Mono Fire Aggro ver. 3.0 [Master Rank]

My last post was the ver 2.0 of my work with the Fire Aggro archetype (I'm sure by now you've noticed its my thing). As noted there, I was quite unsatisfied with it's performace. The loss of Ascetic Lantern and Twilight Lantern (given that the update to these has rendered them all but useless in the meta) has driven me to consider what I should do about card advantage. In addition, the rampant amounts of control and midrange decks just sitting back and playing big creature makes it quite the puzzle to solve. The following deck has shown INCREDIBLE results in not only keeping up with the meta but forcing big creature decks on the back foot. I reached Master Rank with it last night and continued testing in the morning in the Master Rank meta environment. The strategy is simple: Charge and Warcry.

---

Card Choices

1-Drops

Cackling Hustler
A 1-drop I originally ignored and found incredibly lackluster. However, it seems I spoke too soon. With the shift in the strategy and Hunt not being as prevalent (due to players just going tall and sitting behind removal), Warcry as become much more viable. Altering the deck to have more Units and Relic Weapons than Spells, Warcry grants big dividends as anything with Charge hits harder faster and Warcry Units/Relic Weapons can punch through more defending threats. Its Taunt ability to disable blockers that might have otherwise been blocking your Censari Brigand or other heavy hitting card is wonderful and pairs well with the MVP of the deck, Youngblood Tactician.

Lutestrung Bow
A very unassuming card at first glance. The only 2-off in the entire deck, it is used to trigger Rakano Anarchist, take care of pesky 1 Health Units the opponent might have (Lethrai Marauder, etc.), and fix math when needing to hit specific numbers. It also an extremely effective and efficient way to eliminate things like Riftfeeder Wasp, Skysplitter, or any Unit with 5 Health or more when Youngblood Tactician is on the board. It also doubles as a pseudo 1-drop Unit with Charge to ping your opponent if they are hiding behind Unit removal cards.

Pyroknight
Char
Ignite
These 3 cards are returning competitors serving the same purpose. The only thing now to keep in mind is that both Char and Ignite can now kill big creatures if Youngblood Tactician is on the board.

2-Drops

Blazing Renegade
Since opting to not worry about card advantage, the key is to ensure the opponent gets to play as few of their cards as possible. This is a simple 2-drop with Charge that really builds up in the beginning of the game. Though unremarkable, it can shine great in the mid to late game (sometimes early) off of 1 or 2 Warcry triggers. It is usually my go-to fodder Unit to bait out removal. If the opponent refuses to use it on this, you can sit behind 1 or 2 of these and keep hitting the opponent in the face with Lutestrung Bow or Miner's Musket until they decide to act.

Miner's Musket
The Summon ability is just a wonderful bonus (making Censari Brigand, Youngblood Tactician and Karrina, Embercaster cheap enough to double cast in a turn with other cards as well as making every single Unit or Relic Weapon card in your deck free of cost!) but the real bread and butter of the card I feel is its verstile use as both a removal spell and a pseudo Charge Unit your opponent cannot target with Unit removal.

Defy Authority
Rakano Anarchist
These cards remain the same as Rakano Anarchist gives us a hard hitting threat (Frenzy ability is easy to trigger with your Relic Weapons as well as Lutestrung Bow's effect) and a Unit with Warcry turn 2. Defy Authority is as always good efficient cost for a burn Spell given what is available right now in the Expedition format and can be net neutral in card advantage when you are expecting the opponent to play cards like Save the Day.

3 & 4-Drops

Youngblood Tactician
Here is the new MVP of the deck. Though my Ace card still continues to be Karrina, Embercaster, this card has undoubtedly made Fire Aggro viable in the current meta. A solid 3/3 for 3 enables it to withstand most typical types of early removal and give us Warcry on turn 3. The main power comes from the ability to turn even your weakest Spells or Units into Behemoth-killers. There are so many big creature decks running around that at some point, the usual Aggro deck is just walled off followed by the opponent giving themselves Aegis. With this card, you can open avenues of attack that were not before possible. And while your opponent figures out how to deal with it, you can push through with everything else.

Censari Brigand
Display of Passion
Karrina, Embercaster
These are the endgame of the deck. Two units that have Charge and hit hard and Display of Passion is an excellent, versatile burn spells.

Power
The deck is so streamlined and does not require the same amount of Power to accomplish what the others did before it. With Solfire no longer making the cut, getting to 6 Power isn't as crucial. This is probably the first time I've ever been satisfied with playing the game standard 25 Power cards. No gimmicks here. Just 25 Fire Sigils. You want Power cards that do not come in Depleted nor do not provide Fire Faction mana as reaching 3 is important to make sure every single card is live the turn it is playable.

---

Summary

The deck has shown incredible results and now even when losing, you definitely feel "I could have won that" (so far most decks are now manageable competition instead of uphill battles). It is usually good to always mulligan to include 1 and 2-drops to ensure a quick start as that is where the deck's strength truly is. It also has good responses to things like Scornful Elite and other Aegis protected Units with the arsenal of Relic Weapons. This deck has kept me in the high Ranks of Master and we will see what happens as the new set comes. Godspeed. (RGF)

---

Notes/Updates

10.10.23
Ankle Cutter
Going full force on the destroy big creatures strategy, we are removing Blazing Renegade for another Unit that provides similar removal benefits as Youngblood Tactician on a cheaper 3/2 body. Albeit we lose a bit of speed, we replace it with more damage and more opportunities to kill a wider range of targets. Sometimes your bigger targets have Endurance and/or Lifesteal.

10.12.23
Aggressive Meeting
Lunar Magus
In all my playtesting, I've found that this card is the most difficult card to deal with for the deck. The deck as a whole has shed the weaknesses of the previous decks (big Units, Lifesteal/Endurance Units, Aegis) and is quite strong for it. That said, Units with 4 life have shown themselves to be resilitent to the deck. Being in that sweet spot of being high enough to defend against most of the decks removal but not crossing the 5 threshold for Youngblood Tactician to deal with, these Units are in the right spot to hold as defenders against the deck. Not to mention that Lunar Magus specifically gains life back and you've got quite the trouble. The only effecient way of beating these Units is Aggressive Meeting. However, finding a spot for this is an interesting puzzle as well as fitting it on the deck's curve. I'll be experimenting more with the card to see if it's the push needed to get through those match-ups. It is important to keep in mind that Aggressive Meeting only serves as a niche tech card in the match-up specific to the Nightfall Elysian deck.

10.18.23
A fun and short-lived deck, it got me all the way to Rank 4. It's a little bittersweet like when I created the Boros Aggro deck near the rotation in MTG but at least this time I got it posted somewhere. Can't wait to test out the new Fire cards in Battle Lines. Stay tuned for more Aggro fun.