Regular readers of this blog know my history with Red. I’ve never been much of a proponent for RDW
on a weenie level, preferring myself to play the control game of Big Red. I find “Little Red” (as I call a normal RDW)
to be boring to play and balance it with bomb creatures that can cause your
opponent to enter scoop phase. That
theory worked pretty well up until now.
The game has changed and RDW must change with it, as well as my outlook
on RDW. Now it’s all about SPEED – and that
means we gotta splash some black.
I won Lilac House’s Gameday with RDW, splashing 2
Dragonskull summits to help activate Rakdos Keyrunes. It worked then, but the rest of the world mutated about a week
later into Bant Control and 4C Control.
And that is very bad for RDW.
Shortly thereafter some smart person bought a Rakdos Event deck and
“fixed” it. And now half your field at
any given tournament is a Red Black Rakdos build or a Red splashing black
build. Call it RDW, BDW (Black Deck
Wins), or Dirty Red or just plain Rakdos – the little guild that can.
Consistently.
Turn 1 – Rakdos Cackler.
Turn 2 – some 2 drop with haste
Turn 3 – kill a creature and make another 1 or 2 drop
creature.
Turn 4 – Hellrider.
Win.
How do these decks stack up against your enemies in the
critical game 1, a game the RDW player MUST win? Here are some tips for the newer players to think about.
Mirror Match! RDW
vs. Anything Red Black
Creature control is the key to winning this match up. Most decks only run 8 damage spells game
1. I run 12. Why? Just because of the
mirror match. Having a firepower
advantage over your opponent is always good in war. Its why the North won Gettysburg and why – if you play your
direct damage correctly, you should win the mirror match. Only use direct damage to kill or set your opponent up for
the kill. Otherwise, chew up his field
and kill his creatures. RDW can’t win
without creatures if they only have 4 Pillar of Flames and 4 Searing Spears.
RDW vs. Control
The early ramping of the Bant Control and 4C builds makes
them susceptible to the speed of Black Red.
Most for these decks aren’t ready to role until turn 4 and it’s usually
a Supreme Verdict or Sever the Bloodline by this point, which puts them back
another turn. Not to mention, Hellrider
kills Jace and Tamiyo dead allowing you to still punch your opponent in his
grill with your horde of 1 and 2 drops.
NEVER OVER EXTEND! Supreme
Verdict and Detention Sphere will rain on your parade faster than you can check
your losing results on your match slip.
RDW vs. Red Blue
Adding counter magic means your opponent has removed some
direct damage or creatures from his deck.
You will win the battle of attrition 9 times out of 10 against the blue
red player. Bait his counterpells and
direct damage with threats that are serious but more likely to die quickly
early on. Once he’s used his resources
on that, drop your Hellriders and Dragons for an Izzet barbeque the Dinosaur
would envy.
RDW vs. Humans and GW aggro
Same theory as the mirror match, except KILL MAN DORKS
should be your immediate rule of thumb.
Swarm as much as possible but keep in your mind that Green White has as
much removal as Red Black. Don’t
overextend – as the removal they have is on par with Bant Control and should
never be underestimated. Your own mass
removal cards can even this match up nicely.
Always try to run at least a couple Bonfire of the Damned or Mizzium
Mortars (or Killing Wave/Sever the Bloodline!) in your main board to prepare
for this match.
Whether your pleasure is Zombies, Devils, Humans or
Vampires, RDW Rakdos style is an effective killing machine! Until the next time I unleash a Cackler ...
PEACE!
