as a cheap counterspell, I'd suggest Turn Aside as it deals with all spot removal with just 1 mana. Against all boardwipe effects, Negate is just about the best hard non-creature counter there is. perhaps side in Mental Misstep if you encounter a lot of 1-mana burn spells (Shocks or Burst Lightning on your fiend), as it won't cost you any mana.

I like the deck idea :) If only there'd be a version of Kiln Fiend and Haze of Rage in standard. ;) +1

Thanks for the ideas Jason. I knew there was a 1 CMC counter that dealt with targeting permanents I just couldn't remember what it was called. I'm not sure I'm going to have to worry about board wipes because with the right hand this deck should win before they have the mana to cast one. Ideally you should be swinging for the win when they have 2-3 mana on the field. Again thanks for the ideas I think they're just what I was searching for to round out the sideboard.

I like it, it's kinda like this: deck:ghostriders

I think Gitaxian Probe is better over Noxious Revival as you get the card draw but still the +3/0 that is if it isn't banned in modern

Also a quick note if this is intended to be a modern deck he won't be able to use Mental Misstep as the card is banned.

In Standard I can 42 trample one creature turn 7 Fling(if I was using red) it for 84 deck:behold-perfection

Or in modern turn for take 60 deck:ghostriders

Can't believe I didn't think of Gitaxian Probe lol. I've been looking for something to replace the revivals with. I'm also thinking I should replace the Haze of Rage with Ground Rift instead to help the kiln fiends connect.

The Haze of Rage copies from storm are not cast and therefore do not trigger Kiln Fiend's ability. From the MTG Conorehensive Rulebook:

702.38a Storm is a triggered ability that functions on the stack. Storm means When you cast this spell, put a copy of it onto the stack for each other spell that was cast before it this turn. If the spell has any targets, you may choose new targets for any of the copies.

706.10. To copy a spell or activated ability means to put a copy of it onto the stack; a copy of a spell isnt cast and a copy of an activated ability isnt activated.

I have shortened 706.10 to only the relevant part, but you can view the entire rule in the MTG Comprehensive Rulebook, which can be found here.

That ruins my day. If I understand it correctly storm copies still triggers Gelectrode and Wee Dragonauts correct?

No, those both rely on the spell actually being cast, but nothing is cast when storm puts copies onto the stack.

Are you sure? If you read Gelectrode and Wee Dragonauts you'll notice the trigger is different. It doesn't read "whenever you cast" like Kiln Fiend does. It reads "whenever you play". I'm either missing some errata here or maybe I'm getting lucky and each copy of the storm spell counts as one being played?

6/15/2010-Ruling-If you cast an instant or sorcery spell, Kiln Fiend's ability triggers and goes on the stack on top of it. The ability will resolve before the spell does.

Storm, isn't casting... KorApprentice is right.

Mental Misstep

Standard: Legal; Modern: Banned; Extended: Banned; Scars of Mirrodin Block: Legal; Legacy: Banned; Vintage: Legal; every other format: Legal;

I'm not talking about Kiln Fiend anymore. Kiln Fiend and Wee Dragonauts have SIMILAR triggers that are DIFFERENT. I'm wondering if the spells count as being "played" since thats what triggers Wee Dragonauts as opposed to being "cast". I'm not sure if maybe this is errata'd to mean cast or not.

Nvm I just looked it up on gatherer. "play" is just the old keyword for "cast". Hmm I'll have to rework this deck then I think.

601.1. Previously, the action of casting a spell, or casting a card as a spell, was referred to on cards as "playing" that spell or that card. Cards that were printed with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference so they now refer to casting that spell or that card.

"Playing" and "casting" are synonymous terms. One is just archaic.

Via:

http://tappedout.net/mtg-questions/play-vs-cast-1/ - Seven months ago...

That is how I understood it as well, that is why I set my deck up the way I did, taking from your deck, removing black at setting it into Mono-Red like this: deck:chanvils

I should point out that you can still win on turn 3 with Kiln Fiend and Assault Strobe. Also, Distortion Strike will help you more than Ground Rift. Rebound does count as casting a spell.

Yeah I think I'll go with Distortion Strike over the storm cards for sure.

After playtesting a little bit. I have to say the Apostle's Blessings really seem to be pulling their weight and securing a guaranteed kill. Thoughts and comments?

Consider Surrakar Spellblade , fucking op draw engine. Artful Dodge is sweet too. I gave it a try deck:pourtant-que-la-montagne-est-belle-20

Consider Surrakar Spellblade , fucking op draw engine. Artful Dodge is sweet too. I gave it a try deck:pourtant-que-la-montagne-est-belle-20

I'll definitely play test it using Artful Dodges to see how they work out. I'm not convinced they're going to perform as well as Distortion Strike though. I like the deck idea you linked there, its definitely going in the right direction! +1 from me on your deck, don't forget to +1 back.

Why Artful Dodge over Nightbird's Clutches?

I've found that mana is a bit of an issue so the lower the cost the better. After playtesting I'm just going to stick with the Distortion Strike. It's better particularly because of the bonus attack.