I’m sure others have done better, I just thought this was fun to try to do.
This is 100 wins in a row with the same deck - with one exception. I had Act of Treason instead of Ravaging Blaze for about 20 wins, then I got Ravaging Blaze. If people want to know the deck I’m happy to post it. I also have to add that playing the same deck over and over is really, really boring.
The only times I came close to a loss were vs. blue and vs. black. The closest was a really nasty black deck toward the end that got three insane cascades on three consecutive turns. I was shocked I won that one; I ended with 11 HP (but would have lost the next turn).
(Unrelated: at least half the losses are crashes from pre-1.3 and some are me trying out decks for other PWs for the first time in QB. I’d estimate my red win rate is >95%. Also, yes: I lowball my red PvPs because all I want is Volcanic Rambler!)
Not bad, but level the guy up to 50 and you’ll actually have a shot at a top rank. Your games may last 2-3 minutes, but so do the ones at 50. and you get 40% more credit for your work =)
But apparently green is hard at 50!
You are totally right, which is why I want to branch into other colors (since I don’t want to ruin my poor red by leveling her to 50). Also I don’t really have a lot of good cards. But after I had like 50 wins in a row I thought: why not?
Deck is:
Zendikar Incarnate - Any huge fatty would do. I’d love Imagine (Avaricious) Dragon instead, but this is the only red-playable mythic I have. Iroas’s Champion - I have opined about her greatness in a red deck at length. Skyraker Giant - Strictly for emergencies against white/black. I toss him constantly. Enthralling Victor - Because I still don’t have Volcanic Rambler. Will be replaced with Rambler when I get it. His 2ndary is useless. Also I think you need a mid-range that you can get out more quickly than 11. Subterranean Scout - Great to just get something out there while you wait on Iroas, good red 2nd power bait, also used in emergencies against blue’s mana denial decks or black’s destroying your hand. A 2/1 for 4 is just pretty good.
Exquisite Firecraft Ravaging Blaze - The only two rares and and yes, it’s worth having both. Firecraft is required for any red deck in my opinion. Blaze’s 2ndary is gravy, I ignore it. Demolish - Also required in any red deck in my opinion. Fiery Conclusion - Combos well with Scout for a 5 damage for 5 mana. Otherwise just for emergencies. I dump this 99% of the time; it needs replacing with a better spell but I don’t have any yet. Infectious Bloodlust - Used all the time to buff Iroas to devastating effect, or on the Scout to pump it up. It’s never useless and when you can get the haste, that’s just gravy.
What I like about this deck is that other than the one big fatty, it’s very low on rare+ cards. That’s why I use it, in fact - terrible luck on draws. Also Exquisite Firecraft was my first rare and Zendikar was my first mythic (and only for a looooong time), so red became the deck I would use most first.
Nice deck! Have you thought of using Embermaw Hellion instead of any huge fatty? It boosts your damage output quite a fair bit, especially coupled with Iroas’s Champion. It also effectively makes your Subterranean Scout a 5/1 for 4 mana.
Trample is also very nice considering it has Berserker as even a spillover of 1 damage triggers the 3 damage bonus on the opponent.
You’re right, but Zendikar serves a specific purpose in my deck: have too many HP to die quickly, and do as much face damage as possible. Embermaw fails the first of those; the berserking means it dies too quickly without a lot of support, and mirror red can kill it in two shots. I’d almost rather swap Iroas’s for Embermaw, except I wouldn’t because first strike is easily worth the lost HP and mana. I mean, yeah, +3 damage on everything is sweet. But I would much rather have him run past opponents and hit the face for the rest of the game.
The thing is, most of my game is generally set up and stall until I can get Zendikar or Iroas’s out to finish. It doesn’t always work that way but once you can get one of them out, it takes a lot (at least with level 30 decks) to stop those cards. Iroas’s is actually my defense and Zendikar is my offense. And sometimes you just have to have a huge creature out there that can beat on anything and win. It doesn’t hurt that red/green matches makes him grow, either - not having to wait for a Bloodlust is really nice. I’d still trade him in a second for the dragon, though: -3 cost to every card is insane.
I see your logic. Zendikar helps end the game faster at the cost of taking a few more damage in the meantime. And as you mentioned, the ability is really nifty. Your Subterranean Scout + Fiery Conclusion combo also helps shore up the defence when Iroas’s isn’t out, not to mention the other burn spells.
I play a more conservative deck using Embermaw Hellion. If the creature is small I let it go berserk, if not I’ll use burn spells to take it down. But in most cases Embermaw can survive till the end of the game. I guess my deck requires more careful selection of what to summon first.
My decklist:
Iroas’s Champion
Embermaw Hellion
Keeper of Keral Keep
Skyraker Giant
Volcanic Rambler
Acolytes of the Inferno (6 mana for 3 attack is a nice ratio)
Exquisite Firecraft
Fiery Impulse (Waiting to get Ravaging Blaze)
Demolish
Infectious Bloodlust
Mine doesn’t have a 100 game winstreak but it wins a fair bit and fairly fast (3 - 5 minutes for level 42).
War Oracle
Iroas’s Champion
Knight of the White Orchard
Consul’s Lieutenant
Foundry of the Consul
Suppression Bonds
Swift Reckoning
Healing Hands
Orbs of Warding
Relic Seeker
