The Passion of Red
Red is a very interesting color in that, while rarely subtle, it can match blue in the complexity of its strategies. Red creatures are varied, but generally have at least some similar characteristics. Red creatures can be quite fast and quite powerful, from the simple raging goblin to the dangerous ball lightning. Red creatures are likely to have first or double strike, and haste is almost exclusive to red. Other common abilities of red creatures are “fire breathing”, which allows you to pump mana directly into power, and direct damage. Red spells have a large focus on direct damage, but also consist of spells to boost power and steal opponent’s creatures.
With generally high power, red creatures are threats that often deserve to die, and with generally low toughness, that isn’t hard to achieve. However, destroying those creatures must be done fast, since they will generally be able to kill you quickly. It is also harder to destroy them in combat since they tend to have first strike or can get it at a moments notice. Having haste and high power makes red creatures fantastic attackers, especially early on when there is little that can block them. Having multiple creatures with fire breathing allows you to choose weather you want to deal more damage with the unblocked creature or kill the ones blocking your other creatures. First strike works well to keep your high power creatures alive and is especially effective when you can boost your power. If you can get a creature with double strike through while also buffing its power, you can easily bring your opponent to the brink of death or beyond. One of the larger types of red creatures are dragons. They tend to be high cost with expensive abilities, but are easily worth it if you can use them. From the fire-breathing Shivan dragon to the destructive mordant dragon, red dragons are a force to be reckoned with and a great threat late-game.
Red spells largely consist of direct damage, from the simple three damage lightning bolt, to the increased destruction of the x cost blaze. Being “direct” damage, means that it can both bypass defending creatures to damage the player directly, or it can be directed at a specific creature that is causing you problems but will never be foolish enough to block something that could kill it. A similar technique to do more damage is accomplished by boosting creatures’ power. Spells like enrage and enchantments like madcap skills make your creatures very dangerous to block and even more dangerous to let through. The combination of direct damage and boosting power makes it very dangerous to led red creatures through without blocking, as a non-lethal attack might just be enough to bring you within range of a lava axe and that will cost you the game. When you add the ability of red spells like act of treason or the more potent insurrection to steal your creatures for a turn, an aggressive red opponent becomes very dangerous.
Red is indeed dangerous alone, but it has weaknesses that can be shored up by adding other colors while still maintaining it’s early-game potential. When combined with green, you have a powerful army that is virtually unstoppable. It will have many powerful creatures early on, with the potential for vicious dragons and their cousins, the wurms, in the middle of the game. Giving fire breathing to the trampling creatures of green means that you will get significant damage through no matter how they block. Another potential victory comes from the combination of strong green creatures with the red direct damage to keep the opponent’s field clear of blockers. That will lead to an early advantage that can easily win the game. That strategy tends to ignore some of the other characteristics of green and red, but instead focuses on a single overlapping aspect that makes for a powerful deck. If you combine green land grabs and the powerful red x-cost spells and expensive dragons, you can become very destructive early on before other decks have a chance to match you. That strategy is expressed perfectly with creatures like keeper of the progenitus to boost your mana production and comet storm to kill multiple opponents at once.
Red is a very interesting color in that, while rarely subtle, it can match blue in the complexity of its strategies. Red creatures are varied, but generally have at least some similar characteristics. Red creatures can be quite fast and quite powerful, from the simple raging goblin to the dangerous ball lightning. Red creatures are likely to have first or double strike, and haste is almost exclusive to red. Other common abilities of red creatures are “fire breathing”, which allows you to pump mana directly into power, and direct damage. Red spells have a large focus on direct damage, but also consist of spells to boost power and steal opponent’s creatures.
With generally high power, red creatures are threats that often deserve to die, and with generally low toughness, that isn’t hard to achieve. However, destroying those creatures must be done fast, since they will generally be able to kill you quickly. It is also harder to destroy them in combat since they tend to have first strike or can get it at a moments notice. Having haste and high power makes red creatures fantastic attackers, especially early on when there is little that can block them. Having multiple creatures with fire breathing allows you to choose weather you want to deal more damage with the unblocked creature or kill the ones blocking your other creatures. First strike works well to keep your high power creatures alive and is especially effective when you can boost your power. If you can get a creature with double strike through while also buffing its power, you can easily bring your opponent to the brink of death or beyond. One of the larger types of red creatures are dragons. They tend to be high cost with expensive abilities, but are easily worth it if you can use them. From the fire-breathing Shivan dragon to the destructive mordant dragon, red dragons are a force to be reckoned with and a great threat late-game.
Red spells largely consist of direct damage, from the simple three damage lightning bolt, to the increased destruction of the x cost blaze. Being “direct” damage, means that it can both bypass defending creatures to damage the player directly, or it can be directed at a specific creature that is causing you problems but will never be foolish enough to block something that could kill it. A similar technique to do more damage is accomplished by boosting creatures’ power. Spells like enrage and enchantments like madcap skills make your creatures very dangerous to block and even more dangerous to let through. The combination of direct damage and boosting power makes it very dangerous to led red creatures through without blocking, as a non-lethal attack might just be enough to bring you within range of a lava axe and that will cost you the game. When you add the ability of red spells like act of treason or the more potent insurrection to steal your creatures for a turn, an aggressive red opponent becomes very dangerous.
Red is indeed dangerous alone, but it has weaknesses that can be shored up by adding other colors while still maintaining it’s early-game potential. When combined with green, you have a powerful army that is virtually unstoppable. It will have many powerful creatures early on, with the potential for vicious dragons and their cousins, the wurms, in the middle of the game. Giving fire breathing to the trampling creatures of green means that you will get significant damage through no matter how they block. Another potential victory comes from the combination of strong green creatures with the red direct damage to keep the opponent’s field clear of blockers. That will lead to an early advantage that can easily win the game. That strategy tends to ignore some of the other characteristics of green and red, but instead focuses on a single overlapping aspect that makes for a powerful deck. If you combine green land grabs and the powerful red x-cost spells and expensive dragons, you can become very destructive early on before other decks have a chance to match you. That strategy is expressed perfectly with creatures like keeper of the progenitus to boost your mana production and comet storm to kill multiple opponents at once.