This is an aggressive red/black designed for Amonkhet standard. With Amonkhet came the release of some very exciting new cards that I felt screamed to be built around; the question is, where did they go? I'll quickly discuss each new card one by one.
Soul-Scar Mage: As soon as this card was spoiled I knew I wanted to build around it. Not only did a 1/2 prowess for one red look quite a bit like a certain card that wrecked earlier standard formats and still sees play in Modern (Monastery Swiftspear), but its ability to make all non-creature damage directed at opponent's creatures -1/-1 counters seem to good to pass up. The first thought I had was to jam it in a Jund deck with Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons, but I quickly realized that Soul-Scar wasn't enough to make Hapatra good, and the other -1/-1 synergies didn't really want to be in a Soul-Scar deck. So, I decided in the spirit of Swiftspear that the correct deck for Soul-Scar was the most obvious one: aggro.
Harsh Mentor: After my musings with Soul-Scar, I followed the further spoilers with an eye for any burn cards or aggressive red creatures that might join Soul-Scar in his aggro deck. So, when Harsh Mentor was spoiled I got pretty excited. A vanilla 2/2 for two isn't anything to write home about, but that ability? In a standard dominated by vehicle and energy synergies that the ability hates on? Count me in! To be frank, I was still nervous that the ability wouldn't be reliable enough to justify a measly 2/2 for two, but in testing Harsh Mentor has continued to impress.
Bone Picker: After Harsh Mentor I was pretty convinced that I would be in mono-red for the deck I wanted. Both key pieces were red, and there was enough respectable burn from other legal sets that I figured I would be able to round out the deck. What could have changed my mind? Well, Wizards printing a Delver of Secrets
in black was enough for me. Sure, it couldn't technically be played as a one-drop. But in a deck that already wanted to have burn that could target creatures to optimize synergies with Soul-Scar Mage, I knew that it would not be hard to cast Bone Picker for one black mana as early as turn two or three. Not to mention it has the upside of having deathtouch, which looks rather nifty against Heart of Kiran. Bone Picker also made me realized that this deck wanted Fatal Push. Not only is Fatal Push one of the strongest pieces of removal in standard, but it enables a turn two Bone Picker fairly frequently.
Trespasser's Curse and By Force: While these cards certainly didn't guide me to this deck, I was quite impressed by the printing of these two cards in Amonkhet. Trespasser's Curse in black provided even more reason to be in that color for its effectiveness against Saheeli Combo (putting a stop to the delightful interaction of Saheeli Rai and Felidar Guardian), and By Force against Mardu Vehicles and other artifact heavy decks can easily be a three or four for one. These two cards contribute sideboard tech that makes our already reasonable matchups against Four-Color Saheeli and Mardu Vehicles look even better post-sideboard.
The Rest: The rest of the deck fell into place to try to maximum the effectiveness of the (at least the first three) aforementioned cards. Incendiary Flow, Hungry Flames, Shock, and Collective Defiance all serve as efficient burn when you want it and creature removal (or cripple alongside Soul-Scar Mage) when you need it. Although it took a few tweaks before I decided upon them, I also run Fiery Temper, Lightning Axe, and Tormenting Voice. These three cards form a powerful combo. Fiery Temper can sometimes just be a Lightning Bolt when used in conjunction with Tormenting Voice or Lightning Axe, whereas Tormenting Voice provides some much needed card filtering and Lightning Axe can take out those massive threats that would otherwise make you want to scoop. Finally, Bedlam Reveler provides some refueling in the late game when you run out of cards and need the last bit of damage to close the game.
The Side: In addition to Trespasser's Curse and By Force, I opted to run Magma Spray to take care of pesky Scrapheap Scroungers, a few Scrapheap Scroungers of my own to combat meddlesome control decks, and Chandra, Torch of Defiance for much the same matchups. It is very possible this sideboard especially isn't optimized, but it's served me well so far.
Final Thoughts: The more I play this deck, the more I realize that despite its potential to play like a conventional aggro deck it has more resiliency than you might expect. Bedlam Reveler is always there to help refill your hand in the clutch, while three Canyon Slough helps mitigate late-game mana-flood and Bone Picker in particular is hardly a bad top-deck. Moreover, this deck has the ability to often transition into a quasi-control deck that eliminates opposing threats and then closes the game with card advantage engines such as Tormenting Voice in addition to the previously mentioned Reveler. And, in grindier match-ups you can also bring in Chandra, Torch of Defiance from the sideboard for even more card draw. While this deck would rather never go to the hyper-late game, some of the tools at its disposal make it better equipped than other aggro decks in those scenarios, and it can run as a low-to-the-ground mid-range deck with ease. I will certainly continue to develop this deck and welcome suggestions, but as of now I'm confident saying this deck will give you a fighting chance against any other in Amonkhet standard.
