MTG Arena‘s newest format Alchemy has definitely had mixed reviews since it’s launch. For those who are vested in the format, there’s a lot of new experimentation on what decks are viable for laddering and tournament play. With the Arena Decathlon happening this past weekend with one of the events being Alchemy, and the Hooglandia Open as well, there was a lot of new decks popping up all over the place!
One of the decks that came to play is Mono Red Dragons! Similar to a Big Red deck that we had brewed a month or so ago, the deck is big and mean. Today we’ll take a look at the deck in depth and show why this deck is a contender for the Alchemy format!
Alchemy Mono Red Dragons
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The deck list that we’re looking at comes from the Hooglandia Open, piloted by Cloudman061. The deck was then made a bit more publicly known by Fireshoes over on Twitter, as he took it to a 7 win finish in the Decathlon Alchemy event. I also just had a very successful run with this deck in the Decathlon event, earning myself the 7 win token.
Creatures
The first place to start off with is the creatures. At the bottom of the curve, we have Fearsome Whelp. Now I SEVERELY underestimated the power of this card during my Alchemy Set Review. While I did state that the effect was an alright effect, that it was too easily removed. Well turns out, you don’t need this guy to even stick around. As long as it sticks for at least 1 turn that’s often enough to accelerate your game plan. This is the best card in the deck hands down.
Next up is the Town-razer Tyrant. Yet, another card that I underestimated a bit. Not as badly as Fearsome Whelp, but still a bit. The incremental damage that you get from the land is actually invaluable. It’s also a solid body in it’s own right. Eventually your opponent will set themselves back a land after taking 6-10 damage from it.
Moonveil Regent
Moonveil Regent
Flying
Whenever you cast a spell, you may discard your hand. If you do, draw a card for each of that spell's colors.
When this creature dies, it deals X damage to any target, where X is the number of colors among permanents you control.
is a powerful card draw engine, and when you can slam this on turn 3, it takes over the game. It’s damage death effect can deal with some minor creatures, but can also can push a little more damage to the face.
Goldspan Dragon
Goldspan Dragon
Flying, haste
Whenever this creature attacks or becomes the target of a spell, create a Treasure token.
Treasures you control have "{T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add two mana of any one color."
, while it’s the nerfed version, it’s still incredibly strong. The treasure that it generates helps you double spell, leave up removal, there’s so many options.
Lastly,
Inferno of the Star Mounts
Inferno of the Star Mounts
This spell can't be countered.
Flying, haste
{R}: Inferno of the Star Mounts gets +1/+0 until end of turn. When its power becomes 20 this way, it deals 20 damage to any target.
is our boss creatures. Uncounterable, haste and flying is a recipe for a good time. While it’s fine at 6 mana, it’s better at 4 or 5 mana and we can often cast it at that point.
Removal
In Big Red fashion, we have a lot of early game removal options.
Frost Bite
Frost Bite
Frost Bite deals 2 damage to target creature or planeswalker. If you control three or more snow permanents, it deals 3 damage instead.
is a
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt deals 3 damage to any target.
a lot of the time.
Spikefield Hazard
Spikefield Hazard
Spikefield Hazard deals 1 damage to any target. If a permanent dealt damage this way would die this turn, exile it instead.
helps remove the oodles of tiny creatures from Mono White, but also can be a land if we need.
Dragon’s Fire
Dragon’s Fire
As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may reveal a Dragon card from your hand or choose a Dragon you control.
Dragon's Fire deals 3 damage to target creature or planeswalker. If you revealed a Dragon card or chose a Dragon as you cast this spell, Dragon's Fire deals damage equal to the power of that card or creature instead.
is a given considering that we have a ton of Dragons in our deck to power it up.
Shatterskull Smashing
Shatterskull Smashing
Shatterskull Smashing deals X damage divided as you choose among up to two target creatures and/or planeswalkers. If X is 6 or more, Shatterskull Smashing deals twice X damage divided as you choose among them instead.
helps remove a wide board, and pairs well with
Goldspan Dragon
Goldspan Dragon
Flying, haste
Whenever this creature attacks or becomes the target of a spell, create a Treasure token.
Treasures you control have "{T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add two mana of any one color."
.
Tundra Fumarole
Tundra Fumarole
Tundra Fumarole deals 4 damage to target creature or planeswalker. Add {C} for each {S} spent to cast this spell. Until end of turn, you don't lose this mana as steps and phases end. ({S} is mana from a snow source.)
is a way for us to remove some creatures but cheat on mana a bit and cast another spell from it.
The Bow
Orb-of-Dragonkind-AFR-157 
I titled this section the Bow, because these two cards really tie the whole deck together.
Orb of Dragonkind
Orb of Dragonkind
{1}, {T}: Add two mana in any combination of colors. Spend this mana only to cast Dragon spells or activate abilities of Dragons.
{R}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Look at the top seven cards of your library. You may reveal a Dragon card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
also does some good work offering us ramp and some card selection when we need it.
Chandra, Dressed to Kill
Chandra, Dressed to Kill
+1: Add {R}. Chandra deals 1 damage to up to one target player or planeswalker.
+1: Exile the top card of your library. If it's red, you may cast it this turn.
−7: Exile the top five cards of your library. You may cast red spells from among them this turn. You get an emblem with "Whenever you cast a red spell, this emblem deals X damage to any target, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast that spell."
is a really strong pick here as well.
Incremental damage and ramp, and card selection is a huge benefit to our deck. We often can find a way to stall the board out since our creatures are so huge, and if we can ultimate her, she can close the game out incredibly fast.
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Sideboard
The sideboard is really tailored to deal with a couple of match ups, Control and Mono Green / Mono White. Your faster creatures help get you in under Control’s removal and counter magic. The removal helps deal with bigger green creatures or wider boards.
Give this deck a shot. Yes it’s requiring some Alchemy cards, but honestly, they deck is fast and powerful and you feel like you can’t be stopped.