Introduction
So, you want to play fast, hard, and win? Then this may be the deck for you!
This is NOT Burn! Burn has many of the same spells and creatures, albeit fewer creatures. It really grinds my gears when folks confuse the two. My Anger and Thunderous Wrath aside, I digress... Education is key, hence the primer :-)
A Mono Red deck, Red Deck Wins has a long history in Magic: The Gathering. It has had many variations, and has undergone several evolutions, throughout this history. With the printing and addition of newer cards combined with old classics, Red Deck Wins finds itself to be a competitive deck capable of winning by turns 3 to 5. While somewhat budget friendly, certain pieces of the deck are key and should not be done without. Other choices, which we will delve into, are a bit more flexible and budget friendly.
Red Deck Wins wants to, well, WIN! We do so by playing an efficient mix of spells and creatures to reduce the opponent's life total to zero as quickly as possible. This means our card choices matter significantly. We want to maximize the damage output for as little mana investment as possible. So Lava Axe looks good, right? Nope. The CMC is much too high for what it does. Three Lightning Bolt type effects, all having 1 CMC, deal more damage for less mana investment. Got it?
The cards I've listed have a rank given to them on a scale from 0-5. Five being play four of me. Zero being seriously don't ever play with this card. Like, ever.
Now, on with the deck!
Creatures:
What differentiates RDW from Burn is that we're more creature heavy. This means we are at times more resilient to other decks in the meta and sideboarded hate, but more vulnerable to removal. Here are the creatures we use to beat our opponent into a quick, bloody pulp.
1 CMC
Goblin Guide - He should ALWAYS be a four of in any Red Deck Wins. Snap, even BURN uses four Guides. The best scenario is always a turn one Mountain, Goblin Guide. Granted, be may give your opponent land (which in most matchups is a moot point), but he gives us much needed information about what the opponent is up to. 5
Vexing Devil - Some like him, some don't. A 4/3 for R is nothing to sneeze at. He backs your opponent into a corner and MAKES them deal with Devil. Sac it? Great, take 4! Path to Exile/Lightning Bolt/Abrupt Decay/Lightning Helix? Great! Some of my other dudes will stick! Best case scenario you either get a 4/3 beat stick or your opponent takes 4 and you sac him. Worst case, he eats a removal spell. I think he's worthy of a playset. 5
Grim Lavamancer - This dude rocks. The OG Deathrite Shaman that's still Modern legal. Ok, not quite, but Grim is still freaking awesome. A 1/1 for R is meh, however turning everything you've put into the graveyard into a Shock is relevant. Lavamancer can remove creatures, sink in extra damage, and end games, all at instant speed. Be warned this dude eats removal like nobody's business. If your opponent has any sense and a Tragic Slip or something handy, it will be pointed at this dude. Lavamancer is typically a 3-4x of. 5
Spark Elemental - He's a mini Ball Lightning. Pretty self explanatory. Definitely a good budget option. He also feeds Lavamancer. Horrible late game though. A decent choice. 3
Figure of Destiny - Many builds in the past have ran Figure with good success. You can activate his 'leveling' at instant speed, which is a plus for combat tricks. He's a good mana sink for late game, however his 'ultimate' is a rare occurrence. He's a decent choice. 3
2 CMC
Keldon Marauders - I run four. Most competitive lists run four. He's a 3/3 for 1R and guarantees at least a Shock. At best he's capable of 5 damage. Also feeds Lavamancer. FANTASTIC against Living End! 5
Hellspark Elemental - A slightly more expensive Spark Elemental that can be used twice with Unearth. Again, decent budget option. 3
Ash Zealot - 2/2 Haste for RR makes her a worse Goblin Guide. Her ability could make her relevant as a sideboard option, though. 2
Eidolon of the Great Revel - Modern Legal Pyrostatic Pillar on a stick! Red Deck Wins needed this as a win-con against Storm. Thank you Wizards! I can also see this card being great against Affinity/Robots, Tron, and perhaps even Control. I've yet to test this guy out, but I can imagine he'll eat removal, which will get us a Shock at least. Beware though, as we are also affected by this beast. Don't be afraid to side this dude out. Run 2-4x of if desired. 4
Dark Confidant - Bob could see a spot in Red Deck Wins with a black splash, but I see him in more of a R/b Burn list. The card advantage is super nice. 3
Young Pyromancer - Small body, but big effect. My opinion is that she belongs in more of a Tempo deck like Delver, but I have seen the card make lists. It's worth considering, my preferences aside. 2
3 CMC
Ball Lightning - A personal favorite and an old friend of deck lists many Blood Moons past. RRR gets you a 6/1 Trample, Haste. When played right, he can end the game. Definitely horrible if there's an opposing First Strike on the board, though. I like him enough to run it, but it may be personal preference and a meta call. 4
Chandra's Phoenix - A Flying 2/2 Haste that recurs is pretty decent for 3. It can give us reach when needed to eek in some damage. It's decent, I think. 2
Bogart Ram Gang - A 3/3 Haste for 3 is alright. The Wither is nice. I prefer Ball Lightning though. 1
Magus of the Moon - Blood Moon on a steeeck! It's a creature so it can swing. It can also be easily removed and doesn't survive a Pyroclasm. 3
Prophetic Flamespeaker - Could make the best out of top deck mode. Would work extremely well with Scry type effects. Needs to be built around. 3
4 CMC
Don't EVER run creatures higher than 3 CMC in Red Deck Wins! K? Thanks!
Planeswalkers- Don't do it! It's a trap! Seriously though, Planeswalkers like Koth of the Hammer, Chandra Pyromaster, and Chandra, the Firebrand could have relevant abilities, however Red Deck Wins is not the place for them. They're too slow when we want to win fast.
Burn:
The crispy effects we use to reduce our opponent to burnt toast. Mmm, carbon!
1 CMC
Lightning Bolt - Seriously, run four copies. Please. Just do it. Kind of like Nike, which does symbolize Victory...hmm. Instant that deals 3 for R. Yes. Nuff' said. 5
Lava Spike - Also needs to be a playset. This can't hit other critters and is at Sorcery speed, but 3 to the dome is what we want. 5
Rift Bolt - A delayed Lightning Bolt when the Suspend cost is paid. This has great psychological effect on the opponent and will cause them to make different decisions. Can be cast for 3 in a pinch, but I have it listed as 1 CMC as that's what it's typically cast as. 4
Bump in the Night - Could be worth a black splash to run this extra Bolt. I don't ever see it being cast for it's Flashback cost. Like ever. 3
Shock - Uh, no. 0
Forked Bolt - Could be useful and a decent budget option. It can also kill two Birds of Paradise with one stone. See what I did there? 3
Pillar of Flame - Almost a worse Shock as it's a sorcery. But, it could be useful in getting rid of Kitchen Finks. 2
Shard Volley - It's almost like a Bolt, but one has to sac a land. I'm not a fan of the card, personally, but once again it has seen lots of play. 3
Devastating Summons - This was at home in a Standard RDW list during the Zendikar block. It could have some decent potential in Modern and is worth a look. 2
Needle Drop - Card draw is good for RDW. 1 damage isn't. Eh. 1
2 CMC
Skullcrack - Because Melira Pod, Wurmcoil Engine, and Batterskull are things. This is Modern and I would highly recommend a playset mainboard. 5
Searing Blaze - Awesome at Instant speed and can remove a dude. The key to playing this card is the timing, by making sure it has a legal target (cannot be cast unless it also targets a creature), and cracking a fetch land to trigger Landfall on your opponent's turn. It's a two-for-one. 4
Boros Charm - It may very well be worth the white splash to play this onesided Flame Rift at Instant speed. A lot of our creatures don't stick around so the Indestructible aspect is ok, but the Double Strike feature could very well be a game ending play. 4
Searing Blood - Much like Searing Blaze, this card is conditional as it must have a legal target. And that target must die in order for it to deal damage. Something to consider. 2
Magma Jet - This has often appeared in lists past merely for the Scry effect. It's quite useful, no doubt, as it can put a Mountain on the bottom and potentially draw a game winning Bolt. It's definitely worthy of consideration, despite the two damage for two. 3
Arc Trail - Eh. It needs legal targets to cast. And if you own a creature and the opponent doesn't, guess who's creature gets hit? 1
Thunderbolt - Definitely a decent budget option, but Skullcrack and Searing Blaze better suit the 2 CMC slot. 2
Incinerate, Searing Spear, and all other spells that deal 3 damage for 2 mana other than Skullcrack and Searing Blaze really shouldn't be played. There are better options. 0
Shrine of Burning Rage - It's a Modern equivalent of Cursed Scroll. It's a bit slow in my book, however it can end grindy matches quickly. 2
3 CMC
There are very few 3 CMC burn spells I would recommend running. Here are a few.
Flames of the Blood Hand - Much like Skullcrack but it deals 4 damage at Instant speed. I'd run 2-4 mainboard. 5
Brimstone Volley - It fights for Flames of the Blood Hand in it's slot, but is definitely worthy of consideration. Triggering Morbid isn't all that difficult. A turn 4 Vexing Devil, opponent chooses to make you sac it, then casting this can end the game. Not to mention it's super fun to play! 3
Browbeat - Any time you give your opponent a choice, with the exception of Vexing Devil, it usually doesn't produce the effect YOU want. Drawing cards can be a good thing, but sometimes you just want to end the game on the spot. That's my two cents. 1
4 CMC
There's really nothing worth consideration at 4 CMC unless it's a sideboard option.
5 CMC
Same deal. With one consideration.
Reforge the Soul - In the history of Red Deck Wins, Wheel of Fortune has been played with great effect. I will point out the pros and cons. It refills your hand with seven new cards. Being able to refill your hand with more burn in a grindy match, against Control, Jund, and Tron for instance, can often be a game winning play. For this reason alone, it deserves consideration. Among the cons are it costs 5 mana if you don't pay the Miracle cost of 1R. Having it in your opening hand may be a bad thing, but could be hardcast with great effect later. Reforge also gives your opponent seven new cards. This could screw up their game plan and they may draw horrible cards, or it can give them a hand full of answers. But it definitely feeds Tarmogoyf, Snapcaster Mage, and any graveyard based deck. Reforge the Soul is worthy of play testing as a two of, in my opinion. 3
Lands
We need these to cast our stuff. You canrun Red Deck Wins without fetch lands, however the minimal deck thinning effect, triggering Landfall, feeding Grim Lavamancer, and shuffle are very nice.
Mountain - Uh, a red source with zero drawbacks. Run a lot of these! 5
Arid Mesa and Scalding Tarn - As mentioned above, they have great benefits despite the price tag. Work on acquiring them! Definitely relevant if you want to splash white or black. 5
Sacred Foundry - Great for splashing white for Boros Charm and sideboard options. 4
Blood Crypt - Great for splashing black, should you choose to. 4
Stomping Ground - For a splash of green. White may be more relevant and efficient, however. 3
Sideboard Choices
Satyr Firedancer- So now our Lavaspike can kill critters too?!?! Sweet! Great against Zoo or other Aggro/Token decks. 5
Phyrexian Revoker -A Pithing Needle on a 2/2 body. Can nix a Planeswalker. Name Karn or Liliana of the Veil. Dies a lot to removal. 3
Vexing Shusher - Can be good against Control to land that Skullcrack or game ending Bolt. Definitley will eat removal. 3
Blood Moon - Tron hates this card. It hoses them pretty hard. Other decks with greedy mana bases and a ton of non-basics hate it too. That's why we like it. Beware of this when considering a white or black splash, though. 5
Sowing Salt - A bit high on the curve for us, but does hose Tron. There are better options for us. 2
Molten Rain - Blows up a non-basic and deals damage. Can be cool. 3
Leyline of Punishment - Lifegain sucks for Red Deck Wins. If Skullcrack and FoTBH aren't enough, this works well too. A turn zero, uncounterable enchantment is hard to deal with indeed. However, if it's not in your opening hand and you didn't mulligan into it, then casting it for 4 kinda sucks. Also, you would want to run 3-4 to be effective. This means drawing multiples really sucks unless the first one is removed. 3.5
Everlasting Torment - Same effect as Leyline, but the added Wither ability is generally to our benefit. It's not a turn zero play and competes with Blood Moon and FoTBH, but definitley a good sideboard choice. 4
Torpor Orb - Great for hosing Melira Pod, Spinter Twin, Scapeshift, and Amulet of Vigor decks. It does turn off some of our critters though. 4
Grafdigger's Cage - Can slow down Pod and Tron. Hoses Snapcaster Mage and Scavenging Ooze. Does NOT work against Living End! 3
Faerie Macabre - uncounterable graveyard hate. Grim Lavamancer Fuel. Never really hard cast. 3
Tormod's Crypt - Free graveyard hate! 5
Relic of Progenitus - Yard hate with a cantrip! 4
Smash to Smithereens - I love this card. Blows up artifacts anddeals damage. 5
Ancient Grudge - recurring artifact hate if you splash green. Eh. 2
Shattering Spree - blows up lots of artifacts. 3
Wear / Tear - Awesome to splash white for, if only to remove Leyline of Sanctity. That's a problem card. 5
Pyroclasm - Cheap boardsweep with little reach. 3
Anger of the Gods - larger boardsweep that exiles stuff. Could be good. 3
Slagstorm - Never a dead card. Boardsweep, can go to the dome, or be diverted to a 'Walker. 4
Dismember - Sometimes removal is required, and loosing four life if we aren't splashing black is worth it. Definitley a worthy sideboard choice as a two of or more, pending meta. 4
Putting it all together
Red Deck Wins typically uses a 20/20/20 split, which is 20 creatures, 20 spells, and 20 lands. I've found that 19 lands seems to be the perfect number as you're less likely to get flooded like at 20 or more, and more apt to get 3-4 lands in play, unlike at 18. Take some time to experiment with this, if you wish.
As I've mentioned througout this primer, keep your curve very low, playing mostly 1 drops, 10 or so 2 drops, and 6 or so 3 drops. I would never go with anything above 3 CMC with the exception of perhaps Leyline of Punishment. Remember, we want to be fast and efficient, so playing high CMC spells and creatures is out of the question.
Red Deck Wins should ideally be Mono Red, but some have splashed either white, black, or a bit of both. If you choose to do so, running 4-8 fetch lands would be necessary, as well as playsets of the corresponding Shock lands. This really isn't an option if you want to remain competitive and splash as you want to avoid anything that ETB tapped like Temples or Guildgates. One last note about splashing: Blood Moon will hurt you too. This is important, as Tron can be a beast and we have few better options to deal with it.
Run four copies of just about everything but basic Mountains. We need to be consistent, and without tons of tutors and card draw, we want to see our critters and burn. There are some exceptions to this rule.
Piloting to win
RDW is not a mindless deck, as some may choose to believe. Every play matters and every spell counts. The concept of the deck is simple, granted, but to pilot RDW to a Top 4-8 slot takes skill. How do we obtain this skill? Practice! Yeah, I said it, but it's true. Playtest the crap out of this deck until you know it inside and out. Play against a variety of good players with different decks. Learn from your losses and mistakes.
Game one is crucial for us to win. We will be very behind if we loose game one and have to combat any hate games two and three. Again, know your deck and your opponent's, make good plays, and win like a boss.
Mulligan into your sideboard answers. We don't have card draw, so they NEED to be in your opening hand. Putting 3-4 copies of your sideboard answers in helps out tons. Mulligans really suck in RDW, but they're not so bad if we've won game one and are on the play game two.
A few other tips. HOLD ONTO SKULLCRACK! Seriously, I've lost matches because I played the card before it was necessary to do so. Timing with that card can make or break the match. Play Instants and effects that can be played as Instants at the end of your opponent's turn, or in response to something they do. Leaving Mountains untapped with cards in hand is also a good bluff (even if it IS a Mountain in your hand; it could be a Bolt for all your opponent knows) and psychs your opponent out. Lastly, take advantage of the phases of the turn. That is, play creatures that don't have Haste on your secondmain phase. They may dodge the removal your Goblin Guide ate. Think about it!
Matchup analysis
Here I will breakdown favorable and bad matchups for Red Deck Wins, as well as sideboard choices.
With the prevalence of fetches and shocks in the format, our clock is quite fast. Many players will choose to have shocks ETB tapped as they cannot afford the loss of life. Generally speaking, Lifegain is the bane of Red Deck Wins' existence. This is how we loose. Leyline of Sanctity is a sideboard answer that we really never want to see. Being that RDW runs more creatures than Burn, we canstill pull off a win, albeit a difficult one. If Leyline causes you to be hated out in your meta, I would highly recommend splashing white or green to deal with the enchantment.
Melira Pod - 60/40 in our favor pre sideboard and 70/30 pending what they side in. Melira + sac outlet + Kitchen Finks is something you do not want to see. If they pull off this combo, scoop. Preventing the combo is relatively simple, get rid of Melira ala a Bolt/Lavamancer, and hold onto Skullcrack or FoTBH. They may resort to using Melira + sac outlet + Murderous Redcap; again kill Melira. Another possible combo some run are Spike Feeder and Archangel of Thune. Skullcrack nixes this too, but gives them one helluva beater in the process. The match may be rough if they side in Leyline of Sanctity or Burrenton Forge Tender. We can side in Torpor Orb to negate any ETB effects, Grafdigger's Cage to slow them down, and even Blood Moon to hose their mana base. Getting rid of Birthing Pod with a Smash to Smithereens may be a worthwhile play. Any other anti Lifegain stuff like Everlasting Torment or Leyline of Punishment may also be wise.
R/G Tron - 60/40 in our favor pre board. 70/30 post board. Tron is slow the first few turns and we can eek in a lot of damage. A turn 3 Karn Liberated can suck, but we can pull of a win. Wurmcoil Engine and Batterskull are often plopped down early as well. This is why Skullcrack is super important. They often get rid of Goblin Guide and other weenies quickly with Pyroclasm, All is Dust, or Oblivion Stone. Sideboarding is key to beating Tron. A resolved Blood Moon usually wins us the game. Eidolon of the Great Revel can hurt them in a big way as they cantrip and tutor often with Sylvan Scrying, Ancient Stirrings, Chromatic Sphere, etc. Even a Pyroclasm will Shock them. Definitley side OUT Goblin Guide game two, as we don't want to give them lands.
Affinity/Robots - 50/50 pre board, 60/40 in our favor post. Affinity is a rough matchup, as they're just as fast, sometimes faster, than we are. Steel Overseer and Master of Etherium can make their team out of Bolt range. Arcbound Ravager dodges removal or can eat what you're trying to remove. Some lists run Spellskite mainboard, which is SUPER frustrating to play against, as it can eat a Bolt aimed at their dome. In my experience, go for the dome as quickly as possible and only remove critters with Lavamancer, especially Vault Skirge. Skullcrack also helps against that dude. They have removal via Galvanic Blast and Dispatch, so be prepared for that. Side in artifact hate, especially Smash to Smithereens, to take care of Inkmoth Nexus (fast clock), Spellskite, and especially Cranial Plating.
American Control (R/W/U) - 55/45 pre board in our favor, 70/30 post in their favor. This is a Draw-Go deck much like the Control decks of Olde. They will remove your critters easily with Path to Exile, Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Helix. Snapcaster Mage gives them more mileage out of their removal and Restoration Angel blinks Snappy. Your anti Lifegain tech is key to winning this matchup, so keep mana open at all costs. They also play the full gamut of Spell Pierce, Spell Snare, Mana Leak, Remand, Cryptic Command, and a few Sphinx's Revelation. I'd bait their counterspells carefully. Skullcrack is crucial in this matchup. This is seriously a grindy match and a very close game. They can win if they gain life, then plink your total away with Snappy, Resto, Clique, Man Lands, and burn. They run 26 lands or so, thus Goblin Guide should come out game two. If they board in Leyline of Sanctity, it will be a difficult match to win. Many builds have started running more basic lands mainboard as a means to deal with Blood Moon, so Blood Moon may not be an optimal board in choice. Eidolon of the Great Revel may have a good place in this matchup, but it will certainly bite the dust quickly. Vexing Shusher may give you a turn or two of uncounterable spells to seal the game. Also expect it to be removed. Grafdigger's Cage and Torpor Orb can slow down Snappy, Clique, and Resto, (well Cage for Snappy and Orb for all three) but they have their own artifact/enchantment hate to board in. I prefer Faerie Macabre to exile key spells from their yard, as it's uncounterable.
Living End - 95/5 in our favor pre board, 70/30 post board. Keldon Marauders does some serious work in this matchup! Living End is more or less a sitting duck for the first few turns. Some run Simian Spirit Guide for acceleration so they can go off turn two at the earliest. Typically, they go off turn three, and we have a faster clock. Fulminator Mage is utterly useless against us, unless we're splashing something and running shocks. Avalanche Riders can hit our Mountains, though. Game two they will probably board in Spike Feeder and/or Brindle Boar, thus our anti Lifegain tech is once again very important. Really, that's the only answer they have for us. Graveyard hate is very good at further hosing Living End, once they have a ton of critters in their yard. Now, if they manage to eek out some life out of sideboarding and go into beat down mode, we've lost. It's rare, but can happen if you haven't played your cards right.
Jund - 60/40 in our favor pre board, 70/30 post. They have some efficient beaters ala Goyf, so chump blocking may be necessary. Thoughtseize hurts them more often than it hurts us (T 1 fetch, shock, Thoughtseize leaves them at 15). As does Bob. In fact, Bob is worthy of keeping on the board as a means to drain their life total. Lily kind of sucks to play against, regardless, but we can still win if she hits the board. A Bolt to Lily after she's used a -2 may not be a bad idea. Scavenging Ooze and Courser of Kruphix really blow, so hold onto Skullcrack. They run their own Bolts, Terminate, and Abrupt Decay to remove our dudes, which they do often. Being in top deck mode against Jund usually means we've lost, unless we draw a game ending burn spell. Eidolon of the Great Revel would be a boss against Jund, as their curve is low. However, this could also kill us in the process, so be wary. Blood Moon has great potential to ruin Jund's day, as it has a pretty greedy mana base.
U/B or Esper Mill - There are some control heavy mill decks floating around FNM's from time to time. Their clock is definitley not as fast as ours. Crypt Incursion is a card we need to watch out for, as that wins them the game against us. Don't be too concerned with being milled, simply wreck their face in a timely manner. Do watch out for Darkness and other Fog effects. Some lists run a few. Some builds have Jace's Phantasm and Wight of Precint Six as a backup clock. We have no answer for them, really, so chump block when necessary and able. Typically though, we put them on the defensive. Esper builds may side in Leyline of Sanctity. We have no real sideboard answer save Faerie Macabre to get rid of Snapcaster targets, should they run him.
Soul Sisters - 20/80 in their favor pre board, 40/60 post. Ugh. Pure and efficient Lifegain. Probably one of our worst matchups. Use Lavamancer to take care of the Soul Sisters and hold onto Skullcrack for dear life. Some lists run Ajani's Pridesmate, which can get large quickly. They may run Leyline of Sanctity and enchantment hate game two, which would really suck for us. Boardwipes are great to remove their weenies. Leyline of Punishment would be ideal in this matchup, if it can stick long enough for us to burn their toast.
B/W Tokens - 70/30 our favor pre board, 60/40 post. This deck is just plain annoying to play against. Their tokens via Lingering Souls and the like can chump block all day, so critters we have with Trample can turn the game in our favor. They do run plenty of removal and discard. They're more of a Tempo deck, so our clock is generally faster. Do watch your life total, as they may swing in with some fliers. Some lists run Soul Sister esque Lifegain, so remove those critters and Skullcrack that arse accordingly. Blood Moon can ruin their day, and boardwipes are quite effective.
Infect - 70/30 our favor pre board, 60/40 post. Here's another pretty quick clock. But unlike RDW, Infect is very much all in with very little answers. Running few creatures and tons of pumps often leaves them vulnerable. But don't underestimate them and always Bolt/chump block when able. Inkmoth Nexus, Glistner Elf, and Apostle's Blessing are their win cons against us. If you can Bolt in response to Blessing, awesome, but they may pump past bolt range. Removing their critters with Lavamancer is key. Skullcrack may or may not be relevant in this matchup, pending their sideboard choices. Blood Moon can generally stop Inkmoth, as can Smash to Smithereens. Boardsweeps can be devastating, pending they have no answer in the way of Apostle's Blessing. They may side in Phyrexian Crusader. This could potentially suck as we can't remove or block him outside of Dismember.
Mono Green Devotion/Ramp - 80/20 pre board, 60/40 post. Any sort of ramp deck is almost an auto-win for us. They generally don't like to loose their mana dorks unless absolutely necessary. Lavamancer can plink them off, gaining us much needed ground. Somberwald Sage deserves a Bolt, always. Don't leave her on the board. Courser of Kruphix may show up, and he's worth holding onto Skullcrack for. Their threats are MUCH bigger than ours, but we can typically end the game before or when they hit the board. We have no way of removing their big beasties, so make sure they're toast before that happens. They may board in Kitchen Finks and/or Obstinate Baloth. Be prepared to hold off anti Lifegain tech for that. Other than Boardsweeps, there's not much we can side in against them.
Mono Black Devotion - 60/40 our favor all around. I've seen a few lists made popular by Gary and Phyrexian Obliterator. Vampire Nighthawk needs to go, so hold off Bolts and Searing Blaze for him. If you're packing Dismember, now would be the time to bring it in for Obliterator. That card blows staring down at you. Also save Skullcrack for if/when Gary hits the board. If they gain any life, it's GG. Lily may show up too, so be prepared for that. They tend to pack removal ala Dismember, Go for the Throat, Geth's Verdict, and Victim of Night, as well as some discard like Duress and Thoughtseize. They may side in some additional discard in an attempt to get us in top deck mode. Have mana up in response to hit their dome with Instants, if possible. Again, Dismember works wonders against them as does any sort of anti-Lifegain enchantment; they can't remove it.
Boggles or G/W Hexproof - 60/40 all around. This deck is built much like Infect; kinda Voltron. They get a Hexproof critter out and proceed to cast potent Auras on it, making them quite large. Our removal is a moot point against them, but we may very well chump block when able to do so. There are a few Auras that grant their critters protection from creatures, so be prepared for that. Boggles has a pretty fast clock as well, but our burn can very well make short of the game. Go for the dome. Definitely save Skullcrack for if/when they pull some Lifelink shenanigans on you with their Auras. If you're running any sort of enchantment hate by splashing white, do so now. Getting rid of their Lifelink Auras is key. Otherwise, make good use of anti-Lifegain enchantments.
Splinter Twin, Kiki-Pod, Merfolk, Goblins, Elves, HateBears, Junk, U/W Control, Mono U Tron, and Storm - These are not in my meta currently, so I could use some feedback on match analysis against these decks. Especially given many have top tier status.
Decklists
Here is my Modern RDW:
deck-large: Only YOU Can Start a Forest Fire (4-1 FNM!)
I will be linking more proven deck lists in the future, so stay tuned! In the meantime, may you never top deck a Mountain and may the Lightning Bolt be with you!
