RDW – or HERE'S JOHNNY!!!

Red.  My favorite color in Magic.  My color of choice since August of 1993.  My original core group of magic gamers was myself, Sal Greco, Bruce Reade, Phil Mason and Kathy Marcoux.  When Phil introduced us to the game, he had each of us pick a color.  Phil chose Blue (of course!), Bruce went White.  Kathy chose Green. Sal & I argued over black for about 2 seconds until Phil told me Red had dragons.  That sealed the deal.  From the beginning of Magic the Gathering, I have played Red. I still own the very first Shivan Dragon I ever pulled from a pack for Christmas of 1993.  She’s Unlimited, she’s beat up and her back makes her unplayable.  But I still fondly recall the days when she was a powerhouse.  I’m mostly known, though, for breaking Powersurge, a now useless card that I resemble.   

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!