Magical Study: A Take On Lorwyn/Shadowmoor Block *Red Deck* "Wins" (Magic: The Gathering)

[Keoni]

Hi, for those of you who don't know who I am, my name is Keoni Davey, and I'm currently the #1 Constructed player in Hawaii. I'm going to write a series of articles to help YOU have the best shot at qualifying for this season. I have been playtesting this format for the past 3 months, so I am very experienced in LWR/SHM Block Constructed. My main two reasons for writing these series of articles is 1) I've always wanted to write articles, and 2) I want magic to grow in Hawaii. For those of you who don't know, we almost lost our PTQ. I want to make our magic community stronger so that things like this won't happen. Note: Any References to Red Deck will be changed to RDW throughout the article. RDW is often referred to as "Red Deck" or "Demigod Red" or "Gouger Red".

In this article, I'm going to be examining the block deck Red Deck "Wins". Since I have a Star City Games premium membership, I'm also going to be using some material from there in my article. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me via private message, wall post, or my email: [e-mail]

First, what is Red Deck "Wins"? Red Deck Wins, or RDW, is your classic Red Deck dating back to the first pro tour. It features creatures and burn. Why is it called Red Deck "WINS"? Unfortunately, the "Wins" isn't because it wins in the current metagame. Rather, it is a name that has been stuck to aggro decks over the past however many years (Red Deck Wins, Boros Deck Wins, Zoo Deck Wins, etc.). Well why do people play RDW? Simply put, it has has the best matchup against inexperienced faeries players out of all the decks in the current environment. However, just because you play RDW doesn't mean you instant-beat faeries. A pro player running faeries said in an interview: "RDW is a bad matchup for the faeries player that picked up the deck at the last minute just because it's the best deck. Experienced faeries players who know how to outplay their opponents often find it easy to win. It's not hard to outplay RDW, because It's a completely mindless deck. The problem lies in the fact that RDW often relies on luck to win, i.e. topdecking that 3rd demigod or that last flame javelin. It's not something either player can control."

Zvi Mowshowitz, a Magic: The Gathering Legend, said "I don't know why the call it Red Deck Wins. It simply doesn't." I couldn't agree more with his statement. While RDW has a reasonable matchup against the dreaded Fae, they have a horrible matchup against almost the entire rest of the field. Let's take a look.

Toast: Extremely awful matchup. There are too many things in this deck that beat RDW. Toast is the other Tier 1 Deck (Faeries is the first). RDW is simply dead cold to Runed Halo. Kitchen Finks is a nightmare for RDW, and a mannequin on a Kitchen Finks is the end of the world. Archon of Justice easily deals with RDW's biggest threats, and at worst will always get you a 2 for 1.

Kithkin: If you think the toast matchup is bad, this one is worse. Kithkin absolutely DESTROY RDW. It is the tier 1.5 deck. For Kithkin, they have better creatures and better curves. They have more power, and lifegain. Spectral Procession on turn 3 is usually GG for RDW, as that's at least 3 turns against Demigod AND activation for Windbrisk Heights. RDW is simplky outclassed by Kithkin in every single way. I honestly feel there is almost no reason to pick RDW over Kithkin.

Doran: RDW also has a bad matchup against Doran. Their only answer to Doran is a combination of several burn spells. Also, Doran decks often run Primal Command and Cloudthresher which shuts down all of RDW's tools. However, the matchup is better against Doran than it is for toast. That, however, is not saying much.

Merfolk: There are two different types of merfolk decks. RDW has bad matchups against both of these. For Paulo Vitor's Merfolk, PV has primal command, finks, and countermagic at his disposal. Basically, it's a Toast deck that cuts black and white in favor of more countermagic. For the Blue/White merfolk deck, it has the ability to explode out of nowhere. Their low drops are simple better than RDW's low drops. Countermagic will keep RDW for putting enough pressure on to win the game, and Sygg hoses pretty much everything that's not Demigod of Revenge.

That pretty much sums up RDW's matchups against the major decks in the format. Moving on, this past Saturday, Paula's Sports and Cards held a block constructed tournament. Exactly 8 players were in attendence, and I have the final results reported to me by some one who played in the tournament. I am not 100% sure on the results, however I am certain of the top 2 places and some matchups that were being played. Here is the final results:

1) Kithkin
2) Toast
3) RDW
4) Kelpie
5) Faeries
6) *Unknown Deck*
7) RDW
8) RDW

As you can see, there were 3 RDW present, and two finished last. As I was told, Kithkin beat out Toast in the 3rd and final game of the finals. Along the way, Kithkin and Toast played against RDW. As I was told, both Kithkin and Toast absolutely demolished RDW.

On August 23rd, nine PTQs took place, and every single decklist was posted up on www.starcitygames.com. I took the trouble of counting how many decks placed in the top 8 to get a better representation of the metagame. Here are the results:

Kithkin: 20 (Also named Mirror Master)
Faeries: 17
Toast: 16
Merfolk: 6
Doran: 4
RDW: 3 (Also named Demigod Red)
Kelpie Control: 2
Furystoked Tokens: 2
B/W Aggro: 1
Mono Green Aggro: 1
Elementals: 1
Quillspike: 1

From these results, we can gather a few things. First, the best beatdown deck is: KITHKIN! I'm not surprised by this as sheer power Kithkin possess can destroy any deck. Next, we have (as usual), Faeries at the top end of the list. You may shrug it off as nothing, but this is actually very important. Over the course of the past few weeks, Demigod Red has been growing in popularity. However, we still that a great number of Faeries decks make top 8 despite this. This may be due to Faeries players being able to outplay RDW, or other decks that simply dominate RDW (Kithkin, Toast, Doran, Merfolk) simply destroy RDW and keeping them in the losers bracket. I suspect it's a health mix of both. Close behind faeries we have Toast! This is the deck that won a Grand Prix and has since then become very popular. In fact, numerous pros, including Adrian Sullivan and Patrick Chapin (both SCG premium writers) believe it to be the best deck in Block.
At the very bottom of the "Regular Decks" lies RDW. Out of 72 top 8 slots, only 3 managed to make it on. Why RDW remains a popular deck is beyond me, as these results are extremely poor. Doran is definitely played less than RDW is, as more Doran players opt for a variation of Toast, yet Doran decks still beat out RDW in number of top 8's.

If you would like to check out the decklists or see the results from the PTQ's, here are the links:

Augusta
Austin
Boise
Minneapolis
Pittsburgh
Sacramento
Winnipeg
Munich
Oldenburg

Wrapping up, I must conclude that RDW is definitely a poor choice to make for the PTQ. Personally, the two decks I hate the most in the format are RDW (I hate relying on luck to win), and Faeries (I hate Bitterblossom). I truly do not understand why people would play this deck, unless they are that afraid of playing against faeries. If you are looking to win the PTQ, or at least perform well, I would place my money on either Kithkin or a Toast deck. Hopefully this article has helped you, and your feedback is greatly appreciated. Comments are always welcome!

For my next article, I will be taking a look at Kithkin. After that, I will give an in-depth study of Toast, and how to play it. Expect to see it up in a few days. In the meantime, spread the word, and tell people to READ MY ARTICLE! :D
If you have any questions, concerns, comments, or see any errors I have made, please let me know.

Keoni Davey
[e-mail]

PS: If you are trying to build a deck that is NOT RDW or Faeries, I will personally go out of my way to help you build it. I am willing to lend you cards, do not hesitate to ask. I can be reached through www.da-planet.com or through email (listed above). Also, it pains me to type RDW so many times, because Red Deck doesn't Win.

[The Dane Train]

I don't hate you, I just didn't respect that deck :P.

I'm looking forward to the article, especially if it invites as much discussion as this one.

[Sean Pottenger]

note to dane: The deck i linked was mono just with cloud and hybrid guys

[Charli Toratani]

Kitchen Finks makes red decks cry. For some strange reason, I always thought a big red version of red decks would appear more right now, but I guess I don't really see them...weird.

Maybe it's time for Ponza! :-3

[Keoni]

You should see a Kitchen Finks that has been Mannequined

[Michael Basa]

how can u guys for get the name "BLITZ"!!!!

[The Dane Train]

because it's a stupid name.

[Keoni]

What is "BLITZ"?