Mono Red Sligh deck below P2,000

Hey y’all. Its been a long time since me and Mao are creating budget decks and we are happy to tell you that we’re back on the spotlight. Starting Wednesday of each week, we will be providing you ideas and lists of decks that can be competitive on tournaments while letting you spend less on the card components.

First off, I know a lot of you are a fan of aggro decks particularly the famous Demigod Red. Although the deck’s power have lessen because of the loss of power cards like Magus of the Moon, Blood Knight and Skred rotating out to Extended, the deck is still a popular choice among both local and online tournaments and is performing pretty well. Of course the deck won’t be called Demigod Red without the avatar but with the current price of approximately $12 each, I guess not everyone can afford to have them on their decks. So the solution is to build a list with cards that can function and maintain that same ol’ fast kill with the Demigod.

Here’s my suggested list:

Mono Red Sligh
Main Deck
4 Boggart Ram-Gang ($1 each, $4)
4 Tattermunge Maniac ($1 each, $4)
4 Mogg Fanatic ($1.50 each, $6)
4 Hell’s Thunder ($3 each, $12)

4 Flame Javelin ($1.50 each, $6)
4 Dragon Fodder ($0.06 each, $0.24)
4 Incinerate ($0.50 each, $2)
4 Tarfire ($0.05 each, $0.20)
3 Shock ($0.05 each, $0.15)
3 Shard Volley ($0.05 each, $0.15)

22 Mountains ($0.05 each, $1.1)

Sideboard
4 Moonglove Extract ($0.05 each, $0.20)
4 Pyroclasm ($0.75 each, $3)
4 Unwilling Recruit ($0.10 each, $0.40)
3 Smash to Smithereens ($0.05 each, $0.15)

Total price: $39.59 or approximately P1,860.73

*prices are based on CardShark.com

The strategy here is to get in some early damage with the one drops and finish with burn. Let me discuss to you my card choices.

The Creatures

Boggart Ram-Gang – one of the default line-ups if you want to go aggressive on your third turn.

Tattermunge Maniac- a lot are saying that this is a worse card because he becomes literally useless during the late turns. My take on this is that try to get him online on turn one as much as possible and you’ll see the difference.

Mogg Fanatic – an efficient one drop and for dealing the final points of damage.

Hell’s Thunder – I liked his 4/4 body and evasion although he dies at end of turn. He can be useful though, because of the Unearth ability, in scenarios where you ran out of gas.

Dragon Fodder – I’m a fan of Mogg War Marshall back in my Gargadon red deck and I’m happy to know that this sorcery is somewhat like a replacement for that. Trust me, two 1/1’s on turn two can do some needed damage and serve as chump blockers late game.

The Burn

Flame Javelin – Three mana, four damage. A must have in every red decks or even in black-red variants.

Incinerate, Tarfire, Shock and Shard Volley – For simply burn purposes. Need to say more?

The total damage the burn spells can provide is equal to 51. Not bad for a budget deck.

The Sideboard

My card choices for the sideboard are pretty straightforward. You got problems with pro red? Use Moonglove Extract. These plus the set of pyroclasm is for the Kithkins while the recruits is for the fatties and also for providing additional damage due to X power pump. The Smash to Smithereens is for random artifacts like Loxodon Warhammer and probably Esper critters.

So there you have it guys, my version of a budgeted RDW. Feel free to try it in your casual plays or even in your local tournaments. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Till next time guys and always remember to keep the fire burning…