Built this from what I've had/soon to get from a trade ( I know this is more than 60 but I wasn't sure what to take out xD)


Land

12x Swamp
12x Mountain


Creatures

2x Tenacious Dead (Black)(M14)
1x Underworld Cerberus (Red/Black)(Theroes)
1x Agent of the Fates (Black) (Theroes)
3x Slitherhead (Green/Black)(RtR)
4x Rakdos Cackler(black/red) (RtR)
2x Master of Cruelties
3x Ash Zealot



Enchantments, Instants, etc.

2x Cutthroat Maneuver (black)(theroes)
1xShock (red)(m14)
1x Doom Blade (black)(m14)
1x Diabolic Tutor(black)(m14)
2x Vile Rebirth (black)(m14)
1x Portent of Betrayal (red)(theroes)
1x Rakdos Charm (red/black)(RtR)
1x Lightning Strike (red)(theroes)
1x Wild Guess (red)(m14)
2x Titan's Strength (red)(theroes)
2x Skullcrack (red)(Gatecrash)



Sideboard

yet to be constructed





I was wondering, is m13 legal in standard or no? (Pretty sure it's not) This is my first time making a standard deck but I've been playing for about 2-3 years. (casual play)

So without delving too deeply into changes I would make, which I can do of course, I figured I would answer the question you have at the end. M13 is no longer Standard legal. It rotated with the Innistrad block as soon as Theros became standard legal.

That being said, what is the goal of this deck? Are you going to just keep playing casually, just within the standard format or were you planning on sleeving up for FNM?

My biggest suggestion for newer players (at least to the competitive environment) is to scout out your LGS and possibly a few other FNMs to see where the environment is most welcoming. Some FNMs are full of people who are just dying for the next Grand Prix, Star City Games Open, or even Pro Tour Qualifier - and as such, the FNMs are loaded with super competitive players who are essentially just seeing how well they can pilot the latest and greatest net-deck (you wonder why some cards have massive jumps in price, that's why... look at Chandra, Pyromaster and Thassa, God of the Sea as recent examples). For newer players, these types of environments will simply turn you off of Magic and nobody wants to see that (winning certainly isn't everything, but it gets REALLY old getting blown out game after game after game). Now, if you're lucky or look hard enough, you'll be able to find more relaxed FNMs that will cater more to the home-brewing, playing the game to have fun crowd. This is where I think you'll be more comfortable, make more friends, make more trades, and overall just enjoy the game and its players more. Keep in mind you might have to dig around a bit and likely at every FNM you'll find someone who is super competitive, but try to find a more laid back place to play or it can really just ruin the experience.

Having said all of that, I'll let you get back with regard to where you intend to play this before I give specific comments as they'll hinge on the play environment.

Cheers!

Yeah, I've been playing in a few FNM drafts. They are quite fun and I wanted to take it up a notch to a Grand Prix soon!

overlordmario wrote:Yeah, I've been playing in a few FNM drafts. They are quite fun and I wanted to take it up a notch to a Grand Prix soon!

So to be clear you're saying that your eventual goal is to take this deck to a GP?

TyWooOneTime wrote:

overlordmario wrote:Yeah, I've been playing in a few FNM drafts. They are quite fun and I wanted to take it up a notch to a Grand Prix soon!

So to be clear you're saying that your eventual goal is to take this deck to a GP?

By the time I do go to one, the sets would rotate...so no..I would take it to a local standard tournament.

Alright, so again, this will depend on the level of competition at your local FNM.

But if you want to be competitive, a LOT of the deck as it currently sits will have to go.

One thing to remember is that the most consistent decks have 3-4 of most cards because that increases the consistency with which they'll draw them. As such, you'll want 3-4 copies of the cards you identify as being best.

The next question is which of the three major archetypes you'll want to play. Among your choices are aggro, where you are just trying to kill the opponent faster than they have a chance to respond; mid-range, where you tend to stall just a little bit and end up playing some major creatures/spells that ultimately just put the game out of reach; or control, where you tend to use most of your efforts to clear the board or otherwise to "control" the flow of the game until you ultimately drop a single threat that just wins the game. Aggro is naturally the fastest type of deck, but one which either wins big or goes down in flames (there are a lot of times where an aggro deck just isn't going to get there and you have to sit there watching helplessly). Mid-range is arguably the most versatile, but frequently loses out to control matchups as they're both trying to slow the game down a bit. Control is grindy, there's no better way to put it - these are the decks that often go to time during rounds or otherwise take 15-25 turns to win games.

With 4x Rakdos Cackler you have the startings of an aggro build, but I'll let you think over which archetype you want to run before delving too much into specific card choices.

TyWooOneTime wrote:Alright, so again, this will depend on the level of competition at your local FNM.

But if you want to be competitive, a LOT of the deck as it currently sits will have to go.

One thing to remember is that the most consistent decks have 3-4 of most cards because that increases the consistency with which they'll draw them. As such, you'll want 3-4 copies of the cards you identify as being best.

The next question is which of the three major archetypes you'll want to play. Among your choices are aggro, where you are just trying to kill the opponent faster than they have a chance to respond; mid-range, where you tend to stall just a little bit and end up playing some major creatures/spells that ultimately just put the game out of reach; or control, where you tend to use most of your efforts to clear the board or otherwise to "control" the flow of the game until you ultimately drop a single threat that just wins the game. Aggro is naturally the fastest type of deck, but one which either wins big or goes down in flames (there are a lot of times where an aggro deck just isn't going to get there and you have to sit there watching helplessly). Mid-range is arguably the most versatile, but frequently loses out to control matchups as they're both trying to slow the game down a bit. Control is grindy, there's no better way to put it - these are the decks that often go to time during rounds or otherwise take 15-25 turns to win games.

With 4x Rakdos Cackler you have the startings of an aggro build, but I'll let you think over which archetype you want to run before delving too much into specific card choices.

Thanks for the info! I think I'll go with the first option :p

I edited the deck a bit.

Is Modern MTG format less common to see at tournaments?

overlordmario wrote:I edited the deck a bit.

Is Modern MTG format less common to see at tournaments?

Modern is just another format that a lot of people play. It doesn't experience rotation and, as such, typically has more established decks and strategies. That being said, it's a LOT more expensive to get into to really be competitive (unless you build a mono-colored infect, and even then, you're still not well suited against a lot of the major decks out there).

My suggestion would be to stick with standard.

That being said, if you're after aggro, you have to choose whether you're wanting to go pure red aggro or stay red/black. The latter gives you some additional options for removal, but will suffer a bit in speed and consistency.

For mono-red, to be honest, you can use http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/eventcoverage/ptths13/Top_8_Decks the mono-red devotion build here and really just make changes where you feel are appropriate or where really fit your inventory/abilities. While I personally hate people who net-deck, depending on the LGS and level of competition you run into, there's really no need to reinvent the wheel trying to brew your own mono-red aggro deck when we know this one works.

For red/black, well, things change a bit... you should look into Foundry Street Denizen as a second one drop, potentially even Tormented Hero. Gore-House Chainwalker, Rakdos Shred-Freak, Firefist Striker and Spike Jester as possible two-drops. Tymaret, the Murder King (aka Burger King) pairs REALLY well with Purphoros if you have two of him - you can sit and sack him to get the other one out of the yard, play him, two damage to the opponent... and repeat. At the three drop, you'll have access to Chandra's Phoenix, Hellhole Flailer, potentially Nighthowler. At the four you have Purphoros, Desecration Demon, Exava, and things of that like. You can certainly extend the curve up to 5 to fit in Gray Merchant or Stormbreath Dragon, but ideally you wouldn't need them.

Additionally, you'll want to consider some combination of removal spells - Magma Jet, Doom Blade, Dreadbore, Ultimate Price, Devour Flesh (although you'll want to avoid this being aggro), Hero's Downfall, and Mizzium Mortars.

So, a R/B aggro build should probably be about 22 lands, 25 creatures, and say 7-8 removal spells.

Hopefully that helps...