How to Beat RDW
Deck Help forum
Posted on April 20, 2015, 2:07 p.m. by alexthegreat38
Hello all,
I'm currently running this 
Aggro/Dragons deck in Standard:
Lightning Strikes Twice (RG Dragons) Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 3 | 2 COMMENTS | 204 VIEWSThe deck is super fun, and getting as much benefit as possible from all the dragons is awesome. However, I'm having a problem with the RDW variants that have recently become extremely good. My deck matches up well against other slow aggro/midrange decks mostly due to its eight 4/4 flyers, and my control matchup is alright if I get mana acceleration. However, I keep getting absolutely wrecked by Red Deck Wins. I have three major areas of concern that, hopefully, some skilled players could address:
Sideboarding strategies. I currently bring in 8 cards for RDW: 2 Arc Lightning, 3 Hornet Nest, and 3 Wild Slash. I usually take out all of my Boon Satyrs because they don't match up well with most of the red creatures, and then some of the slower removal (Roast + Crater's Claws) and a Surrak, the Hunt Caller. Does this seem like a decent sideboarding strategy? I'm also considering Circle of Flame, Barrage of Boulders, Feed the Clan, and Anger of the Gods for the sideboard.
Play Style. Does it seem better to try and jam as many creatures as possible early on in the game to try to 1-for-1 with all of their cards, or should I throw 4 Anger of the Gods into the sideboard and try to play more midrangy in games 2 and 3?
Mulligans. Against RDW, do I need to mulligan aggressively until I have a Hornet Nest in hand or 1-2 piece of removal?
Hopefully you guys can help me out here making my slower aggro deck more effective against the blistering Mono-Red/Atarka Sligh decks that are currently out there! Thanks so much.
alexthegreat38 says... #3
Thanks for your suggestions! I really like Hornet Nest though, I'm not sure I should get rid of him entirely. Hornet Nest is fantastic for stalling them out and eventually 3-for-1s them in a lot of situations. I could maybe try -1 Hornet Nest, 1 Wild Slash +2 Feed the Clan? Just kicking ideas around. Once again, thanks!
April 20, 2015 2:17 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #4
I second life gain, but Im not familiar enough with standard to make suggestions.
The second best option, is to race them, and avoid paying life for things (i.e. avoid fetching shocks, which aren't in standard, but hey.)
April 20, 2015 2:18 p.m.
That looks good, I don't know your meta, so I can't help with that, but that Feed the Clan is gonna help in a LOT of ways. Maybe find a way to get a third one in the sideboard, you REALLY want to be getting that in hand against them in the second game, and hopefully the third game.
April 20, 2015 2:21 p.m.
Seraphicate says... #6
Anger of the Gods is probably one of the best cards against RDW aggro as of now, it hits rabblemasters, hits swiftspears, wipes out tokens, and can be cast turn 3.
April 20, 2015 2:26 p.m.
mathimus55 says... #7
Feed the Clan is good, I personally like Barrage of Boulders or Scouring Sands more though. Scouring Sands resets their board more often than not and can smooth out your next draw a bit. I ran 2 sands and 1 barrage this past weekend at a pptq and went 3-0 against the RDW decks with my heroic build.
April 20, 2015 3:03 p.m.
Mr.grizzly says... #8
For me Polukranos, World Eater does wonders along with hornets nest as you have said to stall the dash and rabble masters, you will need Feed the Clan cause you can't stop the direct burn spells, but Setessan Tactics+Hornet Nest = bye bye tokens.
April 20, 2015 3:19 p.m.
I feel that Polukranos is a bit slow. Scouring Sands and Barrage of Boulders don't kill half of the staples of RDW (Monastery Swiftspear, Goblin Rabblemaster, etc.), so they would only be effective for half of their board, and that is DEFINITELY not enough. Again, lifegain destroys them, so Feed the Clan is where it's at.
April 20, 2015 3:21 p.m.
Mr.grizzly says... #10
You do have a point Runlue and even getting Polukranos on turn 3 which is extremely possible, you will probably have to monstrous him on turn 4 but it does remove the threats right then and there and is a great early blocker. He can also provide an early ferocious trigger for feed the clan, however since feed the Clan is more essential and you might need other spaces for other match ups Feed the Clan is as everyone says essential, I'd suggest Polukranos if you have room.
April 20, 2015 3:30 p.m.
Its a simple problem. Rename RDW to RDL and call it a day :p
April 20, 2015 6:31 p.m.
alexthegreat38 says... #12
Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Glad I could start a good discussion about this. As far as Barrage of Boulders/Scouring Sands is concerned, I feel like that type of card would be pretty helpful because it clears away Dragon Fodder/Hordeling Outburst tokens, which are some of the most problematic things. Usually I can 1-for-1 with all of their other creatures at some point, but the tokens can be pretty overwhelming at times. Anger of the Gods is extremely good, but it kills 19 of my own creatures. I think maybe I'll try 2 Barrage of Boulders in place of the 2 Arc Lightning (I like Barrage better because it can also help break a stalled board state against 
Devotion or Sidisi Whip), as well as axe a single Hornet Nest and a single Wild Slash for 2 Feed the Clan, and we'll see how it goes. Thank you guys!
Runlue says... #2
The one thing that RDW struggles with is lifegain. I would suggest 2 or 3 Feed the Clan's, as that can set them back A POOP TON, especially since in an aggro-heavy build such as yours, would be easy to gain 10 life due to the Ferocious trigger. That would absolutely wreck against RDW.
Your sideboard options are actually very good, keep doing that, but instead of the Hornet Nest's (them being a taaaad slow, and your three-drop should be very crucial), put in the Feed the Clan's.
Good luck!
April 20, 2015 2:12 p.m.