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| Red Land Destruction- by Desmond Teo
A land destruction deck must run at least 12 LD spells. After Urza's Block rotates out,
red LD will lose Wildfire and Avalanche Riders, an almost staple in all "Ponza"
decks. However, this loss is balanced by the fact that Tectonic Break is
available in Mercadian Masques. However, running spells like Wildfire or
Tectonic Break requires you to have a more than 24 land deck.
Spells such as Stone Rain and Pillage make the bulk of the LD department. Backed
up with Tectonic Break, a Post Urza's Block LD deck is reasonable.
Since LD decks must start destroying lands after the
3rd turn, a 2nd turn mana boost is important. Consider using a little artifact mana. While Grim Monolith and Thran
Dynamo will rotate out, Fire Diamond and Heart of Ramos are very
useable in red LD decks. The inclusion of lands such as Sandstone Needle and Crystal Vein can allow you to
destroy lands during your 2nd turn.
Third on the list is removal spells. Burn is a traditional addition into a
red LD deck. The loss of Arc Lightning and Fault Line will be countered by the
addition of Seal of Fire, Flameshot and Flowstone Slide. Shock and Earthquake are
still available in 6th edition. Flowstone Slide is a super card to be added into
this breed version of LD decks because it prevents creatures from regenerating.
Also, it effects non-targetable creatures and creatures that have protection
from Red. However, one massive setback is that this card needs lots of mana to
power. However, with a over 24 land deck and a pinch of artifact mana, the
casting cost is feasible.
Since red LD is a control deck, it requires a big creature to be played to
seal the game. Best would be a creature with special abilities.
Rotating out will be Lightning Dragon, Shivan Dragon, Covetous
Dragon, Masticore and Crater Hellion. However, to make up for this big big loss,
Flowstone Overseer and Two-Headed Dragon are available. A red LD deck doesn't require
to have many copies of such cards. Just a few will make do. Remember, they are
to seal the game, not prolong it. Sideboarding for this deck is relatively simple. Boil against blue and more burn spells against more creature based decks. Flashfires make great mass land destruction spells against White. A deck that you should look out for is Rising Waters. This decktype is very strong in the new enviroment and has the potential to be the dominating deck of future Type 2. At playtesting, the current Rising Waters deck can beat a Red LD deck half of the time. After both decks go through sideboarding, the match becomes more interesting. Rebels are not a worry in the future Type 2 because you can Slide everything away and make a comeback with your next turn Two- Headed Dragon. It all sounds awfully daunting that you have to squeeze it all into a 60 card deck. It is possible if you balance the musts and the shoulds. Try not to add cards that have bad synergy with the other cards in your deck. For an example, adding a toughness 4 beatdown in a Wildfire Deck.Cards worth considering
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