Primer
** How to Really "Roll-Out" of EDH Transformer Artifact Burn **
Welcome all, to my first primer on Flamewar, Brash Veteran
The idea of this primer is to give a deep dive of each card I have in this deck and to explain the inner workings. I hope you guys find this to be a unique way to build and draw inspiration from it!
Flamewar has got to be one the most underrated Rakdos commanders that has come out. You don't see a lot of deck builds on her that are popular and there aren't many channels showing just how valuable she is.
Firstly, she can come out turn 1, latest turn 2. She has menace so she'll get through to someone pretty much every combat for the next 2-4 turns. She makes herself bigger with her sac ability and when she's on her front side you can actually use her ability to dodge kill spells and boardwipes since she converts to an artifact. Being able to build a second hand of cards within the first 3-4 turns is HUGE.
Flamewar goes OFF when other people are still trying to ramp. With the amount of tutors we run, we're able to assemble full kill potential board states by turn 5-6 rather consistently.
You'll like this deck if you are a big fan of the "Group Slug" or "Burn" style arch-type. We're aiming to use Flamewar, Brash Veteran
to develop a second bank of cards under her for large value in the early game to take over quickly.
The Game Plan
Firstly, the deck plans to:
Step 1: Get Flamewar out by turn 1 or 2.
Step 2: Swing into opponents for a second hand of cards by turn 3-4
Step 3: Use your tutors to get key pieces into play for large bursts of damage.
The plan is simple and works very well.
Card Choices:
Card Draw: For "Card Draw" we're going to list the cards that purely say "Draw a Card" without any other demanding requirements.
Monumental Corruption: This is a treasure deck, we're meant to have a lot of artifacts out. It's amazing.
Night's Whisper: Cheap to cast, one black pip. Love it.
Seize the Spoils: Better than I thought since we have lots of recursion, dump a high cmc creature and Reanimate it back.
Wheel of Fortune: Full wheel for 3? Duh. Not budget but goes in every red deck.
Wheel of Misfortune: Just Wheel of Fortune for life, worth.
Ichor Wellspring: 2 mana get's a card, pay 1 with Flamewar to sack it to Convert and also draw. Perfect.
Card Advantage:
This list is anything that helps get us cards even with extra requirements to meet.
Decree of Pain: Board wipe to get a large burst of draw? Yes please. Even if there's not a ton of creatures it's one of the best in black.
Jeska's Will: Ramp AND access to 3 cards for 3 mana? Red Staple for a reason, also goes crazy with Underworld Breach
Light Up the Stage: Burning people with artifacts and then get access to 2 more cards for 1 red? Easy.
Bolas's Citadel: Just wins games. Combo with Aetherflux Reservoir and/or Sensei's Divining Top GG.
Sensei's Divining Top: Awesome way to filter through the deck most optimally.
Body Count: Started trying this out and it's extremely underrated. 1 Black to to draw even 2 cards is great, often this will get me at least 5 cards.
Academy Manufactor: Get's Clues for draw if we are out of options and even life gain if we're desperate. Also a combo piece with Ingenious Artillerist
Braids, Arisen Nightmare: Still trying this one, only 3 and can get us up to 3 cards a turn or chip away boardstates. Seems good so far but not sure, might switch.
Dauthi Voidwalker: Hates on graveyard strategies and gives us 3 players worth of options, hasn't disappointed.
Opposition Agent: Don't need to explain this one. Usually using it to get combo pieces of our own if they have anything decent or taking wincons away. Rule 0 this one though, people hate it.
Professional Face-Breaker: Personal Fav from New Capenna, get's us treasures and we can use them for card advantage. Love it.
Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools: One of the best Planeswalkers in my opinion, gives us bodies, card draw, and if no one does anything about it, take commanders, great card.
Control
This section goes over all the ways we control the board with single target removal, board wipes, or denial.
Blood Money: Board wipe to get us a ton of treasures? Ya that's what the deck wants.
Cut / Ribbons: 4 damage will kill those commanders that are just a little tougher than a Lightning Bolt, actually love it, and give extra burn when in grave.
Decree of Pain: Board wipe for cards, awesome.
Feed the Swarm: Hit's enchantments which is super useful.
Reckless Endeavor: basically another Blood Money and we get to choose which one we want, love this card.
Red Sun's Twilight: Slightly more expensive By Force but we can get copies of the artifacts? I've had nutty plays with this.
Toxic Deluge: Staple board wipe for a reason.
Vandalblast: 5 mana to get rid of all the things that aren't ours. Totally worth.
Aetherflux Reservoir: Straight up player removal, also is a total champ with this deck since we use our life A LOT as a resource.
Bojuka Bog: Landfall, pop a graveyard, goes in every black deck for me.
Deadly Rollick: Free creature exile? Ya obvious why this is not a cheap card.
Deflecting Swat: Free "Naw son". Goes in every red deck.
Fire Covenant: Great removal, can wipe total boards or pick off a select few key creatures.
Kolaghan's Command: Do you like options?
Rakdos Charm: Gives us more options and this card is player removal if we go against a token deck.
Dauthi Voidwalker: Just don't let them use anything ever again and you get their best spells.
Mayhem Devil: Usually popping creatures more than burning players.
Opposition Agent: Oh no, can't even use fetches?
**Ramp and Acceleration: **
Let's hit every pieces of acceleration we use and why.
Brass's Bounty: Not a complete all star honestly but does what the deck wants.
Jeska's Will: I don't think I need to explain this one.
Mana Geyser: Can get us just so much mana.
Arcane Signet: 2 mana for either color. Auto include
Grim Monolith: 2 man for 3 is beyond good. Tap it then sac it to Flamewar.
Lion's Eye Diamond: Normally only a Cedh card right? Well, it's ability is actually a perfect combo with Flamewar anyway. This is actually just a Black Lotus for this deck, it's super fun. Totally not budget.
Mana Crypt: Just more fast paced ramp.
Mana Vault: More degenerate fast ramp. Sac to Flamewar for more synergy.
Mox Diamond: 0 drop get's us either color, great performer. Also, if hand is full and we're going for a win, drop it then sac it to Flamewar to hold treasures for more burn.
Sol Ring: Not gonna bother
Dark Ritual: 1 black for 3, perfect.
Seething Song: 3 red for 5? Obvious.
Ancient Copper Dragon: Reanimate target for a large burst of treasure which = damage.
Dockside Extortionist: Best red card in the entire game hands down. Use this with Saw in Half for some of the biggest plays I've ever seen and done.
Tutors
We've got a LOT of tutors in this deck. It's one of the reasons this deck can move SO fast. We're always moving to get key pieces out before others can.
Demonic Tutor: Straight to hand for 2 mana, run it.
Grim Tutor: Straight to hand for 3 mana, still great.
Imperial Seal: Get something good on top for 1 mana, sorcery speed but good. Just bank it with Flamewar and draw it.
Vampiric Tutor: Instant speed, get it at upkeep, golden.
Imperial Recruiter: Can enable us to get anyone of our wincons. Get's Magda so we can get one of our big artifacts out, Marionette Master if we've got the treasures out to burn the table down, Professional Face-Breaker if we need to use treasure for gas to keep going, dockside if we need the treasures. Absolutely amazing card.
Magda, Brazen Outlaw: We may only have 2 dragons in the deck but this gal is for getting Bolas's Citadel and Aetherflux Reservoir straight to field. Both are wincons in the deck and gets them in play. Total Performer here.
Opposition Agent: Whad'ya bring me?
Utility Cards
Cards here are for how they help the deck perform
Exsanguinate: We're in black. We use a lot of life. Even if we only pay into this for like 4, that's still getting us 12 life which is the difference between make or break.
Hatred: Just... wow. Absolutely. INSANE. in this deck. Just added it last time I played and it's now THE go to card for early tutors. Just kills someone by turn 2-4, then you get like 20+ cards. One of, if not THE best card in the deck. Totally worth the money.
Saw in Half: Completely bonkers. Get 3 Dockside triggers? 3 Imperial Recruiter triggers? 2 Copper Dragons? 2 Solphims? 2 Marionette Masters? BONKERS good.
Goblin Welder: Get our wincon artifacts back or avoid commander tax. Great pick.
Jeska, Thrice Reborn: Just good synergy. Drop her early to buff Flamewar and build your bank. Use it for your dragons or down tick her to kill small creatures. Haven't regretted slotting her in.
Mahadi, Emporium Master Cast him AFTER your boardwipe and you'll still get the treasures. Have actually REALLY enjoyed using him. Great way to keep value even from resetting.
Recursion
This is really straight forward. Just way's we're using our graveyard to recur key pieces or using it as a second hand.
Agadeem's Awakening
: Pull back a full combo of pieces. GG.
Unearth: Get that Dockside back, Recruiter, Welder, Face-Breaker, Magda. Worth.
Yawgmoth's Will: Graveyard becomes your hand, great card.
Malakir Rebirth
: Killing my key piece? Naw fam.
Thrilling Encore: Love using this, nothing says defeat in players eyes like thinking they took your board out just to say "and we're back"
Underworld Breach: Total animal, doesn't exile the card like Yawgmoth's. Play Jeska's Will over and over to combo off, amazing.
Insightful Tips for the Deck:
If you've got a tutor early game or opening hand, hands down the best card to get is Hatred. This card early just wins the game for you. Flamewar has Menace so she's almost always getting through to someone in the first 4 turns. Cast Hatred and dump 19 life into it. Kills one player immediately off commander damage and you then draw 19 cards. Will almost always get you another tutor which you will use for getting your next piece depending on what the board state requires.
The other main lines here are primarily the Marionette Master and Ingenious Artillerist effects that will combo with Dockside Extortionist + Saw in Half.
This deck is essentially built around totally abusing Dockside.
We're running a lot of recursion to enable that our graveyard will fill for us to use Underworld Breach and Yawgmoth's Will, or cards like Agadeem's Awakening
pull the whole graveyard back which usually wins the games. You'll also be targeting Dockside often with your single target recursion to stay ahead.
We do hold a couple back up win cons like Aetherflux Reservoir/Exsanguinate/Bolas's Citadel which combo with Sensei's Divining Top
Due to just how much draw we can get off Flamewar, we run a lot of ramp in artifacts and rituals.
Weaknesses:
This deck absolutely struggles against wide token decks. We do not want our opponents having creatures on the field so we can keep filling Flamewar's bank for us to draw from.
Due to how fragile this is against other board states I made the decision to put about 9 board wipes so we can shut down creature decks. To help us with this we have about 8 forms of recursion to be able to use our graveyard like a hand as well and be able to pull everything back. To maintain more value from an excessive amount of board wipes we use I've slotted in Mahadi, Emporium Master, his ability says THIS TURN so you can cast him AFTER a board wipe and get all the treasures which is exactly what the deck wants.
Spellslinger decks aren't terrible to deal with but we do have about 8 forms of single target removal to keep their commanders or key pieces off the table for a turn or two.
We slotted in Dauthi Voidwalker to hate on graveyard/spellslinger decks so they can't hold it for more gas later.
**But Wait There's More: **
Using Agadeem's Awakening
or Thrilling Encore is always great but I think I'll be making a switch for Rise of the Dark Realms instead to get everything. It's basically just another win con.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading this and if you'd have any obvious insights that I missed please share them down below!
