Biography

The Biggest Ass in Texas is a resident of Austin, where he works for a Customer Service Corporation. 

He has qualified for the Pro Tour four times but has not made day two yet. He has played competitively since Stronghold and has many top 8's under his belt.

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with Fletcher Peatross

Ramp up to States... the Beginning

I've always loved destroying things. That's my way in Magic. I have performed well with combo, but in Limited I'm the '17 removal, 6 creatures' drafter. As far as I'm concerned, removal always gets picked first. And always, the most suited style to that is B/R. Splash in White in Invasion, and we were given some of the greatest removal cards ever created, Void, Terminate, Vindicate. We also have hand destruction in Void, Gerrard's Verdict, and Blazing Specter. Splash a little graveyard recursion with Pyre Zombie and Yawgmoth's Agenda, and you basically have a very good deck.

Add in 7th and Odyssey, and we're pushed over the top. Duress is by far the most efficient discard spell available, and Persecute is a game winner. Admittedly, Dark Ritual is a loss but that just makes you play more of a curve. The final piece of the puzzle is Haunting Echoes. So much buzz about this card, so little decks can make it work. It screams for Traumatize doesn't it? Combolicious I know. I think it might even be an ok deck in an environment that has access to faster mana and tutoring power. I'm sure that people will try though.

So why is Haunting Echoes the key to making this deck work? Because its Lobotomy on crack. One of the things that B/R has a problem with is moving from early game into mid game. It peters out because it lacks a decent card drawing mechanism. Phyrexian Arena might be the answer, but against aggressive decks, it's mostly a wasted draw. What Haunting Echoes does is replace the need to out draw your opponent. Let me give you an example.

Turn 2 kill something, turn 3 kill something, turn 4 kill something, turn 5 kill some more things. Turn 6 removal all of those things you killed from the game, and then rape their deck.

And watch their faces as they draw land, after land, after land.

4x Duress
4x Gerrard's Verdict
4x Terminate
4x Vindicate
3x Urza's Rage
2x Pyre Zombie
2x Persecute
4x Blazing Specter
3x Haunting Echoes
4x Void
1x Yawgmoth's Agenda

4x Urborg Volcano
4x Sulfurous Springs
2x Shadowblood Ridge
2x Swamp
2x Plains
1x Mountain
2x Dromar's Cavern
4x Caves of Koilos
4x Battlefield Forge

3x Earthquake
2x Orim's Thunder
1x Persecute
3x Pyroclasm
3x Price of Glory
3x Flametongue Kavu

The land mix might be a bit off, and it could be short on mana as well. It does want to get to five mana, but can survive on three. In the little bit of playtesting I've done, I've learned that Haunting Echoes is nuts. It's not a card that you want to draw in your opening hand but is amazing later in the game.

On the surface, I am not sure of what deck would beat this over fifty percent. That's one thing I like to look at in deciding deck types. What would spank this every time? Maybe land destruction? Maybe WW if it gets out the Pro-Red/Black guy. Maybe lots of decks stand a chance.

Add this to your playtesting gauntlet and see how it does. Email me with your results, changes, what you think should have made the cut, what I'm missing. Also, send in your decklists! Normally we don't just post decklists, but up until states, I'm going to post almost every decklist we receive that is T2 legal. You'll see a new link up soon, entitled "The Road to States". We're also going to be asking all of our featured writers to focus on States. They will of course have different perspectives so you can gain as much knowledge as possible!

Until next time,
Fletcher Peatross
fletcher@pojo.com
The Biggest Ass in Texas
Pojo Magic Editor