Modern Splashes: Red
Red White Death and Taxes has two distinct features that separate itself from the other splashes- its cheap, efficient creatures that serve as value-beaters, and the addition of the non-basic land hoser Magus of the Moon. The former trait skews RW lists away from a more value, controlling gameplan into one more focused on killing the opponent fast. The latter trait of the archetype gives the deck considerable power against many decks that other builds would normally struggle against- mainly Tron and Titan Shift. In fact, arguably the only reason to splash red is for Magus of the Moon, due to its nature to single-handedly win games and sometimes even matches. In addition to the Magus of the Moon, the deck is also populated with efficient creatures like Dire Fleet Daredevil and Pia Nalaar (sometimes even Pia and Kiran Nalaar) that help generate both value and beaters for the deck. The deck also plays the iconic card Lightning Bolt, which helps portray the deck's aggro-leaning plan, as Lightning Bolt can often finish low-life opponents.
Sample Decklist
| Creatures: |
|---|
| 2 Thraben Inspector |
| 3 Dire Fleet Daredevil |
| 4 Leonin Arbiter |
| 4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben |
| 4 Blade Splicer |
| 4 Flickerwisp |
| 2 Pia Nalaar |
| 2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar |
| 3 Restoration Angel |
| Spells: |
| 3 Lightning Bolt |
| 3 Path to Exile |
| Artifacts: |
| 4 Aether Vial |
| Lands: |
| 1 Battlefield Forge |
| 1 Field of Ruin |
| 4 Ghost Quarter |
| 4 Inspiring Vantage |
| 3 Needle Spires |
| 1 Mountain |
| 4 Plains |
| 4 Sacred Foundry |
| 1 Slayers' Stronghold |
Card Analysis:
About
Dire Fleet Daredevil, red's Snapcaster Mage, gives the deck value at a low cost. The 2/1 first strike body on its own is very powerful, especially against decks with smaller creatures such as Burn, Humans, and the mirror.
The Ability: Tips & Tricks
First and foremost, Dire Fleet Daredevil's ability can be responded to, which can lead to blowouts. The main time this interaction pops up is playing against Snapcaster Mage decks or when the opponent has a Relic of Progenitus in play. Inversely, Dire Fleet Daredevil can be flashed in with Aether Vial to negate the opponent's Snapcaster Mage target (so long as the said target is an instant).
About
Pia Nalaar is essentially a two for one like Blade Splicer, as she comes with a thopter in addition to the 2/2 body. The main appeal of Pia Nalaar is with flicker creatures such as Flickerwisp and Restoration Angel. While a 1/1 is worse than a 3/3, flying is not irrelevant especially against certain creature decks. Her activated ability can also be very useful- preventing creatures from blocking can give the deck an edge against creature strategies, and having a mana sink for the late game is a nice upside as well.
About:
While they are a four drop, Pia and Kiran Nalaar provide three bodies for the price of one card, making this card a bomb against creature-based decks. They can also use the thopters (or excess Aether Vials/Clues/Golems) to shoot down planeswalkers, creatures, or get the last few points of burn to close out a close game. Pia and Kiran Nalaar is also an excellent target for Flickerwisp and Restoration Angel, especially when the thopters are converted into Shocks. Sacrificing an artifact to fizzle a Cryptic Command that is trying to bounce a creature or Aether Vial is also a relevant play. While Shocking your own creature seems bad, sometimes it is necessary to stop a Cryptic Command from preventing a win.
About:
One of Modern's most iconic cards, Lightning Bolt gives the deck a powerful, versatile spell. The ability to not only kill creatures but also finish off planeswalkers or an opponent with less than four life makes this spell an excellent inclusion in the deck. Unlike Path to Exile, Lightning Bolt does not give your opponent a basic land, giving value to removing the opponent’s mana dork on turn one. The primary downside to Lightning Bolt is its ineffectiveness at removing larger creatures that dominate the format such as Tarmogoyf, Gurmag Angler, and Thought-Knot Seer, along with bringing the creature to the graveyard rather than the exile zone, allowing it to be bought back with cards like Kolaghan's Command and Goryo's Vengeance. However, at least in Red-White Taxes, the upsides of Lightning Bolt outweigh the downsides compared to Path to Exile, making it the go-to removal spell for the deck.
Sideboarding 101
When to bring Red Cards in
Magus of the Moon
Magus of the Moon is a very powerful, game-winning card that punishes decks that rely on nonbasic lands. Magus of the Moon is at its best versus four/five color decks, such as Humans, Suicide Zoo, and other decks minimizing their basic land count. Magus of the Moon is also excellent against decks that require their nonbasic lands to enact their gameplan. Decks like Titan Shift and Tron struggle to beat a Magus of the Moon. Magus of the Moon is, unsurprisingly, bad against decks that are three or fewer colors, such as Blue Control, Jund, and most aggro decks. While there are times that a Magus of the Moon can lock out a Jund player from casting spells, the majority of the time it is only a three-mana 2/2 that eats a Lightning Bolt at best. While Magus of the Moon is generally a hit-or-miss card, there are certainly metas that want him in the main deck.
Cunning Sparkmage
Cunning Sparkmage is best against creature decks with a plethora of one toughness creatures. Humans, Elves, the mirror, and Affinity are all decks where Cunning Sparkmage is boarded in. Collected Company lists are tricky- while Cunning Sparkmage is a great way to deal with the opponent’s mana dorks, at that point in the game the mana dorks had already done their job. However, Cunning Sparkmage is a way to disrupt the Devoted Druid combo, as it kills a Vizier of Remedies or a Devoted Druid with a -1/-1 counter. Therefore, Cunning Sparkmage is only worth bringing in against Devoted Druid combo, but not other Collected Company decks. Mardu Pyromancer is another deck where Cunning Sparkmage is alright against. While it can kill a Young Pyromancer to get value, if the board lacks a Young Pyromancer, it often does not give much value. Killing a fourth of a Lingering Souls is not exciting, especially at three mana. Unsurprisingly, Cunning Sparkmage is not boarded in against decks lacking one-toughness creatures, such as Blue Control, Jund, BR Hollow One, Burn, and the majority of combo decks. While it can finish off a planeswalker or opponent at one, the decks where this is relevant are not ones where Cunning Sparkmage gets boarded in against.
Other Sideboard Options
- Lightning Bolt number 4
- Wear // Tear
- Chandra, Torch of Defiance
- Lightning Helix
Conclusion
Red-White Taxes is best when a large number of decks are slower such as Blue Control, or decks that rely on nonbasic lands such as Tron and Titan Shift. Red-White Taxes is also a fine choice against aggressive decks, as its creatures and removal suite can handle many of the faster strategies in modern. However, RW Taxes is at its worst against combo decks, like Gifts Storm, Ad Nauseam, and Grishoalbrand. Red-White Taxes is best for those who enjoy a more aggressive variant of Death and Taxes or love to lock players out with Magus of the Moon.