Dragons of Tarkir Limited Overview - Red

Hi all.

This continues the discussion of the common and uncommon creature cycles in Dragons of Tarkir, taking a look at the cards that make up the majority of limited decks as a whole rather than analysing card by card. Blue and Black and Green are in previous posts. In summary, the common / uncommon creatures in these colours indicated that the colours were generally slower, looking to get to the late game in the case of blue and black and somewhat in the middle in green where the colour was deeper and had cards straddling both an aggressive and controlling game-plan.

Red is next. Here are the cheaper red creatures.

What is traditionally the most aggressive colour in Magic follows a trend we have seen in the block as a whole. The (mega)morph mechanic exists, so the sets are designed to allow players to get to later stages of the game so that they have the opportunity to turn creatures face up. This means the draft format should not promote very low cost efficient aggressive creatures. If we're not seeing it in red's 1- and 2-cost creatures, we're not going to see it. Kolaghan Aspirant is the best of the 4 here with an ability to trade up and X/1 creatures cannot block it. Simply trading with a morph is not necessarily the kind of interaction you want in an aggressive strategy though. There are also eight different 1/3 creatures around which this also only trades with. That lack of a 2nd toughness is a big deal. Dragon Fodder suffers from many (in some cases more) obstacles that the Aspirant does when deployed as an aggressive card. 

The cards can fill a mana curve role and I would expect Dragonlord's servant to be best at that. He does a job of holding off morphs and allows the cumbersome megamorph dragons to come down on turn 5. Generally 5 mana for a 3/3 flier is not quite a good deal these days (it used to be the going rate in limited) but it's acceptable enough, especially given their incidental extra abilities. In summary though, the 1 and 2 mana red dudes are not cards I'd like taking up many spots in my deck. If you're thinking otherwise, try imagine what a vanilla 2/2 - at either 2 or 3 mana - does to all of these cards.

At 3 and megamorph mana, we've got:

3 mana red cards are really not doing much of anything either. I suppose it is tough to design a colour to be aggressive while keeping costs relatively high. I see 2-3 cards here that I would consider more than filler in a 22 or 23 spells. 3R for a 2/2 that gives haste to another dude is not a card I would want to play and Kolaghan Skirmisher has more functionality than this. Neither mode of Atarka Efreet is appealing either; even at 6/2 it still only trades with a morph and the single damage it deals when turning face up is near irrelevant in a world of 2/2s. Hardened Berserker has a similar issue. You may think his trigger is appealing but generally, you'll want to cast your instant or sorcery spell before attacking to make sure your 3-power monster connects. His trigger doesn't help this. Qal Sisma Behemoth certainly can take over games and I do like it at both a turn 3 play (meaning you can attack and deploy a 2-cost creature on turn 4) and almost any stage of the game from there on as the 5/5 body will be very relevant on later turns whereas the 2 mana "upkeep" cost will not be. Note though, I don't think he operates very differently from a 5-mana 5/5. You still pay 5 to attack once and it essentially has "cannot block" text. A good card but not spectacular. Screamreach brawler is the most well-rounded in cost vs' return of the red 3-drops. The 3 toughness is a big deal facing 2/2's but as we learnt in Khans draft, that specific 2/3 body can be easily made redundant from opposing 4-drops or unmorphing. A final note for the 3-drops is with regard Kolaghan Forerunners. I suggest asking yourself how many creatures you want before this becomes an appealing play. For me, 3 is a minimum and is achievable. 4 is where it begin to get enticing but there is already a common at red that offers this for a single extra mana without having to jump through some hoops to get it. 

The return in power and toughness for your mana at red at 4 and 5 mana is considerably better than the other costs. Summit prowler did not perform at a high level in Khans of Tarkir but here, the 4/3 body is certainly above expected rate for 2RR. Consider also that your decks will be primarily 2-colour, meaning access to the 9 or 10 mountains needed to reliably make it on turn 4 is expected. Note, a full 54% of every single available common or uncommon creature available in Dragons-Dragons-Fate cannot block this successfully. From a creature point of view, this may be the top common. Maybe. 4 damage is a lot...

It's worth highlighting the Outrider here. I mentioned with the green cards that formidable should not be difficult to achieve. Anything in addition to a basic morph or manifest creature will allow the Outrider to crash in happily into most combat situations. 4/2 trample, first strike is not easy to block, especially if the attacker has any mana open at all. Luckily, the formidable wording doesn't end up in trading down if you end up with less than 8 power after the trigger has resolved.

Warbringer has a home to fill curve at 4 and also offer some mid-game dash overrun effects. I see no evidence that he will be much better as a card than Alesha's Vanguard. The two 5-drops are also playable but unspectacular. You won't always want to send in your 5/4 and Feral Krushok was not more than a playable curve-filler in the previous format. I don't see his "worse" version being very much more or less playable. Atarka Funneler is a genuine good return in size for cost with an ability that may help break through a stall. 5 mana is not a small amount though and it can leave you vulnerable in combat even with difficult blocking for your opponent, you've tied up much if not all of your mana.

Red has some OK cards but that's about the extent of it. That the best common or uncommon creature is a reprint and "just" a 4/3 for 2RR. If I'm drafting, the creature base offered would make me want to not lean on red. The non-creature spells certainly do make up for some of the loss in creature power level with respect to other colours but that would suggest your creature base should come primarily from these other colours with only superficial curve-filler cards coming from your red base.

Thoughts as always, are welcome,

- AJ