Since Reality Fracture has been out for over a month, players have largely figured out the Standard format attached to it. The metagame has largely settled, with decks like Landfall, Reanimator, and Lifegain thriving, but a new Mono Red Control brew seems to be on the rise.
This new deck has suddenly appeared out of nowhere, locking in a top-64 finish at the 857-player Beijing Magic Spotlight event. Designed to control the board and ramp into massive haymakers, this deck has a lot to like.
A New Core
For Mono-Red Control to reach its game-breaking bombs, you first need to keep the opponent’s board in check. Firebending Lesson
Firebending LessonKicker {4} (You may pay an additional {4} as you cast this spell.)
Firebending Lesson deals 2 damage to target creature. If this spell was kicked, it deals 5 damage to that creature instead. plays a crucial role here, answering turn-one mana dorks or Soul Sisters effects.
If you’re facing bigger creatures, Combustion Technique
Combustion TechniqueCombustion Technique deals damage equal to 2 plus the number of Lesson cards in your graveyard to target creature. If that creature would die this turn, exile it instead. can handle more problematic threats as the game progresses. The more copies of Firebending Lesson and Abandon Attachments you play early, the more damage this two-mana removal spell will deal.
Taking down your opponent’s threats should open a window where you can sneak a Tablet of Discovery or a Way of the Pyromancer in. Thanks to the efficiency of your Lessons, you can often cast these ramp pieces and immediately use the mana burst to your advantage.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Chandra, Torch of Defiance+1: Exile the top card of your library. You may cast that card. If you don't, Chandra deals 2 damage to each opponent.
+1: Add {R}{R}.
−3: Chandra deals 4 damage to target creature.
−7: You get an emblem with "Whenever you cast a spell, this emblem deals 5 damage to any target." provides similar upside via its second +1 ability, but it also has the added benefit of killing threats right away. With a playset of Way of the Pyromancer, this deck is well-equipped to jam Chandra on turn three.
If you manage to untap with both Chandra and your Jace token from Way of the Pyromancer, you’ll have upwards of seven mana on turn four. That’s just enough to slam Improvisation Capstone, which gives the deck inevitability.
With Capstone, Abandon Attachments, Twinned Vision, and Chandra churning through your library, it won’t take long to find Ajani Unrelenting
Ajani UnrelentingWhenever you activate a loyalty ability, create a 2/2 colorless Wizard Soldier creature token named Cadet.
+1: Creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain haste until end of turn.
−2: Discard your hand, then draw a card for each creature you control.
−3: Ajani deals 4 damage to each creature except for tokens you control. to help close the game. Doubling as a fast win condition and a catch-up mechanism, Ajani is central to this deck’s DNA.
If Ajani isn’t good enough to close things out, Thor, God of Thunder can also mow down the opponent’s board. This deck even plays a cheeky one-of Rite of the Dragoncaller, overloading targeted removal with a bunch of tokens.
Mixed Matchups
This deck’s biggest edge comes from its ability to grind opponents into dust. As long as you can keep the board clear and resolve Improvisation Capstone, it becomes incredibly difficult for the opponent to win.
Orzhov Lifegain is a classic top-tier archetype that falls victim to this strategy, since it fails to apply enough early pressure and is vulnerable to your removal suite. Torpor Orb in the sideboard only makes things easier, shutting down the deck’s synergies altogether.
Mono-Red also lines up exceptionally well against Dimir Midrange, which can struggle to kill an early Planeswalker. Your mana advantage comes in clutch in this matchup, especially considering Dimir’s lack of answers to Tablet.
With these things in mind, it isn’t too surprising that this deck’s pilot, Jun Deng, boasted a combined 4-0 record in these two matchups at the Beijing Magic Spotlight event. They also found success against Izzet Spellementals and Jeskai Artifacts, both of which give the red deck plenty of time to set up.
Where this deck did run into trouble, however, was against Boros Dragons, losing both matches. Boros Dragons’ combination of big threats that outclass your removal, as well as Hasty monsters that kill your Planeswalkers, is a recipe for disaster. This doesn’t even account for Clarion Conqueror, which shuts your Planeswalkers down.
This deck’s other two losses both came against Dimir Reanimator, which can use Duress and Deceit to strip you of your impactful bombs. Things only get worse if the opponent is playing Doomsday Excruciator, which laughs at Improvisation Capstone.
With a mix of strong and poor matchups, playing this deck may put you at the mercy of your opponents’ decks. Still, in the right metagame, choosing mono-red could prove to be an incredible decision. Seeing players find new ways to maximize Reality Fracture’s card pool is always nice, and we look forward to seeing how Star Trek impacts things going forward.
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