A R/W Glass Cannon Deck inspired by the R/W Heroic deck that made 16th at SCG's Standard Open at D.C.- so yes this deck has competitive bones.
The combination of Prowess and Heroic has made this sort of Glass Cannon deck possible and more consistent that we are used to; while you pump up your Heroic creatures, you also trigger prowess, making other creatures not awful draws. Having access to up to 20 creatures is great against removal and Thoughtseize.
Why you want to play this deck: This deck is best when it's unexpected. Temur Battle Rage facilitates the explosiveness, but is second to aggressive beatdown plan backed up by instants and sorceries. You can steal games, and have great match ups against the slower green decks in the format, with some staying power to fight slower draws. Finally, it's relatively cheap. It compares to the price of U/W Heroic, which many feel isn't as well positioned anymore. This deck is more than capable of taking down an FNM like $300 Abzan Midrange, U/B Control, or Jeskai Tokens.
Why you don't want to play this deck: You hate playing weak cards. Siege Rhino alone beats every card in this deck. Event though I've structured the deck to fight black removal and discard, you'll still have some games you'll lose to early
Bile Blight
and thoughtseizes (but you can definitely beat them). You might find yourself taking a few more mulligans than you like as well; 20 lands isn't enough, and you have to find the right mix of lands, creatures, and spells.
<><><><><>Creatures<><><><><>
4
Favored Hoplite
and
Satyr Hoplite
- Standard 1-drop heroic creatures that take advantage of the enter-tapped land meta.
Favored Hoplite
with any heroic trigger will allow it to survive burn.
4 Monastery Swiftspear- The prowess complements the heroic text on every other creature. Not the ideal target for our spells, but works in a pinch.
4
Akroan Skyguard
- Evasive and heroic, and the best two drop heroic creature in our colors.
4
Akroan Line Breaker
- This card gives us our late game advantage. The synergy with Temur Battle Rage is obvious, but keeps the win in range when our opponent has "Stabilized."
<><><><><>Noncreatures<><><><><>
4 Defiant Strike- Heroic trigger that cantrips to keep the chain going.
4 Temur Battle Rage- The card that pulls the deck together and makes the strategy viable. Steals games. Don't use it the first game if you don't have to.
4 Titan's Strength- Ultimate heroic trigger that steals games.
4
Gods Willing
- Keeps our creatures safe when we attempt to fire off the canon. Also leads to good tempo plays when we can deploy a creature and "counter" their removal.
4
Ajani's Presence
- Protection spell that misses bounce and exile effects. Costing only 1 Mana is what gives it the edge over
Feat of Resistance
.
<><><><><>Sideboard<><><><><>
The sideboard is mostly 1-ofs, as "less is more" when side boarding with this deck. The two cards we do have playsets of are what I've determined to be extremely valuable in many match ups. Adhering to the 1-of sideboard plan for the rest of the cards insures we don't dilute our deck. If this isn't the plan for you, change it up faggots.
Wild Slash
- Bring it in against R/W Aggro, U/W Heroic, Jeskai Tokens, Mono Red Aggro, etc. Goblin Rabblemaster,
Seeker of the Way
, Monastery Mentor, and
soulfire grandmaster
are huge in the current meta, so answering them are more than necessary.
Seeker of the Way
- This card is also super useful in the match ups listed above. It also shines against targeted discard and control match ups, as creatures are better than buffs without creatures.
