Red aggro has been a staple in Standard for as long as we can remember. Since the ban announcement back in June, though, the archetype fell off pretty hard. Plus, without access to Heartfire Hero, there’s less of an incentive to go down the Mice route.
The one nice thing about this shift is that it has forced red mages to adapt and innovate to compete. In fact, yesterday, a really unique take on mono-red won a Magic Online Standard Challenge. Rather than focusing on the Mice package, there’s actually a Dragon subtheme that gives the deck an extra boost. This isn’t your typical red aggro shell, and seeing it succeed in an Izzet-dominated world is awesome.
Go Big or Go Home
Unlike more traditional red aggro decks, mono-red Dragons features a bit of a higher curve. Outside of a playset of Hired Claw, there are no one-drop creatures to speak of. You’ll also find a whopping 25 lands in the decklist, which helps facilitate your bigger, more expensive creatures.
While there are obviously some Dragons present which we’ll cover in the next section, this isn’t a dedicated Dragon deck. Instead, you’re mostly just looking to get on board with beefy threats, many of which have Haste.
For example, Screaming Nemesis is among your strongest creatures. You’ll often be able to set up a window where you can connect at least once before your opponent removes the powerful Spirit. In any matchup where the ground gets gummed up or your opponent needs to use damage-based removal to kill your three-drop, Screaming Nemesis shines.
With playsets of both Screaming Nemesis and Sunspine Lynx here, you’re well set up to beat life gain elements from your opponents. Add in a healthy mix of burn spells like Burst Lightning, and you’ve got plenty of reach to finish games.
Dragon Package
Where the deck really starts to differentiate itself is with the Dragon package. Your only true Dragon you’re looking to play to the board is Nova Hellkite. Nova Hellkite is extremely flexible thanks to its Warp ability.
If your opponent is relying on sorcery speed removal to interact, they risk taking four damage when you Warp Nova Hellkite and four more damage when you recast it for five mana before they get it off the board. This doesn’t even factor in the enters-the-battlefield trigger that makes Deep-Cavern Bat and Llanowar Elves look silly.
Beyond Nova Hellkite, your other Dragons include Taurean Mauler (a Changeling) and Twinmaw Stormbrood. In the case of Twinmaw Stormbrood, you’re really only looking to cast the Omen portion of the card.
Neither of these cards is all that exciting, but they serve a crucial function: enable Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant. The Treasure you get from Beholding a Dragon makes it easier to slam Sunspine Lynx or Nova Hellkite ahead of schedule. Treasures also reliably turn on Void for Plasma Bolt. If Sarkhan sticks around, any Dragon follow-up makes Sarkhan a scarier threat.
These Dragons also can be tutored for with Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon. With both Maelstrom and Soulstone Sanctuary in the deck, you’ll rarely run out of ways to spend your mana.
Aggro and Control Gameplans
Part of what makes this build so appealing is that you’re able to play a beat down role and also win grindy games, depending on the matchup. Against Izzet Cauldron, you do a great job applying pressure. You have plenty of removal, including Suplex out of the sideboard to deal with Agatha’s Soul Cauldron.
Against Azorius control, you have the ability to get on board early with Hired Claw and Sarkhan. However, by going bigger, you aren’t as vulnerable to Pinnacle Starcage. Sunspine Lynx and Nova Hellkite excel in the face of Beza, the Bounding Spring, which is normally a menace versus red aggro.
Then when you face a deck like Dimir midrange that packs lots of one-for-one removal, your high density of hasty threats come in handy. Nova Hellkite does a good job keeping Kaito in check. From there, your utility lands ensure you won’t run out of gas in the long game.
Sunspine Lynx and Nova Hellkite also give you a much better shot at beating Esper Pixie. Esper Pixie plays a ton of nonbasic lands and relies on repeatedly casting Nowhere to Run to keep killing your stuff. Having extra top end that outsizes the enchantment goes a long way in improving the matchup.
Where going bigger may come back to bite you is when you’re facing decks like mono-green Landfall. Sunspine Lynx is quite mediocre there. Nova Hellkite is clunky and doesn’t shine defensively. You’d rather have a lower curve of creatures to bash with and use removal to out-tempo the opponent. Similarly, Sunspine Lynx isn’t an ideal draw against other red aggro decks with few nonbasic lands.
Given how much of the metagame is dominated by Izzet Cauldron and midrange strategies, though, incorporating the Dragons and a grindier gameplan makes a lot of sense. The current Standard metagame is extremely hostile, so it’s cool to see players put in their best efforts to exploit it the best they can.
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