This deck was another modification from an existing battle deck at Card Kingdom. Originally titled "Firing Squad," this mono-red deck specializes in flexible control for the first few turns, with the eventual hope that the opponent loses momentum. Against control decks, we have sixteen creature-threats after sideboarding to keep the pressure on. Whatever aspect this midrange deck assumes, flashback and madness mechanics provide incidental card advantage to keep around three cards in hand at all times, or at least a few options in the graveyard. Discard as much as possible!
Bedlam Reveler
can act as a finishing punch if the battlefield is mostly scarce of creatures, providing extra fuel after drawing three cards.
In doing a little reading, it seems the community consensus for functional ratios in discard decks is 2:1, for discard outlets and discard-friendly cards, respectively. I've given myself some similar numbers too.
18 discard-friendly cards, 7 discard-essential (madness) cards and 17 discard outlets seems to work most of the time, allowing this deck's burn spells to keep up with what can otherwise but an unmanageable amount of creatures coming from the opposition. Additionally, there's cards like
Chandra's Phoenix
,
Sin Prodder
and
Magma Jet
for some psuedo-synergies to provide even more incidental card advantage. Because of all the alternate casting cost effects, the mana curve does not truly look like the one depicted here on tappedout.
The main fault of this deck is that it can be unpredictable at times. Sometimes it can draw out an incredibly strong opening hand, and later nothing usable. This may be the result of having so many 2x and 1x cards, but a lot of thought was put into the ratios, and I appreciate the wild nature of this deck's interactions.
The sideboard takes care of a lot of problems, and the curve there reflects a lot of careful thinking about maindeck replacements. As midrange excels after sideboarding, lots of the cards there sway the maindeck to assume either a greater control or aggro stance against opposing decks. Still, there's some specific answer cards like
Smash to Smithereens
and
Blood Moon
.
I've settled on the name as a commemoration of H.P Lovecraft's most excellent short story, that this deck's theme pays homage to. If that's not clear enough, this deck loves all things fiery, gothic and devilish.
