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No Combo Kiki-Jiki

Commander / EDH* Mono-Red

IQuarent


Sideboard


Maybeboard


I realized recently that this, one of my oldest EDH decks, has never had a proper description written out for it. Time to change that.

This is a build for Kiki-Jiki that revolves around maximizing his ability to do as much damage as quickly as possible without going infinite. When I first conceived this deck, it was a nearly random pile of cards that had a weird emphasis on combining firebreathing with first strike? Then it became a mana ramp-into-fireball type deck? In the many changes, as the game of magic itself has gradually become more focused on creatures, so too has this deck. With better and better creatures to copy coming out every year, it's hardly a wonder why creatures would become the focus and why other themes would be dropped.

So, what is our game plan with this deck? There are a lot of creatures that can be played early game, either to find our best pieces, like Imperial Recruiter, or to ramp as hard as possible, such as Burnished Hart, Solemn Simulacrum, and Dockside Extortionist, those last three being the cards the deck really wants in play as early as possible. Despite this deck going through many changes over the years, Solemn Simulacrum has consistently been the best thing to copy with Kiki-Jiki. While the lines to victory may differ from game to game, an extra land and an extra card every turn is difficult to top, even with things like Dockside Extortionist. The thing is, often the deck will have Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle in play, and getting extra damage with every copy of Solemn in addition to AT LEAST one extra mana the next turn and AT LEAST one extra card to work with is extremely strong. When it comes to winning, since the deck doesn't run any X-Damage spells anymore, the go-to win conditions are Valakut, copying damage-dealing creatures with Kiki-Jiki such as Inferno Titan, Terror of the Peaks or Fiendish Duo, or stealing the board with Insurrection. No matter how we do it, the main focus of the deck is, of course, winning with damage. As a mono-red deck, dealing damage is the deck's main focus and something it often excels at.

There are a few other things the deck excels at, too. The deck can fill the graveyard pretty easily with cards like Seasoned Pyromancer and Faithless Looting, and isn't that bad at returning cards such as with Feldon or Goblin Welder. Particularly, though, artifacts are the easist to recur in red. Speaking of artifacts, we sure do destroy them consistently with cards like Tuktuk Scrapper and Vandalblast. While the deck does struggle with enchantments, there is a removal package that can deal with them, such as Steel Hellkite, Chaos Warp, Ugin, and Oblivion Stone.

If anyone is curious looking at this list is wondering what Thespian's Stage and Vesuva are doing in here, they are to copy Valakut. If you end up playing this deck, use them exclusively for that. If one you have three Valakuts, one Burnished Hart activation does 18 damage, or 36 damage if you also have a Fiendish Duo. It's actually nuts.

Suggestions

Updates Add

IN: Agate Instigator, Goblin Goliath, Alpine Guide, Fanatic of Mogis, Crucible of Worlds, The One Ring, Prismatic Vista, Fabled Passage, Twinflame Tyrant

OUT: Oblivion Stone, Steel Hellkite, Caged Sun, Dire Fleet Daredevil, Mind's Eye, Vandalblast, Dockside Extortionist, 2 Mountains.

I feel like a crazy person cutting all the board wipes, but overwhelmingly with this deck I've found I don't want to be the one wiping the board and instead building on it. Blasphemous Act and Ugin should be enough anyway. While this isn't going to be entirely a focusing on direct damage dealing deck, there are certainly a lot of good options nowadays, and I've been leaning into it. I just don't want it to turn into Torbran with extra steps.

Comments

Revision 39 See all

(3 weeks ago)

+1 Alpine Guide side
+1 Goblin Goliath side
Date added 10 years
Last updated 2 weeks
Legality

This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

12 - 2 Mythic Rares

40 - 8 Rares

14 - 4 Uncommons

6 - 3 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.63
Tokens Agate Instigator 1/1 R, Copy Clone, Elemental 1/1 R, Emblem Koth of the Hammer, Goblin 1/1 R, Goblin Shaman, Myr 1/1 C, Treasure, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Deathtouch, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Lifelink
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