Just came across a version of this deck that splashes black in order to run Tainted Strike and Inquisition of Kozilek /Thoughtseize .

The Tainted Strike would be insanely powerful in here. Thoughts on splashing black?

How about Soul's Fire ? It's an amazing burn spell in a deck like this. Fling could also be a possibility, but I like Soul's Fire better.

So :
-Brainstorm isn't legal in modern
-You can run 2 Temple of Epiphany but no more
-I never tried to splash black, but it could be good
-Soul's Fire is good but above the curve imo

@Yggdrasil60: Yeah, I sorted out the Brainstorm thing. Replacing them with Serum Visions ASAP. Might test with some Temples to see how it goes.

@Aarhg1: Fling was in the deck at one point, and I strongly considered Soul's Fire . I agree with Yggdrasil about it being above the curve, but it and Fling could definitely have their uses against removal and such. Could be sideboard cards or more, it's hard to tell what the right balance of anti-removal stuff is at this point.

Additionally, I played against a deck that included several Inquisition of Kozilek s and Duress . It hosed the crap out of me, so I'm thinking of maybe throwing in some Negate . IDK. It's hard to combat all the stuff that can ruin the deck while still keeping the core purpose of it.

In this kind of deck, Spell Pierce , Stubborn Denial , and Mana Leak (or even Swan Song if you have a way to make Kiln Fiend unblockable in hand) are better than Negate in my opinion
If you REALLY fear discard, even Outwit could fit in

Made some minor changes:

• Dropped the Izzet Charm in favor of a playset of Serum Visions
• Completely revamped the sideboard: Guttural Response was too specific to be worth it, especially with Stubborn Denial in there. Threw in Electrickery to deal with tokens and annoying small creatures, Outwit to combat the discard, and Fling to play in response to destroy/sacrifice effects (or to double damage for the win).

Also, the splash of black was a fun idea, but it ended up making things too inconsistent, especially with the mana base (which I really don't want to spend too much more money on. Might be buying some Steam Vents soon though since their price is kinda reasonable now). It will remain red/blue. Also came up with a more fun name to hopefully draw more views/comments.

Is there any reason you're not running anything like Brute Force ?

The idea is that Mutagenic Growth is better because I can cast it as a surprise with no mana untapped. I'm genuinely curious to hear your case for Brute Force though and if there's anything you think I should ax for it.

-2 Armed +2 Fling . because you still get double the damage except main board you have something against sacrifice. also don't be afraid to do it when you need the win because when you sac kiln fiend and co. it is part of the cost so they can't like bolt it in response.

I'm pretty sure if they Lightning Bolt it in response, the Bolt will resolve first and kill the Kiln Fiend before the Fling resolves.

no because sacrifice a creature is part of Fling cost

what Yggdrasil60 said.

Well Brute Force gives you +6/+3 for R, which is really powerful. Armed gives you +9/+1 for 1R - therefore Brute Force is more economical.

Ohhhh I missed that with the Fling . I'll probably mainboard that for something then.

@ChiefBell: One thing I will say is that I'm almost always playing pump cards in combination with other ones. If I've got a Nivix Cyclops on the board and I play Armed + Distortion Strike + Mutagenic Growth , it becomes a 13/6 with double strike that can't be blocked. Brute Force + Distortion Strike + Mutagenic Growth makes it a 16/9 that can't be blocked. The first combo is a killing blow, the second one isn't. I like to go for the kill in one hit as quickly as possible, and when I'm playing cards in combination with each other, double strike seems to be the best way to do that. Brute Force is definitely more efficient on its own though - I think I'll playtest it with a few and see.

The second combo costs one less mana so it's not really a fair comparison.

But if I'm not giving anything double strike, that means I'm going to need a four card combo for a one-hit kill instead of only three. I'd rather draw three cards that can allow me to definitely kill the opponent on turn 4 than draw three cards that can allow me to deal 16 on turn 3, because I might not draw crap after that.

I see your point and you're obviously right about the number of cards. The thing about playing multiple cards that are cheaper in cost is that it allows you to be more explosive earlier in the game, which is sometimes important.

If you're going off later is not so important though.

Did some playtesting and realized how fantastic Fling is against removal. Being able to sacrifice something in response to it getting a Path to Exile , Dismember , Doom Blade , etc., makes it fantastic. Additionally, it's like a sneakier, harder-to-stop, instant-speed double-strike card. You guys were totally right about it, 2 are going in for the Armed and I think I'll add another into the sideboard. Also liking Spell Pierce for the sideboard.

Threw a playset of Delver of Secrets  ^Flip in there for now -- they seem to make the deck a bit slower, on average, but also a bit more consistent, which is nice.