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Mattedesa's Deck Garage
 Red/Green Beatdown
June 7, 2007

Hi Matt,
I would really love it if you would take a look at this Red Green deck i have constructed. It seems to be pretty good... but i would like to know how i could make it better.

Thank you.

1x Akroma, Angel of Fury
1x Phyrexian Soulgorger
1x Baru, Fist of Krosa
1x Quagnoth
1x Shivan Dragon
1x Rift Bolt
1x Shivan Wumpus
1x Char
1x Boldwyr Intimidator
1x Wild Pair
1x Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
1x Essence Warden
2x Elvish Piper
2x Demonfire
2x Pandemonium
2x Imperiosaur
2x Centaur Omenreader
2x Volcanic Hammer
2x Harmonize
2x Search for Tommorrow
3x Edge of Autumn
3x Llanowar Elves
3x Thornweald Archer
3x Nessian Courser

Land

1x Grove of the Burnwillows
9x Forrest
10x Mountain


Well, first off, thanks for sending in your deck. I must say, though, I don't have a lot to go on. What problems is this deck having? What would you like it to do better? These are questions I just don't have the answer to. The only thing you said was to make it better. So, what I can do is look through the cards you have chosen for your deck and help you determine which ones are really worth the slot, and which ones are better suited for your binder.

Big creatures:

Keepers: Akroma, Shivan Dragon, Shivan Wumpus, Imperiorsaur, Baru, Fist of Krosa

Big fat creatures are your win condition, and all of these can do it very well. Shivan Wumpus is probably the weakest of the group and should go if you can get another copy of any of the others. Any creature that has a built-in way to get rid of it (even temporarily) is not a good thing. Baru is good, but even better in multiples if you can get more of him.

Drop: Phyrexian Soulgorger, Boldwyr Intimidator, Quagnoth

The Soulgorger is going to be too hard to keep around with that upkeep, and he doesn't even have trample or flying. The other two are just too expensive for the effect you get. Anything over 5 mana had better give you a card that almost instantly changes the game. You'd be better off with a couple more of the above cards.

Other creatures:

Keepers: Jaya Ballard, Essence Warden, Elvish Piper, Llanowar Elves, Thornweald Archer, Nessian Courser

Jaya Ballard is just a killer. Essence Warden is marginal, but you don't have much else for early game, so it can stay. The Piper will help you get out your big creatures earlier, as will Llanowar Elves, though in different ways. The Archer is great early defense, and the Courser is truly efficient at 3/3 for 3 mana. These creatures will keep you in the game until your can get your big boys out.

Drop: Centaur Omenreader

You don't have any spells you are going to want to target him with, so all he does is make your opponent's kill spells cheaper.

Burn spells:

Keepers: Rift Bolt, Char, Demonfire, Volcanic Hammer

All four of these are good, though the hammer is the weakest of the group.

Drop: none

Other spells:

Keepers: Harmonize, Search for Tomorrow, Edge of Autumn

Harmonize helps you find your good spells, and the other two help you play them more quickly.

Drop: Wild Pair, Pandemonium

As fun as both of these cards are, they are both suboptimal in my opinion. Wild Pair is what's known as a "win more" card. It won't make a difference until you are already in a good board position, and at that point, you don't need it, and if you're behind, you'd rather see Shivan Dragon wouldn't you? Pandemonium is a dangerous card since it works for both people. Unless you have a deck specifically designed to get the best use of it, I wouldn't risk it.

So, where does that leave us? We have 8 spots to fill with better cards. First off, we need to increase your land count. With all the high casting cost cards, you need more land. If you can come up with more Groves or some Stomping Grounds, those would obviously be best, but otherwise I would add one more Forest and one more Mountain. If you have mana problems more often than once in every 5 or 6 games, you should probably get even more lands (and make sure you shuffle well)!

Next, I would fill out the remaining 6 spots with 2 more Harmonize (more cards in hand = more chances to win) and 4 more burn spells.
Your burn spells are great since they can target the player or their creatures. Char and Demonfire are excellent, though hard to come by.
Whichever ones you can get would be good.

Hopefully this gives you a little to go on. I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you, but I can only work with what you give me! Keep up playing with the deck, and if you have further (and more specific) questions, feel free to write me back, and maybe I can do a follow-up!

- mattedesa