them before FNM. I went to 20 lands since two of them are Mutavault. I like consistency and since they are Mutavault I can still keep flooding to a minimum. Added two Chandra's Phoenix now that I can support three drops more consistently.

The sideboard is kind of a mess. I don't really have many Modern cards so I'm just winging it with what I have. I don't even have Shattering Spree
but that shouldn't be too hard to find. Shrines for control/tempo matchups. Torpor Orb for Pod. Burning Earth + Ghost Quarter for greedy manabases.

Thoughts? Do I dare go to 22 land for four Hellrider?

[hamfactorial]

Here's my thought on a sideboard:

[Deck]
Sideboard
3 Ancient Grudge / Shattering Spree
3 Phyrexian Revoker / Pithing Needle
3 Spellskite
3 Shrine of Burning Rage
3 Torpor Orb
[/deck]

[Valdarith]

I have a Phyrexian Revoker and I like the fact that it's Pithing Needle on a body. As a matter of fact I think I saw another at the LGS last week.

I went down to another LGS close to work to scrounge what I could find. They sold all their rares to one guy that came in and wanted them all apparently, so I scoured their junk box but found nothing pertaining to this deck. Might have to call around and see if anyone that's showing up tonight has a set. I'd really like to play them.

EDIT: just found out that the LGS hosting the event tonight has three regular and one foil Goblin Guide. Regulars are $10 and foils are $15. Ouch. I can afford it, but if it comes down to it I may just get the non foils.

[warwizard87]

Couple of cards as suggestions, mudbotton cohort 1R 1/1 goblin warrior haste gets +1/+1 if you control another red dude. Of couse other goblins like tattermunge, and then running I liked shared animosity and goblin grenade, the only non gobos would be btw and lightning mauler and Mabey signal pest. Thoughts on that route?

[Alex]

Jared is that you!?

[warwizard87]

Who??

[coffeecolder]

I am mos def going to put this together. Cheap, efficient, surprising... very good.

Wondering if Fury of the Horde is too cute?

[Platypus]

I think so, how often are you sitting with two extra non-lands in your hand when it would be relevant (that is, when you have enough creatures attacking so a second attack would mean victory)?

[hamfactorial]

I have a huge Magic crush on Ghost Quarter. I've been targeting dual lands for an hour and watching the 3-color decks tremble in terror.

[hamfactorial]

Thought experiment: With all the hasty dudes in this deck, would being on the draw be worth the extra card?

[Valdarith]

Thought experiment: With all the hasty dudes in this deck, would being on the draw be worth the extra card?

Absolutely not. Our win percentage goes up dramatically being on the play. Turns one and two are the most important turns for this deck. Case in point: I was playing Modern Junk and he won the roll. I kept a hand of Goblin Guide, Emissary, Emissary, Lightning Mauler, Mountain, Mountain, Mutavault. He plays fetch and passes. I play Guide, attack, reveal land, then he fetches Godless Shrine and Paths. Turn two he plays Tidehollow Sculler nabbing my Lightning Mauler. Had I been on the play I would have gotten a tremendous lead immediately. As it was, I had to play double Emissary into nothing. I ended up getting him down to one
before he cane back on the heels of Deathrite Shaman.

[Valdarith]

I'm going to write a tournament report later, but for now I want to talk about some cards that performed well and some that performed poorly.

For the record, here was my list. I had to add green sources at the last minute because I could not find any Shattering Spree, so I was forced to sub in Ancient Grudge.

[deck]
Creatures (33)
4 Goblin Guide
4 Signal Pest
3 Legion Loyalist
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
3 Lightning Mauler
4 Stormblood Berserker
3 Goblin Wardriver
2 Firefist Striker
2 Chandra's Phoenix

Spells (7)
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Dynacharge

Lands (20)
13 Mountain
2 Stomping Ground
2 Rootbound Crag
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Mutavault

Sideboard (15)
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Shrine of Burning Rage
3 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Torpor Orb
3 Burning Earth
1 Ghost Quarter
[/deck]

1) Signal Pest: very swingy card. He was excellent with multiple creatures out obviously, but was a terrible turn
one play when I didn't have Goblin Guide. I felt like I wanted another one drop in the deck like Rakdos Cackler to prevent this. Not having a meaningful turn one play felt terrible.

2) Mutavault: all-star. Not much to explain here.

3) Burning Earth: I lost two games due to this not being Blood Moon. I'd either run Blood Moon or use the slots for something else. My meta was able to play around it pretty well except for one game in my first match where it was detrimental (UWR Wafo-Tapa Draw-Go).

4) Phyrexian Revoker: Pithing Needle on a dude. This was nice to have to shut off Deathrite Shaman, Grim Lavamancer, Martyr of Sands, planeswalkers, etc. I highly recommend at least two in the side.

5) Ghost Quarter: very underwhelming for me. Apparently my meta is smart enough to run some number of basics in their deck, so it was only useful for blowing up Colonades.

6) Chandra's Phoenix: sucked. Found myself wanting Ash Zealot much more. Even with the evasion she just came down a turn too late. Not
to mention a lot of the decks I saw were running Lingering Souls and/or Spectral Procession.

7) Goblin Wardriver: he never really did much for me except for one game where he just caused a blowout. He's just too slow at 2cmc. I'm going to cut him but keep the Signal Pests in.

Stormblood Berserker: despite having four in the main I didn't get to see this guy too much. I remember one game where I had him stuck in my hand awhile because I simply could not get the Bloodthirst trigger and that felt awful. I think that could be alleviated by more one drops though.

9) Goblin Bushwhacker: really nice. Found him to be much more effective than Goblin Wardriver.

10) Legion Loyalist: also nice. The token clause helped vs Lingering Souls. I still like three in the main with perhaps one in the side.

11) Firefist Striker: not bad, but felt like this should be Lightning Mauler #4 and another spell.

12) Lightning Mauler:
obviously nice in any deck with BTE, but he was useful beyond that as well. Hasting a Mutavault to unbond after my turn to use again was relevant. Also hasted out a Wardriver once.

13) Goblin Guide: I honestly feel like the full playset is mandatory. It makes the deck so much more explosive. This guy was my all-star of the night.

14) Lightning Bolt: never used it as removal, but was nonetheless good.

15) Dynacharge: three is the right number. Performed well.

16) Shrine of Burning Rage: Excellent vs control. I boarded it in vs UWR and ended up playing two of them. Forced my opponent to Cryptic Command to make sure the counters didn't get out of hand so I just blew them up in response. This card won me game two and my opponent never saw it coming.

17) Torpor Orb: never got to play it, but there were a few Pod and Soul Sisters decks around and this card is very necessary against them. Soul Sisters is probably this deck's worst matchup and this card helps tremendously by shutting down Soul
Warden, Ranger of Eos, etc.

18) Ancient Grudge: Despite not ever boarding it in, I'd much rather have Shattering Spree. I prefer to keep my manabase consistent and SS just does so much work vs Affinity. I have enough cards to take care of Pod so the flashback for Ancient Grudge is irrelevant to me.

Overall, I really liked the performance of the deck, but I found myself wanting a slightly different build.

[deck]
Creatures (31)
4 Goblin Guide
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Signal Pest
3 Legion Loyalist
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Ash Zealot

Spells (9)
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Dynacharge
2 Koth of the Hammer

Lands (20)
17 Mountain
3 Mutavault

Sideboard (15)
3 Shattering Spree
3 Shrine of Burning Rage
3 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Torpor Orb
3 Blood Moon
1 Spellskite
[/deck]

Zemanjaski was correct on his one-drop suggestion. Rakdos Cackler is necessary to increase consistency. Also making an appearance here is Ash Zealot. There were a lot of people casting
cards from their graveyards and she's an effective hatebear against them. Her first strike is also highly relevant in a format full of X/2s. In general I like mitigating the amount of X/1s in this deck to reduce Electrolyze blowouts and trades vs one-power dudes. It felt terrible to get stonewalled by Spirit tokens.

As for Hellrider, I keep going between him and Koth. Hellrider is certainly more explosive but Koth really helps increase our G1 potential against midrange decks. He's also excellent vs control decks.

The decklist above ought to come to under $100 which keeps it within "budget" range, but for those just starting out on MTGO and trying to reduce the initial sticker shock, we could probably do without the Mutavaults. Those could easily be Ghost Quarter which will be much more relevant online than it was in my local meta.

EDIT: after a bit more consideration I've decided to go with Koth. He's just so solid and demands an answer, whereas Hellrider folds to a lot of removal in
the format. I also like that Koth helps mitigate flooding issues.

[rcwraspy]

Here's where I am now:

[Deck]Creatures:31
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Guide
3 Legion Loyalist
4 Signal Pest
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Goblin Wardriver
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Stormblood Berserker

Spells:12
4 Dynacharge
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Manamorphose

Lands:17
4 Copperline Gorge
13 Mountain[/deck]

17 land seems to be the sweet spot for hitting 2 on curve, then going to town. The 3rd land tends to come down around turn 3/4 for tasty Dynacharges.

Dropping to 9 mountains and throwing in 4 Stomping Grounds may allow you to swap Wardriver for Flinthoof Boars.

[hamfactorial]

I've been testing a heavier RG version and loving Flinthoof Boar. Getting board wiped by Pyroclasm is making me sad. Kird Ape is the next test along with some Stomping Grounds.

[Valdarith]

It's obvious to me that a green splash for Kird Ape and Flinthoof Boar is superior, but at that point we may be getting away from the budget shell that Alex was championing. If that's not an issue I say we go for it, but I'd want at least four fetches and the full set of Stomping Ground in my deck before running Kird Ape. This would make Blood Moon not quite as good.

[Valdarith]

Also, I've edited my newly proposed deck to include Koth instead of Hellrider along with an explanation.

[Jack]

Given that I only have a player of gorges, crags and stomping grounds, what should I add? I don't think that Kird Ape would be better than anything without fetches, but is Boar better than Zealot, or is the life loss from the land not worth it for just one slightly better creature?

[Valdarith]

I would not run green only for Flinthoof Boar. He's a great body, but I wouldn't necessarily say he's better than Ash Zealot. He doesn't die to Pyroclasm, but with so many x/2s in Modern, Ash Zealot really shines. She's also a good hatebear for graveyard-based strategies.

If I ran green I'd have to be running at least Kird Ape AND Flinthoof Boar AND fetches. And if I were running fetches the deck would be completely different.

It occurs to me that I forgot to write a tournament report, and now I've lost a lot of memory on the plays of the night. I do remember the matchups though.

Beat Wafo-Tapa UWR Draw-Go 2-0
Beat RDW 2-0
Lost to Junk Loam brew 2-1
Beat Rakdos Land Destruction 2-0
ID 5th round to go into Top 8 in 3rd place
Lost to Junk 2-0 in two close games

[hamfactorial]

Val:

How have you been enjoying Koth? I haven't tested your version yet and am curious about your experience.

[Valdarith]

Val:

How have you been enjoying Koth? I haven't tested your version yet and am curious about your experience.

I have yet to test my newest version of the deck because nobody plays Modern around here outside of the first Friday of the month. I would like to invest a little more in MTGO to test there, though. I'd need to purchase the Koths, Goblin Guides, and Mutavaults to get there.

[Valdarith]

So I'm hoping I can make it to the next Modern event on 9/6. I'm considering two different builds.

The first is a creature-heavy build as we've been used to:

[deck]
Creatures (31)
4 Goblin Guide
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Figure of Destiny
3 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Ash Zealot

Spells (9)
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Dynacharge
2 Koth of the Hammer

Lands (20)
18 Mountain
2 Teetering Peaks

Sideboard (15)
1 Forked Bolt
3 Shrine of Burning Rage
3 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Torpor Orb
3 Blood Moon
3 Leyline of Punishment
[/deck]

The downside to this build (and all the other AIR decks) is that Soul Sisters is an auto-loss in game one since we have no removal beyond Lightning Bolt. Games two and three are a little better since we can bring in almost all of our sideboard (Forked Bolt, Shrine, Revoker naming Martyr of Sands, Orb for Soul Warden, and Leyline) but
still lacking the removal really scares me.

The second is a 20/20/20 build and probably outside the scope of this thread. Regardless, I wanted to share it for opinions on which deck is actually better.

[deck]
Creatures (20)
4 Goblin Guide
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Ash Zealot
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Hellspark Elemental

Spells (20)
4 Rift Bolt
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Burst Lightning
3 Skullcrack
2 Koth of the Hammer

Lands (20)
18 Mountain
2 Teetering Peaks

Sideboard (15)
1 Forked Bolt
2 Shattering Spree
3 Shrine of Burning Rage
1 Skullcrack
2 Dragon's Claw
3 Blood Moon
3 Leyline of Punishment
[/deck]

Now, as for my local meta, I do know the following:

1) Soul Sisters is a big player in our local meta with the deck being so cheap.
2) R/x decks are big for the same reasons.
3) Lots of Lingering Souls being played.
4) I saw a couple of pod decks last time I went as well as a couple of combo decks (Tooth and Nail Tron).

With the above info, I'm thinking the
second deck is better positioned. I've tested 20/20/20 online and I'm doing well with it, but I've found I'm definitely not used to having so many burn spells at my disposal. I sometimes have trouble deciding on whether I should burn creatures or the player and that's something I need to master. To that end, maybe I'd be more comfortable with deck one. Not sure.

I will say that ever since I scored a playset of foil Figures on Sunday I've been itching to play with them.

[Alex]

I'd play Magma Jet over Burst Lightning, but that's really all I'd change about the second list.

[Valdarith]

I'd play Magma Jet over Burst Lightning, but that's really all I'd change about the second list.

I think you're right.

[Valdarith]

So I keep going back and forth between the two decks. I like how explosive the first deck is but I have noticed the lack of removal being a problem sometimes. I could see taking out Dynacharge and a Figure for another playset of burn spells. Any thoughts?

[Valdarith]

Conclusion: just play R/G.

[deck]
Creatures (30)
4 Goblin Guide
4 Rakdos Cackler
3 Figure of Destiny
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Ash Zealot
3 Ghor-Clan Rampager

Spells (10)
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Pillar of Flame
3 Rancor

Lands (20)
4 Stomping Ground
4 Rootbound Crag
1 Forest
11 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
2 Forked Bolt
2 Ancient Grudge
3 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Torpor Orb
2 Dragon's Claw
3 Shrine of Burning Rage
1 Koth of the Hammer
[/deck]

I'd love to fit Blood Moon in my sideboard but I won't be able to get any before Friday since I can't find any local (plus people in the area know not to trade them to me anyway). There are a lot of red decks in the meta so Dragon's Claw ought to be helpful there. Torpor Orb does shut down my Emissary and Lightning Mauler but I will likely side out the Lightning Maulers anyway. Turn two BTE into Torpor Orb seems like a fine
play, and topdeck BTEs are generally bears in the late game anyway.

Sideboard Plan
Soul Sisters: -3 Rancor, -4 Lightning Mauler, +2 Forked Bolt, +3 Phyrexian Revoker, +2 Torpor Orb
Lightning Mauler is not only negated by Torpor Orb but it also trades with any random weenie or Spirit token. The Rancors aren't really necessary here either since our creatures generally outclass theirs except for a Pridemate that's gotten out of control or an activated Ascendant, which at that point we've lost anyway and Rancor is a dead card. Forked Bolt gets 2-for-1s, Revoker names Martyr of Sands. Plan is to kill Wardens and Pridemates on sight and keep the pressure on.

Burn: -3 Rancor, -3 Pillar of Flame, +2 Dragon's Claw, +3 Shrine of Burning Rage, +1 Koth of the Hammer
Rancor is too easy to blow up in burn decks that play on their opponent's turn, and Pillar is awful. Bringing in Dragon's Claw gives us an auto-win if we land it early. Shrine helps us to win the race since we're
playing a lot of dudes that our opponent will be forced to answer instead of doming us. Koth for the late game gives another target out opponent has to conceed a two-for-one to kill and also keeps us ahead.

UWR draw-go and Geist of Saint Win: -3 Rancor, -3 Pillar of Flame, +3 Shrine of Burning Rage, +1 Koth of the Hammer, +2 Phyrexian Revoker
Rancor is also easily blown up in UWR matchups, and sorcery speed Pillar is terrible here too, having no targets we care about. Shrine gives us reach even when our spells are countered. Koth is hard for UWR to deal with. Revoker comes in blindly since it's a better alternative to Pillar, and apparently Gideon Jura is a thing since I played him last month in a UWR match.

Jund and other BG-based decks: -3 ???, +3 Phyrexian Revoker
This is the one matchup I'm having difficulty calculating a sideboard strategy for. From what I can tell, the only card I want in this matchup is Phrexian Revoker, and I really, REALLY want it in here to name Deathrite Shaman, Liliana
of the Veil, or Scavenging Ooze, with priority going to Liliana. What I'm not sure about is what to remove. We want Rancor to plow through Goyf and Ooze. We want Pillar to take out Confidant, DRS, and Huntmaster. We probably want our Lightning Maulers, and especially if we're on the play. Does Figure of Destiny get the axe here?

Storm: -2 Ghor-Clan Rampager, +2 Forked Bolt
We really have no sideboard to properly deal with Storm, which is expected being in RG. Forked Bolt is the best we can hope for since it deals with Goblin Electromancer and Young Pyromancer if they're on the YP build. Rampager comes out since we want to race as quickly as possible.

Pod: -4 Lightning Mauler, -3 Figure of Destiny, +2 Ancient Grudge, +3 Phyrexian Revoker, +2 Torpor Orb
We need to race Pod as well before they go off on turn four. Pillar and Torpor Orb deal with Finks. Revoker and Ancient Grudge deal with Pod. Rather straightforward.

Tron: -3 Pillar of Flame, +3 Phyrexian Revoker
This is a good matchup for us.
Just bring in Revoker as an extra creature that can also name Mindslaver, Expedition Map, or Oblivion Stone. Play around Repeal so you don't get your Rancors 2-for-1d.

[Link]

gonna tag this thread. If i'm gonna break into modern on a budget its gonna be with RG (I have a blood moon already! ;D)

[Valdarith]

gonna tag this thread. If i'm gonna break into modern on a budget its gonna be with RG (I have a blood moon already! ;D)

I figured you would like this list. Right up your alley.