Pirates, Dinosaurs and just plain old humans. Today we’re going to take a look through all of the red cards in Rivals Of Ixalan, featuring the previous mentioned types. So get ready and let’s get started.
Blood Sun
Okay so the name is a little lazy but the rest of the card makes up for that. Blood Sun replaces itself straight away and shuts down cards like Aether Hub, Azcanta and Ramunap Ruins, in the current metagame I could see this being a big player in sideboards because of those cards alone. It’s no good in limited because of the lack of utility lands at low rarities but as I said, the sideboard Of something like Temur or Blue Red Control would love this.
Bombard
Bombard is a brilliant removal spell for limited, three mana for four damage can take out almost anything in the early game. It’s cheap, easily splashable and effective, perfect for limited and may even break into constructed.
Brass’s Bounty
This card is screaming out for a combo deck. If you can cheat out Brass’s Bounty above the curve it opens the door to so many things; multiple spells a turn puts so much pressure on your opponent and puts you so far ahead in the match. On the other hand, it is a seven mana spell and in the current metagame it has to do a lot to contend with God-Pharaoh’s Gift and Approach Of the Second Sun and a sudden influx of mana for the price of what will probably be a turn may not be what you need to win a game.
Brazen Freebooter
Good stats and it helps ramp/fix your mana, or adds to your permanent count for the Ascend mechanic. Brazen Freebooter is a fine limited creature and great in combat.
Buccaneer’s Bravado
Modal spells are great, the card gives you more options for half the price essentially. Buccaneer’s Bravado is so versatile but absolutely shines in a pirate tribal deck where it can be the key to closing out a game. Whittle your opponent’s life total down with creatures and when you alpha strike Buccaneer’s Bravado one that gets through and you could easily hit for six plus damage. Boom, game done. Play this all the time in aggressive limited decks and because it fits into decks well, you could see this popping up in constructed.
Charging Tuskodon
This is a limited powerhouse that’s going to do a lot of work. Any sort of combat trick or aura/equipment can make this guy unstoppable, Charging Tuskodon has to be dealt with otherwise it will make short work of your opponent. I think this guy is going to be a massive point of interest for aggressive red decks in limited.
Daring Buccaneer
Red just got another aggressive one drop. Taking its lead from Silvergill Adept you can either reveal another pirate or pay mana when it comes into play, obviously the ideal option is dropping Daring Buccaneer on turn one with another pirate in your hand to start getting the beats in early. Playable in limited and could see a constructed slot, thought decks that would want it like Ramunap Red will possibly have to up its pirate count.
Dire Fleet Daredevil
I can see Dire a Fleet Daredevil being a good addition to the slower Ramunap Red decks. It’s good in combat but not as fast as some of the creatures the deck has access too, one thing it does have on its side though are the options it can give you. Maybe you need a removal spell or a draw spell, well depending on the deck your opponent is playing the possibilities could be endless. Even if you don’t end up using the spell it’s still a to exile a powerful spell so they can’t get it back. At worst it can hold its own in a fight thanks to its first strike, so if you can couple Dire Fleet Daredevil with a pump spell, maybe one you’ve exiled from your opponent’s graveyard, suddenly it’s very awkward to block.
Etali, Primal Storm
Another absolute bomb in the form of a big red dinosaur. Not only is it a six mana 6/6 but Etali can gain you one hell of an advantage when it attacks allowing for a maximum of two free spells. If left unchecked, even in as few as two attacks, Etali could take over a game and seal it out nicely for you. It’s a limited bomb with few constructed applications but I think main issue is the turn you have to wait to get the full effect, though it still poses a huge threat that has to be dealt with.
Fanatical Firebrand
A 1/1 for one with haste and an ability to fling itself as a creature or player. It’s a great creature for limited and I think will see play in constructed for those more consistent fast starts.
Forerunner Of The Empire
Probably the worst of the cycle for me, it’s a four mana 1/3 that doesn’t seem to do well in combat and it’s effect, while triggering Enrage nicely, means you have to split your tribal cards a bit. It feels a bit meh in comparison but that’s not to say it’s inherently bad, it could have a good showing in a really heavy Enrage deck in limited but for now I’m not hugely convinced on its power. Almost no application in constructed whatsoever.
Form Of The Dinosaur
Harking back to good old Form Of The Dragon, this time around the Form is less powerful and makes it more awkward to deal with your opponent. Form Of The Dinosaur is one mana cheaper than its predecessor but gives you no protection right off the bat, whereas Form Of The Dragon stops flyers from attacking you. Another pro/con trade off that the two forms have is that Form Of The Dinosaur puts you at a higher life total of 15 in comparisons to Form Of The Dragon’s 5. If you’re damaged while in control of Form Of The Dragon your life total reverts back to 5 at the end of your turn, however in the case of Form Of The Dinosaur you won’t go back to 15 at the end of the turn. Form Of The Dragon can go directly at your opponent creating a four turn clock, but Form Of The Dinosaur can only hit their creatures and it damages you in the process. Limited bomb but probably not real constructed application.
Frilled Deathspitter
Dinosaurs in limited are getting a great aggressive three drop in the form of Frilled Deathspitter. It comes down early and makes life so hard for your opponent as it hits them either blocked or unblocked. Multiples are fantastic and at common you’ll see it fairly often and let me tell you, you should play it all the time in limited. Maybe a chance for Frilled Deathspitter in constructed if the dinosaur deck picks up which I have a feeling it will.
Goblin Trailblazer
Cheap, aggressive and has evasion. Goblin Trailblazer is exactly what a red deck wants in the early game to get in some quick damage. Also helps nicely with any pirate tribal shenanigans you may have in limited.
Mutiny
This Cards flavour is up there with Swashbuckling from the first set, named aptly and very effective. Making one of you opponent’s creatures turn on another could open the door for you to swing on through for a fair chunk of damage or at the very least take out a possible threat, and only for one mana. Getting a couple of these in limited could really make your deck, probably no application for constructed though as there are better things that are slightly more effective.
Needletooth Raptor
This four mana 2/2 may look innocuous but if you’re ever looking at it across the table, you may want to deal with it quick. Given enough time this little red dinosaur could annihilate your board as it can one shot almost any creature. Trading with Needletooth Raptor will probably result in a two for one as well so you might want to hold onto a removal spell for this one. Because of its cost it’s going to find a home in limited but not constructed, though it is easy to splash when you’re not on the heavy red plan.
Orazca Raptor
Vanilla 3/4 for four. Nothing special but very useful in limited when you just need a creature.
Pirate’s Pillage
This card kind of works out as Tormenting Voice. Yes Pirate’s Pillage Costs two more mana, but it does give you two mana back as well as the two cards. Don’t miss construe that I think it’s good because I don’t, most Red decks don’t want to be spending their turn four drawing cards and making mana, most of them want to be attacking or throwing things at their opponent’s face. Fine in limited, nothing in constructed.
Reckless Rage
Reckless Rage looks like a fantastic removal spell as it’s cheap and very effect. Unfortunately you do have to have a creature of your own for the target otherwise you can’t take out an opposing creature which is its downfall. I can see Reckless Rage being a great card to have in an Enrage heavy deck in limited to help you trigger some effects and at worst it’s a removal spell that causes you to sacrifice one of your own creatures.
Rekindling Phoenix
Every now and again a phoenix gets printed. Usually they’re fine, decent flying creatures with an added bonus of returning at some point and Rekindling Phoenix hits those points quite nicely. It is a change from the norm of having a token created when it dies that can be sacrificed in your upkeep to return it to play, the main issue you will come across is the fragility of the token. None the less Rekindling Phoenix is a powerful creature at four mana and with the potential to be a recurring threat I can see it being a staple in Ramunap Red or whatever takes its place as the red deck. It’s a no brainer for limited as well, always play this.
See Red
If you’re in red and you have a See Red or two in your pool, play them. Despite its drawback of “if the enchanted creature didn’t attack...” this is a really good aura that, put on the right creature, can do a lot of damage and put a lot of pressure on your opponent. It’s a bit to awkward for constructed but limited aggressive decks are going to love See Red.
Shake The Foundations
I think I like this card but I’m not really sure. It’s fairly cheap and an instant, but it only deals creatures one damage and doesn’t hit flyers so any Whirler Virtuoso thopter tokens are out of its range. It does replace itself so that’s a plus but I really want Shake The Foundations to be good in constructed and I don’t think it will get there. In limited is brilliant, it can help clean up the board of any low toughness creatures and trigger all of your Enrage dinosaurs, so all in all I think this card is a solid decent.
Shatter
Shatter is Shatter. It deals with any pesky artifacts, in this case God-Pharaoh’s Gift, for two mana which is not a bad trade off. It sits in sideboards waiting for its moment and that’s what it will continue to do in limited and constructed.
Silverclad Ferocidon
The effect on this dinosaur, if abused, can be devastating. It’s a shame then that it costs seven mana and has no immediate impact on the game. Silverclad Ferocidon is a big threat that needs to be dealt with but that’s just what will happen, given the right deck they will have no problem pointing an Unlicensed Disintegration at it or finding a way to exile it. There are many ways of getting rid of Silverclad Ferocidon without harming it but when t gets to the point of damaging it, that’s when it can start getting out of hand. Not only are you facing down an 8 power creature but you have to sacrifice a permanent as well, and what if it survives then it happens all over again. Silverclad Ferocidon will stomp all over limited and win you many games single handed but as far as constructed goes, I don’t think there’s a place for it with its lack of immediate impact and quite steep mana cost.
Stampeding Horncrest
A good, limited mid game creature that blocks well or if you have another dinosaur gets off to a roaring start of attacking. Stampeding Horncrest plays best in a dinosaur deck but thanks to its single red mana, it can splash into a deck fairly easily and you won’t be unhappy.
Storm Fleet Swashbuckler
Is it just me or is this bear with upside super good? It’s a 2/2 for two with no drawback, gives you the ability to Ascend and when you have it starts hitting for four damage. Always play this in limited if you’re in red because it’s going to do so much work for you, boost its power and toughness and it could be unstoppable.
Sun-Collared Raptor
This little dinosaur loves to get aggressive, it’s cheap and it’s ability is pretty nuts with a power boost of +3. The nice thing is it doesn’t have to make an appearance in just a tribal deck as it’s just a fairly powerful creature with a good mana sink ability. Imagine being able to activate Sun-Collared Raptor twice in the same turn and attacking with a 7 power Trampler. Not much is going to survive that block and your opponent is still likely to take a little damage. Love this guy for limited all the way.
Swaggering Corsair
A three mana 2/2 that can turn into a three mana 3/3 just for attacking. Swaggering Corsair is the creature that the aggressive pirates deck wants to see, it can come down early and put pressure on and has an impact late in the game in limited.
Tilonalli’s Crown
The perfect aura to put on a creature with evasion or Enrage, at worst it’s a two mana removal spell for a one toughness creature. The power bonus is nice but what really puts Tilonalli’s Crown over the top is the Trample. With a card like this you can start fashioning your own dinosaur and start stomping all over creatures and then your opponent.
Tilonalli’s Summoner
Another possible addition to the new red deck in constructed, Tilonalli’s Summoner gives decks bit of longevity within itself. It’s cheap so finds its way under counter magic and removal but is a huge threat late on in the game when you have a tonne of mana to sink into it, if you pay enough you can Ascend and then any of the tokens it makes are suddenly permanent, making it even harder for your opponent to combat the two mana human. A bomb in limited and probably a staple in constructed to come.
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