CardShark Content - Randy Villarica (9/6/2004)

“The furnace awaits the next master who would stoke the fires of Apocalypse

Apocalypse
	Set: Tempest Cost: 5 Color: Red Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Artist: L. A. Williams Text: Remove all permanents from the game. Discard your hand.

”

Do you have what it takes to handle the heat? This is how it goes down:

4:Darksteel Citadel

Darksteel Citadel
	Set: Darksteel Color: Land Type: Artifact Land Rarity: C Number: 164 Artist: John Avon Text: Indestructible. (This is not a spell.) T: Add 1 to your mana pool.

4:Great Furnace

Great Furnace
	Set: Mirrodin Color: Land Type: Artifact Land Rarity: C Number: 282 Artist: Rob Alexander Text: (Great Furnace isn't a spell.) T: Add R to your mana pool.

12:Mountain

Mountain
	Set: Arabian Nights Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: C Artist: Douglas Shuler Text: Tap to add R to your mana pool.

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20 land

4:Blistering Firecat

Blistering Firecat
	Set: Onslaught Cost: 4 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Cat Rarity: R Number: 189 Artist: Arnie Swekel Power: 7 Toughness: 1 Text: Trample, haste. At end of turn, sacrifice Blistering Firecat.. Morph RR (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face. up any time for its morph cost.)

4:War Elemental

War Elemental
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Elemental Rarity: R Number: 112 Artist: Anthony S. Waters Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: When War Elemental comes into play, sacrifice it unless an opponent was dealt damage this turn. Whenever damage is dealt to an opponent, put that many +1/+1 counters on War Elemental.

4:Slith Firewalker

Slith Firewalker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Slith Rarity: U Number: 107 Artist: Justin Sweet Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: Haste Whenever Slith Firewalker deals combat damage to a player, put a +1/+1 counter on it.

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12 creatures

4:Furnace of Rath
4:Shrapnel Blast

Shrapnel Blast
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: U Number: 106 Artist: Dave Dorman Text: As an additional cost to play Shrapnel Blast, sacrifice an artifact. Shrapnel Blast deals 5 damage to target creature or player.

4:Electrostatic Bolt

Electrostatic Bolt
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 1 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 89 Artist: Randy Gallegos Text: Electrostatic Bolt deals 2 damage to target creature. If it's an artifact creature, Electrostatic Bolt deals 4 damage to it instead.

3:Flamebreak

Flamebreak
	Set: Darksteel Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 61 Artist: Trevor Hairsine Text: Flamebreak deals 3 damage to each player and each creature without flying. Creatures damaged this way cannot be regenerated this turn.

2:Pulse of the Forge

Pulse of the Forge
	Set: Darksteel Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: R Number: 66 Artist: Paolo Parente Text: Pulse of the Forge deals 4 damage to target player. Then if that player has more life than you return Pulse of the Forge to its owner's hand.

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17 spells

4:Fireshrieker

Fireshrieker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Sub Type: Equipment Rarity: U Number: 171 Artist: Christopher Moeller Text: Equipped creature has double strike. (It deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.) Equip 2 (2: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. This card comes into play unattached and stays in play if the creature leaves play.)

4:Chrome Mox

Chrome Mox
	Set: Mirrodin Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Rarity: R Number: 152 Artist: Donato Giancola Text: Imprint - When Chrome Mox comes into play, you may remove a nonartifact, nonland card in your hand from the game. (The removed card is imprinted on this artifact.) T: Add one mana of any of the imprinted card's colors to your mana pool.

3:Banshee

Banshee
	Set: Chronicles Cost: 4 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Banshee Rarity: U Artist: Jesper Myrfors Power: 0 Toughness: 1 Text: X, T: Banshee deals X damage, half (rounded up) to you and half (rounded down) to target creature or player.

’s Blade
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11 artifacts

By definition heat is “an abnormally high bodily temperature, as from a fever”, it is also described as “the warming of a room or building by a furnace or another source of energy”. Red decks are by nature aggressive. This one is no exception. Playing Red you have to be feverish, you have to really go out there and dominate. And as far as making your presence felt? That Furnace of Rath you dropped on the table just upped the temperature by a few degrees.

Revenge of the Slith

As with all decks there is a certain hand that you want to have when you first draw the starting seven. In the case of this deck, just have a Mox, a Mountain

Mountain
	Set: Arabian Nights Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: C Artist: Douglas Shuler Text: Tap to add R to your mana pool.

(or preferably Great Furnace

Great Furnace
	Set: Mirrodin Color: Land Type: Artifact Land Rarity: C Number: 282 Artist: Rob Alexander Text: (Great Furnace isn't a spell.) T: Add R to your mana pool.

), one or two Slith Firewalker

Slith Firewalker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Slith Rarity: U Number: 107 Artist: Justin Sweet Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: Haste Whenever Slith Firewalker deals combat damage to a player, put a +1/+1 counter on it.

s and a few burn spells. First turn best-case scenario would be:

Your turn, play land, play Mox, cast Firewalker then attack. At end of combat damage assignment your Firewalker just grew by one. Next turn, if there are still no blockers drop down another Firewalker and attack with both. So on your turn two, on their turn one they probably played a land and cast a Wayfarer’s Bauble or Aether Vial

Aether Vial
	Set: Darksteel Cost: 1 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Rarity: U Number: 91 Artist: Greg Hildebrandt Text: At the begining of your upkeep you may put a charge counter on Aether Vial. T: You may put a creature card with converted mana cost equal to the number of charge counters on Aether Vial from your hand into play.

, they have just taken 4 points of damage and you have 2 creatures, a 3/3 and a 2/2 by end of combat. Not bad since you have permanents that will keep on growing (keep those burn spells handy for any possible blockers) and a few burn spells to chuck at him for the finish.

Putting the pieces together

Quite simply it’s all about the need for speed. Get those Firewalkers out and put them to work. Burn down any obstructions. Burn your opponent’s creatures, heck burn your opponent. Rinse, draw and repeat. What this deck has however is the potential to do more damage. With Furnace of Rath out, hey why stint, let’s make it two. Okay, two Furnace of Rath’s makes your Electrostatic Bolt

Electrostatic Bolt
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 1 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 89 Artist: Randy Gallegos Text: Electrostatic Bolt deals 2 damage to target creature. If it's an artifact creature, Electrostatic Bolt deals 4 damage to it instead.

a Lightning Blast

Lightning Blast
	Set: Classic Sixth Edition Cost: 4 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 193 Artist: Richard Thomas Text: Lightning Blast deals 4 damage to target creature or player.

for normal creatures and a two (count ‘em, TWO) Lightning Blast

Lightning Blast
	Set: Classic Sixth Edition Cost: 4 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 193 Artist: Richard Thomas Text: Lightning Blast deals 4 damage to target creature or player.

s for artifact creatures, for one mana, that’s a heck of a deal. Without the Furnaces well, there’s enough burn in there to finish the job.

Blistering Firecat

Blistering Firecat
	Set: Onslaught Cost: 4 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Cat Rarity: R Number: 189 Artist: Arnie Swekel Power: 7 Toughness: 1 Text: Trample, haste. At end of turn, sacrifice Blistering Firecat.. Morph RR (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face. up any time for its morph cost.)

Blistering Firecat

Blistering Firecat
	Set: Onslaught Cost: 4 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Cat Rarity: R Number: 189 Artist: Arnie Swekel Power: 7 Toughness: 1 Text: Trample, haste. At end of turn, sacrifice Blistering Firecat.. Morph RR (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face. up any time for its morph cost.)

can be used early in the game to take out a huge chunk out of your opponent’s life points or coupled with Furnace of Rath it’s used to deliver a killing blow. Since the Rath doubles the damage that means your Firecat is packing a whopping 7 points of damage, doubled that’s 14. It has trample damage AND it’s hasty. No wonder you have to sac it at end of turn.

War Elemental

War Elemental
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Elemental Rarity: R Number: 112 Artist: Anthony S. Waters Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: When War Elemental comes into play, sacrifice it unless an opponent was dealt damage this turn. Whenever damage is dealt to an opponent, put that many +1/+1 counters on War Elemental.

Three red for a 1/1 doesn’t seem all that good until you see what he can do. Every time you pop one to your opponent he gets that many +1/+1 counters. He gets pretty big pretty fast. With a Fireshrieker

Fireshrieker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Sub Type: Equipment Rarity: U Number: 171 Artist: Christopher Moeller Text: Equipped creature has double strike. (It deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.) Equip 2 (2: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. This card comes into play unattached and stays in play if the creature leaves play.)

he gets to deal double damage and gets double the counters. With Banshee

Banshee
	Set: Chronicles Cost: 4 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Banshee Rarity: U Artist: Jesper Myrfors Power: 0 Toughness: 1 Text: X, T: Banshee deals X damage, half (rounded up) to you and half (rounded down) to target creature or player.

’s Blade well, you’ll just have to see for yourself. Imagine facing off with a Darksteel Colossus

Darksteel Colossus
	Set: Darksteel Cost: 11 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Creature Rarity: R Number: 109 Artist: Carl Critchlow Power: 11 Toughness: 11 Text: Trample. Darksteel Colossus is indestructible (Destroy effects and lethal damage don't destroy it.) If Darksteel Colossus would be put into a graveyard from anywhere reveal Darksteel Colossus and shuffle it into its owner's library instead.

and winning. With Rath well that’s just double the fun, for you but not your opponent. I’ve seen this guy go up to 41/41. Man, if only they’d bring back Fling

Fling
	Set: Stronghold Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 82 Artist: Paolo Parente Text: Sacrifice a creature: Fling deals damage equal to the sacrificed creature's power to target creature or player.

!

Slith Firewalker

Slith Firewalker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Slith Rarity: U Number: 107 Artist: Justin Sweet Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: Haste Whenever Slith Firewalker deals combat damage to a player, put a +1/+1 counter on it.

Pop this guy in on the first turn and see him go to work on your opponent’s life points. He’s little now but he gets out of hand pretty quickly. With those burn spells to clear the way he gets bigger every turn. Fireshrieker

Fireshrieker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Sub Type: Equipment Rarity: U Number: 171 Artist: Christopher Moeller Text: Equipped creature has double strike. (It deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.) Equip 2 (2: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. This card comes into play unattached and stays in play if the creature leaves play.)

just makes this guy downright abusive. With Fireshrieker

Fireshrieker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Sub Type: Equipment Rarity: U Number: 171 Artist: Christopher Moeller Text: Equipped creature has double strike. (It deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.) Equip 2 (2: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. This card comes into play unattached and stays in play if the creature leaves play.)

AND Banshee

Banshee
	Set: Chronicles Cost: 4 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Banshee Rarity: U Artist: Jesper Myrfors Power: 0 Toughness: 1 Text: X, T: Banshee deals X damage, half (rounded up) to you and half (rounded down) to target creature or player.

’s Blade, well you can just imagine what kind of trouble he gets into. Rather than imagine go out there and build the deck already!

Furnace of Rath

This combo’s with anything in this deck. Enough said. Just don’t drop this when you have no creatures on the board and no burn spells in hand. Remember this also works for your opponent. The key is speed and good timing. I leave that up to you.

Shrapnel Blast

Shrapnel Blast
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: U Number: 106 Artist: Dave Dorman Text: As an additional cost to play Shrapnel Blast, sacrifice an artifact. Shrapnel Blast deals 5 damage to target creature or player.

Shrapnel Blast

Shrapnel Blast
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: U Number: 106 Artist: Dave Dorman Text: As an additional cost to play Shrapnel Blast, sacrifice an artifact. Shrapnel Blast deals 5 damage to target creature or player.

is here to provide a threat or close a game. It can also be used to spot clean those larger monsters on the field. Best case scenario? If you could keep playing Shrapnel Blast

Shrapnel Blast
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: U Number: 106 Artist: Dave Dorman Text: As an additional cost to play Shrapnel Blast, sacrifice an artifact. Shrapnel Blast deals 5 damage to target creature or player.

(if you have four in hand or are able to draw the rest) every turn with the help of Mox and an artifact land. Sounds too good to happen? It’s a gamble but some days it pays out big. Also, with a Furnace of Rath (you’ll get tired of me saying this) out it will double the damage. By itself you’re taking a quarter of your opponent’s life points, with the Furnace that’s half. That means that with two of these it’s game over.

Electrostatic Bolt

Electrostatic Bolt
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 1 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 89 Artist: Randy Gallegos Text: Electrostatic Bolt deals 2 damage to target creature. If it's an artifact creature, Electrostatic Bolt deals 4 damage to it instead.

I opted for this over Shock

Shock
	Set: Classic Sixth Edition Cost: 1 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 206 Artist: Randy Gallegos Text: Shock deals 2 damage to target creature or player.

. I know, you can only use this on creatures but it does have the advantage of dealing four damage if it’s an artifact creature while a Shock

Shock
	Set: Classic Sixth Edition Cost: 1 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 206 Artist: Randy Gallegos Text: Shock deals 2 damage to target creature or player.

will always deal two. I use it mainly to ravage those Arcbound Ravager

Arcbound Ravager
	Set: Darksteel Cost: 2 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Creature Rarity: R Number: 100 Artist: Carl Critchlow Power: 0 Toughness: 0 Text: Sacrifice an artifact: Put a +1/+1 counter on Arcbound Ravager. Modular 1 (This comes into play with a +1/+1 counter on it. When it's put into a graveyard, you may put its +1/+1 counters on target artifact creature.)

s.

Flamebreak

Flamebreak
	Set: Darksteel Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 61 Artist: Trevor Hairsine Text: Flamebreak deals 3 damage to each player and each creature without flying. Creatures damaged this way cannot be regenerated this turn.

This more or less cleans up the board, deals damage to the other player (and to you unfortunately) and prevents those creatures from regenerating. So that’s how you kill that pesky Troll Ascetic

Troll Ascetic
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Green Type: Creature Sub Type: Troll Shaman Rarity: R Number: 135 Artist: Puddnhead Power: 3 Toughness: 2 Text: Troll Ascetic can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control. 1G: Regenerate Troll Ascetic.

! Now you’re getting it. Oh yeah, Rath…

Pulse of the Forge

Pulse of the Forge
	Set: Darksteel Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: R Number: 66 Artist: Paolo Parente Text: Pulse of the Forge deals 4 damage to target player. Then if that player has more life than you return Pulse of the Forge to its owner's hand.

A reusable Lightning Blast

Lightning Blast
	Set: Classic Sixth Edition Cost: 4 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 193 Artist: Richard Thomas Text: Lightning Blast deals 4 damage to target creature or player.

that comes back to hand of your opponent has more life points than you. Not that he’s going to have more life than you with this deck packing all this heat.

Chrome Mox

Chrome Mox
	Set: Mirrodin Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Rarity: R Number: 152 Artist: Donato Giancola Text: Imprint - When Chrome Mox comes into play, you may remove a nonartifact, nonland card in your hand from the game. (The removed card is imprinted on this artifact.) T: Add one mana of any of the imprinted card's colors to your mana pool.

We sell a little part of our soul every time we buy one of these things. They ain’t cheap, but they’re just that good though. With the speed requirements, this really helps out a lot.

Banshee

Banshee
	Set: Chronicles Cost: 4 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Banshee Rarity: U Artist: Jesper Myrfors Power: 0 Toughness: 1 Text: X, T: Banshee deals X damage, half (rounded up) to you and half (rounded down) to target creature or player.

’s Blade

Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage, put a charge counter on this card. Not bad. On a Firewalker it just makes it that much bigger. With a Fireshrieker

Fireshrieker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Sub Type: Equipment Rarity: U Number: 171 Artist: Christopher Moeller Text: Equipped creature has double strike. (It deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.) Equip 2 (2: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. This card comes into play unattached and stays in play if the creature leaves play.)

it doubles the fire and doubles the damage. Fits perfectly with his friend the Fireshrieker

Fireshrieker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Sub Type: Equipment Rarity: U Number: 171 Artist: Christopher Moeller Text: Equipped creature has double strike. (It deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.) Equip 2 (2: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. This card comes into play unattached and stays in play if the creature leaves play.)

.

Fireshrieker

Fireshrieker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Sub Type: Equipment Rarity: U Number: 171 Artist: Christopher Moeller Text: Equipped creature has double strike. (It deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.) Equip 2 (2: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. This card comes into play unattached and stays in play if the creature leaves play.)

Combo’s with Banshee

Banshee
	Set: Chronicles Cost: 4 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Banshee Rarity: U Artist: Jesper Myrfors Power: 0 Toughness: 1 Text: X, T: Banshee deals X damage, half (rounded up) to you and half (rounded down) to target creature or player.

’s blade and any of your creatures. Best used on an early Firewalker or a later War Elemental

War Elemental
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Elemental Rarity: R Number: 112 Artist: Anthony S. Waters Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: When War Elemental comes into play, sacrifice it unless an opponent was dealt damage this turn. Whenever damage is dealt to an opponent, put that many +1/+1 counters on War Elemental.

. Bam!

Tips on playing the deck

Quite simply cast those creatures and unload on him directly. If he’s a life gainer then Pulse of the Forge

Pulse of the Forge
	Set: Darksteel Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: R Number: 66 Artist: Paolo Parente Text: Pulse of the Forge deals 4 damage to target player. Then if that player has more life than you return Pulse of the Forge to its owner's hand.

should keep that silliness in check. Don’t worry about counterspell decks, you have more that enough heat to dish out.

What I like about this build is that it’s quick. The spells have cheap casting costs with the exception of the Furnace everything costs three or less and the burn spells are almost all instants. With your Firewalker equipped with Fireshrieker

Fireshrieker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Sub Type: Equipment Rarity: U Number: 171 Artist: Christopher Moeller Text: Equipped creature has double strike. (It deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.) Equip 2 (2: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. This card comes into play unattached and stays in play if the creature leaves play.)

he’ll have double strike (meaning he’ll deal first strike damage AND deal normal damage) and Banshee

Banshee
	Set: Chronicles Cost: 4 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Banshee Rarity: U Artist: Jesper Myrfors Power: 0 Toughness: 1 Text: X, T: Banshee deals X damage, half (rounded up) to you and half (rounded down) to target creature or player.

’s Blade lets him grow twice as big (he gets 2 +1/+1 counters every time he deals combat damage to a creature, he gets 4 +1/+1 counters if he’s dealing damage to your opponent courtesy of Fireshrieker

Fireshrieker
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Sub Type: Equipment Rarity: U Number: 171 Artist: Christopher Moeller Text: Equipped creature has double strike. (It deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.) Equip 2 (2: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. This card comes into play unattached and stays in play if the creature leaves play.)

and Banshee

Banshee
	Set: Chronicles Cost: 4 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Banshee Rarity: U Artist: Jesper Myrfors Power: 0 Toughness: 1 Text: X, T: Banshee deals X damage, half (rounded up) to you and half (rounded down) to target creature or player.

’s Blade). Try this on your Firecat and he deals 14 damage AND has first strike, haste and trample. I should have written that in bold. Talk about going out in a blaze of glory. I was also playing around with the idea of including Spark Elemental

Spark Elemental
	Set: Fifth Dawn Cost: 1 Color: Red Sub Type: Elemental Rarity: C Number: 79 Artist: John Avon Power: 3 Toughness: 1 Text: Trample. At the end of turn, sacrifice Spark Elemental.

s in the deck, they’re not much but they should fit in well with the whole theme. Probably add some Pyrite Spellbomb

Pyrite Spellbomb
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 1 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Rarity: C Number: 232 Artist: Jim Nelson Text: R, Sacrifice Pyrite Spellbomb: Pyrite Spellbomb deals 2 damage to target creature or player. 1, Sacrifice Pyrite Spellbomb: Draw a card.

s in there for 2 “colorless” damage for use against those using Silver Knight

Silver Knight
	Set: Scourge Cost: 2 Color: White Type: Creature Sub Type: Knight Rarity: U Number: 23 Artist: Edward P. Beard, Jr. Power: 2 Toughness: 2 Text: First strike. Protection from red.

(he’s still Type 2 legal I believe, as of the writing of this article anyway). Why colorless? Well it’s the Spellbomb dealing damage, not the mana that you used to activate the effect. More burn spells? Absolutely! Some artifact hate would do well in sideboard or even mainboard. Tooth and Nail

Tooth and Nail
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 7 Color: Green Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 134 Artist: Greg Hildebrandt Text: Choose one - Search your library for up to two creature cards, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle your library; or put up to two creature cards from your hand into play. Entwine 2 (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)

’s got his Abunas/Platinum Angel

Platinum Angel
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 7 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Creature Sub Type: Angel Rarity: R Number: 228 Artist: Brom Power: 4 Toughness: 4 Text: Flying You can't lose the game and your opponents can't win the game.

combo out? Shrapnel Blast

Shrapnel Blast
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: U Number: 106 Artist: Dave Dorman Text: As an additional cost to play Shrapnel Blast, sacrifice an artifact. Shrapnel Blast deals 5 damage to target creature or player.

Abunas and Shatter

Shatter
	Set: Revised Edition Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: C Artist: Amy Weber Text: Shatter destroys target artifact.

the Platinum Angel

Platinum Angel
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 7 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Creature Sub Type: Angel Rarity: R Number: 228 Artist: Brom Power: 4 Toughness: 4 Text: Flying You can't lose the game and your opponents can't win the game.

. Who’s smiling now? Chain of Plasma

Chain of Plasma
	Set: Onslaught Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: U Number: 193 Artist: Gary Ruddell Text: Chain of Plasma deals 3 damage to target creature or player. Then that player or that creature's controller may discard a card from his or her hand. If the player does, he or she may copy this spell and may choose a new target for that copy.

with a War Elemental

War Elemental
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Elemental Rarity: R Number: 112 Artist: Anthony S. Waters Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: When War Elemental comes into play, sacrifice it unless an opponent was dealt damage this turn. Whenever damage is dealt to an opponent, put that many +1/+1 counters on War Elemental.

on the board? Sure. Can we give this guy trample please? I leave that choice to you.

This deck’s fast against almost anything out there today. Playing against Tooth and Nail

Tooth and Nail
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 7 Color: Green Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 134 Artist: Greg Hildebrandt Text: Choose one - Search your library for up to two creature cards, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle your library; or put up to two creature cards from your hand into play. Entwine 2 (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)

, he’s fast, this is faster. Firewalkers are walking all over him while making the War Elemental

War Elemental
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Elemental Rarity: R Number: 112 Artist: Anthony S. Waters Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: When War Elemental comes into play, sacrifice it unless an opponent was dealt damage this turn. Whenever damage is dealt to an opponent, put that many +1/+1 counters on War Elemental.

s bigger. Burn him for the quick finish even with his mana accel. Possible Rath early on and let the damage stack up. Against Affinity, getting out that Mox really puts a damper on his Ravager. The key is timing and more than a few burn spells in hand, hopefully some Electrostatic Bolt

Electrostatic Bolt
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 1 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 89 Artist: Randy Gallegos Text: Electrostatic Bolt deals 2 damage to target creature. If it's an artifact creature, Electrostatic Bolt deals 4 damage to it instead.

s in there. The Elf Nail variety of Tooth and Nail

Tooth and Nail
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 7 Color: Green Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 134 Artist: Greg Hildebrandt Text: Choose one - Search your library for up to two creature cards, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle your library; or put up to two creature cards from your hand into play. Entwine 2 (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)

falls prey to an early Flamebreak

Flamebreak
	Set: Darksteel Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 61 Artist: Trevor Hairsine Text: Flamebreak deals 3 damage to each player and each creature without flying. Creatures damaged this way cannot be regenerated this turn.

and more burn spells in hand. Big Red’s out there though so watch out. Artifact hate against your Moxes and Equipment is what you have to look out for from almost every other deck but the speed is right here. Flamebreak

Flamebreak
	Set: Darksteel Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 61 Artist: Trevor Hairsine Text: Flamebreak deals 3 damage to each player and each creature without flying. Creatures damaged this way cannot be regenerated this turn.

just wipes the mat when it comes to some Tribal decks out there, along with some serious burn. Just make sure to stack that damage correctly else you’re blasting your own War Elemental

War Elemental
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Elemental Rarity: R Number: 112 Artist: Anthony S. Waters Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: When War Elemental comes into play, sacrifice it unless an opponent was dealt damage this turn. Whenever damage is dealt to an opponent, put that many +1/+1 counters on War Elemental.

off the board. I would just love to see a mirror match though. Call it a luck match, just have to use the burn wisely.

If you want you can change out the more expensive Firecats for the inexpensive commons, Spark Elemental

Spark Elemental
	Set: Fifth Dawn Cost: 1 Color: Red Sub Type: Elemental Rarity: C Number: 79 Artist: John Avon Power: 3 Toughness: 1 Text: Trample. At the end of turn, sacrifice Spark Elemental.

. Not as big an oomph but it gets the point across. War Elemental

War Elemental
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Elemental Rarity: R Number: 112 Artist: Anthony S. Waters Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: When War Elemental comes into play, sacrifice it unless an opponent was dealt damage this turn. Whenever damage is dealt to an opponent, put that many +1/+1 counters on War Elemental.

’s a rare but a pretty inexpensive one at that. Retail price $0.40. The Firewalkers are uncommons so you won’t have to walk through fire to get your hands on one of these, $0.10. Pulse is under $3, Rath’s under $2, Shrapnel Blast

Shrapnel Blast
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 2 Color: Red Type: Instant Rarity: U Number: 106 Artist: Dave Dorman Text: As an additional cost to play Shrapnel Blast, sacrifice an artifact. Shrapnel Blast deals 5 damage to target creature or player.

under $1. All in all a not expensive deck, not counting the Chrome Mox

Chrome Mox
	Set: Mirrodin Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Rarity: R Number: 152 Artist: Donato Giancola Text: Imprint - When Chrome Mox comes into play, you may remove a nonartifact, nonland card in your hand from the game. (The removed card is imprinted on this artifact.) T: Add one mana of any of the imprinted card's colors to your mana pool.

es of course. You can sub a few more burn spells in there instead of the Moxes since you can still bring in a second turn Firewalker and burn away any blockers. The look on your opponent’s face as he sees four (count ‘em four) War Elemental

War Elemental
	Set: Mirrodin Cost: 3 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Elemental Rarity: R Number: 112 Artist: Anthony S. Waters Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: When War Elemental comes into play, sacrifice it unless an opponent was dealt damage this turn. Whenever damage is dealt to an opponent, put that many +1/+1 counters on War Elemental.

s coming right at him at 41/41 each? Priceless!

This is a Type 2 Legal build that I created. I don't deal in netdecks and this is a deck of my own design together with some elements seen tourneying against some red deck users. If this has any similarity with any other decks out there it is not intentional. Many thanks to Kyle.

So until next time, beware they who use the Circle of Protection:Red!

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