Magic: The Gathering has given players exciting Limited formats over the past year and Phyrexia: All Will be One will look to continue that trend with its new mechanics and twist of older ones.
Red is a well-rounded color in ONE Limited that centers around the new Equipment mechanic For Mirrodin! and uses oil counters to gain value from various effects. The color also looks to lean on creatures to push through damage. Here are the four color pairs for Red decks in ONE.
- Black/Red (BR): Sacrifice and Oil counters
- Red/Green (RG): Oil counters MIdrange
- Blue/Red (UR): Instant and Sorcery matters with Oil counters
- Red/White (RW): Aggro Equipment
Red will offer these color pairs efficient damage spells and the ability to play strong creatures that force the opponent into tricky blocking scenarios. Red has several payoffs for oil counters and running a large number of Equipment in your list.
Red Common and Uncommon ONE Draft honorable mentions
There are some solid Red cards that didn’t quite make the cut. Shrapnel Slinger is a two-mana 2/2 that can remove an opponent’s Artifact if you sacrifice a creature when it enters the battlefield. This is a card that won’t provide negative value, but at its core Shrapnel Slinger is a Grizzly Bear with a small upside.
Thrill of Possibility is good too. It’s a strong Red card draw spell that will find its way into most decks. However, Thrill of Possibility is a well-known effect that doesn’t really impact the battlefield much. Look to pick up Thrill of Possibility in UR Spells lists.
Volt Charge is the least attractive option of the suite of Red removal spells but it’s still playable. This three-mana spell deals three damage to any target and will Proliferate. It’s not the best, but it’s still effective.
Best Red Common and Uncommon ONE Limited Draft cards
Red decks will use aggressive creatures backed by Equipment and oil counters synergies to pressure the opponent in combat. The removal in Red is damage-based and happens by making efficient trades in combat with the help of Instant-speed combat tricks. You want to establish an early advantage and extend it once the opponent is on the back foot. Here are the best lower-rarity Red cards for ONE Limited.
Axiom Engraver
Red decks want to be aggressive but in that pursuit, you’ll need cards to line up properly. Axiom Engraver is a repeatable way to rummage through your deck while providing you a permanent with oil counters when that becomes relevant. It’s not a real threat in combat, but it’s a fine two-mana utility creature that can block opposing 2/2 creatures in the early game.
Blazing Crescendo
Blazing Crescendo is a powerful two-mana combat trick that gives a creature +3/+1 until end of turn. This will ensure a favorable trade for you in combat or help push surprise lethal damage against the opponent. This Common becomes worth picking up because it also impulse draws a card that can be played until the end of your next turn. A powerful combat trick that draws a card is always worth splashing in your deck.
Bladegraft Aspirant
Equipment is a major theme for Red in ONE. Historically, Equipment struggles in Magic because of the expensive Equip costs. Generally, there will be much better uses for your mana than investing three mana to attach equipment onto a creature.
However, Bladegraft Aspirant is a great three-mana 2/3 Common with Menace. It reduces the cost of Equipment spells by one mana. This ability is strong in a set with the For Mirrodin! mechanic that has Equipment entering the battlefield alongside a 2/2 body. Equipment that targets Bladegraft Aspirant receive a one-mana discount on their Equip costs.
Chimney Rabble
Applying consistent pressure is how Red decks gain advantages in Limited. You want to be able to play threats and force the opponent to engage in combat, putting their resources at risk through blocking.
Chimney Rabble is a nice Common option as a mid-game play. It’s a four-mana 3/3 creature with Haste that enters the battlefield with a 1/1 token. The 3/3 can attack freely, while the 1/1 can either chump block or be a prime target for a combat trick to trade up in blocks.
Free from Flesh
Combat tricks are looking quite good in ONE. Free from Flesh is a cheap combat trick that gives a creature +2/+2 until the end of turn. That’s a great stat buff that will help a creature win combat. The +2 toughness will be huge in these situations and increases the chances of your creature surviving combat. Putting two oil counters on the targeted creature is good in Red because there are a number of cards that care about your permanents having oil counters.
Furnace Strider
Furnace Strider is a five-mana repeatable Haste enabler that isn’t a slouch itself with a 4/5 body. It enters the battlefield with two oil counters and can remove an oil counter to give target creature Haste until the end of the turn. This ability can be immediately activated to give Furnace Strider Haste. That turns this into a powerful late-game attacker the turn it comes in. There’s no shortage of Proliferate in ONE that can allow Furnace Strider to give every creature you control Haste the turn they come down.
Hazardous Blast
The damage ability on Hazardous Blast isn’t that great. It likely won’t sweep the battlefield, but in certain matchups, Hazardous Blast could take out some 1/1 tokens. Hazardous Blast is worth running because it enables late-game alpha strikes that can win the game. Making it so your opponent’s creatures can’t block in a turn is an excellent way to close out the game leaving little counterplay for the opponent. It should be fairly easy to pick up in Draft as a Common and the four-mana investment isn’t unreasonable.
Hexgold Slash
One mana for two damage is a premium removal spell for Red decks in every Limited format. Hexgold Slash is essentially Shock with a major upside. If the creature it targets has Toxic then it deals four damage to them instead. This is a fantastic way to deal with the beefy Toxic threats that Black and Green decks can throw at you. Always run Hexgold Slash.
Molten Rebuke
This is similar to Hexgold Slash as an excellent piece of Common Red removal. Five-mana spells that deal five damage have proven to be great in Limited over the past couple of years. Molten Rebuke can deal damage with the added upside of hitting Equipment. Chances are that Molten Rebuke will always make the cut.
Rebel Salvo
Three mana to deal five damage to a creature or Planeswalker at Instant speed is wonderful. Affinity for Equipment could turn this spell into a one-mana spell that deals five damage to its target. That great. At Uncommon, Red decks shouldn’t rely on this card to be a consistent part of their removal package. If this card is available in Draft, definitely consider grabbing it early.
Barbed Batterfist
For Mirrodin! is a tough mechanic to analyze because Equipment historically hasn’t succeeded in Limited. Equipment entering the battlefield attached to a 2/2 goes a long way for its playability. Unlike Living Weapon, Equipment with For Mirrodin! enter the battlefield with a real creature that will stick around if it becomes unequipped. Barbed Batterfist is a solid piece of Equipment with a cheap one-mana Equip cost.
This card is essentially a two-mana 3/3 that will stonewall the opponent’s early-game creatures and trade effectively with three and four-mana threats.
