We R gone aggro

A sweet aggro deck can be compared to a good date on a Friday night – fast, cheap and easy to get into! Today`s list combines two of the `easier’ decks to pilot, White Weenie and Red Deck Wins; drawing from the strengths of each and forming a formidable deck in its own right. Intrigued? Then come on pardners, grab your saddles and giddy up, ‘cause today We R gone aggro!

So the name of the game for any good aggro build is speed. That means when it comes to creatures, unless they have Haste, we don’t  want them to cost anything higher than 1. Savannah Lions and Jackal Pup are our go-to 1-drops here. Remember when 2 power for 1 mana was worthy of being Rare? The Grim Lavamancers are also included because they can help clear the way for your creatures and/or get in some damage of their own. Icatian Javelineers might seem like a strange choice, but I wanted to include a direct damage creature like Lavamancer that wouldn’t compete with its cards in the graveyard.

The tricky part about building an aggro deck with Red is to not just make a subpar RDW. What can White add to the deck that warrants including it instead of being a mono colour deck? In order to prove White’s worth, I recommend taking a look at the sideboard. Swords to Plowshares is the best creature removal option in the game, and I included 3 copies in the SB to take care of the big creatures you don’t want to spend 2+ burn spells to take out. White also offers Disenchant, which can be crucial against cards such as CoP: Red and Ivory Mask. Another possible addition would be Abeyance against combo decks, but I chose to focus on hating out other types of decks.

One of the strengths of today’s deck stems from its balance between creatures and spells. Generally, you want to begin by dealing fast damage with your creatures, slashing away at your opponent’s life total before direct damage wins you the game. Red just happens to be the best colour in Magic at hitting the opponent and/or their creatures, which we can certainly use to our advantage. While the deck contains your standard 8x Lightning package, it also includes some less prevalent zappers. Kindle is an oldie, but it can pack some serious punch. Scent of Cinder is a new one to me, but I thought it had some sweet potential, as the majority of your spells are Red.

Another Red spell that deserves some attention is Fork. Honestly, this is an amazing card. Not only can it double the damage of your spells, but you can use an opponent’s removal against them, counter their spell, pump your own creature.. I am seriously just scratching the surface of the card’s versatility. I didn’t include 4 because it CAN be a dead card in your hand, however I think 1-3 copies are a great addition to the deck.

Despite my speech on only including 1 CMC creatures unless they are Hasty, there were a couple of 2 cost dudes that I had actually considered. White Knight and Silver Knight are both great against Black and Red respectively, but ultimately I didn’t think they were fast enough. The main 2-drop that I wanted to include was Goblin Legionnaire. The card seems pretty innocuous at first glance, but it can lead to some pretty interesting in-game decisions for you and your opponent. Why? Among other uses, it’s a 2-power creature that can act as direct damage, a “4 power” blocker or attacker and an anti-burn card. I felt that this was probably more mid-range in use, but you can probably fit it into the deck nicely. Happy Brewing!

We R gone aggro

Land

4 Mountain
1 Plains
4 Plateau
4 Mishra’s Factory
7 Fetch lands

Total: 20

Creatures

4 Savannah Lions
4 Jackal Pup

3 Grim Lavamancer

4 Icatian Javelineers

2 Viashino Sandscout

Total: 17

Spells

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Chain Lightning

1 Fireblast

3 Overmaster

2 Fork

1 Flame Rift

1 Final Fortune

4 Kindle
3 Scent of Cinder

Total: 23

Sideboard

3 Tormod’s Crypt

3 Swords to Plowshares

1 Red Elemental Blast

1 Pyroblast

1 Pyroclasm

4 Blood Moon

2 Disenchant