Hi folks! When putting together my B/W Aggro deck, I was always on the fence about whether I'd go in that direction or pursue mono-red. Checking out some Red Deck Wins decklists for the last while, I was attracted to the version that has Akroan Crusader, Satyr Hoplite, and Monastery Swiftspear. It got me thinking, though... could Red Deck Wins be made a little more interesting or perform a little better with a splash of white? It turns out the answer is maybe, but maybe not. Testing required!
Starting with the shell similar to the majority of RDW top 8 finishers for the past month (Red Deck Wins - Giovanni Rosi's version is a good example), I made tweaks to include white standby Soldier of the Pantheon and RW powerhouse Akroan Hoplite, and have added Chained to the Rocks as well as a couple of white "weathering the storm" type spells to the side.
I only own two Rabblemasters so that's why you'll only find two of them in the deck. I think 4-of would improve the deck but I'm not sure if I can justify the expense. Perhaps if a trade fell into my lap!
Don't be afraid to mulligan. Bear in mind that if your starting hand has 1 Mountain, Swiftspear, and Titan's Strength, it might just be good enough. I've won games with only one land on the board. Not a road you want to go down unless you have to. If you don't have an obvious turn one play, mulligan.
Without further ado:
MAINBOARD:
Creatures:
Akroan Crusader - the Heroic trigger produces a ton of attackers.
Akroan Hoplite - becomes very powerful with Crusader and Rabblemaster producing creatures.
Frenzied Goblin - helps to get our attackers through as quickly as possible, avoid deathtouch, etc.
Goblin Rabblemaster - goblins etc.
Mogis's Warhound - bestow and pump. Puts the 2-toughness guys out of the range of
lighting strike
and Anger of the Gods.
Monastery Swiftspear - the superstar. Hasty, and the turn 2 Titan's Strength makes her huge.
Soldier of the Pantheon - good in Khans-land.
Non-creatures:
Hammerhand - haste, takes a blocker out of the equation, pumps, cheap.
Ride Down - amazing in early testing, people are always trying to block your biggest gun, this makes sure the damage always gets through.
Dragon Mantle - later game (for this deck, that means turn 5, haha) mana sink and card draw all in one.
Stoke the Flames - convoke enough to kill a Courser... sounds good to me.
Titan's Strength - instant speed pump that can lead to some huge damage and angry dudes after their defender goes down. Makes attackers big enough to kill at least Courser, in some cases Polukranos etc. Scry as icing on the cake.
Land Base:
It should be noted that the version of RDW that this is based on typically has 18-19 lands. I've moved to 20 just to deal with the 2-color issues.
SIDEBOARD:
Still a work in progress as I figure out how red deals with the meta and what I'll face most of the time locally.
Chained to the Rocks - some stuff just needs to be exiled, and this is cheap, which is a massive bonus.
Eidolon of the Great Revel - for burn, control, etc. Stuff with cheap spells.
Gods Willing - white protection with scry.
Harness by Force - steal those midrange blockers and make them attack alongside your red and white weenies.
Lightning Strike - cheap removal of Mantis Riders and so on.
Peak Eruption - for the mirror, to make your opponent hate you and hate life by destroying his land. Sorry in advance.
Maybeboard thoughts:
I've tried Seeker of the Way here with mixed results. He gets bigger than most in this deck and he has the lifelink going for him, but he's slower getting going than most things in this deck.
The creatures who are easily removed are Satyr Hoplite and Frenzied Goblin so additions are assessed compared to those. If and when I move to 4 Rabblemasters the Hoplites will likely be removed.
Specific Help Requested:
I'm still learning how to construct a red/white sideboard for the current meta, so suggestions are certainly welcome there. As well, this deck is weak against flyers (I'm looking at you, Wingmate Roc) and needs careful piloting vs. control/burn. Any specific suggestions for dealing with those would be great.
