My two favorite colors are blue and red. I like blue for its card advantage and flying creatures, and I like red for its speed and burn spells. Though they are opposing colors, they can mesh symbiotically. To prove this, let us (yes, you can join in now) modify the preconstructed deck "Air Razers". This is the deck list:

12 Island

12 Mountain

2 Hapless Researcher

2 Skywing Aven

2 Wormfang Turtle

1 Wonder

1 Scalpelexis

1 Aven Windreader

2 Dwarven Scorcher

2 Barbarian Bully

2 Barbarian Lunatic

1 Chainflinger

1 Worldgorger Dragon

2 Compulsion

2 Churning Eddy

1 Concentrate

2 Flash of Insight

3 Lava Dart

2 Fiery Temper

2 Swelter

1 Violent Eruption

2 Shower of Coals

The strategy: "Whatever it can't fly over, burn it out of the way."

Fly, burn... the perfect marriage of words!

There's a hitch, though. Preconstructed decks have the chronic problems of inconsistency and use of sub-par cards, and Air Razers is no exception. Let's get to work.

First, remove the mediocre cards. Swelter, Churning Eddy, and Barbarian Bully go immediately. Aven Fisher can be taken out, there are other card drawing creatures. Flash of Insight doesn't really suit my style, so that's gone. As for Aven Windreader, Air Elemental is better in combat and costs one mana less. Barbarian Lunatic is also gone, but burn spells can ease the pain of his abscence. The same applies for Chainflinger. Wonder, excellent in limited, will have to be dismissed. Lava Dart, though being a decent instant, hands over its job to Dwarven Scorcher. Scalpelexis, good in any other blue deck, is a bit out of place with only 1 power, so it is with heavy hearts that we take it out. Wormfang Turtle can be replaced by a stronger Wormfang Drake of the same cost. The card drawer Concentrate can open up a spot for a better spell. There are now twenty-two places to be filled.

In order to clear the path for your aerial assault, burn and bounce spells must be used. Shock is a no-brainer, use four. Raise the count of Fiery Temper to three as well. Swap Violent Eruption for another Shower of Coals, which is crazy (in a positive way) at Threshold. The Apocalypse card Jilt does a good job as a bouncer but when kicked can take out another creature, put in four. Boost the number of Dwarven Scorchers and Hapless Researchers to four, they are uncanny for one-drops. Speaking of one mana spells, the sorcery Careful Study can warrant three spots. It not only cycles through your deck, but also lets you reach threshold faster. Put in three Air Elementals for the mid-game, they're excellent. Finally, there is the win condition. You can either finish up with Worldgorger Dragon or use Mahamoti Djinn.

2 Treetop Sentinel

2 Aven Smokeweaver

3 Essence Leak

2 Baleful Stare

3 Boomerang

3 Gainsay

The sideboard is simply geared to remove any threats from opponents playing certain colors. Coral Net is another viable spell.

The color hosing Avens can replace the Skywing versions in the deck, while you can decide what to swap the other spells in for.

On a last note, remove one island and one mountain and put in two Shivan Reefs.

11 Mountain

11 Island

2 Shivan Reef

4 Hapless Researcher

4 Dwarven Scorcher

2 Skywing Aven

2 Wormfang Drake

3 Air Elemental

2 Mahamoti Djinn or 2 Worldgorger Dragon

4 Shock or 4 Flame Burst

4 Careful Study

4 Jilt or 4 Unsummon or 4 AEther Burst or 4 Lost In Thought

2 Compulsion or 2 Standstill

3 Fiery Temper

3 Shower of Coals

One of the beauties of Magic is its customizability. You may, for example, want to keep Scalpelexis in the deck. Or, you might use Thought Devourer as your game-ending creature. Another option is to incorporate Arcane Teachings or Giant Strength. Just remember, it's your decision.

By taking a good idea and improving on it, you can tap into not only mountains and islands but also into your imagination.

John Weis

dragonman787@yahoo.com