Commander Collection: Firebird

Commander / EDH Bracket 4 Combo Mono-Red Tokens

Jurrane

Sorcery (20)

• 1x Blasphemous Act
• 1x Crash Through
• 1x Faithless Looting
• 1x Finale of Promise
• 1x Flame Jab
• 1x Jeska's WillGC
• 1x Last Chance
• 1x Magmatic Insight
• 1x Mana Geyser
• 1x Overmaster
• 1x Renegade Tactics
• 1x Shattering Spree
• 1x Strike it Rich
• 1x Tormenting Voice
• 1x Vandalblast
• 1x Warlord's Fury
• 1x Warrior's Oath
• 1x Wheel of Fortune
• 1x Wheel of Misfortune
• 1x Wrenn's Resolve

Artifact (7)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Chrome MoxGC
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mana VaultGC
• 1x Ruby Medallion
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Braid of Fire
• 1x Determined Iteration
• 1x Underworld BreachGC

Instant (18)

• 1x Cathartic Pyre
• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Crimson Wisps
• 1x Deflecting SwatGC
• 1x Desperate Ritual
• 1x Gut Shot
• 1x Lava Dart
• 1x Lightning Bolt
• 1x Mine Collapse
• 1x Mogg Salvage
• 1x Pyretic Ritual
• 1x Pyroblast
• 1x Red Elemental Blast
• 1x Sarkhan's Triumph
• 1x Seething Song
• 1x Thrill of Possibility
• 1x Valakut Awakening  ^Flip
• 1x Wild Magic Surge

Land (35)

• 1x Ancient TombGC
• 1x Cavern of Souls P
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Crystal Vein
• 1x Gemstone Caverns
• 1x Ghost Quarter
• 27x Mountain
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx P
• 1x War Room

Commander (1)

Creature (16)

• 1x Basalt Ravager
• 1x Birgi, God of Storytelling  ^Flip
• 1x Bloodthirster
• 1x Combat Celebrant
• 1x Devilish Valet
• 1x Fanatic of Mogis
• 1x Harmonic Prodigy
• 1x Humble Defector
• 1x Imperial Recruiter
• 1x Lightning Runner
• 1x Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
• 1x Scourge of Valkas
• 1x Storm-Kiln Artist
• 1x Terror of the Peaks
• 1x Treasonous Ogre
• 1x Twinflame Tyrant

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{R}{R}{R} Introduction: Love Me Tinder {R}{R}{R}

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Welcome to my primer for mono red EDH Rionya, Fire Dancer storm/tokens. I've designed it to be as competitive as possible and it's pretty well optimised.

I love this deck because of its genuinely explosive power. With the right draws, it's not uncommon to be able to take multiple opponents out in one go. In fact, it’s entirely possible to win the game outright in the early turns. A good combination of fast mana and Treasonous Ogre can allow for some explosive starts that enable T2/T3 wins. In particular, with a god draw involving the right mana rocks, Treasonous Ogre and Combat Celebrant, a T1 win is theoretically achievable (I've added a section at the end of this primer that shows a starting hand that does this). I've also provided an actual example of a T2 win that this build achieved recently.

Deck Strategy

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Our game plan is as simple as it is effective. Play Rionya, Fire Dancer; follow her up with a creature that's capable of causing high amounts of damage in multiple copies; and then cast as many instants and sorceries as possible (I refer to it here as "storm" count but that's a bit misleading as Rionya only counts instants and sorceries).

Sometimes we can do this very quickly; at other times it's a bit more challenging (and for all that's written here about lightning-fast turn 1 or turn 2 wins, it's often best to play slowly and carefully). Our opponents will of course try to disrupt us and the strategy above takes a bit of setting up. But when it works, we're easily capable of one-shotting opponents and, in some cases, removing multiple players at once. Believe me, this deck can go OFF.

Power Level

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I categorise decks in my collection according to four tiers of power, from 1 (most powerful) to 4 (least powerful):

Tier 1: Higher powered decks with fast mana, free spells, and infinite combos or instant wins that are searchable with tutors.
Tier 2: Well tuned decks which may have infinite combos or instant wins that are searchable with tutors, but not many fast mana sources and/or free spells.
Tier 3: Reasonably well tuned casual decks that are capable of powerful plays. May occasionally have infinite combos or instant wins but don't generally use tutors to find them.
Tier 4: Lower powered or linear decks, weak enough to play against other casual decks.

This is one of my three current Tier 1 decks. It corresponds to Bracket 4 in WotC's new power brackets system but probably stops short of B5. It features numerous sources of fast mana, some free spells, and is designed to be as fast and efficient as possible. We want this efficiency in order to able to win in the first few turns, which won't happen all the time but sometimes allows us to outrace other competitive decks, or beat slower opponents before they have time to set up.

Budget

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This is one of my most competitive decks and it has a budget to match. Its average price on Card Kingdom is around $1500 as it runs Wheel of Fortune plus fast mana sources like Mana Crypt, Mana VaultGC, Chrome MoxGC, Jeweled Lotus, Ancient TombGC and Gemstone Caverns, all of which are necessary for a more competitively-focused build. However it's perfectly possible to put together a serviceable version for a lower cost that still has the potential for explosive power. Most of the expensive cards are fast mana rocks and/or lands and fortunately many of the payoff cards are pretty cheap. The only thing the budget version lacks is the explosive speed for early turn wins.

Card Choices

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To build this deck, I've used the excellent primer by austinhyperdrive on Moxfield that explains the card choices far better than I could. It's well worth reading because (a) it's amazing and (b) has influenced every single one of my card choices here. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/dllnxHHtP0iEsqW5rLrvQg/primer

In lieu of referring directly to the primer, suffice to say you want a balanced mix of instants and sorceries, cheap/free spells, fast mana sources, disruption and game-ending payoffs. The Payoff Cards section below describes the game-ending threats I've chosen, together with calculations for the damage they cause as multiple copies.

Payoff Cards

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This section explains more about the payoff cards I've chosen. They're vitally important as we can't win the game without them. We want threats that stack in multiples and thus put us in a position to win the game, if not on the spot then very soon afterwards (ie. the following turn). As a rough rule of thumb, our payoffs fall into two categories: (1) direct damage sources; and (2) infinite combats. The cards we use for each of these categories are outlined below.

Direct Damage Sources

If we're using Rionya's ability to create multiple copies of a creature that deals direct damage to our opponents, remember the rule of six. As a general principle, we want to be dealing a minimum of 6 damage per creature, either as an ETB or attack trigger; and/or as combat damage (remember, any tokens Rionya creates have haste and can attack immediately). The rule of six also applies to the card's mana value: anything higher than six is unwieldy and is considered too slow for the deck.

Because maths has never been my strong point (especially during the mental gymnastics involved in a typical EDH game), here are the direct damage payoffs I'm using. To help me in the heat of a game, as a handy reference I've included calculations of how much damage each card deals when copied with Rionya.

• Basalt Ravager: Two things to bear in mind here: the copies all see each other as they enter, plus Rionya's creature type is also a Wizard so they'll see her as well as the original copy of Ravager. The more copies we make, the better they scale. So if you cast 4 spells before combat, 5 copies will ETB, they'll see themselves and each other, plus the original and Rionya. That's 7 damage each so 35 damage total plus the 2 damage the original deals when seeing itself and Rionya when it first comes into play. Then we move to attacks with 5 hasty 4 power creatures, for a further 20 potential damage (without evasion).
• Devilish Valet: This is actually insane. Cast the first one, then play 4 instants or sorceries, make 5 copies. They all enter and see each other. The original triggers 5 times so ends up with 32 power (2 > 4 > 8 > 16 > 32). Then all the others see each other enter and trigger 4 times (2 > 4 > 8 > 16). So we have 96 hasty combat damage to deal, with trample. That's probably two players dead. Good grief.
• Fanatic of Mogis: Of all our payoff creatures, this is the one that scales for direct damage most effectively. In most cases, Rionya, Fire Dancer and this will be on the field at the same time so the first one deals 3 damage to each opponent. Then the copies ETB. Let's assume 5 more copies so 6 x Fanatics total plus Rionya. That's 8 devotion so 5x8=40. Every opponent's dead. Even if we only make 3 copies that's 18 damage to each opponent. Then we go to combat.
• Twinflame Tyrant: Magic: Foundations gave us this brand new staple in the form of a 3/5 flying beater that doubles the amount of damage dealt by sources we control. Of course what makes it wonderful is how it scales in multiples. For example, if it's in play with Rionya and we cast two instants or sorceries, that's three copies able to swing for 48 flying damage EACH. Utter insanity, you love to see it.
• Terror of the Peaks: Probably my favourite creature in the deck. If you cast 4 instants, you get 5 copies, with each of them triggering for each one entering. They all see each other, meaning you get 25 triggers of 5 damage (including triggers the original sees too). That should end the game on the spot. If anyone's still standing, we then come in with our flying combat damage. They each have Ward = pay 3 life too.
• Scourge of Valkas: Similar principle to some of the others from this list. If you cast 4 instant or sorceries you get 5 copies, they all enter and see one another, meaning each of them will trigger for 6 damage. That's usually enough to get one player close to death before we swing for X instances of power in the air.

Infinite Combats

Several of our creatures enable infinite combat steps if we create enough copies, which will usually end the game immediately. These are as follows:

• Combat Celebrant: Doesn't even need a storm count. Simply pair him with Rionya and you're golden. The most frequent way we'll win on turn 2. With a god draw (involving Treasonous Ogre and the right fast mana sources), it's even possible to win on T1. If you don't believe me, check out the T1 Win section at the end of this primer.
• Lightning Runner: Not quite as powerful as Combat Celebrant but haste and double strike sometimes helps. Needs 2 instants or sorceries to make 3 copies, thereby going infinite.
• Bloodthirster: Pretty much the same thing as Combat Celebrant, with the higher CMC granting evasion. A new staple for this deck.

An Example T2 Win

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It’s entirely possible to win in the early turns with this deck. The right combination of fast mana and Treasonous Ogre can allow for some explosive starts that enable T2/T3 wins. With a god draw involving multiple mana rocks, Treasonous Ogre and Jeska's WillGC and Combat Celebrant, a T1 win is theoretically possible.

Here’s an actual example of a T2 win that happened recently. Note that this took place before the recent bannings of Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus and Mana Crypt but we didn't draw into Lotus or Crypt and didn't play the Dockside that we saw.

We begin on the draw with an opening hand of Mountain, Chrome MoxGC, Blasphemous Act, Jeska's WillGC, Red Elemental Blast, Treasonous Ogre and Mana VaultGC.

Turn 1: on 40 life
- Draw for turn (War Room).
- Play Mountain as land for turn.
- Cast Chrome MoxGC for {0}, exiling Blasphemous Act.
- Tap Mountain for {R} to cast Mana VaultGC.
- Tap Chrome MoxGC for {R} and Mana VaultGC for {3} to cast Treasonous Ogre.
- Use Treasonous Ogre to pay 15 life for {R}{R}{R}{R}{R} to cast Rionya, Fire Dancer.
- Use Treasonous Ogre to pay 9 life for {R}{R}{R} to cast Jeska's WillGC ("storm" count = 1).
- Jeska's WillGC resolves giving us {R}{R}{R}{R}{R}{R}{R} and exiles 3 cards: Dockside Extortionist, Mountain and Sarkhan's Triumph.
- Use {R}{R}{R} from Jeska's WillGC to cast Sarkhan's Triumph ("storm" count = 2).
- Sarkhan's Triumph finds Terror of the Peaks.
- Use the remaining {R}{R}{R}{R} from Jeska’s Will and pay 3 life for {R} from Treasonous Ogre to cast Terror of the Peaks.
- Go to combat. "Storm" count of 2 triggers Rionya, Fire Dancer’s ability, creating 3 copies of Terror of the Peaks. We now have 4 Terror of the Peaks.
- Each of the 4 Terror of the Peaks triggers. For each one entering, they see each other, meaning we get 9 triggers of 5 damage (45 total). We deal 40 damage to Player 1, taking them out. We deal 5 damage to Player 2, putting them on 35 life.
- The 3 copies of Terror of the Peaks then attack Player 2, dealing 15 damage and putting them on 20 life.
- Go to end step. The 3 copies of Terror of the Peaks are exiled and the turn ends.

Turn 2: on 13 life
- Untap Mountain.
- Upkeep, take 1 damage from Mana VaultGC.
- Draw for turn Overmaster.
- Tap Chrome MoxGC for {R} to play Overmaster ("storm" count = 1).
- Draw Mountain with Overmaster.
- Play Mountain as land for turn.
- Tap Mountain for {R} to play Red Elemental Blast targetting a blue permanent ("storm" count = 2).
- Go to combat. "Storm" count of 2 triggers Rionya, Fire Dancer’s ability, creating 3 copies of Terror of the Peaks. We now have 4 Terror of the Peaks.
- Each of the 4 Terror of the Peaks triggers. For each one entering, they see each other, meaning we get 9 triggers of 5 damage (45 total). We deal 40 damage to Player 3, taking them out. We deal 5 damage to Player 2 putting them on 15 life.
- The 4 copies of Terror of the Peaks then attack Player 2, killing them too.
- We win the game in the combat phase of turn 2.

A T1 Win Starting Hand

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Yes it's actually possible. If you have this combination of cards in your starting hand, you can win the game on turn 1 providing your opponents don't have any interaction.

• Any mana producing land
• Sol Ring (or Chrome MoxGC)
• Lotus Petal
• Mana VaultGC
• Combat Celebrant
• Treasonous Ogre
• Any other card (as long as you have the six cards above, the seventh doesn't matter although it must be a red card if you've got Chrome MoxGC instead of Sol Ring)

Here's how it works:

• Play a land for turn and cast Lotus Petal for {0}.
• Tap the land to cast Sol Ring for {1}.
• Tap Sol Ring for {1} giving you {2} colourless mana. Use {1} of those to cast Mana VaultGC.
• Tap and sacrifice Lotus Petal for {R} and tap Mana VaultGC for {3} to cast Treasonous Ogre.
• Pay 9 life with Treasonous Ogre for {R}{R}{R} to cast Combat Celebrant.
• Pay 15 life with Treasonous Ogre for {R}{R}{R}{R}{R} to cast Rionya, Fire Dancer from the command zone.
• Go to your combat step. Rionya, Fire Dancer triggers, creating a copy of Combat Celebrant which has haste.
• Attack an opponent with the hasty copy of Combat Celebrant and exert it to grant an extra combat step. Deal damage or take out a blocker in the unlikely event they have one.
• The combat step ends. We then get another combat step because the hasty copy of Combat Celebrant was exerted. Rionya, Fire Dancer triggers again at the start of that combat step, creating a new copy of Combat Celebrant with haste.
• Attack an opponent with the new hasty copy of Combat Celebrant and exert it to grant an extra combat step.
• Repeat until everyone's dead. Unless anyone can remove Rionya, Fire Dancer or Combat Celebrant, it's game over. We've won on turn 1.

The same sequence also works if you're not first in turn order and can drop Gemstone Caverns as a pre-game effect instead of playing Sol Ring or Chrome MoxGC.

Upcoming Changes

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With the addition of a beautiful Wheel of Fortune I ordered recently, I now consider this list finished. Banning Dockside Extortionist, Mana Crypt and Jeweled Lotus has hit us hard but we're still one of the most explosive decks in the entire EDH format. Fingers crossed they eventually unban Lotus as it's the card we miss most in my opinion.

Thanks for reading! Have fun with the deck :)

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All My EDH Decks

{W} Giada, Font of Hope {W}
S(i)erra Sidewinder: Mono-White Angel Tribal

{U} Talrand, Sky Summoner {U}
Blue Streak: Mono-Blue Spellslinger

{U} Orvar, the All-Form {U}
Clone Zone: Mono-Blue Shapeshifters Combo

{B} Sidisi, Undead Vizier {B}
Swamp Thing: Mono-Black Midrange Combo

{B} Ayara, First of Locthwain {B}
Black Diamond: Mono-Black Aristocrats Combo

{R} Torbran, Thane of Red Fell {R}
Red Force: Mono-Red Group Slug

{R} Rionya, Fire Dancer {R}
Firebird: Mono-Red Storm/Tokens

{G} Titania, Protector of Argoth {G}
Timber Terror: Mono-Green Stax

{W}{U} Grand Arbiter Augustin IVGC {W}{U}
Control Freak: Azorius Control

{W}{U} Elminster {W}{U}
Crystal Wing: Azorius Skies & Scry

{U}{B} Oona, Queen of the Fae {U}{B}
Dreamcatcher: Dimir Faeries Tribal

{U}{B} Narfi, Betrayer King {U}{B}
Ice Breaker: Dimir Snow/Zombies

{B}{R} Rakdos, Lord of Riots {B}{R}
Steamin’ Demon: Rakdos Life Loss

{B}{R} Juri, Master of the Revue {B}{R}
Pandemonium: Rakdos Sacrifice

{R}{G} Wort, the Raidmother {R}{G}
Barnstormer: Gruul Conspire

{W}{G} Sigarda, Font of Blessings {W}{G}
Stampida: Selesnya Humans Tribal

{W}{G} Captain Sisay {W}{G}
Legendia: Selesnya Legendary

{W}{G} Sythis, Harvest's Hand {W}{G}
Diamondback: Selesnya Enchantress

{W}{B} Daxos the Returned {W}{B}
Curse of Novgorod: Orzhov Constellation

{W}{B} Kambal, Consul of Allocation {W}{B}
Oblivion: Orzhov Lifegain & Lifedrain

{U}{R} Firkraag, Cunning Instigator {U}{R}
Dragon’s Fury: Izzet Dragons/Goad

{B}{G} Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons {B}{G}
Scorpion Express: Golgari Deathtouch

{B}{G} Nath of the Gilt-Leaf {B}{G}
Outlaw Run: Golgari Elves/Discard

{W}{R} Bruenor Battlehammer {W}{R}
Steel Force: Boros Equipment

{W}{R} General Ferrous Rokiric {W}{R}
Gatekeeper: Boros Multicoloured

{U}{G} Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres {U}{G}
Toxic Garden: Simic Infect

{W}{U}{B} Tivit, Seller of Secrets {W}{U}{B}
Steel Vengeance: Esper Artifacts

{W}{U}{B} Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign {W}{U}{B}
Riddler’s Revenge: Esper Topdeck

{U}{B}{R} Marchesa, the Black Rose {U}{B}{R}
Revenge of the Mummy: Grixis Dethrone/Combo

{B}{R}{G} Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire {B}{R}{G}
Dragon Wagon: Jund Dragons Tribal

{W}{R}{G} Pantlaza, Sun-Favored {W}{R}{G}
Raptor Attack: Naya Dinosaurs Tribal

{W}{U}{G} Galadriel, Light of Valinor {W}{U}{G}
Vapour Trail: Bant Flicker

{W}{B}{G} Karador, Ghost Chieftain {W}{B}{G}
Hair Raiser: Abzan Reanimator

{W}{B}{G} Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant {W}{B}{G}
A Long-Expected Party: Abzan Lifegain/Combo

{W}{U}{R} Kykar, Wind's Fury {W}{U}{R}
Storm Runner: Jeskai Tokens

{W}{U}{R} Hinata, Dawn-Crowned {W}{U}{R}
Phantom’s Revenge: Jeskai Control

{U}{B}{G} Yarok, the Desecrated {U}{B}{G}
Boomerang: Sultai ETB Triggers

{W}{B}{R} Kaalia of the Vast {W}{B}{R}
Abyssus: Mardu Angels & Demons

{U}{R}{G} Omnath, Locus of the Roil {U}{R}{G}
Boulder Dash: Temur Landfall

{U}{R}{G} Eshki, Temur's Roar {U}{R}{G}
Thunder Striker: Temur Power Matters

Date added	2 years
Last updated	2 months
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 0 Mythic Rares 24 - 0 Rares 19 - 0 Uncommons 16 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.45
Tokens	Copy Clone, Energy Reserve, Treasure
Folders	diosaurs go brrr