Instead of Dead Reveler you could try Gore-House Chainwalker and then maybe instead of Splatter Thug you could use Thrill-Kill Assassin I'd say that would help o.O
April 6, 2013 7:05 p.m.
Also, instead of Sign in Blood , how about Stab Wound sure, it's +1 more mana But if the player has a 3/3 then you can continue to sap their health each turn.
April 6, 2013 7:12 p.m.
Tradeylouish says... #4
If you want more speed, then Rakdos Shred-Freak is pretty good. Not as good as Ash Zealot , but I would play it over something like Dead Reveler .
Lightning Mauler is from Avacyn Restored, but it's not expensive and could be useful - you can either play it as a 2/1 haste provided you have another creature, or you could save it and give a 3 or 4 drop haste.
April 6, 2013 9:12 p.m.
Burning-Tree Emissary would be a good 2 drop. You also need to lower your mana curve, more 2+ power cmc creatures would be great (maybe Diregraf Ghoul ).
April 6, 2013 10:17 p.m.
mrbloo1848 says... #6
Following are non-RTR cards that a red-based aggro usually doesn't go without:
Hellrider , Stromkirk Noble , Pyreheart Wolf , Pillar of Flame , Lightning Mauler , Brimstone Volley , Volcanic Strength (sideboard)
Here are RTR-block cards you could use:
Legion Loyalist , Mizzium Mortars (worth running even mainboard considering the prevalence of midrange), Boros Reckoner (4-of for sure. He's nasty. Treat him as triple red), Madcap Skills (because mad skillz).
As an aggro, you need to focus more on swarming the board and winning fast (preferably by turns 4-6) and focus less on card advantage. You won't need Sign in Blood or Rakdos's Return or that many 4+ cmc creatures. Keep anything that costs 4-5 or more down to maybe 1 or 2. (Hellrider being an exception in which case you run 4 of)
I understand building for post-rotation (with only RTR block), especially money-wise (I tried the same thing by doodling a list of cards to go into theoretical post-rotation decks). It's rough to make anything competitive with 2 sets.
An idea would be to build a Rakdos midrange-burn deck centered around Rakdos, Lord of Riots and a good amount of creatures that could get discounted by his ability.
April 7, 2013 12:47 a.m.
Here's some results from Return to Ravnica Block Constructed that I think you should look at. If you didn't know already, Block Constructed is where you make a deck from only a specific block, in this case Return to Ravnica, Gatecrash, and Dragon's Maze. Any deck in RtR Block Constructed is Standard legal, and it won't rotate out for another two years.
Jund Midrange is becoming one of the more popular builds in Block Constructed. You would basically splash green for Ghor-Clan Rampager , Dreg Mangler , and Abrupt Decay . Keeping it red/black is fine too, but you'd get access to some stronger cards.
Here's a sample list of what you could play using what you have with a few minor tweaks:
4x Blood Crypt 4x Dragonskull Summit 4x Rakdos Guildgate 7x Mountain 4x Swamp ----------------------------------------------------------23 Lands
4x Ash Zealot 4x Rakdos Cackler 4x Boros Reckoner 4x Burning-Tree Emissary 4x Desecration Demon 4x Legion Loyalist ----------------------------------------------------------24 Creatures
4x Searing Spear 4x Dreadbore 4x Mizzium Mortars 1x Tragic Slip ----------------------------------------------------------13 Other Spells
4x Skullcrack 3x Vampire Nighthawk 2x Duress 4x Volcanic Strength 2x Knight of Infamy ----------------------------------------------------------15 Sideboard Cards
April 7, 2013 1:35 a.m.
April 7, 2013 1:39 a.m.
RavenMist, Tradeylouish, Demarge, mrbloo1848, & sylvannos -Thank you everyone for you input, I truly appreciate the assistance! I've gone and updated the deck list (see the update above).
I suppose I would like to play this deck before rotation and I do want it to be competitive, so the RTR block has been broken.
New/revised suggestions are most welcome please!
April 7, 2013 10:35 a.m.
I'd suggest making an update and hide these comments, it's a good practice to do so after every decently sized change to the deck (you can even use the same update to hide more comments) that way viewers won't have to wade through comments that you could just summarize in an update.
April 7, 2013 10:43 a.m.
RavenMist, Tradeylouish, Demarge, mrbloo1848, & sylvannos -Thank you everyone for you input, I truly appreciate the assistance! I've gone and updated the deck list (see the update above).I suppose I would like to play this deck before rotation and I do want it to be competitive, so the RTR block has been broken.New/revised suggestions are most welcome please!
April 7, 2013 11:20 a.m.
RavenMist, Tradeylouish, Demarge, mrbloo1848, & sylvannos -Thank you everyone for you input, I truly appreciate the assistance! I've gone and updated the deck list (see the update above).
I suppose I would like to play this deck before rotation and I do want it to be competitive, so the RTR block has been broken.
New/revised suggestions are most welcome please!
April 7, 2013 11:22 a.m.
Cryptborn Horror
vs. Hellhole Flailer
(or someone else on the list)?
Legion Loyalist
(for his battalion effect) vs. Stromkirk Noble
?
April 7, 2013 2:30 p.m.
Tradeylouish says... #14
I run Hellhole Flailer over Cryptborn Horror in my Rakdos Aggro deck, Joy in Pain, just because Cryptborn Horror can end up being a dead card in hand if you're struggling to get damage through. The Flailer can always swing for 4, and its sacrifice ability can be really useful when you need to get the last few points of damage through.
April 7, 2013 4:21 p.m.
mrbloo1848 says... #15
Personally, I prefer Vampire Nighthawk or Pyreheart Wolf in the 3-drop slot. Nighthawk is just good in general, can block the most dangerous flyers/creatures, and lifelink can win you the game in aggro matchups. Pyreheart Wolf is known for giving your enemy a heartache during combat and curving Lightning Mauler into surprise haste Pyreheart Wolf usually hurts too.
As for the 1-drop question, why not both?
Running more low-cmc creatures also means you may be able to cut the land down to 21 or even 20 and have more creatures. My RDW had 20-21 lands and it ran without a hitch.
April 7, 2013 4:55 p.m.
Thanks for the thoughts Tradeylouish
mrbloo1848: I may put Vampire Nighthawk
in. Every time I drop him when playing my orzhov deck, my opponent groans, counters, or removes him asap -for good reason too I suppose eh? Haha. Pyreheart Wolf
seems good, but if I go nighthawk, not sure I can fit him in.
How can I fit both 1-drops in? What would I take out to make room? I'd be leery going down to 20-21. Lol
April 7, 2013 5:37 p.m.
mrbloo1848 says... #17
+2 Vampire Nighthawk - You don't need more than 2 in a heavy aggro deck, but if you want 3 (because that's perfectly ok too), then put in only 3 Legion Loyalist .
and fix color accordingly. Your average CMC is only 2.13 and will be even less with this change. It means that you can afford to run 21 lands (20 is the extreme. Not a lot of people do it). You don't rely too much on hitting your land every turn like midrange or control decks do.
April 7, 2013 6 p.m.
Tradeylouish says... #18
I also think that Pillar of Flame is probably better than Skinbrand Goblin if you only ever use it for attacking, but I suppose the goblin can be better in some situations.
April 8, 2013 12:58 a.m.
Does my deck NEED Boros Reckoner
or Thundermaw Hellkite
to be competitive???
I'd be willing to purchase 3 of one of them at the moment -which one is better?
April 13, 2013 12:21 p.m.
I would say that you need one or the other to really get the job done. I would reccomend slotting out the 3x Hellhole Flailer for 3x Boros Reckoner . Sideboard the Volcanic Strength as a 2 of because a lot of people run mountains right now in the form of Mountain , Blood Crypt , Stomping Ground , Steam Vents , etc. If you want to diversify the build, go with 2x Reckoner and 1x Thundermaw Hellkite . Other than that you are pretty spot on.
April 13, 2013 12:35 p.m.
KrosanTusker says... #21
For the sake of your curve, I would say that Boros Reckoner would fit better. If you think that you can reliably get to five mana and still win when your opponent has five or more mana (as this is a fast deck, you'll obviously do better in the early game than the late game*), then maybe say 2 of one and 1 of the other.
*Saying that, maybe that's a good reason to run Thundermaw Hellkite .
Hope that was vaguely helpful and +1!
April 13, 2013 12:38 p.m.
miracleHat says... #23
i think that Volcanic Strength will be really nice in here. same with Madcap Skills
April 13, 2013 5:55 p.m.
Thank you for the input capriom85, KrosanTusker, jminute14, and m12fox.
I will be adding in 3 Boros Reckoner
. I would love to add 1 THUNDERMAW as an aspirational card -will have work on my trades!
I'm still considering Volcanic Strength
. I just hate getting 2-for-1'ed.
No Vexing Devil . With all the life gain currently going on, taking 4 isn't an issue. Plus I want creatures on the field to either be swinging with, or that require a creature on the field or card from my opponent's hand to deal with.
April 13, 2013 6:34 p.m.
Volcanic Strength is a really strong card against other red decks. It puts your creatures just out of range of Searing Spear or Pillar of Flame . Skullcrack should also be a four-of in the sideboard. You really want to be able to cast it in response to Thragtusk or Sphinx's Revelation .
I'd suggest dropping down to two Duress and two Slaughter Games . I also don't think you need Grafdigger's Cage when you have Ash Zealot . If graveyard recursion is really that much of a problem in your area that you need seven cards to kill them with, Tormod's Crypt or even Deathrite Shaman might be better choices.
Taytora says... #1
Alright, she doesn't seem fast enough...how can I make her faster???
Also, 3 cards have to go yet....which ones?
April 6, 2013 6:44 p.m.