It’s no secret that the MTG Standard format has been going through it recently. The format has practically bounced from one broken deck to the next, with bans being needed every time. Considering that Standard is meant to be the go-to format currently, it feels like things aren’t going according to plan.
Thankfully, things are looking up at the moment, as MTG Avatar and recent bans have breathed new life into the format. Unfortunately, while a lot of the new decks are fun and competitive, some of them might be a little too good. One Avatar card, for instance, has revived a turn-three OTK in standard, even though it never really went anywhere.
Turn Three Firebending Student OTK
Much like the brutal Slickshot Show-Off combo from a while back, Firebending Student is capable of dishing out turn three kills. Thanks to a mix of Prowess, pump spells, Firebending, and more pump spells, she can dish out obscene damage. Worryingly, you don’t even need to rely on getting Leyline of Resonance into play first to make this combo work.
Thankfully, while this combo does seem very powerful and is definitely capable of turn three kills, it’s not infallible. Not only is it vulnerable to post-sideboard matches, but you’ll need five cards. With two lands required as well, the odds of you having everything you need in your opening hand aren’t exactly favorable.
Still, caveats aside, a turn three OTK combo that can dish out lethal damage is still worth talking about. According to davidwallace on Reddit, who showcased this combo, it’s definitely capable of getting reliable wins. Supposedly, Firebending Student is already becoming somewhat of a bogeyman, which causes instant concedes when she drops.
To actually pull the combo off, you’ll need three one-mana pump spells and a Bulk-Up. At minimum, these pump spells need to give +2/+0, which is surprisingly easy. In fact, there are a couple of one-mana red instants that give three power, making things even scarier. If you want, you can even make this combo appear out of nowhere if you’ve got three lands on turn three.
The simple version of this combo requires buffing Firebending Student as soon as you attack. Before the Firebending trigger activates, use a pump spell like Full Bore to give her five power. This will then net you five mana, which you can use to cast Turn Inside Out, Dreadmaw’s Ire, and lastly Bulk-Up. So long as she doesn’t get blocked, this will hit your opponent for 26.
Red Deck Wins
On its own, this combo is powerful, but inherently somewhat vulnerable. Casting Wild Ride as the first pump spell on turn three, alongside Firebending Student, can help things, but removal is still a pain. Thankfully, a Mono-Red Aggro deck built around this combo can still have some redundancy in it.
Callous Sell-Sword, for starters, can easily let you double up on damage, provided you have mana left over post-combat. Alternatively, Slickshot Show-Off can work as an alternative creature option, provided you Plot it in advance. While these cards don’t guarantee you’ll always get a one-hit kill, just dealing a ton of damage can get Mono-Red ahead.
From this, even without a refined decklist to go off, you might think that Mono-Red Aggro is well and truly back at the top. For better or worse, this isn’t the case at all. Looking at recent major Standard tournaments, the deck isn’t anywhere to be seen. In fact, the few Mono-Red decks that do appear are now using a slightly more mid-range focused lean.
Realistically, this isn’t at all surprising, considering that Mono-Red Aggro can often be rather weak post-sideboard. If you’re going all in on one creature, all your opponent needs is one well-timed piece of removal. There’s a good chance that this will stop this archetype from topping tournaments, much like the Mono-Red Leyline combo.
Best-of-One Bannable?
While this Mono-Red OTK deck might not be a problem in Standard tournaments, MTG Arena is a different story. In Best-of-One, there’s no chance to sideboard or prepare for what your opponent is playing. This allows otherwise somewhat flimsy combo decks to thrive, potentially taking over the format.
We saw exactly this when Leyline of Resonance was banned in Best-of-One shortly after the release of Duskmourn: House of Horror. In Best-of-One, this ruthless combo deck dominated the format as players couldn’t really fight back. This led to an incredibly frustrating play experience, where many players would instantly concede, rather than play.
In theory, Firebending Student could cause the same problem thanks to her combo potential. Winning out of the blue on turn three, or with minimal setup on two, is definitely a scary thought, after all. Whether or not this archetype will actually be a problem, however, remains to be seen. Realistically, this is still a five-card combo, so the odds of having all the pieces aren’t amazing.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether or not this deck will even become a problem, let alone a ban-worthy one. Hopefully, if it does end up becoming an issue, Wizards of the Coast won’t wait around to take action. The next MTG bans might not be scheduled until 2026, but emergency action for MTG Arena specifically is always an option.
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