Mono-Red Aggro Burn

A lean Mono-Red aggressive deck that curves cheap creatures into cheap burn, using every point of damage from both its attackers and its removal to close the game by turn five or six.

Because almost every noncreature spell in the deck costs one or two mana, Coruscation Mage rewards you for chaining burn and combat tricks in the same turn, and Emberheart Challenger is at its best when you follow it with spells rather than just attacking with it. Harried Spearguard and Reckless Lackey are fine early attackers that leave a body behind when they die, so blocking them is rarely a clean answer. Torch the Tower and Witchstalker Frenzy clear the exact blocker that would stop your attack (Witchstalker Frenzy gets cheaper for each creature that attacked, so it is often a one-mana kill spell after a full swing), while Lightning Strike, Burst Lightning and Abrade are flexible enough to either kill a creature or finish the opponent.

Keep any hand with two or three Mountains and at least two cheap plays (a creature plus a burn spell is ideal). Mulligan hands with four or more lands, hands with no creature, or hands where your first action costs three or more. A one-land hand with two one-drops is acceptable on the play only. Do not be afraid to go to six cards; this deck wins on speed, not on card quality.

Early (turns 1-3): Deploy your cheapest threats, attack every turn, and use Lightning Strike, Burst Lightning, Abrade, Torch the Tower or Tectonic Hazard to remove anything that would profitably block. Mid (turns 4-5): Keep attacking while pointing burn at whichever target shortens the clock the most, and hold a combat trick from Turn Inside Out for the turn you need to punch through a wall of blockers. Late (turn 6+): If the board stalls, stop trading and aim every burn spell at the opponent's face; Witchstalker Frenzy should be saved for the single largest blocker they have. Count your damage carefully before committing, because the deck is short on card advantage and cannot win a long game.

Sweepers are the worst card you can see, so avoid emptying your hand of cheap creatures into an open board wipe. Lifegain and lifelink creatures can pull the opponent back out of burn range, so kill lifelinkers immediately. Big, cheap blockers can wall you off if your removal runs out, and flooding on Mountains leaves you with nothing to do. Against heavy removal, keep one threat in hand instead of playing everything into the first sweeper.