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InMagic: The Gathering, red is the color of passion, fury, and fire. The power of the mountains can crush the land, boil the oceans, and scour the world of all life. But it can also be impetuous, spiteful, and playful. These qualities make red perhaps the most fun color to play in Commander.
Related:Magic: The Gathering – Best Cards For Commander From Lord Of The Rings: Tales Of Middle-earth
But how to get the most out of the fiery color? That’s where we can help. Even down to a single color, there are a lot of red cards in Magic, and these are the ones most worth considering for your Commander deck.
Ramp
Red is all about makingbig, splashy plays, and to do thatyou’re going to need a lot of mana. And if not a lot of mana, at least a tricksy way to get a few cards from your library into play without paying for them.
Braid of Fireis without a doubt the best single-color mana ramp spell in existence. Every turn brings one more red mana than the last. Play it on turn two and watch as your mana pool grows to at least seven mana by turn five even if you don’t play a single mountain.
Ragavan, Nimble Pilfereris another great way to get early mana by making treasure tokens, something that it shares withDockside ExtortionistandStorm-Kiln Artist.Jeska’s Willdoubles as both red’s special version of card draw and mana ramp, and don’t forgetKoth the Hammerwhen you’re looking to power up your Fireball.
Card Draw… sort of
Red typically doesn’t draw cards in the traditional sense. You’ll either get something likeFaithless Lootingwhere you’re basically just cycling through your deck, or you’ll get something likeAct on Impulsewhere you may temporarily gain access to more cards from your library.
Cards likeOutpost SiegeandChandra, Torch of Defianceare the best of these as they provide you with access to more cards on every turn, which is essentially like drawing an extra card every turn. For those with money to burn, Wheel of Fortune is a great option that will refill your hand, although it’ll do the same for your opponents.
Removal
Oh boy, does red have removal. When it comes to blowing up creatures, red’s typical trick is its myriad of direct damage spells, all of which are perhaps best summarized inLightning Bolt. But there’s more to red than just trading cards for three damage.
Chaos WarpandWild Magic Surgeare excellent removal cards that can sometimes backfire, although the risks can be mitigated by saving them for only the direst of threats.Red Elemental BlastandPyroblastput the kibosh on blue spells of all sorts, andElectrodominanceprovides a Fireball along with something else that comes into play for “free.”
But red is best at removing problematic artifacts.Vandalblast,Abrade,By Force, andCast into the Fireeither blow up multiple artifacts or tag on some additional burn damage to provide you with opportunistic card advantage.
Redhas a lot of great removal spells, so don’t think for a moment that this is an exhaustive list.
Related:Magic: The Gathering – Complete Red Guide
Board Wipes
Red is also great at dealing lots of damage to everything on the board.Blasphemous Act,Chain Reaction,Chandra’s Ignition, andAnger of the Godsare all great ways of clearing the board of all critters to make it easier to aim your burn spells at opposing players rather than their creatures.
Don’t expect a lot of finesse when it comes to red board wipes, and alsodon’t expect them to remove problematic creatures with indestructibility or regenerative effects. But for the vast majority of creatures, indiscriminate damage will perform just fine.
Copy, Deflect, Steal, And Non-Basic Land Hate
Removal and board wipes are all well and good, but red has other tricks that deserve mentioning. Copying spells and deflecting spells aren’t just for blue mages, withForkandDeflecting Swatbeing the two best examples.
Red also hates nonbasic lands, which is a huge advantage for a mono-color deck.Play RuinationorPrice of Progressto completely ruin a multicolored deck.
And finally, red loves to steal things.Insurrection,Mass Mutiny,Word of Seizing, andMob Ruleare all but a few examples of what red can do when given a lot of mana and a board full of things that you can temporarily borrow to win the game.
Utility Creatures
Not every creature in red has to deal extra damage or kill an artifact when it comes into play. There are a few, likeGuttersnipe,Dualcaster Mage, andTorgran, Thane of the Red Fell, that make casting your instants and sorceries that much better. And since you’re probably doing that a lot as a red mage, you should consider any of them for your commander deck.
But there are two must-haves for every Commander Deck.Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breakerdoubles all your worst threats, whileAngergives every creature you play haste. Both are extremely powerful effects for a single card.
Scary Dragons And Other Big Creatures
Red has a lot of giants, dragons, and other big monsters, but there are a few that are better suited for Commander–mostly because they provide an extra element of utility, such as card draw, mana ramp, or just good old-fashioned damage.
Ancient Copper Dragonprovides you with a lot of treasure tokens, which makes that Fireball all the more tempting.Etali, Primal Stormprovides more cards alongside a six-power threat, andTerror of the Peaksmakes casting critters come alongside a free Lightning Bolt. And don’t forgetPurphorousfor his indestructibility and extra damage.
Enchantments
When red casts an enchantment, it’s usually to double the damage it is dealing.Furnace of Rath,Fiery Emancipation, andDictate of the Twin Godsall do basically the same thing, which is a good thing for a red mage that likes to throw direct damage at other players.
Everything else is more utlity.Flameshadow Conjuringis like Kiki-Jiki but as an enchantment,Sneak Attackcan help bring a terrifying creature from your hand into play before it has any right to be there (with a bonus if it also has a triggered effect on death), andGoblin Bombardmentturns your dying creatures into free damage.
Special mention goes toBlood Moonfor being able to single-handedly shut down all non-red decks. A great card to make an entire table hate you.
Artifacts
Red loves artifacts just as much as it loves blowing them up, which can make creating a list of staple cards problematic since it’d be an entire article unto itself. There are the usual suspects, likeSol Ring,Mind Stone,Thran Dynamo, andNevinyrral’s Disk, but there are a few more cards worth remembering for red mages.
Pyromancer’s Goggleseasily top the list. It’s a mana rock that doubles your spells, which is phenomenal.Hammer of Purphorosis also great for giving haste and turning unneeded lands into threats. And finally, for those with Wheel of Fortune money,Gauntlet of Mightprovides a lot for the red mage with deep pockets.
Lands
The vast majority of lands in a mono-red deck can and should be mountains, but there are a few non-mountains that red mages should consider.
Chief among them isValakut, the Molten Pinnacle. This land turns late-game mountains into free Lightning Bolts, which is fantastic.Spinerock Knollis relatively easy to pull off in Commander and can provide you with extra cards (sort of), andMines of Morialet you bank mana for a rainy day. And don’t forgetShivan Forgewhen it’s time to just poke your enemies to death.
