The ban of Mox Opal killed Affinity, which meant that I had to look for a new deck in Modern. After reviewing the options for synergy-driven aggro decks, I was most impressed by Mono-Red Prowess. I tried the deck in four Magic Online leagues several weeks ago, went 16-4, and locked it in for Grand Prix Sao Paulo and Grand Prix Turin. Well, these events got canceled—the world has undergone massive changes in recent weeks—but today I will still gladly present the list that I was planning to play, along with my deck and sideboard guide.
Mono-Red Prowess
A few months ago, in a format dominated by Oko, the deck was probably poorly positioned—Food tokens counter Lava Spikes and Kiln Fiend needs its abilities—but in the current Modern, I have enjoyed Mono-Red Prowess a lot.
Main Deck Card Choices
These one-mana prowess creatures form the heart of the deck. They start out small, but they can easily attack for four or more damage per turn.
These are the most efficient one-mana burn spells. They provide reach to close out the game and boost all our prowess creatures. Lava Dart in particular is a standout card because it triggers prowess twice.
These spells not only trigger prowess but also draw more spells to trigger prowess once again. The trample ability on Crash Through should not be underestimated, as it’s easy to create high-power creatures with this deck.
In my mind, the one-mana prowess creatures, one-mana burn spells, and card draw spells are essential, non-negotiable four-ofs for this strategy. Indeed, almost all versions run four copies of these cards. The remaining spells in the deck are more debatable, however.
Bedlam Reveler adds staying power, grinds out matches, hits hard, and draws burn spells to close out a game. With the amount of instants and sorceries in the deck, it will usually cost only three or four mana by turn four. And in the late game, it’s basically a two-mana Ancestral Recall with a huge body attached.
The question is whether to run three or four copies. The argument for three copies is that you want to avoid drawing multiples because then have to discard one to another. Bedlam Reveler is also a little slow, so it lines up poorly against combo decks. Nevertheless, I found that it’s one of the most important cards in grindy matchups, where I really want to have access to four to increase the chances of chaining one Bedlam Reveler into another. I often board out one, but I think that having access to four copies in the 75 is worth it.
Kiln Fiend and Runaway Steam-Kin are aggressive two-drops that synergize nicely with all the card draw spells in the deck. But there are two questions to answer: How many two-drops to play, and which ones.
In terms of how many, I settled on 4 two-drops. This is higher than most decks, but the number is based on a trade-off between having as many noncreature spells as possible (to trigger prowess) while ensuring at least an 80% probability of drawing a one-mana or two-mana creature in your opening seven. To ensure early pressure, I found myself mulliganning most seven-card hand without a one-drop or two-drop, and I wanted to support this mulligan strategy with enough early drops. Along similar lines, I have seen lists with fewer creatures and more Warlord’s Fury or Mishra’s Bauble, but I don’t like that because it makes mulligan decisions more difficult.
In terms of which ones, both have advantages and disadvantages. Kiln Fiend has sweet synergy with Crash Through and can set up turn-3 kills against combo decks, but it’s relatively weak against decks with good blockers. Runaway Steam-Kin is better against creature decks (because it grows to 4 toughness) and can set up some absurd Storm-like turns with a bunch of card draw spells, but it’s a slower threat against combo and weak to Wrenn and Six and Lava Dart. Ultimately, I settled on a 2-2 split to give me more flexibility while sideboarding. This way, I could keep the two-drop in the matchups it was best in and board them out when they were poor in that matchup, allowing me to fine-tune my post-sideboard configuration in every matchup.
There’s room for two more spells in the deck, and it makes sense to add additional one-mana burn spells. Burst Lightning’s kicker has come up for me, so I like it over Wild Slash.
Horizon lands are awesome and provide additional cards in the late game, but you don’t want to overload on them. I believe that 4 Horizon lands is the right number. Not only because you don’t want to take too much damage against other creature decks but also because Lava Dart requires Mountains. Also, I believe that 18 lands is the right number because our curve is so low and we have so many card draw spells.
Sideboard Card Choices
You need at least three answers to Chalice of the Void, and Abrade is the most flexible option. Sure, you could run Smash to Smithereens, but it may rot in your hand as a dead card against Eldrazi Tron, and it doesn’t help you turn into a control deck against other creature decks.
I’ve seen a lot of lists with Leyline of the Void or Tormod’s Crypt, but I believe Grafdigger’s Cage is the best graveyard hate option right now. All of them stop Dredge, Storm, and Breach, but Cage does so in a more permanent way than Tormod’s Crypt, and it is a far better mid-game draw than Leyline of the Void. Moreover, Grafdigger’s Cage also answers cards like Neoform and Chord of Calling, so it’s more flexible for a larger number of matchups.
Many Mono-Red Prowess lists had Blood Moon to stop the Primeval Titan decks. Yet I saw many sideboards with Reclamation Sage or Force of Vigor as answers. By contrast, there seemed to be fewer answers for a creature, so I opted for Magus of the Moon instead. The ability to attack for two is a nice bonus.
Now that Once Upon a Time got banned, Primeval Titan decks may get less popular, but I expect they’ll still stick around. They just got a little bit more inconsistent. We’ll have to see how the metagame develops in the end, but right now I’m keeping Magus of the Moon.
It takes a while to build up, but control or midrange decks with lots of creature removal spells can struggle to deal with this artifact. It attacks from a different angle, which is something I like.
Dragon’s Claw is useful against other Lava Spike decks. I started with three copies, but I cut one after Dragon’s Claw disappointed in a mirror match. If I wanted to make more room in the sideboard, I would consider cutting even more Dragon’s Claws.
Kozlek’s Return is the perfect answer to pro-red creatures like Kor Firewalker or Auriok Champion. And because your prowess creatures will survive, it can also act like a one-sided sweeper.
Against other creature decks, I generally want to transform into a control deck with a lot of removal spells and take over the late game with my card advantage spells. Bonecrusher Giant is perfect for that game plan.
If I had more sideboard slots, I would likely add another Bonecrusher Giant, maybe another Kozilek’s Return, and potentially some Dismember or Smash to Smithereens. All these cards seem useful, but we only have 15 slots.
Tips and Tricks
- You can beat Leyline of Sanctity by pointing burn spells at yourself to trigger prowess.
- When you control prowess creatures, you really want to play Light up the Stage pre-combat. Lava Dart or Lava Spike are the best ways to enable spectacle before attacking.
- On turn one, if I hold both Soul-Scar Mage and Monastery Swiftspear, then I would generally lead with Soul-Scar Mage. Haste on Monastery Swiftspear can be more relevant for a turn where you also cast additional noncreature spells.
- If Kor Firewalker or Auriok Champion blocks a red creature while you hold Bonecrusher Giant, then you can cast Stomp to halt damage prevention, which means that their protection from red creature will die in combat.
- If you control Magus of the Moon, you can no longer sacrifice your Horizon lands for cards.
- If you control Grafdigger’s Cage, you can no longer flash back Lava Dart.
- Keep track of the number of instants and sorceries in your graveyard so you know how much Bedlam Reveler would cost. Don’t flash back Lava Dart unnecessarily if it means you can’t cast Bedlam Reveler if you topdeck it next turn.
- At the start of any turn, run the numbers. The deck can present lethal surprisingly quickly, so always combine burn and combat math to see if you can somehow win this turn.
Sideboard Plans
When sideboarding, it’s usually safe to cut one Bedlam Reveler if it’s not a grindy matchup. More Bedlam Revelers can go if the matchup is all about speed. A few Light Up the Stage can also be cut if the matchup is all about speed or if I plan to take a control role and won’t have the luxury of pointing burn spells at my opponent’s face.
In addition, you can always shave a few burn spells. Burst Lightning is generally the worst one. One Lava Dart can also go if they don’t have relevant one-toughness creatures or if I board in Grafdigger’s Cage. Finally, Lava Spike can be cut completely if I plan to take a control role.
My sideboard plans are below. In addition, I made a one-page document with all the sideboard plans and with pictures of three key cards to keep in mind for every matchup, which I had planned to put in my deck box. These three cards could be ones that explain why I’m boarding in a certain way, common sideboard cards, or other spells I would want to remind myself to play around.
Modern Mono Red Sideboard Plans
Versus Eldrazi Tron
In: 3 Abrade, 1 Bonecrusher Giant
Out: 1 Light Up the Stage, 1 Lava Dart, 2 Lava Spike
Versus Bant Snowblade
In: 2 Shrine of Burning Rage
Out: 1 Bedlam Reveler, 1 Burst Lightning
Versus Mono-Red Prowess
In: 2 Dragon’s Claw, 3 Abrade, 2 Shrine, 1 Bonecrusher Giant
Out: 4 Lava Spike, 1 Lava Dart, 2 Runaway Steam-Kin, 1 Light Up the Stage
Versus Jund
In: 2 Shrine of Burning Rage, 1 Bonecrusher Giant
Out: 2 Runaway Steam-Kin, 1 Lava Dart
Versus Tron
In: 3 Magus of the Moon
Out: 2 Bedlam Reveler, 1 Burst Lightning
Versus Amulet Titan
In: 3 Magus of the Moon, 3 Abrade
Out: 4 Bedlam Reveler, 2 Light Up the Stage
Versus Dredge
In: 3 Grafdigger’s Cage
Out: 1 Bedlam Reveler, 1 Burst Lightning, 1 Lava Dart
Vs Uroza
In: 3 Grafdigger’s Cage
Out: 1 Light Up the Stage, 2 Bedlam Reveler
Versus Dimir Whirza
In: 2 Shrine of Burning Rage (+3 Abrade on the draw)
Out: 1 Light Up the Stage, 1 Bedlam Reveler (+2 Burst Lightning +1 Lava Dart on the draw)
Versus Burn
In: 1 Kozilek’s Return, 2 Dragon’s Claw, 2 Shrine of Burning Rage, 3 Abrade, 1 Bonecrusher Giant
Out: 2 Kiln Fiend, 2 Lava Dart, 4 Lava Spike, 1 Light Up the Stage
Vs Grinding Breach
In: 3 Grafdigger’s Cage, 3 Abrade
Out: 1 Light Up the Stage, 2 Bedlam Reveler, 2 Burst Lightning, 1 Lava Dart
Versus Humans
In: 1 Bonecrusher Giant, 1 Kozilek’s Return, 3 Abrade, 2 Magus of the Moon
Out: 4 Lava Spike, 2 Manamorphose, 1 Kiln Fiend
Vs Infect
In: 3 Abrade, 1 Kozilek’s Return, 1 Bonecrusher Giant
Out: 4 Lava Spike, 1 Light Up the Stage
Versus Storm
In: 3 Grafdigger’s Cage, 3 Abrade
Out: 2 Bedlam Reveler, 2 Light Up the Stage, 1 Lava Dart, 1 Burst Lightning
Versus Grixis/Traverse Shadow
In: 2 Shrine of Burning Rage
Out: 2 Burst Lightning
Versus Heliod Company
In: 1 Bonecrusher Giant, 1 Kozilek’s Return
Out: 2 Lava Spike
Versus Titan Field
In: 3 Magus of the Moon
Out: 2 Bedlam Reveler, 1 Light Up the Stage
Versus Azorius Control
In: 2 Shrine of Burning Rage
Out: 2 Burst Lightning
Versus Neobrand
In: 3 Grafdigger’s Cage, 3 Magus of the Moon
Out: 4 Bedlam Reveler, 1 Lava Dart, 1 Burst Lightning
Vs Ponza
No changes
Vs Ad Nauseam
In: 3 Magus of the Moon
Out: 2 Bedlam Reveler, 1 Light Up the Stage
Vs Yawgmoth Combo
In: 1 Bonecrusher Giant, 1 Kozilek’s Return, 3 Grafdigger’s Cage
Out: 2 Lava Spike, 2 Kiln Fiend, 1 Light Up the Stage
Conclusion
It’s not quite Affinity, but Mono-Red Prowess is aggressive, is synergy-driven, can pull off insane amounts of damage in a single turn, and can even grind out matches with Bedlam Reveler. I have enjoyed the way the deck plays, have been winning with it so far, and like the way it’s positioned in the current format.
