Pojo's Magic The Gathering news, tips, strategies and more!

Pojo's MTG
MTG Home
Message Board
News & Archives
Deck Garage
BMoor Dolf BeJoSe

Columnists
Paul's Perspective
Jeff Zandi
DeQuan Watson
Jordon Kronick
IQ
Aburame Shino
Rare Hunter
Tim Stoltzfus
WiCkEd
Judge Bill's Corner


Trading Card
Game

Card of the Day
Guide for Newbies
Decks to Beat
Featured Articles
Peasant Magic
Fan Tips
Tourney Reports


Other
Color Chart
Book Reviews
Online Play
MTG Links
Staff



120x90 Ad Space
For Rent!



BMoor's Magic The Gathering Deck Garage
R/B Burn Deck
February 4, 2008

Hey BMoor!
 
I have been collecting some more and I have recently put together a R/B burn deck, but it has some weaknesses and I couldn't think of anyone better to help than you. Here is my deck list:
 
Creatures:
 
4 Gathan Raiders
4 Severed Legion
2 Nekrataal
 
Spells:
 
2 Cone of Flame
4 Tarfire
4 Lava Axe
4 Shock
4 Incinerate
1 Beacon of Destruction
4 Terror
3 Eyeblight's Ending
 
Land:
 
2 Spawning Pool
1 Keldon Megaliths
2 Graven Cairns
4 Terramorphic Expanse
10 Mountain
5 Swamp
 
This deck has proved pretty resilient against pure aggro weenie decks, but it can't stand up to a constant beating. I have a pretty long losing streak against one of my friend's elves/treefolk deck, which is able to pump out creature quicker than I can kill them. I am always without cards in my hand so thats why I have Gathan Raiders, for an easy 5/5 sometimes on my fourth turn. But again I have not faired too well against a more aggressive deck. Do I put in a few pyroclasms? This is a casual deck, but I do bring it out for FNM every now and then, so if you could keep it standard that would be great! Any card is open to take out, so nothing is sacred. I really need your help!!
 
Sincerely,
Brandon
Hey, Brandon.  The deck looks good-- how could a deck with so much burn lose after all?  Let's look into it.
 
The first thing that looks out of place here is Cone of Flame.  It's not bad, but your deck is already packed with ways to dole out damage 2 and 3 points at a time.  By the time you hit 5 mana, is there anything left Cone of Flame can kill?  Remember, it can't target the same thing twice, so the most it can deal to any one target is 3 damage.  And if your opponent has less than two creatures left, you have to hit yourself or our own creatures for some damage-- and in your deck, I'd be surprised if your opponent has two creatures left that a Cone could kill.  You'll be happier with more copies of Beacon of Destruction-- what you need is a few large doses of damage, not more small ones.
 
Likewise, there's no need to run four of both Shock and Tarfire.  Shock's alright, but not worth running eight copies of.  Especially not where Morningtide has given us Shard Volley, the new Lightning Bolt variant.  Or when Fiery Temper is in the timeshifted sheet and you're already running Gathan Raiders as a discard outlet. 
 
Next, I'd sort of like you to find some room for Browbeat.  Yes, it can draw you cards and "turn off" your Raiders and Monoliths, but which wold you rather have?  One of your creatures getting +2/+2 and one of your lands pinging for one, or three more burn spells in hand?  If your opponents are smart, they'll know which is better for you and take the five... unless that would put them too low on life, in which case they'll let you draw-- and if they're that low, they'll be letting you draw the burn spells you need to finish the job.  This kind of deck likes Browbeat a lot.  Early in the game, it's a cheap Lava Axe, and later in the game, it can finish it for you.
 
Speaking of "later in the game", the weakness of a deck of this nature is its inability to make it that far, because it burns up all its fuel (pun intended) while other decks build for the late game.  How can you remedy this?  Well, replacing some of the smaller burn (Tarfire) for heavier burn (Browbeat) is a good start.  Fortunately, your black splash gives you access to exactly what Red needs to overcome these obstacles-- life gain, card draw, and discard.  For the life gain, Soul Feast is probably your best bet.  Black's card draw has suffered recently, but there's still Graveborn Muse or Phyrexian Etchings if you don't mind the life payment.  And for discard, well, the options are myriad.  I personally like Augur of Skulls or Hypnotic Specter.  The Specter would probably be more useful than Severed Legion, and the Augur would also make a good blocker to go against opposing Treefolk.
 
And as far as beating aggro goes, I don't think you can go wrong with Pyroclasm.  Take out Nekrataal for that-- what do you need him for with all that firepower?
 
Good luck, Brandon, and remember-- slow, controlled burn.  And watch those gas leaks!
 
~BMoor


  


 

Copyright© 1998-2008 pojo.com
This site is not sponsored, endorsed, or otherwise affiliated with any of the companies or products featured on this site. This is not an Official Site.