UL's Favorites: Save The "Red's" For Last

We're wrapping up this long-going favorites series with your favorite stepchildren at the EDH table.

Making a list for red creatures isn't so easy. Cause honestly, most red creatures aren't as good as Duplicant or Steel Hellkite.

So mostly, picking out mountain mana dudes is a lot like that ancient maxim, "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."

Also, red lends itself to some pretty niche-y archetypes. Not every card is going to be "universally good" in this color.

But I tried to get close. I've got some surprises, some Goblins, and some pretty obvious staples. And in the words of that guy who owns Men's Wearhouse, "You're gonna like what you see."

So let's count 'em down. 

10.Butcher Orgg

Right off the bat I've got something not quite so obvious. I know it should probably be something else, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk about such a unique card, and one that I really like quite a bit, even though if you think it probably shouldn't be here.

I'll try to make a case for it anyway. a 7 for 6/6 is way too fair for anyone these days, so let's skip down to this unsettling-yet-carnal illustration by Kev Walker.

Any of you cool kids familiar with Batman: The Animated Series? If you're not, then all you see is an Orgg, or what's supposed to be an Orgg.

However, when I look at this, all I see is a much more sickly and wing-less version of the dreaded Man-Bat! 

There is family resemblance here. I know it.

Obviously, they had to clean Man-Bat up a little for kids, but they just feel so connected I can't stop thinking about it. And I love that.

Moving further along, we get to the real uniqueness of Butcher Orgg, which is his sweet triggered ability. Have you ever wanted to kill six tokens at once? Do you have rampant Hexproof dudes like Uril Miststalking their way through your metagame? This is not a problem for Butcher Orgg. An untargetable damage trigger means he can be removal or a big six points of damage to your opponent's braincage. Obviously, there are some better value dudes here, one of which is on this list, but still. Isn't Butcher Orgg just super lovable? I want to give him a big 'ol hug, no matter what his flavor text says. 

                                                                                                9.Siege-Gang Commander

Our Siege-Gang friends see the obvious pick in sight, even though they know it's clearly them.

There's a lot to like about this four pack of Goblins. The flavor is really neat for one, and for a bunch of mana, you can effectively do quite a bit of damage with these guys. 

I don't know why anyone would leave home without them, really. They're one of the most versatile sets of Goblins you'll ever meet, cause they work either with friends or on their own.

This card represents Wizards getting something right, which is why it's been reprinted a couple times since it was released in Scourge.

8.Hero of Oxid Ridge

Surprise pick No.2 was fairly unexpected, even for me. I thought that I'd just slam Zealous Conscripts in here and call it a day.

The more I thought about that, the more it didn't feel quite right.

Red Hero hasn't seen nearly as much acclaim as ol' Bladehold, and I get that. Bladehold puts a bunch of power on the field. O-Ridge doesn't. Bladehold has a big booty. O-Ridge doesn't.

I'm aware of the weaknesses, but that's not why we pick cards to put in decks. O-Ridge found a home in Animar a while back, and I've been pretty excited, cause I really like hosing token players and creatures with defender. I think Pillow-Fort strategies are mostly nonsensical, and O-Ridge gets me some serious ground in the world of Animar. He's a great support card, providing pumps for the team, and he's got haste, which I can't say is a common thread of a lot of my creatures in there, unless Wanderer's out, and I'm probably a step away from winning the game.

I don't tutor for Hero, and I probably never will if you've ever seen this list. But he's great to cast and gives Animar quite a bit of extra upside. Great? No. Underrated? Absolutely.


7.Stigma Lasher

Ghost Rider here is pretty cool. I have had a lot of fun when this guy in my opener. Not being able to gain life has proven to be useful in some decks, and is essential in something like my Hidetsugu deck, where I don't want a person to gain a bunch of life back after I've Shiva-Blasted a couple times. Unless, of course, that person's me.

Wither isn't all that irrelevant either. Later on, I like to use Lasher as a chump block for someone's bigger guy to control the damage I take from the hate I draw with HH.

If you're playing Aggro, I think Lasher's a nice one. If you're looking for a more controlled Sulfuric Vortex, this is a good one too.





6.Instigator Gang // Wildblood Pack

Even as lowly humans, the Instigator Gang is nothing to scoff at. Animar loves casting these guys for R and getting a little extra damage. With the quantity of creatures I play, it's common to net 5 or 6 extra damage with just this one guy.

Then, when I get to flip him, the abuse gets worse. 


 







As part of the Wildblood Pack, the damage gets bigger, Trample is involved, and I now have a fearless wolfpack with one united 5/5 P and T. While I do wish that this Werewolf thing was just a card by itself, this is one flip card that I've actually enjoyed playing, and so I'm signing a special release form so that everyone can play this card, free from judgment and the previous boycott against flip-cards other than Angry Garruk.

5.Hellrider

I was really excited about this card when it got spoiled, and I'm glad I finally got a copy of it.

This is more Red card design I can get behind. The design space is here, and it's happening.

One of the best parts about Hellrider is the fact that it influence blocking and can change the game in a turn.

Forcing your opponent to have to block Hellrider to avoid taking future damage is fairly painful in EDH when the "night is dark and full of terrors."

I've played him with only a handful of dudes in a deck, and though less potent, he still got the job done. Again, Animar makes this guy a beating and a half, cause it's a beating on its own.

                                                                                                4.Keldon Firebombers

  

Certain cards were not designed or intended for EDH, and I'm sure "Jaeg-uh-Bombz" here wasn't one of them.

I discovered this card doing research for Oros, and I'll never forget the first time I slammed it in a game. It was around Turn 7, and everyone was just kinda looking at me, like, "What just happened? Is this a card? Are you making shit up?"

This card is the business. It's possibly one of my favorite red creatures, and I don't get to play it too often, which is a bummer. Cause I love big mana.

I don't get the flavor, or anything really from a design perspective about this card (maybe someone will enlighten me?), but I will continue to try and cram this card into decks whenever I can. It's stupid good.

3.Viashino Heretic

Viashino Heretic is a pretty huge game. I've found playing Heretic is actually more like playing Gaddock Teeg for artifacts than doing what he actually does, but whatever. He definitely looks like a rattlesnake, so being a rattlesnake card isn't so bad.

Heretic, in my mind is clearly the frontrunner for artifact removal on a stick, though he doesn't have much competition outside of Mox Monkey and Chandler/Joven. But friends, Chandler is there for you if you need him.

Red also has lots of ways for Haste, so when I play him he's usually coming out on Turn 5 and shutting off abusive things like Greaves and Swords. I also like to hit artifact lands that aren't Darksteel Citadel.

Mycosynth Lattice can also get him quite a bit more work, so if you're playing combos with that, and you've got red, Heretic is very splashable.

                                                                                               2.Inferno Titan

Obvious card is obvious, obviously. Inferno Titan is just one of those cards you've got to play in Red or you're not gonna get your money's worth.

I included the nice Duels of the Planeswalkers Promo art here for something different, but it doesn't matter which one you're playing. Between him, Duplicant, and Chaos Warp, these are about the only serious spot removal mono-Red has right now, so it's in your best interest to play this guy in everything that isn't a Goblin deck. Sure it's tiresome, not being able to be creative with your threat choices, but I don't know why you'd want to be in Red. Most other things just aren't good, and aren't going to help you in the situations that will come across.

So play your Inferno Titans. It's all you've got.

1.Stingscourger

Short of Kiki-Jiki, meet the best and blue-est Goblin there is- Stingscourger.

Hands down one of my favorite creatures in Red, and one that I would play in every mono-Red deck, and something that can be competitive in making the cut for other decks.

Bouncing Marit Lage tokens is his crowning achievement, but I've also been able to stave off Eldrazi and really influence the tempo of the game to my opponent's surprise with this little nonsense Goblin. He loves the Mimic Vat, and provides his own sac outlet for you. Cause I don't ever recall paying Echo on this. He's a sorcery speed Unsummon for your opponent's biggest creature, it's the best you can get in this color, and I've been able to stave off quite a few turns with him and turn the tempo just enough to squeeze out a W.

That's all I got for today.

We're on the tail end of article wrap-ups this week. Johnny Confidant's finishing up his budget series on Thursday. Be sure not to miss that.

Till then stay sharp by lookin' sharp. 

-UL




 

Animar So Sexy Now.

The ongoing revision article saga continues.

In my Better Deckbuilding article, I actually had wanted to venture a little further into some of the cool things this deck does with creatures that normally seem fairly irrelevant in other decks. 

The first card that's been super-sick in this deck is Etherium Horn-Sorcerer. I talked about how cool he is when Animar's out and has counters. But what makes him great is that the deck can get him out in most games. Fierce Empath and a freshly added Treasure Mage allow me to get the 6-cost Artifact Minotaur Wizard into my hand and in play a lot.

I can also protect him from Wraths, which has been one of the huge weaknesses for this deck. So much that I'm considering an Eldrazi Monument.

One of the other unlikely unsung heroes has been Garruk's Horde. This card is bananas in this deck- especially with Oracle of Mul Day out at the same time. I can sift through the top of my library and and power up Animar, which I recently discovered is one of the biggest meta-threats in my playgroup because apparently everyone either plays black, white, or both at any given time.

Garruk's Horde on his own is a pretty sizeable dude and definitely value with Animar. I pretty much don't play him unless he costs 1GG or less. 

He honestly makes me wish Magus of the Future weren't triple U. In a deck of 53 dudes, It's not uncommon to see him power out 4 guys in a turn to get Animar to swing for a bunch. 

As far as Animar protection, now I don't have a lot for he/she/it, but the one thing I do have is pretty nifty tech- Elgaud Shieldmate.

This little blue creature is the cat's pajamas of hot tech. It's essentially a soulbonding Diplomatic Immunity, but better. Cause hexproof. It's pretty devastating when people can't Beast Within or Bolt Animar.

Honestly, I think that any blue deck trying to make get the most out of their dudes and counterspells should be finding a slot for the Shield Wench. She's really really good in Animar, and would probably be a lot better everywhere else.




There's a lot of goofy ramp dudes in this deck, but often I've found only two of them have been really relevant.

The first one is Birds of Paradise. If I get a Myr out before I cast Animar, one of the best ways to protect him is to start throwing counters on him. As Birds is the only 1-drop I felt was going to be any good in this deck, getting him out immediately after Animar has saved me from opponents who forget about their Staff of Nin for a second too long.

Even better though is Bloom Tender. This card is three extra mana on Turn 3, AFTER I cast Animar, which usually means I'm getting 1 or 2 more guys out if I'm lucky.

One of the big surprises has been Hunting Moa. The funny part is I had him as part of a goofy Skullbriar deck I built from my Dark Ages of Deckbuilding. However, this guy is pure, unadulterated Animar tech. In the span of two turns, the Bird Beast (his creature type was errated for MORE awesome tribal fun) nets Animar three counters, which is super sweet in most situations, whether you're getting in the red zone or looking for a topdeck answer. He's great to have in the late after you've cast Animar and a bunch of dead dudes are in the bin. I can't talk enough about how funny and cool this card is in the deck.

Speaking of funny and cool- Llanowar Reborn. I finally got a chance to slam this land down last night, and people were like, "WTF is that?!?!?"

Believe me, so was I when I found it in my nonbasic binder last week. Cause I'm not quite sure where I got it from. Perhaps it was also old Skullbriar tech. That's the only reasonable explanation.

Anyway, this card is another pretty thrifty way to slam more counters on Animar, working best before he's cast or in the rebuild process. It's a uniquely optimal situation for the ridiculous flavor this land seems to have, but I like to be rewarded for playing lands in a deck where I'm supposed to be rewarded for playing creatures. That seems really good.

The last sweet card I'm going to talk about is Instigator Gang.

I was looking for something single red, and I'd actually forgotten I'd thrown this in on a recent order because Andy was pretty up on this card over at CommanderCast.

But I wanted to see for myself just exactly how thug this card was.

I wasn't really impressed in sample draws here at home. I figured that the only way it was gonna flip in my deck was if an opponent decided not to tap out. Cause I have to play guys every turn.

The Gang is one of those cards that you don't really recognize its value until it's in the game. In this deck with so many dudes, it's a killing blow. I even copied the gang with Metamorph to get an extra bonus.

Though definitely a downhill card, this card is pretty solid. I was considering taking it out of my deck, but I've since changed my position completely, since I don't have a whole of Overrunning going on, and I refuse to put other noncreature spells in here. This is the next-next best thing.

Alright, well, this article turned out to be a lot more than I thought. In the meantime I'm going to continue to make cuts and tune this deck a little bit more.

Next time, we'll talk about the cards I'm cutting and why. I think you'll probably be surprised.

Til then, Be Excellent To Each Other,

And Party On Dudes!

-UL