Oh Captain, My Captain!!!

Get Up Rocky!

Welcome one and all!  This is Captain Red Zone coming to you after a week off and with the next part of my new deck series for Tri-Colors for your viewing delight. I hope you had a safe and enjoyable holiday season. This week we’re going into the Green/Red/Black combination known as Jund. This combination has a variety of legendary creatures for us to pick from today so I figured I would try a quick elimination process before we go into deck building. What do you say? Ok, so here’s the list:

Darigaaz, the Igniter

Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund

Bartel Runeaxe

Adun Oakenshield

Kresh the Bloodbraided

Xira Arien

Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper

Let’s start by eliminating the Alara block creatures. Kresh and Karrthus are cool, but a little too popular. Maybe I’ll come back to Karthus if I don’t fine any other Commander worth my interest. Sek-Kua, Deathkeeper can go because, to me, he feels like Kresh. Anything I do with him would probably just as good with Kresh or better depending on your preferred type of battle tactics. Next we’re dropping Darigaaz and Bartel Runeaxe. Darigaaz is one of the elder dragons and I’m sure there are plenty of decks with him out there while Bartel is too easily out classed by other recent creatures at the six drop spot. In his own colors alone I can’t see why I would cast him if I could cast a Grave Titan, Primeval Titan, or an Inferno Titan.  But that levels us with the question “What would we pay six for?” Xira Arien and Adun Oakenshield both only cost a Red, a Green, and a Black but they really cost six because both of their abilities cost another one of each of the colors. But at least drawing a card or regrowth for a creature is better than vigilances.  While I like the card draw I’m going to have to go with…

But he looks so… bored. Looks like I’m going to have to start the New Year off with a card alter…

Yeah that’s more like it! Now I’m thinking of a deck built around a determined underdog. Creatures you can knock down, but can’t knock out. Now I’m ready to build! Let’s Go!

I Got’em On The Ropes!

 So to kick things off we’re going to need more Adun Oakenshield-ish effects. You know, other ways to get things back into our hand or onto the battlefield. So let’s get started with…

Reaping the Graves, Recover, Genesis, Golgari Guildmage, Grim Harvest, Malevolent Awakening, Morgue Theft, Oversold Cemetery, Stitch Together, and Tortured Existence: So here we have a package of creatures and spells that will pull your knocked down creatures back into your hand. Kind of like a ring corner, these will save your guys from the bell. Sure you’re going to need to splash some mana in their face to get them back out there but hey you’re the coach. If you don’t wake them up, you’re fired. But sometimes you don’t have time to wait for the bell to ring to wake them up and you have to yell from the apron. That’s when you need…

Apprentice Necromancer, Body Snatcher, Cauldron Dance, Doomed Necromancer, Footsteps of the Goryo, Life // Death, Makeshift Mannequin, Phyrexian Delver, and Sheoldred, Whispering One: “Get UP you BUM!”  That’s right, straight to the battlefield. Cauldron Dance, Footsteps of the Goryo, and Life // Death don’t play that sleeping on the job crap. We paid good mana to see you fight! Not to see you catch 30 winks! Sometimes we need the help of the audience to cheer to get the message across. That where Makeshift Mannequin, Doomed Necromancer, Apprentice Necromancer, Body Snatcher, Phyrexian Delver, and Sheoldred, Whispering One comes in. But who are they yelling for? I’m glad you asked.

Introducing all the way from Lorwyn!!! Team Persist!!!

Murderous Redcap, Rendclaw Trow, Thunderblust, Scuzzback Marauders, Rattleblaze Scarecrow, Puppeteer Clique, Furystoke Giant, and Woodfall Primus: These guys are the definition of what it means to be an underdog. Not only do they get knocked out but they always come back for a second taste of that knuckle sandwich.

We’ll Take that Three to the Face now Please! Oh and a Second order for later!

Murderous Redcap is a 2/2 that will deal out 3 damage when given the chance to die while Rendclaw Trow is a 2/2 with wither. Thunderblust and Scuzzback Marauders are the real reason I wanted to try this deck out. A hasty 7/2 and a trampling 5/2 that swings, dies, and comes back a little smaller sounds like fun to me. Rattleblaze Scarecrow has persist as long as you have a black creature and haste as long as you have a red one. With our Commander out that should be fairly easy to pull off. Puppeteer Clique is great as a flying 3/2 but its real power is in the fact that it can steal up to two creatures from your opponents graveyard and exiles them when you’re done. Furystoke Giant gives all of your creatures some added reach while Woodfall Primus picks of annoying noncreature permanents.

I hear you out there. “Captain, I don’t want to keep casting these things just too keep getting these abilities. I mean their good and all but that mana cost is a little too rich for my taste.”

Yes I am able to read you r mind. You sick, sick person. That’s why I’m adding these…

Chainbreaker, Ferropede, Power Conduit, Immaculate Magistrate, And Unspeakable Symbol: Here we have a set of cards that will help you keep those -1/-1 off of your creatures. Chainbreaker comes in with two -1/-1 counters but you can use it to remove those counters from other creatures. Ferropede is an unblockable 1/1 that can remove a counter form any permanent. I only wonder why it doesn’t see more play against Planeswalkers. Power Conduit is great because it can remove a -1/-1 counter from a guy and add a +1/+1 counter to another. With the current rules in place, if a creature has a -1/-1 counter and a +1/+1 counter the two counters negate each other and their both removed. With that Immaculate Magistrate will do the same time. It’s an elf so it will give out at least one +1/+1 counter. Unspeakable Symbol falls under the same tree here but cast you three life to use, but hey at least it’s repeatable and you start this game with 40 life.

But let’s face the facts. These persist creatures are not enough to make a deck with. So we’re going to need a few extra targets. Maybe something with enters/leaves the battlefield in its text box.

Obstinate Baloth, Acidic Slime, Liliana's Specter, Eternal Witness, Bloodbraid Elf, Shriekmaw, Ingot Chewer, Cloudthresher, Offalsnout, Grave Titan, Inferno Titan, Primeval Titan, Solemn Simulacrum, Fulminator Mage, and Sprouting Thrinax: Obstinate Baloth is good for discarding but also fine to bring back with our other effects. Solemn Simulacrum is really just a auto include with a deck like this. Fulminator Mage is here for a nice piece of Maze hate. Sprouting Thrinax leaves a nice little army behind when it dies and with this deck that could easily be an army that’s bigger than it first appears. Liliana's Specter is here for you’re more controlling needs. Eternal Witness is for retrieving those much needed cards. Bloodbraid Elf is fun and can bring a little randomness to this deck. Shriekmaw for some nonblack, nonartifact spot removal and Ingot Chewer for those artifacts Shriekmaw missed. Cloudthresher brings the wind while Offalsnout brings the graveyard hate. Grave Titan, Inferno Titan, Primeval Titan, Acidic Slime. That really is all I have to say here.

Mimic Vat: The vat gets its own spot again with me because, let’s face it, it really is a one of a kind.

Bituminous Blast: Cascade is really fun and I only wish it had more cards. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to wait until Planeschase.

Sensei's Divining Top, Sol Ring, Gilded Lotus, Darksteel Ingot, Crucible of Worlds, Druidic Satchel, Sword of Feast and Famine, Search for Tomorrow, Quirion Trailblazer, Rampant Growth, and Garruk Wildspeaker: Here we get to add some much needed ramp because we actually need to cast our creatures. Sol Ring, Gilded Lotus, and Darksteel Ingot are among your basic mana rocks. If you don’t have at least one of each you should pick them up. Crucible of Worlds works great because your land will end up in the grave from discard, destruction, etc. Sword of Feast and Famine give protection but also untaps lands so you have a chance to cast extra stuff in your second main phase. Search for Tomorrow, Quirion Trailblazer, and Rampant Growth helps to get those much needed basics. Sensei's Divining Top works well with Druidic Satchel by giving you some control over what you draw and how the Satchel works. Garruk Wildspeaker is great for untaping lands and then Overrunning your opponents.

Garruk Relentless and Garruk, Primal Hunter: While we’re talking about Garruk, this is one of the only decks you can play all three versions of our favorite wild man. So I’m putting them all in here. They all make great token generators and each packs his own little flavor of play.

Going the Distance!

With 13 Mountains, 13 Forests, and 13 Swamps we can now make it to the fifteenth round!  As always, my mana base here is just a starting point. At the bottom, you can check out the deck list. Next week we’re going Red/Green/Blue with our next Tri-Color Deck. Feel free to leave any comments you have and you can always hit me up at CaptainRedZone@gmail.com. As always thanks for the read and I will see you next week for another article!

Hope you had fun and please leave any comments or suggestions.  Until next time,

This is your Captain speaking… We’re heading into the Red Zone!!!

1 Adun Oakenshield

12 Mountain

13 Forest

12 Swamp

1 Reaping the Graves

1 Recover

1 Genesis

1 Golgari Guildmage

1 Grim Harvest

1 Malevolent Awakening

1 Morgue Theft

1 Oversold Cemetery

1 Stitch Together

1 Tortured Existence

1 Apprentice Necromancer

1 Body Snatcher

1 Cauldron Dance

1 Doomed Necromancer

1 Footsteps of the Goryo

1 Life // Death

1 Makeshift Mannequin

1 Phyrexian Delver

1 Sheoldred, Whispering One

1 Obstinate Baloth

1 Acidic Slime

1 Liliana's Specter

1 Eternal Witness

1 Murderous Redcap

1 Rendclaw Trow

1 Thunderblust

1 Scuzzback Marauders

1 Rattleblaze Scarecrow

1 Puppeteer Clique

1 Furystoke Giant

1 Woodfall Primus

1 Chainbreaker

1 Ferropede

1 Sprouting Thrinax

1 Power Conduit

1 Immaculate Magistrate

1 Unspeakable Symbol

1 Bloodbraid Elf

1 Bituminous Blast

1 Mimic Vat

1 Sol Ring

1 Gilded Lotus

1 Darksteel Ingot

1 Crucible of Worlds

1 Druidic Satchel

1 Sword of Feast and Famine

1 Solemn Simulacrum

1 Fulminator Mage

1 Search for Tomorrow

1 Quirion Trailblazer

1 Rampant Growth

1 Garruk Wildspeaker

1 Garruk Relentless

1 Garruk, Primal Hunter

1 Shriekmaw

1 Ingot Chewer

1 Cloudthresher

1 Offalsnout

1 Grave Titan

1 Inferno Titan

1 Primeval Titan

1 Sensei's Divining Top