Dom Harvey
Contributor
In a lot of Cubes, Red is probably the least interesting colour: you can make a R/X aggro deck, you can sprinkle a few burn spells in your control deck, and - if your Cube supports it (and not many do...) - once in a while you can draft the Wildfire ramp deck. Meanwhile, every other colour has both more things and more interesting things going on; only white really has the same problems, but it still manages to exhibit greater diversity. I wanted to try revamping red by pushing a bunch of themes and staying true to the design philosophy of prioritizing interesting cards/game states over out-of-context power, without crippling the red aggro decks that help maintain that end of the spectrum in Cube. I don't expect all of these changes to hold up, but hopefully some of these ideas will be useful.
My main objectives:
- Move away from 'mindless' aggro decks by including cards that enable aggro-control or aggro-combo.
- Let red play a bigger role in control and combo decks.
- Find - and if needed/possible, double up on - cards that bridge multiple archetypes and/or colours.
So:
My first move was to triple up on a card that I've clung to ever since Jason opened my mind to the idea of duplication: Burning-Tree Emissary. It does everything I want to do with this project: it works in multiple archetypes (Storm) and colours (fits perfectly well in G/X aggro or midrange) while being a good card in its own right, and creates interesting decisions in design, draft, and gameplay. If you draft two of these, for instance, weaker cards that can be played off RG start to become more appealing than objectively stronger cards; and in-game, there's often a tension between deploying your board as fast as possible as Emissary wants you to do and playing around sweepers/reserving spells for storm cards; and Emissary by itself is very weak, so there's a tradeoff between the fast starts it enables and its weakness later in the game. In design, you have to balance the distribution of 2-drops between those that can be cast of RG, those that can't, and the Emissaries themselves. For a card that has such a damaging effect on Standard, it's surprisingly interesting in Cube.
Storm is a controversial subtheme; even some of the people most open-minded about experimenting in Cube are reluctant to try Storm, on the grounds that it's unreliable, doesn't lead to interactive games, and requires loading up on cards that have no use outside of that one archetype (thereby also letting people go on auto-pilot in the draft). I think some of those concerns are unfounded, and that in any case they can be addressed by approaching the topic carefully. Burning-Tree Emissary, for instance, is fantastic with both Storm Entity and Grapeshot, and there's an interesting tension between it and Haze of Rage - do I play out all my guys to maximize the power spread, or do I hold some back to boost storm? The fact that these cards can be played in aggro decks stops them being narrow and makes those decks more complex. The best Storm card, however, is undoubtedly:
and it's good enough that I want multiple copies. Not only is it a good Storm finishes that nonetheless encourages interaction (a small or medium-sized Empty can be fended off by blockers, and there are enough sweepers to make it risky), but it's also a nice curve-topper in an aggro-combo R/X deck. It also has a lot of incidental synergies and crossover with other archetypes. Consider a turn 4 of unsuspend Rift Bolt, Emissary, Empty; now consider it with a Carrion Feeder/Goblin Bombardment in play (!), or a Beck preceding it, or an Anthem/Hellrider/battle cry guy/Champion of Lambholt/Kruin Striker in play, or one of these suspended:
Gargadon is another of those cards that does a ton of things well without getting boring. It's a 1-drop for the red aggro decks that isn't a dumb animal like Jackal Pup or Goblin Patrol (the dynamic a Gargadon ticking down introduces to a game is fascinating, and from both sides no less), it's a sac outlet for various shenanigans, it's the perfect finisher for the Wildfire ramp decks and in concert with sweepers in general (to say nothing of Upheaval/Balance...), it can get people out of nowhere, and the 10 CMC can be surprisingly relevant:
This is one of the more outlandish twists I want to try. It's not something inherently worth exploring, but it slots nicely into place alongside other subthemes: the miracle/library manipulation subtheme (giving targets for these cards - e.g. Thunderous Wrath - and setting them up respectively), the Sneak Attack/Through the Breach/Show and Tell/Eureka/Flash/reanimator package that wants high-CMC fatties, cycling/evoke cards, Blasphemous Act (more on that soon...) and so on. It creates some awesome games at little cost: even Blazing Shoal, the card with most blowout potential, forces decisions: seeing it once puts the fear of God into them in future games, making combat a nightmare, and the investment required to 'go for it' is substantial enough that it requires setup and good timing.
Boros Reckoner is exactly the type of card I'm looking for. It's an excellent card in its own right, and it's best against the type of decks that would want a Boros Reckoner, meaning that doubling/tripling up on it doesn't make red aggro decks much more powerful at the expense of other strategies. In addition, the combos with the card are all nice against control decks as well, meaning that there are multiple dimensions to the card depending on how you want to use it. Its mana cost is one of the subtle things that makes the card so interesting: it rewards people for committing to red or white (or both) while being flexible enough to see play in other decks (in particular, the fact that it's good at most stages of the game, especially if you're using it to do silly things, means that it isn't as much of a hindrance). The card is also just a ton of fun - it's inexplicably satisfying to OHKO your opponent by loading damage onto a Boros Reckoner.
(good combo cards include Devastating Dreams/Sickening Dreams/Firestorm, Kindle the Carnage, Blasphemous Act, Chandra Nalaar, Spitebellows, Rolling Earthquake)
The final red card I want in duplicate/triplicate, this is what ties all of these loose ends together. It's unremarkable in the sense that everyone knows how good it is, but it performs a much-needed function and does it as efficiently as you could ask for. Having Looting gives you the freedom to take chances with some of the niche cards listed here, as you can dig for them when they're wanted and cash them in when they aren't.
I don't need to go into how good it is with Life from the Loam, but it's easy to overlook its interactions with cards like Land Tax, Meloku, Upheaval/Sunder, Memory Jar. By itself, it's a recurring source of uncounterable, instant-speed damage that allows you to get value out of dead lands. Flame Jab is a neat card in the same vein that also helps build up a storm count.
Some cards that aren't part of larger families but which are cool on their own:
Flamekin Harbinger: sets up Changeling Berserker/Titan, Vengevine, Avenger of Zendikar, Wolfbriar Elemental, Mulldrifter/Shriekmaw/Spitebellows, Mirror Entity, Reveillark...
Changeling Berserker: fits into any tribal sub-theme you're pushing, is great with 187 creatures, lets you tuck things away to insure against sweepers
Devastating Summons: a cool top-end card that's cheap enough to be incorporated into a storm chain and to set up a Summons-sweeper turn. The fact that it scales at will makes it very skill-intensive.
Chandra, the Firebrand: gets a bad rap, but can be used to set up some truly sick plays.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. There's an obvious tribal theme waiting to be explored in the form of Goblins, and less obvious ones like Elementals or Giants (which I hadn't even considered until I read Hannes' post earlier), and I'm sure you have lots of ideas I haven't touched on yet. I'll end with a list for a hypothetical red section (SB includes hybrids and cards that have potential):
My main objectives:
- Move away from 'mindless' aggro decks by including cards that enable aggro-control or aggro-combo.
- Let red play a bigger role in control and combo decks.
- Find - and if needed/possible, double up on - cards that bridge multiple archetypes and/or colours.
So:
My first move was to triple up on a card that I've clung to ever since Jason opened my mind to the idea of duplication: Burning-Tree Emissary. It does everything I want to do with this project: it works in multiple archetypes (Storm) and colours (fits perfectly well in G/X aggro or midrange) while being a good card in its own right, and creates interesting decisions in design, draft, and gameplay. If you draft two of these, for instance, weaker cards that can be played off RG start to become more appealing than objectively stronger cards; and in-game, there's often a tension between deploying your board as fast as possible as Emissary wants you to do and playing around sweepers/reserving spells for storm cards; and Emissary by itself is very weak, so there's a tradeoff between the fast starts it enables and its weakness later in the game. In design, you have to balance the distribution of 2-drops between those that can be cast of RG, those that can't, and the Emissaries themselves. For a card that has such a damaging effect on Standard, it's surprisingly interesting in Cube.
Storm is a controversial subtheme; even some of the people most open-minded about experimenting in Cube are reluctant to try Storm, on the grounds that it's unreliable, doesn't lead to interactive games, and requires loading up on cards that have no use outside of that one archetype (thereby also letting people go on auto-pilot in the draft). I think some of those concerns are unfounded, and that in any case they can be addressed by approaching the topic carefully. Burning-Tree Emissary, for instance, is fantastic with both Storm Entity and Grapeshot, and there's an interesting tension between it and Haze of Rage - do I play out all my guys to maximize the power spread, or do I hold some back to boost storm? The fact that these cards can be played in aggro decks stops them being narrow and makes those decks more complex. The best Storm card, however, is undoubtedly:
and it's good enough that I want multiple copies. Not only is it a good Storm finishes that nonetheless encourages interaction (a small or medium-sized Empty can be fended off by blockers, and there are enough sweepers to make it risky), but it's also a nice curve-topper in an aggro-combo R/X deck. It also has a lot of incidental synergies and crossover with other archetypes. Consider a turn 4 of unsuspend Rift Bolt, Emissary, Empty; now consider it with a Carrion Feeder/Goblin Bombardment in play (!), or a Beck preceding it, or an Anthem/Hellrider/battle cry guy/Champion of Lambholt/Kruin Striker in play, or one of these suspended:
Gargadon is another of those cards that does a ton of things well without getting boring. It's a 1-drop for the red aggro decks that isn't a dumb animal like Jackal Pup or Goblin Patrol (the dynamic a Gargadon ticking down introduces to a game is fascinating, and from both sides no less), it's a sac outlet for various shenanigans, it's the perfect finisher for the Wildfire ramp decks and in concert with sweepers in general (to say nothing of Upheaval/Balance...), it can get people out of nowhere, and the 10 CMC can be surprisingly relevant:
This is one of the more outlandish twists I want to try. It's not something inherently worth exploring, but it slots nicely into place alongside other subthemes: the miracle/library manipulation subtheme (giving targets for these cards - e.g. Thunderous Wrath - and setting them up respectively), the Sneak Attack/Through the Breach/Show and Tell/Eureka/Flash/reanimator package that wants high-CMC fatties, cycling/evoke cards, Blasphemous Act (more on that soon...) and so on. It creates some awesome games at little cost: even Blazing Shoal, the card with most blowout potential, forces decisions: seeing it once puts the fear of God into them in future games, making combat a nightmare, and the investment required to 'go for it' is substantial enough that it requires setup and good timing.
Boros Reckoner is exactly the type of card I'm looking for. It's an excellent card in its own right, and it's best against the type of decks that would want a Boros Reckoner, meaning that doubling/tripling up on it doesn't make red aggro decks much more powerful at the expense of other strategies. In addition, the combos with the card are all nice against control decks as well, meaning that there are multiple dimensions to the card depending on how you want to use it. Its mana cost is one of the subtle things that makes the card so interesting: it rewards people for committing to red or white (or both) while being flexible enough to see play in other decks (in particular, the fact that it's good at most stages of the game, especially if you're using it to do silly things, means that it isn't as much of a hindrance). The card is also just a ton of fun - it's inexplicably satisfying to OHKO your opponent by loading damage onto a Boros Reckoner.
(good combo cards include Devastating Dreams/Sickening Dreams/Firestorm, Kindle the Carnage, Blasphemous Act, Chandra Nalaar, Spitebellows, Rolling Earthquake)
The final red card I want in duplicate/triplicate, this is what ties all of these loose ends together. It's unremarkable in the sense that everyone knows how good it is, but it performs a much-needed function and does it as efficiently as you could ask for. Having Looting gives you the freedom to take chances with some of the niche cards listed here, as you can dig for them when they're wanted and cash them in when they aren't.
I don't need to go into how good it is with Life from the Loam, but it's easy to overlook its interactions with cards like Land Tax, Meloku, Upheaval/Sunder, Memory Jar. By itself, it's a recurring source of uncounterable, instant-speed damage that allows you to get value out of dead lands. Flame Jab is a neat card in the same vein that also helps build up a storm count.
Some cards that aren't part of larger families but which are cool on their own:
Flamekin Harbinger: sets up Changeling Berserker/Titan, Vengevine, Avenger of Zendikar, Wolfbriar Elemental, Mulldrifter/Shriekmaw/Spitebellows, Mirror Entity, Reveillark...
Changeling Berserker: fits into any tribal sub-theme you're pushing, is great with 187 creatures, lets you tuck things away to insure against sweepers
Devastating Summons: a cool top-end card that's cheap enough to be incorporated into a storm chain and to set up a Summons-sweeper turn. The fact that it scales at will makes it very skill-intensive.
Chandra, the Firebrand: gets a bad rap, but can be used to set up some truly sick plays.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. There's an obvious tribal theme waiting to be explored in the form of Goblins, and less obvious ones like Elementals or Giants (which I hadn't even considered until I read Hannes' post earlier), and I'm sure you have lots of ideas I haven't touched on yet. I'll end with a list for a hypothetical red section (SB includes hybrids and cards that have potential):
1 Flamekin Harbinger
1 Blasphemous Act
2 Faithless Looting
1 Spikeshot Elder
1 Goblin Guide
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 Arc Trail
1 Inner-Flame Acolyte
1 Changeling Berserker
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Sneak Attack
1 Through the Breach
1 Wildfire
2 Greater Gargadon
1 Burning of Xinye
1 Seismic Assault
1 Devastating Dreams
1 Devastating Summons
1 Goblin Bushwhacker
2 Empty the Warrens
1 Haze of Rage
1 Priest of Urabrask
1 Lightning Mauler
1 Mogg War Marshal
1 Plated Geopede
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
1 Hellrider
1 Bogardan Hellkite
1 Inferno Titan
1 Sulfur Elemental
1 Past in Flames
1 Grapeshot
1 Mana Flare
1 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Thunderous Wrath
1 Chain Lightning
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Firebolt
1 Searing Spear
1 Incinerate
1 Blast from the Past
1 Char
1 Firestorm
1 Arc Lightning
1 Flames of the Firebrand
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Stormblood Berserker
1 Pillage
1 Countryside Crusher
1 Magma Jet
1 Devil's Play
1 Heretic's Punishment
1 Spitebellows
1 Chandra Nalaar
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Chandra, the Firebrand
1 Boom // Bust
1 Flame Jab
1 Punishing Fire
1 Seething Song
1 Gamble
1 Kris Mage
1 Storm Entity
1 Torch Fiend
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Ash Zealot
1 Hellspark Elemental
1 Hell's Thunder
1 Keldon Marauders
1 Rift Bolt
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Blazing Shoal
1 Viashino Slaughtermaster
1 Rolling Earthquake
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Goblin Bombardment
1 Crimson Mage
SB: 1 Nivmagus Elemental
SB: 1 Figure of Destiny
SB: 1 Rakdos Cackler
SB: 3 Burning-Tree Emissary
SB: 1 Fulminator Mage
SB: 3 Boros Reckoner
SB: 1 Manamorphose
SB: 1 Murderous Redcap
SB: 1 Moltensteel Dragon
SB: 1 Keldon Champion
SB: 1 Destructive Force
SB: 1 Stromkirk Noble
SB: 1 Form of the Dragon
SB: 1 Goblin Chieftain
SB: 1 Kindle the Carnage
SB: 1 Kiln Fiend
SB: 1 Mogg Fanatic
1 Blasphemous Act
2 Faithless Looting
1 Spikeshot Elder
1 Goblin Guide
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 Arc Trail
1 Inner-Flame Acolyte
1 Changeling Berserker
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Sneak Attack
1 Through the Breach
1 Wildfire
2 Greater Gargadon
1 Burning of Xinye
1 Seismic Assault
1 Devastating Dreams
1 Devastating Summons
1 Goblin Bushwhacker
2 Empty the Warrens
1 Haze of Rage
1 Priest of Urabrask
1 Lightning Mauler
1 Mogg War Marshal
1 Plated Geopede
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
1 Hellrider
1 Bogardan Hellkite
1 Inferno Titan
1 Sulfur Elemental
1 Past in Flames
1 Grapeshot
1 Mana Flare
1 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Thunderous Wrath
1 Chain Lightning
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Firebolt
1 Searing Spear
1 Incinerate
1 Blast from the Past
1 Char
1 Firestorm
1 Arc Lightning
1 Flames of the Firebrand
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Stormblood Berserker
1 Pillage
1 Countryside Crusher
1 Magma Jet
1 Devil's Play
1 Heretic's Punishment
1 Spitebellows
1 Chandra Nalaar
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Chandra, the Firebrand
1 Boom // Bust
1 Flame Jab
1 Punishing Fire
1 Seething Song
1 Gamble
1 Kris Mage
1 Storm Entity
1 Torch Fiend
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Ash Zealot
1 Hellspark Elemental
1 Hell's Thunder
1 Keldon Marauders
1 Rift Bolt
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Blazing Shoal
1 Viashino Slaughtermaster
1 Rolling Earthquake
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Goblin Bombardment
1 Crimson Mage
SB: 1 Nivmagus Elemental
SB: 1 Figure of Destiny
SB: 1 Rakdos Cackler
SB: 3 Burning-Tree Emissary
SB: 1 Fulminator Mage
SB: 3 Boros Reckoner
SB: 1 Manamorphose
SB: 1 Murderous Redcap
SB: 1 Moltensteel Dragon
SB: 1 Keldon Champion
SB: 1 Destructive Force
SB: 1 Stromkirk Noble
SB: 1 Form of the Dragon
SB: 1 Goblin Chieftain
SB: 1 Kindle the Carnage
SB: 1 Kiln Fiend
SB: 1 Mogg Fanatic
