I like it! but scrub you stole my idea! Jeskai Reforged

Haha! That looks like a pretty sick deck you've got there. I love RUG as a color combo so I really hope it can be competitive again.

Me too, temur is my second favorite clan

This is my personal opinion, but there are two better phoenixs that Ashcloud.

I would either recommend Flamewake Phoenix or Flame-Wreathed Phoenix

Both of them have a lot more potential in Temur than Ashcloud..

I already have 4 Flamewake Phoenixes.

What's your problem with Ashcloud Phoenix? He becomes a problem for the opponent no matter what they choose to do. Two "destroy" effects are needed to fully get rid of him, or else an exile effect or a Drown in Sorrow. The ability to play him as a 2/2 on turn 3 if I've got nothing else to do can also be pretty relevant sometimes, as well as the 2 damage when turned face-up. And he hits hard. Flame-Wreathed Phoenix? Either the opponent pays tribute and then kills it with any normal removal, or doesn't pay tribute and Lightning Strikes it away. I guess I like that it goes back to my hand, but the problem with tribute abilities is that they give the opponent the option to deal with it in the way that is most convenient for them. I may playtest it at some point, but right now I have no reason to believe it will be better than Ashcloud. You could prove me wrong, though.

Ashcloud Phoenix dies: it is turned over, Then all he has to do is kill the morph, it dies and is gone.

Flame-Wreathed Phoenix: If tribute is paid, it becomes a 5/5 for 4 and if they dont; it comes back to your hand. And I don't think my opponent would waste a Lightning Strike on something that might just come back next turn unless they really want to screw with you.

But a 4/1 that does 2 damage to both you and yourself against a 3/3 with bounce back and flying or a 5/5 with flying is a hard choice to make at times, but I would pick the cheaper of the two cards. If you do morph it, you need 6 mana to flip him and 2/2s don't last too long in standard..

I see your point, and might try him sometime. However, I'm far from sold. The other thing I forgot to mention is that Ashcloud always triggers ferocious, which is nearly a must for a curve-topper in this deck, with Crater's Claws, Shaman of the Great Hunt, and Stubborn Denial lying around.

I'm taking this version to Game Day this weekend, and if Ashcloud's performance is underwhelming, I'll consider the switch.

Would Elvish Mystic be ok in here?

I've got 3 already :P might go up to 4 and axe a Frost Walker if that seems necessary

Well thats awkward :P

How about Heir of the Wilds?

I stoutly affirm that Ashcloud Phoenix is not as strong as Stormbreath Dragon.

I've played with Stormbreath Dragon, he does seem really good. This list with Phoenixes Top 8'd at a PTQ, though? Might be because the difference between 4 CMC and 5 CMC is pretty big. I'll probably try it with the creature base about how it is now and maybe move some things around if it doesn't work.

@AwesomeGuy37: Heir of the Wilds is alright, but I think I like Frost Walker better as my aggressive 2-drop of choice because it hits harder and lets me trigger ferocious extremely early in the game.

I would definitely suggest running at least 2 Stubborn Denial 's main board, maybe put 1 Crater's Claws and 1 Lightning Strike sideboard. The deck looks pretty good though!

I had Stubborn Denials in the main at one point...might consider it again. The problem is, it's really awful from behind, and when I ran it mainboard it ended up being a dead card too often. Might try it again though.

@Alexthegreat38

How was this weekend's testing?

Went 2-3 at Game Day and have decided to revert to my own plans for the deck. Not exactly sure how the guy top 8'd with that list, it was really quite mediocre. Bringing in Goblin Rabblemaster, bringing back Yasova Dragonclaw (who is quite underrated) and bringing back Stormbreath Dragon. Still considering (and might still try) either Flame-Wreathed Phoenix or Flamerush Rider in place of Ashcloud Phoenix.

@fblthp23 worked 2 Stubborn Denials into the mainboard. Also trying Magma Jets as I think the scrying might be helpful to smooth out the mana a bit, but I still have the ability to go up to 11 burn spells post-board if needed.

Flamerush Rider can become a very broken card if used correctly, @alexthegreat38

He seems nuts in the right situation, but also feels a bit "win-more." He's awful from behind on an empty board and costs 4-5 mana and doesn't trigger ferocious. If it was a 4/3 (or hell even a 4/2 or 4/1) it would almost certainly be in here already. You can see why I'm wary, but the upside of being able to flat-out win @ 4 mana might be too good to pass up. Copying a Savage Knuckleblade, Goblin Rabblemaster, or Shaman of the Great Hunt at that point would probably just be game-ending or close. I am in the same situation that Temur seems to ALWAYS be in: when I'm ahead, I'm ridiculously ahead and destroying the opponent, but I'm terrible from behind.

@alexthegreat38

Here is to hoping that the Bear Clan gets more ferocious with one drops. Nylea knows we need to top sooner ot later. I even have a build that is for budget, but I have the same problem. Great at ahead, bad at behind

Torrent Elemental

I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of Torrent Elemental now that you've brought it up. I suppose if it sticks around until the turn after I play it, it pretty much wins me the game -- but it doesn't trigger ferocious and doesn't immediately effect the state of the game, which makes me lean heavily back towards Stormbreath Dragon. Torrent Elemental would be interesting to try, but I think it's too slow for this deck and I also only have two delve cards (both in the sideboard) to make use of his return-from-exile ability. If it was a 4-drop or if it triggered ferocious it might be viable, but as a 3/5 for 5 I don't think so.

Also, @Adam_Kaiser1: I was doing some research and found that an opponent can choose to not pay tribute to Flame-Wreathed Phoenix and then Lightning Strike it with the enter-the-battlefield trigger still on the stack, sending it to the graveyard. Did you know about this? It seems like we were both under the assumption that that couldn't happen.

Hey, liking your deck. Im building a temur aggro deck as well and would like to hear why you made a few of the choices you did and how you are liking them and the typical meta game around your area.

1: How are you liking Yasova Dragonclaw? I had him in my deck at first but soon relized that since he couldnt take control of alot of creatures i cared about (rhino) and since i didnt have any way to put counters on him there were better 3 drop options.

2: The meta game around me has alot of aggro and Frost Walker SEEMS to match up well there, is this also true in your case?

3: How is your matchup against mid range. Im including some Polukranos, World Eater to block their big guys and also really good against aggro. Any reason why you didnt put him in your deck or is it just because he didnt have haste?

4: Any reason your not putting Flamewake Phoenix in your deck? Ive noticed that the more flyers one has the better Shaman of the Great Hunt seems to be

5: Have you considered Rattleclaw Mystic? Ive been pretty impressed with him and you may want to consider him.

6: Lastly, seems like your mana is quite demanding with having 3 different color 2 drops, does this bite you often?