To Blightning, or not to Blightning

-Greg

Anyone who talks to me about magic for any amount of time knows that I love aggro. Looking back, this has been a common theme in the decks I built even as a pup, always preferring smash with a Craw Wurm or burn with a Lightning Bolt than to somehow Counterspell my opponent into submission. Games that went like this, and players who played like this, were irritating nuisances to me, and losses to these decks were more like being robbed than beaten. Suffice to say, the only urges I've ever had to play blue did not stem from a joy derived from the manipulation of the game, as I am, at best, bored by what I view as an irritating niche full birds and on-you-you-didn'ts. The only reason to ever play blue was to win, which is akin to selling your child to strangers to buy a Segway.

This need did eventually win out over my need for mutual assured destruction, and so I have been piloting a 5CC deck for some time now. Though I have won a fair amount of games, it has proven to be the most boring, soul-sucking experience I've had with magic; My opponents have not had fun on the other side of the table - at all - and the endless mirror matches have been like playing a game of chess in which you don't move a piece for ten minutes, then spend twenty more moving pieces back and forth. I can't take it anymore. I am going to play a Black/Red Aggro deck, and I am going to hoot and cheer at my own reckless abandon - ratings and rankings be damned.

But, since I've come back to the game (right before Conflux was released), this archetype has seemed to be a gasping, pitiful option. Demigod was trumped by Path to Exile, Terror was useless against Chameleon Colossus. We were swept over by tokens and unTerrorable Broodmate Dragons, and beaten to death by nigh-invincible planeswalkers. Things have been bleak. But, with the advent of new tech in Alara Reborn, are things different? Though we weren't necessarily top-tier, we had some powerful tools before: Volcanic Fallout was certainly a fantastic addition to the aresenal, giving us the edge over G/W Overrun variants, Faeries, and some help against Kithkin. Banefire was another great addition. Some things we've always had, like Everlasting Torment, which helps keep opponents from gaining enough life to get out of burn range. But 5CC was still huge problem, Reviellark was death-on-wheels, and even shit Esper decks have proven to be an enormous pain, handing us our own asses on a commemerative Cryptic Command plate. What's a guy to do?

Well, now, we do have some new toys.

Terror has long been a staple in most decks, and at instant speed, it has proven to be a most excellent answer to Figure of Destiny or Wall of Reverence. Come up against some Esper creatures, though, and you're boned. Enter Terminate:


Still an instant, still a 2 converted cost spell, still a full-on destruction machine - only this time, you can smash faces in the mirror match, or against decks with artifact creatures. This card is certainly no major improvement (and certainly not a contender for Path to Exile), but it is nonetheless a welcomed improvement.

I do see two huge problems for Terminate in the current Standard environment: Chameleon Colossus and Burrenton Forge-Tender, who are untargetable by Terminate because of pro-red and pro-black, respectively. But that's not new, and certainly not enough reason to run this excellent high-speed piece of weaponry.





A card I see being even more helpful in troublesome matches is Thought Hemorrhage. Teamed up with a Guttural Response (to neutralize counterspells), this badboy can strip 5CC of its more bothersome cards, and probably deal a fair amount of damage in the process. If they're holding two Cryptics, cast one, and you Guttural to counter - you've still spent two cards to remove four of theirs - four very important cards, no less. 3 damage is gravy. Think of the other problem matches and their key components: take out the Larks, the Overruns, the Dorans, and suddenly your field advantage is greatly improved.

While I haven't playtested this card to be sure of its power level, I'm assuming it's not really powerful enough to maindeck, but could be a key component in the sideboard.





The card I'm most excited to add to my decklist is Anathemancer. Murderous Redcap has proven to be a powerful card in BR Aggro, and could be considered a staple. He does two damage when you get him on the board, swings and blocks for two, and persists for an extra point, and is relatively good for small removal, or to push your opponent closer to the edge. He does not, however, win games, and is very susceptible to countermagic.

But Anathemancer... Anathemancer is game ender. For 1 less mana than Redcap, he can generally hit the board around the same time, and deal the same amount of burn to a player. Even better, late in the game he can be unearthed (which is an activated ability, immune to Broken Ambitions and other spells) to seriously hurt your opponent. By the time you have seven mana sources, how many non-basics will your opponent have? Probably enough to wrap things up.

So, in short, the RG Aggro archetype has gotten better. Certainly, our 5 Color Control and Boat Brew matchups are looking better and better, and our already strong games against GW Overrun and Faeries are only that much better. But, only time and games will tell how far ahead we've come - and how far the meta game has come with us. So, good luck guys, and remember to sleeve up before you play - you don't want to get your cardboard dirty.