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When you are looking at blue/red decks, you can quickly come to think of the old Counter-Hammer design. We don't have a Hammer in this set but we do have Urza's Rage, which is also very effective. Red also brings you Obliterate, but with no way to break the parity of the card in a blue-red design, it's relegated to a large board reset for the sideboard.

Cards to take a look at for this design are Minotaur Illusionist, Prophetic Bolt (which is as nuts as it looks), Quicksilver Dagger, Suffocating Blast. You also want to just combine the best cards into an effective machine. I always like to start with beatdown, and I'm going to start there.

2cc
4x Firebrand Ranger
4x Rage Weaver
4x Rogue Kavu
4x Jilt

3cc
4x Repulse
4x Urza's Rage
3x Ghitu Fire

4cc
3x Flametongue Kavu
4x Skizzik
3x Wash Out

10x Mountain
9x Island
1x Keldon Necropolis
4x Shivan Reef

This deck is strange. I think that this deck really wants evasion though and just doesn't have it. What it does have is lots of bounce and burn. Optimally you make a creature turn 2 and burn or bounce every creature in its way, and then give a nice toasty ending to your opponents life total.

U/R appears, at least on the surface, to have the tools for a control deck. It's very deceiving. I'm not even going to put up a decklist because I don't want you fooled into thinking its playable. I don't think that it is. The counterspell mix is too poor, the creatures sub-par for that style of deck. But, U/W/R and U/B/R are very, very good and got the Bolt to add to their repertoire.

Also, Quicksilver Dagger appears to be rather naughty, but just think of what kind of effect Sleeper's Robe has made on the environment. Admittedly some of the decks I have posted aren't amazing, especially the mono blue (as an example).

Tomorrow we'll talk about the last of the off-color strategies and get into R/W. Can you say Goblins? I knew you could.

Until then,
Fletcher Peatross
The Biggest Ass in Texas
Bludragon@hotmail.com